Explanation of Upanishadic verse "Tat Tvam Asi"

Tat Tvam Asi

Introduction:

The Chandogya Upanishad records the conversation between sage Udhalaka and his son Shwethaketu. The conversation takes place between the twenty four year old son and his father after Shwethaketu returns home from his gurukulam after completing his education. The son stands tall feeling proud that he is a learned man. Sage Udhalaka realizes that his son feels proud because he doesn’t have true knowledge called Brahma Vidhya. The sage then engages his son in conversation so that he can teach him Brahma Vidhya which is the true knowledge.

‘I see that you have returned home after completing your education. You are now a Somya, a person eligible to partake the Soma Juice offered in sacrifices but, do you know about the commander?’

Thus the father starts a conversation to teach his son about God and God realization. The summary of the conversation is as follows.

God is omnipresent as well as the Supreme Controller:

We say that God is Supreme because He is omnipresent but so is ether. Ether is present everywhere but omnipresence alone does not grant it supremacy. God is Supreme not just because He is omnipresent but because He is also the controller of everything. God wished for the cosmos to be created and from Him the entire cosmos was created. Thus everything we see is His body and thus everything is Him. A pot can be created from clay; hence, we can say that a pot is made of clay and thus is clay. We can use a pot to store water but we can’t use plain clay to store water. Clay can be used to store water only when it is fashioned into a pot by a potter using a kiln. The pot was clay before it was made. Similarly everything we see now was Sat. Sat is the Supreme Brahman. Sat has been transformed into this Universe. Sat is clay, the potter as well as the kiln.

Sat is the soul of every jeevatma. To explain this concept let us examine the following analogy. Let us say that we are travelling in a car. We are the passenger and there is a driver who drives the vehicle. In the journey of life, the car is our body, we are the passenger and the driver is Lord Krishna who is the Supreme Brahman. The car and the passenger depend on the driver to traverse the path; they cannot work without the driver. Similar to the car and passenger, our body as well as us depend on Lord Krishna as He is our soul and our driving force.

Eternal nature of jeevatma and prakruthi:

The jeevatmas are eternal. Our body is made up of prakruthi. Prakruthi is eternal. Hence, the jeevatmas and the building blocks of our bodies are both eternal. This is also supported by Science through the law of conservation of mass; matter can neither be created nor destroyed. At the time of creation, God changes matter from one form to another.

Creation and Apocalypse explained:

If we as well as the building blocks of our body as well as this Universe is eternal then what happens during a pralaya i.e. during apocalypse?

Before we can answer the above question, we need to understand why God undertakes creation in the first place. He is very compassionate by nature. Before creation we exist in an inactive form. He takes pity on us and in order to enable us to achieve eternal happiness, He creates. He gives us independence after creation and waits for those souls who seek Him and reach Him. He assigns bodies to the souls based on their past karmas. Some souls realize the reason behind creation and reach our Lord whereas most of the souls start to misuse their bodies. The souls gradually accumulate karmas which lead them further and further away from reaching the divine feet of our Lord. The Lord again takes pity on all the souls and causes pralaya to prevent us from sinking even lower. At the end of pralaya He decides to give us one more chance to see if we will reach Him and starts Creation again.

Lord gives rest to all souls during pralaya. We exist as one with our Lord. This condition of oneness during pralaya is known as Sat. Plurality was one in the beginning. Sat is unique. There is no second force on Sat to make it create. Creation transforms the inactive into active state. The cycle of creation and pralaya can be explained with the example of a self-blowing balloon. Let us imagine that there exists a balloon and it can inflate itself at its own will. Creation is equal to the inflated balloon and pralaya to the deflated balloon.

People often get confused and think that there existed nothing before creation. Something cannot be created from nothing as matter can neither be created nor destroyed. During pralaya we exist along with God at a micro level called sukshma roopa. After creation we exist as sthula roopa or in macro form. Thus creation is the process through which God transforms the micro into macro form and pralaya is the reverse of creation.

At the time of pralaya we are united with God and at the time of creation He becomes our souls. Thus we are never separated from God. We are always with Him and hence it can be said that we are Him.

Explanation of the Body-Soul relationship between us and God:

How can we be said to be Him the Supreme Being?

Let us take the example of a machine. A machine is comprised of many parts. For the machine to function, it needs the individual parts to work together as well as requires a driving force or energy. This Universe or creation is like a giant machine. We are the individual parts while the Lord is the energy or the driving force. When we look at a machine we don’t look at the individual components. When we see a car, we say that “this is  a car” and we do not look at the individual parts of the car and say that “this is a steering wheel, this is a wheel, this is a head light” etc.

At the time of creation, God decided to become many. Thus He brought us out of the undifferentiated and inactive condition. As He is omnipresent, He entered everything as well as every one of us. As He is the Supreme Controller, He not only entered everything and every one of us but also acts as the driving force.

The process of creation:

He starts creation by first making the five elements out of the eternal prakruthi. He then mixes the five elements in various proportions to make things like our bodies. This is similar to making metal alloys. This process is called Trivith Karnam.

