An Explanation of Reincarnation in Hinduism

An Explanation of Reincarnation in Hinduism


 

“Just as the embodied soul continuously passes from childhood to youth to old age, similarly, at the time of death, the soul passes into another body. The wise are not deluded by this.” (Bhagavad Gita 2:13)

 

         The soul that animates the body will survive while the body does not according to Hinduism. This next body will be destined by the actions in their previous life and this is the concept of karma. Good intent and actions lead to a good future while bad intent and actions lead to a bad future. But what is exactly the soul? Is it the Atman? The Atman is identified with the consciousness of the human being that is all-pervasive amongst all that exists. The Atman is eternal reality, indestructible, and bliss and is identified with Brahman or God who is the true reality of everything. However, since the Atman is everywhere and unchanging and is in all beings, it is not the one that travels after the death of the material body. The combination of the life-force, the powers that allow the body to move, the power that allows for the senses, and the power that allows for emotions and thoughts is what moves. The Sun is the Atman while this subtle body is the water which the rays of reflects off. The bucket that is holding this water is the material body. The combination of the body and the soul is the Jiva. When a bucket is empty, the body is dead but the Sun still reflects upon it but the water is gone and therefore there is no consciousness. This water will be transferred into a new bucket and the cycle continues. The journey of the water is known as samsara and the Upanishads, part of the scriptures of the Hindu traditions, primarily focus on self-liberation from it. The non dualist schools of thought such as Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta asserts that the individual Atman and Brahman are identical, and only ignorance, impulsiveness and inertia leads to suffering through samsara. In reality there are no dualities, meditation and self-knowledge is the path to liberation, the realization that one’s Atman is identical to Brahman is moksha or release or the extinguishing of the flame. Other schools such as Ramanuja’s Vishishtadvaita Vedanta which is known as qualified nondualism states that moksha is achieved through devotion to God also known as bhakti.

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