Embedded Files
108 Upanishads
(The order as given in the Muktika Upanishad)
With commentary on the first 10 Upanishads by Swami Nirmalananda Giri.
But by what means is the Kaivalya kind of Moksha got? The Mandukya Upanishad is enough; if knowledge is not got from it, then study the Ten Upanishads. Getting knowledge very soon, you will reach my abode. If certainty is not got even then, study the 32 Upanishads and stop. If desiring Moksha without the body, read the 108 Upanishads. Hear their order. (Muktika I-1-26-29).
Kaivalya: Emancipation; state of absolute independence.
Moksha: Liberation.
108 Upanishads
1. Isa*
2. Kena*
3. Katha*
4. Prasna*
5. Munda*
6. Mandukya*
7. Taittiri*
8. Aitareya*
9. Chandogya*
10. Brihadaranyaka*
11. Brahma
12. Kaivalya
13. Jabala
14. Svetasva
15. Hamsa
16. Aruni
17. Garbha
18. Narayana
19. Paramahamsa
20. Amritabindu
21. Amritanada
22. Atahrvasirah
23. Atharvasikha
24. Maitrayini
25. Kaushitakibrahmana
26. Brihajjabala
27. Nrisimhatapini
28. Kalagnirudra
29. Maitreya
30. Subala
31. Kshurika
32. Mantrika
33. Sarvasara
34. Niralamba
35. Sukarahasya
36. Vajrasuchika
37. Tejobindu
38. Nadabindu
39. Dhyanabindu
40. Brahmavidya
41. Yogatattva
42. Atmabodha
43. Naradaparivrajaka
44. Trisikhi
45. Sita
46. Yogachudamani
47. Nirvana
48. Mandalabrahmana
49. Dakshinamurti
50. Sarabha
51. Skanda
52. Tripadvibhuti-Mahanarayana
53. Advayataraka
54. Ramarahasya
55. Ramatapani
56. Vasudeva
57. Mudgala
58. Sandilya
59. Paingala
60. Bhiksu
61. Mahat
62. Sariraka
63. Yogasikha
64. Turiyatita
65. Sannyasa
66. Paramahamsaparivrajaka
67. Akshamalika
68. Avyakta
69. Ekakshara
70. Annapurna
71. Surya
72. Akshi
73. Adhyatma
74. Kundika
75. Savitri
76. Atma
77. Pasupata
78. Parabrahma
79. Avadhutaka
80. Tripuratapini
81. Devi
82. Tripura
83. Katharudra
84. Bhavana
85. Rudrahridaya
86. Yoga-kundali
87. Bhasma
88. Rudraksha
89. Ganapati
90. Darsana
91. Tarasara
92. Mahavakya
93. Panchabrahma
94. Pranagnihotra
95. Gopalatapini
96. Krishna
97. Yajnavalkya
98. Varaha
99. Satyayani
100. Hayagriva
101. Dattatreya
102. Garuda
103. Kalisamtarana
104. Jabali
105. Saubhagyalakshmi
106. Sarasvatirahasya
107. Bahvricha
108. Muktika
* = Followed by Commentary by Swami Nirmalananda Giri.
Isavasya Upanishad
Translated by Vidyavachaspati V. Panoli
Om ! That is full; this is full, (for) from the full the full (indeed) arises.
When the full is taken from the full, what remains is full indeed.
Om! Peace! Peace! Peace!
1. Om. All this should be covered by the Lord, whatsoever moves on the earth. By such a renunciation protect (thyself). Covet not the wealth of others.
2. By performing karma in this world (as enjoined by the scriptures) should one yearn to live a hundred years. Thus action does not bind thee, the doer. There is no other way than this.
3. Those worlds of Asuras (demons) are enshrouded by blinding gloom. Those who are the slayers of the Self go to them after death.
4. Unmoving, It is one, faster than the mind. The senses cannot reach It, for It proceeds ahead. Remaining static It overtakes others that run. On account of Its presence, Matarsiva (the wind) conducts the activities of beings.
5. It moves; It moves not. It is far; It is near. It is within all; It is without all.
6. He who perceives all beings in the Self alone, and the Self in all beings, does not entertain any hatred on account of that perception.
7. When a man realizes that all beings are but the Self, what delusion is there, what grief, to that perceiver of oneness?
8. That (Self) is all-pervading, radiant, bodiless, sore less, without sinews, pure, untainted by sin, the all-seer, the lord of the mind, transcendent and self-existent. That (Self) did allot in proper order to the eternal Prajapatis known as samvalsara (year) their duties.
9. Those who worship avidya (karma born of ignorance) go to pitch darkness, but to a greater darkness than this go those who are devoted to Vidya (knowledge of the Devatas).
10. Different indeed, they say, is the result (attained) by vidya and different indeed, they say, is the result (attained) by avidya. Thus have we heard from the wise who had explained it to us.
11. He who knows both vidya and avidya together, transcends mortality through avidya and reaches immortality through vidya.
12. To pitch darkness they go who worship the Unmanifested (Prakriti). To a greater darkness than this go those who are devoted to the Manifested (Hiranyagarbha).
13. Different indeed, they say, is the result (attained) by the worship of the Manifested and different indeed, they say, is the result (attained) by the worship of the Unmanifested. Thus have we heard from the wise who had explained it to us.
14. He who knows both the Unmanifested and the destructible (Hiranyagarbha) together, transcends death by the (worship of) the destructible and attains immortality by the (worship of ) the Unmanifested.
15. The face of the Truth (ie., Purusha in the solar orb) is veiled by a bright vessel. Mayst thou unveil it, O Sun, so as to be perceived by me whose dharma is truth.
16. O nourisher, pilgrim of the solitude, controller, absorber (of all rasas), offspring of Prajapati, cast away thy rays, gather them up and give up thy radiating brilliance. That form of thine, most graceful, I may behold. He, the Purusha (in the solar orb), I am.
17. Let (my) vital air (prana) now attain the immortal Air (all-pervading Self); then let this body be reduced to ashes. Om, O mind, remember – remember that which has been done, O mind, remember – remember that which has been done.
18. O Fire, O Deva, knower of all our actions or all our knowledge, lead us by the good path for enjoying the fruits of actions. Liberate us from our deceitful sins. We offer thee ever more our words of adoration.
Om! That is full; this is full, (for) from the full the full (indeed) arises.
When the full is taken from the full, what remains is full indeed.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Isavasyopanishad, as contained in the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Isha Upanishad Commentary
Commentary on the Isavasya Upanishad–by Swami Nirmalananda Giri
Seeing All Things in God
An instructive story
Just before going to India for the first time in 1962, I had the great good fortune to meet and hear Sri A.
B. Purani, the administrator of the renowned Aurobindo Ashram of Pondicherry, India. From his lips I heard the most brilliant expositions of Vedic philosophy; nothing in my subsequent experience has equaled them. In one talk he told the following story:
In ancient India there lived a most virtuous Brahmin who was considered by all to be the best authority on philosophy. One day the local king ordered him to appear before him. When he did so, the king said: "I have three questions that puzzle-even torment-me: Where is God? Why don't I see Him? And what does he do all day? If you can't answer these three questions I will have your head cut off." The Brahmin was appalled and terrified, because the answers to these questions were not just complex, they were impossible to formulate. In other words: he did not know the answers. So his execution date was set.
On the morning of that day the Brahmin's teenage son appeared and asked the king if he would release his father if he-the son-would answer the questions. The king agreed, and the son asked that a container of milk be brought to him. It was done. Then the boy asked that the milk be churned into butter. That, too, was done.
"The first two of your questions are now answered," he told the king.
The king objected that he had been given no answers, so the son asked: "Where was the butter before it was churned?"
"In the milk," replied the king.
"In what part of the milk?" asked the boy.
"In all of it."
"Just so, agreed the boy, "and in the same way God is within all things and pervades all things."
"Why don't I see Him, then," pressed the king.
"Because you do not 'churn' your mind and refine your perceptions through meditation. If you do that, you will see God. But not otherwise. Now let my father go."
"Not at all," insisted the king. "You have not told me what God does all day."
"To answer that," said the boy, "we will have to change places. You come stand here and let me sit on the throne."
The request was so audacious the king complied, and in a moment he was standing before the enthroned Brahmin boy who told him: "This is the answer. One moment you were here and I was there. Now things are reversed. God perpetually lifts up and casts down every one of us. In one life we are exalted and in another we are brought low-oftentimes in a single life this occurs, and even more than once. Our lives are completely in His hand, and He does with us as He wills."
The Brahmin was released and his son was given many honors and gifts by the king.
The Isha Upanishad opens with the answer to the question as to God's "whereabouts."
He is within all
"In the heart of all things, of whatever there is in the universe, dwells the Lord." Whatever we experience, whether through the inner or outer senses, it is a covering of the Lord (Isha). Since it conceals, it necessarily blinds, confuses, or inhibits us. It is a door closed in our face. Tragically, throughout lives without number we have not known this simple fact and have as a consequence believed that the experienced, whether objective or subjective, is the sole reality and have dissipated life after life in involvement with it to our pain and destruction. A door is never the way out: the way out is revealed when the door is moved aside-eliminated. Not knowing this, either, we have clawed, hammered, and hewn at the door-at least in those lives when we were not adulating and worshiping it or calling it "God's greatest gift to us"-to no avail. The root problem is our believing in the door's reality, thinking that it is the beginning, middle, and end. Only when it disappears will we see the truth that lies beyond "things."
