The soul, according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is the self-aware essence unique to a particular living being. A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Self-awareness is the concept that one exists as an individual separate from other people with private Thoughts. In Philosophy, essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is and which it has by necessity Disambiguation For the Wigwam album see Being (album, for spiritual or religious beingness, see Ego (spirituality In these traditions the soul is thought to incorporate the inner essence of each living being, and to be the true basis for sapience, rather than the brain or any other material or natural part of the biological organism. Life is a state that distinguishes Organisms from non-living objects such as non-life and dead organisms being manifested by growth through Metabolism Sapience is often defined as Wisdom, or the ability of an organism or entity to act with appropriate judgment. The brain is the center of the Nervous system in animals All Vertebrates and the majority of Invertebrates have a brain Physicalism is a philosophical position holding that everything which exists is no more extensive than its Physical properties; that is that there are no kinds of things other Philosophical naturalism has been described in various ways In its broadest and strongest sense naturalism is the metaphysical position that "nature is all there is Some religions and philosophies on the other hand believe in the soul having a material component, and some have even tried to establish the weight of the soul. Dr Duncan MacDougall (c 1866 &ndash 15 October 1920) was an early 20th century physician in Haverhill Massachusetts who sought to measure the mass Souls are usually considered to be immortal and to exist prior to incarnation. Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of living in physical or spiritual form for an Infinite length of Time. Incarnation which literally means embodied in flesh, refers to the conception and birth of a sentient creature (generally a human who is the

The concept of the soul has strong links with notions of an afterlife, but opinions may vary wildly, even within a given religion, as to what may happen to the soul after the death of the body. AfterLife is a film drama set in Scotland directed by Alison Peebles made in 2003 about an ambitious Scottish journalist forced to choose between Death is the termination of the biological functions that define living Organisms It refers both to a specific It also shares as a Proto-Indo-European language root of spirit. The English word " spirit " comes from the Latin " spiritus " (breath

Contents 1 Etymology 2 Philosophical views 2.1 Socrates and Plato 2.2 Aristotle 2.3 Avicenna and Ibn al-Nafis 2.4 Thomas Aquinas 3 Religious views 3.1 Bahá'í beliefs 3.2 Buddhist beliefs 3.3 Christian beliefs 3.3.1 Various opinions 3.4 Hindu beliefs 3.5 Islamic beliefs 3.6 Jainism 3.7 Jewish beliefs 3.7.1 Extra soul states 3.8 Sikh Belief 3.9 Taoist View 3.10 Other religious beliefs and views 4 Science and the soul 4.1 Research on the concept of the soul 5 Popular Culture 6 See also 7 Footnotes 8 Additional references 9 Further reading 10 External links

Etymology

Modern English soul continues Old English sáwol, sáwel, first attested in the 8th century (in Beowulf v. Beowulf is an Old English Heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between 2820 and in the Vespasian Psalter 77. The Vespasian Psalter (London British Library Cotton Vespasian A I is an illuminated Psalter produced in the second quarter of the 8th Century. 50), cognate to other Germanic terms for the same concept, including Gothic saiwala, Old High German sêula, sêla, Old Saxon sêola, Old Low Franconian sêla, sîla, Old Norse sála. Gothic is an extinct Germanic language that was spoken by the Goths. Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German ( ISO 639 -3 code osx) is the earliest recorded form of Low German, documented from the 9th century Old Norse is the North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age The further etymology of the Germanic word is uncertain. A common suggestion is a connection with the word sea, and from this evidence alone, it has been speculated that the early Germanic peoples believed that the spirits of deceased rested at the bottom of the sea or similar. A more recent suggestion^[1] connects it with a root for "binding", Germanic *sailian (OE sēlian, OHG seilen), related to the notion of being "bound" in death, and the practice of ritually binding or restraining the corpse of the deceased in the grave to prevent his or her return as a ghost.

The word is in any case clearly an adaptation by early missionaries to the Germanic peoples, in particular Ulfila, apostle to the Goths (4th century) of a native Germanic concept, coined as a translation of Greek ψυχή psychē "life, spirit, consciousness". Wulfila is also a spider genus ( Anyphaenidae) Wulfila (meaning "little wolf" (ca The Goths ( Gothic: Gothic usvg|14px|u]]Gothic asvg|14px|a]]Gothic s Koine Greek (Κοινὴ Ἑλληνική, "common Greek" or, ciˈni ðiˈale̞kto̞s "the common dialect" is the popular form of Greek which emerged in In Psychoanalysis, the psyche (ˈsaɪki refers to the forces in an individual that influence thought, Behavior and Personality.

The Greek word is derived from a verb "to cool, to blow" and hence refers to the vital breath, the animating principle in man and animals, as opposed to σῶμα "body". It could refer to a ghost or spirit of the dead in Homer, and to a more philosophical notion of an immortal and immaterial essence left over at death since Pindar. Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the Pindar (ˈpɪndɚ (or Pindarus, Greek:) (probably born 522 BC in Cynoscephalae a village in Boeotia; died 443 BC in Argos) was an Ancient Latin anima figured as a translation of ψυχή since Terence. Publius Terentius Afer (195/185&ndash159 BC better known as Terence, was a Playwright of the Roman Republic. It occurs juxtaposed to σῶμα e. g. in Matthew 10:28:

— καὶ μὴ φοβηθεῖσθε ἀπὸ τῶν ἀποκτεννόντων τὸ σῶμα, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν μὴ δυναμένων ἀποκτεῖναι· φοβεῖσθε δὲ μᾶλλον τὸν δυνάμενον καὶ ψυχὴν καὶ σῶμα ἀπολέσαι ἐν γεέννῃ.

Vulgate: et nolite timere eos qui occidunt corpus animam autem non possunt occidere sed potius eum timete qui potest et animam et corpus perdere in gehennam. The Vulgate is an early Fifth Century version of the Bible in Latin, and largely the result of the labours of Jerome, who was commissioned by

KJV "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. "

In the Septuagint, ψυχή translates Hebrew נפש nephesh, meaning "life, vital breath", in English variously translated as "soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion"; e. The Septuagint (ˈsɛptuədʒɪnt or simply " LXX " is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the Biblical Hebrew, also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language in which the Hebrew Bible and various Israelite inscriptions Nephesh (נפש is the Hebrew word commonly translated as Soul in English g. in Genesis 1:20:

— וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים יִשְׁרְצ֣וּ הַמַּ֔יִם שֶׁ֖רֶץ נֶ֣פֶשׁ חַיָּ֑ה

LXX καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεός ἐξαγαγέτω τὰ ὕδατα ἑρπετὰ ψυχῶν ζωσῶν. The Septuagint (ˈsɛptuədʒɪnt or simply " LXX " is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the

Vulgate Creavitque Deus cete grandia, et omnem animam viventem atque motabilem. The Vulgate is an early Fifth Century version of the Bible in Latin, and largely the result of the labours of Jerome, who was commissioned by

KJV "And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth. "

Paul of Tarsus used ψυχή and πνεῦμα specifically to distinguish between the Jewish notions of נפש nephesh and רוח ruah (also in LXX, e. Paul the apostle (שאול התרסי Šaʾul HaTarsi, meaning " Saul of Tarsus " Σαούλ Saul and Σαῦλος Saulos and Pneumatology is the study of spiritual beings and phenomena especially the interactions between humans and God. The English word " spirit " comes from the Latin " spiritus " (breath g. Genesis 1:2 וְר֣וּחַאֱלֹהִ֔ים = πνεῦμα θεοῦ = spiritus Dei = "the Spirit of God"). Elohim ( אֱלוֹהִים, אלהים) is a Hebrew word which expresses concepts of Divinity.

