PART – 1
Let us continue our contemplation on the sentence “Tat Tvam Asi”. We already discussed what is ‘Tvam’. Now, let us understand what is ‘Tat’.
Tat means ‘That’. What is that? That is Brahman. Brahman comes from the word infinite. That which is infinite, which is omnipresent, which is omniscient. That, which is the Creator, Sustainer, and the Dissolver of this Universe. We call it as Ishwara or Bhagwan is ‘Tat’ – That. So, ‘That’, which is infinite, is here said as ‘You’ which is the finite ‘Tvam’. You are said to be ‘That’ which is infinite
How is this to be understood? If you look at the superficial meaning, it doesn’t make any sense at all. When we try to understand the deeper meaning of ‘Tat’ – ‘That’, what is ‘That’? We see this creation which is infinite in nature, which consists of five elements called ‘Panchabhutas’ – Space, Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, and then our Mind and Intellect. This is the creation and this is superimposed on the inner essence, the essence of existence.
PART – 2
Just like, I gave the example earlier. This is a coconut. If you remove the coir, what you see inside is also called coconut and when the shell is broken, the white part which is seen deep inside is the real coconut. Similarly, the meaning of the word ‘Tat’ has to be understood from a deeper level, not from the superficial level. At the deepest level, Tat is the pure Consciousness, the Supreme Reality. What we see is the manifested Reality that is being superimposed on that Supreme Reality. We have to go beyond this superimposition to the deepest level to understand the Absolute Reality which is pure Awareness or pure Consciousness and that is ‘Tat’.
PART – 3
The teachings of scriptures help us to understand this Absolute Reality which is beyond the appearance and superimposition. This creation that we see is superimposed on that Absolute Reality, pure Consciousness , or pure Awareness. This superimposition is called Maya and this can be understood from the study of scriptures.
Vedantic teaching tells us that beyond this appearance called creation, beyond this Maya, there is absolute Reality, which is referred to as ‘Tat’ and you are that ‘Tat’. If you look at the manifested Reality it is infinite and you compare yourself as a small body in that manifested Reality, you are nowhere there. But, if you go deep inside, the essence of that manifested Reality is the real Tat and you are that. That is what you have to understand.