Atman in Hindu thought, the individual, viewed by Advaita Vedanta as numerically identical to, and by other varieties of Vedanta as dependent on and capable of worship of, Brahman. Sometimes in Hinduism conceived as inherently conscious and possessed of intrinsic mental qualities, and sometimes viewed as having mental qualities only in the sense that the composite of Atman-embodied-in-a-physical-body has this feature, Atman beginninglessly transmigrates from life to life (or, for Advaita, appears to do so). It is embodied in successive bodies, accumulating karma and possibly achieving enlightenment with its consequent release from samsara, the transmigratory wheel. K.E.Y.