Most of my life I have been intrigued by the concept of the Soul. Every faith speaks of it,many scholars have written about it, both in the past and in what is called New Age literature. In common parlance too we refer to Soul so often. Yet it is the most ambiguous of concepts to truely comprehend. My curiosity led me to research what the different scriptures say about it – all refer to it. Later I sought to understand its metaphysical significance and reality and even experience its presence mystically through meditation, poetry, music and literature. This blog entitled SEARCH FOR THE SOUL therefore attempts to share whatever I have gleaned from diverse sources on the subject and to invite feed back which could help to enlighten me further.
From childhood we are led to believe that we are more than the physical self represented by the body – that in fact our essence is spiritual. We are told that at our core there is a Soul. This core, most faiths hold, is constant, indestructable, immortal and eternal. Most faiths underline that this core, the soul, survives after the body perishes at death. Thus at funerals and at memorials we often hear people whisper ‘may his soul rest in peace’ or ‘may his soul ascend to heaven’ etc. When uttering such good wishes or blessings do we actually give any thought to what we may indeed be referring to?
While some faiths speak of the ascent of the soul to heaven or sometimes descent to hell, others speak of its reincarnation in future births in other bodies.
The soul goes by different names in different faiths, cultures and languages. Soul, for english speaking Christians, Atma for Hindus, Buddhists and Jains and Rooh for Muslims. For Christians and Muslims it is not the living person but his soul or Rooh that eventually stands before the Almighty for judgement. For Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, the Atma passes from one lifetime to another getting embodied again and again before its final release from compulsive embodiment. This release from rebirth is called Moksha, Nirvana or enlightenment.
These appear to be varied interpretations and explanations of the same essential truth, depending on the cultural backdrop and metaphysical dogmas of the concerned faiths. But unless we go deeper and explore such concepts and relate them to individual experiences, we can no more understand this universal concept of soul, than when we began. so let us then commence our journey of exploration to see if we understand the soul as anything more than a word in our language.
We don’t have to go very far to find it. Right? 🙂
I am your biggest fan~
Sindy
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welcome always on the search for soul
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We are the Soul! 🙂
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pardon – we means who – the ego-body,mind? – if so i humbly disagree.
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We are not the Mind (Ego, Intellect, Mind, Subconscious Mind) or Body. We are the eternal Soul. 🙂
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precisely
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thank you for the follow! I am eager to spend more time here discovering and enjoying your offerings.
in light, linda
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welcome namaste
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I’m very curious about your thoughts about ‘soul’ and eager to get new insights on this. In my simple way I’m trying to think about it too, being ‘handicapped’ with a quite rational and sceptical mind. So I like your intention to search for the interfaces between searching for soul ans science. With my western bias I like te try te explain things as far as possible by logic and proof. Knowing there is still a lot we dont know.
SY, Mart.
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We are all fully entiled to our thoughts and there is nothing amiss with being sceptical as there is nothing amiss about having unquestioning faith – my blog does not ask for belief – I have merely sought to present the various positions on what the soul may be, because through history it has been talked about so much – it is research beginning with my own religion Hinduism, it is incidental how much of that I believe and perhaps irrelevant to the purpose of the blog – thanks for your interest. Indrajit
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A contribution inspired on one of your thoughts Andrajit. SY, Mart http://martsart.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/soul/
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thanks i have left an appreciation on your post
Good wishes
Indrajit
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Indrajit. I too have been very interested in the questions of the soul. I found that the answers to the questions are multifaceted. The question of the soul is itself so multifaceted that all of the traditions answer it in different ways. None are entirely correct, none are entirely incorrect. Isn’t it wonderful that there are so many versions of the truth.
I have found that the stories from mythology are rich in imagery. Your name speaks of Indian mythology. Wasn’t Indrajit the one who conquered Indra? What does it mean to conquer a God, the supreme deity, no less? At some point in Greek mythology the original gods, the Titans, were conquered by their children, the Greek gods themselves. Tiamat of mesopotamia had to be conquered because she was devouring her children. In the west here, most people have a very shallow concept of God. In a way, this is a kind of conquering. But as I see it, this external expression/experience of God is doomed to be conquered. In the search, the inner search for the soul, lies the next, deeper understanding of what God is. Though it is very helpful to study what, through the ages, has been the understanding of God, it is essential that each person find God through their own soul efforts. If God exists at the core of every being, then an external search for God may come up empty-handed. On the other hand, if God expresses him/her self in everything, then a true understanding of God cannot overlook what is external. Your search for the soul within yourself and in the writings of other soul searchers, is a perfect balance.
As your name, Indrajit, implies, conquering Indra may in fact have something to do with mastering the understanding of the soul. You were named well. These mythologies are so full of wisdom.
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Tom
thanks for your generous comments.
