The English version of the word "Atman" is "soul" or "Self". In Hindu Dharma, the word "Atman" has deeper connotations. It is the imperceptible, timeless, perpetual and essential self, residing within the mortal frame of every Jiva. Sri Krishna, the Divine Incarnation of MahaVishnu, explained to perplexed Arjuna, the Fundamental Truth of Existence, in the Eternal Book of Life, Bhagavad Gita : "… The main essence (of incarnate beings) is the Atman…."

The general concept of Atman, as per as the description of Bhagvad Gita is that, " …the soul is indestructible and eternal (2.18)…It is never born, never dies and after coming into existence never ceases to be. It is nitya(always), sasvatah(permanent), purana(very ancient) (2.20). At the time of death the soul does not die. It just leaves the body and enters into a new one (2.22)."

Atman inhabits in the unexplored, deepest recesses, of Jiva. "There the eyes cannot travel, nor speech nor mind. Nor do we know how to explain it… It is other than the known and beyond the unknown".

Atman is intrinsically connected to the Pure Consciousness of Brahman, the Cosmic Spirit. Hinduism asserts that Brahman is the Creative Aspect of God or Ishwara. Brahman is the Celestial Source of existence. It is the all-pervading, Divine Core, from which sprouts the inherent life force, driving every individual soul or Atman in Jiva.

Advaita philosophy of Hinduism sees no difference between the Brahman and Atman. Indeed, Mandukya Upanishad, reinforces this idea: "Atman the eternal, the Incommunicable, the end of phenomena, Brahman Itself ". It is Brahman, which manifests itself as the Jivatman within the tangible mould of the body, made of Prakriti, the "material-nature" of Ishwara. This ideology claiming every Atman, as Brahman, authenticates that all are Its Creations and Its Manifestations. Atman is the Universal Soul, the Brahman. Therefore each creature bears as much importance as the other has. It is emphatically declared about Atman, that "The adorable one is seated in the heart, and rules the breath of life. All the senses pay homage to Him. When He breaks out of the body in freedom from the bonds of flesh, what else remains? This Self is Supreme."

However, the Dvaita school of Hinduism distinguishes Jivatman from Brahman. Madhavacharya and his disciples were of the opinion, that every Jivatman is dependent on the Independent Reality or Svatantra Tatva of the Supreme Brahman or Parabrahman, for its emergence as living forms. All Jivas are rooted in Brahman, but not the whole of Brahman. They are His Reflections but not Brahman in all His Opulence.

The significant parable of the chariot in the Katha Upanishad elucidates the nature of Atman, the way of understanding the mystical Atman and thereby learning the transcendence of the Immanent Brahman. Atman is the path, which leads to Brahman. One can comprehend the immortal Atman only through Yoga or a mastery over the temporal characteristics of the Jiva or person. These are the body, the mind, the intellect and the senses. The material case of the body would have been rendered as inanimate, had the soul not invested it with life; whereas the command over the mind and the senses, invites a sublime knowledge of the Supreme Soul, the Ultimate Truth.

The parable of the chariot commences by drawing a basic comparison between two contrasting yet interrelated features of a Jiva, body and soul (Katha Upanishad, 3.3): "Know thou the soul (atman, self) as the Lord riding in a chariot,The body as the chariot."

This excerpt from the Katha Upanishads exemplifies the soul as a regal traveler or the king on a chariot. It is the soul, which like a traveler produces the vibrations of life in a lifeless body of the chariot. Without the traveler seated on the chariot, the chariot has no purpose. But the bodily frame of a chariot also protects the soul represented by the traveler. Just as the traveler cannot ride upto his destination without the chariot, the soul is similarly dependent on the body for its interaction with the world.


It`s amazing enough, to discover, that the soul is not the actual rider. It is the power of intellect, which drives the chariot and holds the mind as the reins : "Know thou the intellect (buddhi) as the chariot-driver" (Katha Upanishad, 3.3). And, "[know thou] the mind (manas) as the reins" (Katha Upanishad, 3.3). However Buddhi is not the Lord of the chariot, but a devoted friend to Atman, who helps Atman in executing its functions. Buddhi is the higher conscience, which keeps the manas, involving the thought-mode, "held firm". The Katha Upanishads , moves further by substituting the view, with the information, that "The senses(indriya) are said to be the horses and the selfish desires as the road(the senses) travel." Therefore if the mana is allowed to obey the signals of the senses, without being filtered through the control-network of Buddhi or wisdom, the chariot containing the Atman, will never forge ahead in the right direction. In the absence of Buddhi, the situation will be chaotic: "When the Self is confused with the body, mind and senses, they say that he appears to enjoy the pleasures and suffer sorrows."

Katha Upanishad (3.9), eulogizes the indispensability of Buddhi in the meditative pursuit of the Yogi. The Yogi aims to receive the Bliss of Moksha or emancipation of the soul from the burden of birth and rebirths and unite with the Supreme Consciousness of Brahman, or the Personal Brahman, Vishnu : "He, however, who has the understanding of a chariot-driver, A man who reins in his mind- He reaches the end of his journey, That highest place of Vishnu."

Hinduism avows, that "Above the senses is the mind, above the mind the intellect, above that is the ego and above the ego is the unmanifest cause. And beyond is Brahman, omnipresent and without attributes." Hence, the Nirguna Brahman of Hinduism, who is above the limited realms of attributes, is the Absolute Truth, presiding over everything.


The ego is the ignorant aspect of the Jiva, dwelling in illusion or under the spell of the primal power, Maya. Maya, exerts on Jiva an overriding sense of attachment to the worldly existence. The ego of the Jiva, leads to "mis knowledge". The egotistical Jiva, misled by sensory experiences, accept the visible reality as real. In the darkness of ignorance, the Jiva, thinks that the material body that he possesses is real and cannot sense the existence of the innermost Atman. The Katha Upanishad delineates the innate link between ego and Atman, "There are two selves, the separate ego and the indivisible Atman. When one raises itself above I, me and mine, Atman reveals itself as the real Self."

It is the Yogi, engaged in the great and illuminating activity of Yoga, who can subdue the hindering ego, and chastise it with the Ethereal Truth of Atman. During Yoga, no sense-responses, thought-movement and the pangs of desires disturb the mind and inflict suffering. A serene detachment from transient and worldly pleasures is obtained through the weapon of Buddhi. This ushers in such calmness and peace in the manas, that the whole being of the Jiva can now concentrate on the Yogic meditation on the Self or Atman. Scriptures focus on the state of Yoga, "When the mind and the five senses are stilled and when the intellect is stilled.... They say that Yoga is complete stillness in which one enters that state of Oneness." In fact, Bhagavad Gita, establishes the wonder of Yoga. The immeasurable worth of Yoga is fathomed in the accomplishment of Oneness or Unity and Enlightenment into the Highest Truth: "He enjoys the extreme bliss of union with Brahman and develops the unified vision of the Universal Self, seeing the Self in all and all in the Self."(6.21-29).

Hinduism thus instills in its followers a basic sense of respect for all forms of life, by driving home the glorious relation of Atman to Brahman. As long as life will thrive on this earth, the elevated research on the superior subject of Atman, will appeal to mankind.

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