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Uddālaka Āruṇi

Uddālaka Āruṇi is a Vedic teacher who appears in the early Upaniṣads, most famously in the sixth chapter of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, where he…

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On the Coordinates: 1.1 Ontology

उद्दालक आरुणि

Also known as Uddalaka Aruni, Uddālaka

c. 8th century BCE · Kuru-Pañcāla region (northern India)

Traditions: Indian

Uddālaka Āruṇi is a Vedic teacher who appears in the early Upaniṣads, most famously in the sixth chapter of the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, where he instructs his son Śvetaketu. Through examples such as salt dissolved in water and the seed of a banyan tree, he teaches that all things arise from a single underlying being (sat) and repeats the formula "tat tvam asi", usually rendered "you are that". Little is known of him as a historical person beyond these texts, and his dates are approximate.

Key ideas

  • In the beginning there was being (sat) alone, from which the world unfolds.
  • Things made from clay are only modifications in name; the clay is what is real.
  • The subtle essence pervading everything is also one's own self: 'tat tvam asi'.
  • Being cannot arise from non-being.

Major works

  • Chāndogya Upaniṣad, chapter 6 (record of his teaching)
  • Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, book 3 (record of his debate with Yājñavalkya)

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In the Coordinates

The questions of philosophy where Uddālaka Āruṇi takes a place, from The Coordinates of Thought.