World Intelligence Glossary

 

  

 
   

Atman

 

  

 
   

The Soul, the Real Self / The 'Higher Self"

 

  

 
 

Atman means "The Soul, the Real Self". This is a foundational concept of Hinduism. The atman is spirit (brahman) – unchanging, eternal and conscious. Atman refers to the non-material self. It is distinct from both the mind and the external body.

This real self is beyond the temporary designations we normally ascribe to ourselves, in terms of race, gender, species and nationality.

  

 
East vs. West The Wheel of Life differences  

The Samsaric Cycle of Birth and Death

There is no true death of the soul – simply a sloughing of the body at the end of each round of birth and death. The purpose of this cycle is to allow a person to work off their karma, accumulated through lifetimes of action.