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Chandogya Upanishad

Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma • Verse 1

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Curated Selection (64 of 627 verses)

A curated selection of key philosophical passages. The complete Chandogya Upanishad contains additional sections on meditation techniques and sacred practices.

Verse 3.1Famous
intermediate
सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म तज्जलानिति शान्त उपासीत।

sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma tajjalāniti śānta upāsīta |

"All this is indeed Brahman. One should meditate on it peacefully as tajjalan - that from which all beings are born, into which they dissolve, and by which they live."

Mahavakya (Great Saying)

सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म

Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma

"All this is indeed Brahman"

What This Means:

Everything in this universe IS Brahman. Meditate peacefully knowing that all comes from Brahman, lives in Brahman, and returns to Brahman.

Going Deeper:

Tajjalan is a compound: taj-ja (born from That), tal-la (dissolving into That), tan-an (breathing in That). The entire cosmic cycle is contained in one word.

How To Apply This:

See all of existence as Brahman. This includes you, your surroundings, everything. Practice peaceful meditation on this truth.

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The 64 verses in this selection

Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma

  1. 3.1All this is indeed Brahman. One should meditate on it peacefully as tajjalan - that from which all beings...
  2. 3.2A person is made of will (kratu). As is one's will in this world, so does one become after departing...
  3. 3.3This Self is made of mind, with breath for its body, light for its form, truth for its will, space for its...
  4. 3.4This is my Self within the heart, smaller than a grain of rice, smaller than a grain of barley, smaller...
  5. 3.5This is my Self within the heart, greater than the earth, greater than the atmosphere, greater than...

Tat Tvam Asi - You Are That

  1. 6.1Shvetaketu was the grandson of Aruna. His father said to him: "Shvetaketu, go and live as a student of...
  2. 6.2He went at age twelve and returned at twenty-four, having studied all the Vedas, conceited, considering...
  3. 6.3"Shvetaketu, since you are so conceited, considering yourself learned, and stiff with pride, did you ask...
  4. 6.4"Just as, my dear, by knowing one lump of clay, everything made of clay becomes known - the modification...
  5. 6.5"Just as, my dear, by knowing one nugget of gold, everything made of gold becomes known - the modification...
  6. 6.6"Just as, my dear, by knowing one iron tool, all things made of iron become known - the modification being...
  7. 6.7"In the beginning, dear one, this was Being (Sat) alone, one only, without a second. Some say that in the...
  8. 6.8"But how could that be, dear one? How could Being be born from Non-being? No, dear one, in the beginning...
  9. 6.9"That Being thought: 'May I become many, may I be born.' It created fire. That fire thought: 'May I become...
  10. 6.10"The waters thought: 'May we become many, may we be born.' They created food. Therefore, wherever it...
  11. 6.11"Of these beings, there are only three origins: born from an egg, born from a living being, and born from...
  12. 6.12"That Being thought: 'Let me now enter into these three deities (fire, water, food) with this living self...
  13. 6.13"'Let me make each of these three deities tripartite.' This Being, having entered into these three deities...
  14. 6.14"Just as, dear one, bees make honey by collecting the nectars of different trees and reducing them to one...
  15. 6.15"As those nectars have no discrimination, thinking 'I am the nectar of this tree, I am the nectar of that...
  16. 6.16"Whatever they become here - whether tiger, lion, wolf, boar, worm, moth, gnat, or mosquito - they become...
  17. 6.17"That which is the subtlest essence, the whole world has That as its Self. That is the True. That is the...
  18. 6.18"These rivers, dear one, flow from the east toward the east, from the west toward the west. They go from...
  19. 6.19"Even so, dear one, all these creatures, having come from Being, do not know 'We have come from Being...
  20. 6.20"That which is the subtlest essence - the whole world has That as its Self. That is the True. That is the...
  21. 6.21"If someone strikes this great tree at the root, it would ooze sap but live. If struck in the middle, it...
  22. 6.22"If the life departs from one branch, that branch withers. If from a second, that withers. If from a...
  23. 6.23"Know this indeed, dear one: This body dies when the life departs; the life itself does not die. That...
  24. 6.24"Bring me a fruit of the nyagrodha (banyan) tree." "Here it is, sir." "Break it open." "It is broken...
  25. 6.25"That subtle essence which you do not perceive - from that very essence, dear one, this great banyan tree...
  26. 6.26"That subtle essence is the Self of all. That is the True. That is the Self. TAT TVAM ASI, Shvetaketu...
  27. 6.27"Put this salt in water and come to me in the morning." He did so. The father said: "Bring me the salt you...
  28. 6.28"Sip from this end. How is it?" "Salt." "Sip from the middle. How is it?" "Salt." "Sip from that end. How...
  29. 6.29"That subtle essence is the Self of all. That is the True. That is the Self. TAT TVAM ASI, Shvetaketu...
  30. 6.30"Suppose, dear one, someone leads a man with eyes blindfolded from the land of Gandhara and leaves him in...
  31. 6.31"He would go toward the east, crying out: 'I was left here blindfolded! My homeland is Gandhara!' Then...
  32. 6.32"Going from village to village, if he is intelligent, he would finally reach Gandhara. Even so, one who...
  33. 6.33"That subtle essence is the Self of all. That is the True. That is the Self. TAT TVAM ASI, Shvetaketu."

