Reincarnation and the Law of Karma

The Egyptians taught that man has several bodies or layers—often called "sheaths"—and that the higher part of his nature survives death while the lower part decays. They believed that after death, this higher part of the soul traveled to a region of bliss. There, it gained knowledge and felt the positive influence of more advanced souls. This process prepared the soul for a new life, giving it motivations to seek higher things. However, because the soul had not yet reached the level of development needed to stay in these blissful regions forever, it eventually reached the end of its trial period. At that point, it returned to earth for another incarnation—another step on what was called the Path of Attainment a mystical term for the soul's journey toward spiritual perfection.

The teaching further explained that the conditions and circumstances of a new life on earth were determined by the actions, thoughts, and mental habits of previous lives, and by the level of development reached across several past lifetimes. In this way, the teaching closely matches the universal doctrine of Reincarnation and Karma original: "Karnia"; this refers to the spiritual principle of cause and effect where intent and actions influence the future. Pythagoras taught that the doctrine of Reincarnation explained the inequalities we see in human lives, providing a logical reason for them and establishing a sense of ultimate justice that could not be explained by any other means. He taught that although the material world was governed by the laws of destiny and fate, there was a higher state of existence where the soul could rise above these earthly laws. This higher state had its own laws, still unknown to humanity, which work to resolve the imperfections of the material world. These laws bring about harmony, justice, and equality to make up for the apparent shortcomings seen in earthly life.

Following Pythagoras, the great Greek philosopher Plato also taught the ancient doctrine of Rebirth. He believed that the souls of the dead must return to earth. In these new lives, they must resolve the consequences of their past deeds, receiving rewards for good actions and penalties for bad ones. Through these repeated experiences, the soul learns and rises step by step toward the divine. Plato taught that a reincarnated soul experiences flashes of memory from its former lives, as well as instincts and intuitions gained from past experiences. He categorized innate ideas ideas or knowledge considered to be present in the mind from birth, rather than learned through experience as these types of inherited memories from previous lives. It has been famously said that "everything can be found in Plato," and so anyone looking for ancient Greek ideas about Reincarnation and the soul will find that—