A term for the innermost self explored in the Upanishads — its nature, and its relation to ultimate reality, are debated across traditions.
Atman is a term for the innermost or essential self — not the body, not the shifting states of mind, but whatever might underlie them. It is one of the central concepts developed in the Upanishads, and it is impossible to discuss the tradition's philosophy without it.
More than most terms in this archive, Atman is a place where traditions openly disagree at the root — not merely about details, but about whether the thing exists at all. That makes it an excellent test of the archive's neutrality, and this page leans into the disagreement rather than smoothing it.
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A body of philosophical texts that shifted attention from ritual toward questions about the self, reality, and liberation.
A term for ultimate reality developed in the Upanishads and central to later Vedanta — understood very differently across schools.
The idea of a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth — a shared framework across several traditions that nonetheless interpret it differently.
Liberation or release, framed as the ultimate aim in several Indian traditions — with each defining what it means differently.
A family of interpretive schools centered on the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita.
A major tradition originating in ancient India, spanning many schools and cultures, with a distinctive analysis of self, suffering, and conduct.