Karma and rebirth in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism

All four traditions agree that actions have consequences that outlast a single life. Kind, honest and generous acts lead to good births; cruel and selfish ones to suffering. Rebirth can be as a human, an animal, a god or a being in one of many hells, but none of these states lasts forever.

And all four agree that the cycle itself is the problem. Even the best rebirth is still bound to change, loss and death. The highest goal is not a good life next time, but release from rebirth altogether.

In most Hindu thought, each being has an eternal self, the atmanatman The self or soul. Many Hindu schools teach that atman is ultimately one with Brahman. Glossary, which passes from body to body “as a person casts off worn-out clothes”, in the words of the Bhagavad Gita. Liberation, mokshamoksha Liberation from the cycle of rebirth, the highest goal of life in Hinduism and Jainism. Glossary, is the self’s release from rebirth.

How it is reached depends on the school. For Advaita Vedanta, it comes through knowledge that atman is one with Brahman, the absolute. For the devotional traditions, it is the gift of a loving God, Vishnu, Shiva or the Goddess, to a devoted soul. The Gita teaches three paths: knowledge, devotion and selfless action.

The Buddha taught anatta, “no self”: there is no unchanging soul, only a stream of physical and mental processes, each conditioning the next. What is reborn is not a self but the continuing momentum of craving and karma, like a flame passed from one candle to another.

Liberation, nirvananirvana Literally “blowing out”: the end of craving and suffering, and release from rebirth, in Buddhism. Glossary, is the ending of the craving that fuels the process. It is reached through the Noble Eightfold Path of ethics, meditation and wisdom. When an awakened person dies, there is no further rebirth.

For Jains, every living being, from humans to insects and plants, has a soul, jivajiva The soul, of which Jains believe every living being has one, bound by karma. Glossary, by nature perfect in knowledge and bliss. Karma is a subtle kind of matter that sticks to the soul through harmful action and passion, weighing it down.

The way to liberation is to stop new karma from flowing in and to burn off the old through strict ethics, above all ahimsaahimsa Non-violence: not harming any living being in thought, word or deed. Central to Jainism. Glossary, non-violence, and through fasting and asceticism. The freed soul rises to the top of the universe, where it dwells forever in perfect knowledge.

Sikhism accepts karma and rebirth but places them under the will, hukamhukam The divine order or will of God, to which Sikhs seek to align their lives. Glossary, of the one God. What keeps a soul in the cycle is haumaihaumai Self-centredness or ego, which Sikh teaching sees as the root of separation from God. Glossary, self-centredness. The way out is not ritual or renunciation but nam simran, the loving remembrance of God’s name, lived out through honest work and sharing with others.

Liberation, mukti, comes ultimately through God’s grace, and Sikhs believe it can be reached while still living a full life in the world.