Well, it just speaks to the greatest psychological divide of the human species - the valuing of the individual vs "the group". Ever notice how the lefties are attracted to Eastern spiritual thought? Western thought sees the "soul" as a sort of fixed individual, no matter what body that soul occupies (look at any Western comedy that involves reincarnation. Even Virgil described Roman reincarnation as involving a loss of memory, but not a loss of basic personality/individualism.) In Eastern religions, the soul is a formless thing, a lost shard of a larger ... entity ... shaped and given personality by whatever vessel it happens to find itself in, and wants nothing more than to eventually meld with the "All" and not be an individual thing any more; and even that "All" isn't any kind of "conscious individual" itself.

Well, it just speaks to the greatest psychological divide of the human species - the valuing of the individual vs "the group". Ever notice how the lefties are attracted to Eastern spiritual thought? Western thought sees the "soul" as a sort of fixed individual, no matter what body that soul occupies (look at any Western comedy that involves reincarnation. Even Virgil described Roman reincarnation as involving a loss of memory, but not a loss of basic personality/individualism.) In Eastern religions, the soul is a formless thing, a lost shard of a larger ... entity ... shaped and given personality by whatever vessel it happens to find itself in, and wants nothing more than to eventually meld with the "All" and not be an individual thing any more; and even that "All" isn't any kind of "conscious individual" like gods tend to be.

Well, it just speaks to the greatest psychological divide of the human species - the valuing of the individual vs "the group". Ever notice how the lefties are attracted to Eastern spiritual thought? Western thought sees the "soul" as a sort of fixed individual, no matter what body that soul occupies (look at any Western comedy that involves reincarnation. Even Virgil described Roman reincarnation as involving a loss of memory, but not a loss of basic personality/individualism.) In Eastern religions, the soul is a formless thing, a lost shard of a larger ... entity ... shaped and given personality by whatever vessel it happens to find itself in, and wants nothing more than to eventually meld with the "All" and not be an individual thing any more.