 | This articlerelies excessively onreferences toprimary sources. Please improve this article by addingsecondary or tertiary sources. Find sources: "Atma Upanishad" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Atma | |
|---|---|
 The text describes body, mind and soul[1] | |
| Devanagari | आत्मा |
| IAST | Ātma |
| Title means | Atman (self, soul) |
| Author(s) | Angiras |
| Type | Samanya |
| LinkedVeda | Atharvaveda |
| Chapters | 3[2] |
| Verses | 31 |
| Philosophy | Vedanta[3] |
TheAtma Upanishad (Sanskrit:आत्मा उपनिषत्), is one of the minorUpanishadic texts ofHinduism, written inSanskrit language. It is one of the 31 Upanishads, associated with theAtharvaveda.[4] It is classified as aSamanya (general) and Vedantic Upanishad.[3][5]
The Upanishad describes three types of Self (atman): theBahya-atma or external self (body), theAntar-atma or inner self (individual soul) and theParam-atma or highest self (theBrahman, Purusha).[2][6] The text asserts that one must meditate, duringYoga, on the highest self as one's self that is partless, spotless, changeless, desireless, indescribable, all-penetrating.[7]
The text has also been referred to asAtmopanishad.[8] In the Telugu languageanthology of 108 Upanishads of theMuktika canon, narrated byRama toHanuman, it is listed at number 76.[9]
The Upanishad is a short text, structured as a mix of prose and verse poetry. It is presented as a sermon by the Vedic sageAngiras on body, mind, soul andParamatma.[10][11][1]
The text opens withSage Angiras statingPurusha manifests itself as three types ofatman (Self):Ajayat-Atma orBahya-atma or external atman (born self, body),Antar-Atma or the internal atman (individual soul), and theParam-atma or the highest atman (Brahman, the universal soul).[2][1][11]
The external or outer self, states the text is composed of the anatomical organs and parts to see, perceive, act, react and procreate. The outer Self is the physical body, it is born and it perishes.[10][1]
The internal self is what perceives the fiveelements:Prithvi (Earth),Ap (water),Vayu (air),Agni (fire) andAkasha (ether). This inner self, asserts the text, is discerned as consciousness, through activities such as perceiving the empirical world, speaking, dancing, singing, yawning; manifestations such as memory; it is the victim of ambition, likes and dislikes, anger, fear, greed, pleasure and pain, doubts and delusion.[1] The inner self discriminates and distinguishes between philosophies such asNyaya,Mimamsa,Puranas and variousDharmashastras.[10][11] These abilities, the mind (Manas) and consciousness (Cit) constitute the inner self, defines the Atma Upanishad.[10][11][1]
The highest Self is the one who is venerated by syllables of theOm, and adored in theVedas.[11][1] One mediates over this highest Self by practisingyoga: breath-control, withdrawing in the mind and other yogic exercises.[7] Like the seed of theficus tree ormillet cannot be comprehended by even by breaking into 100,000 parts, similarly Paramatman cannot be comprehended by breaking it into parts, as it is partless, it has no property and no quality (Guna), it is pure and is not the effect of works.[7] It is the infiniteBrahman, thePurusha that is neither born nor dies nor decays, states the text.[1][11] It cannot be divided, burnt or destroyed. It has no limbs, no stains, no conflicts, no expectations and is untouched by the feelings of the sensory organs or ego.[7][1] It is detached from outer self and inner self, it is all pervading, pure, changeless.[7][11][1]
The German IndologistPaul Deussen states theAtma Upanishad converts the "beautiful poetic" section on the Atman in theChandogya Upanishad, into "most dry" scholastic description.[12] The Upanishad explains and references hymn fragments from ancient texts, including classical Upanishads. The description of Paramatman in this text is derived from theChandogya Upanishad, theShvetashvatara Upanishad, thePrashna Upanishad, theBhagavad Gita,[1] theKatha Upanishad, theDhyanabindu Upanishad, theYogashikha Upanishad and theMaitrayaniya Upanishad.[12]
{{citation}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)| Philosophy |
|  | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texts |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Deities |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Practices |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Related | |||||||||||||||||||
