4 Mahavakyas meaning “Great sentences or sayings”, summarise the wonderful principles of Vedanta. Vedas talk about the Cosmos and also the rites, customs & rituals used in worship of the Gods, as mentioned in my earleir blog on “Synopsis of Vedas”. Vedas are revelations made to our Rishis through Sruti (what is heard). Upanishads came later and these are the essence of Vedas that contain beautiful mystical insights revealed by the teacher to his student. These 4 Mahvakyas are found in the Upanishads as given in the image below:
We will now look at each of the 4 Mahavakyas in greater detail:
1st Mahavakya - Tat Tvam Asi: Chandogya Upanishad in Sama Veda
Tat Tvam Asi means That Thou Art. Tat means “That”, Tvam is “Thou” or You, Asi is “Art” or the old way of saying “Are”or alternatively – “You are That” – You are pure consciousness or Brahman! Tat or That refers to pure consciousness or Brahman or GOD having the entire universe as his body. Thou or You is the Atman or GOD having the individual soul as the body. Essentially GOD is common to both, one is Paramatman (Supreme Self or Brahman) and the other is Jivatman (Individual Self or Atman).
It is in the 6th Chapter of Chandogya Upanishad that this famous Mahavakya is revealed in a conversation between Uddālaka Āruni Rishi & his son Śvetaketu. They talk about the relationship between the Supreme Brahman & the individual human being by giving Nine examples, two of which are reproduced below:
1st Example: The rivers flow both westwards and eastwards towards the sea. The rivers loose their identity (name) when they merge into the sea. They just go from sea to sea (meaning the clouds lift up the water by evaporation from the sea to the sky and send it back as rain to the sea, through the rivers). They become the sea itself not knowing they originated from the sea. In the same way, all creatures eventhough they have come forth from the supreme Being do not know they came forth from this Being. For example, in deep sleep, one reaches Brahman without being conscious of it and returns back into his own form. Whatever they are in this world, tiger, lion, wolf. Boar, worm, fly, gnat or mosquito that they become. Tat Tvam Asi!
2nd Example: This example is of the Nyagrodha Tree which is commonly known as the Banyan Tree which is a sacred Vedic tree with its roots growing downwards towards the earth. Banyan is the name given by the British to this tree, as Baniyas or Hindu merchants sat under this huge & expansive tree for conducting their trade. Uddālaka Āruni Rishi asks his son Śvetaketu to bring him the fruit of this Nyagrodha tree and break it. Extremely fine seeds are seen inside. Śvetaketu is asked to break the seed and he observes that there is nothing at all inside the seed. Uddālaka Āruni Rishi then tells him how the world which has name & form springs forth from the subtle Brahman that we cannot perceive and which does not possess name & form. All cosmic process which has names & forms arises from the essence of the Pure Being – Brahman. Tat Tvam Asi!
I reproduce the famous quote below by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi from my earlier blog 3 states of Consciousness, summarizing what has been said above.
There are a total of NINE examples given in Chandyoga Upanishad to elaborate that we are That – the Supreme Brahman but we falsely identify ourselves only with name & form. Finally, Tat Tvam Asi applies to a inward person “antah purusa” and not to an empirical soul with name and form. It is also called “Upadesha Vakya” meaning the “teaching/instruction/advice given by Guru to student”.
2nd Mahavakya - Pragnanam Brahma: Aitareya Upanishad in Rig Veda
Pragnanam Brahma means “Brahma is the all pervading supeme consciousness”. Prajna or Pragna is consciousness. This Mahavakya or Great Saying appears in the 3rd chapter of Aitareya Upanishad. There are a total of 3 chapters in this Upanishad. The 3rd chapter starts with a question on who is this Self whom we worship? Which one is the Self? Is it because of the Self we see, hear, smell, taste or speak in words? Is the Self the mind by which we perceive, conceive, discriminate, understand, be impulsive, have memory, know, desire, control, remember etc?
