Atman and Brahman — Who Am I Beyond the Body and Mind?

Quick answer: Atman is your innermost Self, the unchanging witness within. Brahman is the infinite reality behind everything. The Upanishads declare that the two are one, in the famous words Tat Tvam Asi, “You are That” (Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7). Yoga is the practice of removing whatever hides this truth. Where does the question “Who am I?” come from? Every seeker reaches it sooner or later. You can name your body, your job, your family and your thoughts, and still feel that none of these is quite you. In the Himalayan forests, the rishis asked this very question, and the Upanishads are the record of what they found. In modern times sages like Ramana Maharshi made the question itself the practice: simply keep asking, “Who am I?” The teaching...