Indeed the truth has many facets and language being so imperfect a medium of expression if one looks carefully one finds that the varying interpretations may only be a matter of semantics – soul in the Christian ethos is the subtle body of the Hindu, ths Atma of the Hindu is akin to the holy ghost – and so on and on – one must glean and perceive what the great seers have said and experienced behind the words, the sense of it to enlarge ones understanding – as you say that is what i have sought to research –
As for my name, their are two other interpretations -= one, the arrogant and powerful son of the great titan Ravana of the Ramayan – it was that Indrajit who brought the great lord of the heavens Indra to heel, so it is no flattery to be named thus only arrogance – but the otherrefers to Indriya ( the senses) and Indrajit then becomes one who wins over his senses – which again I am far from doing though a worthy goal in ones name.
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So Indra, the high deity, and Indriya, the senses, are so close together! Extraordinary! There is a similar connection through the Rosicrucian understanding of the Christian Trinity which probably would require far more elucidation then I have time here to write. But let me be brief. Brevity sharpens the mind. God, the father, is seen as the provider of all that we are given birth. The Rosicrucians said “Out of God we are born.”The senses are part of the gift of the father God. But gifts of the father God can only bring us so far in our understanding of the universe. All that the father God gives us is mortal. God, the Son, dies but overcomes mortality, senses included. In the overcoming of the senses, the human being is capable of reaching eternity. The Rosicrucians said “in Christ we die”. But this does not come about without a good deal of effort on our human part. There is no inherent gifting here. We have to choose to work on overcoming the senses. This battle is not one without huge amounts of goodwill and soul effort. And in the life that comes about through the conquest of the senses, what is referred to as the Holy Spirit, begins to awaken in us. The Rosicrucians would say “In the Holy Spirit we are reborn”. Rudolph Steiner’s translation of this Rosicrucian Mantram; “In the spirits world-all thoughts the soul awakens”. A worthy goal indeed!
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Indra in mythology is much like Zeus – arrogant,acquisitive and sensual – no paragon of a higher virtue and often beset by titans keen to steal his heaven from him n- then he goes running to the higher realms of the trinity who seek to help him retain his heaven and keep the threatened laws of nature in operation – his heavens are indeed quite like our material existence on a higher plane of evolution – the word indriya for senses echoes the Indra in us but is a separate word.
I am familiar with Rosicrucian mystical practices which have affinity with Hindu mysticism. – there is truth in whatever stream one follows if it helps one to overcome the ego and evolve.
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Fragen wir uns doch mal Folgendes: WARUM kam diese 3D Funktion? Was war der Auslöser? GENAU! Das 3D-Kino. Für was ist die neue 3D Funktion also in aller erster Linie gedacht? RICHTIG: Für FILME in 3D, nicht für Spiele. Und Filme werden daher super in 3D mit entsprechendem Fernseher laufen und Sony erspart uns teure neue 3Ddralyer-Har-waPe. Wir beruhigen uns also alle erstmal wieder uns werden uns bewusst, für was die Funktion eigentlich gedacht war.
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Amazing! I came across your poetry ‘Primal Colours’ in Muscat –
you may remember that ex-pat haunt , The Prose Bookshop.
I was teaching at SQU at the time.
Now back in my hometown, Montreal, I unpacked your book & decided to
look you up. And I find a treasure of your interests, poems and
much more. Thank you! These global connections don’t just happen, do they?
I share your interest in Soul and will follow with interest.
Mas Salaam, Peace to you.
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nice to contact one who has been in Muscat too – flattering to now that after all these years my book of poems still stirs some memory
Peace be upon you too.
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❤
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Hi Indrajit, I’ve just discovered your blog through a post of yours on google+ today. I love that you’re interested in the soul. I am, too. Following the breakdown of my marriage in 1999, I went through a profound spiritual process that has changed my life radically. I write about my experience in the book, Return to My Soul, which was published in 2014. When writing the book, I needed an overarching term for what I was experiencing. I’m not a religious person, nor am I a follower of the New Age movement. I chose the word soul to denote what I was referring to because the word soul has always resonated deeply with me. When I write/speak about the soul, I’m talking about ‘spirit’. Now that I have my own way of understanding and describing the soul, I’m wanting to understand how the soul has been defined and understood by others, historically, religiously and philosophically. This is why I’m so thrilled to discover your blog. If you’re interested, I’d love to send you the ebook version of Return to My Soul so that you can see how I experience/understand the soul. Best wishes, Gabrielle
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hi Gabrielle
thanks for your interest – indeed i would be interested in what you sense is the soul or spirit in us – so if you can do send it though being of an older mind set i like to read actual books but i will try to read your e book. – good wishes
Indrajit
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Hi Indrejit, thanks for your reply:) Thanks too for being interested in my book. I’m happy to send you the paper version if you’d prefer:) Do you have my email address? If so, you can send me your home address if it’s ok. I promise it’ll remain private 🙂
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my email ad is indrajitm130@gmail.com
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