Do all souls eventually complete the journey to God? If not, what happens to the soul?
A.017: Hinduism as a religion, in general (with a few exceptions), is a religion of soteriological optimism; that is to say, it believes that all souls will be saved. It believes in universal salvation. In this connection, Ramakrishna said: Some get their meal in the morning, some in the afternoon and some in the evening; but none will go without food. This question is also raised by Arjuna in the sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, where he is assured by Krishna that while salvation (moksha) may be delayed or get lost in a detour, it cannot be denied to one who seeks it. Thus, it is possible that temporarily a soul may lose its way or feel lost, just as one may lose ones way in a city, but this is only a temporary state of affairs. –Dr. Arvind Sharma, Birks Professor of Religion, McGill University, Montreal, Canada; and a Patron of DANAM.
