Reincarnation and Karma

The Hindus believe that there are two important factors which affect their salvation. They are reincarnation and Karma.

• Reincarnation: A Hindu struggles throughout his life to bring himself into perfect union with Brahma. For him, life is a wheel of birth, death and rebirth. He tries to liberate himself from this wheel of life. He can be united with Brahma only after thousands of births. The deeds in one life determine the union with god. Good deeds take nearer to union and bad deeds take away from this union. So life is like an ever rolling wheel, which does not have a beginning or an end.
• Karma: The Karma or work done in one life determines the type of life that he will have in the next one. If he performs karma or good deeds, then he will be reborn into a higher life. If he leads a bad life, then he will be reborn in a lesser state. So the works determine his future state.
• The Salvation: The release from the endless cycle of death and rebirth takes place for a Hindu, when he recognizes that the world is an illusion, and he is part of Brahma. This release from the wheel of samsara and merging with Brahma is called as moksha or salvation. This can be obtained by Gnana marka or Karma marka or Bhakti marka.