On Hinduism

First, Soul is not Atman.

Think of Atma (or Soul as in this question) as the life energy within you that moves from one body to another body in the cycle of life and death that we call Samsara. This life energy is a part of the infinite,  unbounded energy that prevails the entire cosmos (Parmatama). When one talks about life energy, it is unbounded and not in terms of numbers. 

People ask when more births are happening than death, does that mean souls are coming from other life forms (animals, plans, etc.) and the total aggregate number of souls is constant on Earth?

Please know that numbers are only for the physical world, the life force (atma) knows no such physical limit and its arithmetic as the fundamental life force is unbounded and permeates the entire existence. 

I have one lit candle. Five people come by and light their candles from my one light. Where have the new flames come from? The rules of physical mathematics do not apply to the spiritual realm.

Can we reach infinite by counting 1, 2, 3 to 100, to 1000, to millions and so on? We will keep counting endlessly but will never reach the Infinite. So the question of the finite number of souls on earth would not be a valid one as soul is an infinitesimal part of this unbounded infinite energy and we can not count in terms of numbers. 

Source: Sadhguru Satsang

Other reading material:

Relevant videos: Swami Nikhil Anand Is the soul of an ant bigger than the soul of a whale?,

Contributor: Vikas Gupta

Location of this post (16a): https://www.hinduspeakers.org/ufaqs/if-a-soul-goes-to-a-new-body-where-does-a-new-soul-come-for-increased-world-population/

According to Hindu scriptures, there is no death for the Atman (soul is a wrong term). The human Atman (jīvātma) is considered to be of the same essence as the Divine Supreme Atman (paramātma), also termed as Consciousness. Hence the Atman, in the Hindu context, is eternal, imperishable, changeless, and that which illumines everything. 

The Atman can be thought of as a source of light. While the furniture in a room might keep changing, the reason one can see and experience these items is due to the presence of the light. Similarly, we are able to perceive, feel and think in the world because of our soul.

Lord Krishna declares in the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 20:

na jāyate mriyate vā kadāchin nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ

ajo nityaḥ śhāśhvato ’yaṁ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śharīre

The Atman is neither born, nor does it ever die; nor having once existed, does it ever cease to be. It is without birth, eternal, immortal, and ageless. The Atman is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.

Thus, Hindu theologians conclude that the Atman does not die. When a person passes on, their body decays, mind stops thinking, but the Atman, however, continues to exist. It leaves the body and moves onto a different realm of experience, based on what that particular Atman needs for evolution. This is valid for all living beings, and not just humans. It is due to this belief system that Hindus propound the theory of karma and reincarnation. The Atman evolves by taking on different births, until it reaches spiritual maturity and finally merges with the Divine Consciousness. This, liberation (moksha), is the goal of life on earth.

Other reading material: Reincarnation: WHO is it that Travels? Atma? Jiva? Subtle body?

Relevant videos: Swami Nikhil Anand Hinduism Q & A: What happens when we die?, Hinduism Q & A: Can the soul die?, Hinduism Q & A: What is Reincarnation?, 

Contributor: Lakshmi Subramanian

Location of this post (16b): https://www.hinduspeakers.org/ufaqs/can-the-soul-die/

Just as the combination of many strong and weak, visible and invisible forms of energy gives rise to waves in an ocean, the Brahman/Atma (energy, soul is not a right terminology) gives life to entities around us and including us. Why were the waves created? We don’t know. Why were Atman created? We don’t know. It just is. 

GOD didn’t create Atmans. Atmans existed in the past, exist in the present and will exist in the future

na jāyate mriyate vā kadāchin

nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ

ajo nityaḥ śhāśhvato ’yaṁ purāṇo

na hanyate hanyamāne śharīre

The Atman is neither born, nor does it ever die; nor having once existed, does it ever cease to be. The Atman is without birth, eternal, immortal, and ageless. It is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.

