Tat Tvam Asi

Tat Tvam Asi (Sanskrit: तत् त्वम् असि or तत्त्वमसि), a Sanskrit sentence, translating variously to "Thou art that," "That thou art," "You are that," or "That you are," is one of the Mahāvākyas (Grand Pronouncements) in Vedantic Hinduism. It originally occurs in the Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7, in the dialogue between Uddalaka and his son Śvetaketu; it appears at the end of a section, and is repeated at the end of the subsequent sections as a refrain. The meaning of this saying is that the Self - in its original, pure, primordial state - is wholly or partially identifiable or identical with the Ultimate Reality that is the ground and origin of all phenomena. The knowledge that this is so characterises the experience of liberation or salvation that accompanies the Unio Mystica.

The meaning of this saying is that the Self - in its original, pure, primordial state - is wholly or partially identifiable or identical with the Ultimate Reality that is the ground and origin of all phenomena

Major Vedantic schools offer different interpretations of the phrase:

• Advaita - absolute equality of 'tat', the Ultimate Reality, Brahman, and 'tvam', the individual self, jiva.
• Shuddhadvaita - oneness in "essence" between 'tat' and individual self; but 'tat' is the whole and self is a part.
• Vishishtadvaita - identity of individual self as a part of the whole which is 'tat', Brahman.
• Dvaitadvaita - equal non-difference and difference between the individual self as a part of the whole which is 'tat'.
• Dvaita - “Sa atmaa-tat tvam asi” in Sanskrit is actually “Sa atma-atat tvam asi” or “Atman, thou art not that”.
• Acintya Bheda Abheda - inconceivable oneness and difference between individual self as a part of the whole which is 'tat'.