The afterlife
Cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth
Most Sikhs believe that life is a cycle of birth, death and rebirth. This is known as In Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, this is the cycle of life, death and rebirth.. Sikhs also believe in The religious belief that existence is a cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth, and that the soul survives physical death and is reborn in a new body., which is the belief that humans do not only live once. Sikhs believe they can learn to become closer to God by having many chances of living (the soul moves from one life to another). This idea is often referred to as 鈥榯ransmigration of the soul鈥.
Karma and rebirth
The path of life from birth to death gives Sikhs a chance to move from being self-centred (Self-centred.) to being God-centred (God-centred, living by the Gurus' teachings.).
When a person is gurmukh, they can escape the cycle of samsara and achieve liberation. This is known as The freeing of the soul from rebirth/salvation/liberation..
The The spiritual teachers in Sikhism, from Guru Nanak (1469鈥1539) to Guru Gobind Singh (1666鈥1708). taught that there are 8.4 million different forms of life (many Sikhs believe that this number is literal, but some interpret it as indicating an immeasurable number of possibilities). The soul may experience many of these before becoming human and having a chance of becoming gurmukh (God-centred).
Life
- Everything that happens is The order or command of God, referred to as Waheguru., the will of Sikhs believe in one God called Waheguru which means 鈥榃onderful Lord鈥 or 鈥榃onderful Teacher鈥..
- During their lives, people collect Actions, and the consequences of actions. An important concept in Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism.. Karma means actions and what the consequences of those actions are. Sometimes karma is good and sometimes it is bad. A person鈥檚 next life (or reincarnation) depends on the good or bad actions in their past lives.
Death
- At death, the The soul, the part of Waheguru (the Sikh word for God) in each person. of Waheguru, or a person鈥檚 soul, is released from the body and will be reborn in another life.
Rebirth
- The aim for all Sikhs is for their soul to escape this cycle of rebirth and to be taken back to Waheguru. This is called mukti.
Mukti
- Mukti is a state of indescribable bliss, where a God-centred person (gurmukh) merges with God and escapes the cycle of rebirth.
- Achieving mukti is the result of living life according to the will of God (Hukam), remembering the Creator (Naam Simran) and performing Selfless service to the community..
- Things that can get in the way of Sikhs achieving mukti include being manmukh (self-centred) and giving into temptations and vices such as greed, lust and anger.
- Things that can help Sikhs to achieve mukti include internal attitudes as well as practical actions such as patience, truthful living, meditating on God鈥檚 name, hard work and service to others.
Question
What is the goal of life for Sikhs?
Sikhs aim to achieve mukti, where the divine spark within them can merge with Waheguru, so that they do not need to be reborn any more.