Vajasravasa performed an elaborate sacrifice, which terminated with a parting of all
his possessions as gifts to the guests assembled. Vajasravasa’s son, Nachiketas,
watched the proceedings and, as he saw the gifts being given, he was filled with the
thought of the vanity of it all.
“Of what use is it” he said to himself “giving these toothless old
cattle and cows, past the age of bearing? Should not my father, if he is minded to give
what is dear to him, give me away?”
His father did not pay heed to the question, but went on with the routine of the great
sacrifice. Nachiketas repeated the question again and again till Vajasravasa, losing
patience, exclaimed without meaning like what he said: “You? I shall give you to Yama
(the god of death).
Nothing could be uttered on such a solemn occasion but must be carried out. The father
was aghast at his own exclamation. Nachiketas, however, decided to go to Yama.
“Many have gone before me and many yet must go after me. I go not alone to Death,
and what can Yama do to me? Consider what has happened before this, and consider what is
going to happen in the future. Countless are the mortals that have died before this and
will die hereafter. The life of mortals, indeed, is like that of a corn that grows and
ripens and is reaped, and like the grains that fall that spring again into life.”
So Nachiketas went to Yama. Yama was not prepared for the voluntary visitor. He was not
willing to receive anyone before time. Nachiketas had to wait for three days before Yama
received him. A Brahmin could not thus be disregarded even by Yama (the god of death). So,
to make up for the offence, Death (Yama) offered to Nachiketas three boons in return.
Death offered to Nachiketas whatever boons he might desire. He offered many gifts –
length of days, and all kinds of earthly possessions that one could desire, and Swarga
(heaven) thereafter. But the youth chose for the boon – instruction from Yama himself
about the nature of the soul.
“There is no boon that I desire other than this knowledge” said Nachiketas,
“and there can be no better instructor than you for imparting this knowledge. What
use is length of days and what joy can possessions (give), or song or dance or houses and
chariots give, so long as you are there as an ever present termination to it all?”
Even the gods have had doubts in this matter. The nature of it (the soul) is so subtle
that it is not possible to comprehend it satisfactorily. Choose some other boon,
Nachiketas. Do not insist; release me from this.
Even if the gods had doubts in this matter and you say that it is not easily
comprehended, who then could expound it as you can, O Death, and what other boon can equal
this? None, indeed.
Ask for sons and grandsons who may live for a hundred years. Ask for numerous cows,
elephants, and gold and horses. Ask for large tracts of land, and live as many autumns as
you desire.
Or choose any boon that you can conceive equal to this, with wealth and long life. Be
lord of wide dominions, O Nachiketas, I will make you the enjoyer of every desire.
Ask freely for every rare enjoyment in the world of mortals. Here are nymphs in
chariots playing on lutes, such as men have never seen. These will serve you at my
command. But, do not ask me about Death.
Nachiketas was unmoved. He said:
These ephemeral pleasures, O Death, consume the powers of the mortal’s senses.
Even if they lasted all life, they are of little worth. You say you give me these gifts,
but being all limited by the death of the enjoyer, they remain but yours though you appear
to give them away, these chariots, and song and dance. [Keep these ephemeral things for
yourself. I do not care for them.]
How can man get satisfied with wealth? Can we hold wealth when we see you? All wealth
disappears on death. We live but as long as you command it to be. That boon alone,
therefore, is worthy of being desired that I craved of you.
Yama thus failed to persuade Nachiketas to give up his enquiry into the mystery of life
even for all the pleasures of this world and of the world of the gods.
“You have displayed courage and resolve,” said Yama. “There can be no
better seeker than such a one, even as you stated that there can be no better instructor
than myself. Listen, then, I shall explain.”
Then follows the teachings.
The first thing that man should learn in the pursuit of Truth is that the Good is
something different from the Pleasant.
Steeped in ignorance, men engage themselves in activities and pursuits and considering
themselves men of understanding and learned, stagger along aimlessly like blind men led by
the blind, going round and round in the cycle of births.
The main obstacles in the path of the man striving for the higher life is the
identification of oneself with the body. Therefore, all teaching in Hindu Vedanta stresses
on man finding his soul within. If one realizes the divinity of the eternal spirit within,
the battle is won.
Concentrating the mind on the Spirit within, man should realize the divine character of
his own soul and its inherent freedom. The Spirit lodged within oneself is unperceived
because of the perplexities of joy and grief and attachment to worldly objects. When one
realizes the divine Spirit within himself, all the confusion of joy and grief disappears.
This realization can come only if from inside one’s own heart spring purity of
resolve and earnestness of spirit. It does not come by study or learned discussions. It
comes to one whose Self yearns for realization, and whose mind has turned away from evil
and has learnt to subdue itself and to be at peace with the world.
In other words, it comes out of the longing for self-realization that leads to
detachment, rather than from much learning; that is to say, it comes out of the grace of
the Supreme Spirit that dwells within us.
The Self is other than the changing body. It is other than the fears and the passions
that agitate the mind. The Soul is divine in origin. It is not altered in nature by the
qualities of the mind in which it is embodied. It can be released from the meshes of these
qualities by a realization of its own intrinsic divine nature.
The reader may note that the following verses are almost identical with the verses in
the Gita (chapter 2).
You are not born, nor do you die. You did not come from anything else, nor were made
out of something other than yourself. You are unborn, eternal, everlasting and always
existed. You are not slain, though the body is slain.
If you think you slay some one, or that you will be slain by some one, you are wrong in
both cases. The soul neither slays nor is slain.
Subtler than the atom, greater than the greatest, the Atman (soul) resides in the
hearts of living beings. He who makes himself desireless and has cast off grief beholds
the greatness of the Spirit within him.
The man of understanding realizes this bodiless Spirit dwelling in the bodies, this
imperishable substance lodged in the perishable and realizing it casts off grief.
The journey of life can be safely completed, and the Supreme world of Vishnu reached
only if one keeps a watchful control over the senses. The body is like a chariot to which
the senses are yoked like horses. The mind is like the reins, which enable the charioteer,
viz., the understanding, to hold the horses, i.e., the senses, in check. The Soul rides on
the chariot, and the road is the world of objects over which the senses move. If the reins
are not held firmly and wisely, the senses, like wild horses, will get out of control, and
the chariot will not reach the goal, but will go round and round in births and re-births.
If the man is wise, and controls his mind, his senses will be like good horses driven by a
good driver.
Those without understanding, who do not control themselves and pursue external
pleasures fall into the widespread net of Birth and Death. Those of steady mind, realizing
what is truly lasting, do not turn their thoughts to transient pleasures.
The sacred fire is well concealed in the wood like a child in the womb of the mother.
The Soul is contained in the body as the fire is contained and concealed in the wood. Fire
manifest takes shape in accordance with the thing burning. It is now the flame of a lamp,
now a furnace and now a forest-fire, according as to where it is manifested. The fire by
itself is one and the same. So also, the Soul though manifold in embodiment, is the same
as that in which it abides for the time being.
What is here is there and what is there is here; i.e., things and beings seem various
but are, indeed one Being. We are liberated when we perceive this Oneness. We go from
death to death if we perceive difference. It is the mind that by enlightenment can
overcome the notion of difference and have a vision of the transcendent Oneness of all.
The rain falling on the hill divides itself and flows down the hillsides in many
torrents. The ignorant man sees manifoldness in beings and is confused and he runs after
the manifoldness. If water is poured into water, it becomes one and the same with it. Thus
it is with the Self of the man of understanding who sees unity in manifoldness.
It is the light of the Spirit within that really enables us to see, not the light that
falls from outside. Does this Spirit within shine by its own light or does it shine by
Another Light? Is it a Self-luminous Soul or is it a reflection of the One lustrous Being?
It is on this note of sublime doubt that the fifth valli of the Upanishad closes. The
following two verses go together:
They say that the Indefinable Spirit of Supreme Bliss is this that is within me. How
can I make out whether this Spirit within me shines by itself or shines by the reflected
light from the Universal Spirit?
The sun does not furnish the light there, nor the moon, nor the stars, nor these
flashes of lightning born of the clouds; certainly not the light of these sacrificial
fires. The Spirit shines and all things else shine as a result. Everything in the universe
reflects but that light.
Merely to know is not enough to escape from the tangle of illusion. Faith and
discipline of life are necessary. The illusion arises not so much from ignorance as from
attachments. Enlightenment comes with detachment, not with learning. This is the main
teaching to which all the schools of Hindu philosophy ultimately revert and on which they
lay the greatest emphasis. The discipline and meditation that serve to help the Soul to
detach itself from the things or the world is what is called Yoga.
When the knots of the heart are untied, and man is freed from worldly attachments, he
becomes immortal. This is the whole of the teaching
Of the size of a thumb, the Spirit within is lodged in the hearts of men and is there
always. With understanding, separate Him from the sheaths of the body in which He is
lodged, even as you take off the blades of a reed plant. Know that He is immaculate and
deathless.
Upanishads in Brief
By way of introduction)
Isa Upanishad
Isavasyopanishad
Translation and commentary
By Sri C. Rajagopalachari
Abridged
The Bhagavad Gita presents a synthesis of the highest spiritual effort of the
individual with the most practical social co-operation. We should carry on the activities
of life, but we should do so remembering that all that we do belongs to God. Work done in
this spirit will not cling to us in rebirth. This teaching that is expanded in the
Bhagavad Gita is found tersely enunciated in the Isavasyopanishad in the first two verses.
(Slokas one & two)
Everything in the universe abides in the Supreme Being. Realize this well, and,
realizing it, cast off the desires that rise in the heart, for example, the thought of
possessing what is enjoyed by another. Joy comes only by the giving up of desires and
attachments. You may live the longest life, doing work in a detached spirit and dedicating
everything to God. Thus only can we escape the contamination of work and sterilize life.
The Vedantic teaching about higher knowledge should not confuse us into neglect of
duties and indifference about discipline of mind and control of senses. To go through the
activities of daily life in a spirit of detachment serves as a preparation for the
reception of higher knowledge and for self-realization, which secures Moksha (liberation).
Indeed, philosophical learning without discipline of conduct is more to be dreaded than
even ritualism without the knowledge of Vedanta. Higher enlightenment is impossible, and
even if it were possible, worthless, unless there has been preparation and purification by
means of restraint of the senses. Fill the span of life given to you, says the Upanishad,
with work and worship as is done by people without the higher knowledge, but carry on the
work in the spirit of detachment and understand the forms in the sense that you have
learnt from the higher knowledge. Thereby you shall pass through Death to Immortality.
The Santi Sloka of the Upanishad tersely sets out the relation of the individual soul
to the Supreme Spirit. The Self that functions within us is of divine origin. It is of the
same substance as the Supreme Spirit. The part that makes up the individual comes out of
the whole, and the stuff of which it is made is of such a transcendental nature that the
whole remains whole, in spite of something being taken out of the whole. Again,
though what is taken out is but part, it is as whole as the original. The axioms of
mathematics relating to the whole and the part do not apply to the Absolute and its
manifestations.
[Note: It may be found useful to use the example of knowledge or love that remains
whole in spite of being taken out of the whole.]
Santi Sloka
Santi sloka explanations by Swami Nikhilananda, Sri Ramakrishna Math.
Om. That is whole; this is whole. The perfect has come out of the
perfect. Yet the perfect remains, as before, perfect.
Or
Om. That is full; this is full. This fullness has been projected from that
fullness. When this fulness merges in that fulness, all that remains is fullness.
Om.Peace! Peace! Peace!
[Note That: Pure Consciousness or the attributeless Brahman (Supreme Spirit.) Full:
Perfect. This: Hiranyagarbha, the first manifestation of Pure Brahman in the relative
universe characterised by a name and a form. It is the world Soul, the totality of all
individual souls. The word THIS in the text also means the manifest universe, which, like
Pure Consciousness, is perfect. Names and forms being Maya. Projected: On account of Maya
or the incomprehensible power of Brahman. This projection or creation is like that of a
mirage is a desert, or like that of a snake which a man sees through illusion, in a rope
(in dim light a rope may look like a snake). This projection does not effect any change
whatsoever in Brahman, as the illusory snake does not alter the real nature of the rope,
or the mirage, the real nature of the desert. Merges: That is to say when, by means of
Knowledge, the universe is realized as brahman. All that etc: It is because the Supreme
Brahman is the only Reality. The idea of the phenomenal universe is falsely superimposed
upon it.]
As the soul is the life of the body, which without it would be a carcass, so is the
Supreme Spirit the essence of the individual soul’s being. And yet, even as the soul
is ‘lost’ in the body, the Supreme Spirit, functioning as the Soul of the
individual soul, loses cognisance of its real Divine nature. It is the Supreme Spirit that
moves, though in reality there is no motion, It being the one Reality. There can be no
motion when there is nought else. It is far away, because we fail to realize it. It is
near, because it is immanent in everything and is in recess of one’s own heart.
5
It moves. It does not move. It is far away, yet most near.
It is the internal Spirit of everything that we know.
If we realize this all pervading immanence of the Supreme Spirit, the distinction
between oneself and others melts away and with it disappear, as a matter of course, grief
and illusion. Bhagavad Gita, chapter 6, slokas 29 and 30 are almost in the same words as
the following slokas (6 and 7) from Isavasyopanishad:
6.
If one sees all living things as if they were in his own body, i.e., feels their joys and
sorrows as his own, and sees the same Universal Spirit in all things then there is no need
for protecting oneself against others.
7.
When a man understands that all beings are, indeed, the all-pervading Spirit, then he
realizes the oneness of all things and illusion and grief vanish.
(Translated by Swami Gambhirananda, Advaita Ashrama) Those who worship avidya (rites)
enter into blinding darkness; but into greater darkness than that enter they who are
engaged in vidya (meditation).
(Verses 9-10-11-12-& 14
translation and explanation by
Swami Nikhilananda, Ramakrishna-Vedanta Center, New York).
9.
Into a blinding darkness they enter who are devoted to ignorance (rituals); but into a
greater darkness they enter who engage in knowledge (of a deity) alone.
Note: Blind Darkness: It is characterized by an absence
of knowledge because it is opposed to knowledge.
Ignorance: The word Avidya in the text signifies karma,
or ritualistic action, such as the Agnihotra sacrifice.
Greater Darkness: The result of meditation on the deities
without any ritual leads to a greater darkness.
Knowledge: The word knowledge here means knowledge or contemplation of a deity. It does
not signify Supreme Knowledge
10.
One thing they say, is obtained from knowledge; another, they say, from ignorance. Thus we
have heard from the wise who have taught us this.
[Note: That is to say, the Plane of the Deities.
Another etc: The Plane of the Fathers (Pitriloka)
This: Both rituals and knowledge of the deities.
Though verse ten has described separate results for work and for meditation on a deity,
yet the real aim of the Upanishad seems to be their harmonization, which is described in
the following verse. In order to emphasize this harmonization, work (or ritualistic
action) and meditation on a deity (without appropriate ritualistic action) pursued
separately have been condemned in verse nine. When anything laid down by the scriptures
meets elsewhere with scriptural disapproval, the real purpose is not the condemnation of
the thing in question, but the glorification of something else.]
11.
He who is aware that both knowledge and ignorance should be pursued together, overcomes
death through ignorance and obtains immortality through knowledge.
[Note: Death: The action and knowledge natural to an unillumined person are here called
death. Such a person does not see anything beyond the sense-perceived world.
Ignorance: That is to say, ritualistic actions, which reveal to their performers the
other planes of existence not perceived by the senses.
Immortality: The relative immortality enjoyed by the gods in Devaloka. Absolute
Immortality, or deathlessness, is not possible without Self-Knowledge.]
12.
Into a blind darkness they enter who worship only the unmanifested prakriti; but into a
greater darkness they enter who worship the manifested Hiranyagarbha.
[Note: Blind Darkness: In that state the light of Brahman is not
perceived at all, because it then remains under the spell of Maya.
Unmanifested Prakriti:
The state of non-manifestation prior to the creation of names and forms, when the three
gunas – sattva, rajas and tamas – remain in equilibrium. The disturbance of this
equilibrium precipitates creation. This state of non-manifestation (balance) is also known
by such names as avidya (nescience), avyakrita (the unmanifested), and ajnaan (ignorance).
It is the state between two cycles and contains in an unmanifested form – hence the
name unmanifested prakriti – all the good and evil tendencies and desires of the
living beings of the past cycle, which determine the lives of those to be born in the
next.
Manifested Hiranyagarbha: The first manifestation of Brahman in the relative universe.
At the beginning of a cycle He is produced from the unmanifested prakriti and hence is
called the manifested Hiranyagarbha.]
14.
He who knows that both the unmanifested prakriti and the manifested Hiranyagarbha should
be worshipped together, overcomes death by the worship of Hiranyagarbha and obtains
immortality through devotion to prakriti.
[Note: Manifested Hiranyagarbha: The word Vinasha in the text means destruction.
Whatever is caused is liable to destruction. Hiranyagarbha the first individualized
manifestation of prakriti, is a caused entity; hence His (Hiranyagarbha’s)
destruction is inevitable.
Overcomes Death etc: That is to say, triumphs over the limitations of earthly life by
the attainment of various supernatural powers through absorption in Hiranyagarbha.
Immortality: The result of this worship is, as stated above, absorption in prakriti.
The devotee remains so merged till the next creation. The non-differentiated state of
prakriti, between two creations, endures for an untold number of years and is therefore
described as immortality, though in a relative sense.
The result of combining the two kinds of worship in the text is, the attainment of
supernatural powers through devotion to Hiranyagarbha, and second, the attainment of
immortality (relative) by merging in prakriti. The attainment of this immortality is the
culmination of the efforts of a man or a god. It is the highest achievement in the
relative universe.
[The highest result of the actions prescribed by the scriptures and performed with such
material accessories as animals and gold, and also of knowledge of the deities, is, as
shown above, absorption in prakriti. Here the life of samsara (worldly life) reaches its
limit. But all this lies within the realm of relativity and is not the final liberation.
The seeker of Liberation follows the path of Knowledge, renounces all desires, and
contemplates Brahman. Thus the Vedas prescribe two paths, one characterized by action, and
the other by renunciation. It has been stated before that meditation on the deities,
combined with appropriate rituals, enables one to enjoy relative immortality. ]
[Verses 16 & 17,
translation and commentary by Sri C. Rajagopalachari]
The Isavasyopanishad winds up with a prayer for strength to maintain internal and
external purity. Addressing the morning sun, the aspirant is taught to feel and say:
“O Sun, of refulgent glory, I am the same Person as He that is in you.” And he
is asked to say to himself: “My body will disintegrate but not I and my deeds. O
Mind, remember this always, remember this always.”
