Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 6: The Path of Meditation

Bhagavad Gita 6.43

tatra taṃ buddhisaṃyogaṃ labhate paurvadehikam | yatate ca tato bhūyaḥ saṃsiddhau kurunandana ||

There that person regains the understanding acquired in the former body, and from that point strives again for perfection, Arjuna.

Modern context

Nothing is lost. The understanding gained before is recovered, and the seeker starts again from where they left off, not from zero. The same is true within a single life. A skill practised years ago comes back faster than it was first learned. A spiritual practice taken up again after a long break often feels familiar at once. What was built does not disappear; it waits.