Tat Tvam Asi (Sanskrit: तत् त्वम् असि), a Sanskrit sentence, translating variously to "Thou art that", "That thou art", or "You are that", is one of the Mahāvākyas (Grand Pronouncements) in Vedantic Hinduism. It originally occurs in the Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7, in the dialogue between Uddālaka 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. It is generally taken to mean that your soul or consciousness is wholly or partially the Ultimate Reality, in the sense of an Unio Mystica. Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... The Mahavakyas are the four Great Sayings of the Upanishads, the foundational religious texts of Hinduism. ... Vedanta , meaning literally the end section of the Vedas, is a branch of Hindu philosophy. ... Hinduism (known as in some modern Indian languages[1]) is a religion that originated on the Indian subcontinent. ... The Chandogya Upanishad is one of the main ten Upanishads of Hinduism. ... The soul, according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is the self-aware essence unique to a particular living being. ... Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and ones environment. ... In philosophy, Ultimate Reality is the absolute nature of all things. ... Term meaning Mystical Union describing the concept common to all mystical traditions - Kabbalah, Sufism, Vedanta, Esoteric Christianity etc - that of the union of the individual human soul with the Godhead. ...

The three major Vedantic schools offer different interpretations of the phrase:

• The Advaita interpretation holds that the essentials of 'tat', translated as "That" and referring to the Ultimate Reality, (Brahman) and 'tvam' (this individual soul called jiva) are exactly the same.
• The Vishishtadvaita interpretation holds that this individual soul is a part of the whole which is 'tat'.
• The Dvaita interpretation holds that it is actually 'atat tvam asi', which means "You are not that".

Advaita Vedanta is probably the best known of all Vedanta schools of Hinduism, the others being Dvaita and Vishishtadvaita. ... Brahman (Devanagari: ब्रह्म) is the concept of the Godhead found in Hinduism. ... In Hinduism and Jainism, a jiva is the immortal essence of a living being, subject to maya. ... VishishtAdvaita Vedanta (IAST ;Sanskrit: विशिष्टाद्वैत)) is a sub-school of the Vedānta (literally, end or the goal of the Vedas, Sanskrit) school of Hindu philosophy, the other major sub-schools of Vedānta being Advaita and Dvaita. ... Dvaita (Devanagari:द्बैत, Kannada:ದ್ವೈತ) (originally called Tattvavada), a school of Vedanta (the most widespread Hindu philosophy) founded by Madhvacharya, stresses a strict distinction between God (Vishnu) and the individual living beings (jivas). ...

In Advaita

Tat tvam asi is the Mahāvākya (Grand Pronouncement) from Chandogya Upanishad. The Advaita school of Shankara assigns a fundamental importance to this Mahāvākya and three others of the same kind from three other Upanishads. This is actually a statement meted out by Sage Āruni to Shvetaketu, his son. It says literally 'That thou art'. In other words that Brahman which is the common Reality behind everything in the cosmos is the same as the essential Divinity, namely the Atman, within you. It is this identity which is the grand finale of Upanishadic teaching, according to Advaita. The realisation of this arises only by an intuitive experience and is totally different from any objective experience. It cannot be inferred from some other bit of knowledge. To comprehend the meaning an analysis of the three words in the pronouncement is needed. ... The Chandogya Upanishad is one of the main ten Upanishads of Hinduism. ... Advaita Vedanta is probably the best known of all Vedanta schools of Hinduism, the others being Dvaita and Vishishtadvaita. ... Shankara can refer to: Shiva, the Hindu god Adi Shankara, Hindu philosopher of around 800 CE Also written, Sankara This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... The Upanishads (उपनिषद्, Upanişad) are part of the Hindu Shruti scriptures which primarily discuss meditation and philosophy and are seen as religious instructions by most schools of Hinduism. ... Brahman (Devanagari: ब्रह्म) is the concept of the Godhead found in Hinduism. ... The Atman or Atma (IAST: Ä€tmā, sanskrit: आत्म‍ ) is a philosophical term used within Hinduism and Vedanta to identify the soul. ...

Who is this 'Thou'?

'Thou' stands for the inherent substratum in each one of us without which our very existence is out of question. Certainly it is not the body, mind, the senses, or anything that we call ours. It is the innermost Self. It is the Ātman.

Subtler than Space

On the other hand, the entity indicated by the word 'That' according to the notation used in the Vedas, is Brahman, the transcendent Reality which is beyond everything that is finite, everything that is conceived or thought about. You cannot give a full analogy to it and that is why the Vedas say words cannot describe it. It cannot even be imagined because when there is nothing else other than Brahman it has to be beyond space and time. We can imagine space without earth,water, fire and air. But it is next to impossible to imagine something outside space. Space is the most subtle of the five elemental fundamentals. As we proceed from the grossest to the subtle, that is, from earth to water, to fire, to air, and to space the negation of each grosser matter is possible to be imagined within the framework of the more subtle one. But once we reach the fifth one, namely space or Ākāsha, the negation of that and the conception of something beyond, where even the space is merged into something more subtle, is not for the finite mind. The Vedas therefore declare the existence of this entity and call it 'sat' (existence), also known as Brahman. The Vedas (Sanskrit: वेद) are a large corpus of texts originating in Ancient India. ...

That and This

The Ātman or the innermost core of our self seems to have an individuality of its own. So in saying that is the same as the unqualified Brahman in the Infinite Cosmos, we seem to be identifying two things: one that is unlimited and unconditioned, and one that is limited and conditioned. Whenever some one says, for instance, that the person B whom you are meeting just now is the same as the person A whom you saw twenty years ago at such and such a place, what is actually meant is not the identity of the dresses of the two personalities of A and B, nor of the features (those of B may be totally different from A), but of the essential person behind the names. So whenever such an identity is talked about we have to throw away certain aspects which are temporarily distinctive or indicative in both and cling on only to those essentials without which they are not what they are. B and A may be engaged in distinct professions, may be having different names, may be having different attitudes towards you or towards a certain issue, or may be passing as different persons, by, say, showing off different passports -- but still they are the same, is what is being asserted by the statement 'B is the same as A'.