We must not just get "inside" things, we must get to their heart. And how is that done? By getting into our own heart, into the core of our own being. There everything will be found. The key to the door is meditation.
Another viewing
Prabhavananda has conveyed the ultimate message of these opening words of the Isha Upanishad. The literal translation, however, gives us another view which we should consider: "All this--whatever exists in this changing universe--should be covered by the Lord." Rather than speaking of piercing to the heart of things, the literal meaning is that the Lord should be seen covering-that is, enveloping-all things. This has two meanings.
1) What I have just expressed, that we should experience-not just think intellectually-that God is encompassing all things, that we should not see things as independent or separate from God, but as existing within God. And this vision should extend to us: we, too, exist only within Him.
2) In our seeing of things, God should always be between us and them. First we should see God, and only secondarily see the "things."
The renowned Swami (Papa) Ramdas in his spiritual autobiography In Quest of God writes of his initial spiritual awakening in these words: "It was at this time that it slowly dawned upon his mind that Ram was the only Reality and all else was false All thought, all mind, all heart, all soul was concentrated on Ram, Ram covering up and absorbing everything."
In the Bhagavad Gita, considered to convey the essence of the Upanishadic wisdom, both Prabhavananda's and the literal translations are put together when Krishna tells Arjuna that the wise see God in all things and all things in God.
He IS all
If we accept the foregoing, then we will take the next step and experience that "He alone is the reality." This can be understood more than one way. We can conclude that God alone is real and everything else is unreal. The problem with that is our tendency to equate "unreal" with non-existent, and wrongly belief that everything is only an illusion, that it has no reality whatsoever. The great non-dual philosopher Shankara explained the accurate view by likening our experience of things to that of a man who sees a rope in dim light and mistakes it for a snake, his mind even supplying eyes that glitter and a mouth that hisses at him. When light is brought, he sees that there is no snake, only a rope. The snake was not real, but his impression, however mistaken, was real. The snake was not real, it was non-existent; but the impression of the snake was real and did exist. The rope was the reality and the snake was an illusion overlain on it. In the same way God is the reality and everything else is illusory like the snake. But illusion does exist. Denying it gets us nowhere; we have to deal with it by seeing through it, by dispelling it. Then we will see the reality: God. After that we can progress to the understanding that even though our interpretation may be wrong, what we perceive does have a real side to it, and that is God Himself. Hence, all things are God in their real side. The "wrong" side is in our mind alone. We can say that God is the reality of the unreal, which we need to see past. And that is the whole idea of the opening verse of the upanishad. He alone is real; He is all things.
Be at peace
"Wherefore, renouncing vain appearances, rejoice in him." All of our sorrows and troubles come from our mistaking vain appearances for reality, from our looking at them with our outer eyes instead of beholding God with the inner eye. But we are addicted to those vain appearances-we have to admit that. Yes, we are even addicted to all the pain and anxiety they bring us. That is foolish, but is it any more foolish than it is to be addicted to drugs or alcohol-or to people that harm us? We are insane on certain levels; this world is a madhouse for people of our particular lunacy. The sooner we understand this and resolve to be cured and released, the better things will be for us. For from "things" we will move on to God-perception.
For this reason the yogis, those who seek God in meditation, should be the most cheerful and optimistic of people. If we look to God we will see only perfection and rejoice in it; if we look at ourselves, others, and the world around us we will see only imperfection and be discontent. Depression comes from looking in the wrong place. It is the bitter fruit of ego-involvement, of ego-obsession. The remedy is not to have "high self-esteem" but rather to have God-esteem. And since we live in God, we will see the divine side even of ourselves and be ever hopeful. Once God spoke to a contemporary mystic and said: "I am He Who Is. You are She Who Is Not." Now to the ego that may sound hateful, but to the questing spirit it is a liberating assurance. The unreal which we call "me" need not be struggled with: it is only a ghost, a shadow. Bringing in the light of God-contact will reveal that to be the truth. Then we will be at peace and in perfect joy. What a burden is lifted from those who come to know that God alone is real and true, and that we need only look to Him. When we look within we find Him as the heart of our selves.
We must renounce unreality. As I say, we are addicted to it, so we will have to struggle to break the terrible habit of delusion, just as those addicted to the hallucinations produced by drugs have to break away from them and discard them forever. Then we will "rejoice in Him."
Desirelessness
"Covet no man's wealth." Why? Because it does not exist! It is just a bubble destined to burst leaving nothing in its place. There are no "things" to covet or possess. They are the fever dreams of illusion from which we must awaken. No one really owns anything-firstly because the thing (as we perceive it) does not exist, and the "man" does not exist either; and neither do we-as least so far as our perceptions of "them," "it," and "me" go.
God and I in space alone
And nobody else in view.
"And where are the people, O Lord!" I said.
"The earth below and the sky o'erhead
And the dead whom once I knew?"
"That was a dream," God smiled and said,
"A dream that seemed to be true,
There were no people, living or dead,
There was no earth and no sky o'erhead
There was only Myself-and you."
"Why do I feel no fear," I asked,
"Meeting you here in this way,
For I have sinned I know full well,
And there is heaven and there is hell,
And is this the judgment day?"
"Nay, those were dreams," the great God said,
"Dreams that have ceased to be.
There are no such things as fear or sin,
There is no you-you have never been-
There is nothing at all but Me."
Living a Life Worth Living
How to live
“Well may he be content to live a hundred years who acts without attachment who works his work with earnestness, but without desire, not yearning for its fruits–he, and he alone.”
It is generally felt that this verse–and other passages from scriptures and books on spiritual life–indicates that one hundred years is the normal lifespan for a human being. On the other hand, the figure of one hundred years may also symbolize the complete lifespan of a person, however brief or long, the idea here being that not one moment of our life need be a burden nor should we ever wish to shorten our life by a single breath–that life should be lived in fulfillment with peace and happiness all the way through. That this is possible has been shown well by the saints and Masters of all religions and ages. We need only know how to do it; and these words give the way.
Acting without attachment and desire
In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna draws very clearly for us the picture of a person who lives in anxiety and misery and him who lives in peace and contentment. Both may be living in exactly the same situation, for it is not external conditions that make us happy or miserable, but our reaction to them. Krishna makes it quite plain that the secret of happiness or misery lies in the absence of two things: attachment and desire. Those who live in attachment to externalities, anxious to fulfill desire, must suffer and live in frustration. On the other hand, those who live without egoic desire are perpetually at peace.
Nonattachment
Krishna not only holds out the ideal for us, He also tells us how to accomplish it.
“Perform every action with your heart fixed on the Supreme Lord. Renounce attachment to the fruits. Be even-tempered in success and failure; for it is this evenness of temper which is meant by yoga.” (2:48)
“In the calm of self-surrender you can free yourself from the bondage of virtue and vice during this very life. Devote yourself, therefore, to reaching union with Brahman. To unite the heart with Brahman and then to act: that is the secret of non-attached work.” (2:50)
“When your intellect has cleared itself of its delusions, you will become indifferent to the results of all action, present or future.” (2:52)
“The world is imprisoned in its own activity, except when actions are performed as worship of God.
Therefore you must perform every action sacramentally, and be free from all attachments to results.” (3:9)
“Whosoever works for me alone, makes me his only goal and is devoted to me, free from attachment, and without hatred toward any creature–that man, O Prince, shall enter into me.” (11:55)
‘Therefore, a man should contemplate Brahman until he has sharpened the axe of his non-attachment. With this axe, he must cut through the firmly-rooted Aswattha tree.” (15:3)
“No human being can give up action altogether, but he who gives up the fruits of action is said to be non-attached.” (18:11)
“When a man has achieved non-attachment, self-mastery and freedom from desire through renunciation, he reaches union with Brahman, who is beyond all action.” (18:49)
In other words, keeping the mind on God frees us from egoic attachment to our activities. This is an extremely high ideal and one very hard to attain; yet we must strive for it through the practice of meditation, for only the clarity of vision reached through meditation can enable us to live out such a lofty ideal.
Working with earnestness
Lest we think that negative or passive indifference is detachment, or that carelessness and shoddiness in our daily work is spiritual-mindedness–a view that prevails in much of the Orient and among many in the West–the Upanishad plainly tells us that the wise man “works his work with earnestness.” This is really a great portion of the Bhagavad Gita’s message: that we must work with skill to the best of our abilities–that is our part–while leaving the results to God–that is His part. In that way we truly are “workers together” with God in our life. Sri Ramakrishna said: “If you can weigh salt you can weigh sugar,” meaning that if a person is proficient in spiritual life he will be proficient in his outer life as well. That does not mean that all yogis need to become great successes in business or some other profession, but it does mean that they need to work with the full capabilities they possess and do absolutely the best they can–and no more; that is, they need not worry about the results. In this way they will be at peace both internally and externally.
