ARE THE TEACHINGS JUST

ABOUT KARMA AND REINCARNATION?

Before we take a closer look at the theories of karma and reincarnation, it should be noted right away that there are many modifications of these theories, and in this work we will consider only those options that are preached by the followers of the New Age.

Many statements of modern supporters of the theories of karma and reincarnation are mythical and do not find confirmation in a careful study of the history of religions. Among these views is the idea that belief in reincarnation was widespread in the ancient world. This statement is not true. To make sure of this, it is enough to ask the question: why were mummies created in Ancient Egypt? The religion of the ancient Egyptians was deeply magical, mummies were made for the soul of Ba1. The ancient Egyptians believed that there was a connection between the mummy and the soul. As long as the mummy exists, the soul exists. They believed that the soul could be destroyed by decapitating a mummy or by burning it.2 One of the reasons that the mummies were so carefully hidden was the fear that robbers would find them and destroy them. If the theory of reincarnation had been believed in ancient Egypt, making mummies would have made no sense. Indeed, if a person has a new body, why keep the old one? In the afterlife, the ancient Egyptian did not wait for a new incarnation, but for eternal life in the Fields of Ialu, the "Fields of Reeds," a kind of eternal paradise where he could live forever carefree.3 Attempts to ascribe to the ancient Egyptians a belief in reincarnation stem from the writings of Hermes Trismegistus, and in particular his famous Emerald Tablet, but these attempts have several weaknesses. First, the creation of this manuscript dates to between 100 and 300 A.D. 4. Secondly, the style of the manuscript shows that it was written in Greek, not Egyptian, from the very beginning. Third, there is no mention of the Emerald Tablet in the catalogs of ancient Egyptian temple libraries.5 Thus, this work cannot be used as a proof of the existence of a belief in the law of reincarnation among the ancient Egyptians.

The theory of reincarnation came to us from Hinduism, but even there it appeared relatively recently. In particular, the Vedas, written at the end of the second millennium B.C. and at the beginning of the first millennium B.C., say nothing about the theory of reincarnation. For the first time in Hinduism, this theory is expounded in the Upanishads, which appeared in the VII-VI centuries BC. Until then, Hinduism had done just fine without it.

The ancient Jews also heard nothing about the law of reincarnation. Nowhere in the Old Testament do we find statements that the soul is reincarnated many times into different bodies, but we easily find statements that are directly opposite in meaning: "When a man dies, will he live again?" (Job 14:14), "There is hope for a tree that, even if it is cut down, it will come to life again, and the branches will not cease from it: if its root is old in the ground, and its stump is frozen in the dust, but as soon as it smells water, it gives offspring and sends forth branches, as if it were planted anew. And man dies and disintegrates; departed, and where is he? The waters go out of the lake, and the river dries up and dries up: so a man will lie down and will not be; he shall not awake until the end of heaven, neither shall he arise from his sleep" (Job 14:7-12). It is not said, "He shall enter into other bodies," but it is said, "He shall not awake, nor arise from his sleep." Another verse speaks of the coming resurrection of the dead in these words: "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to eternal life, others to everlasting repose and shame" (Dan. 12:2). It is stated that there will be only one awakening from death, when some are resurrected "... for eternal life, others for eternal reproach and shame." As we have seen, the claim that in antiquity the theory of reincarnation was universally accepted and widespread is nothing more than a myth.