A Hindu’s goal in life is to reunite the atman with the Brahman. The atman is eternal and immortal; when you die, the atman lives on, shedding the lifeless body to enter a new one.

 He (atman) is not born, nor does he die at any time. He is unborn, eternal, permanent, and primeval; he not slain when the body is slain.  Just as a man, having cast off old garments, puts on other, new ones, even so does the embodied one, having cast off old bodies, take on other, new ones.  He is uncleavable, he is unburnable, he is undrenchable, as also undryable. He is eternal, all-pervading, stable, immovable, existing from time immemorial.

Hindus believe that the soul does not die along with the body but enters another body to carry on its existence. This endless cycle of rebirth, or reincarnation, is called samsara. In Hindu thought, the physical world is temporary, ever- changing and artificial.

The imperfect world we live in is referred to as maya, and life within it is considered meaningless. Hindus believe that all life is caught in the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

The goal of Hindus is to achieve what is called moksha, or liberation, from the endless cycle of rebirths into this world, and to unite the atman with the Brahman.  Moksha is seen as a final release from one's worldly conception of self, the loosening of the shackle of experiential duality and a realization of one's own fundamental nature which is true being, pure consciousness and bliss.

Karma is the totality of one’s actions in life, and it determines the form that an individual will take when he or she is reborn. The accumulation of bad karma will result in rebirth at a lower station in life or as a lower form of life, such as an animal.

The accumulation of good karma will result in rebirth at a higher station in life, which is closer to attaining salvation. In order to achieve salvation, Hindus must work their way up the ladder of existence; they do so by trying to secure rebirth at a higher level.

 (i) Bhakti Yoga (The Path of Devotion)  (ii) Karma Yoga (The Path of Action)  (iii) Jnana Yoga (The Path of Wisdom)  (iv) Raja Yoga (The Path of Meditation)