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Definition: Rebirth Hinduism
Reincarnation or rebirth is an important concept of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. “The doctrine of karma and rebirth represents perhaps the most striking difference between Western (Judeo-Christian and Islamic) religious thought and the great Indian religious traditions” (Whitley, Kaufman). In the following discussion, specifically, major beliefs associated with reincarnation in Hinduism are highlighted. According to Hindu scriptures, individual souls pass through many cycles of births and deaths, until they are liberated from the bonds of nature through the true knowledge of the self or soul. The impressions called “sanskaras” of our actions make a lasting impression on the mind. When a person is about to die, the soul carries with it a small residue consisting of dominant desires and tendencies as latent impressions. They become the reference for the soul’s next birth. In other words, in the final...
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Hindu University of America, Coppell, TX, USA
Richa Yadav
- Richa Yadav
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Correspondence toRicha Yadav.
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Dept of Anthropology, The University of North Texas Dept of Anthropology, Denton, TX, USA
Pankaj Jain
The Graduate Theological Union , Berkeley, CA, USA
Rita Sherma
Jamia Millia Islamia, Centre for the Study of Comparative Reli Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
Madhu Khanna
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Yadav, R. (2018). Rebirth (Hinduism). In: Jain, P., Sherma, R., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_316-1
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