The Infinite (Bhuma)

  1. 7.1Narada approached Sanatkumara and said: "Teach me, venerable sir." Sanatkumara replied: "Tell me what you...
  2. 7.2Narada said: "Sir, I have studied the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda as the fourth, history and...
  3. 7.3"I am only a knower of texts, not a knower of the Self. I have heard from teachers like you that one who...
  4. 7.4"Name indeed is the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda, history, mythology - all the sciences you...
  5. 7.5"One who meditates on name as Brahman becomes free in the realm of name." "Is there something greater than...
  6. 7.6"Speech is greater than name. Speech makes known the Vedas. Through speech Brahman is known. Meditate on...
  7. 7.7"Mind is greater than speech. Mind holds together both speech and name. When one intends with the mind to...
  8. 7.8"Will/intention (sankalpa) is greater than mind. When one wills, then one thinks, then one speaks, then...
  9. 7.9"Thought/consciousness (citta) is greater than will. When one becomes conscious, then one wills. Meditate...
  10. 7.10"Meditation (dhyana) is greater than thought. The earth meditates as it were, the sky meditates, heaven...
  11. 7.11"Understanding (vijnana) is greater than meditation. Through understanding one knows the Vedas. Meditate...
  12. 7.12"Strength (bala) is greater than understanding. One strong man can shake a hundred men of understanding...
  13. 7.13"Food (anna) is greater than strength. For through food one becomes strong. Meditate on food as Brahman."
  14. 7.15"The Infinite (Bhuma) alone is bliss. In the finite there is no bliss. The Infinite alone is bliss. But...

Dahara Vidya - The Heart Space

  1. 8.1Now, in this city of Brahman (the body), there is a small lotus-dwelling (the heart). In it is a small...
  2. 8.2If they should ask: "In this city of Brahman there is a small lotus-dwelling, and in it a small inner...
  3. 8.3He should reply: "This inner space of the heart is as vast as the outer space. Heaven and earth are...
  4. 8.4If they should ask: "If all beings and all desires are contained in this city of Brahman (the body), when...
  5. 8.5He should reply: "This does not age with the body, nor is it killed when the body is killed. This is the...
  6. 8.6This Self is in the heart. The meaning of "heart" (hridayam) is "this is in the heart" (hridi ayam). One...
  7. 8.7The Self is a bridge, a boundary, that keeps these worlds apart so they do not merge. Day and night do not...
  8. 8.8Therefore, having crossed this bridge, if blind, one becomes not-blind; if wounded, not-wounded; if...
  9. 8.9Those who depart having known the Self and these true desires - for them there is freedom in all worlds...
  10. 8.10If he desires the world of the fathers, by his mere will the fathers arise. Endowed with that...
  11. 8.11If he desires the world of mothers, by his mere will the mothers arise. Endowed with that mother-world, he...
  12. 8.12Thus this serene being, rising from this body, reaches the highest light and appears in its own form. This...
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