Without desire
The real cankerworm in the garden of our life is desire, whether in the form of wanting, wishing, yearning, desiring, hoping, demanding, or craving. Whether to a little or a great degree, desire destroys our hearts and our chances for inner peace. Desire is a wasting fever which drives us onward to spiritual loss. “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” As Wordsworth wrote: “We have given our hearts away–a sordid boon!” I have spent my entire life watching people gain a little bit of the world and lose their souls. And ultimately they lost the world, too, either in the changes of earthly fortune or through the finality of death.
“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Desirelessness is not a zombie-like passivity, a kind of pious vegetating. Far from it. Krishna lauds the desireless in these words:
He knows bliss in the Atman
And wants nothing else.
Cravings torment the heart:
He renounces cravings.
I call him illumined. (2:55)
Not shaken by adversity,
Not hankering after happiness:
Free from fear, free from anger,
Free from the things of desire.
I call him a seer, and illumined. (2:56)
The bonds of his flesh are broken.
He is lucky, and does not rejoice:
He is unlucky, and does not weep
I call him illumined. (2:57)
The tortoise can draw in its legs:
The seer can draw in his senses.
I call him illumined. (2:58)
The abstinent run away from what they desire
But carry their desires with them:
When a man enters Reality,
He leaves his desires behind him. (2:59)
The desireless who have fulfilled themselves in God are the most alive, happy, and satisfied of beings. Surely they–and they alone–are “content to live a hundred years.” For them there is no talk of death being a “blessed release” (which it is not), for they are already freed in spirit.
Spiritual Suicides
“Worlds there are without suns, covered up with darkness. To these after death go the ignorant, slayers of the Self.” (“Verily, those worlds of the asuras are enveloped in blind darkness; and thereto they all repair after death who are slayers of Atman.” This is the translation of Swami Nikhilananda.)
The Upanishadic seer opens by speaking of the way of fulfilled and joyful life: seeing the Divine in all things, and living on the earth according to Divine Law. But this is not the only world in which we can find ourself as we move through a cycle of continuous birth and death–birth into one world after having died out of another, or another birth into the world where we were just living. When we speak of “birth” we usually think only of physical embodiment on this earth. But when we die in this world we are born into an astral world where we remain for some time and then die to that world and become born back into this world. Although this world remains virtually the same–despite the fact that every generation thinks it is a great advance over previous eras–we can spend time in a vast array of astral worlds, positive and negative, pleasant and unpleasant. The earth becomes a kind of stable place of return for us. Or is it?
Many births, many worlds
Although the earth accommodates a wide range of spiritual and psychological evolution, the astral worlds are more specialized. There is an astral world for every degree of consciousness. These worlds can be classified just as sentient beings are classified. That does not say much, since each person can have a different set of criteria for such classification. But the masters of wisdom have generally agreed: there are two basic kinds of people–suras and asuras, those who dwell in the light and those who live in the dark. “Divine” and “demonic” are commonly used to translate sura–or deva–and asura. A sura/deva is in the light, an asura is not. Sometimes a person dwells in the dark by choice, but most often it is a state of ignorance rather than negative volition. Because of this we need to avoid a “deva is good, asura is bad” reaction in all cases, though there are instances when this is accurate, and to repress it would be foolish–and asuric!
The sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita
Practically speaking, however–that is, looking at the result of manifesting those natures–it is just that simple. An entire chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is directed to this manner of divine (devic) and demonic (asuric) nature as it manifests in human beings. I know it is pretty lengthy, but it is so insightful and complete that it merits inclusion here. Sri Krishna speaks:
“A man who is born with tendencies toward the Divine, is fearless and pure in heart. He perseveres in that path to union with Brahman which the scriptures and his teacher have taught him. He is charitable. He can control his passions. He studies the scriptures regularly, and obeys their directions. He practices spiritual disciplines. He is straightforward, truthful, and of an even temper. He harms no one. He renounces the things of this world. He has a tranquil mind and an unmalicious tongue. He is compassionate toward all. He is not greedy. He is gentle and modest. He abstains from useless activity. He has faith in the strength of his higher nature. He can forgive and endure. He is clean in thought and act. He is free from hatred and from pride. Such qualities are his birthright.
“When a man is born with demonic tendencies, his birthright is hypocrisy, arrogance, conceit, anger, cruelty and ignorance.
“The birthright of the divine nature leads to liberation. The birthright of the demonic nature leads to greater bondage. But you need not fear, Arjuna: your birthright is divine.
“In this world there are two kinds of beings: those whose nature tends toward the Divine, and those who have the demonic tendencies. I have already described the divine nature to you in some detail. Now you shall learn more about the demonic nature.
“Men of demonic nature know neither what they ought to do, nor what they should refrain from doing. There is no truth in them, or purity, or right conduct. They maintain that the scriptures are a lie, and that the universe is not based upon a moral law, but godless, conceived in lust and created by copulation, without any other cause. Because they believe this in the darkness of their little minds, these degraded creatures do horrible deeds, attempting to destroy the world. They are enemies of mankind.
“Their lust can never be appeased. They are arrogant, and vain, and drunk with pride. They run blindly after what is evil. The ends they work for are unclean. They are sure that life has only one purpose: gratification of the senses. And so they are plagued by innumerable cares, from which death alone can release them. Anxiety binds them with a hundred chains, delivering them over to lust and wrath. They are ceaselessly busy, piling up dishonest gains to satisfy their cravings.
“‘I wanted this and today I got it. I want that: I shall get it tomorrow. All these riches are now mine: soon I shall have more. I have killed this enemy. I will kill all the rest. I am a ruler of men. I enjoy the things of this world. I am successful, strong and happy. Who is my equal? I am so wealthy and so nobly born. I will sacrifice to the gods. I will give alms. I will make merry.’ That is what they say to themselves, in the blindness of their ignorance.
“They are addicts of sensual pleasure, made restless by their many desires, and caught in the net of delusion. They fall into the filthy hell of their own evil minds. Conceited, haughty, foolishly proud, and intoxicated by their wealth, they offer sacrifice to God in name only, for outward show, without following the sacred rituals. These malignant creatures are full of egoism, vanity, lust, wrath, and consciousness of power. They loathe me, and deny my presence both in themselves and in others. They are enemies of all men and of myself; cruel, despicable and vile. I cast them back, again and again, into the wombs of degraded parents, subjecting them to the wheel of birth and death. And so they are constantly reborn, in degradation and delusion. They do not reach me, but sink down to the lowest possible condition of the soul.”
Am I an asura?
What are the basic traits that render someone an asura? The Upanishad has already given them: 1) spiritual blindness, 2) spiritual darkness, 3) spiritual ignorance, and 4) engaging in deeds that “kill” the awareness and the freedom of the eternal, immortal, divine self. The first three are what dispose us to the fourth, destructive trait. Krishna has already given us quite an exposition of the ways of the asuric personality, but it can all be summed up in their effect: the negation of consciousness of the individual spirit. Now this point that spiritual ignorance is a matter of unawareness of the individual spirit, our own atman, is particularly important because many asuras think to hide their status under an externalized cloak of religiosity, of supposed belief in and dedication to God. But this is all nonsense. Saint John the Apostle comments that no one can legitimately claim to love God Whom they have not seen if they have no love for their fellow human beings whom they have seen. In the same way, it is absurd to pretend that we know or are aware of the infinite Spirit when we are not aware of the finite spirit–our own self–which is right within us. This is why Buddha simply refused to speak about God or gods, and insisted that each one must seek for nirvana alone, rejecting all other matters as harmful distractions.
Another Upanishad states that if we learn about water from a single cup of water we can then know about oceans of water. In the same way, if we come to truly comprehend our nature as spirit we will be able to know God the Infinite Spirit. Thus self-knowledge–knowledge of our spirit–is essential.
Shankara says that until we know the self we are all asuras in the absolute sense, but if we are seeking to know the self I expect the distinction is not so drastic.
An asura, then, is one whose life and thought obscure and darken the inner consciousness so the true self remains unknown and buried–often even unsuspected as to its existence. It has nothing to do with what philosophers and theologians say about it; the matter is thoroughly pragmatic. Do we or don’t we, are we or aren’t we? Verbal claims mean nothing here. State of being alone matters.
The worlds of the asuras
Because it is their will, asuras are born over and over in worlds “enveloped in blind darkness” at the time of their death, earthly or astral. Naturally our thoughts go to the ideas of “hell” so beloved to all religionists, east and west, whether it is the absurdly simplistic fire pit of Christianity or the horrifically complex and lurid hell(s) of Hinduism, Taoism, or Buddhism. But what is this world in which we presently find ourselves–a world ravaged with hatred, violence, disease, cruelty, and aggressive ignorance and greed? The fact that there is also kindness, love, mercy, and toleration in the world makes it even more crazy: schizophrenic and schizophrenogenic (making us crazy). No wonder The Onion, a satirical magazine, ran an article entitled: “God Diagnosed With Bipolar Disorder.” It might seem blasphemous, but it is the preposterous religion prevailing in the West that is blasphemous, and the satire is just pointing it out.
Someone once asked Paramhansa Yogananda if he believed in hell. Paramhansaji smiled and asked: “Where do you think you are?” A very good question, indeed.