Philosophical views

The Ancient Greeks used the same word for 'alive' as for 'ensouled'. So the earliest surviving western philosophical view might suggest that the terms soul and aliveness, were synonymous - perhaps not that having life, universally presupposed the possession of a soul as in Buddhism, but that full "aliveness" and the soul were conceptually linked. Western philosophy is a term that refers to philosophical thinking in the Western or Occidental world, as distinct from Eastern or Oriental philosophies

Francis M. Cornford quotes Pindar in saying that the soul sleeps while the limbs are active, but when man is sleeping, the soul is active and reveals in many a dream "an award of joy or sorrow drawing near". Francis Macdonald Cornford ( 27 February 1874 &ndash 3 January 1943) was an English classical scholar and Poet Pindar (ˈpɪndɚ (or Pindarus, Greek:) (probably born 522 BC in Cynoscephalae a village in Boeotia; died 443 BC in Argos) was an Ancient ^[2]

Erwin Rohde writes that the early pre-Pythagorean belief was that the soul had no life when it departed from the body, and retired into Hades with no hope of returning to a body. Erwin Rohde ( October 9, 1845 &ndash January 11, 1898) was one of the great German classical scholars of the 19th and early 20th centuries Pythagoreanism is a term used for the Esoteric and metaphysical beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers the Pythagoreans who were much influenced ^[3]

Socrates and Plato

Plato, drawing on the words of his teacher Socrates, considered the soul as the essence of a person, being, that which decides how we behave. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece SOCRATES is the European Community action programme in the field of Education. In Philosophy, essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is and which it has by necessity He considered this essence as an incorporeal, eternal occupant of our being. As bodies die the soul is continually reborn in subsequent bodies. The Platonic soul comprises three parts:

1. the logos (mind, nous, or reason)
2. the thymos (emotion, or spiritedness)
3. the eros (appetitive, or desire)

Each of these has a function in a balanced and peaceful soul. grc-Latn Logos (ˈloʊːgɒs ( Greek, logos) is an important term in Philosophy, Analytical psychology, Rhetoric and Religion MIND ( Moving In New Directions) (est 1975 is an alternative education high school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Nous (ˈnuːs Greek: or) is a philosophical term for Mind or Intellect. Reason involves the ability to think understand and draw Conclusions in an Abstract way as in Human thinking Thumos (also commonly spelled "thymos" (Greek θυμος) is an Ancient Greek word expressing the concept of " Spiritedness " An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings thoughts and behaviours Motivation is the reason or reasons for engaging in a particular behavior especially Human behavior as studied in Philosophy, Conflict, Economics

The logos equates to the mind. It corresponds to the charioteer, directing the balanced horses of appetite and spirit. It allows for logic to prevail, and for the optimisation of balance. Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and Inference.

The thymos comprises our emotional motive, that which drives us to acts of bravery and glory. If left unchecked, it leads to hubris -- the most fatal of all flaws in the Greek view. Hubris, sometimes spelled hybris ( Ancient Greek ὕβρις is a term used in modern English to indicate overweening Pride, self-confidence

The eros equates to the appetite that drives humankind to seek out its basic bodily needs. When the passion controls us, it drives us to hedonism in all forms. Hedonism is the Philosophy that Pleasure is of ultimate importance, the most important pursuit In the Ancient Greek view, this is the basal and most feral state.

Aristotle

Aristotle, following Plato, defined the soul as the core essence of a being, but argued against its having a separate existence. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. For instance, if a knife had a soul, the act of cutting would be that soul, because 'cutting' is the essence of what it is to be a knife. Unlike Plato and the religious traditions, Aristotle did not consider the soul as some kind of separate, ghostly occupant of the body (just as we cannot separate the activity of cutting from the knife). As the soul, in Aristotle's view, is an actuality of a living body, it cannot be immortal (when a knife is destroyed, the cutting stops). More precisely, the soul is the "first actuality" of a naturally organized body. This is a state, or a potential for actual, or 'second', activity. "The axe has an edge for cutting" was, for Aristotle, analogous to "humans have bodies for rational activity," and the potential for rational activity thus constituted the essence of a human soul. Aristotle used his concept of the soul in many of his works; the De Anima (On the Soul) provides a good place to start to gain more understanding of his views. On the Soul ( Greek ( Perì Psūchês) Latin De Anima) is a major treatise by Aristotle on the nature of living things

There is on-going debate about Aristotle's views regarding the immortality of the human soul; however, Aristotle makes it clear towards the end of his De Anima that he does believe that the intellect, which he considers to be a part of the soul, is eternal and separable from the body.

Aristotle also believed that there were four parts (understood as powers) of the soul. The four sections are the calculative part and the scientific part on the rational side; these are used for making decisions. The desiderative part and the vegetative part on the irrational side, responsible for identifying our needs.

Avicenna and Ibn al-Nafis

Following Aristotle, the Muslim philosopher-physicians, Avicenna and Ibn al-Nafis, further elaborated on the Aristotelian understanding of the soul and developed their own theories on the soul. Early Islamic philosophy or classical Islamic philosophy is a period of intense philosophical development beginning in the 2nd century AH of the Islamic calendar TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> ( Persian /ابو علی الحسین ابن عبدالله ابن سینا (born TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> Ala al-Din Abu al-Hassan Ali ibn Abi-Hazm al-Qarshi al-Dimashqi ( Aristotelianism is a tradition of Philosophy that takes its defining inspiration from the work of Aristotle. They both made a distinction between the soul and the spirit, and in particular, the Avicennian doctrine on the nature of the soul was influential among the Scholastics. The English word " spirit " comes from the Latin " spiritus " (breath TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> ( Persian /ابو علی الحسین ابن عبدالله ابن سینا (born Scholasticism was the dominant form of theology and philosophy in the Latin West in the Middle Ages, particularly in the 12th 13th and 14th centuries Some of Avicenna's views on the soul included the idea that the immortality of the soul is a consequence of its nature, and not a purpose for it to fulfill. Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of living in physical or spiritual form for an Infinite length of Time. In his theory of "The Ten Intellects", he viewed the human soul as the tenth and final intellect. Intelligence (also called intellect) is an Umbrella term used to describe a property of the Mind that encompasses many related abilities such as the capacities

While he was imprisoned, Avicenna wrote his famous "Floating Man" thought experiment to demonstrate human self-awareness and the substantiality of the soul. TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> ( Persian /ابو علی الحسین ابن عبدالله ابن سینا (born A thought experiment (from the German Gedankenexperiment) is a proposal for an Experiment that would test a Hypothesis or Theory Self-awareness is the concept that one exists as an individual separate from other people with private Thoughts. He told his readers to imagine themselves suspended in the air, isolated from all sensations, which includes no sensory contact with even their own bodies. In Psychology, sensation is the first stage in the biochemical and neurologic events that begins with the impinging of a stimulus upon the receptor cells of a Senses are the physiological methods of Perception. The senses and their operation classification and theory are overlapping topics studied by a variety of fields He argues that, in this scenario, one would still have self-consciousness. Self-consciousness is an acute sense of self-awareness It is a preoccupation with oneself as opposed to the philosophical state of Self-awareness, which is the awareness He thus concludes that the idea of the self is not logically dependent on any physical thing, and that the soul should not be seen in relative terms, but as a primary given, a substance. Self is broadly defined as the essential qualities that make a person distinct from all others For other uses of Object see Object. In Philosophy, an object is a thing an Entity, or a Being. A relative term, also called a rhema or a rheme, is a logical term that requires reference to any number of other objects called the Correlates ' of Given may refer to the goalkeeper Shay Given or to Given West Virginia, a community in the United States. Substance theory, or substance attribute theory, is an ontological theory about objecthood, positing that a substance is distinct from its This argument was later refined and simplified by René Descartes in epistemic terms when he stated: "I can abstract from the supposition of all external things, but not from the supposition of my own consciousness. Epistemology (from Greek επιστήμη - episteme, "knowledge" + λόγος, " Logos " or theory of knowledge "^[4]

Avicenna generally supported Aristotle's idea of the soul originating from the heart, whereas Ibn al-Nafis on the other hand rejected this idea and instead argued that the soul "is related to the entirety and not to one or a few organs. The heart is a muscular organ in all Vertebrates responsible for pumping Blood through the Blood vessels by repeated rhythmic TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> Ala al-Din Abu al-Hassan Ali ibn Abi-Hazm al-Qarshi al-Dimashqi ( In Biology, an organ ( Latin: organum, "instrument tool" from Greek όργανον - organon "organ instrument " He further criticized Aristotle's idea that every unique soul requires the existence of a unique source, in this case the heart. Ibn al-Nafis concluded that "the soul is related primarily neither to the spirit nor to any organ, but rather to the entire matter whose temperament is prepared to receive that soul" and he defined the soul as nothing other than "what a human indicates by saying ‘I’. I (aɪ is the first-person, singular Personal pronoun ( subject case) in Modern English. "^[5]

Thomas Aquinas

Following Aristotle and Avicenna, St. Thomas Aquinas understands the soul as the first principle, or act, of the body. However, his epistemological theory required that, since the intellectual soul is capable of knowing all material things, and since in order to know a material thing there must be no material thing within it, the soul was definitely not corporeal. Epistemology (from Greek επιστήμη - episteme, "knowledge" + λόγος, " Logos " or theory of knowledge Therefore, the soul had an operation separate from the body and therefore could subsist without the body. Furthermore, since the rational soul of human beings was subsistent and was not made up of matter and form, it could not be destroyed in any natural process. The full argument for the immortality of the soul and Thomas's elaboration of Aristotelian theory is found in Question 75 of the Summa Theologica. The Summa Theologica (or the Summa Theologiae or simply the Summa, written 1265 &ndash 1274) is the most famous

