Atman

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɑːtman/

Definitions

  1. The innermost essence or eternal self in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, believed to be the ultimate reality underlying individual consciousness and existence
  2. The eternal, unchanging soul or consciousness within all beings that transcends the physical body and individual identity in Hindu and Buddhist thought
  3. A person's innermost spiritual essence or divine core that exists beyond the material world and connects to ultimate universal reality according to Indian philosophical traditions

Etymology: The word "atman" (also spelled "atma" or "atman") refers in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy to the eternal self or soul, the innermost essence of an individual that is believed to be identical with or part of the universal divine principle. The term entered English in the late 18th and early 19th centuries through direct borrowing from Sanskrit, the classical language of India. The Sanskrit root is "ātman", which appears to derive from the Proto-Indo-European root "*h₂et-" meaning "to breathe" or "to go", the same source that gave rise to the Latin "aether" (upper air) and the English word "ether". In Sanskrit itself, "ātman" originally had the concrete sense of "breath" or "spirit", much as "psyche" in Greek began as "breath" before expanding to mean "soul". Over time in Hindu philosophical tradition, the word developed the more abstract and metaphysical meaning of the individual soul or self, particularly through its use in the Upanishads, the ancient philosophical texts composed between roughly 1500 and 500 BCE. English-language scholars and orientalists encountered the term through their study of Sanskrit texts and Hindu philosophy in the 18th century. The word appears in English writings on Indian religion and philosophy from the late 1700s onward, becoming established in English dictionaries by the 19th century. It has remained primarily a technical or philosophical term rather than entering general English vocabulary, used when discussing Hindu, Buddhist, or comparative religious concepts.

Synonyms: soul, spirit, self, essence, consciousness