We write our own ticket by the way we think and act. No amount of rationalization or assurance from others will change this fact. If we seek darkness we will find darkness; if we seek the light we will find the light. Nothing more; nothing less.
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
Just be aware of the consequences.
The Undivided Unmoving Self
The teachings of the upanishads are the supreme expressions of the eternal wisdom, the eternal vision of the Vedic Seers. Consequently, though simple in their mode of expression, they can be extremely hard to grasp. The rishis lived in a state of consciousness almost opposite to that of most of us. But it is possible of attainment, and so the wise cultivate it. Yet we need guidance along the way, and need to carefully look into the upanishadic dicta for that guidance. There are many things that we need not know, but the truths embodied in the upanishads and their inspired summary, the Bhagavad Gita, must be known by all who would ascend to higher life. So they merit our intent consideration.
The four levels of understanding
During the last week of his earthly life, Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover season. At one point, while speaking to the crowd, he prayed: “Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.” And of course a third contingency heard nothing. This is how it is in this world of unreality when Reality impinges on it. According to the level of development, so the encountering individual reacts to the impingement.
In Indian philosophy there are a lot of numerical divisions, but one of the most prevalent is that of Four. To list some: there are four ages (yugas) of human history, there are four modes of consciousness (waking, dreaming, dreamless sleep and turiya–consciousness itself), there are four stages of dharmic life (student, family, semi-solitary, and monastic), and of course there are four castes (shudra, vaishya, kshatriya and brahmin). All of these relate to the evolutionary development of the individual (as Krishna says: guna and karma) and are fundamentally a matter of internal disposition and capacity. These four levels (is it an accident there are four Gospels?) are depicted in this event. Some people heard what was spoken and knew it was the voice of God; some heard a voice–not the actual words– and thought it was an angel speaking; some heard an indistinct sound and thought it was thunder; and others (no doubt the majority) heard nothing at all. It is not an event that matters as much as our comprehension of it.
Yes, that is everything: comprehension. And that takes place only according to our state of inner development. Krishna spoke of this in the beginning of his instruction to Arjuna at Kurukshetra, saying: “There are some who have actually looked upon the Atman, and understood It, in all Its wonder. Others can only speak of It as wonderful beyond their understanding. Others know of Its wonder by hearsay. And there are others who are told about It and do not understand a word.” Here again are the four levels of comprehension. We pass from one to another in ascending steps only through inner cultivation–in other words, only through meditation, but meditation supported by a entire way of life that facilitates it–in other words: dharma. For if there is neither the practice nor the support for the practice, little will result in the way of developing consciousness. And if consciousness is not developed the teachings of the great sages will be little understood by us, and perhaps greatly misunderstood or just not understood at all.
Sri Ramakrishna told about a certain group of yogis who were wont to challenge a person with the words: “What station are you dwelling in?” By “station” they meant the habitual state of the individual’s mind. The next verse of the Isha Upanishad is not easy to grasp because it speaks of a mode of being far different from our usual condition. So it will be a real test as to what “station” of consciousness we are dwelling in, as we try to decode it. Here it is:
“The Self is one. Unmoving, it moves swifter than thought. The senses do not overtake it, for always it goes before. Remaining still, it outstrips all that run. Without the Self, there is no life.”
“The Self is one”
“One” has two meanings in Eastern thought: 1) number and 2) quality. This a very important point, since many controversies have arisen philosophically simply because Western thinkers tend to limit “one” to a numerical value only. The incredibly bitter and violent controversy over the so-called “Monophysite heresy” in early Christianity in which tens of thousands of Egyptians and Syrians were killed by the armies of the Byzantine empire, took place only because the Italian-Byzantines could not grasp what the “heretics” meant by the simple word monos when applied to spiritual matters. Both meanings, number and quality, have significance for us who, like the Four Kumaras, are intent on the knowing of the self.
The principle that the self is one should set us to thinking about our own present self-concept and–perhaps even more important–the way we live out our self-concept. Many people think one thing intellectually (or at least verbally, for public consumption) and think another instinctively. For example, I knew a minister who was once challenged by a self-styled atheist who spent about an hour expounding the “truth” of atheism and the folly of theism. When he was finished the minister said: “There are two points about all that you have just said. One: it is complete nonsense. Two: you do not believe a word of it yourself.” The man threw his right hand up in the air and declaimed: “I swear to God in heaven that I do!”
Somewhere I have already mentioned that an Eastern Christian theological student once remarked to me that the worse thing that had ever happened to Western Christianity and Western philosophy in general was the invention of the “pie chart”–those round diagrams divided into “slices” that plagued us throughout school in many subjects, from mathematics to sociology. “People have come to think that they are conglomerations of pieces that make up a whole, rather than a single homogenous being,” he explained. How many times do people speak of having several “roles” in life or of wearing many “hats.” Fragmentation is a terrible plague destroying our capacity to either see or attain unity-integration of our being. We think it is all right to be multiple persons. Where this all began with us is buried in the past, but the present reality cannot be denied. Drawn out from our center of unity, we say: “I am a businessman, a spouse, a parent, a citizen…” etc., rather than: “I am a single person who functions in the area of business, marriage, parenthood, citizenship…” etc. This no small thing, and certainly not merely a philosophical nicety. This is a serious mental and spiritual disorder. Being both fragmented and dispersed in our energies and awareness, rather than operating from a central point of order, the mirror of our life is shattered into innumerable fragments that cannot convey any coherent image of our “face.” The unity that is the true image is defaced, effaced, and even erased–as far as our consciousness is concerned, even though our true nature can never be altered in any manner. Struggling and submerged in the illusion of multiplicity, the truth of our unity is far from us. For we are not just one numerically, we are absolutely one in nature. This is an eternal truth that must be regained by us. How to do so? By the only process that really unifies the consciousness: meditation.
“Unmoving, it moves swifter than thought”
How can the self move swifter than thought and yet be unmoving? This is not some koan-like platitude meant to faze our mind in relation to self-knowledge; it is simple fact. The self, the spirit, is completely outside of time and space (which are illusions, anyway), yet it can scan time and space, moving backward and forward simply because of the fact that it is one. Being one in the truest sense, the self is everywhere–since there really is no “where” at all. The self is truly Whole and therefore all-embracing. It moves swifter than thought, because a thought requires a time–however small–to arise or be expressed. The self, in contrast, exists only in the Now. The questions “Where did I come from?” “Where am I going?” “What was I in the past?” and “What shall I be in the future?” are valuable because they set us on the quest to the discovery that we do not come or go, nor do we have a past or future–only a Present. When Sri Ramana Maharshi was at the end of his physical embodiment he commented: “They say I am ‘going,’ but where shall I go?” Some years later Sri Anandamayi Ma visited Ramanashram. When the Maharshi’s disciples asked her to stay there, feeling that in her they had “refound” their guru, she simply remarked: “I neither come nor go.” This is true of us, as well.
“The senses do not overtake it, for always it goes before”
The self does not move, but it is “always before” the questing senses in the sense that it is always out of their reach. The Mandukya Upanishad, speaking of the consciousness of the self, of turiya, describes it as “not subjective experience, nor objective experience, nor experience intermediate between these two, nor is it a negative condition which is neither consciousness nor unconsciousness. It is not the knowledge of the senses, nor is it relative knowledge, nor yet inferential knowledge. Beyond the senses, beyond the understanding, beyond all expression,…it is pure unitary consciousness, wherein awareness of the world and of multiplicity is completely obliterated. It is ineffable peace. It is the supreme good. It is One without a second. It is the Self. Know it alone!” Who can say any more?
“Remaining still, it outstrips all that run”
The self is unmoving, as we have been told. Hence, any “movement” is incompatible with it and blots it from our awareness. That which moves cannot possibly perceive it, nor can any process of movement (including the labyrinthine ways of so much “yoga”) ever result in touching or seeing it. Rather, movement must cease, as Patanjali points out in the very beginning of the Yoga Sutras: Yoga is the cessation of movement in the mind-substance. In other words, when we stop “running” we will rest in our self.
“Without the Self, there is no life”
This is perhaps the hardest lesson for human beings to learn: Without the Self, there is no life. We may engage in frantic activity, running here and there and “accomplishing” tremendous things, indulging the senses to the maximum and immersing ourselves in ambitions, emotions, and “relationships,” but through it all the truth is simply this: we are dead, mere wraiths feeding desperately on a shadow life that is no life at all–not even a poor imitation. In the self alone do we find life. How hard this is to learn, and how much harder it is to follow through on, for it inevitably leads to the total renunciation of all that is not the self–in other words, to the renunciation of everything we hold dear and identify with as being ours and our “self” when they are no such thing at all. This is a bitter insight in the beginning, but as our inner eye begins to adjust to the truth of it, we find it the source of greatest joy.
Who knows the Atman
Knows that happiness
Born of pure knowledge:
The joy of sattwa.
Deep his delight
After strict self-schooling:
Sour toil at first
But at last what sweetness,
The end of sorrow.
He knows bliss in the Atman
And wants nothing else.
Cravings torment the heart:
He renounces cravings.
I call him illumined.
Not shaken by adversity,
Not hankering after happiness:
Free from fear, free from anger,
Free from the things of desire.
I call him a seer, and illumined.
