The 4 Mahavakyas or 4 great sentences

This is one of the articles in a book I have written on spirituality. The book is available on Amazon.com.


The Spirit Of Spirituality

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As indicated in my earlier posting, I had mentioned about
the highest level of knowledge being in the Upanishads which are part of the
Vedas. Each Upanishad has pithy aphorisms/sentences that give pointers to the
highest truth ever known to humanity.

Of these several sentences in the Upanishads, Shri
Shankaracharya, the great Advaita scholar of the 8^th century,
identified one major sentence from each of the Vedas and these are called as
Maha Vakyas. These Mahavakyas are as follows:

1.      Prajnanam brahman

Brahman is supreme knowledge

Aitareya
Upanishad

3.3, of Rig Veda

This is the first major sentence. It says that the supreme knowledge to be known is only
Brahman. IF this universe were to end and only one piece of knowledge were to
remain, that should be the knowledge of Brahman.

Brahman means consciousness. When we talk of consciousness, it does not mean conscience.
Consciousness refers to the Life principle, the Awareness principle or in more
common parlance, the God principle. Consciousness is that which provides the
base for every activity and is like a witness to everything without getting
involved. It is like the white screen in a movie hall which is a witness to the
various emotions of a movie. It provides the base for every scene of the movie,
but does in no way get involved. Consciousness is everywhere.

So in a spiritual discourse that a master tells his student, this is the first
declarative statement. But a declarative statement by itself means nothing to a
student. Hence comes, the next major sentence.

2.      Tat tvam asi

That is what you are

Chandogya
Upanishad

6.8.7, of Sama Veda,

To the student on the spiritual path, the Master declares “That is what you are”. Here the
“That” refers to consciousness. The master is telling the student that he is
himself consciousness. This is equivalent to telling a wave that it is nothing
but the ocean. The god ear-ring in essence is nothing but gold as is the gold
necklace. So, in effect it is like telling the gold ear-ring that it is nothing
but gold. Similarly the master is telling the student that he is nothing but
consciousness.  

With a bit of contemplation, it is possible to understand this statement. But intellectually
understanding means nothing unless a concept becomes deeply set. For this, the
Master comes up with the next sentence.

3. Ayam Atma Brahma

Atman and Brahman are the same

Mandukya Upanishad
1.2, of Atharvana Veda

The student is told to contemplate every action/every thought and tell himself that his essence is the same as the essential nature of consciousness. The wave has to know at every stage, that it is the ocean itself. The wave is water and the ocean is water. There is absolutely no difference. The water in the form of a wave is equivalent to consciousness in each of us and is called the Atman in contrast to the water in the ocean which is called the Brahman.

If the wave does not realize its nature is same as ocean and thinks of itself as separate, then it can be impacted by the thought that it is a small wave, big wave, weak wave etc.

Similarly, we can get affected by our color, status etc. by our association with the world and forgetting our essential nature. So the step to getting closer to the reality which has been declared in sentence one is to keep contemplating on the fact that atman and Brahman are the same.

As the contemplation continues, it should lead to some flash of awareness and that is what is in the fourth sentence.

4. Aham Brahmasmi 

I am Brahman

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
1.4.10, of Yajur Veda,

In the ultimate stage of the spiritual journey which has been well prepared by the contemplation mentioned in sentence 3, the spiritual seeker reaches the level where HE realizes that he is nothing but consciousness. At this stage, there is no return. The individual is at the highest level of bliss. The wave has realized it is the ocean and does not care whether it is big/small etc. The earring has realized it is actually gold and does not care that it is less valuable than a necklace. This is the point when a dreamer has come out of his dream and realized his true waking state. From a spiritual perspective, this is the stage, when the soul or atman which had seemed to wrongly identify itself as the ego comes out of its bondage to the body/mind/intellect complex and realizes its true nature which is ever lasting bliss.

As readers may be aware, 3 of my books on spirituality are available on Amazon.com.

I invite readers of my blog to try any of the books and give me feedback so that I can make changes in the next edition.


1. My Humble Understanding  Of Spirituality


My Humble Understanding Of Spirituality

2. Attain Infinite Bliss

Attain Infinite Bliss - A Spiritual Guide

3. The Spirit Of Spirituality

The Spirit Of Spirituality