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Sikhs believe that life is a cycle of birth, death and rebirth. This is known as the cycle of samsara. Part of this belief is the idea of reincarnation, which is the belief that when humans die, they are reborn into a new body. Many believe there are over 8.4 million different possible life forms that they might have to experience before they are liberated from the cycle of samsara:

Those who do not serve the True Guru [God] and who do not contemplate the Word of the Shabad - spiritual wisdom does not enter into their hearts; they are like dead bodies in the world. They go through the cycle of 8.4 million reincarnations, and they are ruined through death and rebirth. (Guru Granth Sahib 88)

The atma and reincarnation

Sikhism teaches that all beings, including animals and humans, have a soul, known as the atma and are part of the cycle of reincarnation.

Sikhs believe that:

• The atma is given to a being by Waheguru. It is also recognised as the divine spark, which is a part of Waheguru within them.
• At death, the atmas of both humans and animals are reborn into a new body as part of the cycle of rebirth. The body that the atma is born into is determined by the karma gained in its previous life.
• The highest possible being on Earth is a human.
• The cycle of samsara repeats itself until the atma has been liberated from the pattern and is reunited with Waheguru in mukti.