Buddhism rejects the existence of the Soul and criticizes Vedas. Even some modern thinkers endorse no soul idea.+

Buddhism rejects the existence of the Soul and criticizes the Vedas. Even some modern thinkers endorse no soul idea.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman, the  Self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

From the Vedic perspective, the Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. Without the Atman, the universe ceases to exist.

Sage Sankara: ~ “VC~ All this universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but Brahman (Consciousness) which is absolutely free from all the limitations of Maya.

Sage Sankara: ~ VC~.63: "Without knowing and examining the universe, one can’t know the Truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go. It can go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.

Sage Sankara says: ~ “What is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead a person to the final goal. On the contrary, such acceptance will result only in evil, something which is detrimental to our spiritual progress.

Buddhism has not proved the truth of Non-duality. There is no doubt Bhagavan Buddha pointed out the unreality of the world. He told people they were foolish to cling to it. But he stopped there. He came nearest to Advaita in speech but not to Advaita fully.

Without the Athma or Soul, there is no nonduality because, Without Athma or Soul, the universe ceases to exist. By rejecting the existence of the Soul they are rejecting the truth hidden by ignorance.

The Soul, the Self is self-evident. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. It is not established by extraneous proof. It is not possible to deny the Soul because it is the very essence of the one who denies it.

The Soul is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. The Soul alone is real, all else is merely an illusion created out of the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness.

Dalai Lama said: ~ Buddhism need not be the best religion though it is most scientific and religion and inquisitive. But Buddhism has no answer to certain questions like the existence of Atama (Soul) and rebirth. Dali Lama said that as an individual he believes in rebirth as he had come across a few cases of rebirth. Modern science, Dalai Lama hoped would unearth the mystery behind the rebirth. (In DH –dec-212009-Gulbarga)

Sage Sankara disagrees with Buddhists who say, there is nothing - a nonentity. Sage Sankara believes there is some reality, even though things are not what they appear to be. If one knows the truth, he will know what to do to find inspiration for action. The seeker of truth‘s subject is to know what is it that is Real.

Buddhism says: all things are illusory and nothing exists. However, Advaita avers that it is not so. It says that the universe, of course, is illusory, but there is Brahman (consciousness), that exists forming the very substratum of all things (illusion or universe).

Remember:~

There are no individual Souls.

The Soul is not an individual. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The Soul is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. The Soul is the cause of the universe which contains the whole of humanity. Thus, limiting the Soul to an individual is erroneous.

Sage Sankara asks his opponents "How do you know there are separate individual Souls? Have you seen the Soul of a man? You can only say that you have seen different bodies. To say more is to misuse language. Therefore I call you liars unless you give proof, which is impossible.

The Soul, the ‘Self’ is in the form of consciousness without the division of form, time, and space. Form, time, and space are merely an illusion created out of consciousness. The Soul, the ‘Self’, is the fullness of consciousness. In the cloud there is nothing other than the water, so too consciousness is nothing other than itself. Consciousness is absolute without a second.

The moon reflects on the water and appears as many, the ‘Self’ is just like the reflection of the moon on the water which increases with the volume of water and decreases with its reduction, which moves when the water moves, and which differs as the water differs. The moon seems to conform to the characteristics of water, but in reality, the moon never has these increasing or decreasing qualities. So also, from the highest point of view, consciousness always retains its sameness; it seems to conform to such characteristics as an increase and decrease of the limiting adjunct, owing to its entry into such an adjunct as a universe.

A thread is drawn from cotton and is woven into cloth. But the reality of cotton is in both of these forms, viz., thread and cloth. Similarly, the projections of names and forms of this material universe on consciousness do not alter the nature of consciousness. It remains as it is without any change. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar