Paramatman & atman .

SpeciFic's for Spiritual Data .

1. PARAMATMAN

The Supreme Soul/Reality (Paramatman) eternally
free and immutable, in the first instance existed
alone. Being eternal it was present even before
creation when there was no creative impulse
(Brahma).

It is the eternal Truth and Ultimate Reality. It is the
smallest among the small ones and biggest among
the big ones ( anoraneeyaan mahatho maheeyaan).
Even though the truth is one, people call it by
different names( ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti)

Owing to the superimposed identity with its own
Maya it became, as it were, the seed of the universe
as the unformed and the unnamed. The ‘Seed’
Supreme Soul/Reality (Paramatma), is neither the
cause nor the effect of anything. Only when it is
associated with its own creative power (Maya) does
it emanate its creative impulse (Brahma) and is said
to be the cause of the universe (Ishvara).

From this we understand that the cosmos, all
sentient beings and insentient objects, emerge from
him. The Supreme Soul/Reality (Paramatman) did
not create them itself, but did so through the agency
of the creative impulse (Brahma) by injection into
his heart. Through the sustaining impulse (Visnu) he
sustains them, and through the destructive impulse

2. (Siva/ Rudra) he destroys them. Later Brahma,
Visnu, Siva/Rudra are themselves destroyed by him.
Another Brahma appears, and starts the work of
creation all over again. From this it must be
understood that Maya, Brhmah, Visnu and Rudra are
all emanations of Paramatma.

The Lord says in the Gita : "It is I who am known by
all the Vedas "(Vedaisca sarvair aham eva vedyah)."
Instead of describing himself as "Vedakrd" (creator of
the Vedas), he calls himself "Vedantakrd" (creator of
philosophical system that is the crown of the Vedas).
He also refers to himself as "Vedavid" (he who knows
the Vedas). Before Vedanta that enshrines great
philosophical truths had been made know to
mankind, the Vedas had existed in the form of
sound, as the very breath of Paramatman.

ATMAN

The individual soul (Atman) is that which is manifest,
the breadth, the principle of life and sensation.

3. “The notion is that you yourself are identical with
that form of forms, Brahman, but you identify
yourself wrongly with the broken images that flicker
on the surface. Just think: there are those wonderful
forms there; here are these reflections always
changing, and you identify yourself with the
reflection instead of with the true, underlying form.
As the wave ripples along, you think, oh, here I
come; oh, there I go. Yet all the time you are the
substantial thing that is being reflected here in
broken image.”
Joseph Campbell, Myths of Light: Eastern
Metaphors of the Eternal

4. The entire universe is an expression of Paramatman
in the form of vibrations caused by its own desire
just as the waves in the ocean are the expression of
water caused by wind .Different ‘worlds ’ co-exist in
the universe and all of them are not subjected to our
senses as they have differences in the frequencies of
vibrations. The variations in nature are due to
variations in permutations and combinations of
triguna namely, Satwam, Rajas and Thamas.

The Living things have three constituent bodies;
Sthoolam (Physical) Sookshmam (Astral) and
Kaaranam(Causal). The latter two are described as
Jeevaatma and Paramatman respectively.
Jeevaatma or Sookshmasareeram is a reflection of
Paramatman impregnated with ego (aham),
intellect(buddhi), chittham and mind loaded with
karmabandham. Out of these three constituents,
physical body perish ,astral body with bondages
(karmabandham) reincarnates, and causal body
remain eternal as it is Paramatman in its pure form ,
which is described as ‘Satchitanandam’. The union
of astral with physical is worldly life and that with
causal is liberation or Moksham. In other words the
unique experience of identifying oneness of
Jeevaatma with Paramatman is liberation or
Moksham.

Each karma-word deed and thought- creates
unprecedented invisibles. These invisibles are energy

5. modules and in the nascent form they are called‘
aagaami’ or incoming energy modules. At the time of
the death of an individual these invisibles remain
attached to the ’sookshmasareeram’(subtle body) in
the form of ‘ sanjitham ‘or accumulated energy
modules. Because of this attachment which is called
‘karmabandham’ or “Karma” the sookshmasareeram
accepts another body after the death of the
individual and this process is called re-birth or re-
incarnation. The form of new life, place and time of
re-birth depend on the quality of karmabandham. In
the new life the invisible energy modules or
karmabandham carried forward from previous life
remain in the form of praarabdham. The meaning of
the word praarabdham is “that which is initiated”.

The notion that the individual soul (atman) is the
creative impulse (brahma) comes from the mahaa-
vaakyo:

" tat tvam asi" = You (any creation) are That
(brhmah)

The Paramatman is then described by all its
constituent elements:

The Parmaatman (supreme soul) is that which is un-
manifest, which is indistinct, all-pervading,
everlasting, immutable, should be known to become
the city (or mansion) of nine portals, possessed of
three qualities, and consisting of five ingredients.

