Om Tat Sat

OMtatsaditi nirdeśo brahmaṇastrividhaḥ smṛtaḥbrāhmaṇāstena vedāśca yajñāśca vihitāḥ purā

Om, Tat, Sat, these three words name Brahman. Through them, long ago, the knowers of truth, the Vedas and sacred offerings were set in place.

What it means

Krishna introduces three sacred words. Om, Tat, Sat. Together they point to Brahman, the infinite reality. Om is the primal sound. Tat means that, the beyond. Sat means truth, what is real. From these, he says, came the sacred knowers, the scriptures and offering itself.

The story

Arjuna has heard these words chanted since childhood. Now Krishna reveals they're a compact name for the whole of reality.

In your life

Imagine a family that ends every meal with the same three words of thanks, carrying generations of meaning. Choose three words that hold what you live for. Say them tonight.