The Human Soul According to the “Upanishads” and the “Transcendent Wisdom”

The study of the human soul was considered by philosophers since ancient times and eastern philosophers especially Indian had believed that the human soul is eternal and for thousands of years transmigrates into various bodies and eventually it would disappear in Brahma’s essence. The most important school of Upanishadic Indian philosophy that is called Vidanta has this theory about the soul. Another school under study is the transcendent wisdom of Sadr al-Muta'allehin. With this description, Are the theories of both philosophical schools about the soul, the same or different? If there are differences, how should the theories of the Upanishads be criticized on the basis of the Transcendent Wisdom?

This article is a comparative one and is a new work in this ground, and the main sources of this research are the four journeys of the Transcenddent Wisdom of Mulla Sadra and The Sirri-Akbar of Dara Shikoh. The Upanishads is the first and ancient book of Indian philosophy explains; the soul is present in all parts of the human body and all body powers are manifestations of the soul, and the soul has unity with its all powers. The same claim is made by Transcendent Wisdom of Sadr al-Mute'allihin in Islamic philosophy. He says: The soul in its unity, is the whole of the powers and is present in all body.

This article will compare the theories of two schools and the major ideas which will be discussed are; The Definition of the Soul, its Proofs, The Immateriality of the Soul, The Relationship between the Soul and the Body and its Powers, The Eternity and Creation of the Soul, The Immortality and the Reincarnation of the Soul.