The recollected mind is awake
In the knowledge of the Atman
Which is dark night to the ignorant:
The ignorant are awake in their sense-life
Which they think is daylight:
To the seer it is darkness.
This is the state of enlightenment in Brahman:
A man does not fall back from it
Into delusion.
Even at the moment of death
He is alive in that enlightenment:
Brahman and he are one.
So, with his heart serene and fearless,
Firm in the vow of renunciation,
Holding the mind from its restless roaming,
Now let him struggle to reach my oneness,
Ever-absorbed, his eyes on me always,
His prize, his purpose.
“When a man has achieved non-attachment, self-mastery and freedom from desire through renunciation, he reaches union with Brahman, who is beyond all action.”
A great deal is involved when we sincerely pray: “Lead me from death to immortality.”
The Ever-Present Self
“To the ignorant the Self appears to move–yet it moves not. From the ignorant it is far distant–yet it is near. It is within all, and it is without all.”
“The Self appears to move–yet it moves not”
We have just covered the fact that, being outside of the illusions of time and space, the self neither “moves” nor goes through any type of change whatsoever. Yet it “experiences” a multiplicity of externalities as the unmoving witness–momentarily caught up in the movie and thinking it is inside it and undergoing the changes in the scenario. Just as imagining seeing or doing something is not the same as seeing or doing it, so observing the motion picture of countless lives with their attendant joys and sorrows is not the same as actually being born, living, and dying over and over. But we are deluded into thinking so, and the upanishadic sage is endeavoring to wake us up, just as we awaken someone who is having a nightmare and calling out in pain or fear. We, however, having become accustomed (even addicted) to the nightmare, are a lot more difficult to awaken.
“It is far distant–yet it is near”
Since the self is existing in eternity, transcending any degree of relativity, it could not be “further” away from the relative realm of experience (not existence, because the relative does not actually “exist” at all except as an illusion). On the other hand, since relativity is only a concept, the self is the nearest possible because it alone is actually present!
At the end of the Syrian Jacobite Liturgy the celebrant gives a blessing beginning: “You who are far and you who are near….” The reference is not to those who are at the back of the church and those who are at the front, but to those who are far and near in their minds and hearts.
For those who are immersed in the illusion of relativity, nothing could be further away than the transcendent self. Yet, since as I have said, the self alone is ever present, it is nearer than any relative experiencing. It is, as the Kena Upanishad says, the “ear of the ear, mind of the mind, speech of speech. …also breath of the breath, and eye of the eye.”
“It is within all, and it is without all”
Nothing can exist apart from the self–even an illusion. A hallucination is a “thing” even though it is solely mental. The self is the substratum upon and within which everything subsists, the screen on which the light-and-shadow play of “life” is projected. It is itself the basis of all that is perceived. From one perspective it can be said that the self (consciousness) is inside everything. From another, since it is forever separate from all things, it can be spoken of as outside–alien to–all things. Whichever way you say it, the idea is the same: the self never touches any “thing.”
The effect of “seeing true”
“He who sees all beings in the Self, and the Self in all beings, hates none.” Here we come to the practical application of what the upanishad is telling us about the self. (This is the inestimable value of the Bhagavad Gita. Where the Upanishads express spiritual mathematics in a usually abstract manner, the Gita outlines both the upanishadic principles and what the result will be when they are followed or realized, defining spiritual realities in practical, observable terms.)
If we never lose sight of the self, then we will be able to perceive what is not the self. And since what is not the self is not even real, why would we hate it? Conversely, how could we hate or be averse to the real self? This vision is the foundation of dynamic even-mindedness.
It is also the absolute end of all delusion and negative reaction to it, for the upanishad concludes: “To the illumined soul, the Self is all. For him who sees everywhere oneness, how can there be delusion or grief?”
The All-Embracing Self
“Where one sees nothing but the One, hears nothing but the One, knows nothing but the One–there is the Infinite. Where one sees another, hears another, knows another–there is the finite. The Infinite is immortal, the finite is mortal.”
“To the illumined soul, the Self is all. For him who sees everywhere oneness, how can there be delusion or grief?
“The Self is everywhere. Bright is he, bodiless, without scar of imperfection, without bone, without flesh, pure, untouched by evil. The Seer, the Thinker, the One who is above all, the Self-Existent—he it is that has established perfect order among objects and beings from beginningless time.”
“The Self is everywhere”
Being outside of time and space the self is both everywhere and nowhere–depending on one’s point of reference. One thing is definite: the self cannot be separated from to any degree and is always present in the fullest measure. This being so, we need not seek the self, but only realize it. We are always seeing, touching, and living in the self, yet we do not recognize it, just as fish have no perception of water because of its intimate and integral connection with them. The self is even more immediate to us than is water to the fish.
The most practical application of this truth is simple: We should always we aware of the self and centered in the self. And that is done by the continual meditation and japa of Om.
“Meditate on Om as the Self.”
“The Self [atman] is of the nature of the Syllable Om. Thus the Syllable Om is the very Self. He who knows It thus enters the Self [Supreme Spirit] with his self [individual spirit].”
“Directly realize the self by meditating on Om.” “The syllable ‘Om’ is the self.”
“Earnest seekers who, incessantly and with a steady mind, repeat ‘Om’ will attain success. By repetition of the pure ‘Om’ the mind is withdrawn from sense objects and becomes one with the Self.”
“Bright is he”
In the Katha Upanishad it is said of the self: “Him the sun does not illumine, nor the moon, nor the stars, nor the lightning–nor, verily, fires kindled upon the earth. He is the one light that gives light to all. He shining, everything shines.” The self is illumined by no external light, but rather illumines all itself. We could shine the brightest of lights into the eyes of a dead man and he would see nothing. But if the self is present to enliven him, then he will. The self is known–seen–by the self, and therefore it is called swayamprakash: self-illumined. Hence only those in contact with their self can be said to possess illumination to any degree. Those who under the banner of “devotion” obsess on external practices and deities can only dwell in the “light that is darkness.” We must seek illumination in the self alone, keeping in mind that God is the Self of the self, that to seek one is to seek the other.
Sukram, the word translated “bright,” also means pure in the sense of being of such perfect clarity that no light is obscured. For it is from the core of the self that the Pure Light of God shines forth. Therefore, as just pointed out, to attain self-knowledge is to realize both the atman and the Paramatman. Only when we are centered in our self can we see God, and only when we are centered in God can we truly know our self.
In a flawless crystal, what do we see? Nothing. So also, in the self there is nothing seen, for all “things” are transcended, and pure Being alone remains in our consciousness. Wherefore the Chandogya Upanishad tells us: “Where one sees nothing but the One, hears nothing but the One, knows nothing but the One–there is the Infinite. Where one sees another, hears another, knows another–there is the finite. The Infinite is immortal, the finite is mortal.”
“Bodiless”
Obviously the self is not material, but it is necessary for us to further realize that the self never touches materiality, that in never “has” a body in the sense that it is integrated with a body and either affects it or is affected by it. This is extremely important, for religion (and a lot of “yoga”) usually leads us astray by getting us to be involved in a multitude of activities that–including intellectual study and conceptualizations–are taking place only in the various bodies (koshas) and therefore have nothing whatsoever to do with the self, and hence are usually irrelevant. It is true that we need to purify and refine the bodies so they will cease to veil or obscure the self, but we should understand that the entire process takes place outside the self and never affects the self to any degree.
It is also necessary to comprehend that the self is not really “in” the body(ies) at all, for by its very nature it cannot be encompassed or contained by anything, including the body. “They are contained in me, but I am not in them,” says Krishna. And the same is true of our own self.
To realize the self we must disengage our awareness totally from the bodies, although in the practice of meditation we use the bodies as stepping-stones to approach the self and eventually transcend them altogether. So we need not reject the bodies–simply have the correct perspective regarding them.
“Without scar of imperfection”
Imperfection can occur only in the level of relativity. Being eternally outside of relative existence it is not possible for the self to ever be “marked” for either good or bad–neither of which even exists for the self. In Yoga Sutra 1:24, Patanjali describes the Supreme Lord, saying: “Ishwara is a distinct spirit, untouched by troubles, actions and their results, and latent impressions.” The relevant idea here is that God is beyond all action and therefore incapable of either incurring karma or of being conditioned or affected in any way by action–since He never acts. Exactly the same is true of the self.
“Without bone, without flesh”
Obviously the self has no body–that has already been said–so why this statement about the self being without bone or flesh? The idea being presented is that the self has no “inner” or “outer.” It has no essence as a substratum or framework (skeleton) which can become the ground or basis of another, external entity that is an extension of mutation of itself. The self has neither parts nor appendages (upadhis). It is thoroughly homogenous and absolutely one. It cannot be “more” itself or “less” itself. There are no gradations or shadings in the self. It simply IS.
“Pure”
We have already considered the purity of the self and need only add one more point: The self is also “pure” because there is nothing intervening between the self and anything else–including God. It is absolute and direct without admixture of any kind.
“Untouched by evil”
Obviously the self is untouched by evil, for it is not touched (affected) by anything at all or at any time.
