Reincarnation and the Law of Karma

The philosophy of the Druids Ancient Celtic priests and scholars bore a remarkable resemblance to the Inner Doctrine of the Egyptians and their successors, the Greek Mystics. Traces of Hermeticism A philosophical system based on the writings of Hermes Trismegistus and Pythagoreanism The teachings of the Greek philosopher Pythagoras are clearly visible, although the connecting link that bound them together has been lost to history. Legends among the Druids connected their order with the ancient Aryan A term historically used to describe the Indo-European people creeds and teachings, and there seems to have been a very close connection between these priests and those of Ancient Greece. Indeed, there are tales of offerings being sent to the temples of Greece from the priests of Gaul The region comprising modern-day France and its neighbors. It is also related that on the island of Delos original: "Delphos"; likely referring to the sacred island of Delos, though Delphi was also a major center there was once a Druidic tomb in the shape of a monument, believed to have been erected over the remains of Druid priestesses. Herodotus A famous Greek historian of the 5th century BCE and others speak of a secret alliance between the priests of Greece and those of the Druids. Some of the ancient legends hold that Pythagoras was the instructor of the Druidic priests, and that Pythagoras himself was in close communication with the Brahmins The priestly class of India of India and the Hermetists of Egypt. Other legends say that the Druids received their first instruction from Zamolais likely Zalmoxis, a legendary social and religious reformer of the Getae, who had been a slave and student of Pythagoras. At any rate, the similarities between the two schools of philosophy are remarkable.

Much of the Druidic teaching has been lost, and it is difficult to piece together the fragments. However, enough is known to indicate the previously mentioned relationship to the Pythagorean school, and the firm hold that the doctrine of reincarnation had upon the Druids. The preserved fragments show that the Druids taught that there was in man an immaterial, spiritual part called "Awen" Welsh for "inspiration" or "divine spark", which came from a Universal Spiritual Principle of Life. They taught that this "Awen" had given life to the lower forms of life—mineral, vegetable, and animal—before incarnating as a human. In those conditions, it was entangled and imprisoned in the state of "abysmal circling," called "Anufu" The lowest circle of existence in Druidic cosmology, from which it finally escaped and entered into the "circle of freedom," called "Abred" The circle of migration or human experience, or human incarnation and beyond. This state of "Abred" includes life in the various human races on this and other planets, until finally there is a further liberation of the "Awen," which then passes on to the "Circle of Bliss," or "Gwynfid" The state of spiritual fulfillment and light, where it stays for eons in a state of ecstatic being. But, even beyond this transcendent state, there is another, which is called the "Circle of the Infinite," or "Ceugant" The ultimate state of being, where only God can dwell, which is identical with the "Union with God" of the Persians and Greek Mystics, or the "Nirvana" Sanskrit: "extinction" or "blowing out"; the ultimate state of liberation in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy of the Hindus. This is a rather advanced form of philosophy for "barbarians," is it not? Particularly when contrasted with the crude mythology of the Roman conquerors!