Religious views

Bahá'í beliefs

The Bahá'í Faith affirm that "the soul is a sign of God, a heavenly gem whose reality the most learned of men hath failed to grasp, and whose mystery no mind, however acute, can ever hope to unravel. The Bahá'í Faith is a Religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in nineteenth-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind "^[6] Concerning the soul or spirit of human beings and its relationship to the physical body, Bahá'u'lláh explained: "Know thou that the soul of man is exalted above, and is independent of all infirmities of body or mind. Bahá'u'lláh ( ba-haa-ol-laa "Glory of God" ( November 12, 1817 – May 29, 1892) born Mírzá Ḥusayn-`Alí Nuri That a sick person showeth signs of weakness is due to the hindrances that interpose themselves between his soul and his body, for the soul itself remaineth unaffected by any bodily ailments. . . . When it leaveth the body, however, it will evince such ascendancy, and reveal such influence as no force on earth can equal . . . consider the sun which hath been obscured by the clouds. Observe how its splendor appeareth to have diminished, when in reality the source of that light hath remained unchanged. The soul of man should be likened unto this sun, and all things on earth should be regarded as his body. So long as no external impediment interveneth between them, the body will, in its entirety, continue to reflect the light of the soul, and to be sustained by its power. As soon as, however, a veil interposeth itself between them, the brightness of the light seemeth to lessen. . . . The soul of man is the sun by which his body is illumined, and from which it draweth its sustenance, and should be so regarded. "^[7]

The soul not only continues to live after the physical death of the human body, but is, in fact, immortal. Bahá'u'lláh wrote: "Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its separation from the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth the presence of God, in a state and condition which neither the revolution of ages and centuries, nor the changes and chances of this world, can alter. It will endure as long as the Kingdom of God, His sovereignty, His dominion and power will endure. "^[8]

Heaven can be seen partly as the soul's state of nearness to God; and hell as a state of remoteness from God. Heaven may refer to the physical heavens the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the Universe beyond Each state follows as a natural consequence of individual efforts, or the lack thereof, to develop spiritually. ^[9]

Bahá'u'lláh taught that individuals have no existence previous to their life here on earth. The soul's evolution is always towards God and away from the material world. A human being spends nine months in the womb in preparation for entry into this physical life. During that nine-month period, the fetus acquires the physical tools (e. g. , eyes, limbs, and so forth) necessary for existence in this world. Similarly, this physical world is like a womb for entry into the spiritual world. ^[9] Our time here is thus a period of preparation during which we are to acquire the spiritual and intellectual tools necessary for life in the next world. The crucial difference is that, whereas physical development in the mother's womb is involuntary, spiritual and intellectual development in this world depends strictly on conscious individual effort. ^[9]

Buddhist beliefs

Buddha taught that there is no permanent self in the conventional sense (anatta), what most people call self is a delusion or wrong view, not seeing things as they really are, (principally; lacking experiential insight of the five aggregates of clinging).

Buddhism teaches that all things are impermanent, in a constant state of flux; all is transient, and no abiding state exists by itself. Impermanence ( Sanskrit: अनित्य anitya; Pāli: अनिच्चा anicca; Tibetan: མི་​རྟག་​པ་ This applies to humanity, as much as to anything else in the cosmos; thus, there is no unchanging and abiding self. Our sense of "I" or "me" is simply a sense, belonging to the ever-changing entity, that (conventionally speaking) is us, our body, and mind. This expresses in essence the Buddhist principle of anatta (Pāli; Sanskrit: anātman).

Buddhist teaching holds that the delusion of a permanent, abiding self is one of the main root causes for human conflict on the emotional, social and political levels. They add that understanding of anatta (or "not-self or no soul") provides an accurate description of the human condition, and that this understanding allows "us" to go beyond "our" mundane desires. Buddhists can speak in conventional terms of the "self" as a matter of convenience, but only under the conviction that ultimately "we" are changing "entities". In death, the body and mind disintegrate; if the disintegrating mind is still in the grip of delusion, it will cause the continuity of the consciousness to bounce back an arising mind to an awaiting being, that is, a fetus developing the ability to harbor consciousness. Higher consciousness, also called super consciousness ( Yoga) objective consciousness ( Gurdjieff) Buddhic consciousness ( Thus, in some Buddhist sects, a being that is born is neither entirely different, nor exactly the same, as it was prior to rebirth. Rebirth in Buddhism is the doctrine that the consciousness of a person (as conventionally regarded upon the death or dissolution of the aggregates ( Skandhas

However, Shirō Matsumoto noted a curious development in Mahayana Buddhist philosophy, stemming from the Cittamatra and Vijnanavada schools in India: although this school of thought denies the permanent personal selfhood, it affirms concepts such as Buddha-nature, Tathagatagarbha, Rigpa, or "original nature". Mahayana ( Sanskrit: mahāyāna, Devanagari: महायान 'Great Vehicle' is one of the two main existing schools of Buddhism and a term for In Buddhism, consciousness-only or mind-only ( Sanskrit: vijñapti-mātratā, vijñapti-mātra, citta-mātra; Chinese In Buddhism, consciousness-only or mind-only ( Sanskrit: vijñapti-mātratā, vijñapti-mātra, citta-mātra; Chinese India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Luminous mind in the Nikayas There is a clear reference in the Anguttara Nikaya to a " Luminous mind " present within all people be they corrupt or pure whether In Mahayana and Tantric Buddhism, the Tathāgatagarbha (如來藏 doctrine (often essentially the same as the Buddha nature concept teaches Rigpa (Tibetan Sanskrit Vidya) is the primordial nondual awareness advocated by the Dzogchen and Mahamudra teachings Matsumoto argues that these concepts constitute a non- or trans-personal self, and almost equate in meaning to the Hindu concept of Atman, although they differ in that Buddha-nature does not incarnate. The Ātman ( IAST: Ātman Sanskrit: आत्मन्‍ is a philosophical term used within Hinduism and Vedanta to identify the Soul

In some Mahayana Buddhist schools, particularly Tibetan Buddhism, the view is that there are 3 minds: Very-Subtle-Mind, which isn't disintegrated in incarnation-death; Subtle-Mind, which is disintegrated in death, and is "dreaming-mind" or "unconscious-mind"; and Gross-Mind. Gross-Mind doesn't exist when one is sleeping, so it is more impermanent even than Subtle-Mind, which doesn't exist in death. Very-Subtle-Mind, however, does continue, and when it "catches on" or coincides with phenomena again, a new Subtle-Mind emerges, with its own personality/assumptions/habits and that someone/entity experiences the karma on that continuum that is ripening then.

One should note the polarity in Tibetan Buddhism between shes-pa (the principle of consciousness) and rig-pa (pure consciousness equal to Buddha-nature). Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including The concept of a person as a tulku provides even more controversy. A tulku ( also tülku, trulku) is a Tibetan Buddhist Lama who has through Phowa and Siddhi, consciously A tulku has, due to heroic austerities and esoteric training (or due to innate talent combined with great subtle-mind commitment in the moment of death), achieved the goal of transferring personal "identity" (or nature/commitment) from one rebirth to the next (for instance, Tibetans consider the Dalai Lama a tulku). The Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people according to Tibetan Buddhism. The mechanics behind this work as follows: although Buddha-nature does not incarnate, the individual self comprises skandhas, or components, that undergo rebirth. In Buddhist phenomenology and Soteriology, the five skandhas ( Sanskrit) or khandhas ( Pāli) are five "aggregates" For an ordinary person, skandhas cohere in a way that dissolves upon the person's death. So, elements of the transformed personality re-incarnate, but they lose the unity that constitutes personal selfhood for a specific person. In the case of tulkus, however, they supposedly achieve sufficient "crystallization" of skandhas in such a manner that the skandhas do not entirely "disentangle" upon the tulku's death; rather, a directed reincarnation occurs. In this new birth, the tulku possesses a continuity of personal identity/commitment, rooted in the fact that the consciousness or shes-pa (which equates to a type of skandha called vijnana) has not dissolved after death, but has sufficient durability to survive in repeated births. Since, however, subtle-mind emerges in incarnation, and gross-mind emerges in periods of sufficient awareness within some incarnations, there isn't really any contradiction: very-subtle-mind's original nature, that is irreducible mind / clarity whose function is knowing, doesn't have any "body", and the coarser minds that emerge "on" it while it drifts/wanders/dreams aren't continuous. Any continuity of awareness achieved by tulku is simply a greater continuity than is achieved by/in a normal incarnation, as it continues across several, is only a difference of degree.

