Mahāvākyas

The Mahāvākyas (sing.: , ; plural: , ) are the 'Great Sayings' of the Upanishads, with mahā meaning 'great' and vākya <nowiki></nowiki>sentence'. The Mahāvākyas are traditionally considered to be four in number, though actually five are prominent in the post-Vedic literature:

1. () – literally translated as 'That Thou Art' ('That is you' or 'You are that'), appears in Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 of the Sama Veda, with tat in Ch.U. 6.8.7 referring to *sat, 'the Existent', and contextually understood as 'That's how [thus] you are', with tat in Ch.U. 6.12.3 referring to 'the very nature of all existence as permeated by [the finest essence]'.
2. () – 'I am Brahman', or 'I am absolute' (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10 of the Yajur Veda)
3. () – 'Prajñāna is Brahman', or 'Brahman is Prajñāna' (Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rig Veda)
4. () – 'This Self (Atman) is Brahman' (Mandukya Upanishad 1.2 of the Atharva Veda)
5. – 'All this indeed is Brahman'(Chāndogya Upaniṣad 3.14.1)

People who are initiated into sannyasa in Advaita Vedanta are being taught the four [principal] mahavakyas as four mantras, "to attain this highest of states in which the individual self dissolves inseparably in Brahman". According to the Advaita Vedanta tradition, the four Upanishadic statements indicate the real identity of the individual (jivatman) as sat (the Existent), Brahman, consciousness. According to the Vedanta-tradition, the subject matter and the essence of all Upanishads are the same, and all the Upanishadic Mahavakyas express this one universal message in the form of terse and concise statements. In later Sanskrit usage, the term mahāvākya came to mean "discourse", and specifically, discourse on a philosophically lofty topic.

The concept of mahavakyas has a prehistory in Mimamsa, where it differs from its use in Advaita Vedanta. Instead of a concise philosophical truth, a mahavakya in Mimamsa is a complex sentence that integrates and finalizes the meaning of smaller sentences (avantara-vakya). This structure follows the principle of paryavasana (completion), where the larger sentence absorbs its parts to become the primary source of authority. In full form, a mahavakya serves as a Vedic "ritual manual", unifying all instructions into a guide for performing the ritual.

Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7, in the dialogue between Uddalaka and his son Śvetaketu. It appears at the end of a section, and is repeated at the end of the subsequent sections as a refrain:

Tat Tvam Asi (Devanagari: तत्त्वमसि, Vedic: tát tvam ási) is traditionally translated as "Thou art that", "That thou art", "That art thou", "You are that", "That you are", or "You're it"; although according to Brereton and others the proper translation would be "In that way [=thus] are you, Svetaketu", or "that's how you are":

• tat - "it", "that"; or alternatively "thus", "in that way", "that's how". From tat an absolutive derivation can be formed with the suffix -tva: tattva, 'thatness', 'principle', 'reality' or 'truth'; compare tathātā, "suchness", a similar absolutive derivation from tathā - 'thus', 'so', 'such', only with the suffix -tā, not -tva.
• tvam - you, thou
• asi - are, 'art'

In Ch.U.6.8.7 tat refers to Sat, "the Existent", Existence, Being. Sat, "the Existent", then is the true essence or root or origin of everything that exists, and the essence, Atman, which the individual at the core is. As Shankara states in the Upadesasahasri:

While the Vedanta tradition equates sat ("the Existent") with Brahman, as stated in the Brahma Sutras, the Chandogya Upanishad itself does not refer to Brahman.

According to Brereton, followed by Patrick Olivelle and Wendy Doniger, the traditional translation as "you are that" is incorrect, and should be translated as "In that way [=thus] are you, Svetaketu." That, then, in ChU.6.8.12 refers to "the very nature of all existence as permeated by [the finest essence]", and which is also the nature of Svetaketu. Lipner expresses reservations on Brereton's interpretation, stating that it is technically plausible, but noting that "Brereton concedes that the philosophical import of the passage may be represented by the translation 'That you are', where tat as 'that' would refer to the supreme Being (sat/satya)."

• Advaita - absolute equality of 'tat', the Ultimate Reality, Brahman, and 'tvam', the Self, Atman.
• Shuddhadvaita - oneness in "essence" between 'tat' and individual self; but 'tat' is the whole and self is a part.
• Vishishtadvaita -'tvam' denotes the Jiva-antaryami Brahman while 'tat' refers to Jagat-Karana Brahman.
• Dvaitadvaita - equal non-difference and difference between the individual self as a part of the whole which is 'tat'.
• Dvaita of Madhvacharya - tat tvam asi is read as atat tvam asi, meaning "that (parama) Aatma is the essence of all, you are not Him," or "Atma (Self), thou art, thou art not God."
• Acintya Bheda Abheda - inconceivable oneness and difference between individual self as a part of the whole which is 'tat'.