Brahman minus its Māyā and Ātman minus its avidyā are identical

In the same way, when Brahman and Atman are identified by this Mahāvākya, we have to discard those inessential qualities that are only indicative and therefore extraneous and to explore what commonality or essentialness there is in them that is being identified. Brahman is the Cause of this Universe. But this is a predication of Brahman and so is extraneous to the identity we are talking about. The Self or the Ātman, appears to be limited by an individuality which keeps it under the spell of ignorance; this is extraneous to the essentiality of the Ātman. So what is being identified is Brahman, minus its feature of being the Cause of this Universe and Ātman minus its limitations of ignorance-cum-delusion. That these two are the same is the content of the statement 'Tat tvam asi'. The cosmic Māyā is what makes Brahman the cause of this Universe. The individual avidyā (ignorance) is what makes the Ātman circumscribed and delimited. So the Mahāvākya says that Brahman minus its Māyā and Atman minus its avidyā are identical.

For the layman

What it means for the layman is that "You are God". You are God and your being is Godly. Thus, it incites a person to think, feel and express 'big' in a Masterly manner; leaving behind all trivialities. Narrowness is an impediment; vastness has all powers.

When you think in boundarylessness, there is nothing left but "Yours". When there is nothing other than "Yours", the distinction of "Mine and Yours" disappears or loses its very meaning. And, where everything is "Yours", you cannot cling to it, nor can you hold a part of it to claim your possession. There is nothing to keep under your custody - because everything is yours. You are free. This state is possible at the psychic level only. So a broad psyche is GOD

In Vishishtadvaita

The Vedas form the fundamental source text for everything in Hinduism. Each of the four Vedas has metaphysical speculations, known as Upanishads, at the end. Among the various discussions in these Upanishads there are mahavakyas (Grand pronouncements), which are of foundational import and deep significance. Tat tvam asi (meaning, That Thou Art) is one such. This is from Chandogya Upanishad. Different schools of philosophy interpret such fundamental statements in significantly different ways, so as to be consistent with their own philosophical thought. Below is the interpretation of the Vishishtadvaita school. The Vedas (Sanskrit: वेद) are a large corpus of texts originating in Ancient India. ... Hinduism (known as in some modern Indian languages[1]) is a religion that originated on the Indian subcontinent. ... The Upanishads (उपनिषद्, Upanişad) are part of the Hindu Shruti scriptures which primarily discuss meditation and philosophy and are seen as religious instructions by most schools of Hinduism. ... The Mahavakyas are the six Great Sayings of the Upanishads, the foundational religious texts of Hinduism. ... Tat Tvam Asi (Sanskrit: तत् त्वम् असि), a Sanskrit sentence, translating variously to Thou art that, That thou art, or You are that, is one of the Mahāvākyas (Grand Pronouncements) in Vedantic Hinduism. ... The Chandogya Upanishad is one of the main ten Upanishads of Hinduism. ... VishishtAdvaita Vedanta (IAST ;Sanskrit: विशिष्टाद्वैत)) is a sub-school of the Vedānta (literally, end or the goal of the Vedas, Sanskrit) school of Hindu philosophy, the other major sub-schools of Vedānta being Advaita and Dvaita. ...

Objection to the advaita interpretation

The Vishishtadvaita school objects to the derivation of the meaning of this statement by having recourse to Lakshanas or indirect meanings. (See Tat tvam asi: advaita interpretation). Removing all attributes from both the terms 'That' and 'Thou' and establishing a bare identity is only tautology. The correct interpretation should bring out the unifying principle in the two terms that have different identities. The Almighty God and the little Jiva can never be equated together.

Ramanuja on the Mahavakya

In the expression 'Blue Lotus' for example, the two attributes of 'blueness' and 'lotus nature' both inhere in a common substratum without losing their individuality. Such subsistence of many attributes in a common substratum is the correct apposition (samānādhikaranya), rather than the mere apposition as propounded by the advaita school. Direct meanings of the expressions should be taken, simultaneously fulfilling the conditions of Samānādhikaranya.

Meaning of the Mahavakya

The mighty Iswara, who is the indweller in the cosmic Body is also the indweller in every Jiva. Every Jiva individually is the body of Isvara, just as the Cosmos as a whole is. The 'Tat' of the statement refers to Iswara who resides in the Cosmic Body and the 'Tvam' refers to the same Iswara who indwells the Jiva and has got the Jiva as the body. All the bodies, the Cosmic and the individual, are held in adjectival relationship (aprthak-siddhi) in the one Isvara. Tat Tvam Asi declares that oneness of Isvara. Saguna Brahman, also called Iswara, in Hinduism, is God with personal characteristics or attributes. ... In Hinduism and Jainism, a jiva is the immortal essence of a living being, subject to maya. ...

See also

• Vedanta
• Jiva
• Soham (Sanskrit)

This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... In Hinduism and Jainism, a jiva is the immortal essence of a living being, subject to maya. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

External links

• Mahavakyas
• Chandogya Uanishad
• Chandogya Upanishad

References

• Sri Vidyaranya: Panchadashi. Ed. in Tamil with notes by Swami Gnanananda Bharati. Gnanananda Bharati Publications Trust, Madurai, 1972.
• S. Radhakrishnan: The Principal Upanishads.