Tat-tvam-asi

views updated

Tat-tvam-asi (Skt., ‘That thou art’). One of the great sayings (mahāvākya) which appears in Chāndogya Upaniṣad (6. 8. 7, 6. 9. 4, 6. 14. 3): the sage Uddālaka instructs his son Śvetaketu concerning Ultimate Reality (Brahman) immanent as the Self (ātman) in all beings: ‘That which is the finest essence—this whole world has that as its self. That is Reality (satyam). That is the Self (ātman). That thou art, Śvetaketu.’

More From encyclopedia.com