16.
Oh Sun, who art our Nourisher, Giver of Knowledge, Dispenser of Justice, Giver of Light,
Son of the Creator, disperse thy rays, draw in thy light, so that I may be enabled to
behold thy most beautiful form. I am that same Person as makes thee who thou art.
As for my body
17.
My body will be reduced to ashes and my breath will join the deathless moving winds. Oh
Mind, remember thy acts.
The formula- I am the person that is seen in that refulgent form – occurs slightly
modified in Chhandogya Upanishad also.
The insistence is on the realization of the all-inclusive Oneness of the Soul, the
Universe. The Spirit of the Sun is the same as myself! A daily repetition and
contemplation of this truth is prescribed as an aid in life to detachment, elevation of
Spirit and Self-realization.
Related articles:
Gita Chapter 5
________________
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Upanishads in Brief
Kenopanishad
Translation and commentary
By Sri C. Rajagopalachari
Abridged
What is the Supreme Spirit? By what relation to our experience shall we understand it?
This is the subject of enquiry in this Upanishad. As the Isavasyopanishad is known by its
first word, so also is this Upanishad named after its first word Kena, “By
whom?”
Neither by the senses nor by human reasoning can we hope to comprehend the nature of
Brahman (Supreme Reality). This is so because the subject, the object and the means are
all identical. It is Brahman by which the understanding itself functions.
Kenopanishad I – verses 5-6-7-8
The Supreme Spirit is that by which the mind thinks; it is not one of the concepts that
can be conceived by the mind, but it is that by which, indeed, one is able to think
through his mind. It is that which enables the eye to see, the ear to hear, the breath to
move. These functions themselves depend on Brahman, and therefore, are these senses and
the mind unable to comprehend the Brahman. Do not take this body that one has to feed and
look after for the Soul.
Life is not the aggregate of the functions of the body but a function of the Highest
Spirit, inasmuch as not a thought or a breath or a glance is possible without the Supreme
Agent.
Kenopanishad II – verses 1-3
He who thinks that he knows really thereby proves himself ignorant. He who realizes that
he cannot know Him has best understood Him. Those who seek to know Him, as they can grasp
things of ordinary knowledge, can never achieve their object. Those who realize the
limitation of the human mind in respect of the knowledge of the Supreme Spirit and,
therefore, frankly confess ignorance, really approach a true understanding of it.
The limitation of human knowledge, when trying to comprehend the Supreme Being, is
brought out in the above epigram.
Kenopanishad II – verses 4
When it is known through every conscious state, it is rightly known and one attains
eternal life thereby. Through his own self he gains strength and through his knowledge
immortality.
Not by reasoning but only by an awakening can we get a vision of the Supreme Spirit. Life,
in relation to the Ultimate Reality, is like a state of sleep. Reason, in respect of
Ultimate Reality, is like the impossible conception of a sleeping man trying to know what
he is about, without waking up. As sleep is to waking, so is ordinary life to the state of
realization.
Self-discipline gives strength of spirit (Atmana Vindate Veerya).
To one so strengthened, knowledge gives immortality (Vidyaya Vindate Amritam).
The Self is itself immortal, and one has but to know it to become immortal. A man
dreams that he is suffering from a mortal illness and is dying. He suffers pain and even
death. But the moment he wakes up, he is cured and regains life. So does Jnana (Knowledge)
give immortality to man.
The third chapter of this Upanishad is an allegory to illustrate that everything rests
on the Supreme Spirit. It is That which gives heat to Fire, and energy to Motion, and the
power of knowing to individual knowledge, however great. All beings are like electric
lamps that glow by the power that is received by them from the Supreme Being, themselves
not knowing it.
The gods were once elated at a great victory, and the Brahman (Supreme Being) appeared
before them. They could not recognize or understand the vision. Agni (fire), Vayu (air)
and Indra (king of gods) were sent to approach and understand Him. They went, one by one,
and tried to impress on the strange vision their respective powers. But when they were
challenged to prove their vaunted strength, Agni (fire) could not burn, and Vayu (air)
could not move by a hair’s breadth a dry bit of grass which was placed before them
and which they attacked with all their strength one after the other. Indra went near to
see, when the other two failed, but with his thousand eyes he failed to see anything
whatsoever. The apparition disappeared altogether from his sight.
I – verses 3
III-3
They said to Agni (fire): “Oh, Jataveda, go and ascertain who this is, this adorable
Being.” He said: “Yes.”
III-4
He ran up to the Being, who asked him: “Who are you?” Agni answered: “I am
Agni, I am also called Jataveda.”
III-5
And what is your strength?” the Being asked. “I can burn up all that is here on
earth,” answered Agni.
III-6
He placed before Agni a bit of dry grass, saying, “Burn this.” Going at it with
all his energy Agni found that he could not burn it. He returned to the gods and said he
could not make out who this strange Being was.
III-7
Then they said to Vayu (air): “Oh, do go and
ascertain who this is.” And Vayu said, “So be it.”
III-8
He ran up to the Being, who asked him, “Who are you?” “I am Vayu, otherwise
called Matarisva,” answered Vayu.
III-9
Then said the Being, “What is your strength?” “Oh, I can sweep away
whatever exists on this earth,” answered Vayu.
III-10
Then the Being placed a withered blade of grass before Vayu, and said: “Move
this.” Vayu set on it with all his might, but could not move it; and he returned to
the gods and said: “I could not make out who this is.”
III-11
Thereupon, they beseeched Indra to find out who it was. He agreed to do so, but when he
ran up, he found that the Being had gone out of his view altogether.
________________
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Upanishads in Brief
Taittiriya Upanishad
Translation and commentary
By Sri C. Rajagopalachari
Abridged
We have in the Taittiriya Upanishad, (first Valli, eleventh anuvaka) a valedictory
exhortation which reveals to us something of the system of education that produced the
cultured among the ancient inhabitants of this sacred land (India).
After having taught the Vedas, the teacher instructs the pupil thus: Speak what is
true. Do your duties. Continue, without neglect, the daily study of the Veda. Now that you
have come to the end of your stay with your teacher, marry and bring forth progeny. Do not
swerve from Truth and Dharma, and do something useful in the social economy. Achieve
greatness, and do not fail to refresh your memory in respect of what you have learnt.
Remember the gods and your ancestors. Honour your mother. Look upon her as god. Honour
your father. Look upon him as god. Honour your teacher as god. Honour your guest. Look
upon him as if god came to receive your attention. May you ever exercise your
understanding and, distinguishing the good from the blameworthy, avoid the latter and ever
do what is good. Follow all that was good in your teacher’s life, not any other. You
will meet with better men than even the teachers with whom you have lived. Show them due
respect.
3.
Give gifts with faith, not neglectfully but with joy, with humility, with fear and with
kindness.
4.
If your mind is troubled with any doubts as to what is right or wrong, follow the example
of gentle and pious elders living in your neighbourhood in regard to those matters. This
is the rule and this the teaching.
In the third Valli of the Tattiriya Upanishad, Varuna instructs his son Brigu on the
immanence of Brahman (Supreme Reality) in matter as well as Spirit. The food we eat and
the air we breathe are sacred forms of Brahman that builds us up, enables us to speak,
think, act, exercise the will and understand.
III –2
He knew that food is Brahman, for from food, indeed, are born all beings in this world, by
food do they live, and, after death, they become food again for other beings.
III- 7-10
We should not speak ill of food. We should not throw away food. We should produce plenty
of food. We should let no one who comes for food be turned away.
The teaching is that food should be looked upon as Brahman, for from food are born all
beings, by food do they live, and they become food at their death. It is by food, one for
another, that all beings are made interdependent and made into one linked to the whole
world.
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Upanishads in Brief
Aitareya Upanishad
Translation by Professor D.S.Sarma
1.
In the beginning all this was Atman – one only. There was nothing else active. He
bethought himself, ‘Let me now create the world.’ He created these worlds.
[Note: Atman = Self or the Supreme Reality]
2.
He bethought himself, ‘Here then are the worlds. Let me now create the guardians of
the worlds.’ From the waters themselves he drew forth the person and gave him a
shape.
3.
He bethought himself, ‘Here are the worlds and the guardians of the worlds. Let me
create food for them.’
4.
He brooded upon the waters and from the waters so brooded on, a form was produced. The
form that was produced – that was indeed food.
5.
The food that was thus created wished to run away. The person sought to seize it with his
speech. He could not grasp it with his speech. If he had grasped it with his speech, then
by merely speaking of food one would have been satisfied.
6.
He then sought to seize it with his breath. He could not grasp it with his breath. If he
had grasped it with his breath, then by merely breathing on food one would have been
satisfied.
7.
He then sought to seize it with his sight. He could not grasp it with his sight. If he had
grasped it with his sight, then by merely seeing food one would have been satisfied.
8.
He then sought to seize it with his hearing. He could not grasp it with his hearing. If he
had grasped it with his hearing, then by merely hearing of food one would have been
satisfied.
9.
He then sought to seize it with his skin. He could not grasp it with his skin. If he had
grasped it with his skin, then by merely touching food one would have been satisfied.
10.
He then sought to seize it with his mind. He could not grasp it with his mind. If he had
grasped it with his mind, then by merely thinking of food one would have been satisfied.
11.
He then sought to seize it with his Apana (digestive breath). He got it. It is this breath
that takes in food. It is this breath that lives on food.
12.
He (the Atman) bethought himself, ‘Now can this thing (this person) live without
me?’ He bethought himself, ‘By which way shall I enter it?’ He bethought
himself, ‘If speaking is done by the organ of speech, breathing by breath, seeing by
the eye, hearing by the ear, touching by the skin, thinking by the mind, eating by the
Apana (digestive breath) – then who am I?’
13.
So cleaving asunder this end (of the head), He entered by that way. This is the opening
known as Vidriti (the cleft). It is the place of bliss. For Him there are three abodes (in
the body) – three states of sleep – this one, this one and this one.
[Note:(Explanation by Swami Nikhilananda, Belur Math): So piercing the end (i.e. the
place where the parting of the hair ends), the Lord entered through that door.
Three conditions of sleep: the three states of consciousness – waking, dream and deep
sleep.]
14.
He (the Jiva or the embodied soul), being born, knew and talked only of the created
objects. How should he speak of any other? And then (after enlightenment) did he see this
very Person, Brahman, the All-pervading and say ‘This have I seen.’
II (Up. III. 1.)
1.
Who is he whom we worship as Atman? Which one is Atman? Is it he by whom one sees, or by
whom one hears, or by whom one smells the smell or by whom one speaks the speech, or by
whom one knows the sweet and the bitter?’
2.
That which is known as the heart, the mind – that is consciousness, perception,
discrimination, intelligence, wisdom, insight, steadfastness, thought, acuteness, impulse,
memory, volition, decision, life, desire, control – all these are indeed, the names
of intelligence (Prajnana).
3.
This Brahma, this Indra, this Prajapati, these gods, these five great elements –
earth, air, space, water, fire – these things together with small creatures, and
those of different origins – those born from an egg, those born from a womb, those
born from sweat and those born from a sprout; horses, cows, men, elephants; whatever
breathing thing there is here, whether moving or flying, and whatever is stationary –
all this is guided by intelligence, is based on intelligence. The world is guided by
intelligence. Intelligence is the basis. Intelligence is Brahman (the Supreme reality).
4.
By means of this Intelligent Self the (Vamadeva) soared upward from this world and, having
fulfilled all his desires in the yonder world of heaven, became immortal – yea,
became immortal.
Related articles
Creation
Mundaka Upanishad
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Upanishads in Brief
Chandogya Upanishad
Translation and commentary
By Sri C. Rajagopalachari
Abridged
The sixth chapter of the Chhandogya Upanishad begins with the old, old riddle: Was
there a first cause? Shall we, seeing that the search for causes leads us backwards along
an interminable chain, give up the theory of causation and say that the world came out of
nothing? This cannot be, says the Rishi (seer of truth). Out of nothing, nothing could
come. Non-Being cannot produce Being. Much less could the phenomenon of consciousness come
out of nothing. We must hold that there was a first Cause: Sat: i.e., Being with
consciousness.
Sat willed that it may expand and multiply. So it produced light, Tejas. The Spirit in
Tejas willed to multiply and produced water. The Spirit in Water willed to become
manifold, and it produced all the living things of the world.
Lest the reader imagine that the march of modern science has made this explanation out
of date, it may be recalled that neither Chemistry nor Biology nor any other physical
science explains anything. Plato depicted mankind as chained in a cave in such a way that
they can look only on the wall which forms the back of the cave; they cannot see the busy
life outside but only the shadows which objects moving in the sunshine cast on the walls
of the cave. For the captives in the cave, the shadows constitute the whole phenomenal
world, the world of reality remaining for ever beyond their ken. Sir James Jeans, the
great physicist, says that modern science has come to the same conclusion. The reality
behind the phenomenal world is unreachable. Chemical and other ‘laws’ are only
classifications and simplifications of observed phenomena, and nothing more. Neither
familiarity nor classification can itself be explanation. The unexplained factor outside
the cave that permanently circumscribes our knowledge is the Sat of the
Chhandogya.
“How can this vast universe with its multitudinous variety be produced in this
simple way?” asked Svetaketu, whom his father Uddalaka, was instructing as to how the
entire world has been evolved out of the Sat.
Chhandogya Upanishad VI-(14)-1-3
Uddalaka said: ‘Fetch a fruit of the big fig tree’
Svetaketu said: ‘Here is one, Sir.’
‘Break it, what do you see there?’
‘These little seeds.’
‘Crush one of the little seeds.’
‘Yes, Sir, I have done it.’
‘What do you see inside?’
‘Nothing,’ said the son.
‘Yet in the subtle substance inside that little seed, which your eye does not even
perceive, existed all this big branching Nyagrodha tree. Do you wonder at it? Likewise all
that exists, this universe, was in that Sat which thou too art. Believe it, dear child,
thou art that.’
‘If the Sat is the all-pervading cause of all, why is it not
perceived clearly?’ is the next question.
As a lump of salt is dissolved in water and disappears, so is the Sat lost from view in
the world but is still immanent in everything in the universe, as the salt is present in
every part of the water.
‘How are we to gain knowledge of the Sat, which is imperceptible?’ is the
next question.
VI-(14)-1-3
Like unto that of a man blindfolded and carried away by robbers from his own country is
a man’s condition. The folds of cloth over his eyes being removed by a friend, he
recovers the use of his eyes and slowly finds his way home, step by step, enquiring at
each stage. So also, the good teacher instructs the seeker of Truth and helps him to
unloose his bonds of desire, and saves him from the robbers. The robbers are his past
deeds that brought him to this condition. Recovering his sight as soon as the desires and
attachments that blind his vision are removed, he finds his way to the Sat. Thereafter, it
is only a matter of waiting for natural death.
________________
An introduction to
Chandogya Upanishad
(introduction)
Excerpts from the writings of
Swami Nikhilananda
Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, New York
The Sama-Veda includes among its treasures the Chhandogya Brahmana, consisting of ten
parts; of these, the last eight constitute the Chhandogya Upanishad. In turn, the eight
parts of the Upanishad may be broadly divided into two sections.
The first consists of five parts, deals with upasana, or ritualistic worship with
emphasis on meditation. The second section, of three parts, discusses certain fundamental
doctrines of the Vedanta philosophy; in the sixth part, the Vedantic dictum
“Tattvamasi,” or “That Thou art”; in the seventh part, the doctrine of
Bhuma, or Infinity; and in the eighth part, the doctrine of Atman (Self).
The Brihadaranyaka and the Chhandogya, which are the longest of the Upanishads, occupy
a superior position among the Upanishads known to us. Discussing profound philosophical
truths through numerous anecdotes, they form the basis of the later development of the
Vedanta philosophy. Sankaracharya, in establishing the philosophy of non-dualism, derived
support from such statements of the Chhandogya Upanishad as: “One only without a
second” (Vi, xiv.1), “From It the universe comes forth, into It the universe
merges, and in It the universe breathes. Therefore a man should meditate on Brahman (the
Supreme Reality) with a calm mind” (III, xiv, 1), and “That is the Self. That
thou art” (VI, viii. 7). If a serious student carefully reads the Chhandogya
Upanishad with the help of Sankaracharya’s commentary, he will come to know all the
major topics of the Upanishads and will be directed toward the philosophy of the
inscrutable Brahman.
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Upanishads in Brief
Mundaka Upanishad
Translation and commentary
By Sri C. Rajagopalachari
Abridged
May our ears hear what is good, may our eyes see what is good. May we, what time we
live, be blessed with healthy limbs and body, that we may glorify the Lord. May all the
gods bless us. May our minds be at peace.
The Upanishad consists of Angira’s instruction to his disciple, Shaunaka.
I-(1) -4 ,5, 7 ,8
There are two sciences worthy of being learnt, of which the learned treat one as
higher, and the other as lower. The Vedas, the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda,
the Atharva Veda, intonation, ritual, grammar, etymology, metre, astronomy and all else
that is commonly known as learning constitute the lower knowledge, the higher is that by
which the Ever-Existing is realized.
Ceremonials and sacrifices lead men round and round, and not to the ultimate goal to
which an understanding of the Self alone can lead.
The popular belief that as regards the efficacy of sacrifices is, though not rudely
negated, politely put aside in the Upanishads as not leading to what is true and
imperishable happiness.
The passage that occurs in Katha Upanishad about fools fancying themselves learned
appears here with just one verbal change. Light is here thrown on what is meant by the
important term Avidya that occurs in the Katha Upanishad and Isavasya Upanishad and also
in the Bhagavad Gita (ch. 2- 42,43).
I-(2) –12
Realizing this, the seeker should abandon his desire and attachments for things
transient, and respectfully approach a teacher who is qualified by learning and conduct to
impart the higher knowledge.
This deals with the relationship between the individual soul and the Absolute Being.
The soul is like the spark that is thrown out and re-absorbed by the blazing fire.
II-(1)-1
It is left to be inferred that it is of the same nature
as the fire, and does not exist apart from it.
II-(1) 4,5
The whole universe is a manifestation and product of that universal, formless, causeless
Being. The sun, the moon and all the quarters, all knowledge, and the souls of all
existing beings are parts and manifestations of that single all-immanent Being. All life
and all qualities, functions and activities are forms of that single Energy. He is the
Fire, which has lighted the Sun and makes it burn, like a log burning in the fire.
Thereby does the sun give us warmth and light. The rain does not rain, but it is He that
rains through the clouds. Beings come together and multiply, but it is He alone that
multiplies through them.
