The Soul

Hindus believe that the soul, atman, is eternal. When the physical body dies the soul is reborn in another body. This continuous cycle of life, death, and rebirth is called samsara. Rebirth is governed by karma: the principle that every action (be it physical or mental) has a result, like cause and effect. What an individual experiences in this life is the result of their past actions, either actions they have already taken in this life or actions from a past life. How an individual acts today impacts the future, both in terms of effects felt later on in this life or in a future birth. Though the effects of karma make certain actions easier or more difficult to take, just as our personal habits influence our lives, this is not a deterministic or fatalistic system. Rather, we all have the ability to freely choose how to act in any situation.