Tat Tvam Asi: 'You Are That' and the Nine Repetitions
Written and reviewed by The Kriya Yogi · Updated 19 September 2026
tat tvam asi
You are that.
- Source
- Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 and repeated through that chapter
- Tradition
- Upanishadic — one of the four mahāvākyas
- Traditional use
- Contemplated, traditionally after instruction from a teacher.
- Repetition
- Not counted.
In short
- Source: Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7, in the dialogue between Uddalaka Aruni and his son Shvetaketu.
- It is repeated at the end of nine successive illustrations — the teaching is cumulative.
- It is a mahāvākya for contemplation, not counted japa.
- Translation is debated: 'you are that' is standard; some scholars argue for 'that is how you are'.
The dialogue it lives in
Tat tvam asi is not a slogan dropped into the text. In Chandogya Upanishad 6, Uddalaka Aruni teaches his son Shvetaketu through a sequence of images — salt dissolved in water, rivers reaching the sea, a banyan seed, a man led blindfolded from his home — and after each one he says the same thing: tat tvam asi. Nine times. The repetition is the method.
The translation debate
"You are that" is the standard rendering and the one used everywhere. Some Sanskritists, notably Joel Brereton, have argued the phrase is better read as "that is how you are", making it an identification of manner rather than of substance. The traditional Advaita reading is the identity one. It is worth knowing both exist.
How it is used
Like the other mahāvākyas, it is held and enquired into rather than counted on a mala, and traditionally it is received from a teacher who then explains it — exactly as happens in the text itself.
Questions & answers
+ Where does tat tvam asi come from?
+ Is 'you are that' the only translation?
Mantra recitation is a contemplative practice, not a treatment for any condition. Nothing here should be read as medical advice.