Hindus believe that within every living thing is an eternal soul called the atman. Unlike the body, the atman has no beginning and no end - it is a tiny spark of Brahman, the ultimate reality.

The cycle of birth, death and rebirth is called samsara. When the body dies, the atman leaves it and moves into a new body. The Bhagavad Gita describes this with a famous comparison: "Just as a person puts on new clothes and discards old ones, the soul puts on a new body and discards the old."

What the atman is reborn as depends on karma - the moral consequences of your past actions:

Good karma can lead to rebirth as a human in a better situation.
Bad karma can lead to rebirth as an animal or in a difficult life.

Hindus see the human body as a temporary vehicle for the atman, a bit like a set of clothes. The atman wears it for one lifetime and then changes to another.

The ultimate goal of life is not to be reborn into a better body, but to escape samsara altogether and reach moksha - when the atman is finally reunited with Brahman.

Y8 Hinduism

The Soul and Reincarnation