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| ]) repeatedly takes on a physical body through being born on Earth.]] | |||
| ''']''' is a core belief within ''']'''. In most Indian philosophical traditions, including the ], ], ] and ] systems, an ongoing cycle of birth, death, and rebirth is assumed as a fact ofature. | |||
| <ref>{{cite book | last = Brodd | first = Jefferey | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = World Religions | publisher = Saint Mary's Press | date = 2003 | location = Winona, MN | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 978-0-88489-725-5 }}</ref> | |||
| These systems differ widely, however, in the terminology with which they describe the process and in the metaphysics they use in interpreting it. Within Hinduism, it is ], or ignorance, of one's true self, that leads to ego-consciousness of the body and the phenomenal world. This grounds one in desire and the perpetual chain of ] and ]. Reincarnation is the belief that there is life after death. Hindus are strong believers of reincarnation. The cycle of reincarnation in hinduism is called 'Atma' and goes from birth to old age to disease to death and so it goes on. | |||
| ==Reincarnation & samsara== | |||
| According to ], the soul (]) is immortal, while the body is subject to birth and death. The ] states that: <blockquote>Worn-out garments are shed by the body. Worn-out bodies are shed by the dweller within the body. New bodies are donned by the dweller, like garments.<ref> Bhagavad Gita II.22, ISBN 1-56619-670-1</ref></blockquote> | |||
| ], (literally: action) is the sum of one's actions, and the force that determines one's next reincarnation. The cycle of death and rebirth, governed by karma, is referred to as ] but is often named atma or atman. | |||
| Hinduism teaches that the soul goes on repeatedly being born and dying. One is reborn on account of desire: a person ''desires'' to be born because he or she wants to enjoy worldly pleasures, which can be enjoyed only through a body.<ref>See Bhagavad Gita XVI.8-20</ref> Hinduism does not teach that all worldly pleasures are sinful, but it teaches that they can never bring deep, lasting happiness or peace (''ānanda''). According to the Hindu sage ] - the world as we ordinarily understand it - is like a dream: fleeting and illusory. To be trapped in Samsara is a result of ignorance of the true nature of being. | |||
| After many births, every person eventually becomes dissatisfied with the limited happiness that worldly pleasures can bring. At this point, a person begins to seek higher forms of happiness, which can be attained only through spiritual experience. When, after much spiritual practice (]), a person finally realizes his or her own divine nature—ie., realizes that the true "self" is the immortal soul rather than the body or the ego—all desires for the pleasures of the world will vanish, since they will seem insipid compared to spiritual ''ānanda''. When all desire has vanished, the person will not be reborn anymore.<ref>Rinehart, Robin, ed., ''Contemporary Hinduism''19-21 (2004) ISBN 1-57607-905-8</ref> | |||
| ==End of re-birth?== | |||
| When the cycle of rebirth thus comes to an end, a person is said to have attained ], or salvation.<ref>Karel Werner, ''A Popular Dictionary of Hinduism'' 110 (Curzon Press 1994) ISBN 0-7007-0279-2</ref> While all schools of thought agree that moksha implies the cessation of worldly desires and freedom from the cycle of birth and death, the exact definition of salvation depends on individual beliefs. For example, followers of the ] school (often associated with ]) believe that they will spend eternity absorbed in the perfect peace and happiness that comes with the realization that all existence is One (]), and that the immortal soul is part of that existence. Thus they will no longer identify themselves as individual persons, but will see the "self" as a part of the infinite ocean of divinity, described as sat-chit-ananda (existence-knowledge-bliss). The followers of full or partial ] schools ("dualistic" schools, such as ]), on the other hand, perform their worship with the goal of spending eternity in a ], (spiritual world or heaven), in the blessed company of the Supreme being (i.e ] or ] for the ]s, ] for the ]). The two schools (Dvaita & Advaita) are not necessarily contradictory, however. A follower of one school may believe that both types of salvation are possible, but will simply have a personal preference to experience one or the other. Thus, it is said, the followers of Dvaita wish to "taste sugar," while the followers of Advaita wish to "become sugar."<ref>Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Translation by Swami Nikhilananda (8th Ed. 1992) ISBN 0-911206-01-9</ref> | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] (see article for info on relationship between birth in particular body to karma.) | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| ==Footnotes== | |||
| <references /> | |||
| * ''Reincarnation'', by ], Published by Theosophical Pub. Society, 1892. | |||
| * ''Reincarnation and Karma: Their Significance in Modern Culture'', by ]. Published by Anthroposophical Pub. Co, 1960. | |||
| * ''Reincarnation and the Law of Karma: A Study of the Old-new World-doctrine of Rebirth and Spiritual Cause and Effect'', by William Walker Atkinson.Kessinger Publishing, 1997. ISBN 0766100790. | |||
| * ''Vedanta Philosophy: Five Lectures on Reincarnation'', by Swami Abhedananda. Kessinger Publishing, 1907. ISBN 1564598861. | |||
| * ''Reincarnation'', by ]. Kessinger Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0766129926. | |||
| ==External links== | |||
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