Would someone well-versed in Hinduism please define the "Atma" for me? And the "Paramatma", also?

Question

Namaste ~

Thank you very much .... I would like to know what are the functions of the Atma ... and how to discern it.

love,
Lakshmi

Answer 1

Namaste.

Atma means....Soul.

paramatama means ....God.

Answer 2

Atma is the Self (not your ego or identity, but your actual true Self). Some use the term to mean your personal self as opposed to absolute self, but really there is no difference.

Paramatma is the Absolute Atma.

They are really not separate - just a subtle difference used to speaking about the same thing on multiple levels.

Atma/Paramatma is nondual...there is no other, so there is no discerning it. In order to discern, you need separation - there has to be something that is not it to discern it.

It does nothing - as doing requires separation (a doer, the done, and act of doing). So there is no function - there is no other.

Brahma, Atma, Paramatma, etc. - there are many names to try to convey the Self in which there is no other.

~ Eric Putkonen

Answer 3

Atma is the egoless self, a state where a person reaches when he recieves complete enlightement from the world of senses and wishes, a position without inequality or hatred to anything.Paramatma is an enlightened soul which has no physical form in particular and is everywhere in this world, for example Vishnu dev.

Answer 4

Atman or Atma is the identity of a creature. It is the individual soul. Paramatma refers to the Supreme Soul or God Himself. Within your body, there is mind; Within the mind, there is intellect; Within the intellect, there is your ego-element; Within the ego-element, there resides the Atman or Atma. Atma is immortal but our body is subject to disease and death. All the changes such as growth and decay occur in the body only, and not in the Atman. Atman cannot be cut by weapons, it cannot be wetted by liquids, nor can it be burnt by fire. Atma cannot be blown up by the wind. Atman is not subject to physical or chemical experiments. It cannot be known by speculations.

Answer 5

Atma and Paramatma :first of all when you were born how did you feel thats a food and thats your mother and father and all that things around you like a home and your toys and all that (its you )but your mind always try to make you fool sometimes you do the right but most of the time you get confused like you hear two voice inside of you (its like one is making you to feel thats the right and one is making you to feel thats wrong you should do this .so in order to see your self (atma)you have to control your sense (mind) and humen body is a 3D vision of atma so paramatma means whatever you do that should be best in order to go towards the direction of god (in paramatma) param means :a best thing a really good so everytime you creat your thought should be best in order to be like that you need to control your thought and mind like overbehaving and ego and angre and greedy and jelouse and all that so thay you can do your best that you can be best one out of billion ,(this thing works only if you are true for your self like you can easily put down your attitude like that i did wrong so you have to be true for your self and ask your self that what would god want me to do in this situation and what would he do if he is here with me .so you can say atma and paramatma both inside you and whatever you see around you that are creation of one like you .

Answer 6

Define Versed

Answer 7

Atma is ours which gives birth to our thoughts and if our thoughts are good then we will also be good.Param means great.Paramatma means the great atma that is GOD.

Answer 8

Well Versed Definition

Answer 9

As per geeta Atma is only ONE that is krishna/shiva/brahm. Atma has no work, it just witnesses

Answer 10

Atma is our "soul"............and Paramatma is the supreme (u name it "God" "ALLAH" "Jesus" ) and in Hinduism it is belived everyone is part of Paramatma .
hence when Hindu's meet someone they say Namaste to other person they give respect to the Paramatma in oppsite person....

Answer 11

Atman - Usually translated "Soul" but better rendered "Self." In the Hindu religion, Atman means the union of the collective human soul with God (Brahma), eventually merged in the absolute totality of Brahman. It is believed that the soul is neither body nor mind, nor even thought, but that these are merely conditions by which the soul is clouded so that it loses its sense of oneness with God. In the Upanishads it is said, "The Self, smaller than small, greater than great, is hidden in the heart of the creature" and "In the beginning there was Self."

Paramatman- In Hindu theology, Paramatman is the Absolute Atman or Supreme Soul or Spirit (also known as Supersoul or Oversoul) in the Vedanta and Yoga philosophies of India. Paramatman is one of the aspects of Brahman: "Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma or Bhagavan."

Also known as the divine self or the one object, Paramatman is situated in the heart of every individual jiva in the macrocosm. Rigveda and Upanishads compare Atman and Paramatman to two birds sitting like friends on a tree (body). Atman eats its fruits (karma) and Paramatman only observes his friend as a witness (sākşhī) of his actions.

The word stem paramātman is formed from two words, param, meaning "supreme" or "highest", and atman, which means individual spirit or soul or self.

Paramatman is beyond knowledge and ignorance, devoid of all material attributes (upadhi). In Vaishnava texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, ch. 13, it is described as four-armed Lord Vishnu residing in the hearts of all beings and in every atom of matter. He is the overseer and the permitter of their actions and reminds him how to act according to his advancement. Paramatman is different from five elements (mahabhutas), senses, mind, pradhana and jiva.

In today's Hinduism, the word Paramātmā is invariably used to refer to God, interchangeably with Ishvara (the Supreme Lord) and Bhagavan (divine, holy). The word invariably conjures the concept of the infinite, non-corporeal God in a monotheistic sense to today's Hindus, even though Bhagavan etc. may be applied as epithets to many devas or the demi-gods of Hinduism. Some, like sect of Brahma Kumaris, like to visualize Paramatman as a point of light.

In Advaita philosophy, individual souls are called Jīvātman, and the Highest Brahman is called Paramātman; the Jivatman and the Paramatman become one and the same when the Jivatman attains the true knowledge of the Brahman.