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The Mahāvākyas ( sing.: , महावाक्यम्; plural: , महावाक्यानि) are "The Great Sayings" of the Upanishads, with mahā meaning great and vākya, a sentence. The Mahāvākyas are traditionally considered to be four in number, though actually five are prominent in the post-Vedic literature:The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, Mahāvākya, Oxford University Press
Mahāvākyas are instrumental in Advaita Vedanta, as they are regarded as valid scriptural statements that reveal the self (), which appears as a separate Ahamkara existence (), is, in essence, Nondualism (not two-ness) from Brahman, which, according to Advaita, is Para Brahman. In contrast, these statements are less prominent in most other Hindu traditions, which emphasize a qualified or dualistic relationship between the self and Brahman, whom they regard as Saguna Brahman, often identified with Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti, etc.
People who are initiated into sannyasa in Advaita Vedanta are being taught the four principal mahavakyas as four mantras, "to attain this highest of states in which the individual self dissolves inseparably in Brahman". kamakoti.org, The Upanisads According to the Advaita Vedanta tradition, the four Upanishadic statements indicate the real identity of the individual ( jivatman) as sat (the Existent), Brahman, consciousness. According to the Vedanta-tradition, the subject matter and the essence of all Upanishads are the same, and all the Upanishadic Mahavakyas express this one universal message in the form of terse and concise statements. In later Sanskrit usage, the term mahāvākya came to mean "discourse", and specifically, discourse on a philosophically lofty topic. Sanskrit Structure
The concept of mahavakyas has a prehistory in Mimamsa, where it differs from its use in Advaita Vedanta. Instead of a concise philosophical truth, a mahavakya in Mimamsa is a complex sentence that integrates and finalizes the meaning of smaller sentences ( avantara-vakya). This structure follows the principle of paryavasana (completion), where the larger sentence absorbs its parts to become the primary source of authority. In full form, a mahavakya serves as a Vedic "ritual manual", unifying all instructions into a guide for performing the ritual.
In ChU.6.8.12 it appears as follows:
In Ch.U.6.8.7 tat refers to Satya, "the Existent", Existence, Being. Sat, "the Existent", then is the true essence or root or origin of everything that exists, and the essence, Atman, which the individual at the core is.Max Muller, Chandogya Upanishad 6.1-6.16, The Upanishads, Part I, Oxford University Press, pages 92-109 with footnotesDominic Goodall (1996), Hindu Scriptures, University of California Press, , pages 136-137 As Shankara states in the Upadesasahasri:
While the Vedanta tradition equates sat ("the Existent") with Brahman, as stated in the Brahma Sutras, the Chandogya Upanishad itself does not refer to Brahman.
According to Brereton, followed by Patrick Olivelle and Wendy Doniger,
the traditional translation as "you are that" is incorrect, and should be translated as "In that way [=thus] are you, Svetaketu." ''That'', then, in ChU.6.8.12 refers to "the very nature of all existence as permeated by [the finest essence]", and which is also the nature of Svetaketu. Lipner expresses reservations on Brereton's interpretation, stating that it is technically plausible, but noting that "Brereton concedes that the philosophical import of the passage may be represented by the translation 'That you are', where ''tat'' as 'that' would refer to the supreme Being (''sat/satya'')."
He explains that non-duality and plurality are contradictory only when applied to the Self, which is eternal and without parts, but not to the effects, which have parts. The aham in this memorable expression is not closed in itself as a pure mental abstraction but it is radical openness. Between Brahman and aham-brahma lies the entire temporal universe experienced by the ignorant as a separate entity (duality).
Vidyaranya in his Panchadasi (V.4) explains:
Prajñānam:
Prajñānam as a whole means:
Related terms are jnana, prajñā and prajñam, "pure consciousness". Although the common translation of jñānam is "consciousness", the term has a broader meaning of "knowing"; "becoming acquainted with", Sanskrit Dictionary, jnanam "knowledge about anything", "awareness", "higher knowledge".
Brahman:
Meaning: Most interpretations state: "Prajñānam (noun) is Brahman (adjective)". Some translations give a reverse order, stating "Brahman is Prajñānam", specifically "Brahman (noun) is Prajñānam (adjective)": "The Ultimate Reality is wisdom (or consciousness)". Sahu explains:
And according to David Loy,
In Sanskrit:
The Mundaka Upanishad, in the first section of the second Mundaka, defines and explains the Atma-Brahma doctrine.
It claims that just as a burning fire produces thousands of sparks and leaps and bounds in its own form, so the living beings originate from Brahman in its own form. Brahman is immortal, except the body, it is both external and internal, ever generated, except the mind, except the breath, yet from it emerges the inner soul of all things.
From Brahman breath, mind, senses, space, air, light, water, earth, everything is born. The section expands on this concept as follows,
The Mundaka Upanishad verse 2.2.2 claims that Atman-Brahman is real. Verse 2.2.3 offers help in the process of meditation, such as Om. Verse 2.2.8 claims that the one who possesses self-knowledge and has become one with Brahman is free, not affected by Karma, free from sorrow and Atma-doubt, he who is happy.Eduard Roer, Mundaka Upanishad Bibliotheca Indica, Vol. XV, No. 41 and 50, Asiatic Society of Bengal, pages 142-164 Mundaka Upanishad, in Upanishads and Sri Sankara's commentary - Volume 1: The Isa Kena and Mundaka, SS Sastri (Translator), University of Toronto Archives, pages 138-152 The section expands on this concept as follows,
While translations tend to separate the sentence in separate parts, Olivelle's translation uses various words in adjunct sets of meaning:
The Mandukya Upanishad repeatedly states that Om is ātman, and also states that turiya is ātman. The Mandukya Upanishad forms the basis of Gaudapada Advaita Vedanta, in his Mandukya Karika.
Etymology and translation
- "All this indeed is Brahman"
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