righteousnessandpeacewilldiscovertherealjoyoflifewhichcannotcomefromwealth,conquests,
fame,hurtingothers,etc.Byturningone’smindtowardsrighteousnessandselflessness,ahumanbe-
ingcanevolvetodiscoverthegreaterordeeperessenceoftheirownbeing,theHigherSelf,andat-
tain “Nehast,” (resurrection, enlightenment).
Manypeoplebelievethatkarmaisequaltofateordestiny,however,thisinterpretationcouldnotbe
furtherfromtheoriginalunderstandingoftheancientSages.Theetymologyoftheword,karma,
comesfromtheSanskrit“karman”whichmeansdeedoraction.InYogaphilosophy,karmarefersto
one’sactions.Theseactionsleadtocertainexperiencesandconsequences.InAncientEgyptianphilo-
sophy,thewordforkarmaisAriorIri,meaning“actionswhichcreateone’sfate.”Itispresidedover
bythegoddessesMaati,RennenetandMeskhenet.Meskhenetpresidesoverthebirthcircumstances
andlifeexperiencesofeveryindividual.Sheistheonewhocarriesoutthedecree,whichhasbeenor-
dainedbyDjehuti,thegodwhorecordstheresultsofthejudgmentofthesoul,inthehallofMaat.
TheKemeticconceptofAri(Karma)andreincarnationisthattheheartofeveryindividualisjudged
inaccordancewiththemannerinwhichtheylivedinreferencetothestandardoforder,truthand
righteousness(Maat).ItisDjehuti,asymbolofone’sowntranscendentalessence,whorecordsthe
deeds(actions)orkarmasofeveryindividual,andthendecreestheproperShai(destiny)andRennen-
et(harvestorfortune)whicharefittingforthatparticularindividual.ThenwiththehelpofShaiand
Rennenet,Meskhenetcausestheindividualtoexperiencetheproperbirthcircumstancesbasedon
their previous deeds.
Figure 23: The Heart
TheAncientEgyptianhieroglyphicsymboloftheheartisaheartshapedvase,¬.Thevaseisacon-
tainer,whichmaybeusedforwater,beer,wine,milk,etc.Likewise,thehumanheartisseenasaves-
sel,whichcontainsthoughts,feelings,desiresandunconsciousmemories.Inmysticalterms,theheart
isametaphorofthehumanmindincludingtheconscious,subconsciousandunconsciouslevels.The
mindisthereservoirofallofyourideas,convictionsandfeelings.Therefore,justasthesefactorsdir-
ectthepathofyourlife,sotootheyaretheelements,whicharejudgedintheHallofMaatibythe
twoMaatgoddesses. 91 Theheartthenisthesumtotalofyourexperiences,actionsandaspirations,
your conscience or ari (karma), and these are judged in the balance against the feather of Maat.
Thus,arishouldbethoughtofasthetotaleffectofaperson’sactionsandconductduringthesuccess-
ivephasesofhisorherexistence.Buthowdoesthiseffectoperate?Howdothepastactionsaffect
thepresentandthefuture?Yourexperiencesfromthepresentlifeorfrompreviouslifetimescause
unconsciousimpressions,whichstaywiththesoulevenafterdeath.Theseunconsciousimpressions
arewhatconstitutetheemergingthoughts,desires,andaspirationsofeveryindividual.Theseimpres-
sionsarenotexactlylikememories,however,theyworklikememories.Forexample,ifyouhada
fearinapreviouslifetimeorthechildhoodofyourpresentlifetime,youmaynotremembertheevent
thatcausedthefear,butyoumayexperiencecertainphobiaswhenyoucomeintocontactwithcertain