Tat tvam asi
Topic: The Vedic Age · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 7 "India's Cultural Roots"
Meaning
Tat tvam asi means "You are That". It is a "great saying" (mahāvākya) from the Chhāndogya Upaniṣhad. "That" stands for brahman, the single invisible essence present in all of life, nature and the universe. The saying teaches that a person's inner self (ātman) is one with brahman. This idea is central to Vedanta, the school of thought that holds that everything is one divine essence.
Example
The sage Uddālaka Āruṇi asks his proud son Śhvetaketu to break a banyan seed. The boy finds nothing inside, yet a great tree grows from that seed. Uddālaka explains that the unseen brahman fills everything in the same way, and ends: "You are That, Śhvetaketu."
Don't confuse with
- Ahaṁ brahmāsmi ("I am brahman"): This is another mahāvākya, from the Bṛihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣhad. It expresses the same oneness, but it is spoken in the first person and comes from a different text.
- Ekam sat viprā bahudhā vadanti: This line comes from the much earlier Ṛigveda. It means "The Existent is one, but sages give it many names", and it is about one reality behind many deities.
Related concepts
- Upanishads
- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
- Chandogya Upanishad
- Uddalaka Aruni
- Katha Upanishad
- Nachiketa
- Mundaka Upanishad
- Satyameva Jayate
- Atman
- Brahman