The Great Sayings: Mahavakyas

Four Sentences That Contain Everything

Scattered throughout the Upanishads are extraordinary statements, sentences so concentrated with meaning that they're called Mahavakyas, "great sayings." These are the distilled essence of Upanishadic wisdom, each one a complete teaching in just a few words.

Traditionally, four Mahavakyas are considered supreme, one from each of the four Vedas. Each says essentially the same thing, but from a different angle, and that thing is the most important truth a human being can realize.

1. Prajnanam Brahma, "Consciousness is Brahman"

Source: Aitareya Upanishad (Rig Veda)

This is called the lakshana vakya, the defining statement. It defines what Brahman actually is.

Brahman is not a thing among other things, not a being among other beings. Brahman is consciousness itself, pure awareness, the knowing principle by which anything is known at all.

Whatever you're aware of can be doubted. But the awareness itself? Even to doubt requires awareness. That awareness, not any particular thought or experience, but the capacity to be conscious, is Brahman.

"All this is guided by consciousness, is established in consciousness. The world is guided by consciousness. Consciousness is the foundation. Consciousness is Brahman."
Aitareya Upanishad 3.1.3

2. Tat Tvam Asi, "You Are That"

Source: Chandogya Upanishad (Sama Veda)

This is called the upadesha vakya, the instructional statement. It's the teaching a guru gives to a student.

In the Chandogya, the sage Uddalaka teaches his son Shvetaketu through a series of examples, and after each one delivers the refrain: "Tat tvam asi, Shvetaketu", "You are That, Shvetaketu."

• Tat (That): The ultimate reality, Brahman, infinite, eternal, beyond all qualities
• Tvam (You): Your innermost Self, the Atman
• Asi (Are): Identity, not similarity, but actual oneness

The teaching is direct: the consciousness that is the ground of all reality is the same consciousness that you are. Not connected to it, not part of it, but identical with it.

"That which is the subtle essence, in That all this has its existence. That is the truth. That is the Self. And you, Shvetaketu, are That."
Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7

3. Ayam Atma Brahma, "This Self is Brahman"

Source: Mandukya Upanishad (Atharva Veda)

This is called the anubhava vakya, the experiential statement. It expresses the direct realization.

Where "Tat Tvam Asi" points outward to "That" infinite reality, this Mahavakya points inward to "This" immediate Self. Look within, the Atman you discover there is not different from Brahman.

The Mandukya, as we've seen, maps the four states of consciousness (waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and Turiya). At the end of this mapping, it declares: this Self that witnesses all states is Brahman.

4. Aham Brahmasmi, "I Am Brahman"

Source: Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Yajur Veda)

This is called the abhyasa vakya, the practice statement, used for meditation and contemplation.

This is the first-person declaration of realized truth. Not "I" the ego, the person with a name and history, but "I" the pure consciousness, the awareness that precedes all identification.

"In the beginning, this universe was the Self alone, in the form of a person. Looking around, he saw nothing but himself. The first thing he said was 'I am' (Aham). Therefore his name is 'I.' Even now, when one is asked 'Who are you?' one first says 'I am,' and then speaks whatever other name one has."
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.1

Before you are anything else, before you are a man or woman, young or old, happy or sad, you simply are. That pure existence-awareness is Brahman, and that is what you truly are.

How the Mahavakyas Work Together

The four Mahavakyas form a complete teaching process:

1. Prajnanam Brahma, Understand what Brahman is (consciousness itself)
2. Tat Tvam Asi, Receive the teaching that you are That
3. Ayam Atma Brahma, Investigate and verify by looking within to the Self
4. Aham Brahmasmi, Claim and live the realization

Contemplating the Mahavakyas

These sentences are not meant for intellectual understanding alone. They're tools for transformation. Traditional practice involves:

• Shravana (hearing): Receive the teaching from a qualified teacher who has realized it
• Manana (reflection): Think about the meaning deeply, resolve doubts, understand the logic
• Nididhyasana (meditation): Contemplate continuously until the truth becomes your living reality

When you sit in meditation and ask "Who am I?", these Mahavakyas provide the answer that transcends all other answers.

The Revolutionary Implication

If the Mahavakyas are true, then:

• You are not a small, limited creature trying to reach an infinite God
• You are not separate from the ultimate reality
• Liberation is not something to achieve but something to recognize
• Every spiritual practice is ultimately about removing the ignorance that obscures this truth

"When the great saying 'Tat Tvam Asi' has been heard from the guru and its meaning reflected upon, one should fix the mind on this truth and abide as the Self, forgetting all else."
Vivekachudamani 251

These four sentences, consciousness is Brahman, you are That, this Self is Brahman, I am Brahman, contain the entire teaching of Advaita Vedanta. Realize any one of them fully, and liberation is yours.