II-(1) 9,10
From Him have issued all the mountains and the seas, the rivers, the trees and plants and
their life bearing essences. He who thus knows the Supreme spirit that dwells within the
heart, dear boy, cuts off all the knots of ignorance that bind man.
II-(2) 1
He has taken shape and dwells near, yea, in the cave of the human heart. Everything that
moves, breathes or twinkles, moves and lives in Him. All that exists, as well as all
ideas, even those, which the mind indicates to itself as inconceivable, issue out of His
presence.
II-(2) 3,4
To perceive this Absolute Foundation of all existence, the mind must be as concentrated
on it as an archer concentrates on his target. The Upanishad, i.e., knowledge received
from the teacher, is the bow. The understanding Self should, like an arrow sharpened by
devotion, be placed in it. Directing it at the target, viz., the Brahman (the Supreme
Reality), pull the bowstring well with concentrated mind and you will hit the target. As a
skilful archer, when aiming, makes his arrow merge in the target in his sight, and the two
become but one and the same thing, so should your Self, the arrow, be merged by
concentration in the target, viz., Brahman.
When the pupil pulls the bowstring with steady aim, if the teacher asks him, ‘What
do you see?’
The pupil should be able to reply truly that he sees nothing but the point he aims at.
He must see neither bow, nor arrow, nor anything else but Brahman.
He is the whole universe. Heaven, Earth and Sky. Your mind and your life-breath are all
woven into Him. All other knowledge is a mere snare of words to be escaped from. He is the
one and only Existence. This knowledge is the bridge leading to Immortality.
II-(2)-7
He is within our own hearts. He has lodged Himself in the food-sustained body of men
and rules both body and life, even He that sustains the whole universe and all its glory.
The unruffled spirits contemplate on Him and realize his deathless form of absolute joy.
II-(2)-8
When His presence in our own bodies and His immanence in every aspect of existence is
realized, all doubts, all attachments and all activities vanish.
II(2)-10,11
On realizing Him, what is individual life? What even are the sun and the moon, the stars
and the lightning of the clouds? What need be said, then, of this fire? All these are but
reflections of that One undying Light. He fills all the quarters and all overhead and down
below. He alone exists.
III-(1)-1,3
Man’s suffering lasts only until he sees the Supreme Being that dwells within
himself. The indwelling Supreme Spirit and the individual soul are like two birds. They
cling to one another and are on the same tree. One eats the fruits of the tree, the other
look on, happy. One is attached to works, the other is free. When a man sees the Universal
Ruler in himself, then the distinction between good and evil drops off. He is freed from
passions and reaches the goal, i.e., becomes one with the Universal.
How can one be enabled to have a vision of the Supreme Being within oneself? Mere
learning does not reveal Him. One has to realize that the Lord is the life that lives and
the light that shines in everything. When he realizes this, he loses his dependence on
externals and finds bliss in himself.
III-(1)-4
The man who realizes ‘It is the Supreme Life that shines through all life’ does
not waste words. His pleasures and his love are then all in the soul. He becomes the most
enlightened among the philosophers.
III-(1)-5
Truth, penance, understanding and purity are essential requisites for this revelation of
the Brahman within. When the heart is cleansed, Brahman is revealed, and He is seen
shining like a burning light within oneself.
III-(1)-6
Truth wins ever, and not untruth. With Truth is paved the road to the Divine. On that road
walk the Rishis (seers of Truth) with desires all quenched, to reach the Supreme Abode of
Truth.
Truth is the only pathway to God, and the seers pursue this to reach Him. This emphatic
dependence on Truth is the dominating characteristic of the Upanishad.
The Lord is not to be apprehended by the senses, but only by the mind into which all
the senses have been drawn in. All thought is inter-woven with the senses, and it is only
when the mind is released from all this and is in a state of perfect freedom and
tranquillity, that the Lord reveals Himself.
III-(1)-8, 9
Not by the eyes nor by speech or through other senses can He be apprehended: not even by
austerities or ceremonials. He whose mind is pure and serene can by meditation attain a
vision of the Indivisible. The Subtle Spirit dwelling within, into which the fivefold life
has entered, can be realized by the understanding. If the understanding that is pierced
and pervaded by the senses is purified, then the spirit reveals itself unto it.
This appears in the Katha Upanishad also.
“Much learning or scholarly discussion, or force
of intellect cannot enable one to realize the spirit within”.
III-(2)-3
The Spirit that yearns for self-realization realizes itself.
The yearning for realization automatically destroys other desires and attachments, and
enables one to reach self-realization.
The feeble minded, who do not make earnest effort through well-directed meditation and
control of mind and senses, cannot hope to realize the Self within. The will to realize
and strenuous effort are necessary. BALAM in the following sloka stands for effort and
strength exercised in the way of self-control and steady application.
III-(2)-4
Realization of the Soul cannot be attained by a man who has not strength and a vigilant
spirit. It cannot be attained by austerities without devotion. But if with understanding a
man strives with these aids, his soul enters the Abode of Brahman.
II-(2)-6, 8
Knowledge and discipline are mutually complimentary. Vedanta explains the true nature of
what we seek. Yoga, i.e., detachment and self-discipline, purifies the mind and enables it
to perceive the Truth. Those whose understanding has been thus enlightened as well as
purified become one with the Universal Spirit. They join the Supreme Being and lose
themselves in Him even as all the rivers join and lose themselves in the great ocean.
________________
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Upanishads in Brief
Svetasvatara Upanishad
Translation and commentary
By Sri C. Rajagopalachari
Abridged
The doctrine of the Vedanta is summarized in the following mantras:
I-8
The Lord upholds the universe, which is a union of the manifest and the unmanifest, the
imperishable and the perishable. Functioning as Enjoyer through the senses, the soul in
man loses the consciousness of lordship and is enchained. When he realizes lordship, he is
freed from every tie. Let man realize the divinity of his soul. Thereby does he obtain
Release.
I-10
Iswara rules over the soul as well as material nature which forms the field for the
soul’s functioning. Man reaches liberation from all the illusions of the world by
contemplation and repeated meditation until realization is attained of the true nature of
these three, God, matter and soul.
The fire is not seen when it is concealed in the wood. But it appears to view when the
wood burns. So does meditation bring out the Supreme Spirit from within us. Like oil
hidden in the sesame seed, like ghee (clarified butter) concealed in milk, like water
hidden from view in the riverbed, like fire that is contained in the Arani (fire-churner),
abides the Supreme Spirit within us, though not manifest. When the two pieces of wood in
the Arani are rubbed, the fire manifests itself. The butter is separated by churning the
milk. The water is seen if we sink a pit in the sand of the riverbed. The divine Self, can
similarly be made manifest through the practice of truth, meditation and control of the
mind and the senses, which is penance. Make the body the lower piece of the Arani and make
the Understanding the upper piece and by the practice of meditation, churn the fire out,
so to say.
I-13
Just as fire when it abides in its womb, the wood, is not seen in its manifest form but
yet exists and appears to view when the wood burns, even so do both aspects of abiding
unmanifest and being drawn out apply to the Spirit in the body. The Pranava (AUM) can
enable the Spirit to be perceived.
I-14
Make your body the nether piece and Pranava the upper piece of the Arani and churn with
the practice of meditation. Thus will you be enabled to perceive the concealed Divinity
within.
I-15
As oil in the oil seed, ghee (clarified butter) in the curdled milk and water in the
riverbed, so can That be obtained out of the Self, through truth and restraint of thought
and the senses.
Verses IV 1-4 are addressed as a prayer for enlightenment to the Universal Spirit which
is One but takes various shapes with various powers and functions, that will in the end
re-unite and be lost in Him – the Sun, the Moon, the Air, the starry firmament, fire,
water, Brahma, the lord, man and woman, in youth or in tottering old age, beast, bird,
insect, the dark blue bee, the green parrot with red eyes, the clouds that shoot forth
lightning, the ocean, the seasons – all will be re-absorbed in Him that has no
beginning, the cause of All.
IV-17
The divine Spirit that has forged and brought the universe into being, the Supreme Soul,
ever dwells in the hearts of men. He is revealed by the heart and intellect combining and
controlling the mind and by meditation. They attain deathlessness who thus see Him
revealed.
IV-20
This Isa, dwelling in the heart of man, can be perceived not by the eye but the heart; and
he who perceives Him thus by the heart attains immortality.
Not time or innate quality of matter is the true cause of phenomena as some learned men
imagine but the glory of God who dwells in and revolves all things, animate and inanimate.
When one discovers this Universal Spirit within one’s self, the misery of life is
ended. It would be easier to roll up the sky and carry it on one’s head as a tanner
carries a hide than to achieve happiness without realizing the immanence of God.
VI-1
Some learned men attribute the phenomena of the universe to the innate nature of things,
other deluded persons say that time is the cause. But it is the glory of God by which
alone the wheel revolves and this world goes on.
VI-5
God, who is concealed in all beings, is one. He pervades everything. He is the inner soul
of every being and the overseer of all activity. He dwells in all forms of life. He is the
eternal witness, the Conscious Being within, standing apart from that in which He abides
and unqualified.
VI-8
When (men could roll up the sky like a hide), we could reach the end of pain and grief
without realizing God who abides in all things.
VI-19
Without parts, action-less, tranquil, that cannot be contaminated, spotless, the bridge
that transcends and leads to immortality, consuming and unquenchable like fire.
The direct teaching of a father or a Guru is essential. Without this, book knowledge
would be of no great avail. But more important than all is the previous purging of
character and restraint of mind and senses, which are necessary for the knowledge and
realization of the highest truth. Otherwise, knowledge leads to harm, not to good. “I
am God” would lead to arrogance and atheism without purity of character, restraint
and humility and the personal guidance of father or revered teacher.
Hence the following prohibition which should not be understood in any sense other than the
caution above indicated.
VI-22
This highest mysticism, expounded in the Vedanta in a former age, should not be taught to
one whose passions have not been subdued, nor to one who is not a worthy son, nor to an
unworthy disciple.
VI-23
These truths, when taught, shine forth only in that high-souled one who has supreme
devotion to God, and an equal degree of devotion to the spiritual teacher. They shine
forth in that high-souled one only.
Related articles:
Self-realisation
________________
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Upanishads in Brief
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
An Introduction
Excerpts from the writings of
Swami Nikhilananda
Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, New York
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad forms an important part of the philosophical and religious
literature of the Vedas. Suresvacharya, in his illuminating explanation of Sankara’s
commentary has pointed out the harmony between the different parts of the Upanishad. He
has arranged the book in three divisions (kandas):
- The Madhukanda
- The Yajnavalkyakanda (also known as Munikanda)
- The Khilakanda
The Madhukanda contains the revelation of the principal Advaita doctrines and is called
Upadesa (teachings).
The Yajnavakyakanda furnishes logical arguments (upapatti), showing the soundness of
the upadesa (teachings).
The Khilakanda deals with certain forms of meditation (upasana), by means of which the
aspirant experiences what is laid down in the upadesa (teachings).
The theme of the book, as of all Vedantic treatises, is the absolute identity of Atman
(Self) and Brahman (the Supreme Reality). This identity has been established by the well
known logical method of jalpa (argument repudiating the views of opponents) and vada
(reasoning for the purpose of discovering Reality).
There exists an apparently unbridgeable gap between the ritualistic section
(Karmakanda) of the Vedas, dealing with the various enjoyments (abhyudaya) in the
phenomenal universe (samsara), and the philosophical section of the Upanishads
(Jnanakanda), describing the knowledge of Brahman, which alone enables the aspirant to
attain Liberation (moksha) or the Highest Good (Nihsreyasa). The section of the Upanishads
dealing with the upasana, however, supplies the bridge. It shows the way to direst the
mind from the performance of rituals to the philosophical contemplation of Brahman.
The Madhukanda, emphasising the authority of scriptural revelation, describes the major
doctrines of the Upanishads, whose aim is to demonstrate the identity of Atman and
Brahman. The method of arriving at this identity is the discussion of what are known in
Vedanta as adhyaropa and apavada. Adhyaropa signifies the illusory superimposition of
names and forms, through avidya (ignorance), upon the attributeless Brahman. This illusory
superimposition accounts for the appearance of the phenomenal universe. Apavada is the
refutation or sublation of the illusory phenomena, which is simultaneous with the
experience of Pure Brahman. No further discipline is necessary for this realisation. The
moment the illusory nature of the mirage is recognised, the true nature of the desert is
revealed.
The phenomenal universe includes the entire realm of names and forms. To it belongs all
the Vedic rituals and the various meditations associated with them, as well as their
results. The world of Brahma or hiranyagarbha, which may be called the highest heaven,
belongs also to the phenomenal universe and is therefore transitory. The only entity that
transcends the universe is Atman (Self), non-dual and eternal, which is pointed out by
negation (‘neti’) of names and forms (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad II.iii.6). The
aspirant cannot truly long for Self-knowledge unless he has gone through the entire gamut
of experiences in the phenomenal world, ranging from the experience associated with the
life of a clump of grass to that associated with Hiranyagarbha. The Upanishad vividly
describes the rituals and the meditations for the realisation of various enjoyments in the
universe of names and forms. By performing these rituals and practising these meditations
an aspirant can find out the impermanent nature of all phenomenal enjoyments, including
those obtained in Brahmaloka, and turn his attention to the knowledge of Atman which
dwells in himself.
While discussing Adhyaropa, the Upanishad states that all phenomenal entities are
mutually dependent, are objects of mutual enjoyment, and are conditioned by the law of
cause and effect (Br.I.v.1). The whole universe, either in its unmanifested or in its
manifested aspect, is of the very essence of names, forms, and action (Br.I.vi), and is
therefore non-Self. Anything that is the result of action belongs to the realm of samsara.
It is impermanent (Br. I.iv.15), since the result lasts only as long as the momentum given
by the cause endures. Samsara is perceived to exist as long as duality, the result of
avidya, remains. It disappears with the attainment of the knowledge of the non-dual
Brahman (Br. I.iv.7; II.iv,14). Therefore, one seeking Liberation cultivates dispassion
for all objects of the phenomenal universe, including the supreme position of
Hiranyagarbha. In order to show the way to emancipation from the impermanent universe and
to the realisation of Self-knowledge, the Upanishad says that the Self alone is to be
meditated upon, for in It the prana and the sense-organs become unified (Br. I.iv.7). This
scriptural statement is called a Vidya-sutra or knowledge-aphorism, in contrast with
another statement called an avidya-sutra or nescience-aphorism, which says: “Now, if
a man worships another deity, thinking: ‘He is one and I am another’, he does
not know (Br.I.iv.10). These two statements describe the subject matter of vidya and
avidya. The former deals with Atman and the latter with samsara. It is also said in
connection with avidya that nescience, which veils the true nature of Atman, is the cause
of the phenomenal universe.
After thus describing adhyaropa, or the illusory superimposition of names and forms,
the Madhukanda deals with apavada, or their refutation, in order to establish the ultimate
oneness of Atman and Brahman. The text states that there are two forms, incorporeal
(amurta) and corporeal (murta), of the phenomenal universe which are superimposed upon
Brahman (Br. II.iii.1). Then the text exhorts (Br. II.iii.6) the student to negate them.
But it emphatically affirms that Brahman is not void (sunya), though It can never be
brought within the scope of affirmation. One may, however, glimpse It through the negation
of eliminable factors produced by ignorance (‘Not this, not this’ – Iti na,
iti na’.)
It has already been mentioned that the realisation of the unreal nature of samsara and
the knowledge of Atman accompany each other. Therefore Atman alone is to be realised,
heard of, reflected upon, and contemplated (Br. II.iv.5). Everything in the world is loved
because of Atman (II.iv.5). When Atman is known all things are known (II.iv.7-9).
Unselfish action, rites, and meditations are enjoined as disciplines for the Knowledge of
Atman, as also hearing, reasoning, and contemplation. But through renunciation (sannyasa)
the Knowledge obtaines by these means becomes an unshakable, positive experience. The
Rishi Yajnavalkya embraces the monastic life (IV.vi.15). The monastic life is also
emphasized in other parts of the Upanishad (III.v.i; IV.iv.22).
The upadesa, or teaching, in the Madhukanda is appropriately followed by the upapatti,
or argumentative discourse, in the Yajnavalkyakanda, or Munikanda. Both divisions aim at
revealing the oneness of Atman and Brahman; so both have the same purpose. Thus one finds
a similarity between certain important verses of the two divisions. There is likewise a
similarity between the topics discussed in the two divisions.
In the Yajnavalkyakanda, the dialectical mode of argument is employed. Yajnavalkya is
challenged by learned philosophers in the court of King Janaka (III.i.) to demonstrate his
knowledge of Brahman (the Supreme reality). He silences his interlocutors and fights his
way to victory. In this discussion he follows the method of jalpa, by means of which the
views of the opponent are refuted.
In the fourth part, in the course of his dialogue with king Janaka, Yajnavalkya employs
the method of vada, that is to say, reasoning for the ascertaining of truth. The earlier
dialogue between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi is repeated in order to establish by means of
reasoning the Self-Knowledge which has already been affirmed on the authority of the
scriptures. In commenting on the last passage of this part (IV.v.15.), Sankaracharya
discusses the value of the monastic discipline in the non-dualistic scheme of liberation,
and emphasizes the imperative necessity of renunciation of the world for the realization
of Brahman. He does not allow any compromise, either in practice or in theory, between the
Knowledge of Brahman and the performance of religious rites with or without meditation.
The third division of the Upanishad is known as the Khilakanda, or supplementary
section. It contains ethical disciplines and certain forms of meditation helpful for the
knowledge of Brahman, The message of the brihadaranyaka Upanishad regarding the essence of
Reality is given in (V.i.1.) The ethical doctrines of the Upanishad are stated in the
introduction (V.ii.1) regarding self-control, charity, and compassion, by means of which
one can suppress, respectively, passion, greed, and anger. The last part of the Khilakanda
describes the religious rites and disciplines by which one can earn wealth and procreate
righteous children, both of which are necessary in order to enjoy happiness here on earth
and after death.
I have tried to show that there is an inner unity throughout the entire Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad. It teaches the non-duality of Reality, and not dualism, qualified non-dualism,
the doctrine of difference and identity, or any other system. To be sure, there are
scholars who do not find this unity of thought in the Upanishad but maintain that it
contains different views of Brahman by various thinkers, unrelated to one another. Some
try to explain the Upanishad with the help of philology. Others, again, apply the rational
mthod of modern times. They all, it appears, miss the aim of the Upanishad, namely,
Self-Knowledge, which transcends logic but does not contradict it.
