avants_, from the very
cradle.

Objections have been brought against the doctrine of Rebirth by
opponents who have looked only on one side of the individual life, and
so have been unable to explain apparent anomalies, especially in those
cases where it is seen that the effect does not immediately follow the
cause. In reality, every force that emerges from a centre of will[23]
describes an ellipse, so to speak, which travels through a net-work of
other ellipses generated by thousands of other centres of energy, and
is accelerated or retarded in its course, according to the direction
and nature of the forces with which it is connected. It is for this
reason that certain actions meet with their reward or their punishment
almost immediately. Then the people say: "It is the finger of God!" In
other cases, again, and these are the most numerous, the reaction is
postponed; the noble-hearted man, who has made sacrifices the whole of
his life, seems to receive in exchange nothing but misfortune and
pain, whilst close by the wicked, selfish man prospers and thrives
exceedingly. Thereupon the ignorant say: "There is no God, for there
is no justice."

Not so! It is impossible to defeat Justice; though, in the interests
of evolving beings, it may allow the forces around to accelerate or
retard its progress. Nothing is ever lost; causes that have not
fructified remain potential; and, like the grain of corn gathered
thousands of years ago, grow and develop as soon as favourable soil
and environment are offered them. Debts are still recorded, when the
perishable sheaths of our physical bodies have been cast off; they
come up for future payment, often in the next life. But this next life
may not wipe off the whole of the liabilities, so the process is
continued for several successive existences, and this has given rise
to the saying that the sins of the parents[24] are visited upon the
children[25] unto the seventh generation.[26]

Such is the truth.

Souls, equal in potentialities whilst dormant as germs in the womb of
Being, become unequal, as soon as they are born into existence in the
manifested Universe, for they find predecessors, elder souls in front
of them; inequality is intensified when they have reached the human
stage, where intelligence and will come into play, for henceforth,
inequality in the actions of individuals, variations of what might be
called merit and demerit, set up a second factor in the inequality of
con