and if so, if the universe were to "die", would we?
Please don't give me bible verses, I want real opinions, if I wanted to read bible verses, I'd read the bible!
2006-06-26 07:37:02 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Well, yes, sort of.
Hinduism teaches that the entire universe and everything in it manifested from God Itself and thus retains in its truest nature a divine spark and yet God also still pervades the manifested in an unmanifested state as well. (thus God is both the manifested and unmanifested). Hindus teach that the physical universe, like all that is physical, will "die". It was "born", it will "grow", then it will begin to "decay" and then finally die. That is the nature of all that is manifested. Yet, only the physical component is what "dies", that divine spark that dwells in all things remains. The atman (soul) is eternal. One of the Upanishads makes the bold statement of "tat tvam asi" or "You are that" when talking about the atman and God. It says basically that the atman is divine, like God. That everything in the universe is divine, like God. It is so because it all came from God. That nothing is seperated from God and that while the physical, manifested world is ever changing in appearance (outwardness), within in its own inner nature everything is God and God dwells just beyond our inner nature. That is why Hindus say that the problems with humanity is not that they are bad or that they have sinned or that they are seperated from God. No, it is that we have forgetten our true nature and the true nature of everything around us. Thus, out of ignorance, we treat others without the same respect we treat God. Out of ignorance we see ourselves as seperate and sometimes even superior than others people, animals, plants, and the universe. Out of ignorance we do things that cause harm to others and the universe because we do not realize that our true nature is the same as it and that we should be treated everything with the same respect we treat God. Our of ignorance we seek all kinds of material things or power or even knowledge and forget that all of these things will not connect us to God. That to find God all we need to do is realize our true nature, to look inward and make a connection to the atman and once your find the atman you are ever so close to realizing God. God is not "out there", God dwells inside all of us and inside all things. Yet most people are far too busy to even sit in meditation for only a few minutes a day. This is not the first universe and it will not be the last. When this universe dissolves another one will manifest again and all the souls that have yet to reach moksha (liberate themselves from the cycle of birth, death, birth, etc and be united with God) they will be able to enter into the next universe and continue to work towards God-Realization; moksha. (the Hare Krishnas call this Krishna Consciousness and other terms are used by different Hindu sects, but they are all refering to the same thing). Only the physical dies. Just as the body dies and the soul then enters another body, so too does the universe die and the souls simply enter into another universe. God is at the core. Everything manifests from God and everything returns to It.
So that is what I believe, as a Hindu.
Hope you get a lot of great answers. Great question!
Peace be with you.
2006-06-26 09:22:06 · answer #1 · answered by gabriel_zachary 5 · 15⤊ 3⤋
A very interesting question:
Yes, our souls are indeed part of the universe, albiet not the 'physical' universe. The entirety of the universe, both physical and spiritual, I refer to as the cosmos, and yes, our souls are part of the cosmos.
Now there is a big muddle among the public mind as far as what the soul specifically is, but I take it to mean the 'mind' of our spirit, a non-physical entity that is refered to in common speech at times as our mind, heart, feelings, or consciousness. This is in distinction to our spiritual body, which is the spiritually visible manifestation of our spirit- in other words, what we look like in the spiritual world.
It is incorrect to say that we 'have' a soul; it is more correct to say that we are a soul that is using a physical body for the time being (various reasons for this as well). Your soul is YOU, fundamentally, and it is this you that God intended to relate to in love forever and ever.
I'm not sure what you mean abou the universe dying, but no, our souls cannot die, as they are eternal, created to be the apple of God's eye, and since God is eternal we are likewise. This is what it means in the Bible that we are created in the image of God.
2006-06-26 15:12:30 · answer #2 · answered by Xerxes 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no, the soul,that is you by the way, is no matter, no energy no space an has no time, so it is not the physical universe.
The soul can not be measured , it has no weight, it has no location, (you can not say it is two inches behind the forehead), so it is not part of the universe.
The soul considers being in the universe and so it is and considers being in a body and so it is. and considers to interact with the universe, and via the body does it , but only because you decided to do it that way it could have been different and it can be different
2006-06-26 14:53:37 · answer #3 · answered by jose m 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes souls are part of the universe because the universe is part of heaven and, the universe "IS" God also since HE created it. God will never die so the universe wont go anywhere. A very good question indeed.
2006-06-26 14:44:29 · answer #4 · answered by walkingbumblebee 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nope.
Our soul is the intellect of our spirit.
Ecc 12:6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
Ecc 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
2006-06-26 14:40:40 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no such thing as a "soul."
Our bodies are part of the universe and are eternal.
Matter is energy and it cannot be destroyed or created.
2006-06-26 14:41:35 · answer #6 · answered by Left the building 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No.. They are part of our living bodies.
What kind of books have you been reading?
Our SPIRIT will return to God. We LIVE in a body. We HAVE a soul.
2006-06-26 14:43:38 · answer #7 · answered by bettyboop 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
By "soul" I assumed you meant "mind" or "identity."
This is a GREAT question. I suppose modern philosophers label it as part of the Mind-Body Problem.
This is a question that I, too, deeply desire to solve.
2006-06-26 14:40:49 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, we are all part of All That Is.
The Universe can't and won't die, it is eternal.
2006-06-26 14:41:00 · answer #9 · answered by revjeffpsychic 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First figure out what a 'soul' is, and you'll have your answer.
2006-06-26 14:39:39 · answer #10 · answered by lenny 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