ATMAN MISTAKE

For a time, the Atman mistakenly identifies itself with the body of the person it is occupying.   

Vivekananda explains it this way:  “The human soul is like a piece of crystal, in that it takes the color of whatever is near it.  Whatever the soul touches, it takes its color, and that is the difficulty.  That is what constitutes the bondage.  The color is so strong, the crystal forgets itself and identifies itself with the color. 

“Suppose a red rose is near the crystal, and the crystal takes the color and forgets itself, thinking it is red.   In the same way, we have taken the color of our body, and as a result, we have forgotten what we truly are. 

“All the difficulties that follow come from our identification with the body.  All of our fears, worries, anxieties, troubles, mistakes, weaknesses, and evils are from this one great blunder--believing we are our bodies. 

“This is the lot of the ordinary person, even though we are no more our bodies than the crystal is the red flower.  It is through the practice of meditation that the crystal discovers what it truly is, that it realizes its own color.”