“The Seer”
The unwitnessed witness is the self. In truth there is no other witness on the individual level because the senses, mind, and intellect are mere energy constructs that have no consciousness of their own. The eye never really sees, nor does the ear hear. No more does the brain or intellect. Rather, the spirit that is consciousness witnesses their messages, therefore the upanishadic seer said: “The Self is ear of the ear, mind of the mind, speech of speech. He is also breath of the breath, and eye of the eye. Having given up the false identification of the Self with the senses and the mind, and knowing the Self to be Brahman, the wise, on departing this life, become immortal.” And of Brahman it was said: “He who knows Brahman to be the life of life, the eye of the eye, the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind–he indeed comprehends fully the cause of all causes.”
Regarding the self and the Self of the self, Krishna stated:
Watching over the ear and the eye, and presiding
There behind touch, and taste, and smell, he is also
Within the mind: he enjoys and suffers
The things of the senses.
“The Thinker”
Not being the brain, only its witness and not its possessor, the self is here called “the thinker” only as an attempt to convey the idea that it is the self that both witnesses and knows what it is witnessing. It is not just a screen on which the motion picture of life is projected, nor is it a consciousness of objects alone without cognition of their nature. An infant or an animal perceives exactly what an adult human being perceives, but has no idea what it is perceiving–or even that it perceives, in many cases. The self, on the other hand, does indeed know and comprehend what is presented to its view. And because of its proximity the will and intellect respond to the stimuli, mirroring the consciousness that is the self.
Consequently they are often mistaken for the self or wrongly supposed to have a consciousness and intelligence of their own.
“The One who is above all”
There is nothing higher than the self, nothing beyond the self. What about God? God and the self being one, even God should not be thought of as beyond or above it. Further, Brahman is not a “thing” in a hierarchal chain of being that It could possibly be said to be “above” or “below” any thing whatsoever.
This statement is extremely practical, for it is impossible to conduct a spiritual life without the correct perspective: the spirit is supreme. Not only is everything lesser that the spirit, in truth everything else is nothing in comparison. Those who do not hold this conviction really have no spiritual life in the truest sense. God First. God Alone. This is the only correct perspective.
“Devotees seek to know him by study, by sacrifice, by continence, by austerity, by detachment. To know him is to become a seer. Desiring to know him, and him alone, monks renounce the world. Realizing the glory of the Self, the sages of old craved not sons nor daughters. “What have we to do with sons and daughters,” they asked, “we who have known the Self, we who have achieved the supreme goal of existence?” No longer desiring progeny, nor wealth, nor life in other worlds, they entered upon the path of complete renunciation.”
“The Self-Existent”
The spirit never had a beginning. It always was. Again, this does not mean that the atman is separate from Brahman, or in any way independent of Brahman. Brahman being self-existent and eternal, so also is the self. It is necessary for us to realize that NOTHING conditions or really affects the self–that it is absolutely independent of all objects, places, or conditions. Otherwise we fall into the labyrinth of confusion and false identities
“He it is that has established perfect order among objects and beings from beginningless time”
Once again, the unity-identity of the individual self and the Supreme Self cause the upanishadic rishi to make a statement that applies to both, although we are used to thinking only in terms of the Absolute Self. Really, hardly any of us–being conditioned by Western religion–actually believe that there is “perfect order among objects and beings from beginningless time” or at the present moment. This reminds me of an incident in the life of Sri Ma Anandamayi. One of those ever-present I Am Going To Make The World A Better Place types once remarked to her that he wanted to attain realization so he could work to make the world a perfect entity. Mother instantly replied: “Who do you think that it is not perfect right now?” And of course it is. It is a mess because we are entities that at the moment need to work our way through a mess! When we come to the point where order is what we need, we will be transferred to an orderly world. This one will remain as it is for those students of life who also need to find themselves in the midst of a mess. The world is a mirror of our mind. We may like to be Pharisees who think we are not as those around us–but we are. Everything we see in this world is in our mind to some degree, otherwise we would not be here. If we do not like what we see, then we should change ourselves. There is no other remedy, and there certainly is no escape from the necessity for change.
So it is we ourselves that have brought us into this world and provided for ourselves everything we need to evolve through reacting to and solving the problems set before us. A person who whines and pities himself does not learn and therefore is continually faced with the same situations. Have you ever known the kind of person that perpetually complains about being “let down” by others, or those that have a list of people or situations that “hurt” or cheated them? They are simply slow learners that deserve no pity, for they are doing it all to themselves. Every day Theravada Buddhists monks recite verses of wisdom, some of which say: “I have nothing but my actions; I shall never have anything but my actions.” There it is. Being lazy, cowardly, and egotistical, we hate these truths. But they are the truth and until we face them we will keep on whirling and whining, blaming God, the universe, and everybody else but the real culprit: ourselves. (Note I say “ourselves,” not “our selves.”) Cosmic Destiny is determined by each one of us. God simply has nothing to do with it except for providing us the environment in which we can work out our will. We can see from this that a lot of petitionary prayer and “surrender to the divine will” is idiotic and gets us nowhere. The day we start taking full–and exclusive–responsibility for our past, present, and future is the day we will begin moving toward real perfection.
Perspective on Life
The Full (Purna) picture
“To darkness are they doomed who devote themselves only to life in the world, and to a greater darkness they who devote themselves only to meditation. Life in the world alone leads to one result, meditation alone leads to another. So have we heard from the wise. They who devote themselves both to life in the world and to meditation, by life in the world overcome death, and by meditation achieve immortality.”
Wise teachers have pointed out that even though non-duality is the actual state of things, in our present condition of being netted in Maya we need to know that all is one but live as though duality is also real. The world may not be ultimately real, but we need to work through the puzzles presented to us by relative experience.
Two serious errors can be committed by the thoughtful aspirant: 1) the conclusion that since “none of it is real” nothing really matters and there is no need for spiritual endeavor; and 2) the conclusion that since only the spiritual is real we should ignore the external and the material aspects of life and put all our attention on the inner spiritual side of life. But right there the error is uncovered, for the spiritual is only a “side” of life–as is the material–and together they make the two-sided whole. Or we can look at it in an even better and truer way: the material is the spiritual and therefore demands and deserves our full attention as well as the obviously spiritual aspects of life. This is the meaning of the Vedic verse beginning purnamadah purnamidam:
That is the Full, this is the Full.
The Full has come out of the Full.
If we take the Full from the Full
It is the Full that yet remains.
The two are really–and always–the One. To reject or turn from one is to reject and turn from the All. It cannot be without meaning that the bases of Sanatana Dharma–the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Brahma Sutras–were written by sages who lived fully in the world with families and their attendant responsibilities, including that of making a livelihood. Of course it was the Satya Yuga then, and earthly life was very different from life in our present age. Nevertheless, those who like to excuse themselves from striving for self-realization by citing their involvement in “the world” and worldly responsibilities should consider the historical facts. (And anyway, where exactly do they think the monastics are living?)
From darkness to greater darkness
“To darkness are they doomed who devote themselves only to life in the world, and to a greater darkness they who devote themselves only to meditation.”
The Purna, the Full (it also means the Complete) is one, yet it is dual. This makes no sense, but considering the limitation of our intellects that should be no surprise. It is our intuition that must come into function when we begin dealing with these higher spheres of reality. We, too, are dual, being image-replicas of the Divine Archetype. Just as God is both relative and absolute, both immanent and transcendent, so are we on a miniature scale. We, too, then, must learn to function fully in both spheres, for since they are essentially one, if we do not so function we will be partial, incomplete, and therefore faulty rather than perfect–which originally meant to be complete rather than without fault. (“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”)
One of the fundamental errors of dualistic religion–Christianity in particular–is its setting of the material against the spiritual and thereby insisting that the material must be rejected and the spiritual alone embraced. This produces deep spiritual psychosis, for it is simply impossible to do and also involves a rejection of an eternal part of ourselves (and God). Sanatana Dharma in contrast makes it clear that the two are really one and must both be cultivated–according to the principles of dharma, of course–for us to attain the consciousness of perfect unity in ourselves and in God.
Those who “devote themselves only to life in the world” become sunk in the limitations of materiality and addicted to its vagaries. Egoism and intense selfishness and exploitation of both the world and those living in it with us can be the sole result of such a limited focus. Having only a perspective of mortality, the higher nature of the individual is suppressed to give free rein to the “dog-eat-dog, every-man-for-himself” attitude that must arise from preoccupation with external existence. Having no idea of the true nature of either the world, ourselves, or our fellow human beings, only chaos and destruction can come to us.
On the other hand, those “who devote themselves only to meditation” or abstract philosophizing to the exclusion of material considerations and practical living, come to a worse result: complete psychological disintegration (literally) and alienation from any form of reality. Hypocrisy also results, because to even eat and drink is to admit the necessity of physicality, and that food must come from somewhere, so dependence on “the ignorant and astray” becomes necessary. It reminds me of a cartoon I saw years ago in an emigre Russian newspaper just after the United States had supplied the Soviet Union with incredibly huge amounts of grain and saved their economy and the life of millions. Two old ladies were sweeping the street in Red Square. One was saying to the other: “It is good we did not kill all the Capitalists; otherwise we would have starved to death.” How can a person justify living off those whose earthly involvement they despise and condemn? The Bhagavad Gita discusses this matter thoroughly and points out the folly of the “spirituals” who pretend to have transcended worldly concerns.