Many modern Buddhists, particularly in Western countries, reject the concept of rebirth or reincarnation as incompatible with the concept of anatta, and typically take an agnostic stance toward the concept. The term Western world, the West or the Occident ( Latin: occidens -sunset -west as distinct from the Orient) can have multiple meanings Stephen Batchelor discusses this issue in his book Buddhism Without Beliefs. Stephen Batchelor (c 1953 is a self-described Agnostic born in Scotland, and is the author of many books relating to Buddhism. However, the question arises: if a self does not exist, who thinks/lives now? Some Buddhist sects hold the view that thought itself thinks: if you remove the thought, there's no thinker (self) to be found. A detailed introduction to this, and to other basic Buddhist teachings, appears in What the Buddha taught by the Buddhist monk Walpola Rahula. The venerable Prof Walpola Sri Rahula Maha Thera (1907-1997 was a Buddhist monk Scholar and Writer.

Others see the Buddha's warning that those who believe that a permanent self does not exist are just as gravely mistaken as those who believe that one does, and understand that He taught that both views were erroneous and could not capture the actual truth of the matter, speculations along those lines would only cause suffering rather than its removal. (See: neti neti). In Hinduism, and in particular Jnana Yoga and Advaita Vedanta, neti neti is a chant or Mantra, meaning "not this not this" or

Some say that the self endures after death, some say it perishes. In the Theravada Buddhist view, both are wrong and their error is most grievous. Theravadins believe that if one says the self is perishable, the fruit they strive for will perish too, and at some time there will be no hereafter. Good and evil would be indifferent. This salvation from selfishness is without merit. Theravada Buddhism's stance on many beliefs of soul after Death are explained in the Brahmajala Sutta. The Brahmajala Sutta is the first of 34 Suttas in the Digha Nikaya (the Long Discourses of the Buddha

Christian beliefs

King Solomon wrote: “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7). God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. An angel is a Spiritual Supernatural being found in many Religions Although the nature of angels and the tasks given to them vary from tradition to tradition King Solomon ( Ge'ez: ስለሞን Arabic: ar سليمان, Sulayman, all from the Triliteral root S-L-M, "peace" Ecclesiastes (often abbreviated Ecc) (קֹהֶלֶת Kohelet, variously transliterated as Qoheleth, Göhalath, Koheles, Koheleth References to the soul's origin include Genesis 2:7 ("And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. ") and 1 Corinthians 15:45 ("And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit. The First Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. ")

Most Christians believe that when people die their souls will be judged by God, who sees all the wrong and right that they have done during their lives. If they have repented of their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, they will inherit eternal life in Heaven and enjoy eternal fellowship with God. Sin is a term used mainly in a religious context to describe an act that violates a moral Rule, or the state of having committed such a violation Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Christians believe that if one has not repented of his sins and not accepted Jesus Christ, he will go to Hell, and suffer eternally as they are separated of God. Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering This is the teaching of most evangelical, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, which constitute the majority of Christianity, though there are some that believe the soul will be destroyed in hell, instead of suffering eternally. Evangelicalism is a theological movement tradition and system of beliefs most closely associated with Protestant Christianity, which identifies with the Gospel Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Annihilationism is the minority Christian Doctrine that Sinners are destroyed rather than tormented Forever in "hell" or There are many Christians who also recognize the righteous as those who will equally inherit eternal life in Heaven and enjoy eternal fellowship with God. These include babies and righteous deaf and blind (who had no opportunity to hear the gospel) as well as all the righteous saints who lived before Jesus came and since but have yet to hear.

Various opinions

Some Christians regard the soul as the immortal essence of a human - the seat or locus of human will, understanding, and personality - and that after death, God either rewards or punishes the soul. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Different groups dispute whether this reward/punishment depends upon doing good deeds, or merely upon believing in God and in Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE)

Other Christians reject the idea of the immortality of the soul, citing the Apostles Creed's reference to the "resurrection of the body" (the Greek word for body is soma σωμα, which implies the whole person, not sarx σαρξ, the term for flesh or corpse). Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings They consider the soul to be the life force, which ends in death and is restored in the resurrection. Theologian Frederick Buechner sums up this position in his 1973 book Whistling in the Dark: ". Frederick Buechner (born July 11, 1926) full name Carl Frederick Buechner is a Presbyterian PCUSA minister and an American author . . we go to our graves as dead as a doornail and are given our lives back again by God (i. e. , resurrected) just as we were given them by God in the first place. "

Augustine, one of the most influential early Christian thinkers, described the soul as "a special substance, endowed with reason, adapted to rule the body". Some Christians espouse a trichotomic view of man, which characterizes humans as consisting of a body (soma) , soul (psyche), and spirit (pneuma),[2] however the majority of modern Bible scholars point out how spirit and soul are used interchangeably in many biblical passages, and so hold to dichotomy: the view that man is body and soul. Paul said that the "body wars against" the soul, and that "I buffet my body", to keep it under control. Philosopher Anthony Quinton said the soul is a "series of mental states connected by continuity of character and memory, [and] is the essential constituent of personality. Anthony Quinton Baron Quinton (born 1925 is a British political and moral Philosopher, metaphysician, and materialist The soul, therefore, is not only logically distinct from any particular human body with which it is associated; it is also what a person is". Richard Swinburne, a Christian philosopher of religion at Oxford University, wrote that "it is a frequent criticism of substance dualism that dualists cannot say what souls are. Richard G Swinburne (born December 26, 1934) is an eminent British Professor and Philosopher primarily interested in the The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the . . . Souls are immaterial subjects of mental properties. They have sensations and thoughts, desires and beliefs, and perform intentional actions. Souls are essential parts of human beings. . . "

The origin of the soul has provided a sometimes vexing question in Christianity; the major theories put forward include creationism, traducianism and pre-existence. "Creationism" can also refer to Creation myths in general or to a concept about the origin of the soul. In Christian Theology, traducianism is a doctrine about the origin of the Soul (or synonymously " Spirit " in one of the biblical Pre-existence, beforelife, or pre-mortal existence refers to the belief that each individual human Soul existed before conception, and at conception According to creationism, each individual soul is created directly by God, either at the moment of conception, or some later time (identical twins arise several cell divisions after conception, but no one would deny that they have whole souls). According to traducianism, the soul comes from the parents by natural generation. According to the pre-existence theory the soul exists before the moment of conception.

Roman Catholic beliefs:

• The present Catechism of the Catholic Church defines the soul as "the innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him, that by which he is most especially in God's image: 'soul' signifies the spiritual principle in man. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, or CCC, is an official exposition of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and the twenty-two "^[10]
• At the moment of death, the soul goes either to Purgatory, Heaven, or Hell. See also Intermediate state Limbo|Heaven|Sheol|Hades in Christianity|Hell in Christianity Purgatory, in the original sense is the condition or process of purification Purgatory is a place of atonement for sins that one goes through to pay the temporal punishment for post-baptismal sins that have not been atoned for by sufferings during one's earthly life. This is distinct from the atonement for the eternal punishment due to sin which was affected by Christ's suffering and death.
• The Catholic Church teaches the creationist view of the origin of the soul: "The doctrine of the faith affirms that the spiritual and immortal soul is created immediately by God. "^[11]

See also Limbo

Other Christian beliefs:

• Eastern Orthodox views are somewhat similar in essence to Catholic views, but different in specifics, specifically about what happens after death: after death, the soul is judged individually by God, and then sent to either Abraham's Bosom (temporary paradise) or Hades (temporary torture). See also Intermediate state Purgatory|Heaven|Sheol|Hades in Christianity|Hell in Christianity In Roman Catholic theology Limbo (Latin limbus The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Particular judgment, according to Christian Eschatology, is the judgement given by God a departed Soul undergoes immediately after death in See also Intermediate state The phrase " Bosom of Abraham " refers to the place of comfort in Sheol (Greek hades Hades (from Greek, Hadēs, originally, Haidēs or, Aidēs, probably from Indo-European *n̥-wid- 'unseen' refers both to the ancient At the Last Judgment, God judges all people who have ever lived. In Christian eschatology, the Last Judgment or Day of the Lord is the judgment by God of every human who ever lived Those deemed good at that time go to Heaven (permanent paradise) or Hell (permanent torture).
• Protestants generally believe in the soul's existence but do not generally believe in Purgatory. Protestant views on other issues are more varied. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation.
• The soul sleep theory states that the soul goes to "sleep" at the time of death, and stays in this quiescent state until the Last Judgment. In Christian eschatology, the Last Judgment or Day of the Lord is the judgment by God of every human who ever lived
• The "absent from the body, present with the Lord" theory states that the soul at the point of death, immediately becomes present at the end of time, without experiencing any time passing between. There are some, however, who believe this theory to be invalid. This group would argue that the Apostle Paul was merely saying that he would rather be present with the Lord versus living in his earthly body.
• The Christadelphians believe that man is created out of the dust of the earth and became a living soul once he received the breath of life based on the Genesis 2 account of man's creation. Christadelphians (from the Greek for Brothers of Christ / Christ's Brethren: Christou Adelphoi; cf They believe that man is mortal and when man dies our breath leaves our body, our bodies return to the soil. They believe that man is mortal until the resurrection from the dead when Christ returns to this earth and grants immortality to the faithful. In the meantime, the dead lie in the earth in the sleep of death until Jesus comes. ^[12]
• Seventh-day Adventists believe that the main definition of the term "Soul" is a combination of spirit (breath of life) and body, disagreeing with the view that the soul has a consciousness or sentient existence of its own (see soul sleep). The Seventh-day Adventist (abbreviated " Adventist " Church is a Christian denomination which is distinguished mainly by its observance See also Intermediate state In Christian theology, soul sleep is a belief that the Soul sleeps unconsciously between the Death of the They affirm this through Genesis 2:7 "And (God) breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. "
• Latter-day Saints (Mormons) believe that the soul is the union of a spirit, which was previously created by God, and a body, which is formed by physical conception later. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fourth largest Christian denomination in the United States and the largest and most well-known
• Jehovah's Witnesses view the Hebrew word NePHeSH in its literal concrete meaning of ‘breath,’ making a person who is animated by the ‘spirit of God’ into a living Breather, rather than a body containing an invisible entity such as in the popularized concept of Soul. Jehovah's Witnesses is a restorationist, millenialist Christian denomination Spirit is seen to be anything powerful and invisible symbolized by the Hebrew word RUaCH which has the literal meaning of wind. Thus, Soul is used by them to mean a person rather than an invisible core entity associated with a spirit or a force which leaves the body at or after death. (Genesis 2:7; Ezekiel 18:4, KJV). According to religious texts Ezekiel ((יְחֶזְקֵאל Yehezkel, jəx When a person dies, his Soul "leaves" him [and returns to God] meaning that he has stopped breathing and his fate for any future existence rests solely with God, who they believe has the power to re-create (resurrect) the whole person and restore their existence. This is in line with their belief that Hell represents the grave and the possibility of eternal death for unbelievers rather than eternal torment. See Strong's Concordance under "soul", with the Biblical meaning that animals and people are souls, that souls are not immortal, but die; soul means the person; life as a person. . .

Hindu beliefs

Main articles: Atman (Hinduism) and Jiva

In Hinduism, the Sanskrit words most closely corresponding to soul are "Jiva/Atma", meaning the individual soul or personality, and "Atman", which can also mean soul. The Ātman ( IAST: Ātman Sanskrit: आत्मन्‍ is a philosophical term used within Hinduism and Vedanta to identify the Soul In Hinduism and Jainism, a jiva (जीव jīva alternate spelling jiwa) is a living being or more specifically the immortal essence of a living being Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical In Hinduism and Jainism, a jiva (जीव jīva alternate spelling jiwa) is a living being or more specifically the immortal essence of a living being Andrei Oliver Brasovean aka ATMA is an electronic music composer originally from the Transylvania region of Romania The Atman is seen as the portion of Brahman. Brahman ( bráhman-, Nominative bráhma sa ब्रह्म is a concept of Hinduism. GOD is described as Supreme soul. Hinduism contains many variant beliefs on the origin, purpose, and fate of the soul. For example, advaita or non-dualistic conception of the soul accords it union with Brahman, the absolute uncreated (roughly, the Godhead), in eventuality or in pre-existing fact. Advaita Vedanta ( IAST Advaita Vedānta; Sanskrit अद्वैत वेदान्त əd̪vait̪ə veːd̪ɑːnt̪ə is a sub-school of the Dvaita or dualistic concepts reject this, instead identifying the soul as part and parcel of Supreme soul (GOD), but it never lose its identity. Dvaita ( Kannada: ದ್ವೈತ Devanagari:द्बैत is a dualist school of Vedanta Hindu philosophy. Dualism denotes a state of two parts The word's origin is the Latin duo, "two". That is where we as an individual get an identity. According to scriptures, this identity exists eternally; the soul never dies. It only transmigrates from one body to other body.

The Bhagavad Gita, one of the most significant puranic scriptures, refers to the spiritual body or soul as Purusha (see also Sankhya philosophy). For other meanings see Purana (disambiguation. The Puranas ( Sanskrit: sa पुराण purāṇa, "of ancient times" In Hinduism, Purusha ( Sanskrit puruṣa पुरुष "man Cosmic Man " in Sutra literature also called puṃs Sankhya, also Samkhya, ( सांख्य, IAST: sānkhya - 'enumeration' is one of the six schools of classical Indian philosophy. The Purusha is part and parcel of God, is unchanging (is never born and never dies), is indestructible, and, though essentially indivisible. It is made up of three components:

(i) Sat (truth or existence)

(ii) Chit (consciousness or knowledge)

(iii) Ananda (bliss) It has form "Vigrha".

Presence of soul is perceived by its consciousness. According to Bhagavad Gita, all living entities are soul proper. When soul leaves the body, then it is called death. That means, DEATH is transmigration of soul from one body to another body [Bhagavad Gita]. Soul transmigrates from one body to another body based on their Karmic[performed deeds] reactions.

Islamic beliefs

Further information: Nafs

See also: Sufi psychology

According to few verses from Qur'an though the following information can be deduced: In part 15 verse 29, the creation of man involves Allah "breathing" a soul into him. Nafs is an Arabic word meaning self or psyche. It is first among the six Lataif (cleanliness or Lataif-e-sitta. There are three central concepts in Sufi Psychology which are the ego, the heart and the soul. Allah ( Arabic: الله, ʔalˤːɑːh) is the standard Arabic word for ' This intangible part of an individual's existence is "pure" at birth - according to mystical beliefs which a majorty opinion amongst Muslim - and has the potential of growing and achieving nearness to God if the person leads a righteous life(to be noted: this is a sufi perspective of the soul which is also held by a large majority of Sunni and Shia layman Muslims but which cannot be directly supported by the Quranic texts or Mutawatir Ahadith except with extremely free interpretations and influence of other religions and philosophies). At death, the person's soul transitions to an eternal afterlife of bliss, peace and unending spiritual growth until the day of judgement where both the body and soul are re-united for judgement at which point the person is either rewarded by going to heaven if he has followed God's commands or punished if he has disobeyed Him (Qur’an 66:8, 39:20).

From the Hadith we understand that Allah assigns an Angel to "breathe" soul into an embryo after 40 days of pregnancy.

Generally, it is believed that all living beings are comprised of two aspects during their existence: The physical (being the body) and the non-physical (being the soul). The non-physical aspect, namely the soul, is one's soul-related activities like his/her feelings and emotions, thoughts, conscious and sub-conscious desires and objectives. Consciousness has been defined loosely as a constellation of attributes of Mind such as Subjectivity, Self-awareness, Sentience, and the The term subconscious is defined as existing or operating in the Mind beneath or beyond Conscious Awareness. While the body and its physical actions serve as a “reflection” of one’s soul, whether it was good or evil, and thus "confirms" the extent of such intentions.

Jainism

Further information: Jain philosophy and Jainism and non-creationism

According to Jainism, Soul (Jiva) exists as a reality, having a separate existence from the body that houses it. Jain philosophy ( Sanskrit: Jain darsana; sa जैन दर्शन deals extensively with the problems of Metaphysics, Reality, Cosmology Jainism does not support belief in a Creator deity. According to Jain doctrine the Universe and its constituents - soul matter space time and principles Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma / Shraman Dharma (जैन धर्म is an ancient religion of India. In Hinduism and Jainism, a jiva (जीव jīva alternate spelling jiwa) is a living being or more specifically the immortal essence of a living being Every living being from a plant or a bacterium to human, has a soul. The soul (Jiva) is differentiated from non-soul or non-living reality (ajiva) that consists of: matter, time, space, medium of motion and medium of rest.

For Jains, Moksa- the realization of the soul and its salvation- are the highest objective to be attained. Mokṣa ( Sanskrit: मोक्ष liberation or Mokkha ( Prakrit: मोक्ख) means liberation salvation or emancipation of soul Most of the Jaina texts deal with various aspects of the soul i. e. its qualities, attributes, bondage and interaction with other elements, and its salvation through the right views, right knowledge and right conduct. Following are the quotes on soul from Pancastikayasara, a first century CE Jaina text authored by 'Acarya Kundakunda:

1. The qualities of soul and its states of existence are described in Verse 16 - The Jiva (Soul) and other Dravyas (substances) are real. Pañcastikayasara or the essence of reality is a Digambara text by Kundakunda is part of his trilogy known as the prahbrta-traya or the nataka-traya Kundakunda (also Kundkund is a celebrated Jain Acharya, Jain scholar monk 2nd century CE composer of spiritual classics such as Samayasara, The qualities of jiva are cetana i. e. consciousness and upoyoga i. e. knowledge and perception, which are manifold. The soul manifests in the following form as a deva i. e. demi-god, as a human, as a hellish being or as a plant or animal.
2. The permanency and the modes of soul are described in Verse 18 – Though the soul experiences both birth and death, it is neither really destroyed nor created. Decay and origin refer respectively to the disappearing of one state and appearing of another state and these are merely the modes of the soul.
3. The cycle of transmigration of the soul until it attains Nirvana or liberation is described in Verse 21 – Thus Jiva with its attributes and modes, roaming in samsara (universe), may lose its particular form and assume a new one. Again this form may be lost and the original acquired.

