According to Hindu tradition, Brahman is the source of all existence and existence itself. Atman is synonymous with the everlasting self. They are both distinct entities, yet the universe is inextricably linked to the eternal self, and your eternal self is inextricably linked to the cosmos. What is Brahman and Atman in Hinduism? Let us evaluate both concepts.
In both cases, there is only one way of seeing things. They are both distinct entities, yet the universe is inextricably linked to the eternal self, and your eternal self is inextricably linked to the cosmos. They are immutable.
That is flawless or heavenly. For Hindus, the essential point is to cope with the cosmos as it is, to seek redemption via freedom from the constraints of the world.
The statement “atman is Brahman” encapsulates the fundamental concept of the Vedanta school about ultimate reality and our human connection with it. Vedanta is one of the biggest and most influential schools of Hindu thinking.
What does the expression “atman is Brahman” mean?
So, in simpler terms, we may say: Divide the sentence into its two core ideas.
The first is “atman,” which translates roughly as “soul” or “individual soul.” Atman is a term that refers to the essence of each living creature – its soul or basic life force. Each living thing – whether it is a person, an animal, or a plant – has an atman, which is what gives each thing its everlasting nature. The atman is neither identical to the body, nor is the body everlasting. Until the body dies, the atman remains in the body. Atman is everlasting and immortal.
Brahman is the Sanskrit term for “cosmic spirit” or “cosmic soul.” It is the universe’s everlasting essence and ultimate divine reality. It is the wellspring of life for all that has been, is, and will be throughout the universe. It is not a distinct entity; rather, it is the primordial basis or truth of all being and existence.
Thus, the statement “atman is Brahman” simply means that the individual soul is identical to the global soul.
Therefore, each individual soul – for example, my or mine – is born from and is composed of the same reality as the global soul. There is no difference between ourselves and the ultimate divine truth.
The idea behind this is really brilliant!
This essentially implies that we are divine in our most fundamental nature. All living things, in their core, are divine. Now, that holy self may be concealed or obscured by hate, envy, fear, or any other bad emotion. However, it exists and is our “real” and “eternal” selves.
Perhaps you’ve heard individuals express their greetings, farewells, or greetings with the phrase “namaste” followed by joined hands and a bow. This greeting translates as “the divine in me respects the divine in you.” This assertion is consistent with the idea that “atman is Brahman” – that all living things are ultimately divine.
This idea is at the core of most of Hinduism’s nonviolent heritage, and it has extended to various systems of thinking across the globe. It continues by defining Brahman as SAT (Being), CHIT (Consciousness), and ANANTA (boundless) – other scriptures use the term NANDA or Joy in place of ananta, but both terms allude to the limitless divine love and bliss.
Thus, Brahman is the Universe’s fabric or network defined as a BEING – there is no before or after, no up or down, no in or out – THAT IS – time-space. Brahman is the All-Pervading Field.
Throughout the universe, consciousness permeates everything, and it is an essential part of the very fabric of the universe itself. Bliss, love – Brahman’s fundamental essence is boundless and expansive.
Now, atman is a mode, or moiety, of Brahman, which is referred to in Sanskrit as aa. Each and every ama of Brahman is defined by the same three fundamental characteristics, but in a state determined by KARMA.
These are referred to as:–
asti — existence – time, space, and causation-bound.
bhti – consciousness – is characterized by three components: perception, cognition, and experience.
prti – adoration. Every sentient person has love – first and foremost, self-love – followed by love for a spouse, children, and friends, among others, in an ever-expanding circle of inclusion. It never extends beyond self-love in less evolved animals, and in the higher phases of spiritual development, love encompasses all sentient and insentient entities.
Our exterior world is composed of name and shape.
Brahman as Infinite Existence, Infinite Knowledge, and Infinite Bliss, also known as sat-cit-ananda, is the ultimate reality and the sole reality, according to Hinduism and other religions. These are the sole characteristics that may be attributed to Brahman, and they are identical.
It is without a name, shape, or stain, existing beyond of space, time, and causality. It is a singularity devoid of a second. It is all inclusive. There is no one else. “There is no such thing as nature, God, or the cosmos; there is only that One Infinite Existence from which all of things are manufactured via name and form.”
