Self / Atman
self (lowercase, egoic):
The conditioned “I” thought most people identify with.
Constructed by language, memory, and social reinforcement.
Has no substance of its own — only a bundle of beliefs and identifications.
Self-1 (Ātman – Individual Spark):
Appears as “my little piece of Brahman.”
Feels personal, creative, intelligent, and content.
Shines through as layers of illusion and conditioning dissolve.
Self-2 (Ātman = Brahman – Ultimate Self):
The spark and the fire are not-two: Atman is Brahman.
To know the Self is to recognize that the apparent “individual” was never separate from the absolute.
The piece and the whole dissolve into one undivided reality.
Additional Detail
Objective vs. subjective:
Objective ultimate Self = what remains when all perception filters and false identifications dissolve.
Subjective self = whatever awareness is currently identified with.
Illusion of “I”: Most people experience “self” as the “I-thought,” but there is nothing behind it — only conditioning arising as a side effect of embodiment and language.
Awakening: True Self is revealed when the “I” thought is seen through. Identification shifts from the bundle of beliefs to pure awareness.
Metaphor: Self is like space. The “small self” is a cloud within it; the ultimate Self is the open sky in which all clouds appear.