Greetings & Good Evening to All our Spiritual Masters.
Much has been said and discussed on the above 3 common entities in our Hindu scriptures. Unfortunately, having read the description and explanation given by the various gurus and masters, i am still left with much confusion. Would sincerely appreciate if your website could clarify the above 3 entities.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
athiruchelvam
Shri Athiruchelvamji,
Right from the days of our Rigveda, some of the thinking minds had been possibly pondering over the question of "why" behind all this observed world and its inhabitants, their coming into existence and vanishing into non-existence (death) and the inequalities which are part and parcel of the existence in this world, etc., etc. Somehow they felt that there must be some causative factor underlying all these observed phenomena, i.e., our world, and by extension, now we may also say, our observed universe. The rigvedic rishis or seers probably named this causative factor as "sat (ஸத்)", and, as time passed, our own (hindu) scriptures started calling this underlying, causative factor as "Brahman (ப்ரஹ்மன்)". The Sanskrit word ப்ரஹ்மன் signifies something that is infinitely large, big, etc.
The Upanishads give us the findings which different sages arrived at about this ப்ரஹ்மன். These Upanishadic conclusions are all not identical, and there are differences among those. However, some of our Rishis & Acharyas like Patanjali (பதஞ்ஜலி), Gautama (கௌதமர், an ancient Rishi — not Gautama Buddha of Buddhism), Kanaada (கணாதர்), Jaimini (ஜைமினி), Adisankara (ஆதிசங்கரர்) developed their own theories each, to explain the nature and role of the ப்ரஹ்மன் and this world. The viewpoints developed by these sages are called the six "Darsanas" or systems of philosophy within hinduism and these are Saamkhya, Yoga, Nyaaya, Vaiseshika, Meemaamsa and Vedaanta respectively.
It is my humble view that except Vedaanta, the other 5 systems give more emphasis to the evolution of the world and aim of human life, whereas Vedaanta is more pre-occupied with Brahman, Aatma (i.e., Jeeva) and the observed world. All the six systems referred to above had to accept the vedas as sacrosanct and inerrant sources of real knowledge and proceed. None of these systems could therefore chart out any view different from or opposite to whatever the Vedas declared.
Though the rigveda (the earliest scripture of ours) does not talk about rebirth of people who die and vanish from the face of this earth, as time passed, the concepts of rebirth and of Karma found a prominent place in our philosophy. The law of Karma together with the theory of rebirth was used effectively to explain (away) all the inequalities, sufferings and sorrows which plague human life, and this necessitated the supposition that there are individual Aatmas residing each of our physical bodies, which transmigrates into another, new birth and a new physical body in order to experience the results (good and bad) of some part at least of its past accumulated Karmas, in the new birth (life). The concept of an individual Aatma, also called Jeevaatma (ஜீவாத்மா) or Jeeva (ஜீவா), fitted very well with the feeling of "I-ness" which is deeply ingrained in every living entity and was, therefore, lapped up by the people as gospel truth!
Brahman then came to be called Paramaatma (பரமாத்மா). Adisankara's advaita, which started the Vedaanta system of philosophy, declares that the Jeevaatma (ஜீவாத்மா) and Paramaatma (பரமாத்மா) are essentially one and the same, although the Jeevaatmas labour in this world since their view is clouded by a veil ofm ignorance about their own real nature and that of this universe.
Since you have written that you have read mush about all these topics, you may find much of what I have written as boring and unnecessary. But, to my limited understanding and ability, this was the best that I could write. Kindly excuse me if my post is superfluous or boring.