The answer is that the Self is in all. Self is Brahma, Indra, Praja-pati – all Gods! He is in all the Five Elements namely – Earth, air, space or ether, fire & water, all creatures born of eggs, womb, of heat, of shoots, horses, cows, elephants, men & women; all beings that walk or fly, all that neither walk nor fly; Thus Prajna is the pure consciousness/intelligence established in all. Pragna is Brahma and the world exists upon Brahma. Those who realize Brahman go beyong death. Pragnanam Brahma is also called “Lakshana Vakya” meaning “Statement of Description or Definition”. Lakshana means understanding the quality or attribute of Reality in the Vedic context.
3rd Mahavakya - Ayam Atma Brahma: Mandukaya Upanishad in Atharvana Veda
Ayam Atma Brahma means “This Self is Brahman”. Ayam means This, Atma is the supreme Self within us and Brahman is the supreme consciousness. The self within us is nothing but “Brahman”. As discussed in my previous blog on AUM is Brahman. AUM stands for both the manifested world consisting of past, present & future and also beyond which is the unmanifested Absolute Brahman. This Mahavakya appears in Verse 2 of Mandukya Upanishad as given below:
Verse 2: sarvaṁ hy etad brahma, ayam ātmā brahma, so’yam ātmā catuṣ-pāt
Meaning: All this is truly, Brahman, This self is Brahman, This same self has four quarters.
The four quarters mentioned in the verse above, are already discussed in detail in my blog “3 states of Consciousness”. The waking state (outward looking) is “Viśva”, dream state (inward looking) is “Taijasa” and the dreamless sleep state (neither outward nor inward looking) is “Prājn̄a” and finally, the state of spiritual consciousness is “Turīya” which is also represented by the sacred symbol AUM. This ultimate fourth state of Turiya is achieved by merging of the waking, dreaming & seep sleep states, with the previous one merging with the succeding one. All of us pass these 3 stages in life before we go beyond and merge with the Turiya state! This is the ultimate goal of spiritual pursuit. Ayam Atma Brahma is also called “Abhyasa Vakya”meaning “statement or declaration of practice” as Abhyasa is practice or path of action/effort.
4th Mahavakya - Aham Brahma Asmi: Brihadaranyaka Upanishad in Yajur Veda
Aham Brahma Asmi means “I am Brahman” Aham is “I”, Asmi means “am” and Brahman is the “supreme consciousness or God. Essentially it means ”I am God” or someone who has merged with the Brahman. This Mahavakya is taken from Chapter 1.4.10 in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad of Yajur Veda. Chapter 1.4.10 consists of a long verse, the essence of which is given below:
There was only Brahman in the beginning. It knew itself as “I am Brahman” Therefore it became “All”. The Gods who awakened or realized this Brahman became That (Brahman). It is the same in the case of our Rishis, same in the case of Men. An example of Rishi Vāma-deva who knew this revelation is mentioned in this Verse. (Vāma-deva Gautama Rishi is the composer of the 4th Mandla of Rig Veda). Thus, whoever realizes the Brahman merges with the Brahman. Even Gods cannot prevent this! Whoever worships another divinity (than his self) thinking that he is the one and (Brahman) is another, he knows not!
How am I God or Brahman? This can be understood by knowing the difference between Jivatman (Individual Soul) & Paramatman (Supreme Soul). Jivatman is the conditoned consciousness & Paramatman is the uncoditioned consciousness. Jivatman is conditioned from the day we are born, by external factors influencing our life. Also, Atman is slowly contaminated by our Ego which born out of ignorance. Once a man realizes that he is actually the Supreme Brahman or Consciousness, the process of decontamination begins… it is very long process of course! Conditioned Consciousnesss eventually evolves into Unconditioned Consciousness to merge with the Supreme Brahman. Aham Brahma Asmi is known as “Anubhava Vakya” or “statement of experience”, as anubhava means experience.
This leads to my next blog on “Jnana Mudra or Gesture of Knowledge” used during meditation, which will explain the above in further detail.
References: Snippets from “The Principal Upanishads” by Dr. S.Radhakrishnan