What is the Hindu afterlife?

There are many religions that believe in the afterlife and one among these is the Hindu religion.

The Hindu afterlife has a very clear-cut concept about this. Every person needs to pays his or her debts in this world. Until all the debts are paid, the soul would keep being reborn on the earth and the accounts need to be settled while living as a human. Sometimes, it is possible for a human soul to be reincarnated as an animal, however, this is an exception. Generally, the soul would be reborn as many times as it needs to repay all the outstanding debts they have. When the accounts are settled, the soul becomes one with the Almighty and hence achieves 'moksha' or 'mukti', which loosely is translated as salvation or freedom from the rebirth cycle.

[edit] Why is a person reborn?

According to Hindu afterlife beliefs, the soul is immortal and indestructible. It comes from God and goes to God. However, when it uses a body, it gathers certain karma through their behavior, beliefs and ways of life, which affects the purity of the soul. Since the body is mortal and its life is very limited, the soul would need several bodies until it cleanses itself from all the sins it has done. When this goal is achieved, the soul would not need another body, as it would merge with the God Almighty.

The afterlife scenario is not limited only to Hindu beliefs. Buddhists, too, believe in rebirth and they, too, feel that the soul is far superior to the body, which it uses in a way similar to wearing clothes. Buddhists believe that all beings are equally important to God, yet if a person dies with negative thoughts, they are believed to reincarnate as animals or remain hanging between hell and heaven as ghosts. It is important, according to the Buddhists, to maintain a positive attitude in life as well as in death. A peaceful death would result in a good rebirth, if that is required at all, while a disturbed death would inhibit the passage of the soul in the afterlife condition, forcing it to a lower level reincarnation.

[edit] What do other religions say?

The Hindu afterlife principles are shared by most other religions though not exactly in the same form. For example, Christians believe that the souls would wait for the Judgment Day before they are allowed to enter Heaven and be one with God. At that point, St. Peter would check out their good and bad deeds, and accordingly, permit them entrance in Heaven or banish them to Hell. Repentance, good deeds, prayers, selfless acts are what balances the scale in Christianity much in the same manner as the karma guides the soul of a Hindu person. So is the story with Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jews.

Though other religions may not be as explicit about the reincarnation part, they do believe in after life, and they do agree that every person's deeds would be rewarded accordingly by the Almighty. Another common belief is that the soul is indestructible and, therefore, lives on after death. Whether it waits for the Day of Judgment, becomes one with God, or reincarnates depends upon the religion the person follows.