Rene Querido presents here a historical overview of the Western perspective of karma and rebirth, which he places in the context of the spiritual-scientific research of Rudolf Steiner. He has chosen a representative selection of Steiner's lectures and writings discussing the causes and effects of karma in relation to world events, natural phenomena, illness, and much more. Here Steiner describes how we can come to understand our own karma in the light of past incarnations, and how we can take fuller responsibility for our own destinies. From the Vista series.

Reincarnation is the religious or philosophical concept that the soul or spirit, after biological death, begins life in a new body that may be human, animal or spiritual depending on the moral quality of the previous life's actions. This doctrine is a central tenet of several religions including Buddhism and Hinduism. It is also a common belief of various ancient and modern religions such as Spiritism, Theosophy, and Eckankar and is found in many tribal societies around the world. In this classic work on reincarnation by William Walker Atkinson, the author explores the subject from a diverse range of perspectives that are as relevant today as when they were written: THE EARLY RACES. What is Reincarnation?--Transmigration of Souls--The Something That Persists After Death--The Soul Not a Fresh Creation, but a Traveler on a Long Journey. THE EGYPTIANS, CHALDEANS, DRUIDS, ETC.. The Egyptian Idea of the Soul--Forty Centuries of Occult History--The Inner Teachings of Egypt--The Ancient Chinese Teachings and Doctrine--The Ancient Druids and Their Teachings. THE ROMANS AND GREEKS The Reasons of Rome's Backwardness in Spiritual Knowledge--Why the Greeks were Advanced--Pythagoras; Orpheus; Plato--The Various Grecian Teachings Regarding the Soul and Its Future Life--Plato's Wonderful Teachings and Philosophy. THE JEWS, ESSENES, AND EARLY CHRISTIANS The Inner Teachings of the Jewish Priests--The Jewish Rabbins and Their Secret Doctrines--The Kaballah, the Zahar, Nichema; Ronach; and Nephesh--A Mysterious Brotherhood--The Christian Inner Doctrine--The Mysteries of Jesus. THE HINDUS India the Mother of Reincarnation, Past and Present--The Aryan Teachings--The History of the Belief Among the Hindus--Fundamental Hindu Philosophy. THE MODERN WEST Reincarnation in the Modern Western World--The Revival of Interest and Its Cause--Theosophical Society--Madame Blavatsky--The Western School of Yogi Philosophy: Its Fundamental Teachings--The Spiritists, and Their Doctrine--The Teachings of the "Elect Few" in Their Secret Societies--Is Earth a Hell?--Christian Reincarnationists and Their Beliefs. BETWEEN AND BEYOND INCARNATIONS How Long Between Incarnations?--Necessity for Mental and Spiritual Digestion and Assimilation--The Advanced Teachings--Earth-bound Souls--Advanced Souls and Their Rest Period--Where Does the Soul Dwell Between Incarnations?--What Happens at Death--The Great Astral World and Its Planes and Sub-planes--Where the Soul Goes After Death and What It Does There--Rebirth and Its Laws--What is the Final State of the Soul?--The Message of the Illumined. THE JUSTICE OF REINCARNATION The Contrasting Theories of the Soul and Its Future Life--Doctrine of Reincarnation the Only Philosophical Theory that Reconciles Facts with Theory--The Law of Karma Automatic and Enforces Itself--Every One Their Own Judge and the Executor of Their Own Destiny THE ARGUMENT FOR REINCARNATION Natural Laws Universal--If the Soul is Immortal, it Must Have Always Been So--A Mortal Thing Cannot be Made Immortal Any More Than Nothing Can be Made Something--Future Life Implies Past Life--Varient Experiences Necessary for the Soul's Education--Advancement Necessary to Enjoyment of the Soul's Higher States of Being THE PROOFS OF REINCARNATION Actual Proofs of Personal Conscious Experience Demanded by Science--Such Proofs Possible and Have Occurred to Many of the Race--The Remembrance of the Details of Past Existence Common to the Race--Interesting Cases Given on Good Authority--Messages from the Past. ARGUMENTS AGAINST REINCARNATION Why Reincarnation is Opposed by Some--The Answers to the Objections--The Proof of the Existence of the Soul--Is Reincarnation Un-Christian and Derived from Pagan and Heathen Sources? THE LAW OF KARMA What Karma Means--Does Karma Punish or is it but the Workings of a Natural Law?--The Various Kinds of Karma--The Advanced Mystical Doctrine--The End is Absolute Good--There is No Devil but Fear and Unfaith.