Abstract
The Aryans who invaded India came from what is now Turkey, Russia and Iran, and their scripture and way of life had a profound effect on the people of the land. Hinduism has many gods and believes in the immortality of the atman or soul that seeks to attain oneness with God or Brahman who can be regarded as personal or impersonal. He is transcendent yet immanent within the soul and union with Him is possible only after many births. Practice is more important than theorizing and following the example of holy people who have achieved liberation.
Hinduism and the immortal soul
Lead me from the unreal to the real;
Lead me from darkness into light;
Lead me from the mortal to the immortal.
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Notes
C. Zaehner, ed. The Concise Encyclopedia of living Faiths. London: Hutchinson, 1979, p. xii.
Gita, ch. 2, pp. 17–21 in Man’s Religious Quest, ed. W. Foy. London: Croom Helm, 1978.
John Bowker, Worlds of Faith. BBC, London: Ariel Books, 1983, p. 251.
John Hick, Fifth Dimension, Oxford: One World, 1999, p. 248.
Herbert Ellinger, Hinduism. London: SCM, 1995, p. 90, redefinition of jiva.
R. C. Zaehner, Hinduism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1966, pp. 60–61.
Paul Rowland, Reincarnation. London: Arcturus, 2008, pp. 9, 117.
Ninian Smart, Hinduism in World Religions. A 213, Units 7–10. Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1998, p. 104.
Brian Hodgkinson, The Essence of Vedanta. London: Arcturus, 2000, pp. 7–10, 190.
Robert Crawford, Can We Ever Kill?, 2nd ed. London: Darton Longman and Todd, 2000.
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© 2011 Robert Crawford
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Crawford, R. (2011). The Hindu and the Immortal Soul. In: The Battle for the Soul. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230118331_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230118331_5
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