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad has been divided by Sankara into six parts, which again,
are subdivided into a total of forty-seven chapters, called brahmanas. Each chapter
contains a number of verses, called kandikas.
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Upanishads verse by verse- an anthology
A selection of sacred passages
Abridged
Isavasyopanishad (Isa Upanishad) verse by verse
Isavasyopanishad (Isa
Upanishad) verse by verse
Translated by Swami Nikhilananda
Ramakrishna-Vivekananda center, New York
1. All this – whatever exists in this changing universe- should be covered by the
Lord. Protect the Self by renunciation. Do not lust after any man’s wealth.
[Note: All this: That is to say, the universe consisting of ever changing names and forms,
held together by the law of causation.
Should be covered: This universe, from the standpoint of Absolute Reality, is nothing
but the Lord. That it is perceived as a material entity is due to ignorance. One should
view the universe, through the knowledge of non-duality, as Atman alone.
Lord: He who is the Supreme Lord and the inmost Self of all.
He is Brahman and identical Atman.
Protect: That to say, liberate the Self from the grief, delusion, and other evil traits
of samsara (worldly life) in which It has been entangled on account of ignorance. To be
attached to matter amounts to killing the Self.
Renunciation: The scripture prescribes the discipline of renunciation of the longing of
offspring, wealth, and the heavenly worlds for him alone who devotes himself entirely to
contemplation of the Self as the Lord. Such an aspirant has no further need of worldly
duties. It is renunciation that leads to the Knowledge of the Self and protects Its
immutability, eternity, and immortality.
Lust not etc: That is to say, a sannyasin (monk), who has renounced all desires, should
not be attached to what he has or long for the property of someone else. Or the sentence
may mean that a sannyasin should not covet wealth at all. For where is the real wealth in
the transitory world that he should desire? The illumined person renounces the illusory
names and forms because he regards the whole universe as Atman (Self) alone. He does not
long for what is unreal.
General comments: When the truth is known the universe is realized as Atman, the Spirit
that dwells in all hearts. The diversity of names and forms, changes, actions, and the
rest are superimposed upon Atman through ignorance. These are extraneous to It and unreal.
Day and night the seeker after Truth meditates thus: The Supreme Lord alone dwells in all
beings as Atman; this universe, though ultimately unreal, appears to be real because
Brahman alone is its ground; since Brahman is my innermost Self, the universe has its root
in the Self; it cannot exist independent of Atman. The seeker of Self-Knowledge
contemplates the world in this way and covers it by the unitive knowledge. Acharya Sankara
gave the illustration of sandalwood. Sandalwood is fragrant by nature, but when kept in
water for a long time it gives out a bad odour, which, however, is not inherent in it.
Again, by rubbing, its natural fragrance is released; and this fragrance covers the foul
smell, that is to say, destroys it. Likewise, constant meditation on the reality of Atman
and the illusory nature of the universe produces true Knowledge, which reveals everything
as the Lord alone.
The text lays down the control of lust for wealth as a great spiritual discipline. We
cannot know the true nature of the Self because our mind is contaminated by greed,
attachment, anger, and carnal desires, all produced by our craving for possessions.
The more one is attached to wealth, the less one knows the divinity of the Self. Engrossed
day and night in the thought of his possessions, a worldly person finds very little time
to think about Atman. Therefore the Upanishad asks the seeker who wants to protect his
spiritual treasure to renounce the craving for material wealth.]
(The previous verse refers to the Highest Knowledge and prescribes the discipline of
complete renunciation. But the vast majority of people are ignorant of the Self and
incapable of cultivating Self-Knowledge. They still identify themselves with the body and
crave material happiness. Lest they should indulge in unrighteous action to fulfil their
desires, the Upanishad prescribes righteous action:)
2.If a man wishes to live a hundred years on this earth, he should live performing
action. For you, who cherish such a desire and regard yourself as a man, there is no other
way by which you can keep work from clinging to you.
[Note: Action: That is to say, the daily devotions and
other duties prescribed by the scriptures.
As a man: One who is identified with his body and
conscious of his human duties and responsibilities.
There is no other way: By the performance of righteous duties one can avoid unrighteous
action. Furthermore, righteous work purifies the heart, creates the desire for
Self-Knowledge, and endows the seeker with power to practise the spiritual discipline,
which leads to such Knowledge.
Work: It means unrighteous work.
General comments: A person attached to his human body and desirous of enjoying on earth
his full span of life should devote himself to religious duties and other unselfish
actions; if not, he will engage in evil action. It is clear that this verse does not apply
to the illumined person, who is not attached to material things and is indifferent about
the length of his life.
According to Sankara the discipline of Self-Knowledge and the way of worldly enjoyment are
totally incompatible. A sannyasin, seeking Self-Knowledge, is indifferent to both life and
death.]
(The life unillumined by Self-Knowledge is condemned)
3.Verily, those worlds of the asuras (demons) are enveloped in blind darkness; and
thereto they all repair after death who are slayers of Atman (Self).
[Note: Worlds: that is say, the various planes which afford embodied souls
opportunities to experience the results of their actions.
Asuras: Literally means demons; those who delight in material enjoyments. Even those
who experience in heaven the rewards of their meritorious actions may be called asuras,
because they too are devoid of Self-Knowledge. The word worlds in the text refers to all
relative states. Or it may mean ‘sunless’, that is to say, non-luminous.
Blind Darkness: Ignorance that prevents one from acquiring the Knowledge of the Self.
Slayer of Atman: Atman, the self-luminous Spirit, dwells in all beings. But on account
of ignorance a man is not aware of It. Therefore the experience of Immortality,
Blessedness, and Peace, which accompanies Self-Knowledge, remains unknown to him. He
becomes a victim of repeated births and deaths. Thus such a person, clinging to ignorance,
is described as a slayer of Atman.
General comments: Self-Knowledge, which enables one to experience Immortality and
Blessedness, is within reach of all. It is through ignorance alone that a man deprives
himself of this cherished goal and, as a result, finds himself going through the round of
birth and death in various bodies, higher or lower, according to his actions and desires.]
(It has been said that the unillumined person, the slayer of Atman, whirls back into
samsara (worldly life). Contrariwise, the illumined person, through Self-Knowledge,
attains liberation; certainly he is not a slayer of Atman. Now what is the nature of this
atman, the knowledge or ignorance of which accounts for a man’s emancipation or
bondage? It is described in the following five verses).
4.That non-dual Atman, though never stirring, is swifter than the mind. The devas (the
senses) cannot reach It, for It moves ever in front. Though standing still, It overtakes
others who are running. Because of Atman, Vayu (the World Soul) apportions the activities
of all.
[Note: The first cosmic manifestation of the Absolute in the relative universe, also
known by such epithets as the World Soul, Hiranyagarbha, and Prana. It sustains the whole
universe by apportioning to every one his function. But the World Soul can exercise its
lordship because Atman is its inner Self. Without Atman even the highest cosmic entity
becomes powerless and ceases to exist].
(Because the Knowledge of Brahman is both profound and inscrutable, the idea of the
previous verse is reiterated in the following verse.)
5. It moves and moves not; It is far and likewise near.
It is inside all this and It is outside all this.
6. The wise man beholds all beings in the Self, and the Self in all beings; for that
reason he does not hate anyone.
7. To the seer, all things have verily become the Self; what delusion, what sorrow, can
there be for him who beholds that oneness?
8. It is He who pervades all – He who is bright and bodiless, without scar or
sinews, pure and by evil unpierced; who is the Seer, omniscient, transcendent and
uncreated. He has duly allotted to the eternal World Creators their respective duties.
9. Into a blind darkness they enter who are devoted to ignorance (rituals); but into a
greater darkness they enter who engage in knowledge (of a deity) alone.
10. One thing they say, is obtained from knowledge; another, they say, from ignorance.
Thus we have heard from the wise that have taught us this.
11. He who is aware that both knowledge and ignorance should be pursued together,
overcomes death through ignorance and obtains immortality through knowledge.
12. Into a blind darkness they enter who worship only the unmanifested prakriti; but
into a greater darkness they enter who worship the manifested Hiranyagarbha.
13. One thing, they say, is obtained from the worship of the manifested; another, they
say, from the worship of the unmanifested. Thus we have heard from the wise who taught us
this.
14. He who knows that both the unmanifested prakriti and the manifested Hiranyagarbha
should be worshipped together, overcomes death by the worship of Hiranyagarbha and obtains
immortality through devotion to prakriti.
[The following verse describes a fervent death-bed prayer to the sun, on the part of
such a worshipper, to help him realize his cherished desire.]
15. The door of the Truth is covered by a golden disc. Open it, O Nourisher! Remove it
so that I who have been worshipping the Truth may behold it.
16. O Nourisher, lone Traveller of the sky! Controller! O Sun, Offspring of Prajapati!
Gather your rays; withdraw your light. I would see, through Your grace, that form of Yours
which is the fairest. I am indeed He, that Purusha, who dwells there.
17. Now may my breath return to the all-pervading immortal Prana! May this body be
burnt to ashes! Om, O mind, remember, remember all that I have done.
[The dying man again prays for a higher course after death.]
18. O Fire, lead us by the good path for the enjoyment of the fruit of our action. You
know, O god, all our deeds. Destroy our sin of deceit. We offer, by words, our salutations
to you.
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Upanishads verse by verse -an anthology
A selection of sacred passages
Abridged
Prashna Upanishad verse by verse
Translated by Professor D. S. Sarma
(Up.1.2)
1.
Sukesa (son of Bharadvaja), Satyakama (son of Sibi), Gargya (grandson of Surya), Kausalya
(son of Asvala), Bhargava (of Vidarbha), and Kabandhi (son of Katya) – all these,
intent on Brahman (the Supreme Reality), devoted to Brahman, and seeking the highest
Brahman, approached the revered Pippalada with sacrificial fuel in their hands, thinking
that he would explain all that to them.
2.
The Rishi (Seer of Truth) said to them: ‘Live with me another year with austerity,
chastity and faith. Then ask questions as you please. If we know, we will tell you all.
3.
After that time, Kabandhi, son of Katya, approached him and asked: ‘Venerable Sir,
whence are all these creatures born?’
4.
To him he said: ‘The Lord of Creation, wishing to have offspring, brooded in thought.
Having brooded in thought, he created a pair – matter and life – thinking that
they would produce creatures for Him.’
5.
Then Bhargava of Vidarbha questioned him: ‘Sir, how many powers support a creature?
How many illumine it, and which of them, again, is the most important?’
6.
To him he said: “Space is such a power – and air, fire, water, earth – also
speech, mind, eye and ear. These having illumined it, declare, ‘We sustain and
support this body.’”
7.
“But Life, the most important of them all, said to them, ‘Do not cherish this
delusion. I alone, dividing myself into five, sustain and support this body.’ They
did not believe him.”
8.
“Then through pride he seemed as if to rise up from it. When he rose up, all of them
rose up, and when he settled down, all of them settled down with him.
As all the bees rise up when the king bee rises, and as they settle down when he
settles down, even so did these – speech, mind, sight and hearing. They were
satisfied and sang the praises of Life” –
9.
“ ‘As fire he burns. He is the sun, he is the rain god Indra. He is the wind,
the earth and matter. He is a god. He is being and non-being and what is immortal.
10.
“ ‘As spokes in the hub of a wheel everything is established in Life – the
Rik, the Yajus and the Saman verses, and also sacrifices, valour and wisdom.
11.
“ ‘As the Lord of creatures, thou movest in the womb and thou thyself art born
again. To thee, O Life, that dwellest with the vital breaths, these creatures bring their
offerings.
12.
“ ‘Thou art the chief bearer of oblations to the gods. Thou art the first
offering to the Pitris. Thou art the virtuous conduct of the sages, the descendants of
Atharvan and Angiras.
13.
“ ‘Thou art Indra, O Prana (Life), thou art Rudra by thy valour, thou art the
protector; thou movest in the sky. Thou art the sun, the lord of lights.
14.
“ ‘When thou comest down as rain, then these creatures breathe and live in a
state of bliss, as there will be food to their heart’s content.
15.
“ ‘Thou art ever pure, O Life, the one seer, the eater, the real lord of the
universe. We are the givers of food. O All-pervading, thou art our father.
16.
“ ‘That form of thine, which abides in speech, in hearing and in sight and which
exists continuously in the mind – make it propitious. Do not depart.
17.
“ ‘All this is under the sway of life, as also that which is established in
heaven above. Protect us as a mother does her son. Grant us prosperity and
wisdom.’”
II (Up. 3)
1.
Then Kausalya, son of Asvala, asked him: ‘Venerable Sir, whence is this life born?
How does it come into the body? And how does it distribute itself and establish itself? In
what way does it depart? How does it relate itself to what is external to the body and how
(does it relate itself) to what is internal and spiritual?’
2.
To him he then said: “You are asking questions that are highly transcendental. But,
as I think you are most devoted to Brahman, I will tell you.
3.
“This life is born of the Self. As in the case of a man there is the shadow, so is
this life connected with that Self. It comes into the body by the activity of the mind.
4.
“As a sovereign commands his officers, saying: ‘You superintend such and such
villages’- even so does this life order the other vital breaths to their respective
places.
5.
“The Apana breath is stationed in the organs of excretion and reproduction;
the life-breath itself is in the eye and the ear and also in the mouth and the nose; the Samana
breath in the middle distributes equally the food supplied. From this arise those
seven fires.
6.
“In the heart is the Self. Here are these one hundred and one blood vessels. To each
one of these belong a hundred smaller vessels. And to each of these again belong
seventy-two thousand branching vessels. Within these moves the Vyana
breath.
7.
“Now, rising upwards through one of them, the Udana breath leads one
to the good world as a result of good deeds, and to the evil world as a result of evil
deeds, and to the world of men as a result of both.
8.
“The sun rises and it is the external life-breath, for it helps the life-breath in
the eye; the divinity which is in the earth supports a person’s Apana
breath. And the space between the two – that is the Samana breath;
and the air is the Vyana breath.
9.
“Fire is indeed the Udana breath. Hence he whose vital heat is
quenched goes to rebirth, his senses being merged in his mind.
10.
“Whatever is a man’s last thoughts – with these he comes to life again. And
life joined to vital heart together with the self, leads to whatever world he has
fashioned in his thoughts.
11.
“The wise man who thus knows all about Life – his progeny will have no break and
himself will become immortal. On this there is the following verse:-
12.
“The origin of Life, its coming, its staying, its five-fold extension and its
relation to the Self – knowing these one obtains immortality”
III (Up.4)
1.
Then Gargya, grandson of Surya, asked him: ‘Venerable Sir, what are the powers that
go to sleep in a man when he goes to sleep and what are they that are awake when he is
awake? Who is that divinity that witnesses the dreams, and whose is that happiness? And in
whom, again, are all these established?’
2.
To him he then said: “Just as, O Gargya, all the rays of the setting sun become one
in an orb of light and spread themselves out when he rises, again and again, even so do
all become one in that supreme divinity – the mind. Therefore in that state the man
does not see, does not smell, does not taste, does not touch, does not speak, does not
take, does not rejoice, does not emit and does not move about. They say, he sleeps.
3.
“The fires of life alone remain awake in this city.
4.
“There in sleep, the divine mind has experience of its power. It sees again whatever
object has been seen, it hears again whatever has been heard, it experiences again and
again whatever has been experienced before in different places and directions. Also what
has been seen and not been seen, what has been heard and not been heard, what has been
experienced and not been experienced, and what is existent and what is non-existent –
it sees all; being all. It sees all.
5.
“But when it is overpowered with light, the mind sees no dreams; then there is
happiness for it in the body.
6.
“Just as birds resort to a tree for rest, even so, my friend, all things here go into
the Supreme Self – earth and the elements of earth, water and the elements of water,
fire and the elements of fire, air and the elements of air, space and the elements of
space; sight and what can be seen, hearing and what can be heard, smell and what can be
smelt, taste and what can be tasted, the skin and what can be touched, speech and what can
be spoken, hands and what can be handled, the organ of generation and what can be enjoyed,
the organ of excretion and what can be excreted, feet and what can be trodden, the mind
and what can be perceived, the intellect and what can be conceived, self-consciousness and
what can be conscious of, thought and what can be thought, light and what can be
illumined, and life and what can be supported by it.
7.
“Verily this seer, toucher, hearer, smeller, taster, perceiver, knower, doer,
thinker, this person- he becomes establishes in the Supreme imperishable Self.
8.
“Verily, O friend, he who recognises the shadow-less. bodiless, colourless, pure,
imperishable Self attains that Supreme imperishable Itself. He, knowing all, becomes the
All. On this, there is this verse:
9.
“He who recognises the imperishable Self, in whom the conscious self, with all its
powers, its vital breaths and the elements are established – he, O my friend, knowing
all, has become the All.”
IV (Up.5)
1.
Then Satyakama, son of Sibi, asked him: ‘Venerable Sir, if among men any one
meditates on AUM to the end of his life, what world does he win thereby?’
2.
To him he said: “Verily, O Satyakama, this syllable AUM is both the higher and the
lower Brahman. Therefore, he who knows it can reach by its support either the one or the
other.
3.
“If he meditates on one element of it, he is enlightened even by that and comes back
quickly to earth.
The Rik verses lead him to the world of men. There, endowed with austerity, chastity
and faith he experiences greatness.
4.
“If he meditates on two elements, then he becomes one with the mind and is led by
Yajus formulas to the intermediate space, to the lunar world; having experienced greatness
there he returns here again.
5.
“But if with the three elements of the syllable AUM he meditates on the highest
Person, he becomes one with the light, the sun. And being freed from his sins, as a snake
is freed from its skin, he is led by Saman chants to the world of Brahman. He sees the
Person who dwells in the body, higher than the highest assemblage of life. On this subject
there are these two verses:
6.
“These three elements, each by itself, are within the sphere of mortality. But if
they are united and not separated from each other and are enjoyed in actions well
performed, internal, external or intermediate – the knower is not shaken.
7.
“With the Rik verses one gains this world, with the Yajus formulas the inter-space,
and with Saman chants that which the sages know. With AUM as the sole support the wise man
attains to that which is tranquil, undecaying, deathless, fearless and supreme.
V (Up.6)
1.
Then Sukesa, son of Bharadvaja, asked him: “Venerable Sir, Hiranyanabha, a prince of
Kosala, came to me and asked this question: ‘Bharadvaja, do you know the person with
sixteen parts?’ I replied to the prince: ‘I do not know him. If I knew him why
would I not tell you? He who speaks an untruth will indeed wither away to his roots. It is
not proper for me, therefore, to speak an untruth.’ Thereupon he silently mounted his
chariot and went away. Now I will ask you. Where is that person?”
