[ SANSKRIT TERM ]
आत्मा· atma
The self that doesn't die. The witness behind the eyes.
MEANING
Atma is the imperishable self — distinct from the body, the mind, the personality, the story. The Gita's clearest statement on atma is Chapter 2, verses 19-25: the soul is not born, does not die, was not made, will not be unmade; weapons don't cut it, fire doesn't burn it, water doesn't wet it. This is not a religious claim about an afterlife — it's a metaphysical claim that what you actually are is not the thing you usually take yourself to be. Realising this is the foundation of every other teaching in the Gita.