Reincarnation is a belief that originated from Buddhism, Hinduism, and Shaman Culture and various other cultures and religions. It states that when a person dies, their soul is reborn into a new body instead of vanishing into the infinity or waiting until the world is over. This suggests the cycle of birth, death and rebirth, where each life offers new experiences and opportunities for growth and learning.
Different cultures and religions have various aspects of reincarnation, and some share the same elements. Let's take a look.
Hinduism
In Hinduism, the soul (atman) is considered eternal and undergoes numerous lifetimes in different forms. Karma affects a particular soul's next life in a good or a bad way, depending on their past life experiences and karma savings. The main goal here is to escape the samsara cycle (birth , death and rebirth) and achieve moksha, which is liberation and union with the divine (Brahman), to be the Supreme Being. Moshka can be achieved when someone realizes the truth of nature and sees the transparent parts of the elements and materials in life.
Buddhism
The concept of reincarnation is almost the same as in Hinduism, but there are some differences. In Buddhism, there is no self (anatta) other than atman. This means that there are no permanent and unchanging souls. What reincarnates here is the consciousness and karma. In Buddhism, karma affects the way a soul thinks, their perspectives on life, and the way how life isn't permanent. The main goal here is to break free from the samsara cycle and get to the end of birth, death and rebirth.
Jainism
In Jainism, the concept of reincarnation takes a slightly different turn. There is a belief that every soul is pure when it first inhabits a body. Souls accumulate bad or good karma based on their actions in life. The accumulation of their actions determines the form in which the soul will be reborn in its next life. The more good karma you collect, the better being you become. According to Jainism, the soul may be reborn into various forms depending on its previous deeds, and the cycle of reincarnation is driven by the accumulated karma.
There are six realms of existence in which the soul can reincarnate:
Devas (Heavenly Beings): Superior beings with good karma.
Humans: Beings with a karma balance that permits spiritual development.
Plants and Animals: Lower forms of existence, generally perceived as violent and ignorant due to their karma.
Narakas (Hellish Beings): Souls who suffer in hell as a result of extremely bad karma.
Ahimsa (Non-Violence): One of the main principles of Jainism is ahimsa, or non-violence, which is essential to the reincarnation process. Since every action—whether verbal, physical, or mental—creates karma. Negative karma can be avoided by engaging in non-violent behaviour. For this reason, Jains abstain from killing even the tiniest animals and are devout vegetarians.
Moksha (Liberation): In Jainism, one of the main goals is to achieve moksha—the soul's liberation—and escape the cycle of samsara. Moksha is attained by purging the soul of all karma through self-discipline, meditation, and non-violence, and other demanding spiritual practices. The soul enters a state of joy and is free from rebirth after being released from the cycle of reincarnation.
The Three Jewels (Ratnatraya) are the three essential principles that constitute the path to moksha:
Right Faith (Samyak Darshan): Understanding and faith in Jain teachings, recognizing that the soul can achieve emancipation and is eternal.
Right Knowledge (Samyak Jnana): Learning about the nature of the cosmos, the soul, karma, and the path to emancipation. This is known as "right knowledge".
Right conduct (Samyak Charitra): Leading a life of self-control, non-violence, and ethical discipline as well as refraining from actions that accumulate bad karma.
In this essay, we have examined how reincarnation is acknowledged in three different religions, but there are thousands of perspectives on reincarnation across various belief systems.
In conclusion, although there are many differing beliefs about reincarnation in different religions, they all point to the same concept. birth, death and rebirth—The cycle of samsara.