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Hinduism: Religious Concepts and Religious Life

Brahman and atman: monism, dualism and the Vedanta schools

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Overview

Brahman in Hindu thought, terms sat, chit and ānanda and rāmānuja's Viśiṣṭādvaita.

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Key term

Define Brahman and ātman, and give the three terms of the formula describing ultimate reality.

Key term

What is Brahman in Hindu thought?

Key term

What is ātman?

Questions from this subtopic

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  1. 1

    What is Brahman in Hindu thought?

    Model answer

    Brahman is the one ultimate reality underlying and pervading all that exists. The Upaniṣads present Brahman as the ground of the whole universe.

  2. 2

    What is ātman?

    Model answer

    Ātman is the innermost self, the unchanging conscious core of a living being. Body, mind and personality are not the ātman.

  3. 3

    Explain the terms sat, chit and ānanda.

    Model answer

    Sat means being, chit means consciousness and ānanda means bliss. Advaita uses the three together to point to Brahman without limiting it.

  4. 4

    Why is Brahman called macrocosmic and ātman microcosmic?

    Model answer

    Brahman is the universal spirit present throughout the whole cosmos. Ātman is that same reality found within a single person.

  5. 5

    Distinguish jīva-ātman from paramātman.

    Model answer

    Jīva-ātman is the individual soul bound to a particular body and its karma. Paramātman is the supreme self, God dwelling within and beyond all souls.

  6. 6

    What does monism claim about God and the soul?

    Model answer

    Monism claims that God and the soul are finally one reality rather than two. Apparent difference is traced to ignorance rather than to fact.

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