Is it possible to really, actually, know yourself? Descartes said the self was the only thing we can know — I think therefore I am — but other philosophical traditions say the self doesn’t even exist.

Indian religion and philosophy has explored these questions from all angles for thousands of years, and new ideas continue to develop even today. From the ancient teachings of Vasubandhu, to the relatively modern tradition of the Brahma Kumaris: What, if anything, is the soul?

Sister Jayanti is Director of the Brahma Kumaris in Europe and the Middle East, and since 1982, the Brahma Kumaris’ main representative to the UN.

Associate Professor Monima Chadha is Associate Professor of Philosophy, and a member of the Centre for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies, at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Her latest book is Selfless Minds: A Contemporary Perspective on Vasubandhu's Metaphysics (Oxford University Press, 2023)

For more on the soul, body and the self, explore Flesh Week by ABC Religion and Ethics.

The soul and the self

Soul Search explores contemporary religion and spirituality from the inside out — what we believe, how we express it, and the difference it makes in our lives

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"It's not coming out, but inviting in." For Benjamin Oh, storytelling is an act of courage and hospitality, sharing his multilayered identity: gay, Chinese, Catholic. Benjamin has been an advocate for LGBTIQ+ people inside the Catholic Church and beyond for 20 years.

Benjamin Oh is co-Chair of Equal Voices, a national ecumenical alliance of LGBTIQA+ Christians and allies in Australia. He is also the Chair of Rainbow Catholics Interagency Australia and Convenor of the GLBTIQA+ Interfaith & Intercultural Network (GIIN) and national Convenor of the Asian Australian Alliance.

He is a contributor to Blessed Are Those Who Mourn, a collection of Chinese Tongzhi Catholic's tales and the Amplify Queer Faith portrait collection.

Queer flourishing as resistance with Benjamin Oh

How much stuff is too much? It's a question rarely asked here in the 'Lucky Country', but it has become central to the life of Jonathan Cornford, a political economist and theologian exploring new ways of thinking about money and consumption.

Dr Jonathan Cornford is a political economist, historian and theologian. He's also the co-founder of Manna Gum, a ministry in 'good news economics' exploring alternative economic ethics. His most recent book is Ecology and Everyday Economics.

Rethinking prosperity

The nature of consciousness is a subject of enormous interest to both science and religion. Modern, secular mindfulness techniques have their foundation in ancient Buddhist thought, but it's only recently that neuroscientists have given serious attention to what actually happens in the brain when we meditate.

Dr Sara Lazar is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and leads the Lazar lab for Meditation Research at Massachusetts General hospital. She is one of the world's leading researchers into the impact of mindfulness techniques on the brain, and has been a yoga and meditation practitioner since 1994.

The Venerable Thubten Dondrub is resident teacher at Buddha House in Adelaide and has been an international teacher with the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition for nearly 50 years.

The science and spirituality of mindfulness

Keerthik Sasidharan grew up with stories from the great Indian epics. They fired his imagination, and they've stayed with him through all kinds of changes — including moving from India to New York City. Now he is reimagining the Mahābhārata, one of the major Sanskrit epics of ancient India.

Keerthik Sasidharan is an author and essayist based in New York City. His first book is The Dharma Forest, published by Penguin India in 2019.

More info
Read Keerthik Sasidharan's piece in Aeon magazine, The Way of Dharma
Listen to the episode of Soul Search mentioned in this episode, The music of doubt, grief and transformation

The stories that stick with us — Keerthik Sasidharan and the Mahābhārata

Thirty years after the Rwandan genocide, Rwandans are working towards a better future for the country, and each other — including the perpetrators of the violence. Also, an Australian doctor works tirelessly all over Africa to heal women of fistulas — a medical condition related to childbirth that's almost unheard of in wealthy countries.

Emmanuel Kwizera is a Partnership Facilitator with Compassion International and a former sponsor child. He survived the Rwandan genocide at the age of five and has since become a leader of the Rwanda alumni association, with over 10,000 Compassion alumni who support children in poverty. He is also a children's pastor at his Pentecostal church.

Dr Andrew Browning AM is Medical Director at the Barbara May Foundation. His book is A Doctor in Africa: The Australian surgeon changing the lives of women in Africa. He has completed over 8000 free fistula operations all over Africa. He is the nephew of Valerie Browning, who appeared on Soul Search in 2022.

The soul and the self

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