Mahāvākyas

The Mahāvākyas (''sing.:'' mahāvākyam, महावाक्यम्; ''plural:'' mahāvākyāni, महावाक्यानि) are "The Great Sayings" of the Upanishads, as characterized by the Advaita school of Vedanta with mahā meaning great and vākya, a sentence. Most commonly, ''Mahāvākyas'' are considered four in number,
# ''Tat Tvam Asi (तत् त्वम् असि)'' - traditionally rendered as "That Thou Art" (that you are), (Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 of the Sama Veda, with '' tat'' in Ch.U.6.8.7 referring to '' sat'', "the Existent"); alternatively translated as "That's how husyou are," with ''tat'' in Ch.U.6.12.3 referring to "the very nature of all existence as permeated by he finest essence
# ''Aham Brahmāsmi'' (अहम् ब्रह्मास्मि)'' - "I am Brahman", or "I am Divine" (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10 of the Yajur Veda)''
# '' Prajnanam Brahma (प्रज्ञानम् ब्रह्म)'' - "Prajñāna is Brahman", or "Brahman is Prajñāna"Encyclopedy of Hinduism, ''Mahavakyas''
/ref> (Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rig Veda)
# '' Ayam Atma Brahma (अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म)'' - "This Self (Atman) is Brahman" (Mandukya Upanishad 1.2 of the Atharva Veda)
Those statements are interpreted as supporting the insight that the individual self (''jiva'') which appears as a separate existence, is in essence (''atman'') part and manifestation of the whole (''Brahman'').

The four principal Mahavakyas

Though there are many Mahavakyas, four of them, one from each of the four Vedas, are often mentioned as "the Mahavakyas". Other Mahavakyas are:
* ''ekam evadvitiyam brahma'' - Brahman is one, without a second ( Chāndogya Upaniṣad)
* '' so 'ham'' - I am that ( Isha Upanishad)
* ''sarvam khalvidam brahma'' - All of this is brahman ( Chāndogya Upaniṣad 3.14.1)
* ''etad vai tat'' - This, verily, is That ( Katha Upanishad)

People who are initiated into sannyasa in Advaita Vedanta are being taught the four rincipalmahavakyas 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.Sanskrit Structure
/ref>

Tat Tvam Asi

'' 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," though according to Brereton and others the proper translation would be "In that way thusare you, Svetaketu," or "that's how you are":
* ''tat'' - "it," "that"; or alternatively "thus," "in that way," "that's how."
* ''tvam'' - you, thouShankara
''Chandogya Upanishad Bhasya - Chapter 6 (Tat Tvam Asi)''
/ref>
* ''asi'' - are, 'art'

In Ch.U.6.8.7 ''tat'' refer 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.Max Muller
Chandogya Upanishad 6.1-6.16
The Upanishads, Part I, Oxford University Press, pages 92-109 with footnotes 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 thusare you, Svetaketu." ''That'', then, in ChU.6.8.12 refers to "the very nature of all existence as permeated by he 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," were ''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 - “Sa atmaa-tat tvam asi” in Sanskrit is actually “Sa atma-atat tvam asi” or “Atma (Self), thou art, thou art not God”. In refutation of Mayavada (Mayavada sata dushani), text 6, 'tat tvam asi" is translated as "you are a servant of the Supreme (Vishnu)"
*Acintya Bheda Abheda - inconceivable oneness and difference between individual self as a part of the whole which is 'tat'.

Aham Brahma Asmi

''Ahaṁ Brahmāsmi'' (Devanagari: अहम् ब्रह्मास्मि), "I am Brahman" is in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10 of the Shukla Yajurveda:

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."

Explanations

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'':

Etymology and translation

Several translations, and word-orders of these translations, are possible:

Prajñānam:
* ''jñāna'' means "understanding", "knowledge", and sometimes "consciousness"See, e.g., Monier-Williams (1899), "jña," p. 425 (retrieved 14 Aug. 2012 from "Cologne U." at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0425-jehila.pdf).
* ''pra-'' is a prefix meaning "forth"; it may refer to a spontaneous type of knowing.

'' Prajñāna'' as a whole means:
* Adjective: well-known; wise
* Noun: knowledge, "consciousness", "intelligence", "wisdom"
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

Mandukya Upanisha 1-2 of the Atharva Veda:

In Sanskrit:

Etymology and translation

* ''sarvam etad'' - everything here, the Whole, all this
* ''hi'' - certainly
* ''brahma'' - Brahman
* ''ayam'' - thisSanskrit Dictionary
''ayam''
/ref>
* ''ātmā'' - Atman, self
* ''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"

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.

See also

* Advaita Vedanta
* Jiva
* Monism
* Soham (Sanskrit)
* Vakya Vritti
* Ajativada
* I Am that I Am
* Al-Hallaj

Notes

References

Sources

Printed sources

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Web-sources

Further reading

* S. Radhakrishnan: '' The Principal Upanishads''

External links

Chandogya Upanishad

Chandogya Upanishad
* Swami Sivananda
''Tat Tvam Asi''''Right Significance of TAT TVAM ASI''
* Ram Chandran


Mahavakyas

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahavakyas
Hindu philosophical concepts
Advaita Vedanta

pl:Mantra#Mahawakja