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Concept of Atma in Visitadvaita
>From _Visistadvaita_ by A.S. Raghavan
p. 17
"...The Saastras clearly state that the Atma does not perish at any time,
even at the time of the great deluge, and that nobody can destroy it. The
Atma is so subtle that it can enter into anything...
The Atma is of the size of an atom. Being subtle by nature it can enter into
all things, and so it is called Vyaapii. The word should not be taken to
mean 'all-pervasive' as the Atma is only atomic in size. It pervades the
body through the knowledge which is its attribute, and because of the
pervasion of its attributive knowledge it is able to experience the pain or
pleasure in any part of the body even though it is located in one small part
thereof. The Atma is like the flame of the lamp and its knowledge is like
its lustre.
There is one distinct Atma for every body and the Atmas are infinite in
number. We see that the knowledge of one man is different from that of
another and that one man is happy when the other is sorrowful. One does not
know the feeling of another. If there were only one atma there cannot be the
difference in knowledge and the ignorance of the feeling of one person in
another. So we have to come to the inevitable conclusion that every body has
a different Atma."
