Atman – The individual inner self; the immortal soul believed to be distinct from the material mind and body

(Pronounced at-muhn)

To remember the meaning of the Hindu term Atman, use the following mnemonic:

At Monday's (Atman) meeting of the board, she revealed her inner self and said she no longer wanted to manage an organisation purely dedicated to profit. 

Atman is basically the soul or the spirit, the real person inside someone. Although it is eternal, it cannot be seen or touched.

One of the most important Hindu beliefs is that when a person dies, the atman moves on into the body of another being, in a process called samsara.

Hindus believe that atman is about accumulating knowledge: as the atman moves to another life, it leaves behind the ego and gains true knowledge.