The intuition that is the source of nature of the transcendentalist philosophy is obtained by the union of the individual spirit (known in Sanskrit as Atman) with the world psyche known as the Oversoul, life-source, prime mover and God (known in Sanskrit as Brahma). The word "brahman" in Sanskrit originally meant "power" and specifically referred to the power of prayer or sacrifice to bring about material change in the world; so that Brahman seems to refer to the power that brings about and changes the physical universe. In the Upanishads, Brahman is not only the principle and creator of all there is, but is also the sum totality of the universe and it's phenomena. In consequence, everyone is respected because everyone shares a portion of this Oversoul. The Oversoul or Life Force or God can be located both in the physical, external world and also in the spiritual and inner world where it is present as Atman, "universal spirit".

The basic grounding for the individual lies within the spiritual center of the universe; and in an individual can be found the clue to nature, history and, ultimately, the cosmos itself. Some mistake this belief to be a rejection of the existence of God. Yet it is not a religion because it does not hold to the three concepts of common in all religions:

1) a belief in a God

2) a belief in an afterlife (dualism)

3) a belief that this life has consequences on the next.

But actually, it is an attempt to explain an individual and the world in terms of an individual.

The composition of the universe literally parallels the composition of the individual self. All knowledge, therefore, begins with self-knowledge. Now every human being has an undying soul (atman) which, because of samsara, lasts through eternity from life to life; this undying atman is a microcosm of Atman, the universal spirit, which is identical to Brahman. By understanding your true Self, by coming to know one's own undying soul, one then arrives at the knowledge of Brahman itself; the key to understanding the nature of the one unitary principle of the universe is to see one's (undying) self as identical with Brahman.

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