Why does He mix the five elements?

If we take the example of gold we know that ornaments cannot be made out of pure gold. Ornaments can only be made when copper or silver is mixed with pure gold. Similarly in order to make our bodies, He mixes the five elements in various proportions.

As He is compassionate, He fashions us a body with the right tools needed to realize Him. He gives us sense organs so that we may see His forms in the temples, we may listen to His nama sankeerthanam and about His incarnations, we may use our legs to walk to His temples, we may use our hands to make garlands for Him and that we may use our tongue to chant His holy names. In order for us to use our sense organs we need energy. He gave us food so that we can derive energy from food. Thus it is the wish of God that we exist in our current form. God has done everything that is required for us to exist in our current form.

Like a machine that requires its battery to be recharged, we need to be re-energized as well. For this reason He has given us sleep. In Sanskrit sleep is called as sopit. It can be split into the roots som apiti which means reaching the self. As during the day we are constantly on the move, He pities us and at night time has arranged for us to get some rest. He takes us to him when we sleep. Thus when we sleep we are in union with Him. Our union with Him re-energizes us.

We the jeevatma are the self of our body; the jeevatmas also have a self which is none other than the Supreme Brahman. Thus the real self of our body is the Supreme Self within us the jeevatmas. Thus when we sleep we are in union with our real self.

He metes out punishment to certain wrong-doers by taking away their ability to fall asleep. The people who do not deserve sleep are as follows.

a)      Those who steal others wealth

b)      Those involved in illegal activities

When we fall asleep, we don’t remember anything including ourselves. All of our activities cease. We realize who we are only when we wake-up. Pralaya is equivalent to falling asleep. All of our activities cease and we do not remember anything. Once creation is started we can recollect ourselves just like we can remember who we are when we wake-up.

All jeevatmas emanated from Him and He is our real home. When we leave our body at the time of death, we are accompanied by God. At the time of our departure from this life, all organs stop their activities. Our organs merge into breath, breath into ourselves the soul, and we merge into Sat who is our real self before exiting this body.

Creation is real:

All things are real. Sat is real. Our soul supports our body similarly Lord Narayana supports us. As we exist in our body, our body is called us. Similarly we are the body of Lord Narayana and through the same logic we are Him. i.e our body is us, we the body of Lord Narayana is Him but our body is different from us similarly we are different from our Lord.

The Universe is the body of our Lord. We form the body parts and are the individual cells of the giant body called the Universe. In life our body undergoes constant changes. We grow old, we grow fat or thin etc whereas we the soul never change; only our body undergoes changes but we the jeevatmas are unchanging. Similarly, the Universe is the body of our Lord. The Universes undergoes changes but its soul our Lord is unchanging.

Realizing God:

If we are united with Him when we sleep why are we unable to recall our union?

Sleep is like honey. It is impossible to differentiate which honey drops came from which flowers. Similarly when we sleep we cannot recall that we are united. All we know is that the union is sweet like honey.

Why can’t we recall when we come out of our union with Him at the time of waking-up?

There are many rivers. The rivers flow into ocean. The water drops in the ocean will not know which rivers they came out of. Similarly the rivers came out of the ocean. Clouds carry the water droplets from the ocean and in the form of rain fill the rivers. The water droplets in the river will not know that they came out of the ocean.

If we can recollect our union with Him then this stage is called as moksha or emancipation.

Why can’t we remember our past lives?

It is because of the will of our Lord.

The consequent births are determined by past karmas. We can only reach God after we break the cycle of karma. If this is the case then when and how did karma begin?

It is impossible to trace this beginning as it is equivalent to a bottomless pit and is very far back in time that we cannot comprehend such a beginning. We only know that we can break away from the bonds of karma by loving God. Most people think that loving God and staying devoted to Him are lower levels of evolution of realization as it has nothing to do with Meta physics but the Vedas want us to fall in love with God.

We remember who we are upon waking-up from sleep and can recall the events of the previous evening. This proves that we are the same jeevatma but we cannot recall the events of our past life. Then how can we say that the jeevatma is eternal?

We know that even if we cut the branch of a tree, the branch can grow back as long as the tree is alive. This shows that there is a driving force inside the tree which we call as jeevatma or the soul. The branch doesn’t grow only when the tree is dead and is devoid of this driving force. It is also the will of God which makes us forget our past lives like an amnesia patient suffering from lapse of memory. Just because the patient can’t recall past events does not mean that he/she is a different person. Similarly, just because we cannot recall our past lives does not mean that we are a different jeevatma. There are very few realized souls who can recollect the events of their past lives like Jata Bharathar.

How can we say that this macro form of the Universe has its origin in the micro form?

The fig fruit has tiny seeds. A single tiny seed can develop into a huge fig tree bearing infinite number of fig fruits. The same way in which a giant tree can be said to originate from a tiny seed this macro form of the Universe originated from an earlier micro form.

If God is always present with us then why are we unable to see Him?

