आत्मा — ātmā: ordinary meaning and BK usage
Estimated reading time : 4 mn
The definitions and explanations are newly written editorial material, translated from the French draft. Only the passages explicitly labelled as published are murli quotations.
Ordinary and cultural meaning
आत्मा is a feminine Hindi noun of Sanskrit origin, referring to the soul or conscious principle of a being. Hindwi describes an imperishable, supersensible principle that animates the body. “Self” helps convey the question of inner identity. This does not mean that all Indian traditions understand the self or its relationship to God in the same way.
Published translations of the word
French: âme; English: soul. These equivalents occur in the published versions quoted below, including 25 June 2024 and 19 December 2024. Plural forms also occur. “Esprit” and “spirit” are possible ordinary equivalents, but are not claimed here as published equivalents in the selected passages.
Proposed translations
Soul / âme remain the preferred equivalents. Conscious self / être conscient help explain the referent. Self / soi may work when discussing self-recognition, but can obscure the teaching of an individual soul. “Spirit” is broader, and French “esprit” can also render मन or बुद्धि depending on context. These alternatives require editorial judgment rather than automatic substitution.
One central meaning, several aspects
The passages concern the same individual being viewed from several angles, rather than five unrelated dictionary senses. The examples below show how the properties fit together.
1. The conscious being that acts
The soul is the subject of action; the body is its means of acting. आत्मा is therefore not reduced to an isolated mental faculty.
हिंदी — मूल / Hindi — original : हम आत्मा हैं , इस शरीर द्वारा हम कर्म करते हैं .
Français — publié : Nous sommes des âmes et nous accomplissons des actions à travers ce corps.
English — published: We are souls and we act through these bodies.
Murli · daily · 2023-09-23 · hi70 · FR · EN
2. Continuity and sanskars
The soul carries sanskars into the next body. Personal continuity is distinguished from the continuity of a single organism.
हिंदी — मूल / Hindi — original : आत्मा संस्कार ले गई , जाकर दूसरे शरीर में बैठी .
Français — publié : L'âme emporte ses sanskars et entre dans son prochain corps.
English — published: The soul carries his sanskars and goes and sits in his next body.
Murli · daily · 2024-06-25 · hi27 · FR · EN
3. Imperishable identity
The contrast is between an imperishable soul and a destructible body. Imperishability does not exclude changes in spiritual state.
हिंदी — मूल / Hindi — original : बच्चे समझते हैं हमारी आत्मा अविनाशी है , शरीर तो विनाश हो जायेगा .
Français — publié : Les enfants, vous comprenez que les âmes sont impérissables. Vos corps seront détruits.
English — published: You children understand that souls are imperishable. Your bodies will be destroyed.
Murli · daily · 2024-12-19 · hi202 · FR · EN
4. A spiritual state that can change
The surrounding passage rejects the idea that souls are always unaffected by action. Tamopradhan describes a state, not another species of soul.
हिंदी — मूल / Hindi — original : आत्मा ही पतित तमोप्रधान बनी है .
Français — publié : C'est l'âme qui est impure et tamopradhan.
English — published: It is the soul that is impure and tamopradhan.
Murli · daily · 2020-11-10 · hi105 · FR · EN
5. Recognising oneself as a soul
The imperative turns the term into the focus of a practice of identification. It asks for a change in self-awareness, rather than introducing a different entity.
हिंदी — मूल / Hindi — original : देह को भूल अपने को आत्मा समझो .
Français — publié : Oubliez le corps et considérez que vous êtes des âmes !
English — published: Forget the body and consider yourself to be a soul!
Murli · daily · 2020-11-10 · hi104 · FR · EN
Nuances and scope
On 23 September 2023, hi98, the soul is described as a point, as is the Supreme Soul. Similarity of form does not establish identity. The Mateshwari supplement published on 16 November 2023, hi154–hi158 explicitly distinguishes them. Some claims of identity are reported as other people’s views before being rejected. Quoting those claims in isolation would reverse the argument.
The research covered the first two relevance-ranked pages of the daily corpus, containing 40 excerpts. Reprints were not counted as independent evidence. Five full pages were read in French and English: 10 November 2020, 23 September 2023, 16 November 2023, 25 June 2024 and 19 December 2024. Daily also includes supplements such as the Mateshwari text discussed here; the separate avyakt and mamma corpora were not surveyed. Lexical ranking does not measure doctrinal importance. The selection documents usage without claiming an exhaustive inventory.