A significant aspect of Hindu philosophy is the belief in rebirth in which an individual or jiva (soul) travels into innumerable births, assuming numerous bodies, according to the status of the consciousness, finally culminating into moksha, a state which represents freedom from all desires, and therefore freedom from rebirth. Various prescriptions have been given for this purpose by the Gita (and other religious scriptures). To curb the desires of the senses is thus the virtue that a conscious self aspires to achieve. 

Buddha denies the existence of a soul which transmigrates upon death. Buddha believes in rebirth, but rebirth according to him is the causation of the next life by the present. As from one flame another may be lighted and though the two are different, they may be connected causally. Similarly, the end state of life may cause the beginning of the next. For a believer in this idea, the mind is a series of mental acts made up of feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness. These mental acts are called chitta in Pali. Each chitta arises, breaks up, and passes away. But as soon as the chitta breaks up, immediately there arises another chitta. When each chitta falls away, it transmits to its successor its perceptions, emotions, and volitional force. Thus all experiences we undergo leave their imprint on the outward flow of consciousness. On thechittasantana, the continuum of mind, this transmission of influence gives us our continued identity. 

Each of these beliefs articulated by human beings themselves, point towards their incessant striving to understand the nature of death and afterlife and to determine the yardstick for 'good' actions in their living state. They are assisted in this pursuit by their 'cultural self' that enables them to adopt or reject a particular explanation. If death is as real as life, why not embrace it with an enhanced consciousness.