In English, this word "soul" is used in a very unclear and vague way. It is from a root in Old English to indicate “the emotional or spiritual part of a person,” that represents their true identity or nature and that assumably, continues after death. That is the assumption that people in the western world have about the soul, that it is who we truly are, and that the way we perceive our inner self now is our soul and that it continues in its current form after death. Yet, if you ask people to define the soul or give practical or experiential examples of their soul, no one can give you that, because this is all just theory and belief. It is difficult to find facts about the soul, and that is exactly our purpose here: to find the facts.
In Judaism and the Christianity originally taught by Jesus, there are five souls, and three are of immediate importance to us:
- Neshamah נשמה
- Ruach רוח
- Nephesh נפש
Hinduism and Buddhism talk about atman, jiva, buddha nature... in this lecture, we show you have to reconcile all these terms with practical facts.
““Let every psyche [nephesh] be guided by the higher exousia [power of choice; strength, conscience: neshamah and ruach]. For there is no exousia [power of choice; strength: conscience] but that which is given by God: the exousias [power of choice; strength] that be are arranged by God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the exousia [neshamah and ruach], resisteth the arrangement of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation." - Romans 13