Theosophy

Hinduism contains the most comprehensive theosophy one can hope for. Basically, there are five elements to the philosophy: God, the individual souls called the jivas, the prakriti or the material nature, karma and Time. God is the Cause and Destiny of the Universe. He is Unborn, Eternal and without a beginning or end. The individual souls (jivas) are eternal and are of the same nature as that of God but not the same. The analogy given is that of sparks (jivas) and the fire (the God). The material nature is made of three qualities: the goodness, the passion and the ignorance. Every living being contains a combination of these three qualities even though one quality may predominate over the others. The material nature, prakriti, is under God’s authority. Karma is the result of activity of the jivas. Time is also considered eternal. Of the five concepts, only karma is non-eternal. Although, we may be suffering or enjoying the fruits of very ancient karma, it can be neutralized by God’s grace and the perfection of our lives.

 

Are the jivas the same or different from God? Basically there are two different views on this subject. The monists stress that there is nothing else but God. They believe that the jivatma (the human soul) and Paramatma (the God Soul) are one and the same. The dualists believe that the jivas, although of the same quality as that of God, are nevertheless separate entities. Then of course there are attempts at a compromise.