I always wanted to know what Deepak Chopra
had to say ... and sort of didn't want to get into too much reading ... so i came across a God and Buddha DVD at Harvard by the Bay [;-) ] ... it was really good ... Veda ...Vedanta ... Buddha ...Who Knew?
Its a talk/dialogue with Robert Thurman at Tibet House in NY.
Looks like I'll need to hear more of this ...
and its sort of nonlinear too ... and linear ... and everything ...
tat tvam asi "Thou are that" --- and that that ... and everything else in a nutshell
The wiki page on Mahavakyas is definitely a good starting point ...
The Mahavakyas are the four "Great Sayings" of the Upanishads, the foundational religious texts of Hinduism. Each of the Mahavakyas belongs to one of the four Vedas and is said to condense the essence of the entire Veda in one statement. These sayings encapsulate the central Truth of Hinduism.
The Mahavakyas are:All four of these great statements indicate the unity of the individual Atman (Self) with Brahman (God). Brahman is the Absolute Reality, Cosmic Consciousness, the fundamental God-stuff from which all divinities and all worlds arise and Hinduism asserts that each human being, in her or his innermost Self, is this ultimate transcendent God-Reality. It is through practices like yoga, and meditation that the individual can realize her or his unity with the Divine and escape the bonds of this world.
- Prajnanam Brahma - "Consciousness is Brahman" (Aitareya Upanishad 3.3 of the Rig Veda)
- Ayam Atma Brahma - "This Self (Atman) is Brahman" (Mandukya Upanishad 1.2 of the Atharva Veda)
- Tat Tvam Asi - "Thou art That" (Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 of the Sama Veda)
- Aham Brahmasmi - "I am Brahman" (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10 of the Yajur Veda)
[More wiki for Tat Tvam Asi.]
