Do you also consider Atman as a ghost or witch? What are we doing with the greatest truth of the Vedas? Let’s talk about The greatest truth of your existence — and the superstition surrounding it
Seekers, you may already know that your physical body is merely a temporary garment, just as Lord Krishna clearly explained in the Bhagavad Gita.
Just as we daily change our old clothes and wear new ones, similarly, the Atman leaves one body and takes another.
Yet, despite knowing that the Atman is our ultimate truth, most of us have drifted far away from its real meaning.
Ignorance has trapped this sacred word in such a web of illusion that its meaning has now been associated with ghosts, spirits, or witches.
It is truly shameful that the very nation which gifted the world the words “Atman” and “Paramatman” — the highest philosophy — has now turned this supreme spiritual truth into a crude mixture of superstition and entertainment.
When we look outside India, the word “Atman” is never used in such frightening or superstitious senses.
But here, through ignorant people, movies, and local stories, Atman has been turned into something that flies, possesses bodies, and terrifies people.
That is why, today, the very first thing a so-called educated and rational person encounters in the name of religion and spirituality is mere superstition.
If we limit the meaning of Atman to just a “force leaving the body” or a “ghost,” then we ourselves move away from our own liberation and from our supreme truth.
We must break this web of illusion and return to the true meaning of Atman as given by the ancient sages (Rishis).
The Rishis did not give us the words Atman, Paramatman, and Jivatman for entertainment or storytelling.
They gave them to lead human beings beyond the limitations of mind and body.
But when these words fall into the hands of the ignorant, their original meaning becomes completely distorted.
It is just like this — a person fond of entertainment may say, “I have read a book,” and a true seeker of knowledge may also say, “I have read a book.”
The words sound the same, but their experience, purpose, and result are entirely different.
As a person is, so is his world, and so is his understanding.
The Atman is neither inside the body nor outside it.
Atman is not something that can be “found” at a particular place within this material world.
If the Atman had a location or a boundary, it too would be part of this perishable and limited world.
The Atman is not a thing of this world.
This whole world, this body, and all your senses are extensions of your mind.
They are experiences created by the mind.
The sages described the Atman as Achintya — Inconceivable — meaning that it cannot be thought of or brought within the limits of the mind-made world.
Whatever image of the Atman you create in your imagination will only be a creation of your mind, and everything created by the mind is transient and unreal.
In reality, the discussion of Atman exists only to help you go beyond the mind, to dissolve the ego, and to unite with your supreme truth.
Our mind creates a world centered around the ego.
This world is not real.
That is why no one ever finds permanent peace here.
There is only suffering — and all the suffering in life arises solely because of this ego.
Ego is the “identity” you have assigned to yourself:
“I am this body,” “I am this name,” “I am part of this society,” “These are my thoughts.”
This is Ahamta — the sense of “I-ness” — and it is not the truth.
As long as you consider yourself to be this ego, the reality you perceive is not the truth.
When the ego itself is not real, how can the world created by it be real?
When an ego-centered person looks at this world, he does not see it as it truly is.
He sees it through his own lens — his own colored glasses.
Then some things appear pleasant, others unpleasant; some things attract him, others frighten him.
But in reality, it is only the play of nature.
The Atman is what remains when the ego is not.
Self-realization (Atma-jnana) means the destruction of this false sense of “I.”
What you currently believe yourself to be — that is the Ahamta, and it is not the truth.
It can be destroyed through Atma-jnana.
And the reality that remains when ego ceases — that alone is the Atman.
Can you know the Atman through imagination?
Can you perceive it through your body and senses? No!
This entire existence that you experience is created by your mind.
Within it, what have you accepted as truth?
Your ego and your body.
So, if within this same structure you try to “create” or “find” the Atman, it too will be a false imagination — just like yourself.
Just as every falsehood hides a glimpse of truth, this ego is false.
That which is true — that is the Atman.
And the Atman cannot be found within this false, limited world.
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Conclusion:
If you truly seek Atma-jnana (Self-realization), first break all the imaginations and superstitions about Atman sitting in your mind.
Atman is not something scary, flying, or possessing bodies.
Atman is you — your pure consciousness, your original essence.
When you break the bonds of mind and ego, and enter into that emptiness where only the detached presence of existence remains — that is Atman.
This journey is not about going to another realm; it is about going within.
It is about knowing your ego-less self — the source of truth, peace, and bliss.
Know the Atman, and move forward on the path of your liberation.