We must function in both matter and spirit. Both elements must be integrated through the following of dharma to complete the picture and solve the evolutionary puzzle. The material must be spiritualized and the spiritual must be materialized in the sense of making both practical and beneficial to one another. In this endeavor the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita are indispensable, for: “Life in the world alone leads to one result, meditation alone leads to another. So have we heard from the wise.”
From death to immortality
“They who devote themselves both to life in the world and to meditation, by life in the world overcome death, and by meditation achieve immortality.”
Life is not just some maze to be somehow gotten through, or a Monopoly board with random advances and regressions–and there is certainly no Get Out of Jail Free! Rather, life demands the fullest exercise of the two faculties that mark human beings out from the rest of earthly life-forms: developed reason and intuition. Intelligence of the highest order is necessary. This does not mean that the aspirant needs to be an “intellectual,” but he must be intelligent. Stupid people simply do not make it–mostly because stupid people never seek it. Nor can the seeker’s intelligence be kept on the shelf for only occasional use and amusement. At all times the yogi must be keenly aware of what is going on in his life sphere and ever seeking to understand and work out the mystery. As already said, he needs highly developed intuition as well. Both these are only produced by meditation. This is because both intelligence and intuition (direct knowledge) are divine attributes. In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna declares himself to be intelligence (7:10; 10:34) and the knowledge of the mystic (9:12). In the Katha Upanishad Brahman is said to be the “intelligence of the intelligent,” and in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad the sage Gargya says: “The being who dwells in the heart as intelligence–him I meditate upon as Brahman.” I am not speaking of cunning or cleverness or “savvy;” many stupid–and most evil–people possess them. I am speaking of the intelligence which only arises in those who are of highly evolved consciousness.
It is those who possess right intelligence and right intuition that can live both the inner and outer lives simultaneously–not first one and then the other in alternating cycles–in a spiritually productive (i.e., evolutionary) manner. By doing so they will accomplish two things. One: they will come to understand the real meaning and purpose of all they experience and do and thereby learn the lessons for which they came into relative existence. Two: they will come to experience (not just intellectually think) that the two are really one, manifestations of the One. Having seen the One in all, they have attained immortality even in this mortal life.
A final point. Notice that the upanishadic sage speak of being devoted to the outer and inner lives. This means steadiness and regularity in practice as well as adamant adherence to the required disciplines such as yama and niyama. But most important it means wanting, even loving, to lead the outer and inner lives according to the precepts of dharma. There is no place here for grudging admittance of necessity, of stingy eking out of the barest minimum that is required, grumbling and resenting and wishing it need not be so. Such persons should not even try. They are not just losers, they are losses.
See the perspective of a Christ! Crucifixion was the most horrible of deaths, yet according to Saint Paul: “Jesus… for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame.” What a different perspective from the morbid and sentimental carryings-on over the passion of Jesus that Christians engage in. Loving the world and the body that links them to the world, nothing seems to them more painful or tragic than the torture and death of that idol. But Jesus hastened to the mockery, the scourging, and the crucifixion for the joy that was set before him. Not wonder he has been misunderstood and rejected through the ages by those who bear his name.
Reinforcing the idea
“To darkness are they doomed who worship only the body, and to greater darkness they who worship only the spirit. Worship of the body alone leads to one result, worship of the spirit leads to another. So have we heard from the wise. They who worship both the body and the spirit, by the body overcome death, and by the spirit achieve immortality.”
The basic idea of these verses has already been covered, but we should notice the use of the word “worship.” We are used to thinking of worship only in relation to God, but it comes from an older form, worthship, which meant to acknowledge the value and significance of something. Therefore Swami Prabhavananda was wise in selecting this word for his translation.
The lesson here is the need to value both body and spirit. I know that Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other,” but we are striving to be not men but gods, so we are going to have to manage it. And anyhow, we are not interesting in serving the body or the spirit but in mastering them.
The body is the instrument of evolution, so to despise and neglect it under the guise of spirituality is foolish. Any machine that malfunctions should be repaired, not despised and tossed away, the body included. Also, hidden within the body are many doorways to higher consciousness. Therefore the body must be worked on to become the evolutionary device it is intended to be. The first step is purification, and that includes two major factors: celibacy and vegetarian diet. There is no getting around it. Just take a look at those who are not purifying themselves in these two ways and you will have proof enough. All the rationalizing and mind-gaming in the world cannot contravene the truth: brahmacharya (continence) and ahimsa (non-killing), are absolute essentials for those who seek higher consciousness. Let us take a look at what the Chandogya Upanishad tells us about food.
“Food when eaten becomes threefold. What is coarsest in it becomes faeces, what is medium becomes flesh and what is subtlest becomes mind. Water when drunk becomes threefold. What is coarsest in it becomes urine, what is medium becomes blood and what is subtlest becomes prana. The mind, my dear, consists of food, the prana of water.”
“That, my dear, which is the subtlest part of curds rises, when they are churned and becomes butter. In the same manner, my dear, that which is the subtlest part of the food that is eaten rises and becomes mind. The subtlest part of the water that is drunk rises and becomes prana. Thus, my dear, the mind consists of food, the prana consists of water.”
Body and mind come from the food we eat. Thus our food must be both as pure as possible and also blessed by being offered to God. And the conduct of the body must be as pure as possible and its deeds worthy of being offered to God. Action and thought determine the quality of body and mind. Ethics and good thoughts are also essential, but purity of body and mind is the crown jewel. Through these means both body and spirit are truly worshipped and immortality is gained.
Seeing Beyond the Sun
Upanishadic tradition
The final four verses of the Isha Upanishad are recited at the cremation of bodies in India, and are a prayer for ascension to the higher realms that are beyond the compulsion of rebirth in this world. These deal mainly with the sun. Throughout history and throughout the world the sun has been worshipped or considered a symbol of divinity. The full comprehension of the spiritual nature of the sun was discovered in India untold ages ago and embodied in the upanishads.
Light beyond the light
“The face of truth is hidden by thy golden orb, O Sun. That do thou remove, in order that I who am devoted to truth may behold its glory.”
The sun illumines us and shows us what we assume to be reality. But actually that “seeing” veils the Truth (Reality) behind that veil. Therefore we seek to pierce beyond it. However, the sun actually is that Reality, and we must approach it and petition for the removal of its outer light in order that we may behold its inner Light. (More on this later.)
The golden orb
The “golden orb” has more than one meaning, all of which are significant.
1) The most obvious meaning of the golden orb is the sun itself. All plant, animal, and human life on this planet depend upon the sun. It is the subtle powers of sunlight which stimulate growth and evolution. Sunlight particularly stimulates the activity of the higher centers in the brain, especially that of the pineal gland. Even in the depths of the earth a sensitive man can tell when the sun rises and sets above him. The sun appears to illuminate us, but it is a light that covers the Light in order to lead us to the Light. We must use it to go beyond it.
2) All things have an inner and outer life, and that includes the sun. We may say that there is the outer sun of the material universe, and there is also the metaphysical sun of the psychic universe. They operate simultaneously, being the same thing. The sun truly awakens us in the deepest sense. As the germinating seed struggles upward toward the sun and out into its life-giving rays, so all higher forms of life reach out for the sun, which acts as a metaphysical magnet, drawing them upward and outward toward ever-expanding consciousness. The Chandogya Upanishad discusses it in this way: “Even as a great extending highway runs between two villages, this one and that yonder, even so the rays of the sun go to both these worlds, this one and that yonder. They start from the yonder sun and enter into the nadis. They start from the nadis and enter into the yonder sun.…When a man departs from this body, then he goes upwards by these very rays or he goes up with the thought of Om. As his mind is failing, he goes to the sun. That, verily, is the gateway of the world, an entering in for the knowers, a shutting out for the non-knowers.”
The solar rays do not just flow into this world, they also draw upward through the sun and beyond. In the human body the process of exhalation and inhalation is related to solar energy, and much of the solar power on which we subsist is drawn into the body through our breathing. The solar rays do not just strike the surface of our body, but actually penetrate into the physical nerves (nadis). The nadis are also the channels in the astral body that correspond to the physical nerves. Just as the electrical impulses flow through the physical nerves, the subtle life force, or prana, flows through the subtle nadis and keeps us alive and functioning. The prana, then, is a vehicle for the solar energies that produce evolution.
When the individual comes into manifestation on this earth he passes from the astral world into the material plane by means of the sun, which is a mass of exploding astral energies, not mere flaming gases. And when the individual has completed his course of evolution within this plane, upon the death of his body he rises upward in his subtle body and passes through the sun into the higher worlds, there to evolve even higher or to pass directly into the depths of the transcendent Brahman.
3) The golden orb is also the entire creation, the means by which through experience the individual spirits can evolve to perfect conscious union with God. Without it we would be unable to attain that union. Yet, just as we use a ladder or stair to ascend and then step beyond it, in the same way the creation is meant to be eventually transcended. We must therefore keep both these aspects in mind while living in this world.
