Atma
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Atma is a derivation of the sanskrit word "atman" and means individual soul. In the Hindu philosophical school of Advaita Vedanta, as well as in the teaching of Meher Baba, the atma (or soul) is really one with and identical with Paramatma (the Over-soul). What misleads the atma into considering itself discrete and separate from the Over-soul is Maya. Maya is the principle of ignorance which produces the illusion of plurality and incites the feeling of separateness in the atma.
Meher Baba writes that "Atman or the soul is in reality identical with Paramatman or the Oversoul, which is One, Infinite and Eternal. The soul is, in fact, beyond the gross, subtle and mental worlds, but experiences itself as being limited owing to its identification with the Sharira or gross body, Prana or the subtle body (which is the vehicle of desires and vital forces), and Manas or the mental body (which is the seat of the mind). The soul in its transcendental state is One—Formless, Eternal and Infinite—and yet identifies itself with the phenomenal world of forms, which are many and finite and destructible. This is Maya or the cosmic illusion. The soul and its illusion." (Meher Baba, Discourses)
References
- God Speaks, by Meher Baba, Dodd Mead, NY, 1955
- Discourses by Meher Baba, The Journey of the Soul to the Oversoul
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