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What do Jains think happens when you die?
Jain Curious team
Top answer
Unless you're liberated, you're reborn, almost immediately. The soul (jiva) carries its bound karma with it, and that karma determines the next birth: as a heavenly being, a human, an animal or plant, or a hell being. Those are the four realms represented by the arms of the Jain swastika. None of these is permanent. Heavens and hells are temporary, however long they last. The only exit from the cycle is moksha: shedding all karma, after which the soul rises to the top of the universe and stays there forever in pure knowledge and bliss, as itself. Only humans can make that final step, which is why a human life is considered so precious.