2.
To him he said: “Even here, within the body, O friend, is that person in whom arise
these sixteen parts.
3.
“He (the person) thought within himself, ‘On whose departure shall I be
departing, and on whose resting firm shall I be resting?
4.
“He created life, and from life, faith, space, air, light, water, earth, senses, mind
and food; and from food vitality, austerity, hymns, works, worlds, and in the worlds,
individuals.
5.
“Just as these running streams flowing towards the sea disappear on reaching the sea
and are simply called the sea, their name and form being broken up, even so these sixteen
parts of this seer, tending towards the person, disappear on reaching him, and are simply
called the person, their name and form being broken up. This one is without parts and is
immortal. On this there is the following verse:
6.
“He in whom the parts are well established as spokes in the centre of the wheel
– know him as the person to be known so that death may not afflict you.”
7.
To them he said: “Only thus far do I know that Supreme Brahman. There is nothing
higher than that.”
8.
Then they praised him; “Thou art indeed our father, taking us across to the other
shore of our ignorance”
Salutation to the supreme sages
Salutation to the supreme sages
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Upanishads verse by verse -an anthology
A selection of sacred passages
Abridged
Katha Upanishad verse by verse
Translation by Professor D .S. Sarma
(Up.I.1)
- Desiring the fruits of a sacrifice, Vajasravasa, it is said, gave away all his wealth.
He had a son, Nachiketas by name.
- As the gifts were being distributed, faith entered into Nachiketas, though he was a boy,
and he thought……..
- These cows that have drunk their last water, eaten their last grass, yielded their last
milk and worn out their organs – miserable, surely, are the worlds to which he will
go who gives away such things.
- He said to his father, “To whom, O Sire, will you give me?” – a second
time, a third time; and he replied, “To Death will I give you.”
- (Nachiketas) –“Of many I go as first, and of many I go as the midmost. What
duty towards Yama will he accomplish today through me?”
- “Look back to how it was with those who went before, look forward to how it will be
with those who come hereafter. A mortal ripens like corn, like corn he springs up
again.”
- (A voice in Yama’s abode) –“Like fire does a Brahmin guest enter into
houses, and they make him this peace offering; bring water, O son of Vivaswat.”
- “Hope and expectation, good company and pleasant discourse, the fruits of
sacrifices and good deeds, sons and cattle – all are taken away from that person of
little understanding in whose house a Brahmin remains without food.”
- (Yama) – “O Brahmin, since you, a venerable guest, have stayed in my house for
three nights without food I make obeisance to you, and may it be with me! Therefore,
choose now three boons in return.
- (Nachiketas) – “That Gautama (my father) may be pacified, that he may be kind
and free from anger towards me and that he may recognize me and greet me when I shall have
been set free by you. O Death – this is the first of the boons I choose.”
- (Yama) – “Through my favour Auddalaki Aruni (your father) will recognize you
and be again towards you as he was before. And, seeing you released from the jaws of
death, he shall be free from anger, and sleep peacefully through the night.”
- (Nachiketas) – “In the world of heaven there is no fear whatever, you are not
there and no one is afraid of old age. Overcoming both hunger and thirst, and leaving
sorrow behind, one rejoices in the world of heaven.”
- (Nachiketas) – “You know, O Death, that fire-sacrifice which leads one to
heaven. Explain it to me- for I am full of faith – how the dwellers in heaven gain
their immortality. This I choose as my second boon.”
- (Yama) – “O Nachiketas, I know well that fire which leads one to heaven. I
will declare it to you. Learn it of me and know that it is the means of gaining the
endless world, that it is its foundation and that it abides in the cave of the
heart.”
- He then described to him that fire, which is the first of the worlds, and also what kind
of bricks are to be used, how many of them and in what manner. And he (Nachiketas)
repeated all, as it had been told. Then, being pleased with, Death spoke again.
- That great one, being delighted, said to him:- “I will give you here today another
boon – by your name will this fire be known hereafter. Take also this necklace of
many colours.”
- (Yama) – “This is your fire-sacrifice, O Nachiketas. Which leads one to heaven
and which you have chosen for your second boon. People will call this by name only. Choose
now, O Nachiketas, your third boon.”
- (Nachiketas) – “When a man passes away there is this doubt, some hold that he
exists and some that he does not. This I should like to know, instructed by you. This is
the third of the boons.”
- (Yama) – “Even the gods of old had doubts on this. It is not easy to
understand. So subtle is the truth about it. Choose another boon, O Nachiketas. Do not
press me. Release me from this.”
- (Nachiketas) – “Indeed even the gods had doubts on this, and, O Death, you say
it is not easy to understand. But no other teacher of it like you can be got, and no other
boon is equal to this.”
- (Yama) – “Choose sons and grandsons, who shall live a hundred years, herds of
cattle, elephants, gold and horses; choose the whole expanse of the earth and live for as
many years as you like.”
- (Y) “If you can think of any boon equal to this, choose that, as also wealth and
long life. Be a king on this wide earth, O Nachiketas. I will make you the enjoyer of all
your desires.”
- (Y) “Whatever desires are difficult to attain in this world of man, ask freely for
all of them. Here are these fair maidens with their chariots, and musical instruments.
Such are not to be obtained by men. Be served by these whom I give to you. But, O
Nachiketas, do not question me about death.”
- (N) –“Transient are all these, O Death, and they wear out the vigour of all
the senses. Moreover all life is short. Keep your horses to yourself, keep your dance and
your song.”
- (N) “No man can be satisfied with wealth. Can we enjoy wealth when we see you! We
shall live as long as you are in power! That alone is the boon to be chosen by me.”
- (N) “What mortal decaying here below and coming to know of the undecaying nature of
the immortals would ever delight in too long a life, thinking of the pleasures which arise
from beauty and love?”
- (N) “O Death, tell us about which people have doubts, what there is in that great
hereafter. Nachiketas does not choose another boon but that which penetrates this
mystery”
II (UP.1.2)
- (Yama) – “The good is one thing, the pleasant is another. These two, having
different purposes, bind a man. Of these two, it is well for him who takes hold of the
good; he who chooses the pleasant misses his end.”
- (Y) “The good and the pleasant approach a man; the wise man considers and
distinguishes the two. Wisely does he prefer the good to the pleasant, but a fool chooses
the pleasant for its worldly good.”
- (Y) “You O Nachiketas, have, after examining, rejected the pleasant that are
delightful or seem to be so. You have not taken the road that leads to wealth in which
many men perish.”
- (Y) “Wide apart and leading to different ends are these which are known as
ignorance and knowledge. I believe Nachiketas to be one who desires knowledge, for even
many pleasures have not tempted you.”
- (Y) “Fools steeped in ignorance, wise in their own conceit and regarding themselves
as learned, go about staggering like blind men led by the blind.”
- (Y) “The way to the other world does not shine for the ignorant man who blunders,
ever deluded by the glamour of wealth. ‘This is the world and there is no
other,’ he thinks and thus he falls again and again under my sway.”
- (Y) “He who cannot be heard of by many and whom many, even hearing, do not know
– wonderful is the man who can expound Him, and adept is the man who can find Him.
And wonderful indeed is the man who can know Him, even when taught by an expert.”
- (Y) “When taught by an inferior man, it (the Self) is not easily known, even though
often meditated upon. Unless it is taught by a competent (proficient) man, there is no way
to it, for it is inconceivable, being subtler than the subtle.”
- (Y) “Not by argument is this knowledge obtained. But, O dearest, when taught by
another, it is easy to understand. You have obtained it now, holding fast to truth. May we
always have an enquirer like you, O Nachiketas!”
III (Up.I 2.3.
- (Nachiketas) –“Tell me that which you see beyond right and wrong, beyond
effect and cause and beyond past and future.”
- (Yama) – “That word which all the Vedas declare, which all austerities
proclaim, and which men desire when they lead the life of religious students – that
word, I tell you briefly. It is AUM.”
- (Y) “This syllable is indeed Brahman (Supreme Reality); this syllable indeed is the
highest; he who knows this syllable – whatever he desires will be his.”
- (Y) “This is the best support, this is the highest support; he who knows this
support becomes great in the world of Brahma.”
- (Y) “The knowing Self is never born, nor does it die. It sprang from nothing, and
nothing sprang from it. It is unborn, eternal, everlasting and primeval. It is not slain
when the body is slain.”
- (Y) “If the slayer thinks that he slays or if the slain thinks that he is slain,
both of them do not understand. He neither slays nor is he slain.”
- (Y) “Smaller than the small and greater than the great, the Self is hidden in the
heart of every creature. A man who is free from desires beholds the glory of that Self
through the tranquillity of his mind and senses and becomes freed from sorrow.”
- (Y) “Though sitting still He travels far, though lying down He goes everywhere. Who
but myself can know that luminous Atman who rejoices and rejoices not?”
- (Y) “The wise man who knows the Self as bodiless within the bodies, as the
unchanging among changing things, as great and all-pervading, will never grieve.”
- (Y) “This Self cannot be gained by the Veda, nor by intellectual power, nor by much
learning. He is to be gained only by the one whom He chooses. To such a one the Self
reveals His own nature.”
- (Y) “The man who has not turned away from his evil ways, who is not tranquil, who
has no concentration of mind and whose mind is not at rest – he can never reach this
Self through mere knowledge.”
- (Y) “Who knows where He is – He to whom both Brahmins and Kshatriyas are as
food, and death itself is as a condiment?”
- (Y) “Know that the Self is like the lord of the chariot, and the body is His
chariot. Know that the intellect is the charioteer and the mind the reins.”
- (Y) “The senses, they say, are the horses, the objects of the senses their roads.
When the Self is in union with the body, the senses and the mind, the wise call Him the
enjoyer.”
- (Y) “He who has no understanding and whose mind is ever unrestrained – his
senses are out of control as vicious horses for a charioteer.”
- (Y) “But he who has understanding and whose mind is always restrained – his
senses are under control as good horses for a charioteer.”
- (Y) “He who has no understanding, who has no control over his mind and who is ever
impure – he does not reach that place, but comes back to the round of births.”
- (Y) “He, however, who has understanding, who has control over his mind and who is
ever pure – he reaches that place from which he is not born again.”
- (Y) “The man whose charioteer is his understanding, who holds the reins of his mind
– he reaches the end of his journey, the supreme abode of Vishnu.”
- (Y) “Beyond the senses there are the essences, beyond the essences there is the
mind, beyond the mind there is the understanding and beyond the understanding there is the
great soul.”
- (Y) “Beyond the great soul there is the unmanifest, and beyond the unmanifest there
is the Spirit. Beyond the Spirit there is nothing – that is the end, that is the
highest reach.”
- (Y) “That Self, hidden in all beings, does not shine forth, but it is seen by
subtle seers through their sharp and subtle intellect.”
- (Y) “A wise man should draw his speech into his mind, his mind into his
understanding, his understanding into the great soul and the great soul into the silent
Self.”
- (Y) “Arise, awake, obtain the best teachers and learn of them. Sharp as the edge of
a razor, hard to cross and difficult, is that path – so the sages say.”
- (Y) “That which is without sound, without touch, without form, without decay, and
likewise without taste, without change, without smell, without beginning, without end,
beyond the great, and ever abiding – by realizing It one is freed from the jaws of
death.”
- This ancient story of Nachiketas told by Death – by repeating it or listening to it
a wise man grows great in the world of Brahma
- Whoever with zeal causes to be recited, before an assembly of Brahmins or at the time of
Sraddha ceremonies, this supreme secret – it will secure for him immortality- yea, it
will secure immortality.
IV (Up.II.1.)
- The Self-existent pierced the senses outward and so one looks outward and not within
oneself. Some wise man, however, seeking immortality, and turning his eyes inward, sees
the inner Self.
- The ignorant pursue outward pleasures; they walk into the widespread net of death. The
wise, however, recognizing eternal life, do not seek the constant among inconstant things.
- That by which one perceives forms, taste, smell, sounds and touches of love- by that
alone one has knowledge. What is there that remains unknown to it? This, verily, is that.
- That by which one perceives things both in dreams and in the waking state- having known
that as the great omnipresent Self, this wise man does not grieve.
- He who knows this living spirit, which is close at hand and which experiences the
objects, as the lord of the past and the future- he fears no more. This, verily, is that.
- Whence the sun rises and whither it goes to set – in whom all the devas are
contained, and whom none can pass beyond - This, verily, is that.
- Whatever is here the same is there; whatever is there the same is here. He goes from
death to death who sees only multiplicity here.
- By mind alone is this to be realized. There is no multiplicity here whatsoever. He goes
from death to death who sees only multiplicity here.
- The Purusha, of the size of a thumb, dwells in the body. After knowing Him as the Lord
of the past and the future one fears no more. This, verily, is that.
- That Purusha of the size of a thumb is like a flame without smoke. He is the Lord of the
past and the future. He is the same today and tomorrow. This, verily, is that.
- As rain water falling on a mountain peak runs down among the hills in all directions,
even so he who sees the attributes as different from Brahman verily runs after them in all
directions.
- As pure water poured into pure water becomes one with it, so also, O Gautama, does the
Self of the sage (seer or Rishi) who knows.
V (Up.II.2.)
- There is the city of eleven gates (the body) belonging to Him who is unborn and of
unchanging (undistorted) consciousness. By meditating on Him one grieves no more, and
being liberated one becomes free indeed. This, verily, is that.
- He is the sun dwelling in the bright heavens, the air in the firmament, the fire
dwelling on earth, and the guest in the house. He dwells in men; He dwells in the gods; He
dwells in the sacrifice (truth); He dwells in space. He is all that is born in water, all
that is born on earth, all that is born of sacrifice and all that is born on the
mountains. He is the true and the great.
- He it is that leads the life breaths upwards and casts the lower breath downwards. All
senses minister to Him, the Adorable, who is seated in the centre.
- When the embodied self that dwells within the body slips out and is released from the
body, what is left over here? (What then remains?) This, verily, is that.
- It is not by any upward breath or downward breath that a mortal lives; but it is by some
other, on which these two depend, that men live.
- Well, I will explain to you now, O Gautama, the mystery of Brahman (Supreme Reality),
the eternal, and also what happens to the soul after meeting death.
- Some souls enter into a womb for embodiment, others go into stationary things (trees,
plants etc), according to their deeds and according to their thoughts (knowledge).
- That spirit, which is awake in those that sleep, shaping desire after desire (shaping
one lovely form after another) – that is indeed the Pure, that is Brahman, that
indeed is called the Immortal. In it are contained all the worlds, and no one ever goes
beyond it. This, verily, is that.
VI (Up.II.2)
- As fire, which is one, entering the world assumes different forms corresponding to
different objects, so does the one Self with all beings assume different forms
corresponding to different beings and also exists outside them all.
- As air, which is one, entering the world, assumes different forms corresponding to
different objects, so does the one Self within all beings assume different forms
corresponding to different beings and also exists outside them all.
- As the sun, the eye of the whole world, is not defiled by the external impurities seen
by our eyes, so is the one Self within all beings not defiled by the misery of the world,
being Himself without.
- The one Ruler, the Self within all beings who makes His one form manifold – the
wise who perceive Him within themselves, to them belong eternal happiness, not to others.
- The Eternal among the transient, the Consciousness of conscious beings, the One who
fulfils the desires of many – the wise who perceive Him within themselves, to them
belongs eternal peace, not to others.
- “That is it”- it is only thus that they recognize the indescribable highest
happiness. How then can I know of it, whether it shines of itself or shines in reflection?
- The sun does not shine there, nor the moon and the stars, nor these lightenings. How
then could this fire? When He shines, everything shines after Him; by His light all this
is lighted.
VII (Up.II.3)
- With its roots above and its branches below stands this ancient world tree. That (the
root) is indeed the Pure, that is Brahman, that indeed is called the Immortal. All the
worlds are contained in it, and no one ever goes beyond it. This, verily, is that.
- The whole world, whatever there is, springs from and moves in Life (Brahman) which is a
great terror, an upraised thunderbolt. Those who know it become immortal.
- Through fear of Him fire burns, through fear of Him the sun blazes, through fear of Him
Indra, Vayu and also Yama, as the fifth, speed on their way.
- If a man is not able to know Him before his body falls away, he becomes liable to be
embodied again in the created worlds.
- His form is not to be seen, no one beholds Him with the eye. He is to be apprehended by
the heart, by thought, by mind. Those who know Him thus become immortal.
- When the five instruments of knowledge stand still, together with the mind, and the
intellect itself does not stir – that, they say, is the highest state.
- This they consider to be Yoga, this steady control of the senses. Then does one become
watchful, for Yoga comes and goes.
VII (Up. II. 3)
- Not by speech, not by mind, not by sight can He be reached. How can He be apprehended
unless one says to oneself that He is?
- It is by saying “He is” that He is to be apprehended together with His twofold
nature. His real nature reveals itself to those who apprehend that He is.
- When all the desires that dwell in the heart are cast away – then does a mortal
become immortal and attain to Brahman even here.
- When all the ties of the heart are cut asunder here- then does a mortal become immortal.
Thus far is the teaching.
- The Purusha of the size of a thumb, the inner Self, abides always in the hearts of men.
One should draw Him out from the body with firmness as one draws the pith from a reed. One
should know Him as the pure, the immortal.
- Having gained this knowledge imparted by Death and the whole rule of Yoga, Nachiketas
attained Brahman and became free from passion and death. And so may any other who knows
this teaching regarding the Self.
________________
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Index Alphabetical [Index to Pages]
Upanishads verse by verse -an anthology
A selection of sacred passages
Abridged
Chandogya Upanishadf verse by verse
Translated by Professor D. S. Sarma
I.i.1
- One should meditate on the syllable AUM, called the Udgitha, for the Udgitha (a portion
of the Sama Veda) is sung beginning with Aum. Of this syllable the explanation is:
- The essence of things here is the earth; the essence of the earth is water; the essence
of water is plants; the essence of plants is man; the essence of man is speech; the
essence of speech is the Rig Veda; the essence of the Rig Veda is the Sama Veda; and the
essence of the Sama Veda is the Udgitha.
- It is the best of all essences – the highest, the supreme, the eighth – namely
the Udgitha.
- By this does the threefold knowledge proceed; saying Aum one recites, saying Aum one
orders, and saying Aum one sings aloud – all in honour of all that syllable with its
greatness and its essence.
