its a pet peeve of mine when were told about people's past lives and they deliberately have the same sex and very similar role as they used to. "in your past life you were married to eachother just as you are now, and just as you are now you are the husband and she is the wife." why no gender swap? its silly to say so incessantly that the body is not the self and then to treat the soul as gendered in this way.

@georgia dumb question, but how is reincarnation meaningful if we don't remember our past lives? practically speaking, are we not completely different beings than we were before?

@genmaicha different hindus have different answers to this. in many schools of hinduism, the individual soul while being a part of God and (like God) being characterized by purity, bliss and consciousness is still an individual soul unique to that person (memory or no memory). for these hindus even after complete liberation a person remains an individual, not losing their unique perspective/personality (even while their personality becomes very holy). these hindus do believe God exists in a form within the soul (a form which doesnt "mix" with the rest of the soul and can't be experienced in yoga like the soul is), called the Antaryami, the inner controller. this form of God is how God dwells within and controls the being and experiences everything they do. it overlaps with the universal hindu belief in the Supersoul, the Paramatman. the Paramatman is God as the Supreme Self/Soul. while the individual self of the living being is called the jivatman, and experiences the fruits of his actions (karma phala) which leads to pleasure and pain, the supersoul is a silent witness who doesnt partake in good deeds or bad deeds. of course while the soul is in bondage, he must partake in the fruits of his actions, but once he knows God, he is free from this fetter, knowing himself to be a non-doer, only the material nature is a doer.

heck, in some (cringey and wrong) streams of hinduism there are even different "types" of souls with different natures and eternal fates. some souls reincarnate forever, while higher souls find liberation in the kingdom of heaven, and the lowest souls are perpetually evil and dwell in hell eternally. the question here is why God would create souls with an evil nature only to damn them perpetually, but as I said, madhva is cringe and wrong.

in monist-lite hinduism the jivatman is at very least somewhat different (a part/emanation) from the supersoul which is God and totally self-less (although God has a Personality). this is like a different way of looking at the form of God which dwells as the inner controller within all beings. in my understanding the Paramatman is more transcendent and is emphasized to be a non-agent/witness while the Antaryami dwells within each soul as its controller. but in monist hinduism, the jivatman realizes he is literally the Paramatman in full, and his suffering thus ends. now I'll address some theory.

basic hindu theory states that we arent just an individual soul (regardless of ones conception of the soul as God or not), we have three bodies (and five "sheaths" but im not addressing that here, I dont understand it well) that bind us to samsara and make us unique beings from one another (if one is a monist who believes the soul is not unique). the description of the three bodies is not universal across hinduism, so ill mostly say what my understanding is. each body I'll address is more subtle and inherent than the next, and each body relies on the succeeding ones.

the gross physical body is determined by ones karma (there are other things that determine it obviously, like classically its believed ones resolve/mental state at the time of death determines ones future body, and obviously divine grace is a factor imo) and changes completely with each life and includes the physical sense organs and physical organs of action. the physical body is the physical instrument of the soul. it is engaged in the state of waking. it ages and perishes upon death.

the subtle body contains the subtle powers of the sense organs and organs of action, the life force (five pranas that facilitate bodily functions), the mind (which parses sense information and performs quick mental tasks, like wondering and feeling), the intellect (which performs long mental tasks, it deliberates and discriminates), the (mental) memory (mentally storing sense and mind impressions), and the ego (which creates the sense of i-ness and my-ness). the subtle body is the mental and energetic instrument of the soul. it changes from life to life for similar reasons, but its essential characteristics are carried from one body to the next. the subtle body is only experienced within the state of dreaming for most people, but yogis can experience their subtle body in meditation ("astral projection") and in the waking state they can use its qualities to achieve powers like levitation.

finally, the casual body. the casual body is the innermost housing of the soul, and the most subtle of bodies. it is the longest-lived body, existing even after the universe is dissolved (in this state a being experiences something like deep dreamless sleep, which is the state of consciousness the causal body reigns in). it is the source of the other two bodies and it binds us to samsara. here is where karma theory comes in. the casual body is the storehouse of the samskaras, which are impressions from past experiences (including thoughts and actions), including deep impressions from past lives that the memory has forgotten. even if you dont remember doing something, your casual body remembers. the samskaras become vasanas (subconscious mental inclinations) which can be non-binding or binding, producing urges to act. this is part of how karma is cyclical and positively reinforcing. ones past thoughts, actions and experiences becomes ones personality (again, in my belief grace/providence also plays a role) as well as their future body. so even though a person has different mental memories in their subtle body, they are still overwhelmingly influenced by samskaras ("soul memories") in the causal. and as long as there are dormant samskaras/karma waiting to fructify (if you want I can tell you why yogis dont immediately die upon being liberated, its because not all forms of karma cease, like a potters wheel that keeps spinning even when you turn it off), a new subtle and often a new physical body will be obtained. the greatest way to fight the karmic cycle is yoga, of course!

to digress a bit, according to vedanta, the body is the chariot, the soul is the rider, the intellect the charioteer, the mind the reins, the senses the horses, and perceivable things the various paths.

anyway, I believe karma and transmigration is so beautiful for many reasons, but mostly because it is an instrument of Gods perfect justice while also disguising this justice (at least in more ignorant abodes). it facilitates lila (divine play/pasttime).

@georgia interesting, so the hindu worldview has something more detailed than a simple division between body and soul, and past memories only influence certain parts in ways that aren't immediately obvious to us?

@genmaicha the accumulation of karma from past actions is stored in the casual body like the samskaras. like samskaras it lies dormant until the correct conditions arise for it to bear fruit. the part of the heap of past karma that is ripe is experienced in this lifetime. the part of this form of karma that is already "set in stone" (upon rebirth iirc) doesnt end for the yogi. however, currently being created karma to be experienced later ceases. for non-yogis, currently being created karma may join ripe karma for this lifetime or join the karma experienced in future lifetimes yet to bear fruit.

one way to transcend the play of karma is through desireless (selfless) action. by doing all things for God, one subverts the vicious cycle and aligns himself with the divine will. another, more difficult way is through renunciation of action, aka becoming a sannyasin.

@genmaicha if I understand you correctly then yes. of course, according to some classical schools of hinduism only the laws of material nature influence ones life and mind and body. but I myself believe in true Providence and free will as well, even though the laws of material nature are governed by Providence.