Editing Ātman (Hinduism) (section)

==Etymology and meaning==

===Etymology===
''Ātman'' (''Atma'', आत्मा, आत्मन्) is a Sanskrit word that refers to "essence, breath."<ref group=web name="EB_Atman"/><ref group=web name=dougharper/>{{sfn|Dalal|2011|p=38}} It is derived from the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] word ''{{PIE|*h₁eh₁tmṓ}}'' (a root meaning "breath" similar to Ancient Greek ''ἀτμός'' along with Germanic cognates:  Dutch ''adem'', Afrikaans ''asem'', Old High German ''atum'' "breath," Modern German ''atmen'' "to breathe" and ''Atem'' "respiration, breath", Modern English ''ethem'', and Old English ''ǽþm'' and ''eþian'').<ref group=web name=dougharper/>

''Ātman'', sometimes spelled without a diacritic as ''atman'' in scholarly literature,{{sfn|McClelland|2010|p=16, 34}} means "real Self" of the individual,{{refn|group=note|name="Atman_definition"}} "innermost essence."<ref>{{citation|author=Karel Werner|title=Yoga and Indian Philosophy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c6b3lH0-OekC|year=1998|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1609-1|pages=57–58}}</ref> While often translated as "soul", it is better translated as "self."{{sfn|Shepard|1991}}{{R|g=note|Atman_soul}}

===Meaning===
In Hinduism, ''Atman'' refers to the self-existent essence of human beings, the observing [[Purusha|pure consciousness]] or [[Sakshi (Witness)|witness-consciousness]] as exemplified by the [[Purusha]] of Samkhya. It is distinct from the ever-evolving embodied individual being (''jivanatman'') embedded in material reality, exemplified by the [[prakriti]] of Samkhya, and characterized by ''Ahamkara'' (ego, non-spiritual psychological I-ness Me-ness), mind (''citta'', ''manas''), and all the defiling ''kleshas'' (habits, prejudices, desires, impulses, delusions, fads, behaviors, pleasures, sufferings and fears). Embodied personality and ''Ahamkara'' shift, evolve or change with time,  while ''Atman'' doesn't.{{sfn|Plott|2000|p=60-62}} It is "pure, undifferentiated, self-shining consciousness."{{sfn|Deutsch|1973|p=48}}

As such, it is different from non-Hindu notions of [[soul]], which includes consciousness but also the mental abilities of a living being, such as reason, character, feeling, consciousness, memory, perception and thinking. In Hinduism, these are all included in embodied reality, the counterpart of ''Atman''.

Atman, in Hinduism, is considered as eternal, imperishable, beyond time, "not the same as body or mind or consciousness, but... something beyond which permeates all these".<ref>{{citation|author=Roshen Dalal|title=The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNmfdAKFpkQC |year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-341517-6|page=38}}</ref><ref>{{citation|author=Norman C. McClelland |title=Encyclopedia of Reincarnation and Karma |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S_Leq4U5ihkC |year=2010|publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5675-8 |pages=34–35 }}</ref><ref>[a] {{citation|author=Julius Lipner |author-link=Julius Lipner|title=Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oH1FIareczEC |year=2012|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-24060-8 |pages=53–56, 81, 160–161, 269–270 }};<br>[b] {{citation|author=P. T. Raju|title=Structural Depths of Indian Thought|url=https://archive.org/details/structuraldepths0000raju |url-access=registration|year=1985|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0-88706-139-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/structuraldepths0000raju/page/26 26]–37}};<br>[c] {{citation|author=Gavin D. Flood |title=An Introduction to Hinduism |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo |url-access=registration |year=1996|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-43878-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo/page/15 15], 84–85 }}</ref> ''Atman'' is the unchanging, eternal, innermost radiant Self that is unaffected by personality, unaffected by ego; ''Atman'' is that which is ever-free, never-bound, the realized purpose, meaning, liberation in life.<ref>James Hart (2009), Who One Is: Book 2: Existenz and Transcendental Phenomenology, Springer, {{ISBN|978-1402091773}}, pages 2-3, 46-47</ref><ref>Richard White (2012), The Heart of Wisdom: A Philosophy of Spiritual Life, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, {{ISBN|978-1442221161}}, pages 125-131</ref> As Puchalski states, "the ultimate goal of Hindu religious life is to transcend individuality, to realize one's own true nature", the inner essence of oneself, which is divine and pure.<ref>Christina Puchalski (2006), A Time for Listening and Caring, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195146820}}, page 172</ref>