Other reading material:

Relevant videos: Swami Nikhil Anand Hinduism Q & A: Why did God create souls?

Contributor: Rajeev Singh

Location of this post (16c): https://www.hinduspeakers.org/ufaqs/why-did-god-create-souls/

Not every soul (Atman is the correct terminology) that is manifested is incarnate in human form at any given time. Aside from the Atmans that are now embodied in the plant and animal kingdom, there are other spheres of existence where Atmans reside. And Atmans are consistently emanating from Divinity. The Hindu scriptures do not place an exact number of Atmans, either in the created universe or beyond.

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Other reading material: Reincarnation: WHO is it that Travels? Atma? Jiva? Subtle body?

Relevant videos: Swami Nikhil Anand Hinduism Q & A: How many souls are there?,

Contributor: Fred Stella

Location of this post (16d): https://www.hinduspeakers.org/ufaqs/how-many-souls-are-there/

Soul (correct terminology, Atman) is an eternal entity that animates the life of all living creatures. The divinity of the Atman gives life (consciousness or life installed by the prana) to the creature. A Atman is like a powerful small light, illuminating the entire dark room. All Atmans, that of an ant or a whale, are inherently the same.

According to Svetasvatara Upanishad (5.9) the size of the Atman is ten-thousandth part of the tip of the hair.

balagra sata bhagasya

satadha kalpitasya ca

bhago jivah sa vijneyah

sa canantyaya kalpate || 

Translation: When the upper tip of a hair follicle is divided into one hundred parts and again each of such parts is further divided into one hundred parts, each such part is the size of the Atman. 

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Other reading material:

Relevant videos: Swami Nikhil Anand Hinduism Q & A: Is the soul of an ant bigger than the soul of a whale?, Hinduism Q & A: What is the size of the soul?

Contributor: Dilip Amin

Location of this post (16e): https://www.hinduspeakers.org/ufaqs/is-the-soul-of-an-ant-bigger-than-the-soul-of-a-whale/

Ātman (Ātmā) is not exactly the same as what is commonly called the “soul.”

• In Christian thought, the soul is the incorporeal essence of a human being. At death, God determines the soul’s eternal fate—reward or punishment. The idea that “soul = God” is considered blasphemous in most Abrahamic traditions. Furthermore, only humans are said to have souls.
  
• In Hindu thought, Ātman is the divine Self—eternal, unchanging, and identical with Brahman (the Ultimate Reality). The Divine manifests in all living beings as Ātman, not only in humans but also in animals and all forms of life.
  

The Bhagavad Gita (2:22 or 2:20) explains that the Ātman moves from one body to another, discarding the old and taking on the new, just as we change clothes. The body is temporary, while the Ātman is permanent and in command.

Unlike the Christian soul, which can be corrupted by sin or the devil, the Ātman in Hinduism is never tainted. It remains pure and divine, beyond birth and death.

Other reading material: Rajiv Malhotra, Academic Hinduphobia, 2016 (p. 49)

Relevant videos:

Contributor: Dilip Amin

Location of this post (16f): https://www.hinduspeakers.org/ufaqs/is-atman-the-same-as-soul/

Soul or Atman is an eternal entity that animates the life of all living creatures. Human beings, therefore, do not stand in an exclusive position in this regard. Every single creature, both giant and small, including insects and microscopic organisms, possesses a soul. Yes, all souls are inherently the same.

Different souls have different sense-capability. Examples of one-sense living entities would include various types of plant life. A two-sense living being would include life forms such as shellfish and worms; a three-sense creature would include ants and snails; a four-sense life forms would include various types of flying insect, such as bees and butterflies; and a five-sense living being would include humans, as well as animals. Even so, all souls are inherently the same.

Other reading material:

Relevant videos: Swami Nikhil Anand Hinduism Q & A: Are All Souls Equal

Contributor: Dilip Amin

URL of this page: hinduspeakers.org/ufaqs/are-all-souls-equal/