What Is Reincarnation in Hinduism?
Hinduism is a religion that began in India and is practiced by over 700 million people, as of 2011. Reincarnation is an integral part of Hinduism and refers to the cycle of death and rebirth. Breaking free from this cycle is one of the highest goals of a Hindu.
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Atman
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Hinduism embraces the concept of atman, which is the unchanging self that is not physical. Atman is quite independent of the body, much like the driver of a car is independent of the car. Without the driver, the car cannot move. According to Hinduism, without the atman, the body cannot move or be animated. The atman is bound by the physical limitations of the current body that it inhabits, but the body does not change the atman's inherent nature. One of the Hindu religious texts, the "Bhagavad Gita," describes the process of reincarnation. It states that much like a man casts off worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, so a soul discards worn-out bodies and wears a new one.
Samsara
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The repeating cycle of life, death and rebirth is referred to as samsara. It is the notion that a person's present life is merely the most recent of the many lives that he has lived, extending back way into the past. It includes the concept of transmigration, which is the movement of a soul into a new body after its old body has died. The soul can be reborn as either a human or an animal. Many stories in Hindu literature recount how someone is punished by being reborn as a lowly animal while good characters are rewarded by coming back in the next life as a minor deity.
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Karma
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The belief of reincarnation states that a human being's fate is affected and ultimately decided by his actions or deeds. In Hinduism the term "Karma" refers to a person's deeds. If the deeds are deemed good in this lifetime, then in his next life he will be rewarded with a better life. People who are bad in this lifetime will be punished in the next life and possibly the life after that. Souls that continue to do good will eventually be freed from the repetitive cycle of death and rebirth. The state that the soul is born into is determined by both the person's Karma and the state of the person's mind at death.
Moksha
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The state of constantly being reborn and dying is not a desirable one, as it means that a person must constantly go through the pain and suffering that comes with living. Souls that are freed from constant reincarnation attain a state of redemption known as Moksha. Moksha is achieved when the atman unites with the brahman or universal Spirit. It is Hindu tradition to cremate the dead in order for their souls to ascend to heaven. Hindu saints who have attained Moksha are not cremated as they have already been released from the circle of death and rebirth.
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References
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