Our objective is to reconnect with that Brahman
Each of us is that Brahman, that Reality, in addition to this Maya. Brahman is an impersonal Being devoid of characteristics and distinctions, unconnected with any object or object universe. This implies that Brahman, like Sankara’s Absolute, is completely formless, qualityless, and distinctionless, nirguna and nirvisesa, and that there is no distinction between them on this point.
The following description of Brahman is the consequence of his thought’s positive progression. It is the traditional route of negation, not this, not this, to reach Brahman. However, in addition to the negative route, he takes a positive path and reaffirms all that was first denied in a new light and with a new meaning.
We must first overcome the negative, and then go on to the positive. We must abandon ignorance and everything that is untrue, and only then can truth begin to show itself. When we comprehend the truth, the things we first relinquish take on new shape and form, appear in a new light, and become deified.
They will have been sublimated, and at that point, we will be able to comprehend them in their real light. However, in order to comprehend them, we must first get a vision of reality; we must first give them up and then reclaim them as deified.”
The Absolute’s aspect as Ishvara, the Personal God, is none other than Brahman’s relative aspect. He emphasizes that the same -sat-cit-ananda is also the God of love, implying that the Impersonal and Personal are one. The Personal God worshiped by a bhakta is neither distinct from or superior to Brahman.
All is Brahman, the Absolute; nevertheless, Brahman as oneness or absolute is too abstract to be loved and worshiped; therefore, the bhakta chooses the relative aspect of Brahman, namely Ishvara, the Supreme Ruler.
In reality, the Personal God as we understand Him is a phenomena. Causation as a concept exists only in the phenomenal world, and God, as the cause of this cosmos, must naturally be considered limited, even if He is the same Impersonal God.
The Impersonal, rather than obliterating the Personal, and the Absolute, rather than eroding the relative, only fully explains it to the satisfaction of our reason and emotions. All that exists in the cosmos, including the Personal God, is the same Impersonal Being seen via our thoughts.
Vedanta believes that Brahman does not entirely eliminate the universe of things. It is not, as with Sankara’s Advaita, that Brahman alone is real and the world is illusory, brahman satyam, jaganmithya, but that the world is also real in some way. According to the Vedas, Vedanta does not really condemn the universe. What it tries to teach is the deification of the world, not its destruction – renunciation of the world as we normally conceive of it, as it seems to us, in order to discover what it really is.
God should provide protection for all of this – for everything that moves on the planet.
You may have your wife; this does not imply you must forsake her, but rather that you must recognize God in her “‘. Additionally, you are to “God can be seen in your children. As is the case with everything. The Lord is equally present in life and death, in pleasure and in sorrow. The Lord fills the whole universe. Allow your eyes to be opened and you will see Him.
In terms of the manner and attitude with which we are to go about our business in the world, we may want to think about what he has to say. This, he asserts, is the Vedantic path and attitude. We are to labor by renunciating the visible, or illusory, reality. This implies that we are to operate through the lens of God’s presence.
The totality of all souls, which he defined as “the only God in whom I believe, and especially my God the evil, my God the wretched, my God the poor of all races.” If you want to live a hundred years, he adds, you may have all worldly aspirations; just deify and transform them to paradise. By working in this manner, you will discover a way out. There is no alternative.
If a guy dives headfirst into the world’s pleasures without first learning the truth, he has lost his foothold and will never achieve the objective. And if a man hates the world, withdraws into a wilderness, mortifies his body, and gradually starves himself to death, destroying his heart, eradicating all emotions, and becoming harsh, severe, and dried up, that guy has likewise lost the path.
These are the two polar opposites, the two errors on each end. Both have been disoriented and have missed their objective. Thus, the Vedanta states, labor by incorporating God into everything and acknowledging His presence in everything.
No distinction is made between the holy and the secular lives according to Neo-Vedanta. As the universe is the manifestation of Brahman, every worldly action is holy, and all unselfish labor is devotion. Thus, unselfish action is not only social, but also spiritual in nature.
As long as man exists in the world, he must conduct himself in a detached manner. Thus, Neo Vedanta promotes individual liberty and unselfish action on the individual’s side, as well as social equality and oneness in society. What is brahman and atman in Hinduism? We have answered this question in depth.
