The aphorism "Brahmavid āpnoti param", found in the opening passage of the Taittirīya Upanishad (2.1.1), serves as both a thematic prelude and a philosophical foundation for the text. The Taittirīya belongs to the Krishna Yajur Veda and occupies a significant place within Vedantic literature for its systematic exploration of Brahman through progressively subtler layers of existence (annamaya, prāṇamaya, manomaya, etc.). This particular statement asserts that knowledge of Brahman is not merely intellectual, but transformative, culminating in the attainment of the highest goal.
In Advaita Vedānta, "param"—the supreme—is understood not as a distant realm or heavenly abode, but as the recognition of one's own undivided identity with Brahman. The process of "attaining" thus refers to a shift of understanding, from mistaken identification with the body and mind to abiding in pure, formless awareness. Śaṅkara, the foremost commentator on the Upanishads, insists that Self-knowledge alone—and not ritual, devotion, or good deeds—is sufficient to dissolve ignorance and reveal this supreme truth. The result is mokṣa—liberation from the cycle of birth and death, and the full flowering of intrinsic bliss (ānanda).