6. Encompassed by eleven including Mind which
distinguishes (objects), and having understanding for
the ruler, this is an aggregate of eleven.

The total eleven is made up of five groups:

The three qualities of Maya:

Sattwa,Rajas and Tamas (darkness, passion and
goodness)= (3)

The five gross elements:

Earth, Water, Fire, Air and
Space = (5)

The group of organs of action (five organs of action
are speech (tongue),hands, legs, organ of
generation, organ of evacuation) and organs of
perception (five organs of perception are
tongue(tastes), nostrils (smell), eyes (sight), ears
(sound) and skin (touch). These groups are treated
as one. = (1)

Recognising you true self
(Atman) = (1)

Understanding - (Knowing you true self
Atman) = (1)

7. Each empirically given gross element has within it,
according to this view, all the other elements also.
For instance, in the gross Earth, half of it consists of
pure earth and the other half consists of the other
four pure elements. This process of the composition
of the gross elements is what is called
Panchikaranam or Quintuplication.

[Note: Panchikarana or Quintuplication is the
fivefold combination which the five subtle
rudimentary elements have to undergo to become
gross ones. Experience of these elements and their
products through sense-perception is characteristic
of waking life.]

8. Atman is brhmah's shakti (creative power) that
animates a living being's physical body. Without
atman (individual soul) a living being's body is jad
meaning inert. All the functions in a body of a living
being cannot function without the empowerment by
its atman which has embodied itself into the physical
body.

As per devi puraan, atman (individual soul) is the
reflection of brhmah's (the creators) chaitaniya
(consciousness) in prakruti (physical, waking or
subtle, dream bodies). As brhmah's chaitaniya is
beginningless, unborn, eternal, imperishable;
deathless, ageless so is an atman.

Each atman is looked after by 4 vyuh (manifestation)
of brhmah (creative power). The four vyuuh are:

1. Vasudev
2. Sankaraashan
3. Pradyumnaa
4. Aniruddh.

With the shepherding of these vyuh an atman
possess:

1. Gnaan (knowledge),
2. Baal (strength),
3. Aeishvarya (supernatural powers, lordship and
prosperity),
4. Virya (potency to create),

9. 5. Shakti (functional powers)
6. Tejas (energy) which are few of the manifested
shaktio of brhmah (creative power).

“In all these phenomena the inner essence, that
which manifests itself, that which appears, is one
and the same thing standing out more and more
distinctly. Accordingly, that which exhibits itself in a
million forms of endless variety and diversity, and
thus performs the most variegated and grotesque
play without beginning and end is one essence. It is
so closely concealed behind all these masks that it
does not recognize itself again, and thus often treats
itself harshly.”
Arthur Schopenhauer, The World As Will and
Representation, Volume II, p. 318

Complex Structure of the Atman (individual soul)

Each atman has 3 Bodies (deh or sharer) and 3 forms
of existence (stithi):

BODIES (deh or sharer)

1.The visible physical body of a living being that
atman (individual soul) has embodied, is only for a
single sansaar (cycle of birth and death) and perishes
on death after which atman (individual soul) obtains
another physical body.

The form is of asat (which are creations created by

10. brhmah which dies after a life cycle upon receipt of
karma-phal (fruits of all karma performed by the
sthul-sharir (physical body) embodied by an atman
(individual soul) from each sansaar (birth and death
cycle) which basically limits all its powers and makes
it identify with its embodied body as the false "I" for
that life cycle, and are reborn.))

From naarad puraan 1.33 with explanatory infilling
from other ved sources:

maya (the creative power of Paramatma) is a
primary shakti (power) of nirgun brhmah which has
the brhmah-ordained function to hide the true
identity of brhmah from all creations with a shakti
called aavaraN and also to make all creations see
multiplicity in brhmah through a shakti of vikshep

2. The subtle non-visible body is assumed by an
atman (individual soul) when it exists in a dream
state of a living being. The subtle body travels
eternally with atman (individual soul) through cycles
of birth and death. It has a complex structure which
is described in detail in the Baghavad Gita, Vedas
and Upanishads.

3. The Causal Non Visible Body (sushupti deep sleep
state) all karma, feelings, and even sense of time
becomes latent and incognizant in a living being.
Similarly, all karma and emotions of all living beings
stay undistinguished from maya.

11. But maya has a strange shakti (power) called aavran
which hides MY real nature from recognition by living
beings. Being joined to my chaitaniya, maya
becomes the material cause as well as the
immediate cause of the prapanch, which means the
universe which exists and does not really exist.

This maya is called by different names (naam) by
different people such as tapas, tamas, jad, gnaan,
maayaa, pradhaan and prakruti.