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" If the world is a tree,

we are the blossoms "

Novalis

Two Souls

January 13th, 2009

In the Jain tradition (and in other spiritual teachings too) they believe that animals have souls that are no different to human souls.

There are other explanations for what you will see here, of course, but what if this central teaching of one of the world’s oldest religions is indeed true?

6 Responses to “Two Souls”

  1. Thank you for drawing my attention to this delightful video Philip.
    Living in the woods as I do, I’ve never ventured into the blogosphere until now.
    For me, its not just a written teaching when the Jains and others talk of all creatures having a soul, like humans; it has been an experiential truth since childhood. If only we could apprehend and appreciate this as a species, then we would treat the whole universe as being sentient and soulful, rather than simply there for human amusement.

  2. I have never doubted they have souls.

    The heartfelt sounds Tara made as they carried her friend Bella out to her made me cry.

    Welcome to the blogosphere, jj. šŸ™‚

  3. I am always fascinated by our surprise at the intelligence and emotional range of other animals. In our society, we can’t truly believe that, as Darwin put it, our difference lie in degree rather than kind. Study after study piles up about how intelligent and emotionally rich other animals are, and yet we persist in ignoring the evidence, even when everyone who has ever shared a home with an animal knows that they’re genuine individuals. It has enormous implications for how we live and relate to others.

  4. Sometimes Iā€™m not sure about the existence of an actual soul, as something that is at once part of us and yet lives on. Not that that means life is any less precious. Regardless, we do have so much more in common with the other creatures of this world than we like to admit. This was a wonderful story and brought tears to my eyes.

  5. That brought tears to my eyes,
    At the moment i have 2 dogs, 1 stray cat, 6 hedgehogs 2 possums and about 40 wild birds i feed every day, and whoever else wants to stay are welcome,
    they all manage to live in harmony with each other, ive observed their behavior and its truly fascinating, each have their own personality and quirky little habbits, they all have souls and feelings and intelligence, they have bad hair days just like us, and they have their daily routines just like us, they sense when one is injured or in pain,
    Animals are truly inspirational.

  6. Yes, they all have different personalities, and are who they are from the day they are born, just like human babies. Mine certainly love, hate, have jealousies, feel sadness and joy, and form friendships amongst themselves. Some are old souls and some seem very young souls indeed! šŸ™‚ If they were all the same where would be the fun in living with them?

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