Universal
Tat Tvam Asi — a mahavakya
तत्त्वमसि
Tat tvam asi
Simple reading: Tat tvam a-si
Wisdom & study
About this mantra
One of the four mahavakyas, the great declarations of the Upanishads — the teacher Uddalaka's words to his son Shvetaketu.
Meaning
You are That. In the Chandogya, Uddalaka says it nine times to his son, each time after a different demonstration — salt vanished in water, rivers lost in the sea — because the sentence is not information but recognition, and recognition needs repeating. Tat is the vast unnamed; tvam is the listener; asi welds them. Nothing in the tradition says more with less.
When to recite it
For contemplation rather than counting — sat with during meditation retreats, Upanishad study, and the quiet after loss, when identity asks its questions.
Word by word
- तत्tat
- That — the absolute
- त्वम्tvam
- you
- असिasi
- are
Source: Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.8.7