Christian beliefs

Various opinions

Most Christians regard the soul as the immortal essence of a human, and that after death, God either rewards or punishes the soul. Different Christian groups dispute whether this reward/punishment depends upon doing good deeds, or merely upon believing in God and in Jesus. The imagery that Jesus used to describe the soul includes the "beautiful garments" of Revelation ("they [the saints] will be clothed in white"), which are "more beautiful than Solomon in all his glory" (Matthew). Jesus said, "Do not let anyone steal your garments" (Revelation). And in a parable about the master's feast, Jesus (the master) has a guest thrown out by His servants (the holy angels) for showing up without his feast-garments. Jesus said, "And what will a man give in exchange for his soul?", warning him that he could lose it (Matthew). The message is: don't show up for the Judgement without your beautiful garments (the soul). The soul represents righteousness. The reward that the faithful Christian receives at the moment of his death, is the privilege to receive his soul, which was kept safe by Jesus, and to appear before God's feast clothed in one's soul. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I shall give you the crown of life" (Revelation). The labor is to remain faithful, and the reward is to keep one's soul. And, in the parable of the ten virgins, who are waiting for the return of the master (Jesus) with their lamps lit, Jesus warns them not to be foolish, and let their lamps go out, by pursuing after worldly things at such a critical time. Apparently, the lamp represents the eye, and the oil represents the Holy Spirit of Jesus, from God. The soul is apparently the receptacle for the Holy Spirit; the body, which houses the soul, is the tabernacle, or the "temple of the Holy Spirit". You can't buy the Holy Spirit with money! That is why money is not an accurate measurement of spirituality. You can be very wealthy, and still be "poor, and blind and naked" (Revelation). This determination that salvation cannot be earned by good deeds becomes interesting, then, when the same bible admonishes one to make one's robe clean. . . ( how else, if not by deeds? Even committing faith is a deed, a doing, not an inert-thing ). . .

Many Christian scholars hold, as Aristotle did, that "to attain any assured knowledge of the soul is one of the most difficult things in the world". Augustine, one of the most influential early Christian thinkers, described the soul as "a special substance, endowed with reason, adapted to rule the body". The apostle 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. 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.... 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.

Other Christian beliefs differ:

Thousands of biblical references unquestionably define humans (and some animals) as BEING souls, not having souls and only a handful of verses suggest or can be read to the contrary:

A few Christian groups do not believe in the soul, and hold that people cease to exist, both mind and body, at death; they claim however, that God will recreate the minds and bodies of believers in Jesus at some future time, the "end of the world."
Another minority of Christians believe in the soul, but don't regard it as inherently immortal. This minority also believes the life of Christ brings immortality, but only to believers.
Medieval Christian thinkers often assigned to the soul attributes such as thought and imagination, as well as faith and love: this suggests that the boundaries between "soul" and "mind" can vary in different interpretations.
Jehovah's Witnesses hold beliefs that equate the soul with the person rather than with a spirit or a force, which leaves the body at or after death. (Gen.2:7; Ezek.18:4, KJV)
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.
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.
The "purgatory" theory states that the soul, if imperfect, spends a period of time purging or cleansing, before becoming ready for the end of time.
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."
Swedenborgianism teaches that each person's soul is created by the Lord at the same time as the physical body is developed, that the soul is the person himself or herself, and that the soul is eternal, and has an eternal spiritual body, that is substantial without being material. After the death of the body, the person becomes immediately conscious in the spiritual world.

In favor of a conscious non-material entity ("soul") that survives bodily death

Some traditional Christians argue that the Bible teaches the survival of a conscious self after death. They interpret this as an intermediate state, before the deceased unite with their Resurrection bodies and restore the psychosomatic unity that existed from conception, and which death disrupts. These Christians point out:

