What is the Difference Between Purusha, Atman and Brahman?
One of the topics that I have found most confusing is the difference in the meaning of the words Purusha, Atman and Brahman. Often, Purusha and Atman are used interchangeably to mean the soul. The confusion stems from the fact that the Yoga Philosophy arises from texts that were written over a period of more than five thousand years that have slightly different theories on the soul and sometimes use these terms with different meanings. The above discussion is based on the dualistic theory that believes there is a separation of the physical world, prakriti, and the spiritual world, Purusha. This theory is outlined in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutures. In addition to everything having its own Purusha, there is a universal consciousness that pre-existed all things, the “I AM” that the individual Purushas come from and will return to once they are liberated. In the non-dualistic theory there is only one universal consciousness and all things, both physical and spiritual, are part of that universal
