Contents: Preface. Prelude. 1. Vedic references. 2. Artabhaga’s doubt and the mystery of Karma. 3. What is Karma and who does it? 4. What is birth and death? 5. The two paths. 6. In the Katha Upanisad. 7. In the Bhagavad Gita. 8. In the Brahma Sutras. 9. Conclusion. Bibliography. Glossary. Index.

The atman (soul), in the eastern belief system, is eternal, immortal. The phenomenon of (physical) death is, thus, nothing but its disembodiment and its ‘reincarnation’ in a new body. And what determines an atman’s choice of a new body is the law of karma—the merits and demerits of one’s actions in the present life.

The notions of karma and reincarnation constitute the fundamental tenets of Indian thinking; though these, like many other doctrinal beliefs, are hard to prove/disprove in purely rationalistic or even empirical terms. Swami Muni Narayana Prasad looks afresh at these age-old doctrinal beliefs—from the viewpoint of an Advaitin (non-dualist), developing stimulating insights from his studies of the Upanisads, the Bhagavad Gita the Brahma Sutras and besides these, the works of his mentor: Narayana Guru. Contextually, among other questions, his book also dwells on ultimate reality, birth and death, and the two paths: Devayana (the path of Gods) and Pitryana (the path of manes), either of which the souls take to after death.