From Birth to Rebirth focuses on two great problems of philosophy--our death and our destiny. These issues are especially relevant to our further understanding of the ego, as the ego is what recurrently is born and dies, and our conscious life in/as the ego is what the laws of recompense and free will affect.
Chapter one discusses the event of death, in our own lives and in the lives of others. It offers practical advice on helpful attitudes towards death and on how we can approach the experience of dying. It examines after-death states, our limited contact with those already dead, and our permanent connection to the immortal Overself now, and then.
In Chapter two, P.B. reflects on the cycle of life and death, through a consideration of teachings on reincarnation. Here he explores how one's own past reappears in present character, is active in the conditions of birth, and is a significant factor in all subsequent experiences. Many beliefs and superstitions surround this ancient doctrine and its significance in the journey toward wisdom. P.B. sorts through various historical modifications with his usual rational perspective to provide us with a clear, if somewhat complex, treatment of the subject.
Chapter three is a collection of P.B.'s remarks on karma, fate, destiny, and free will. Several paras in its first section indicate that P.B. considered these first three terms as interrelated but distinct forces or cosmic laws involved in the shaping of our lives and egos. The chapter's emphasis is on our experience of these laws: how to recognize their presence, and how our interaction with them may--or may not--change our circumstances. In this context, P.B. introduces a philosophic consideration of astrology, showing what it teaches us, how it can be used to help us understand our destiny, and how it can be misused. The chapter ends with a selection of paras examining free will from the perspective of destiny.
The final chapter deals with the question of free will: its limitations and opportunities, and our responsibility to use it wisely. We see here that death and rebirth, karma, fate, destiny, and limited free will are powers that shape the ego and bind its development to the larger evolution of the World-Idea. The section ends with paras in which P.B. reminds us of our heritage in the Overself, wherein lies freedom, refuge, guidance, and our true home.
Editorial conventions are the same here as stated in the introductions to Perspectives and The Quest. Likewise, (P) at the end of a para indicates that it also appears in Perspectives, the introductory survey volume to this series.