A History of Sanskrit Literature c11.39

c11.39

The essential theme of the Upanishads is the nature of the world-soul. Their conception of it represents the final stage in the development from the world-man, Purusha, of the *Rigveda* to the world-soul, Ātman; from the personal creator, Prajāpati, to the impersonal source of all being, Brahma. *Ātman* in the *Rigveda* means no more than "breath"; wind, for instance, being spoken of as the *ātman* of Varuṇa. In the Brāhmaṇas it came to mean "soul" or "self." In one of their speculations the *prāṇas* or "vital airs," which are supposed to be based on the *ātman*, are identified with the gods, and so an *ātman* comes to be attributed to the universe.