Aatma Commonly Called Soul – How It’s Different From Materialism?
According to Hinduism “aatma” is the real person of all life forms and is eternal. When a person dies only the body dies not the aatma of the person. It is only because of aatma that the physical body gets life. Also, as per Sanathana dharma the aatma originates from Brahman (God), and owing to this, every aatma is considered to be having divine potential.
Many times aatma is referred to as soul but that word is based on Abrahamic religions and has a different meaning. Immanence is applied in Sanathana Hindu Dharma as Paramaatma created the material world and entered it, so a part of Paramatma exists in everything in the material world and all living and non-living things. The immanence concept varies from theories of transcendence, in which the divine is never part of the material world and is outside it.
Aatma, karma, moksha, and re-birth
Here, it will only be appropriate to focus on more details related to the Hindu view of aatma.
The Hindu religion states that aatma is without any form, and it cannot be destroyed, as well. In day-to-day existence, an individual can never feel the presence of the aatma within. But when the mind can reach a state of tranquility, one gets nearer to the real self.
The aatma, by itself, is devoid of any imperfections in the form of feelings, thoughts, desires, and emotions, to cite a few. Upon the death of the physical body, the aatma reincarnates into a new body. This cycle of birth-death-rebirth continues where the aatma keeps improving with every new life. Attaining moksha by getting redeemed of this cycle is the primary goal of Hinduism.
The body that an aatma gets in a given birth is determined by its karma (actions) of the previous life. The good/ bad circumstances of an individual’s life are chiefly due to the good/ bad actions in the preceding life.
Finally, when the aatma receives moksha, it just gets merged into Paramatma (God).
Every aatma has to compulsorily do full justice to the duties that are necessary for the body in which it is present. This aspect is of paramount significance for having a fruitful life in the subsequent birth. Every instance of doing “good karma” takes the aatma one more step closer to the eventual objective of moksha.
Aatma – It’s different from materialism:
There is no doubt that “aatma” is completely different from materialism, and this is unsurprising. At this juncture, it will be worthwhile to elaborate on some of the corresponding aspects. Materialistic concepts vociferously declare that only things that can be perceived by the five senses come under reality. Materialists add that everything other than that is a myth and a figment of the human imagination. But “aatma” is the true nature of any living form, and which can’t be perceived by the five senses.
When a person experiences and is connected with their aatma it is called aatmikta. This is something that is experienced when the mind is made to reach higher states of consciousness. The term metaphysical is used to describe aatmik concepts for the same reason. While aatmikta can be experienced by refined human beings, it cannot be perceived by those on the lower orbits who have not refined their impulses and their mind.
Similarly, materialism rejects the concepts of Paramatma(God), aatma, reincarnation, karma, and divine grace. Materialistic people argue that there is only one life and that nothing survives the death of the physical body. Materialism urges people to believe that the pursuit of money and a sense of gratification are the only important objectives of human life. On the other hand, the “aatma” concepts emphasize the significance of renunciation, self-restraint, and overcoming desires, among others.
In ancient India, too materialistic philosophies originated primarily as a reaction against the then-prevalent devotional and social practices.
Aatmikta is not a self-pain but a direct route to sustained happiness
Aatmikta is not self-denial and inflicting self-pain by denying pleasures and enjoying the pain. Rather it is about finding a direct route to happiness. Non-aatmik people do some activities to get some benefit of pleasure – they eat, drink, buy, strive to get rich, etc. They do the first activity intending to experience a pleasure. Aatmikta is about directly getting pleasure without needing the body to indulge, to get or experience something to get happiness. This joy or pleasure is also totally in the control of the person doing sadhana to connect with their aatmikta which cannot be snatched or stolen by another person.
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