Reflections On The Soul

You ask me what the human soul is? No human science can ever fashion  what the soul is in its depth. What the soul is in its ground no one knows. But this we do know: The soul is where God works compassion.

Meister Eckhart Cited in Christian Mystics

Matthew Fox reflects on Eckhart’s words and adds these thoughts:

Our souls are deeply mysterious and deeply unknowable. Today we would say that they contain the unconscious. But the key to it, in Eckhart’s eyes, is that it is the place where compassion happens. We might turn this around and Say: We do not truly have a soul until we become instruments of divine compassion. 

Compassion is the fullness of being human. It is proof we have a soul.

Whenever I have reflected on the nature of evil in all of its terror, destruction and even in its banalty, one of the chief markers, as I see it, is the capacity for empathy and the willingness to act with compassion towards a situation, person, animal etc.. 

Compassion is a universal value or virtue; none of the great religious traditions that I am aware of exclude it… In fact, they are closer to demanding it as an ethical and moral proof of commitment to those religious ideals.

The absence of any sense of internal moral compass, traditionally called a conscience, where we can discern motives and determine our best actions is not only a definitive marker for mental illness, but also a reliable  factor in assessing if the person, to see or witness,in the words of Eckhart, has a soul…

There is a tragic connection to cruelty here;  Cruelty to animals, to others, and towards oneself that identifies the person as being potentially soul-less– Not that they do not have a soul, as I believe every living thing has a consciousness or a soul, but that our capacity for cruelty appears to be linked with a coarse sense of self rooted in either power or powerlessness; usually without any capacity or willingness to reflect on the meaning and consequences of one’s actions. 

It is said that the people who are the most violent are also the most fearful and the most abused. Compassionate understanding, moral guidance, and a willingness to be vulnerable to life in ways that change our outlooks and attitudes would be the most effective means to reduce or eliminate cruelty. 

However, compassion can be hard work, and not easily won if you do not have role models or a supportive social system that reinforces a more benevolent and caring outlook on life. It takes a distinct ethical awareness and a true sense of unselfishness to awaken it, or bear witness to it that can develop into being an active soul.