ABSTRACT
The Yogic tradition originated in India. Themes of quest and pilgrimage are key features of its pointedly transcendental worldview. Yogic religions assume this world to be a veil of sorrow that must be endured and escaped. At its crudest, karma is viewed as a physical substance that literally sticks to people's souls, binding them to the material world. Karma is the cosmic law of cause and effect that ensures that whatever a person does, good or bad, has ultimate consequences. Western belief in reincarnation typically has nothing to do with karma. It is usually called upon as a means of explaining claims that some people remember past lives. Samsara, or the "wheel of existence", is the name given a vast network of births and deaths through endless lifetimes involving incarnations in many worlds, heavens, and hells. Many Western scholars have chosen to ignore the magical aspects of Yogic religions.