In another text, BHAVAPAHUDA, gatha 64, Acharya Kundakunda describes soul as thus:

|| arasamaruvamagandham avvattam cedanagunasamaddam

janamalingaggahanam jivamanidditthasanthanam ||

This is translated as follows:

The soul is without taste, colour and cannot be perceived by the five senses. Consciousness is its chief attribute. Know the soul to be free of any gender and not bound by any dimensions of shape and size.

Hence the soul according to Jainism is indestructible and permanent from the point of view of substance. It is temporary and ever changing from the point of view of its modes. Māhavīras responses to various questions recorded in Bhagvatisūtra demonstrates a recognition that there are complex and multiple aspects to truth and reality and a mutually exclusive approach cannot be taken to explain such reality :

Gautama : Lord! Is the soul permanent or impermanent?

Māhavīra : The soul is permanent as well is impermanent. Introduction Vyākhyāprajñapti commonly known as Bhagavati sūtra is the fifth of the 12 Jain āgamas said to be promulgated by Māhavīra himself From the point of view of the substance it is eternal. From the point of view of its modes it undergoes birth, decay and destruction and hence impermanent. ^[13]

The soul continuously undergoes modifications as per the karma it attracts and hence reincarnates in the following four states of existence -

1. as a Demi-God in Heaven, or
2. as a tormented soul in Hell, or
3. as a Human being on Continents, or
4. as an Animal, or a Plant, or as a Micro-organism. Karma ( Sanskrit: कर्म, kárman - "act action performance" Pali: kamma) is the concept of "action"

The soul is always found to be in bondage (with its karmas) since the beginingless time and hence continuously undergoes the cycle of birth and death in these four states of existence until it attains liberation (Moksa).

The Jaina beliefs on the soul can be summarized as under:

• The souls are classified as – mundane which are non liberated souls and liberated souls who have achieved Godhood by combination of right views, right knowledge and right conduct.
• Mundane souls are further classified on the basis of evolution of senses and faculties that it possesses. E. g. , humans are classified as five sense souls and Plants and Microbes are classified as single-sensed souls.
• Consciousness characterized by Perception and Knowledge is the intrinsic qualities of Soul.
• There are quite large number of species of life forms in four states of existence in which a soul transmigrates an a continuous cycle until it achieves salvation.
• A Supreme Being as a creator and operator of this universe does not exist. A soul is the master of its own destiny. It is its own lord. The suffering and liberation of the soul are not dependent on any divine grace. It attains salvation by its own efforts.
• Every soul has the capacity to achieve Godhood in its human birth. This is achieved by removing the accumulated Karmas.
• Liberation is permanent and irreversible. The liberated soul which is formless and incorporeal in nature experiences infinite knowledge, omniscience, infinite power and infinite bliss after liberation.
• Even after liberation and attainment of Godhood, the soul does not merge into any entity (as in other philosophies), but maintains its individuality.

Jewish beliefs

Jewish views of the soul begin with the book of Genesis, in which verse 2:7 states, "Hashem formed man from the dust of the earth. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. " (New JPS)

The Torah offers no systematic definition of a soul; various descriptions of the soul exist in classical rabbinic literature. term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to

Saadia Gaon, in his Emunoth ve-Deoth 6:3, explained classical rabbinic teaching about the soul. Emunoth ve-Deoth (he אמונות ודעות Hebrew: "Beliefs and Opinions" written by Rabbi Saadia Gaon - originally Kitab al-Amanat wal-l'tikadat He held that the soul comprises that part of a person's mind which constitutes physical desire, emotion, and thought.

Maimonides, in his The Guide to the Perplexed, explained classical rabbinic teaching about the soul through the lens of neo-Aristotelian philosophy, and viewed the soul as a person's developed intellect, which has no substance. Moses Maimonides ( March 30 1135 – December 13 1204) also known as the Rambam, was a Rabbi, Physician, and This page refers to the 12th century book by Maimonides For the 1977 book by E

In Kabbalah the soul is understood to have three elements. Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. The Zohar, a classic work of Jewish mysticism, describes the three elements as nephesh, ru'ah, and neshamah. For the village in southern Israel see Tzohar The Zohar (זהר lit Splendor or Radiance) is widely considered the most important They are differentiated thusly:

• Nephesh - The living mortal being; it feels hunger, hates, loves, loathes, weeps, and most importantly, can die (cease to breathe). The nephesh is simply an "air-breather". Animals also are a nephesh (they breathe air), but plants do not. It is the source of one's physical and psychological nature. (derived from Old Testament Theology, by Gerhard von Rad)

The next two parts of the soul are not implanted at birth, but are slowly created over time; their development depends on the actions and beliefs of the individual. They are said to only fully exist in people awakened spiritually:

• Ruach - the middle soul, or spirit. It contains the moral virtues and the ability to distinguish between good and evil. In modern parlance, it equates to psyche or ego-personality. Id, ego, and super-ego are the three parts of the " Psychic apparatus " defined in Sigmund Freud 's structural model of

• Neshamah - the higher soul, Higher Self or super-soul. This distinguishes man from all other life forms. It relates to the intellect, and allows man to enjoy and benefit from the afterlife. This part of the soul is provided both to Jew and non-Jew alike at birth. It allows one to have some awareness of the existence and presence of God. In the Zohar, after death Nefesh disintegrates, Ruach is sent to a sort of intermediate zone where it is submitted to purification and enters in "temporary paradise", while Neshamah returns to the source, the world of Platonic ideas, where it enjoys "the kiss of the beloved". Supposedly after resurrection, Ruach and Neshamah, soul and spirit re-unite in a permanently transmuted state of being.

The Raaya Meheimna, a Kabbalistic tractate always published with the Zohar, posits two more parts of the human soul, the chayyah and yehidah. Gershom Scholem wrote that these "were considered to represent the sublimest levels of intuitive cognition, and to be within the grasp of only a few chosen individuals":

• Chayyah - The part of the soul that allows one to have an awareness of the divine life force itself. Gerschom Scholem ( December 5, 1897 &ndash February 21, 1982) also known as Gerhard Scholem, was a Jewish philosopher and

• Yehidah - the highest plane of the soul, in which one can achieve as full a union with God as is possible.

Extra soul states

Both Rabbinic and kabbalistic works also posit a few additional, non-permanent states to the soul that people can develop on certain occasions. These extra souls, or extra states of the soul, play no part in any afterlife scheme, but are mentioned for completeness.

• Ruach HaKodesh - a state of the soul that makes prophecy possible. Prophecy, generally describes the disclosing of Information that is not known to the Prophet by any ordinary means Since the age of classical prophecy passed, no one receives the soul of prophecy any longer.

• Neshamah Yeseira - The supplemental soul that a Jew experiences on Shabbat. Shabbat or Shabbos ( Hebrew: שַׁבָּת, shabbāt, shabbes, "rest/inactivity" is the Weekly Sabbath It makes possible an enhanced spiritual enjoyment of the day. This exists only while one observes Shabbat; it can be lost and gained depending on one's observance.

• Neshamah Kedosha - Provided to Jews at the age of majority (13 for boys, 12 for girls), and related to the study and fulfillment of the Torah commandments. term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to It exists only when one studies and follows Torah; it can be lost and gained depending on one's study and observance.

For more detail on Jewish beliefs about the soul see Jewish eschatology. Jewish eschatology is concerned with the Jewish Messiah, Afterlife, and the revival of the dead.

