What is Reincarnation (Punar Janm) and Moksh?

The word reincarnation literally means the transmigration of Atma. Hindus believe the soul is immortal, and when a person (or living creature) dies, his/her Atma re-enters a new (as yet unborn) body. “Just as a person discards old and tattered clothes and puts on new ones, the Atma (soul) casts off the weak body and enters a new one.”(Gita 2.22). This concept of transmigration of Atma or life after death intertwined with the Law of Karm. The Karm one acquires/performs in this life will determine one’s future birth. What the individual is in this life is the result of Karm performed in his/her past life. One keeps returning to this world until all of one’s Karm are resolved. Human life offers the best way to redeem a person though spiritual evolution. It may take more than one human birth to reach such a high level of spiritual maturity and perfection where the slate of Karm is totally clean At that point, the Atma is released from the cycle of rebirth and merges back into its original source, the Supreme Soul. Hindus call this state of liberation or salvation, Mukti or Moksh. Buddhism, an off-shoot of Hinduism calls it Nirvan. According to Hinduism, the main purpose of human life is to attain Moksh. Moksh offers immortality, eternal peace and supreme bliss.