Mahāvākyas

Aspect of the Upanishads

The Mahāvākyas (sing. : mahāvākyam, महावाक्यम्; plural: mahāvākyāni, महावाक्यानि) are "The Great Sayings" of the Upanishads, as characterized by the Advaita school of Vedanta with mahā meaning great and vākya, a sentence. Most commonly, Mahāvākyas are considered four in number,

Like other Mahāvākyas, it also explains the unity of Brahman and Atman, which is the basic principle of Advaita Vedanta. "intelligence", "wisdom" (Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rig Veda)
[[Ayam Atma Brahma (अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म) "This Self (Atman) is Brahman" (Mandukya Upanishad 1.2 of the Atharva Veda)
Those statements are interpreted as supporting the insight that the individual self (jīvá) which appears as a separate existence, is in essence (ātmán) part and manifestation of the whole (Brahman).

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:

In ChU.6.8.12 it appears as follows:

Aham (अहम्) literally "I". Brahma (ब्रह्म) ever full or whole (ब्रह्म is the first case ending singular of Brahman). Asmi (अस्मि) "am," the first person singular present tense of the verb as (अस्), "to be". Ahaṁ Brahmāsmi then means "I am the Absolute" or "My identity is cosmic", but can also be translated as "you are part of god just like any other element".

In his comment on this passage, Sankara explains that here Brahman is not the conditioned Brahman (saguna); that a transitory entity cannot be eternal; that knowledge about Brahman, the infinite all pervading entity, has been enjoined; that knowledge of non duality alone dispels ignorance; and that the meditation based on resemblance is only an idea. He also tells us that the expression Aham Brahmaasmi is the explanation of the mantra

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). Vidyāranya in his Panchadasi (V.4) explains:

Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rigveda:

The Sanskrit word ayong means 'it'. Ātman means ‘Atma’ or 'self'. Brahman is the highest being. So "Ayam Atma Brahma" means 'Atma is Brahman'. The section expands on this concept as follows,