Mahāvākyas

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. ==Tat Tvam Asi==

and Devanagari scripts, displayed outside the sanctum sanctorum of the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala, India. The sacred syllable "Om" is the glyph in the middle. 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: In ChU.6.8.12 it appears as follows: Etymology and translation 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' 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, {{refn|group=note|: "Joel Brereton and Patrick Olivelle have argued, fairly convincingly, that it should rather be translated, 'And that's how you are.{'}"}} 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)." Interpretation Major Vedantic schools offer different interpretations of the phrase: • 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 Brahma Asmi==

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. Etymology • 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". Interpretations 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). Vidyāranya in his Panchadasi (V.4) explains: ==Prajñānam Brahma==

Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rigveda, translation Olivelle: Etymology and translation Several translations, and word-orders of these translations, are possible: Prajñānam: • jñāna means "understanding", "knowledge", and sometimes "consciousness" • Pra is a prefix which could be translated as "higher", "greater", "supreme" or "premium", or "being born or springing up", referring to a spontaneous type of knowing. Prajñānam as a whole means: • प्रज्ञान, "prajñāna", • Adjective: prudent, easily known, wise "knowledge about anything", "awareness", "higher knowledge". Brahman: • "The Absolute" • "Infinite" • "The Highest truth" Meaning: Most interpretations state: "Prajñānam (noun) is Brahman (adjective)". Some translations give a reverse order, stating "Brahman is Prajñānam", specifically "Brahman (noun) is Prajñānam (adjective)": "The Ultimate Reality is wisdom (or consciousness)". Sahu explains: And according to David Loy, ==Ayam Ātmā Brahma==

Ayam Atma Brahma () is a Mahāvākya which is found in 1-2 of the Mandukya Upanishad of the Atharvaveda: In Sanskrit: Etymology and translation • 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" • catuṣpāt - "has four aspects" While translations tend to separate the sentence in separate parts, Olivelle's translation uses various words in adjunct sets of meaning: • 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" Contextualisation The Mundaka Upanishad, in the first section of the second Mundaka, defines and explains the Atma-Brahma doctrine. It claims that just as a burning fire produces thousands of sparks and leaps and bounds in its own form, so the living beings originate from Brahman in its own form. The section expands on this concept as follows, {{Blockquote| That which is flaming, which is subtler than the subtle, on which the worlds are set, and their inhabitants - That is the indestructible Brahman. It is life, it is speech, it is mind. That is the real. It is immortal. It is a mark to be penetrated. Penetrate It, my friend. Taking as a bow the great weapon of the Upanishad, one should put upon it an arrow sharpened by meditation, Stretching it with a thought directed to the essence of That, Penetrate that Imperishable as the mark, my friend. Om is the bow, the arrow is the Self, Brahman the mark, By the undistracted man is It to be penetrated, One should come to be in It, as the arrow becomes one with the mark. 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. According to the Guru Gita, "Ayam Atma Brahma" is a statement of practice. ====

सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म तज्जलानिति शान्त उपासीत । अथ खलु क्रतुमयः पुरुषो यथाक्रतुरस्मिँल्लोके पुरुषो भवति तथेतः प्रेत्य भवति स क्रतुं कुर्वीत ॥ ३.१४.१ ॥ sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma tajjalāniti śānta upāsīta | atha khalu kratumayaḥ puruṣo yathākraturasmim̐lloke puruṣo bhavati tathetaḥ pretya bhavati sa kratuṃ kurvīta || 3.14.1 || 1. All this is Brahman. Everything comes from Brahman, everything goes back to Brahman, and everything is sustained by Brahman. One should therefore quietly meditate on Brahman. Each person has a mind of his own. What a person wills in his present life, he becomes when he leaves this world. One should bear this in mind and meditate accordingly. Etymology 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. Commentary 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. ==Other Mahavakyas==

Other Mahavakyas are: • ekam evadvitiyam brahma एकं एव अद्वितीयं ब्रह्म ! - Brahman is one, without a second (Chāndogya Upaniṣad) • ''so 'ham'' सोऽहं ! - I am that (Isha Upanishad) • etad vai tat एतद् वै तत् ! - This, verily, is That (Katha Upanishad) ==See also==