Sikh Belief

Sikhism considers SOUL (atma) to be part of Universal Soul, which is GOD (Parmatma). Various hymns are cited from the holy book "Sri Guru Granth Sahib" (SGGS) that suggests this belief. The Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji (ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ gurū granth sāhib) or Guru Granth Sahib, is the eleventh and eternal Guru of the "God is in the Soul and the Soul is in the God. "^[14] The same concept is repeated at various pages of the SGGS. For example: "The soul is divine; divine is the soul. Worship Him with love. "^[15] and "The soul is the Lord, and the Lord is the soul; contemplating the Shabad, the Lord is found. "^[16]

Taoist View

There is a constant 9. 6 billion souls or primordial beings called yuanling according to two books on Taoist beliefs, which would reside in the realms of heaven, earth or hell depending on the state of purity. Taoism (pronounced /ˈdaʊɪzəm/ or /ˈtaʊɪzəm/ also spelled '''Daoism''') refers to a variety of related Philosophical and Religious traditions Heaven may refer to the physical heavens the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the Universe beyond EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering Souls which are pure, in tune with tao or ways of tao elevate to heaven while the opposite to hell. Tao ( 道, Pinyin Dào) is a metaphysical concept found in Taoism, Confucianism, and more generally in ancient Chinese philosophy All men have souls, borne in a state corresponding to his or her previous incarnate, and will either clense or clutter its purity as they live out their lives. Although unsupported by any academic or scientific research, the practice of Xiuzhen in the prescribed manner is a karthasis process that will rid the body of worldly dirt. Xiuzhen (修真 is the principal technique in the Taoist quest for immortality a historical subject documented since the Yellow Emperor (2697-2598 BCE Within the human body, Jing Qi Shen correspond to the Three Jewels or the Three Treasures and are reigned by the Three Pure Ones. Jing Qi Shen (精氣神 are three Chinese terms commonly used in Taoism related studies The Three Jewels, also called the Three Treasures, the Three Refuges, or the Triple Gem, are the three things that Buddhists take refuge The Three Pure Ones ( also translated as the Three Pure Pellucid Ones, the Three Pristine Ones, the Three Clarities, or the Three Purities This is also the Taoist quest for immortality. Taoism (pronounced /ˈdaʊɪzəm/ or /ˈtaʊɪzəm/ also spelled '''Daoism''') refers to a variety of related Philosophical and Religious traditions Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of living in physical or spiritual form for an Infinite length of Time. ^[17]

The soul has two manifestations, the po (魄 pò) or yin soul and the hun (魂 hún) or yang soul. In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin and yang ( is used to describe how seemingly opposing forces are bound together intertwined and interdependent in the In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin and yang ( is used to describe how seemingly opposing forces are bound together intertwined and interdependent in the The pò is linked to the dead body and the grave, whereas the hún is linked to the ancestral tablet. There could be multiple pò and hún for each person. ^[18]

According to two guidance books, the mechanism of Judgment Day is called Souyuan and the world is currently in the third Souyuan. In Christian eschatology, the Last Judgment or Day of the Lord is the judgment by God of every human who ever lived Souyuan (收圓 or 收原 in the Taoist eschatology is equivalent to the Judgment Day. The first reclaimed some 200 million beings as did the second Souyuan, making the population in heaven some 400 million strong.

Other religious beliefs and views

In Egyptian Mythology, an individual was believed to be made up of various elements, some physical and some spiritual. Ancient Egyptian religion encompasses the various religious beliefs and rituals practiced in Ancient Egypt from the predynastic period until the adoption of Christianity See the article Egyptian soul for more details.

These are the two parts which the ancient Chinese believed constitute every person's soul. The p‘o is the visible personality indissolubly attached to the body, while the hun is its more ethereal complement also interpenetrating the body, but not of necessity always tied to it. The hun in its wanderings may be either visible or invisible; if the former, it appears in the guise of its original body, which actually may be far away lying in a trance-like state tenanted by the p‘o. And not only is the body duplicated under these conditions, but also the garments that clothe it. Should the hun stay away permanently, death results.

Some transhumanists believe that it will become possible to perform mind transfer, either from one human body to another, or from a human body to a computer. Transhumanism (sometimes symbolized by >H or H+) a term often used as a synonym for " Human enhancement " is an international intellectual In Transhumanism and Science fiction, mind uploading (also occasionally referred to by other terms such as mind transfer, whole brain emulation Operations of this type (along with teleportation), raise philosophical questions related to the concept of the Soul. Teleportation is the movement of objects from one place to another more or less instantaneously either by Paranormal means or through technological artifice

Crisscrossing specific religions, the phenomenon of therianthropy and belief in the existence of otherkin also occur. Therianthropy (from n therianthrope and adj therianthropic, part man and part beast from the Greek theríon, θηρίον meaning "wild Otherkin are a Subculture of people primarily Internet -based who identify in some way as other than Human. One can perhaps better describe these as phenomena rather than as beliefs, since people of varying religion, ethnicity, or nationality may believe in them. Therianthropy involves the belief that a person or his soul has a spiritual, emotional, or mental connection with an animal. Such a belief may manifest itself in many forms, and many explanations for it often draw on a person's religious beliefs. Otherkin hold similar beliefs: they see their souls as partially or entirely non-human, and not necessarily of this world. Otherkin are a Subculture of people primarily Internet -based who identify in some way as other than Human.

Another fairly large segment of the population, not necessarily favoring organized religion, simply label themselves as "spiritual" and hold that both humans and all other living creatures have souls. Spirituality, in a narrow sense concerns itself with matters of the Spirit, a concept closely tied to religious belief and Faith, a transcendent reality Some further believe the entire universe has a cosmic soul as a spirit or unified consciousness. The Universe is defined as everything that Physically Exists: the entirety of Space and Time, all forms of Matter, Energy Such a conception of the soul may link with the idea of an existence before and after the present one, and one could consider such a soul as the spark, or the self, the "I" in existence that feels and lives life. Personal life (or everyday life or human existence) is the course of an individual Human 's life especially when viewed as the sum of personal choices

In Surat Shabda Yoga, the soul is considered to be an exact replica and spark of the Divine. Surat Shabd Yoga or Surat Shabda Yoga is a form of spiritual practice that is followed in the Sant Mat and many other related spiritual traditions The purpose of Surat Shabd Yoga is to realize one’s True Self as soul (Self-Realisation), True Essence (Spirit-Realisation) and True Divinity (God-Realisation) while living in the physical body.

G.I. Gurdjieff taught that no man is ever born with a soul. George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (Գեորգի Գյուրջիև Γιώργος Γεωργιάδης Георгий Иванович Гюрджиев (or Gurdjiev) January Rather, a man must create a soul during the course of his life. Without a soul, Gurdjieff taught that a man will "die like a dog. "

Science and the soul

The consensus among neuroscientists and biologists is that the mind, or consciousness, is the operation of the brain. Neuroscience is a field devoted to the scientific study of the nervous system A biologist is a Scientist devoted to and producing results in Biology through the study of Organisms Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship MIND ( Moving In New Directions) (est 1975 is an alternative education high school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Consciousness has been defined loosely as a constellation of attributes of Mind such as Subjectivity, Self-awareness, Sentience, and the The brain is the center of the Nervous system in animals All Vertebrates and the majority of Invertebrates have a brain They often fuse the terms mind and brain together as "mind/brain". ^[19] or bodymind. Bodymind is a compound conjunction of Body and Mind, which in scientific disciplines researchers have begun studying in order to move beyond the dualist Science and medicine seek naturalistic accounts of the observable natural world. Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Medicine is the art and science of healing It encompasses a range of Health care practices evolved to maintain and restore Human Health by the Philosophical naturalism has been described in various ways In its broadest and strongest sense naturalism is the metaphysical position that "nature is all there is This stance is known as methodological naturalism[3] Much of the scientific study relating to the soul has been involved in investigating the soul as a human belief or as concept that shapes cognition and understanding of the world (see Memetics), rather than as an entity in and of itself. Philosophical naturalism has been described in various ways In its broadest and strongest sense naturalism is the metaphysical position that "nature is all there is This article is related to the study of self-replicating units of culture not to be confused with Mimetics Memetics is a neo-Darwinian approach

When modern scientists speak of the soul outside of this cultural and psychological context, it is generally as a poetic synonym for mind. Francis Crick's book The Astonishing Hypothesis, for example, has the subtitle, "The scientific search for the soul". Francis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS (8 June 1916 – 28 July 2004 Ph The Astonishing Hypothesis is Francis Crick 's 1994 book about Consciousness. Crick held the position that one can learn everything knowable about the human soul by studying the workings of the human brain. Depending on one's belief regarding the relationship between the soul and the mind, then, the findings of neuroscience may be relevant to one's understanding of the soul. Neuroscience is a field devoted to the scientific study of the nervous system

A search of the PubMed research literature database shows the following numbers of articles with the indicated term in the title:

1. brain – 167,244
2. consciousness – 2,918 (842 or 29% of these articles also include “brain” in the database entry)
3. soul - 552 (40, 7%, of these articles also include “brain” in the database entry. The National Center for Biotechnology Information ( NCBI) is part of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM a branch of the National Institutes Many of these articles deal with medical ethics issue such as the implications of religious beliefs on decisions about life support for people in persistent vegetative states)

An oft-encountered analogy is that the brain is to the mind as computer hardware is to computer software. A persistent vegetative state (PVS is a condition of patients with severe Brain damage in whom Coma has progressed to a state of wakefulness without detectable The idea of the mind as software has led some scientists to use the word "soul" to emphasize their belief that the human mind has powers beyond or at least qualitatively different from what artificial software can do. Roger Penrose expounds this position in The Emperor's New Mind[4]. Sir Roger Penrose, PhD, OM, FRS (born 8 August 1931) is an English Mathematical physicist and Emeritus The Emperor's New Mind Concerning Computers Minds and The Laws of Physics is a 1989 book by Mathematical physicist Sir Roger Penrose. He posits that the mind is in fact not like a computer as generally understood, but rather a quantum computer, that can do things impossible on a classical computer, such as decide the halting problem (although quantum computers in actuality cannot do any more than a regular Turing machine). A quantum computer is a device for Computation that makes direct use of distinctively Quantum mechanical Phenomena, such as superposition In computability theory, the halting problem is a Decision problem which can be stated as follows given a description of a program and a finite input Turing machines are basic abstract symbol-manipulating devices which despite their simplicity can be adapted to simulate the logic of any Computer Algorithm Some have located the soul in this possible difference between the mind and a classical computer.