Rachel's death in Genesis 35:18 equates with her soul (Hebrew nephesh ) departing. And when Elijah prays in 1 Kings 17:21 for the return of a widow's boy to life, he entreats, "O LORD my God, I pray you, let this child's nephesh come into him again". So death meant that something called nephesh (or "soul") became separated from the body, and life could return when this soul returned.
Jesus told the repentant thief on the cross, "I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). Interpretation: that very day, the thief will in a conscious way have fellowship with Christ in Paradise , despite the apparent destruction of his body. According to the apostle Peter, Jesus descended (upon His death) into Hades, which could not hold Him, and led the souls of the righteous dead (including the thief on the cross) which were imprisoned in Paradise (a compartment of Hades, which was reserved for those righteous dead) out of captivity, and "led captivity captive" (thus emptying Paradise, according to the apostle Paul), who also claimed that Jesus was King not only by birth, but "by nature of an indestructible life" (in the letter to the Hebrews, if it was written by Paul). Afterwards, in John's vision of Revelation, Jesus appeared to John and claimed that He had "the keys of Hades".
Jesus' account of the rich man and Lazarus, who were both still conscious at the same time as the rich man's brothers, who lived on. This scenario preceded Jesus taking the souls of Paradise with Him to heaven, therefore Lazarus remains in Paradise . The rich man stood in another compartment of Shoal where he could see Lazarus, but could never cross over. The patriarch Abraham comforted Lazarus, whereas the rich man remained in torment. Jesus said, "Truly, truly, how difficult it is for a rich man to enter into Heaven," (although Lazarus was not there yet).
Matthew 10:28: Jesus says, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Here, the soul (Greek psyche ) appears as something distinct from the body, and something which survives the death of the body.
Phil. 1:21-23, depicting the believer to "depart and to be with Christ", where the aorist infinitive (to depart) links via a single article to a present infinitive (to be with Christ). This linkage shows that the departure, and being with Christ, occur at the same moment. And, since Christ dwells in Heaven, Paul anticipated going to Heaven at death.
Revelation 6:9-10 portrays the souls (Greek psychas ) of martyred saints as conscious, and as asking God how long He will refrain from smiting the wicked on Earth. Once more, these saints consciously exist with God in heaven, at the same time as evil people exist on the earth.
Matthew 22 : 23That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him (Jesus) with a question. 24“Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. 25Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27Finally, the woman died. 28Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?” 29Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 31But about the resurrection of the dead – have you not read what God said to you, 32‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'[Exodus 3:6]? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.

1 Corinthians 15 : 12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. (...) 29Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31I die every day–I mean that, brothers–just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”[Isaiah 22:13] (...) 35But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. 42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45(...) 46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven

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B.K.S. Iyengar

A photograph of B.K.S. Iyengar

B.K.S. Iyengar , (aka Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar) born Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar, December 14, 1918, in India, is founder of Iyengar Yoga and one of the most respected yoga teachers in the world. Millions of students and followers around the world practice Iyengar Yoga. Iyengar and has written a number of definitive yoga texts. Iyengar Yoga

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are one of the six darshanas of Hindu or Vedic schools and, alongside the Bhagavad Gita and Hatha Yoga Pradipika, are a milestone in the history of Yoga. The book is a set of aphorisms, which are short, terse phrases designed to be easy to memorize. Though brief, the Yoga Sutras are an enormously influential work that is just as relevant for yoga philosophy and practice today as it was when it was written. Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Hatha Yoga Pradipika

The most fundamental text of Hatha Yoga is the Hatha Yoga Pradipika , a Sanskrit classic written by Swami Swatamarama, a disciple of Swami Goraknath. It is said to be the oldest surviving text on the Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga and Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Kundalini

Kundalini is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning either "coiled up" or "coiling like a snake". There are a number of other translations of the term usually emphasizing a more serpent nature to the word— e.g. 'serpent power'. The caduceus symbol of coiling snakes is thought to be an ancient symbolic representation of Kundalini physiology.

Zen

Bodhidharma, woodblock print by Yoshitoshi, 1887.

Zen is the Japanese name of a well known branch of Mahayana Buddhist schools, practiced originally in China as Ch'an and subsequently in Korea , Japan , and Vietnam . Zen emphasizes the role of sitting meditation (zazen) in pursuing enlightenment. Zen can be considered a religion, a philosophy, or simply a practice depending on one's perspective. It has also been described as a way of life, work, and an art form.

