A History of Sanskrit Literature c11.49

c11.49

The great fundamental doctrine of the Upanishads is the identity of the individual *ātman* with the world *Ātman*. It is most forcibly expressed in a frequently repeated sentence of the *Chhāndogya Upanishad* (vi. 8–16): "*This whole world consists of it: that is the Real, that is the Soul, that art thou, O Çvetaketu.*" In that famous formula, "That art thou" (*tat tvam asi*), all the teachings of the Upanishads are summed up. The *Bṛihadāraṇyaka* (I. iv. 6) expresses the same doctrine thus: "*Whoever knows this, 'I am brahma' (aham brahma asmi), becomes the All. Even the gods are not able to prevent him from becoming it. For he becomes their Self (ātman).*”