Introduction

The debate about Atma and Parmatma has been going on in Hinduism for ages. However, there has been no conclusive proof or description about the definition or existence of either of them.

Our learned saints and other similar personalities have tried to define each one of them so that common people can understand them but for people like me their definition is not very convincing. According to them Atma or soul is defined as something resembling a light within human body whereas Parmatma has been defined as super soul or God that exists everywhere. Our saints also preach that aim of the life should be to achieve Nirvana or Mokcha. To achieve Nirvana one has to unify or merge Atma with Parmatma. Therefore, it is important to understand what Atma is and what Parmatma is.

Before getting into the details I would like to clarify that the purpose of this book is not to undermine the knowledge and authority of our saints and sages but the main objective is to share my thoughts with people and start a thinking process within ourselves.

This book is the outcome of my upbringing and background. I am an engineer and have done advance studies in computer science and finance. Therefore, I tend to rationalize things logically and analytically. I understand that number of people will not agree with me. If we apply our mind and think properly then everything can be explained logically and analytically. My other books will shed light on number of things that we tend to accept in good faith. This is my first book and hopefully it will be accepted without creating any undue reaction though I will not mind accepting healthy criticism as it will help me in my subsequent books.

I think it is important to understand my upbringing as well. I have been introduced to Ram Charit Manas from an early age. Every year on January 1^st I start the Ram Charit Manas and finish it on December 31^st. I have been doing this for the last 50 plus years. I must say that every year I pick something new and interesting. This experience and thoughts will be covered in my book on Ram Charit Manas. I have also read Bhagwad Gita written by Prabhupada Swamiji of Hare Rama and Hare Krishna, Swami Chinmayanand of Chinmaya mission and number of other authors. I will cover my experience and thoughts in the book on Bhagwad Gita. At the age of 10 I have spend almost a full month camping at Khumbha Mela in my home town of Allahabad with my grandparents. This meant most of my time was spend in listening to the lectures delivered by renowned saints including Shankaracharya. Apart from this I use to attend religious discourses organized by Devi Sampad Mandal near my home annually. This gave me an opportunity to listen to famous saints like Prakashanand, Bhajnanand, Manjul ji and numerous others. The purpose of mentioning this is to convey to the readers that I been exposed to our beliefs and scriptures from a very young age. I am extremely thankful to my grandparents and parents.

This book has 4 main sections, Mind and Body, Atma, Parmatma and Nirvana (Mokcha).