Tat-Tvam-Asi
Tat-Tvam-Asi (IAST)Translation: "That Thou Art"
From Chāndogya Upaniṣad, Part 6 (Chapters 8:7, 9:4, 10:3, 11:3, 12:3, 14:3, 15:3; 16:3)
A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy
Sanskrit: तत्त्वमसि
Transliteration: Tat-Tvam-Asi
Translation: "Thou Art That"
Definition: "A Great Saying (Mahāvākya) which occurs in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad of the Sāma Veda. According to Advaita Vedānta, it implies that you, the individual, are not different from the Absolute (That). According to Viśiṣṭadvaita Vedānta, it implies that you, the individual, are a part of God (That).
Chāndogya Upaniṣad
Part 6
Chapter VIII — Concerning Sleep, Hunger, Thirst and Death
1. Uddalaka, the son of Aruna, said to his son Svetaketu: "Learn from me, my dear, the true nature of sleep. When a person has entered into deep sleep, as it is called, then, my dear, he becomes united with Pure Being (Sat), he has gone to his own Self. That is why they say he is in deep sleep (Svapiti); it is because he has gone (Apita) to his own (Svam)."
2. "Just as a bird tied by a string to the hand of the bird-catcher first flies in every direction and then finding no rest anywhere, settles down at the place where it is bound, so also the mind (i.e. the individual soul reflected in the mind), my dear, after flying in every direction and finding no rest anywhere, settles down in the Prana (i.e. Pure Being); for the mind (the individual soul) is fastened to the Prana (Pure Being)."
3. "Learn from me, my dear, what hunger and thirst are. When a man is hungry, as they say, it is water that has led (i.e. carried away) what was eaten. Therefore, just as they speak of a leader of cows, a leader of horses, a leader of men, so do they speak of water as the leader of food. So, my dear, know this offshoot (i.e. the body) to have sprung forth from a cause, for it cannot be without a root."
4. "And where could its root be except in food (earth)? And in the same way, my dear, as food too is an offshoot, seek for water as its root. And as water too, my dear, is an offshoot, seek for fire as its root. And as fire too, my dear, is an offshoot, seek for Being (Sat) as its root. Yes, all these creatures, my dear, have their root in Being, they dwell in Being, they finally rest in Being."
5. "When a man is said to be thirsty, it is fire that has led (i.e. carried away) what was drunk by him. Therefore, as they speak of a leader of cows, a leader of horses, a leader of men, so do they speak of fire as the leader of water. So, my dear, know this offshoot (the body) to have sprung forth from a cause, for it cannot be without a root."
6. "And where could its root be except in water? And in the same way, my dear, as water is an offshoot, seek for fire as its root. And as fire too, my dear, is an offshoot, seek for Being as its root. Yes, my dear, all these creatures have their root in Being, they dwell in Being, they finally rest in Being.
And how these three deities (fire, water, and earth), on reaching a human being, become each of them tripartite has already been said. When a person departs hence, his speech merges in his mind, his mind in his Prana, his Prana in heat (fire) and the heat in the Highest Being."
7. "Now, that which is the subtle essence—in it all that exists has its self. That is the True. That is the Self. That thou art, Svetaketu."
"Please, venerable Sir, give me further instruction," said the son.
"So be it, my dear," the father replied.
Chapter IX — The Absence of Individuality in Deep Sleep
1—2. "As bees, my dear, make honey by collecting the juices of trees located at different places and reduce them to one form, "And as these juices have no discrimination so as to be able to say: ‘I am the juice of this tree,’ or ‘I am the juice of that tree’—even so, indeed, my dear, all these creatures, though they reach Pure Being, do not know that they have reached Pure Being."
3. "Whatever these creatures are, here in this world—a tiger, a lion, a wolf, a boar, a worm, a fly, a gnat, or a mosquito—that they become again."
4. "Now, that which is the subtle essence—in it all that exists has its self. That is the True. That is the Self. That thou art, Svetaketu."
"Please, venerable Sir, give me further instruction," said the son.
"So be it, my dear," the father replied.
Chapter X — The Absence of Particularized Consciousness in Deep Sleep
1—2. "These rivers, my dear, flow—the eastern toward the east and the western toward the west. They arise from the sea and flow into the sea. Just as these rivers, while they are in the sea, do not know: ‘I am this river’ or ‘I am that river,’ "Even so, my dear, all these creatures, even though they have come from Pure Being, do not know that they have come from Pure Being. Whatever these creatures are, here in this world—a tiger, a lion, a wolf, a boar, a worm, a fly, a gnat, or a mosquito, that they become again."
3. "Now, that which is the subtle essence—in it all that exists has its self. That is the True. That is the Self. That thou art, Svetaketu."
"Please, venerable Sir, give me further instruction," said the son.
"So be it, my dear," the father replied.
