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RECONCILIATION.
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exception of Jainism, are all more or less obscure on the point, as has already been seen. Thus, when purged of the elements of vagueness and error which have gathered round the nature of the Ideal, the Nirvana of Buddha, the 'aham Brahman asmi' of Vedanta, and the Father-li ke Perfection, or the Kingdom of Heaven, of Jesus, convey identically the same idea as that set by Jainism before mankind. Even amongst Mahomedans, the Sufis and some others believe in becoming one with God. Mr. Amir Ali points out ('Islam,' p. 15):
“ A large section of Muslims, especially those inclined to Sufi-ism, believe, however, that as the human soul is an emanation from God, the highest joy would consist in its fusion with the Universal Soul, whilst the greatest pain would be in a state of separation from the Divine Essence,"
That the same idea underlies the true teaching of the Qur'an will be demonstrated presently.
There remains the question, whether it is possible to attain to the highest ideal of happiness ? On this point, it is refreshing to note that there is no difference of opinion among the founders of the different religions who all declare, with one voice, that one has only to try for it to realize it. But while this is so, so far as the main conclusion is concerned, there is, nevertheless, a slight misunderstanding as regards the various arguments which philosophers have advanced, from time to time, to support it with. The subject is divisible into three heads, namely,
(1) God, (2) Nature, and
(3) souls; and covers the whole field of philosophy. In the West
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