Research on the concept of the soul

In his book Consilience, E. O. Wilson took note that sociology has identified belief in a soul as one of the universal human cultural elements. Consilience The Unity of Knowledge is a 1998 book by biologist E Edward Osborne Wilson (born June 10, 1929) is an American biologist researcher ( Sociobiology, Biodiversity) theorist ( Sociology (from Latin: socius "companion" and the suffix -ology "the study of" from Greek λόγος lógos "knowledge" Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a Proposition or Premise to be true Wilson suggested that biologists need to investigate how human genes predispose people to believe in a soul. History See also History of genetics The existence of genes was first suggested by Gregor Mendel (1822-1884 who in the 1860s studied inheritance A genetic predisposition is a genetic effect which influences the Phenotype of an organism but which can be modified by the environmental conditions

Daniel Dennett has championed the idea that the human survival strategy depends heavily on adoption of the intentional stance, a behavioral strategy that predicts the actions of others based on the expectation that they have a mind like one's own (see theory of mind). Daniel Clement Dennett (born March 28 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts) is a prominent American philosopher whose research The intentional stance is a theory of mental content proposed by Daniel C " Theory of mind " is the ability to attribute mental states—beliefs intents desires pretending knowledge etc Mirror neurons in brain regions such as Broca's area may facilitate this behavioral strategy. A mirror neuron is a Neuron which fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another (especially Conspecific Broca's area is a section of the human brain that is involved in Language processing, speech or sign production and comprehension The intentional stance, Dennett suggests, has proven so successful that people tend to apply it to all aspects of human experience, thus leading to animism and to other conceptualizations of soul. Animism (from Latin anima ( Soul, Life) commonly refers to a religious belief that Souls or Spirits exist in Animals

Popular Culture

In Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, souls play a particularly prominent role in the history of the characters Angel and Spike; both Vampires, the two of them had their souls restored to them by a gypsy curse and a demonic shaman, respectively. Fictional narratives (and works of art exist beyond their completion e Angel is an American Television series, a Spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Angel is a Fictional character created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt for the Television programs Buffy the Vampire Spike (aka William "the Bloody") played by James Marsters, is a Fictional character In the fictional world of the Television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, a vampire is a species of demon Normally vampires lack their souls, the soul being replaced by a demon at the moment a person is turned into a vampire, but with Angel and Spike having reacquired their souls, they also regain their human emotions and consciences, thus allowing them to feel grief and guilt for their actions and driving them on their quest for redemption for the sins they committed while they were evil.

In Heroes, the main antagonist Sylar, according to Molly Walker, 'sees into your soul'. Gabriel Gray, more commonly known by his assumed name of Sylar, is a Fictional character and one of the main Antagonists on the NBC It is indicated that the heroes abilities reside in the soul, which according to Chandra Suresh 'scientifically speaking, exists in the brain'.

In the Harry Potter series, the main villain of the series, Lord Voldemort, manages to achieve a form of immortality by creating six horcruxes, which take advantage of the damage done to a soul whenever it commits murder by placing a piece of the killer's soul into another object. Harry Potter is a series of seven Fantasy novels written by British author J Lord Voldemort (ˈvoʊldəmɔrt or ˈvoʊldəmɔr is a Fictional character and the main antagonist in the Harry Potter novel series written A Horcrux is a fictional magical object in the Harry Potter series by J This is an unnatural and evil abuse of the soul, damaging it to such a level that he is barely even human any more. Lord Voldemort does not understand the value of a whole and untarnished soul as Harry Potter and many other of the main characters do. As a result, Voldemort is is unable to die so long as his horcruxes exist; even if his physical body is killed, his horcruxes anchor the part of his soul that lives in his body to Earth until he can find a way to regain his physical form. To defeat him, Harry is forced to track down and destroy all of Voldemort's horcruxes, thus leaving Voldemort mortal once again.

In the TV series Supernatural many characters have "sold" their souls as part of deals. Supernatural is an American horror television series regarding the Paranormal. John Winchester sold his soul to Azazel in order to save his son, Dean's life. John Winchester can refer to John de Winchester (d 1460 bishop of Moray John Winchester (Supernatural, television character played Azazel is a Fictional character and Villain on The CW Television Network 's Supernatural. Dean Winchester is a Fictional character on The CW Television Network 's Supernatural, portrayed by Jensen Ackles. Dean has also sold his soul in order bring his brother, Sam back from the dead. Samuel "Sam" Winchester is a Fictional character in The CW Television Network 's Supernatural, played by Jared Padalecki The Crossroads demon (or Red-Eyed Demon) is usually in charge of making the deals; however, the contract holder is the Demon, Lilith. The following are minor Fictional characters on The CW Television Network 's ''Supernatural''. The following are minor Fictional characters on The CW Television Network 's ''Supernatural''. Bela Talbot established this, when she had Lilith kill her parents, and as a result was condemned to an eternity in hell. Bela Talbot, real name Abby, is a Fictional character on The CW Television Network 's ''Supernatural'' portrayed by Lauren Cohan Deals don't have to involve the giving, or taking, of life in excahnge for a soul, instead deals can be made in order to make one famous, and/or rich, or have anything they desire, as seen in the episode Crossroad Blues. This is a list of episodes for the Paranormal Drama television series Supernatural. Due to the death of the Crossroads Demon it is unknown who, if anyone, will make the deals now.

See also

• Neural correlates of consciousness
• The Astonishing Hypothesis
• Consciousness
• Anatta
• Self (spirituality)
• Ego
• Ekam
• Ghost
• Kindred spirit
• Nousics
• Philosophical zombie
• Spirit
• Vitalism
• Soul dualism

Footnotes

Additional references

• Batchelor, Stephen. Buddhism Without Belief - aha.
• Cornford, Francis, M. , Greek Religious Thought, 1950.
• Rohde, Erwin, Psyche, 1928.
• Swinburne (1997). The Evolution of the Soul. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Stevenson (1975). Cases of the Reincarnation Type, Volume I: Ten Cases in India. University Press of Virginia
• Stevenson (1974). Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation. Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia
• Stevenson (1983). Cases of the Reincarnation Type, Volume IV: Twelve Cases in Thailand and Burma. University Press of Virginia
• Stevenson (1997). Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects. Praeger Publishers
• Wilson (1996). The State of Man: Day Star, Wake Up Seminars. 1996.
• Aad Guru Granth Sahib. 1983 (reprint). Publishers: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar. (M = Mahala, i. e. , succession number of Sikh Gurus to the House of Guru Nanak, P = page number of the AGGS. ).

Further reading

• Bremmer, Jan (1983). The Early Greek Concept of the Soul (PDF), Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-03131-2. Retrieved on 2007-08-16. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1384 - The Hongwu Emperor of Ming China, Emperor Dong hears a case of a couple who tore paper money bills while fighting  
• Christopher, Milbourne, Search for the Soul , Thomas Y. Milbourne Christopher (1914 - 1984 was one of America's foremost illusionists, performing in sixty-eight countries Crowell Publishers, 1979
• McGraw, John J., Brain & Belief: An Exploration of the Human Soul , Aegis Press, 2004

External links

• Our Real Identity: The Science of the Soul Summary from a lecture at the London School of Economics by H. John J G. Bhuta Bhavana dasa, a Hindu brahmin
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Ancient Theories of the Soul
• The soul in Judaism at Chabad.org
• The Old Testament Concept of the Soul by Heinrich J. Vogel (Christian)
• Body, Soul and Spirit Article in the Journal of Biblical Accuracy (Christian)

Chabadorg is the flagship Website of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement

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