Zen is the common name for this branch of Buddhism in Japanese as well as in English. However, in the last half of the 20th century, Zen has become an international phenomenon, with centers in many countries around the world. Zen

Kundalini Yoga - Awakening the Kundalini Energy

Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini Yoga is the most powerful Yoga ever known and is considered as the mother of all the Styles of Yoga. It centers on awakening the Kundalini, the energy (serpent power or Bhujangini) which is found at the base of our spine or the Muladhara Chakra. Kundalini came from the word kunda which means "pot" but it Kundalini Sadhna, it is defined as the coiled energy that looks like a serpent with three and a half coils lying dormant at the base of the spine with the tip of its tail to its mouth. The three coils represent the Three Gunas : the Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, the half coil

Kundalini Yoga

Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya

Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (1888-1989) is credited with being instrumental in the resurgence of interest in hatha yoga. His students included Indra Devi, B.K.S. Iyengar, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, and T.K.V. Desikachar—major yoga teachers in their own right. Born in 1888 in Mysore , India , Krishnamacharya received his first instruction in Sanskrit and yoga from his father. He went on to attend the Royal College of Mysore and later spent seven years studying in Tibet . He returned to Mysore in 1924 and later opened a yoga school. In 1976, Krishnamacharya's son and closest disciple, T.K.V. Desikachar, founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, a yoga center in Madras .

Sri K. Pattabhi Jois

Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois was born on Guru Purnima in 1915 in the village of Kowshika , near Hassan, Karnataka, South India . Jois currently teaches yoga at his school, the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute, in Mysore , India .

In 1927, at the age of 12, Jois attended a lecture and demonstration in Hassan by S. T. Krishnamacharya and the very next day became his student —the beginning of 25 years of study with Krishnamacharya

Karate

Two Karate practitioners engaging in competition style Karate.

Karate or karate-do , "the way of the empty hand") is a martial art of Okinawan origin. Karate is a synthesis of indigenous Okinawan fighting methods and Southern Chinese martial arts. In modernity, it is categorized by some as budo, introduced to the Japanese main islands from Okinawa in 1921 by various Okinawan practitioners who moved to mainland Japan during the early 20th century

Meditation

Meditation refers to any of a wide variety of spiritual practices (and their close secular analogues) which emphasize mental activity or quiescence.

The English word comes from the Latin meditation , which originally indicated every type of physical or intellectual exercise, but which later could perhaps be better translated as "contemplation." This usage is found in Christian spirituality, for example, when one "meditates" on the sufferings of Christ; as well as Western philosophy, as in Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy , a set of six mental exercises which systematically analyze the nature of reality.

Meditation

Chakra

In Hinduism and its spiritual systems of yoga and in some related eastern cultures, as well as in some segments of the New Age movement -- and to some degree the distinctly different New Thought movement -- a chakra is thought to be an energy node in the human body.

The word comes from the Sanskrit cakra meaning "wheel, circle", and sometimes also referring to the "wheel of life". The pronunciation of this word can be approximated in English by chuh kruh ; with ch as in chart and both instances of a as in yoga (the commonly found pronunciation shock rah is incorrect).

Self-realization

In yoga, self-realization is knowledge of one's true self. This true self is also referred to as the atma to avoid ambiguity. The term "self-realization" is a translation of the Sanskrit expression atma jnana (knowledge of the self or atma). The reason the term "realization" is used instead of "knowledge" is that jnana refers to knowledge based on experience, not mere intellectual knowledge.

As discussed in the article on yoga, while the goal of self-realization is the same in all yoga paths, the means used to achieve that goal differ. For example, in Sahajayoga or hatha yoga, self-realization is said to be achieved when the serpent force or kundalini rises through the shushumna nadi to the sahasrara chakra.

Asana

Asana is a Sanskrit word that literally means a seat but in the practice of yoga refers to a pose or posture. In Patanjali's yoga sutras Asana means, mainly, sitting for meditation.

The practice of asana involves stretching and moving the body into various positions. With practice, the body can be made to remain in a given position for a longer period of time, comfortably. When a degree of comfort is attained in a given posture, it becomes Asana . In general, however, the term is also used to refer to physical yoga exercises in general. Asana

Soul

The soul , according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is the ethereal substance — spirit — particular to a unique living being. Such traditions often consider the soul both immortal and innately aware of its immortal nature, as well as the true basis for sentience in each living being.

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 happens to the soul after death. Many within these religions and philosophies see the soul as immaterial, while others consider it possibly material. Soul

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