Abstract

A recurrent theme across intellectual and religious explorations, the transmigration of the soul is an ethically loaded proposition. In this essay, I will unpack the ethical imperative of reincarnation in Plato’s Timaeus in contrast to the Bhagavad Gita andthe writings of Swami Vivekananda. Within the frameworks of both the Timaeus and the Gita, I will set out the ontological structure of the world, the ethical role of the individual in the reincarnation process, and the teleological purpose of reincarnation. Ultimately, Platonic reincarnation is not ethically adequate because of its rigid hierarchy and an ultimate goal that remains in an individuated self, whereas reincarnation in the Gita offers a multitude of paths towards enlightenment and the final goal entails an interconnection with all beings. Thus, both the process and the goal lead to two vastly different ethical imperatives, and only the Bhagavad Gita’s seems robust enough to encourage an ethical life.