We can see the individual grain of salt but when salt is dissolved in water we cannot see the grains of salt. Just because we cannot see salt doesn’t mean that salt is not present in the saline solution. The moment we taste the solution we are able to comprehend the presence of salt. Similarly God cannot be realized with our eyes alone. We need the special knowledge called Brahma Vidhya to know Him.

If God is the driving force and is present as our soul then how can we differentiate between human acts and divine acts? How can we differentiate His acts especially from the acts of evil doers?

After God created, He gave us freedom to choose between good and bad. Depending on our choice, karmas are accumulated which further incite us to make certain choices. God only exists as an observer. He doesn’t take part in our actions and He does not incite us to do the actions as well. When we say that we act per God’s will it means that God has willed for us to act per our past karmas. Even if we do a small good deed, God helps us to perform further good deeds so that we can break away from our bad habits. In Hinduism there is no concept called “devil” as there simply does not exist any force which can conquer or even try to conquer God.

Lord with the cosmos in micro form is the seed and this Universe is the giant tree that springs forth from the seed.

Those who realize God know that He is present everywhere. A sage once taught Vedanta to three students. To test their knowledge, he gave them each a banana fruit and told them that they must only eat it in privacy. The first student found a dry deserted well and ate his fruit inside the well. The second student locked himself in a room and ate the fruit. The third student after many days returned the fruit to the sage and said that he was unable to find a private spot since God is present everywhere. Thus the third student passed the test with flying colours.

How can one realize God?

If a person was blindfolded and their hands tied by some kidnappers that person is incapable of effecting escape. If the kidnappers abandon the person in the middle of a dense forest the person will cry for help hoping that someone will come to his/her aid. Eventually a passerby might notice the abandoned prisoner and remove the blind fold and untie the bonds. The passerby will then show the prisoner the path to exit the forest. The prisoner will then traverse this path and at every village will verify by asking the villagers if he/she is on the right path. Eventually the path will lead to the major city the prisoner wanted to reach. Similarly we are lost in this forest of samsara. If we cry for help, we might attract the attention of an acharya who will show us the right path to exit the forest. Once on the right path we must keep checking that we are on the right path to ensure that we do not stray away from it. If we follow this procedure we will eventually reach God.

Why are people unable to leave their attachments? How can a person leave behind their attachments?

People do not realize that they depend on God. They think that they are independent and as a result suffer from false ego. The false ego is the reason they are unable to leave their attachments. People at their death bed can recognize their kith and kin but at the time of death when the soul is united with the Supreme Self within, all recognition fades. By developing closeness with God and seeking to be united with Him we can leave behind attachments even when we are still alive.

If it is easy to reach God, why people don’t try to reach Him?

People fail to realize that He is their soul and that they are His body. Even though we are His body we are different from Him but we depend on Him. They can reach Him only by realizing that they are dependent on Him and by surrendering themselves to Him. People who surrender to Him are unaffected by Samsara and are not burnt by the heat of Samsara.

Summary:

a)      Sat is the resting place for all jeevatmas.

b)      There are many souls similar to many drops in honey.

c)      Sat is the origin as well as the terminus. The rivers originate from the ocean when the clouds collect water droplets from the ocean and fill the rivers in the form of rain. The rivers travel towards the ocean and mixes with the ocean thus beginning and ending in the ocean.

d)      The jeevatmas are the driving force of the body. A tree continues to grow even when its branch is cut but the same tree stops growing when its life force exits its body and the tree becomes dead wood.

e)      The macro form of the universe has its origin in the microscopic form. A giant fig tree has its origin from a tiny seed inside the fig fruit.

f)        Lord is omnipresent but He can only be seen with the help of Brahma Vidhya. Salt grains present in saline solution cannot be seen but only tasted; similarly, we need Brahma Vidhya to see the omnipresent God.

g)      We can see the omnipresent Lord by developing a thirst to reach Him similar to a person abandoned in a forest wishing to reach a metropolis. We then cry for help hoping that someone will unite us with God. We attract the attention of an acharya who then shows us the way to reach God. By ensuring that we never stray away from the path shown by our acharya we will reach God.

h)      Attachments are present due to the presence of ego. At the time of death when we are united with God all recognition fades. Similarly by striving to be united with God we can rid ourselves of false ego and material attachments.

i)        The proper way to approach God is by realizing that He is our soul and that we are His body. We seek for His forgiveness for straying away from Him. We request Him to accept us in His fold. We realize that all jeevatmas are His body and hence we should try to be kind to all beings. By following this procedure we will not be burnt by the scorching heat of samsara as we would be protected by His cool grace.

j)        I am He because I do not exist without Him. I am His body and even though I am different from Him, I cannot be differentiated from Him just like how my body cannot be differentiated from me even though it is different from me. Thus, I Am He!

Reference:

Tat Tvam Asi - A discourse in English by Sri U.Ve. Karunakaran Swamy
(Any errors or inconsistencies in the above essay are due to the mistakes I made while taking notes. )