- He who understands it and he who does not – both perform the same sacrifice. But
knowledge and ignorance are different. What one performs with knowledge, faith and
meditation becomes more powerful. This indeed is the full explanation of this syllable.
II.i.2
- When the gods and the demons, both descendants of Prajapati, contended with one another
the gods took hold of the Udgitha thinking, “With this we shall overcome them.”
- Then they meditated on the Udgitha as the breath in the nose, but the demons pierced it
with evil. Therefore one smells with it both the sweet smelling and the foul smelling, for
it was pierced with evil.
- Then they meditated on the Udgitha as speech; but the demons pierced it with evil.
Therefore one speaks with it both truth and falsehood. For it was pierced with evil.
- Then they meditated on the Udgitha as the eye, but the demons pierced it with evil.
Therefore, one sees with it both what is sightly and what is unsightly, for it was pierced
with evil.
- Then they meditated on the Udgitha as the ear, but the demons pierced it with evil.
Therefore one hears with it both what should be heard and what should not be heard, for it
was pierced with evil.
- Then they meditated on the Udgitha as the mind, but the demons pierced it with evil.
Therefore one imagines with it both what should be imagined and what should not be
imagined, for it was pierced with evil.
- They then meditated on the Udgitha as the chief vital breath itself. When the demons
came against it they were destroyed as one would be in dashing against a solid rock.
- Just as a ball of earth striking against a solid rock is destroyed, so will one be
destroyed who wishes evil to him who knows this or one who injures him, for he is a solid
rock.
- With this vital breath one does not discern either the sweet smelling or the foul
smelling, for it is free from evil. With this, whatever one eats or drinks, one supports
the other vital breaths. And, not having this in the end, one finally departs and leaves
the mouth open.
III.i.8
- There were once three men well versed in the Udgitha – Silaka Salavatya,
Chaikitayana Dalbhya and Pravahana Jaivali. They said, “We are indeed well-versed in
the Udgitha. Well, let us have a discussion on it.”
- “So be it,” said they and sat down. Then Pravahana Jaivali said: “You
two, sirs, speak first, for I wish to hear what two Brahmins have to say.”
- Then Silaka Salavatya said to Chaikitayana Dalbhya: “Let me ask you.”
“Ask”,
he replied.
- “What is the origin (abode) of the Saman (Udgitha)?”
“Tone”, he
replied.
“What is the origin of tone?”
“Breath”, he replied.
“What is the origin of breath?”
“Food”, he replied.
“What is the origin of food?”
“Water”, he replied.
- “What is the origin of water?”
“Yonder world”, he replied.
“What is the origin of the yonder world?”
He replied: “One should not go beyond the world of heaven. We establish the Saman
in the world of heaven, for the Saman is extolled in heaven.”
- Then Silaka Salavatya said to Chaikitayana Dalbhya: “Your Saman. O Dalbhya, is not
firmly established. If now anyone were to say, ‘Your head shall fall off’,
surely your head would fall off.”
- “Well, then, let me know it from you, Sir”, said Dalbhya.
“Know
it”, replied Silaka Salavatya. ”What is the origin of the yonder world?”
“This world”, he replied.
“And what is the origin of this world?”
He replied: “One should not go beyond this world as its support. We establish the
Saman in this world as its support, for the Saman is praised as the support.”
- Then said Pravahana Jaivali to him: “Indeed, O Salavatya, your Saman has an end. If
someone were now to say, ‘Your head shall fall off’, surely your head would fall
off.”
“Well, then, let me know this from you, Sir.”
“Know it”, he replied.
- “What is the origin of this world?”
“Space”, he replied.
“For all these creatures take their rise from space, and they return to space. Space
is indeed greater than these. Space is the ultimate abode.”
- This indeed is the Udgitha – the highest and the best. It is without an end. He
who, knowing this, meditates on the Udgitha, the highest and the best, becomes the highest
and the best and obtains the highest and the best of worlds.
IV. i. 10- 11
- When the land of the Kurus was afflicted by a hailstorm, Ushasti Chakrayana lived as a
beggar with his virgin wife at Ibhyagrama.
- Seeing the chief of the village eating beans he begged of him. The chief said: “I
have no other than these which are set before me.”
- “Give me some of them”, said he. He gave them to him and said: “Here is
water to drink along.” But he replied: “That would be drinking something that
was left over and therefore unclean.”
- “Were not these beans also left over and therefore unclean?” “No”,
he replied, “for I should not have lived if I had not eaten them, but the drinking of
water would be my pleasure.”
- When he had eaten, he gave what still remained to his wife. But she had eaten well
before. So she took them and kept them safe.
- Next morning he arose and said: “Alas, if only we could get some food we might make
some money, for the king over there is performing a sacrifice, he might choose me for all
the priestly offices there.”
- His wife said to him: “Look, my lord, here are those beans.” Having eaten them
he went over to the sacrifice that was being performed.
- There he sat down near the Udgatri priests who were about to sing the Stotra in the
palace assigned for the purpose. He said to the Prastori priest:-
- “O Prastori, if you are going to sing the Prastava without knowing the deity which
belongs to it, your head will fall off.”
- Similarly, he said to the Udgatri priest: “O Udgatri, if you are going to sing the
Udgitha without knowing the deity which belongs to it, your head will fall off.”
- Similarly he said to the Pratihartri priest: “O Pratihartri, if you are going to
sing the Pratihara without knowing the deity which belongs to it, your head will fall
off.” Then they stopped and sat in silence.
- Thereupon the sacrificer said to him: “I should like to know who you are,
Sir.” He replied: “I am Ushasti Chakrayana.”
- Then he said: “I looked for you, Sir, for all these priestly offices. But not
finding you, I have chosen others. Now, Sir, please take up all these offices for
me.”
- “So be it”, he said, “and let them with my permission sing the hymns. But
you should give me as much money as you would give them.” The sacrificer consented.
- Then the Prastotri priest approached him and said: “Sir, you said to me, ‘O
Prastotri, if you are going to sing the Prastava without knowing the deity which belongs
to it, your head will fall off.’ Which is that deity?”
- “Life”, said he, “for all beings enter into life and rise out of life.
This is the deity belonging to the Prastava. If without knowing that deity you had sung
the Prastava, your head would have fallen off, after you had been warned by me.”
- Then the Udgatri priest approached him and said: “Sir, you said to me: ‘O
Udgatri, if you are going to sing the Udgitha without knowing the deity which belongs to
it, your head will fall off.’ Which is that deity?”
- “The sun”, said he, “for all beings sing of the sun when he is up. This
is the deity belonging to the Udgitha. If without knowing that deity you had sung the
Udgitha, your head would have fallen off, after you had been warned by me.”
- Then the Pratihartri priest approached him and said: “Sir, you said to me. ‘O
Pratihartri, if you are going to sing the Pratihara without knowing the deity, which
belongs to it, your head will fall off.’ Which is that deity?”
- “Food”, he said, “for all beings here live only when they partake of
food. This is the deity belonging to the Pratihara. If without knowing that deity you had
sung the Pratihara, your head would have fallen off, after you had been warned by
me.”
V. iii. 12
- Verily, Gayatri is all this – whatever has been and whatever is here. Speech verily
is Gayatri, for speech sings of and protects all that has come to be.
- Verily, what this Gayatri is, that, verily, is what this earth is. For all that exists
rests on the earth and does not go beyond it.
- Verily, what this earth is, that, verily, is what the body is in man here. For in it are
the vital breaths established and do not go beyond.
- Verily, what the body in man is, that, verily, is what the heart is within man. For in
it are the vital breaths established and do not go beyond it.
- This Gayatri has four feet and is six fold. This is also declared by a Rik verse:-
- “Such is its power. But greater than that is the Purusha Himself. For all mortal
beings are only a fourth part of Him. For the other three parts are immortal and in
heaven.”
- Verily, what is called Brahman, that is what the space outside a person is, verily, that
is what the space outside a person is.
- And that is again what the space inside a person is, verily, what the space inside a
person is.
- And what the space inside a person is, that verily, is what the space here within the
heart is. And that is the Perfect and Unchanging. He who knows this obtains perfect and
unchanging happiness.
Vi. iii. 13
- Now that light that shines above this heaven, higher than all, higher than everything,
in the highest world, beyond which there are no other worlds, verily, that is the same as
this light which is here within man.
- There is this visible proof of it as one perceives by touch the warmth in the body.
There is this audible proof of it, as one hears, on closing one’s ears, something
like a rumbling sound of a blazing fire. One should meditate on this as that (Brahman)
which is seen and heard. He who meditates thus becomes worthy of being seen and heard
– yes, he who meditates thus.
Vii. iii. 14
- Verily, all this is Brahman. Let a man meditate on it in tranquillity as that from which
he came forth, to which he shall return and in which he breathes. Now, verily, a man is
what he meditates. According as he meditates in this world he becomes on departing hence.
So let him meditate thus:-
- He who consists of mind, whose body is life, whose form is light, whose will is truth,
whose soul is space, who contains all works, all desires, all odours, all tastes, and who
pervades the whole world – silent and unmoved-
- He is my self within the heart, smaller than a grain of rice or of barley or a mustard
seed or a grain of millet or even the kernel of a grain of millet – He is my self
within the heart, greater than the earth, greater than the sky, greater than heaven,
greater than all these worlds.
- He contains all works, all desires, all odours and all tastes – He pervades the
whole world, silent and unmoved. He is my self within the heart. And this is Brahman. And
with Him shall I be united on departing from here. He who has this faith will have no more
doubts. Thus said Sandilya, yea, Sandillya.
VIII, iii. 16-17
- Man is himself a sacrifice. His first twenty-four years form the morning libation, for
the Gayatri metre has twenty-four syllables, and the morning libation is offered with a
Gayatri hymn.
- His next forty-four years form the midday libation, for the Trishtubh metre has
forty-four syllables and the midday libation is offered with a Trishtubh hymn.
- Then his forty-eight years form the third libation, for the Jagati metre has forty-eight
syllables, and the third libation is offered with a Jagati hymn.
- As he hungers and thirsts, and abstains from pleasures – these constitute the
preliminary rites of initiation.
- And as he eats and drinks and enjoys pleasures – he may be said to join in the
Upasada ceremonies.
- And as he laughs and eats and indulges in sexual pleasures, he may be said to join in
the chants and recitations.
- And his austerities, alms giving, uprightness, non-violence and truthfulness –
these constitute the gifts to the priests.
- His death is the final ablution.
- When Ghora Angirasa explained this to Krishna, son of Devaki, he also said to him, as he
became free from desires: “In the final hour one should take refuge in theses three
thoughts, ‘Thou art the Imperishable; Thou art the Unchangeable; Thou art the Essence
of life.’”
IX. iv. 4
- Once upon a time, Satyakama, son of Jabala, addressed his mother and said: “Mother,
I desire to become a student of religion. Of what family am I?”
- She said to him: “I do not know, my child, of what family you are. In my youth,
when I went about a great deal as a servant I got you. So I do not know of what family you
are. I am Jabala by name, and you are Satyakama by name. So you may say you are Satyakama
Jabala.
- Then he went to Gautama Haridrumata and said to him: “Sir, I wish to become a
student of religion under you. May I come to you, Sir?”
- He said to him; “Of what family are you, my dear?” He replied; “I do not
know this, Sir, of what family I am, I asked my mother and she said to me, ‘In my
youth when I went about a great deal as a servant I got you. So I do not know of what
family you are. I am Jabala by name, and you are Satyakama by name. So I am Satyakama
Jabala, Sir.”
- He then said to him: “None but a true Brahmin would thus speak out. Go and fetch
fuel, my dear. I will initiate you. You have not swerved from the truth.”
Having
initiated him he chose four hundred lean weak cows and said: “Tend these, my
dear.”
He drove them out and said to himself: “I shall not return unless I bring back a
thousand.”
X. iv. 4-9
- He (Satyakama) lived away (in the forest) for a number of years.
When the cows had
become a thousand, the bull of the heard said to him: “Satyakama.”
“Sir,” he replied. “We have become a thousand, my friend, take us back to
the teacher’s house (Gurukula). I will now declare to you a fourth part of Brahman
(the Supreme Reality).”
“Declare it, Sir.”
- He then said to him: “The east is one sixteenth, the west is one sixteenth, the
south is one sixteenth and the north is one sixteenth. This is quarter of Brahman
consisting of four parts, and it is called the Resplendent.
“He who knows this and
meditates on this quarter of Brahman consisting of four parts and called the Resplendent
becomes endowed with splendour in this world. He who knows this and meditates on this
quarter of Brahman consisting of four parts and called the Resplendent will also conquer
the resplendent worlds.
“Now, fire will declare to you another quarter of Brahman.”
- On the morrow he drove the cows on. And when they came towards the evening, he lighted a
fire, penned the cows, laid on fuel and sat down behind the fire, facing east.
- Then the fire said to him: “Satyakama.”
“Sir,” he replied.
“I will now declare to you one fourth of Brahman.”
“Declare it, Sir.”
He then said to him: “The earth is one sixteenth, the atmosphere is one sixteenth,
the sky is one sixteenth and the ocean is one sixteenth. This is a quarter of Brahman
consisting of four parts. It is called the Endless.
“He who knows this and meditates on this quarter of Brahman consisting of four
parts and called the Endless becomes endless in this world. He who knows this and
meditates on this quarter of Brahman consisting of four parts and called the Endless will
also conquer endless worlds.
“Now, a swan will declare to you another quarter of Brahman.”
- On the morrow he drove the cows on. And when they came towards the evening, he lighted a
fire, penned the cows, laid on fuel and sat down behind the fire, facing east.
- Then the swan flew down to him and said: “Satyakama.”
“Sir,” he
replied.
“I will now declare to you one fourth of Brahman.”
“Declare it, Sir.”
He then said to him: “Fire is one sixteenth. The sun is one sixteenth. The moon is
one sixteenth and lightning is one sixteenth. This is a quarter of Brahman consisting of
four parts. It is called the Luminous.
“He who knows and meditates on this quarter of Brahman consisting of four parts
and called Luminous becomes luminous in this world. He who knows and meditates on this
quarter of Brahman, consisting of four parts and called the Luminous will also conquer the
worlds, which are luminous.
“Now, a diver-bird will declare to you another quarter of Brahman.”
- On the morrow he drove the cows on. And when they came towards the evening, he lighted a
fire, penned the cows, laid on fuel and sat down behind the fire, facing east.
- Then a diver-bird flew down to him and said: “Satyakama.”
“Sir,”
he replied.
“I will now declare to you one fourth of Brahman.”
“Declare it, Sir.”
He then said to him: “Breath is one sixteenth, the eye is one sixteenth, the ear
is one sixteenth and the mind is one sixteenth. This is a quarter of Brahman consisting of
four parts. It is called the Abiding.
“He who knows and meditates on this quarter of Brahman consisting of four parts
and called the Abiding comes to possess an abode in this world. He who knows and meditates
on this quarter of Brahman consisting of four parts and called the Abiding will also
conquer the worlds possessing an abode.”
- Then he reached the teacher’s house (Gurukula). The teacher said:
“Satyakama.”
“Sir,” he replied.
- “Verily, my boy, you are shining like one who knows Brahman. Who has taught
you?”
He replied: “Others than men. But, Sir, I wish that you teach me. For I
have heard from persons like you that only knowledge that is learnt from a teacher leads
to real good.”
- Then he taught him the same knowledge. Nothing was left out, yea, nothing was left out.
XI. iv. 10-15
- Upakosala, son of Kamala, dwelt as a religious student in the house of Satyakama Jabala.
He tended his fires for twelve years. But the teacher, though he had allowed other pupils
to return home after finishing their studies, did not allow Upakosala to depart.
- His wife said to him: “This student has performed his penance and has carefully
tended your fires. Teach him and let not the fires blame you.” But he went away on a
journey without teaching him.
- The student, on account of his sorrow, resolved not to eat. Then the teacher’s wife
said: “O student, please eat. Why do you not eat?” He replied: “There are
many desires in this person here which proceed in different directions. I am full of
sorrows. I will not eat.”
- Then the fires said among themselves: “This student has performed his penance and
has carefully tended us. Well, let us teach him.” They said to him: “Life is
Brahman; joy is Brahman; space is Brahman.”
- Then he said: “I understand that life is Brahman. But joy and space I do not
understand.”
They said: “What joy is, the same is space. And what space is,
the same is joy.”
They explained to him life and space.
- Then the Garhapatya fire taught him: “Earth, Fire, Food and the Sun – these
are my forms. But the person that is seen in the Sun- I am he, I am he indeed.
“He
who, knowing this, meditates on him destroys his sins, becomes the possessor of this
world, reaches full age and lives in glory. His descendants do not perish. We serve him
both in this world and in the other – whosoever knowing this meditates on him.”
- Then the Anvaharya fire taught him: “Water, the Quarters, the Stars and the Moon
– these are my forms. But the person that is seen in the Moon- I am he, I am he
indeed.
“He who, knowing this, meditates on him destroys his sins, becomes the
possessor of this world, reaches full age and lives in glory. His descendants do not
perish. We serve him both in this world and in the other – whosoever knowing this
meditates on him.”
- Then the Ahvaniya fire taught him: “Life, Space, Sky and Lightning- these are my
forms. But the person that is seen in the Lightning, I am he, I am he indeed.
“He
who, knowing this, meditates on him destroys his sins, becomes the possessor of this
world, reaches full age and lives in glory. His descendants do not perish. We serve him
both in this world and in the other – whosoever knowing this meditates on him.”
- Then they all said: “Upakosala, this is the knowledge regarding ourselves, friend,
and also the knowledge regarding the Self. But the teacher will tell you the way.”
- The teacher came back and said to him: “Upakosala.”
“Sir,” he
answered.
“My boy, your face is shining like that of one who knows Brahman. Who has taught
you?”
“Who should teach me, Sir?” he replied.
He conceals the fact, as it were. And, pointing to the fire, he said: “These are
of this form now, but they were different then.”
The teacher then said: “What have they taught you, my boy?”
“This,” he replied.
“They have spoken to you about the worlds, my boy, but I will tell you this. And
as water does not cling to a lotus leaf, so no evil deed clings to one who knows it.”
“Tell me, Sir.”
- To him he then said: “The person who is seen in the eye – he is the Self. This
is the immortal, the fearless. This is Brahman. So even if one drops butter or water into
it (the eye) it goes away by the sides.
- “He is called Samyad-vama, for all desirable things go towards him. All desirable
things go to him who knows this.
- “He is also Vamani, for he brings in all desirable things. He who knows this brings
in all desirable things.
- “He is also Bhamani, for he shines in all the worlds. He who knows this shines in
all the worlds.
