adhyaatman (Sanskrit, ‘relating to or belonging to the self’), in early Hindu texts concerning such topics as knowledge of the self, meditating on that which appertains to the self, or spiritual exercise related to the self (adhyatma-yoga). Later, it became a term for the Supreme Spirit, the Supreme Self, or the soul, which, in Indian thought, is other than the ego. In monistic systems, e.g. Advaita Vedanta, the adhyatman is the one Self that is the impersonal Absolute (Brahman), a state of pure consciousness, ultimately the only Real. In dualist systems, e.g. Dvaita Vedanta, it is the true self or soul of each individual. R.N.Mi.