आत्मन्
Atman
(ātman)The individual self; the eternal soul within each being
Full Meaning
Ātman is the innermost self — not the body, not the mind, not the ego, but the unchanging witness behind all experience. In Advaita Vedānta, ātman is identical to Brahman (universal consciousness). The Upanishads repeat: tat tvam asi — "That thou art."
Etymology
From the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂et-men- (breath, soul). Cognate with German Atem (breath) and Old English æþm. The ātman is literally "the breath-self" — the living self identified by its animating breath.
Usage in Sanskrit Texts
The Bhagavad Gita teaches that the ātman is eternal, never born and never dying: "Weapons cannot cut it, fire cannot burn it." (2.23)
अयमात्मा ब्रह्म — This ātman is Brahman. (Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad 1.2)
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