- “Now, for such a man, whether people perform his obsequies or not, he goes to
light, from light into the day, from the day into the fortnight of the waxing moon, from
the fortnight of the waxing moon into the six months during which the sun goes to the
north, from the months into the year, from the year into the sun, from the sun into the
moon and from the moon into the lightning. There a person not human leads them to Brahman.
This is the way of the gods, the way that leads to Brahman. Those who proceed by it do not
return to the human condition, yea, they do not return.”
XII. iv. 17
- Prajapati brooded over the worlds, and from them thus brooded on he extracted their
essences – fire from the earth, air from the atmosphere and the sun from the sky.
- He then brooded over these three deities. And from them thus brooded on he extracted
their essences – the Rik verses from the fire, the Yajus formulae from the air and
the Saman chants from the sun.
- He brooded again over these three kinds of knowledge. And from them thus brooded on he
extracted their essences – Bhuh from the Rik verses, Bhuvah from the Yajus formulae
and Suvah from the Saman chants.
- If the sacrifice is injured in connection with the Rik verses one should make an
oblation in the Garhapatya fire with the words Bhuh Svaha. Thus does one set right the
injury done to the sacrifice on the side of the Rik verses by the essence and the power of
the Rik verses themselves.
- If the sacrifice is injured in connection with the Yajus formulae one should make an
oblation in the southern fire with the words Bhuvah Svaha. Thus does one set right the
injury done to the sacrifice on the side of the Yajus formulae by the essence and the
power of the Yajus formulae themselves.
- If the sacrifice is injured in connection with the Samana chants one should make an
oblation in the Ahavaniya fire with the words Suvah Svaha. Thus does one set right the
injury done to the sacrifice on the side of the Saman chants by the essence and the power
of the Saman chants themselves.
- As one joins together gold by means of borax, and silver by means of gold, and tin by
means of silver, and lead by means of tin, and iron by means of lead, and wood by means of
iron and by means of leather, so does one set right the injury done to the sacrifice by
means of the essence of these worlds, these deities and the three Vedas. That sacrifice is
well healed on which there is a Brahma priest who knows this.
[Note: Brahma priest sits
as observer, maintaining complete silence.]
XIII. v. 1
- Once upon a time the senses quarrelled among themselves as to who was superior, each
saying: “I am superior, I am superior.”
- They went to Prajapati, their father, and said: “Sir, who is the best of us?”
He
replied: “He by whose departure the body looks the worst – he is the best of
you.”
- Speech then departed and, having stayed away for a year, returned and said: “How
have you been able to live without me?”
They replied: “Like the dumb-not
speaking, but breathing with the breath, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear, and
thinking with the mind. Thus we lived.” Then speech entered in.
- The eye then departed and having stayed away for a year, returned and said: “How
have you been able to live without me?” They replied: “Like the blind – not
seeing, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the tongue, hearing with the ear and
thinking with the mind. Thus we lived.” Then the eye entered in.
- The ear then departed, and having stayed away for a year, returned and said: “How
have you been able to live without me?” They replied: “Like the deaf – not
hearing, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the tongue, seeing with the eye and
thinking with the mind. Thus we lived.” Then the ear entered in.
- The mind then departed and having stayed away for a year, returned and said: “How
have you been able to live without me?” They replied: “Like children – not
thinking, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the tongue, seeing with the eye and
hearing with the ear. Thus we lived.” Then the mind entered in.
- Now, when the breath was about to depart, tearing up the other senses, as a strong horse
about to depart might tear up the pegs to which he is tethered, they gathered round him
and said: “Sir, remain. You are the best of us, do not depart.”
- Then speech said to him: “If I am the most prosperous, so are you the most
prosperous.” The eye said to him: “If I am the firm basis, so are you the firm
basis.” The ear said to him: “If I am success, so are you the success.” The
mind said to him; “If I am the abode, so are you the abode.”
- Hence these are not termed organs of speech or eyes or ears or minds. They are termed
signs of life. For life itself becomes all these.
XIV. v. 3-10
- Svetaketu Aruneya went to an assembly of the Panchalas. There Pravahava Jaivali said to
him: “Boy, has your father instructed you?”
“Yes, Sir.”
- “Do you know to what place men go from here?”
“No, Sir.”
“Do you know how they return again?”
“No, Sir.”
“Do you know where the path of the gods and that of the ancestral spirits
diverge?”
“No, Sir.”
- “Do you know why the other world never becomes full?”
“No, Sir.”
“Do you know why in the fifth libation water is called a person?”
“No, Sir.”
- “Then why did you say you had been instructed? How could any one who did not know
these things say he had been instructed?”
- Distressed, the boy went to his father’s place and said to him: “Sir, you said
you had instructed me without really instructing me. That fellow of the Rajanya caste
asked me five questions and I could not answer even one of them.”
He replied:
“As you have told me these questions of his I do not know even one of them. If I had
known any of them how could I not have told you?”
- Then Gautama went over to the Rajah’s place, and when he arrived there the king
showed him proper respect. In the morning he went to the audience hall and the king said
to him: “Venerable Gautama, choose a boon out of the wealth that belongs to the world
of men.” Then he replied: “Let the wealth that belongs to the world of men
remain with you, O king. But the speech which you addressed to this boy – tell me
that.” The king was perplexed.
- “Stay with me for some time,” he commanded. Afterwards he said to him:
“As to what you have told me, O Gautama, this knowledge has not reached any Brahmin
before you. Therefore among all people this teaching belonged to the Kshatriya class
only.”
- Then he proceeded.
“That world (heaven) is a sacrificial fire, the sun itself is
the fuel, the rays the smoke, the day the flame, the moon the embers and the stars the
sparks. In this fire of gods offer the oblation of faith. From this offering arise Soma,
the king.
- “Parjanya (god of rain), O Gautama, is the sacrificial fire. The air itself is its
fuel, the cloud is the smoke, the lightning is the flame, the thunderbolt the embers and
the thunders the sparks. In this fire the gods offer the oblation of Soma, the king. From
this offering arises rain.
- “The earth, O Gautama, is the sacrificial fire, the year is its fuel, space is the
smoke, the night is the flame, the quarters the embers and the intermediate quarters the
sparks. In this fire the gods offer the libation of rain. From this offering arises food.
- “Man, O Gautama, is the sacrificial fire, speech is its fuel, breath is the smoke,
the tongue is the flame, the eyes the embers and the ears the sparks. In this fire the
gods offer the libation of food. From this offering arises seed.
- “Woman, O Gautama, is the sacrificial fire. In this fire the gods offer the
libation of seed. From this offering arises the foetus.
- “It is for this reason that in the fifth oblation water comes to be called a
person. The foetus enclosed in the womb lies inside for more or less nine or ten months,
and then it is born.
“When born, he lives whatever the length of his life may be.
When he passes away, they carry him to the appointed place, to the fire from which indeed
he came, from which he sprang.
- “Those who know this and those who in the forest meditate with faith and austerity
go to light, from light to day, from day to the bright half of the month, from the bright
half of the month to those six months during which the sun moves northward, and from these
months to the year, from the year to the sun, from the sun to the moon, and from the moon
to the lightning. There is a person there – not human. He leads them on to Brahman.
This is the path of the gods.
- “But those who, living in a village, offer sacrifices and perform works of public
utility and give alms – they pass into smoke, from smoke to night, from night to the
dark half of the month, from the dark half of the month to the six months during which the
sun moves southward, but they do not reach the year. From these months they go to the
world of Pitris, from the world of Pitris into space, from space to the moon. That is
Soma, the king. They become the food of the gods. The gods use them for their pleasure.
- “Having dwelt there till the fruit of their good works is exhausted, they return
again by the way by which they came – to space and from space into air. Having become
air, he (the sacrificer) becomes smoke and having become smoke he becomes mist. Having
become mist he becomes a cloud, and having become a cloud he drops down as rain. Then are
they born as rice and barley, as herbs and trees, as sesamum and beans. From thence the
release becomes extremely difficult. For whoever eats the food and begets the offspring
– like unto him he becomes.
- “Those whose conduct here has been good will quickly attain a good birth – the
birth of a Brahmin, or a Kshatriya or a Vaisya. But those whose conduct here has been
evil, will quickly attain an evil birth – the birth of a dog, or a hog or an
outcaste.
- “But on neither of these two ways are those small creatures which are continually
revolving, those of whom it may be said, ‘Be born and die.’ Theirs is a third
state.”
That is why that world never becomes full. Therefore let a man take care
of himself.
XV. v. 11-18
- Prachinasala Aupamanyava, Satyayajna Paulushi, Indradyumna Bhallaveya, Jana Sarkarakshya
and Budila Asvatarasvi – these great householders, greatly learned in holy
scriptures, once came together and held a discussion as to what is our Self and what is
Brahman (the Supreme Reality).
- They reflected among themselves: “Sirs, there is that Uddalaka Aruni, who knows at
present this Universal Self. Well, let us go to him.” And so they went to him.
- But he reflected in himself: “These great householders, greatly learned in Holy
Scriptures, will question me and I shall not be able to tell them all. Therefore I shall
direct them to another.”
- He said to them: “Sirs, Asvapati Kaikeya knows at present the Universal Self. Well,
let us go to him.” And so they went to him.
- When they arrived, he had proper attentions paid to them severally. And rising the next
morning he said: “In my kingdom there is no thief, no miser, no drunkard, no man
without his sacrificial fire, no ignorant person, no adulterer and much less an
adulteress. Sirs, I am going to perform a sacrifice, and as much wealth as I am going to
give to each officiating priest I will give you. Please stay here, Sirs.”
- Then they said: “The purpose for which a man comes – he should indeed state
it. At present you know the Universal Self. Tell us about that.”
- He then said to them: “Tomorrow I will give you an answer.” Therefore, the
next morning they approached him with fuel in their hands. And he, without any preparatory
rites, addressed them:
- “Aupamanyava, on what do you meditate as the Self?”
“Heaven only,
venerable king,” he replied.
“The Self which you meditate on is the Universal Self called Sutejas (brightly
shining). But it is only the head of the Self.
- Then he said to Satyayajna Paulush:
“O Prachinayoga, on what do you meditate as
the Self?”
“The sun only, venerable king,” he replied.
“The Self which you meditate on is the Universal Self called Visvarupa (manifold
form). But it is only the eye of the Self.”
- Then he said to Indradyumna Bhallaveya: “O Vaiyaghrapadya, on what do you meditate
as the Self?”
“Air only, venerable king”, he replied.
“The Self which you meditate on is the Universal Self called Prithagvartman
(having varied courses). But this is only the breath of the Self.”
- Then he said to Jana Sarakarakshya: “On what do you meditate as the Self?”
“Space
only, venerable king”, he replied.
“The Self which you meditate on is the Universal Self called Bahula (the full).
But it is only the trunk of the Self.”
- Then he said to Budila Asvatarasvi: “O Vaiyaghrapadya, on what do you meditate as
the Self?”
“Water only, venerable king”, he replied.
“The Self which you meditate on is the Universal Self, called Rayi (wealth). But
it is only the bladder of the Self.”
- Then he said to Uddalaka Aruni; “O Gautama, on what do you meditate as the
Self?”
“The earth only, venerable king”, he replied.
“The Self which you meditate on is the Universal Self called Pratishtha (firm
support). But it is only the feet of the Self.”
- Then he said to them all: “Verily, indeed, you eat your food, knowing this
Universal Self as if it were many. But he who meditates on this Universal Self as
extending from heaven to earth and as identical with himself – he eats food in all
worlds, in all beings and in all selves.
- “Of that Universal Self the bright (heaven) is the head; the manifold (sun) is the
eye; the varying (wind) is the breath; the extended (space) is the trunk; the abundant
(water) is the bladder; the supporting (earth) is the feet. The altar is his chest; the
sacrificial grass is his hair; the Garhapatya fire is the heart; the Anvaharya fire is the
mind and the Ahavaniya fire the mouth.”
XV. vi. 1-4
- Once there lived Svetaketu Aruneya. His father said to him: “Go and live the life
of a religious student. For there is no one in our family, my boy, not having studied the
Veda, is as it were a Brahmin by birth only.”
- He then, having become a pupil at the age of twelve, returned when he was twenty-four
years of age, having studied all the Vedas, greatly conceited, thinking himself well-read
and arrogant.
- His father then said to him: “Svetaketu, as you are so conceited, thinking yourself
well-read and arrogant, have you ever asked, my boy, for that instruction by which we hear
what cannot be heard, perceived what cannot be perceived and know what cannot be
known?”
“How can there be such instruction, Sir?”
- “My boy, just as by one clod of clay all that is made of clay is known, the
difference being only a name arising from speech, while the truth is that it is just clay.
- “My boy, just as by one nugget of gold all that is made of gold is known, the
difference being only a name arising from speech, while the truth is that it is just gold.
- “My boy, just as by one pair of nail-scissors all that is made of iron is known,
the difference being only a name arising from speech, while the truth is that it is just
iron”
“Thus runs, my boy, that instruction.”
- “Surely those venerable men did not know it. For if they had known it why should
they not have told it to me? Do you, Sir, therefore tell me that.”
- “Be it so, my boy. In the beginning, there was Being alone – One only without
a second. Some people say that in the beginning there was non-being alone. One only
without a second and that from that non-being Being was produced.
- “But how indeed could it be thus, my boy?” said he. “How could Being be
produced from non-being? No, my boy, in the beginning this was Being alone – One only
without a second.
- “It thought, may I be many, may I grow forth. It sent forth fire. The fire thought,
may I be many, may I grow forth. It sent forth water. The water thought, may I be many;
may I grow forth. It sent forth food.
- “That Being thought, ‘Well, let me enter into these three divinities by means
of this living self and let me develop names and forms. Let me make each one of the three
threefold.’
- “The Being thus entered into these three divinities by means of the living self and
developed names and forms. It made each of these threefold.
- “It was just this that the great householders and great students of sacred
knowledge knew when they said of old: ‘No one can henceforth mention to us anything
which we have not heard, anything which we have not perceived or anything which we have
not known.’ For from these three they knew everything.
- “They knew that whatever appeared red was of the form of fire. They knew that
whatever appeared white was of the form of water. They knew that whatever appeared dark
was of the form of food (earth). They knew that whatever appeared altogether unknown was a
combination of these three divinities.”
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Creation
XVI. vi. 8-16
- Then Uddalaka Aruni said to his son Svetaketu: “Learn from me, my boy, the true
nature of sleep. When a man here sleeps, as they say, then he has become united with pure
Being, my boy, then he has gone to his own. Therefore they say Svapiti (he sleeps) because
he has gone (apita) to his own (sva).
- “As a bird tied by a string flies first in every direction and finding no resting
place anywhere settles down at last at the place where it is bound, so also the mind after
flying in various directions and finding no resting place anywhere settles down in the
vital breath, for the mind, my boy, is bound to the vital breath.
- “Now, learn from me, my boy, what hunger and thirst are. When a person here is
hungry, as they say, water is leading away what he has eaten. As they speak of a leader of
cows, a leader of horses or a leader of men, so they speak of water as the leader of food.
Thus, my boy, understand that this body is a sprout, which has sprung up. It could not be
without a root.
- “And what else could be its root other than food? In the same manner, my boy, food
itself being an off-shoot, seek for its root, namely, water; and water itself being an
off-shoot, seek for its root, namely fire; and fire itself being an off-shoot, seek for
its root, namely Being.
“All these creatures, my boy, have their root in Being.
They have Being as their abode, they have Being as their support.
- “When a person here is thirsty, as they say, fire is leading away what he has
drunk. As they speak of a leader of cows, a leader of horses or a leader of men, so they
speak of fire as the leader of water. Thus, my boy, understand that this body is a sprout,
which has sprung up. It could not be without a root.
- “And what else could be its root other than water? Water itself being an offshoot,
seek for its root, namely fire. And fire itself being an offshoot; seek for its root,
namely Being.
“All these creatures, my boy, have their root in Being. They have
Being as their abode. They have Being as their support.
“When a man departs from here, my boy, his speech merges in his mind, his mind in
his breath, his breath in heat (fire) and heat in the highest Being.
- “That which is the subtle essence – the whole of this world has that for its
soul. That is the Reality. That is the Self. And thou art That, O Svetaketu.”
“Please,
Sir, instruct me still further.”
“So be it, my boy”, said he.
- “As the bees make honey, my boy, by collecting the juices of different trees and
reducing them to one form –
“”Even so, my son, all these creatures, when
they reach the Being, do not know that they have reached the Being.
- “Whatsoever they are in this world – a tiger or a lion, a wolf or a bear, a
worm or a fly, a gnat or a mosquito – that they become again and again.
“That
which is subtle essence – the whole of this world has that for its soul. That is the
Reality. That is the Self. And thou art That, O Svetaketu.”
“Please, Sir, instruct me still further.”
“So be it, my son”, he said.
- “These rivers flow, my son – the eastern towards the east, and western towards
the west. They go from sea to sea; indeed they become the sea itself. And as these rivers,
when they are in the sea, they do not know, ‘I am this river or that river’
–
“In the same manner, my son, all these creatures, when they come back from
pure Being, do not know that they have come back from pure Being.
- “Whatsoever they are in this world – a tiger or a lion, a wolf or a bear, a
worm or a fly, a gnat or a mosquito – which they become again and again.
“That
which is the subtle essence – the whole of this world has that for its soul. That is
the Reality. That is the Self. And thou art That, O Svetaketu.”
“Please, Sir, instruct me further.”
“Be it so, my son”, he said.
- “If someone were to strike at the root of this mighty tree it would bleed but still
live; if someone were to strike at the middle it would bleed but still live; if someone
were to strike at the top, it would bleed but still live. Pervaded by its living self the
tree stands firm, drinking its nourishment and rejoicing.
- “But if its living self leaves (deserts) one of its branches, that branch withers;
if it leaves a second branch that branch withers, if it leaves a third, that branch
withers. If it leaves the whole, the whole tree withers.
- “Even so, indeed, my son, understand this”, he said. “This body dies
indeed, when the living self leaves it. But the living self does not die.
“That
which is the subtle essence – the whole of this world has that for its soul. That is
the Reality. That is the Self. Thou art That, O Svetaketu.”
“Please, Sir, instruct me still further.”
“So be it, my son”, he said.
- “ Fetch me the fruit of that Nyagrodha tree.”
“Here it is, Sir.”
“Break it.”
“It is broken, Sir.”
“What do you see there?”
“These extremely fine seeds, Sir.”
“Break one of them.”
“It is broken, Sir.”
