At the end of the Taittiriya Upanishad, there is a mysterious verse:

aham annam aham annam aham annam
aham annādo ’ham annādo āham annādaḥ
ahaṁ śloka-kṛd ahaṁ śloka-kṛd ahaṁ śloka-kṛt
aham asmi prathama-jā ṛtāsya/ pūrvaṁ devebhyo’mṛtasya nābhāyi
yo mā dadāti sa ideva mā ’vāḥ
aham annam annam adantam ā dmi
ahaṁ viśvaṁ bhuvanam abhyabhavām
suvarna jyotīḥ/ ya evaṁ veda/ ity upaniṣat

Because of the word “aham” (generally translated as “me”), mayavadis like to translate this verse as “I’m food, I’m the eater of food, I’m worthy of all praise, etc.” One famous translation, for example, reads: “I am food! I am food! I am food! I eat food! I eat food! I eat food! I set the rhythm! I set the rhythm! I set the rhythm! I am the first-born of Ṛta, Born before the gods, in the navel of the immortal. The one who gives me will indeed eat me. I am food! I eat him who eats the food! I have conquered the whole universe! I am like the light in the heavens (firmament)!”

This is however not the correct interpretation.

The “aham” mentioned in the verse can’t refer to the jiva, because the jiva doesn’t have all the qualities mentioned in the verse. The jiva is not the one who creates the material world or creates the conditions for the activities of all. The jiva is also not the giver of liberation and so on. Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana explains in great length in his Govinda Bhasya that passages like that must be interpreted as meaning the Supreme Lord. The word “aham” in this verse thus refers to Paramatma, and not to the jiva.

How does it work? Let’s say, for example, that you would see me reciting the verse “ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo, mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate, iti matvā bhajante māṁ, budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ” (I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.)

Although the word “aham” ordinarily means “I”, you would be able to easily understand that I’m not speaking about myself, but just repeating a verse spoken by Krsna in the Bhagavad-Gita, since it would be absurd to presume that everything emanates from me, and so on. In this case you would understand that Krsna is the source of the spiritual and material worlds and so on, even tough I’m the one speaking the verse and the word “aham” is used. Therefore, when Krsna says “ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo” it means Krsna is the source, and when I say “ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo” it is also understandable by the context that Krsna is the source, and not myself.

In this way, the expression “aham annam” doesn’t mean “I’m food”, but “The Lord is food”. The Lord maintains everyone, therefore He is the giver of food. The Lord is also the Supreme enjoyer, so He is the eater of food. The Lord is both the Supreme maintainer and the Supreme enjoyer.

The Lord is also the creator of the material manifestation and in fact of everything that exists. Although the spiritual planets are not created, since they are eternal, still it is sometimes said that the Lord created them to indicate the relationship. Even though the souls, the Vaikunta planets in the spiritual sky, and everything else that is spiritual are never created (nāsato vidyate bhāvo nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ), still the Lord is the origin of everything, and therefore He is worthy of all praise. Before the appearance of Brahma and all demigods, the Lord already existed as Maha-Vishnu, lying on the causal ocean.

It’s only because of the Lord that the living entities can perform material activities. He is the one who creates the material universes and the different conditions for them. The Lord is also the one who gives them the results of their karma. He does all of that only to give the souls an opportunity to return the their original position. When a soul is ready, He is also the giver of liberation, which is indicated by the words amṛtasya nābhāyi.

Because the material world is created with the ultimate purpose of teaching the conditioned souls about devotional service, so they can retain their original position of service to the Lord, devotees who dedicate their lives to teaching this transcendental science are thus very dear to the Lord. As He says in the Bhagavad-Gita (18.68-69): “For one who explains this supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me. There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.” Thus, one who teaches worthy students about the science of devotional service surely attains the Lord.

It’s also mentioned that the Lord pervades matter. This is another feature of Paramamtma: not only does He provide for everyone, from the elephant to the ant, but He also pervades everything. Although all material objects are nothing more than the energy of the Lord, they are vehicles to express our devotional sentiments. The Lord is not interested in material objects, but He is interested in our devotion, therefore when we offer some material object to the Lord, He happily accepts (patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati) and we make advancement. Everything we have should be thus offered to the Lord and used in His service.

The material universes are temporary, but the Lord is eternal, just like we are eternal. The temporality of life in this material world is an artificial condition for the soul. No one wants to die because unconsciously we understand that we are eternal, and thus we desire an eternal position. However, there is nothing eternal in this material world, just as the bliss we hanker for is not available here. Although we are eternal, we are thus forced to transmigrate from one body to another, following the desires of the mind. However, once we understand the glories of the Lord and revive our eternal relationship with Him, we can assume a shining, eternal spiritual body (suvarna jyotīḥ) and join the Lord in His eternal pastimes.

A more accurate translation for this verse would thus be:

“The Lord is the giver of food! The giver of food! The giver of food! The Lord is the eater of food! The eater of food! The eater of food! The Lord is worthy of all praise! He is worthy of all praise! He is worthy of all praise! The Lord creates the universe and the conditions for the activities of all! He is the giver of liberation! He is the one who existed before the demigods! One who instructs a worthy student about the Lord attains the Lord. The Lord pervades matter and is the enjoyer of matter. The Lord exists after the destruction of the universe. One who knows this assumes a shining spiritual form. This is the secret knowledge.”

As mentioned in the previous verse, a liberated soul who realizes his eternal relationship with the Lord can chant this verse in great ecstasy (hā vu hā vu hā vu).