Chapter XI — The Indestructibility of the Jīva
1. "If, my dear, someone were to strike at the root of this large tree here, it would bleed but live. If he were to strike at the middle, it would bleed but live. If he were to strike at the top, it would bleed but live. Pervaded by the living self, that tree stands firm, drinking in again and again its nourishment and rejoicing."
2. "But if the life (i.e. living self) leaves one of its branches, that branch withers; if it leaves a second, that branch withers; if it leaves a third, that branch withers. If it leaves the whole tree, the whole three withers."
3. "In exactly the same manner, my dear," said he, "know this: This body dies, bereft of the living self; but the living self dies not. Now, that which is the subtle essence—in it all that exists has its self. That is the True. That is the Self. That thou art, Svetaketu."
"Please, venerable Sir, give me further instruction," said the son.
"So be it, my dear," the father replied.
Chapter XII — The Birth of the Gross from the Subtle
1. "Bring me a fruit of that nyagrodha (banyan) tree."
"Here it is’ venerable Sir." "Break it."
"It is broken, venerable Sir."
"What do you see there?"
"These seeds, exceedingly small,
"Break one of these, my son."
"It is broken, venerable Sir."
"What do you see there?"
"Nothing at all, venerable Sir."
2. The father said: "That subtle essence, my dear, which you do not perceive there—from that very essence this great nyagrodha arises. Believe me, my dear."
3. "Now, that which is the subtle essence—in it all that exists has its self. That is the True. That is the Self. That thou art, Svetaketu."
"Please, venerable Sir, give me further instruction," said the son.
"So be it, my dear," the father replied.
Chapter XIII — The Invisibility of an Existent Object
1. "Place this salt in water and then come to me in the morning."
The son did as he was told.
The father said to him: "My son, bring me the salt which you placed in the water last night."
Looking for it, the son did not find it, for it was completely dissolved.
2. The father said: "My son, take a sip of water from the surface. How is it?"
"It is salt."
"Take a sip from the middle. How is it?"
"It is salt."
"Take a sip from the bottom. How is it?"
"It is salt."
"Throw it away and come to me."
The son did as he was told, saying: "The salt was there all the time."
Then the father said: "Here also, my dear, in this body you do not perceive Sat (Being); but It is indeed there."
3. "Now, that which is the subtle essence—in it all that exists has its self. That is the True. That is the Self. That thou art, Svetaketu."
"Please, venerable Sir, give me further instruction," said the son.
"So be it, my dear," the father replied.
Chapter XIV — The Means of Self—Knowledge
1. "Just as someone, my dear, might lead a person, with his eyes covered, away from the country of the Gandharas and leave him in a place where there were no human beings; and just as that person would turn toward the east, or the north, or the south, or the west, shouting: ‘I have been brought here with my eyes covered, I have been left here with my eyes covered!’"
2. "And as thereupon someone might loosen the covering and say to him: ‘Gandhara is in that direction; go that way’; and as thereupon, having been informed and being capable of judgement, he would, by asking his way from one village to another, arrive at last at Gandhara—in exactly the same manner does a man who has found a teacher to instruct him obtain the true knowledge. For him there is delay only so long as he is not liberated from the body; then he reaches perfection."
3. "Now, that which is the subtle essence—in it all that exists has its self. That is the True. That is the Self. That thou art, Svetaketu."
"Please, venerable Sir, give me further instruction," said the son.
"So be it, my dear," the father replied.
Chapter XV — Ultimate Liberation
1. "Around a dying person afflicted with illness, my dear, his relatives gather and ask: ‘Do you know me? Do you know me?’ He knows them as long as his speech is not merged in his mind, his mind in his Prana (breath), his Prana in heat (fire) and the heat in the Highest Deity."
2. "But when his speech is merged in his mind, his mind in his Prana, his Prana in heat and the heat in the Highest Deity, then he does not know them."
3. "Now, that which is the subtle essence—in it all that exists has its self. That is the True. That is the Self. That thou art, Svetaketu."
"Please, venerable Sir, give me further instruction," said the son.
"So be it, my dear;" the father replied.
Chapter XVI — Liberation for the Knower of Brahman
1. "My dear, they (i.e. the police) bring a man whom they have seized by the hand and say: ‘He has taken something, he has committed a theft.’ When he denies it, they say: ‘Heat the axe for him.’ If he has committed the theft but denies it, then he makes himself a liar. Being false-minded, he covers himself with falsehood, grasps the heated axe and is burnt. Then he is killed."
2. "But if he did not commit the theft, then he makes himself what he really is. Being true-minded, he covers himself with truth, grasps the heated axe and is not burnt. He is released."
3. "As that truthful man is not burnt, so also one who has known Sat is not born again. Thus, in That (Sat) all that exists has its self. That is the True. That is the Self. That thou art, Svetaketu."
References:
- Grimes, John (1996). A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English. Albany: State University of New York Press
- Nikhilananda, Swami (1959). The Upanishads: Volume IV - Taittiriya and Chhāndogya. New York, New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers
