questions of free-will and fore-ordination. Upon these the Oriental doctrines of karma and reincarnation cast the only light by which the reason consents to be guided. As these doctrines are intimately related both to higher time and to trance revelations, some consideration of karma and reincarnation may appropriately find place here.
KARMA AND REINCARNATION
Karma is that self-adjusting force in human affairs which restores harmony disturbed by action. It is the moral law of compensation, and by its operation produces all conditions of life, misery and happiness, birth, death, and re-birth; itself being both the cause and the effect of action. Its operation is indicated in the phrase, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
The essential idea of reincarnation is indicated in the following quotation from the Upanishads: "And as a goldsmith, taking a piece of gold, turns it into another, newer, and more beautiful shape, so does this Self, having thrown off this body and dispelled all ignorance, make unto himself another and more beautiful shape."