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The 'Atman' or 'Atma' (IAST: Ātmā, sanskrit: आत्म‍ ) is a philosophical term used within Hinduism and Vedanta to identify the soul. It is one's true self (hence generally translated into English as 'Self') beyond identification with the phenomenal reality of worldly existence.

Contents

Schools of thought

Miscellaneous

See also

Footnotes

Schools of thought

Some schools such as Advaita see the soul within each living entity as being fully identical with Brahman - the all-pervading soul of the universe, whereas other schools such as Dvaita differentiate between the individual atma in living beings, and the Supreme atma (Paramatma) as being at least partially separate beings.^[1] Thus ''atman'' can be used to describe an individual soul or the impersonal 'supreme' depending on the speaker's philosophical point of view.^[2]
In Advaita the Atman is the universal life-principle, the animator of all organisms, and the world-soul. This view is of a sort of panentheism (not pantheism) and thus is sometimes not equated with the single creator God of monotheism. Dvaita Vedanta calls the all-pervading aspect of Brahman ''Paramatman'' quantitatively different from individual Atman.
Identification of individual living beings/souls, or jiva-atmas, with the 'One Atman' is the monistic Advaita Vedanta position, which is critiqued by dualistic/theistic Dvaita Vedanta. Dvaita Vedanta claims reality for both a God functioning as the ultimate metaphorical "soul" of the universe, and for actual individual "souls" as such. The 'dvaita' (or dualist) schools, therefore, in contrast to Advaita, advocate an exclusive monotheistic position wherein Brahman is made synonymous with Vishnu. A compromise is taught by schools like Vishishtadvaita Vedanta. Achintya Bheda Abheda school harmonizes both views by teaching their quantitative difference and qualitative sameness.
In some instances both Advaita and Dvaita schools may accommodate the others's belief as a lower form of worship or practice towards the same ultimate goal. ^[3]

Miscellaneous

Adherents to Jainism also use the phrase the ''atman'' to refer to 'the self'. Often atma is mistaken as being interchangeable with the word jiva with the difference being somewhat subtle. Whereas atman refers to ''the self'', jiva refers to ''the living being'', the exact comprehension of which varies throughout the philosophical schools.

See also

★ Atman (Buddhism)

★ Jiva

★ Hindu philosophy

★ Achintya Bheda Abheda

★ Anatta

★ Ramanuja

★ Tree of Jiva and Atman

Footnotes

1. Bhagavata Purana 3.28.41
2. Bhagavata Purana 7.7.19-20 ""Atma" refers to the Supreme Lord or the living entities. Both of them are spiritual."
3. Bhagavad Gita 12.3-4 "But those who fully worship the unmanifested, that which lies beyond the perception of the senses, the all-pervading, inconceivable, unchanging, fixed and immovable -- the impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth -- by controlling the various senses and being equally disposed to everyone, such persons, engaged in the welfare of all, at last achieve Me."