Aham Brahmāsmi (Devanagari: अहम् ब्रह्मास्मि), "I am Brahman" is in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10 of the Shukla Yajurveda: Aham Brahmasmi is the core philosophy in advaita vedanta, indicating absolute oneness of atman with brahman.

• Aham (अहम्) - literally "I".
• Brahma (ब्रह्म) - ever-full or whole (ब्रह्म is the first case ending singular of Brahman).
• Asmi (अस्मि) - "am," the first-person singular present tense of the verb as (अस्), "to be".

Ahaṁ Brahmāsmi then means "I am the Absolute" or "My identity is cosmic", but can also be translated as "you are part of god just like any other element".

In his comment on this passage, Sankara explains that here Brahman is not the conditioned Brahman (saguna); that a transitory entity cannot be eternal; that knowledge about Brahman, the infinite all-pervading entity, has been enjoined; that knowledge of non-duality alone dispels ignorance; and that the meditation based on resemblance is only an idea. He also tells us that the expression Aham Brahmaasmi is the explanation of the mantra

He explains that non-duality and plurality are contradictory only when applied to the Self, which is eternal and without parts, but not to the effects, which have parts. The aham in this memorable expression is not closed in itself as a pure mental abstraction but it is radical openness. Between Brahman and aham-brahma lies the entire temporal universe experienced by the ignorant as a separate entity (duality).

Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rigveda, translation Olivelle:

Prajñānam as a whole means:

Related terms are jñāna, prajñā and prajñam, "pure consciousness". Although the common translation of jñānam is "consciousness", the term has a broader meaning of "knowing"; "becoming acquainted with", "knowledge about anything", "awareness", "higher knowledge".

• sarvam etad - everything here, the Whole, all this
• hi - certainly
• brahma - Brahman
• ayam - this
• ātmā - Atman, self, essence
• brahma - Brahman
• so 'yam ātmā - "this very atman"
• catuá¹£pāt - "has four aspects"

• सर्वं ह्येतद् ब्रह्म sarvam hyetad brahma - "this brahman is the Whole"
• ब्रह्मायमात्मा brahma ayam atma - "brahman is ātman"
• ब्रह्म सोऽयमात्मा brahman sah ayam atman - "brahman is this (very) self"

The Mandukya Upanishad repeatedly states that Om is ātman, and also states that turiya is ātman. The Mandukya Upanishad forms the basis of Gaudapada's Advaita Vedanta, in his Mandukya Karika.

Sarvam idam, all this; khalu; no doubt; brahma, is Brahman; tajjalān, from this everything comes, into this everything disappears, and on this everything is sustained; iti śāntaḥ upāsīta, meditate on this fact quietly; atha khalu kratumayaḥ puruṣaḥ, because each person has a mind of his own; asmin loke, [therefore] in his present life; yathā kratuḥ puruṣaḥ bhavati, just as a person wills; itaḥ pretya tathā bhavati, he becomes that when he leaves this world; saḥ kratum kurvīta, [therefore] he should be careful about what he wants.

The word brahman means ‘the oldest,’ ‘the biggest.’ Tejas (fire), jala (water), and pṛthivī (earth) emerged from Brahman in that order, so they are called tajja. Then they disappear in Brahman in the reverse order, so they are called talla. In the past, in the present, and in the future—they are sustained in Brahman. They are, therefore, one with Brahman. The Upaniṣad says here to think over this with kratu—that is, with great effort, and with deep concentration.

Kratu also means will, or will power. It is your will that decides your destiny. Śrī Kṛṣṇa said to Arjuna (Bhagavad Gītā 8.6): ‘O son of Kunti, at the time of death when a person leaves the body, he attains whatever object he thinks of, as he has been [previously] constantly absorbed in its thought.’ This shows the importance of your kratu.

• ekam evadvitiyam brahma एकं एव अद्वितीयं ब्रह्म ! - Brahman is one, without a second (Chāndogya Upaniá¹£ad)
• so 'ham सोऽहं ! - I am that (Isha Upanishad)
• etad vai tat एतद् वै तत् ! - This, verily, is That (Katha Upanishad)

• S. Radhakrishnan: The Principal Upanishads

• Chandogya Upanishad
• Chandogya Upanishad
• Swami Sivananda, Tat Tvam Asi, Right Significance of TAT TVAM ASI
• Ram Chandran, tattvam asi
• Mahavakyas
• माण्डूक्योपनिषत्, Mandukhya Upanishad – Sanskrit Text, sanskritdocuments.org, Encoded by M. Giridhar giridhar at chemeng.Isc.ernet.in Proofread by John Manetta
• Lecture on Atman by Swami Sarvapriyananda (Video)
• Mandukhya Upanishad with Gaudapada Karika and Sankara Bhashya-Swami Nikhilananda
• Tattva Bodha-Swami Gurubhaktananda