Heraclitus said: "Everything flows and nothing is left (unchanged)" ie you cannot step in the same river twice. What does that imply re the current "me" (whoever that is) taking responsibility for actions performed by a previous "me" (whoever that was)? There are major problems understanding or defining the "self/soul". For starters, there's the issue of where the self lives. Then there's the issue of whether the "I" that I am now is the same as the "I" of ten years ago, or a minute ago, or even the "I" in another memory or mind. And then there's the issue of what I believe and what I perceive. For example, with the speed of light greater than 186,000 miles per second, by the time I become aware of what I am looking at, it is no longer the same thing as it was before. Similarly, when we look through a telescope at, say, the nearest star to our own (Proxima Centauri), we are looking into the past. We are looking at Proxima Centari as it was 4.24 years ago. Some believe that the only time there is, is right now, the eternal moment. And that the eternal moment is all there is, was and ever will be. And that all that "I" am, have, do, know is part of or the whole of the eternal moment, per the "Tat Tvam Asi" ("you are that"/"I am that I am") of vedantic hinduism in which the soul (or consciousness if you prefer) is wholly or partially the ultimate reality, (whatever that means). Copyright © S R Schwarz 2007. All rights reserved.
