Reincarnation in Jainism

 Jainism

The cycle of birth – saṃsāra – is one of the principal theories in Jain belief and is closely linked to the concepts of the soul and karma. Literally meaning ‘wandering around’ in Sanskrit, the term saṃsāra describes the recurring process in which a soul is born into a body, which lives and dies, and then is reborn into a different body. Jains believe that this event repeats endlessly for souls that have karmas bound to them. The aim of Jainism is liberation of the soul from this cycle, which requires the soul to be free of karma.

The Jains also call the concept the ‘river of rebirth’, which explains why the term Tīrthaṃkara is frequently used as a synonym for Jina. Meaning ‘ford-breaker’, Tīrthaṃkara emphasises that the Jinas have led the way to liberation – mokṣa – and left a path for others to follow.

Rebirth can take place in one of four conditions – gatis – which relate to the karmas gathered in previous lifetimes. All activities and thoughts create karmas, which can be negative or positive. Bad karmas lead to rebirth as a creature of low spirituality and minimal senses, whereas good karmas effect birth as a god or human being. The most desirable condition is that of the human being, because liberation is impossible for any other kind of being.

The Jain cycle of rebirths is similar to the saṃsāra found in Hinduism and Buddhism, but is different in that the transmigration of the soul from one body to another is instant. There are other major differences in religious tenets that influence the various conceptions of the cycle of births.

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