What is the Atman?
The Atman is who we really are. Brahman, as the Hindu scriptures relate, has brought the entire universe out from Himself, matter and souls too. In creating souls, He decreed that attention should be cast outward, into the external world, with a blanket of ignorance cast over our original knowledge of our creation. The deepest part of the soul, closest to Brahman, is the Atman or Self. This Self is intelligent, and it is divine. It maintains the cloak of ignorance, at the same time as it oversees the soul’s individual progress towards knowledge. When people experience Jesus within themselves, it is this Atman putting on the cloak of the Avatar, who is the best personification of the Self for man. It is this Atman who sends us joy when we perform as Brahman expects of us, nobly and with compassion towards others, and who sends us sorrow and regret when we fall short of His expectations of righteous behavior. The goal of life is to attain union with this Atman, who is God within. When we
