Mahavakyas (महावाक्यानि)

Mahavakyas (sing.: mahāvākyam, महावाक्यम्; plural: mahāvākyāni, महावाक्यानि) are "The Great Sayings" of the Upanishads, as characterized by the Advaita school of Vedanta.

Most commonly, Mahavakyas are considered four in number,

1. Prajnanam Brahma (प्रज्ञानम् ब्रह्म)
2. Aham Brahma Asmi (अहम् ब्रह्म अस्मि)
3. Tat Tvam Asi (तत् त्वम् असि)
4. Ayam Atma Brahma (अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म)

The four principal Mahavakyas

Though there are many Mahavakyas, four of them, one from each of the four Vedas, are often mentioned as "the Mahavakyas".Template:Sfn According to the Vedanta-tradition, the subject matter and the essence of all Upanishads is 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.

According to the Advaita Vedanta tradition the four Upanishadic statements indicate the ultimate unity of the individual (Atman) with Supreme (Brahman).

The Mahavakyas are:

1. prajñānam brahma - "PrajñānaTemplate:Refn is Brahman"Template:Refn, or "Brahman is Prajñāna" (Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rig Veda)
2. ayam ātmā brahma - "This Self (Atman) is Brahman" (Mandukya Upanishad 1.2 of the Atharva Veda)
3. tat tvam asi - "Thou art That" (Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 of the Sama Veda)
4. aham brahmāsmi - "I am Brahman", or "I am Divine"Template:Sfn (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10 of the Yajur Veda)

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".

Other Mahavakyas

• brahma satyam jagan mithyā - Brahman is real; the world is unreal - Vivekachudamani
• ekam evadvitiyam brahma - Brahman is one, without a second - Chāndogya Upaniṣad
• so 'ham - He am I - Isha Upanishad
• sarvam khalvidam brahma - All of this is brahman - Chāndogya Upaniṣad 3.14.1

Prajñānam Brahma

See also: Prajna

Several translations, and word-orders of these translations, are possible:

Prajñānam:

• jñā can be translated as "consciousness", "knowledge", or "understanding."
• Pra is an intensifier which could be translated as "higher", "greater", "supreme" or "premium", or "being born or springing up",Template:Sfn referring to a spontaneous type of knowing.Template:SfnTemplate:Refn

Prajñānam as a whole means:

• प्रज्ञान, "prajñāna",
  • Adjective: prudent, easily known, wise
  • Noun: discrimination, knowledge, wisdom, intelligence. Also: distinctive mark, monument, token of recognition, any mark or sign or characteristic, memorial
• "Consciousness"Template:Sfn
• "Intelligence"Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
• "Wisdom"

Related terms are jñāna, prajñā and prajñam, "pure consciousness".Template:Sfn Although the common translation of jñānamTemplate:Sfn is "consciousness", the term has a broader meaning of "knowing"; "becoming acquainted with", "knowledge about anything", "awareness", "higher knowledge".

Brahman:

• "The Absolute"Template:Sfn
• "Infinite"
• "The Highest truth"

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:

Prajnanam iti Brahman - wisdom is the soul/spirit. Prajnanam refers to the intuitive truth which can be verified/tested by reason. It is a higher function of the intellect that ascertains the Sat or Truth in the Sat-Chit-Ananda or truth-consciousness-bliss, i.e. the Brahman/Atman/Self/person [...] A truly wise person [...] is known as Prajna - who has attained Brahmanhood itself; thus, testifying to the Vedic Maha Vakya (great saying or words of wisdom): Prajnanam iti Brahman.Template:Sfn

And according to David Loy,

The knowledge of Brahman [...] is not intuition of Brahman but itself is Brahman.Template:Sfn