'tat tvam asi' — jÄ«va-hetu prÄdeÅ›ika vÄkya
praṇava nÄ mÄni' tÄre kahe mahÄ-vÄkya

 tat tvam asi - you are the same; jÄ«va-hetu - for the enlightenment of the conditioned soul; prÄdeÅ›ika - subsidiary; vÄkya - vibration; praṇava - the oá¹kÄra incarnation;  - not; mÄni' - accepting; tÄre - that; kahe - says; mahÄ-vÄkya - transcendental vibration.


Text

“The subsidiary vibration tat tvam asi [“you are the sameâ€] is meant for the understanding of the living entity, but the principal vibration is oá¹kÄra. Not caring for oá¹kÄra, Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya has stressed the vibration tat tvam asi.â€

Purport

Tat tvam asi is accepted as the primary vibration by one who does not accept praṇava, the transcendental sound incarnation of the holy name of the Lord, as the chief principle in the Vedic literature. By word jugglery, Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya tried to create an illusory presentation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His relationship with the living entities and the cosmic manifestation. Tat tvam asi is a warning to the living entity not to mistake the body for the self. Therefore tat tvam asi is especially meant for the conditioned soul. The chanting of oá¹kÄra or the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is meant for the liberated soul. ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« has said, ayi mukta-kulair upÄsyamÄnam (NÄmÄṣṭaka 1). Thus the holy name of the Lord is chanted by the liberated souls. Similarly, ParÄ«ká¹£it MahÄrÄja says, nivá¹›tta-tará¹£air upagÄ«yamÄnÄt (BhÄg. 10.1.4). The holy name of the Lord can be chanted by those who have fully satisfied their material desires or who are fully situated on the transcendental platform and devoid of material desire. The name of the Lord can be chanted by one who is completely freed from material contamination (anyÄbhilÄá¹£itÄ-śūnyaá¹ jñÄna-karmÄdy-anÄvá¹›tam). Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya has indirectly minimized the value of the principal Vedic mantra (oá¹kÄra) by accepting a subordinate vibration (tat tvam asi) as the most important Vedic mantra.