“What do you see there?”
“Nothing at all, Sir.”
- Then he said to him: “My son, that subtle essence which you do not perceive there
– it is by that very essence that this great Nyagrodha tree stands. Believe it, my
son. That which is the subtle essence – the whole of this world has that for its
soul. That is the Reality. That is the Self. And thou art That, O Svetaketu.”
“Please,
Sir, instruct me still further.”
“So be it, my son”, he said.
- “Put this salt in water and come to me in the morning.”
He did so, and then
the father said to him: “Please take out the salt that you placed in the water last
night.”
Having looked for it he did not find it.
- “Though it is dissolved, please taste the water from this end”, said the
father. “How is it?”
“It is salty.”
“Taste it from the middle. How is it?”
“It is salty.”
“Taste it from the other end. How is it?”
“It is salty.”
“Throw it away and come to me.”
He did so and said it was the same everywhere.
Then he said to him: “Here also, my son, though you do not perceive pure Being, it
is always there.
“That which is the subtle essence – the whole of this world has that for its
soul. That is the Reality. That is the Self. Thou art That, O Svetaketu.”
“Please instruct me still further, Sir.”
“So be it, my son”, he said.
- “As one might lead a person away from the Gandharas, with his eyes bandaged, and
abandon him in a place where there are no human beings –
“And as that person
would shout towards the east or the north or the south or the west; ‘I have been led
here with my eyes bandaged’ –
- “And as therefore if someone might release his bandage and say to him: ‘In
that direction are the Gandharas, go in that direction’ –
“And as,
therefore, having been informed and being able to judge for himself, he would by asking
his way from village to village arrive at last at Gandhara.
“In exactly the same manner does a man who has found a teacher acquire true
knowledge. For him there is only delay as long as he is not released from his body. Then
he will attain perfection.
“That which is the subtle essence – the whole of this world has that for its
soul. That is the Reality. That is the Self. And thou art That, O Svetaketu.”
“Please, Sir, instruct me still further.”
“So be it, my son,” he said.
- “Around a sick man, my son, his relatives gather and ask: “Do you know me? Do
you know me?”
“So long as his voice is not merged in his mind, his mind in
his breath and his breath in the warmth (of his body), and the warmth in the Highest
Being, he knows them.
- “But when his speech is merged in his mind, his mind in his breath, his breath in
the warmth (of his body) and the warmth in the Highest Being then he does not know them.
“That
which is the subtle essence – the whole of this world has that as its soul. That is
the Reality. That is the Self. And thou art That, O Svetaketu.”
“Please, Sir, instruct me still further.”
“So be it, my son,” he said.
- “They bring a man whom they have seized by the hand, saying, ‘He has stolen,
he has committed a theft. Heat the hatchet for him.’
“If he has really done
it, then he makes himself a liar, and being given to untruth and covering himself with a
lie, he takes hold of the heated hatchet – he is burnt and he is killed.
- “But if he had not done the deed, he makes himself a true man, and, being given to
truth, and covering himself with truth, he takes hold of the heated hatchet – he is
not burnt and he is set free.
“And as he is not burnt – the whole of this
world has that for its soul. That is the Reality. That is the Self. And thou art That, O
Svetaketu.”
Then he understood it from him, yea, he understood it.
I. vii. 23-26
- Narada approached Sanatkumara and said: “Sir, teach me.”
“Come and
tell me what you know,” he replied, “and then I will teach you what is beyond
that.”
- “Sir, I know the Rig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda and Atharvan the fourth;
and also the Itihasa-Purana as the fifth. I know the Veda of the Vedas (viz., grammar),
the rules for the propitiation of the Pitris (ancestors), the science of numbers, the
science of portents, the science of time, the science of logic, ethics and politics, the
science of the gods, the science of scriptural studies, the science of the elemental
science, the science of weapons, the science of the stars, the science of snake-charming
and the fine arts – all these, Sir, I know,”
- “But, Sir, with all these I am only a knower of words, not a knower of the Self. I
have heard from holy men like you that he who knows the Self crosses over sorrow. I am in
sorrow. Do, Sir, help me to cross over to the other side of sorrow.”
- To him he then said: “Verily, whatever you have learned here is only a name.
“That
which is Infinite – that, indeed, is happiness. There is no happiness in anything
that is finite. The Infinite alone is happiness. But this Infinite one must desire to
understand.”
“Sir, I desire to understand.”
“Where one sees nothing else, hears nothing else, understands nothing else –
that is the Infinite. But that in which one sees something else, hears something else,
understands something else, is the finite. That which is Infinite, is alone immortal, and
that which is finite is mortal.”
“Sir, in what is that Infinite established?” (in what does the Infinite
rest?)
“In its own greatness or not even in its own greatness.”
- “Here on earth people call cows and horses, elephants and gold, slaves and wives,
fields and houses greatness. It is not thus that I speak,” he said, “for in that
case one thing rests in another.
- “The Infinite, indeed, is below. It is above. It is behind. It is in front. It is
to the south, it is to the north. It is indeed all this.”
Next follows the
explanation of the Infinite as the Self or the ‘I’
“(Atman). Atman alone is below. Atman is above. Atman is behind. Atman is in
front. Atman is to the south. Atman is to the north. Atman alone is all this.
- “Verily, he who sees this, who thinks this, who understands this – he loves
the Self, he delights in the Self, he merges in the Self, he rejoices in the Self- he
becomes a Self-ruler, he has unlimited freedom in all the worlds. But those who think
differently from this have others for their rulers. They live in perishable worlds and
have no freedom in all the worlds.
- “Verily, for him alone, who sees thus, reflects thus and understands thus, Prana
(life) springs from Atman (Self), aspiration from Atman, memory from Atman, space from
Atman, water from Atman, appearance and disappearance from Atman, food from Atman,
strength from Atman, understanding from Atman, contemplation from Atman, intelligence from
Atman, will from Atman, mind from Atman, speech from Atman, name from Atman, hymns from
Atman, rites from Atman. All this springs from Atman alone.”
- “On this there is the following verse:
‘He who sees this does not see
death, nor illness nor sorrow. He who sees this sees everything and obtains everything
everywhere.
‘He is one (before creation); he becomes three; he becomes five; he becomes seven;
he becomes nine. Then again he is said to be eleven, also a hundred and eleven and also a
thousand and twenty.
‘When nourishment is pure, reflection and higher understanding are pure, memory
becomes strong. When memory becomes strong, there is release from all the knots of the
heart.’
“Thus did the revered Sanatkumara show to Narada, after his impurities had been
removed, the further shore of darkness. People call Sanatkumar as Skanda, yea, they call
him Skanda.”
II. viii. 1-3
- Now, in this city of Brahman, there is a mansion (abode) in the shape of a small lotus
flower; and within it there is a little space. Now, that which exists in that little space
– one should seek that, one should desire to understand that.
- “If they should say to him, “Now, with regard to that city of Brahman and the
abode, the small lotus flower and the little space within it, what is there that should be
sought and should be understood?”
- He should reply: “As extensive as this cosmic space is that space within the heart.
Both heaven and earth are contained in it, both fire and air, both sun and moon, both
lightning and stars, and whatever there is of Him in this world and whatever is not –
all that is contained within it.”
- And if they should say to him, “If within that city of Brahman is contained all
that exists – all beings and all desires, then what is left of it when old age
overtakes it, or when it perishes?”
- Then he should reply: “It does not age with the old age of the body; it is not
killed with the killing of the body. It is the real city of Brahman. In it all desires are
contained. It is the Self, which is free from sin, free from old age, free from death and
grief, from hunger and thirst and whose desire is the real, whose will is the real. And as
here on earth people obey orders and depend on the object to which they are attached
– be it country or a piece of land –
- “And as here on earth anything acquired by exertion perishes, even so perishes what
is acquired in the next world by works of merit. Those who depart from here without having
discovered the Self and those true desires – for them there is no freedom in all the
worlds. But those who depart from here, having discovered the Self and those true desires
– for them there is freedom in all the worlds.”
- Thus he who desires the world of Pitris (ancestors) – by his mere will the Pitris
come up to him, and having obtained the world of Pitris he is happy.
- He who desires the world of food and drink – by his mere will food and drink arise
for him; and having obtained the world of food and drink he is happy.
- And he who desires the world of song and music, by his mere will, song and music come to
him; and having obtained the world of song and music he is happy.
And if he becomes
desirous of the world of women, by his mere will, women arise. Possessed of that world of
women he feels happy and exalted.
- Whatever object he is attached to, whatever thing he desires- by his mere will it comes
to him, and having obtained it he becomes happy.
- But these same are the true desires that have a covering of what is false or untrue.
Though the desires are true there is a covering that is false. Thus whosoever of
one’s people departs from here – one cannot get him back to see here.
- But those of his people, whether they are alive or dead and whatever else one desires
but does not get, all that one finds by going there (into the Atman or the Self, the space
in the heart); for here indeed are one’s true desires covered with what is false.
- As people who do not know a field walk again and again over the treasure of gold hidden
underneath and do not discover it, so do all creatures here, though they go daily into the
Brahman-world, yet do not find it, for they are carried away by the untrue.
- That Self abides in the heart, of which this is the etymological explanation. It is
called ‘Hridayam’ from ‘Hridi-ayam’ (this one is in the heart).
He
who knows this goes day by day into the heavenly world.
- Now that serene Being, rising out of this body and reaching the highest light, appears
in his own form. That is the Self, he said. That is the Immortal, the Fearless. That is
Brahman. And the name of that Brahman is the True (Satyam).
- This name consists of three syllables- Sa-ti-yam (Sat-ti-yam). Sat signifies the
immortal, ti signifies the mortal, and with yam one holds the two together. Because one
holds with it the two together it is Yama. He who knows this goes day by day into the
heavenly world.
III. viii. 4.
- The Self is a bank, a boundary that preserves these worlds. Day and night do not reach
that bank – neither old age nor death, neither grief, nor good nor evil deeds. From
it all evils turn back, for the world of Brahman is one where sin is vanquished.
- Therefore, verily, a blind man reaching that bank is no longer blind, a wounded man is
no longer wounded, a suffering man is no longer suffering. Therefore, verily, on reaching
that bank, night appears even as day, for the world of Brahman is one of eternal light.
- But only those who seek it through a life of the spirit (Brahmacharya) find this world
of Brahman. For them there is freedom of movement in all the worlds.
IV. viii. 7-12
1.
“The Self which is free from sin, free from old age, free from death, free from
grief, free from hunger and thirst, whose desire is Reality, whose will is Truth – it
is that which one has to seek, it is that which one has to know. He who has found out that
Self and understands it – he obtains all worlds and all desires.”
Thus spoke
Prajapati (lord of creatures).
2. The gods and the demons both heard this and said: “Let us seek that Self, by
seeking which one obtains all worlds and all desires.”
Then Indra from among the
gods and Virochana from among the demons went to him; and both of them, without
communicating with each other, came into the presence of Prajapati, fuel in hand.
XX. viii. 7-12
1.
“The Self which is free from sin, free from old age, free from death, free from grief, free from hunger and thirst, whose desire is Reality, whose will is Truth – it is that which one has to seek, it is that which one has to know. He who has found out that Self and understands it – he obtains all worlds and all desires.”
Thus spoke Prajapati (lord of creatures).
2.
The gods and the demons both heard this and said: “Let us seek that Self, by seeking which one obtains all worlds and all desires.” Then Indra from among the gods and Virochana from among the demons went to him; and both of them, without communicating with each other, came into the presence of Prajapati, fuel in hand.
3.
They dwelt with him as pupils for thirty-two years. Then Prajapati asked them: “For what purpose have you both dwelt here?”
They replied: “Sir, people declare this to be your speech: -
‘The Self which is free from sin, free from old age, free from death, free from grief, free from hunger and thirst, whose desire is Reality, whose will is Truth – it is that which one has to seek, it is that which one has to know. He who has found that Self, and who understands it – he obtains all worlds, all desires.’
We have been living here desiring that Self.”
4.
Then Prajapati said to them: “The person that is seen in the eye – that is the Self I spoke of, that is the Immortal, the Fearless. That is Brahman. “
“But, Sir, he who is perceived in the water and he who is perceived in a mirror – who is he?”
“It is he himself that is perceived in all these,” he replied.
5.
“Look at yourself in a pan of water, and whatever you do not understand of the Self, come and tell me.”
They looked at themselves in a pan of water.
“What do you see?” asked Prajapati.
They replied: “Sir, we see ourselves as we are – an exact picture even to the very hairs and nails.
6.
Then Prajapati said to them: “After you have adorned yourselves, put on your best clothes and tidied yourselves, look again into the pan of water.”
They now adorned themselves, put on their best clothes, tidied themselves and looked into the pan of water.
“What do you see?” asked Prajapati.
7.
They replied: “Sir, just as we both are, well-adorned, well-dressed and tidy, so are both these also, well –adorned. Well-dressed and tidy.”
“That is the Self, that is the Immortal, the Fearless. That is Brahman,” he said.
They both went away satisfied in their hearts.
8.
And Prajapati, looking after them, said: “They both are going away without having perceived and without having known the Self. Whoever of the two, be they gods or demons, will follow this doctrine shall perish.”
Then Virochana, satisfied in his heart, went to the demons and preached that doctrine to them – that the self (the body) alone is to be worshipped, that the self (the body) alone is to be served and that he who worships that self and serves that self gains both the worlds – this world and the next
9.
Therefore, even now they call man who does not give alms here, who has no faith and who offers no sacrifices, a demon, for this is the doctrine of the demons. They adorn the body of the deceased with perfume, flowers and fine clothes and ornaments and think that thereby they will win the other world.
10.
But Indra, even before he returned to the gods, saw this difficulty: “Even as this self is well adorned when the body is well adorned, well dressed when the body is well dressed, well cleaned when the body is well cleaned, it will also be blind if the body is blind, lame, crippled if the body is crippled and will perish in fact as soon as the body perishes. I see no good in this.”
11.
With fuel in hand he came again and Prajapati said to him: “O Maghavat, as you went away with Virochana, satisfied in your heart, what is your purpose in coming back?”
Indra replied: “Sir, even as this self is well adorned when the body is well adorned, well dressed when the body is well dressed, well cleaned when the body is well cleaned, it will also be blind if the body is blind, lame if the body is lame, crippled if the body is crippled and will perish in fact as soon as the body perishes. I see no good in this.
12.
“So it is indeed, O Maghavat,” said Prajapati. “However, I will explain this further to you. Live with me another thirty-two years.” He then lived with him another thirty-two years.
13.
Then Prajapati said to him: “He who moves about happy in a dream – he is the Self and he is the Immortal, the Fearless. He is Brahman.” Then Indra went away satisfied in his heart. But before he returned to the gods he saw this difficulty: “Even though the Self is not blind when the body is blind, nor lame when the body is lame, though he is not rendered defective by the defects of the body, nor slain when the body is slain, nor lamed when the body is
lamed, yet it is as if they killed him, as if they chased him, he becomes even conscious as it were of pain, and even weeps as it were. I see no good in this.”
14.
He came back again with fuel in hand. And Prajapati said to him: “O Maghavat, as you went away satisfied at heart, what is your purpose in coming back?”
He replied: “Sir, even though the Self is not blind when the body is blind, nor lame when the body is lame, though he is not rendered defective by the defects of the body, nor slain when the body is slain nor lamed when the body is lamed, yet it is as if they killed him, as if they chased him. He becomes even conscious, as it were, of pain and even weeps as it were. I see no good in this.”
“So it is indeed, O Maghavat,” said Prajapati. “However, I will explain this further to you. Live with me another thirty-two years.” He lived with him another thirty-two years.
15.
Then Prajapati said: “When a man is asleep, composed and at perfect rest and has no dreams – that is the Self, that is the Immortal, the Fearless.”
Indra went away, satisfied in his heart. But before he returned to the gods he saw this difficulty: “In truth this one does not know himself that ‘I am he’, nor does he know anything that exists. He is indeed gone to utter annihilation. I see no good in this.”
16.
He came back again with fuel in hand. And Prajapati said to him: “O Maghavat, as you went away satisfied at heart, what is your purpose in coming back?”
He replied: “Sir, in truth this one does not know himself that ‘I am he,’ nor does he know anything that exists. He is indeed gone to utter annihilation. I see no good in this.”
17.
“So it is indeed, O Maghavat,” said Prajapati. “But I will explain this further to you and there is nothing else besides this. Live with me for another five years.”
He lived with him for another five years. This made in all one hundred and one years, and so people say that Indra lived with Prajapati as his pupil for one hundred and one years.
18.
Then Prajapati said to him: “O Maghavat, this body is indeed mortal, it is always held by death. But it is the support of the Self which is immortal and bodiless. The Self, when it is in the body, is subject to pleasure and pain. So long as he is in the body he cannot be free from pleasure and pain. But when he is bodiless, then neither pleasure nor pain touches him.
19.
“Bodiless is air, and so are clouds, lightning and thunder – these are all bodiless. Now as these, when they arise from yonder space and reach the highest light, appear each in its own form – even so does that serene being, when he rises up from this body and reaches the highest light, appear in his own form. He is then the Highest Person. He moves about there, laughing, playing, rejoicing with women, chariots or relatives, never remembering the appendage of this body. Like an animal bound to a cart, so is the spirit bound to this body.
20.
“Now when the eye is turned towards space, there is the seeing person, the eye is only the instrument for seeing. He who is cognisant of ‘Let me smell this,’ he is the Self, the nose is for smelling. He who is cognisant of ‘Let me utter this,’ he is the Self, the voice is for uttering. He who is cognisant of ‘Let me hear this,’ he is the Self, the ear is for hearing. He who is cognisant of ‘Let me think this’ he is the Self, the mind is his divine eye. He (the Self) rejoices, seeing these pleasures through his divine eye, namely the mind.
21.
“The gods who are in the world of Brahma meditate on that Self. Therefore all worlds belong to them, and all desires. He who knows that Self and understands it obtains all worlds and all desires.”
Thus spoke Prajapati, yea, thus spoke Prajapati.
Gita Chapter 5
Upanishads in story and Dialogue
Stories and Episodes (13 &19, 20 21 22 23 24 25 ....)
Upanishads
(pages featuring extracts from Upanishads)
Chhandogya Upanishad
Wisdom versus Knowledge
Katha Upanishad
Preyas-Sreyas
Mandukya Upanishad
Consciousness- the three states
Mundaka Upanishad
Wisdom versus knowledge
Mundaka Upanishad
Creation
Svetasvatara Upanishad
Self-realisation
Hindu Scriptures
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