What concept does "reincarnation" represent in various religions?

Reincarnation embodies the idea of rebirth into a new body, a concept present in various religions, particularly in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. In these belief systems, it is understood as the process of the soul or consciousness undergoing a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. This journey continues until the soul achieves liberation or enlightenment, known as moksha in Hinduism or nirvana in Buddhism.

This notion of reincarnation is tied to the karmic cycle, where the quality of one's actions (karma) influences future rebirths. For example, a soul may be reborn into a higher or lower form of existence, depending on the ethical and moral choices made in previous lives. Hence, the core idea of reincarnation emphasizes the continuous evolution of the soul through various lifetimes, ultimately striving for a higher state of existence or spiritual realization.

In contrast, returning to the same life suggests a repetitive cycle without growth, which doesn't align with the idea of evolution seen in reincarnation. Transformation into a deity implies a shift to a divine state rather than a rebirth into another life, and passage to a permanent afterlife denotes finality, which contradicts the cyclical nature of reincarnation as it is typically understood