Universal
Ayam Atma Brahma — a mahavakya
अयमात्मा ब्रह्म
Simple reading
A-yam aat-maa brah-ma
Ayam ātmā brahma
About this mantra
The mahavakya of the Mandukya Upanishad: this very self is the absolute. The Advaita tradition chose four such sentences, one from each Veda, to carry the Upanishads' whole teaching; this is the Atharva Veda's.
Meaning
This self is Brahman. Ayam, this, is the whole teaching. The self meant is the one presently reading, not one to be reached after purification, in another life, on a farther shore. The Mandukya sets the sentence beside Om itself, matching self and sound limb for limb. It is the tradition's shortest distance between seeker and sought: none.
Learn it by heart
Say the first line until it comes without reading, then add the next line and say both, until the whole mantra comes on its own.
Whole mantra
This mantra is a single line. Learn it whole, then add it to your review deck so it comes back for a check.
अयमात्मा ब्रह्म
Ayam ātmā brahma
0not said yet
Aim for eleven. Stop reading as soon as the whole mantra comes on its own.
Progress stays on this device.
When to recite it
The nearest contemplation, taken into silent sitting, especially in the day's first stillness; paired traditionally with Om's four quarters in Mandukya study.
Word by word
- अयम्ayam
- this very
- आत्माātmā
- self
- ब्रह्मbrahma
- is Brahman
Source: Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad 2