My core Hindu beliefs in one paragraph, about the question: Have I changed over the years?
I wrote the below paragraph (perhaps slightly edited) in a recent correspondence related to the question: Have I changed over the years?
There is a core divine consciousness/awareness aspect to my being/life that does not change and is eternal - it is a sort of changeless and divine witnessing aspect referred to as 'Atma' in Hindu scripture, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%80tman_(Hinduism) . This 'Atma' (sometimes translated in English as 'Self') does not die - only the body dies and some subtle aspects of the mind may be carried on to another birth (new physical body) at times, or there may not be any more births for that person (in which case the mind also gets finished / dies fully). The latter case of no more births is dependent on one fully earning the grace of the Divine (God) through devotion to Divine and/or wisdom about Atma (self-realization), and typically having finished one's Karma, thereby merging in the Divine Spirit (Parabrahman, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Para_Brahman ) that permeates all creation and from which all creation emerged. [Karma is the spiritual principle of cause and effect related to one's (good and bad) actions in the world (having good and bad effects respectively), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma , with some exceptions related to doing actions selflessly in a spirit of devotion to God, and Divine Grace.] What changes over life is my mind-body complex. But the core 'I' of my being - 'Atma' - does not change, and is eternal and deathless.
The above beliefs are based on my understanding of core Hindu scripture like Upanishads, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upanishads and Bhagavad Geeta, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita.
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