Soul

Soul is a word used to translate the Greek term (ψυχή psychē), meaning "life, spirit, consciousness". The Greek verb from which the word derives means "to cool, to blow" and therefore refers to the vital breath, the animating principle in humans and other animals (the Latin term being anima from which the word "animal" is derived.

In the Theosophical literature human beings are described as being composed of seven principles, three of which are regarded as "souls." In 1883 A. P. Sinnett described them as follows:

4. Animal Soul. . . . . . Kama Rupa.

5. Human Soul. . . . . . Manas.

6. Spiritual Soul. . . . . Buddhi.

Animal soul

This term in Theosophy is generally applied to the fourth principle in human beings (kāma), although in some occasions it refers to the incarnated ray of fifth principle, the lower manas or lower mind, which in most people act in close association with kāma.

In October 1881 A. O. Hume defines the animal soul as the combination of the "astral body (Liṅga-śarīra), the "astral shape" (Kāmarūpa), and the "animal or physical intelligence"Lower manas. Some of the The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett are based on this classification.

In December 1881 H. P. Blavatsky wrote about the "animal soul" as being the "kama-rupa" of a living man, while in January 1882, T. Subba Row speaks of it as the "physical intelligence."

After Sinnett's publication of the Esoteric Buddhism in 1883 the animal soul is generally regarded as the fourth principle, kāma.

Online resources

Articles and pamphlets

• Soul at Theosopedia
• The Birth and Evolution of the Soul, Part I and Part II by Annie Besant
• Proofs of the Existence of the Soul by Annie Besant