4) The golden orb is also our own mind–that which perceives the world around us and the intelligence which comprehends what is going on and directs our lives accordingly. Potential is not enough; there must be actualization. It is our mind alone that can lead us beyond the mind, our intelligence alone that can lead us onward to intuition. At all stages the mind and intelligence are “golden,” but if we allow ourselves to become stagnated at any point they rapidly “tarnish” and turn from beneficial to harmful. Immersed in this creation, we are like the fish that must keep perpetually moving for they will die of suffocation if they come to a standstill. If we do not move forward we shall move backward–and often mistake it for progress. We must Get On and Get Beyond.
5) Our own self (atman) is also the golden orb. We must come to know our self–our true self–and delight in the self and wonder at its nature. But that is not enough. We must then pass onward to experience the Self of our self, the Paramatman. In a sense we transcend the self–but of course we do not, since the Supreme Self and our individual self are one. This transcendence must ever be kept in mind, for out of ignorance and even laziness a lot of people like the idea that we need only enter into the experience of our self and that is the end. The same wrong-headed view abrogates the need for our evolution and assumes that if we must smash the machine we will get the picture–or even worse, that there is no picture to see or even a seer to see it. However cleverly this view may be worded or how sophisticated it appears, it is nihilism of the deadliest sort, a ruinous pitfall.
6) The golden orb is also the evolutionary impulse within all things which, though life itself to the evolving spirit, yet urges us to continual transcendence of its various stages until we transcend it as well. It is a golden stair that urges us onward to the heights where it cannot come.
The Supreme Sun
The ultimate Golden Orb is the Supreme Self. That is what we are striving toward by the five means just cited. Being transcendent, how shall we reach it? By means of Its immanence within the world in the form of the sacred syllable Om, the Pranava, the Life-giver.
“That which glows [i.e., the sun] is Om,” says the ancient Aitareya-Brahmana (5.32). The life-producing energies of the sun are the energies of Om. Om is the sun of body, mind, and spirit, the Life-Giver of all. All plant, animal, and human life on this planet depends upon the sun. It is the subtle powers of sunlight which stimulate growth and evolution, awakening us in the deepest sense. Sunlight is the radiant form of Om. The sun initiates the entire solar system into Om. Human beings are solar creatures, therefore to intone Om is the most natural thing they can do.
“Now, verily, what is the udgitha is the Om. What is Om is the udgitha. And so verily, the udgitha is the yonder sun and the Om, for the sun is continually sounding ‘Om.’” The most significant part of this verse is the statement that “the sun is continually sounding ‘Om,’” indicating that the evolutionary energy of the sun is a manifestation of Om. Our life depends on the light of the sun, thus our life is also a manifestation of the power of Om. The japa and meditation of Om aligns us with the solar powers that are Om and thereby greatly increase our life force and the evolution of all the levels of our being.
“Even as a great extending highway runs between two villages, this one and that yonder, even so the rays of the sun go to both these worlds, this one and that yonder. They start from the yonder sun and enter into the nadis [astral “nerves”]. They start from the nadis and enter into the yonder sun.…When a man departs from this body, then he goes upwards by these very rays or he goes up with the thought of Om. As his mind is failing, he goes to the sun. That, verily, is the gateway of the world, an entering in for the knowers, a shutting out for the non-knowers.” We have already cited this, but there are more meanings for us to explore. The prana, the breath, is a vehicle for the solar energies that produce evolution, and so we join Om to our breathing and merge it into the pranic flow. This practice conditions our subtle levels so that at the time of death we will be oriented toward the solar powers and can ascend upon them–especially if we continue our intonations of Om even after the body has been dropped. Those intonations will guarantee our ascent into the solar world. Those who have imbued themselves with the Pranavic vibrations will enter through the solar gate, whereas those who have not done so will be shut out by it and compelled to return to earthly rebirth.
“By means of Om he [the meditating yogi] sees the way, the way along which his prana goes; therefore one should always repeat It so that he goes along the right way: through the heart-gate, the air-gate, the gate which leads upward, and the opening of the gate of liberation which is known as the open orb [the sun.]” Those who continually invoke and meditate upon Om during their lifetime will remember Om at the time of death, and by means of Om will ascend to the sun and beyond into the real Beyond.
“‘It is said: ‘Indeed the sun is this Om;’ therefore one should meditate and make himself ready to unite himself with it.” Sunlight is the radiant form of Om. The sun initiates the entire solar system into Om. Human beings are solar creatures, therefore to intone Om is the most natural things they can do.
“At the time of departure from this world, remember Om, the Lord, the Protector” says the Yajur Veda. Krishna states in the Bhagavad Gita: “At the hour of death, when a man leaves his body, he must depart with his consciousness absorbed in Me. Then he will be united with Me. Be certain of that. Whatever a man remembers at the last, when he is leaving the body, will be realized by him in the hereafter; because that will be what his mind has most constantly dwelt on, during this life. Therefore you must remember Me at all times, and do your duty. If your mind and heart are set upon Me constantly, you will come to Me. Never doubt this. Make a habit of practicing meditation, and do not let your mind be distracted. In this way you will come finally to the Lord, Who is the light-giver, the highest of the high.” Whatever we think of most during life we will think of at the time of our death, and that will determine our subsequent state. Those who continually invoke and meditate upon Om during their lifetime will remember Om at the time of death, and by means of Om will ascend to the sun and beyond into the real Beyond.
Qualified seers
Simply wanting a thing does not make it happen or come to us. In the same way, spiritual daydreaming is fruitless. Therefore, he who petitions for the removal of the golden orb describes himself as “I who am devoted to truth.” He is one who wishes to pass from the unreal to the Real, to no longer live in the magic of Maya, but to move onward to the Reality behind all appearance. And he does not just seek truth or think about it–he is devoted to truth. Only those “may behold its glory.”
Stop! so I may Go
“O nourisher, only seer, controller of all—O illumining Sun, fountain of life for all creatures–withhold thy light, gather together thy rays. May I behold through thy grace thy most blessed form. The Being that dwells therein even that Being am I.”
In Indian philosophy God is often thought of as Mother. This verse bears that out, speaking of the divine as the Nourisher of all beings, the Fountain of Life. God the Mother is frequently addressed in Sanskrit hymns as Jagata Janani, Jagata Palani–the Birthgiver and Nourisher of the world (jagat). In Eastern Christianity, one title given to the Virgin Mother Mary is “Life-giving Spring.” God is also the Seer of All, the Ruler of All, as this verse indicates.
The petitioner then makes an interesting request: “Withhold thy light, gather together thy rays.” How is this? Why does he not ask that the light should flood down upon him? Because the “light” he is speaking of is not the Absolute Light, but the light of relative existence which by its nature veils that Ultimate Light. He asks, then, that God withdraw the light of temporality in order that he might behold and enter into the Light of Eternity.
This has a yogic aspect, as well. We must withdraw all the scattered “rays” of our energies and awareness and unite them to our inmost consciousness. We must gather up that which is dispersed and fragmented and restore our original state of unity. Meditation is the only way this can be accomplished.
The vision
“May I behold through thy grace thy most blessed form.” Two questions arise (or should arise) at these words. What is the grace of God? What is the form of God?
The grace of God is not some kind of favor or “goodie” dropped into our lap by God. Nor is grace something occasionally dispensed by God as a special token to the chosen. All that exists–either relatively or absolutely–is the grace of God. There is nothing that is not the grace of God. If we like, we may say that the grace of God is the Divine Plan for our liberation. And the creation, gross and subtle, is the means for the realization of that Plan, and is itself Grace Divine. So to petition God for grace is as silly as fish in the ocean praying for water. It is inseparable from us! The grace through which we behold God is the great onward movement initiated by God at the inception of the cosmos.
The Form of God is not a form such as that experienced in relative existence, but is the Substance, the Light, from which all forms arise. It can be said to be formless, and yet all forms exist within it eternally. As Sri Ma Anandamayi frequently said: “Nothing is lost There.” The Form “of” God IS God.
When we see God we also see ourselves in God and can then declare: “The Being that dwells therein even that Being am I.”
“Then Satyakama, son of Shibi, asked him [the Rishi Pippalada]: ‘Venerable Sir, what world does he who meditates on Om until the end of his life, win by That?’ To him, he said: ‘That which is the sound Om, O Satyakama, is verily the higher and the lower Brahman. Therefore, with this support alone does the wise man reach the one or the other.’…If he meditates on the Supreme Being [Parampurusha] with the Syllable Om, he becomes one with the Light, the Sun. He is led to the world of Brahman. He sees the Person that dwells in the body, Who is higher than the highest life.…That the wise one attains, even by the mere sound Om as support, That Which is tranquil, unaging, immortal, fearless, and supreme.”
The Final Aspiration
The poet Browning wrote of “the end of life for which the first was made.” That is a lovely expression, but very few really believe it and therefore rarely think of their life’s end. Those of us who seek liberation must from the very beginning be looking toward the end we desire. In the next to the last verse at the close of the Isha Upanishad we are given the perspective we should be living with every moment of our life if we would truly “come to a good end.”
Now
“Let my life now merge in the all-pervading life. Ashes are my body’s end. OM….O mind, remember Brahman. O mind, remember thy past deeds. Remember Brahman. Remember thy past deeds.”
Emily Dickenson wrote: “While others hope to go to heaven at last, I am going all along!” This is the only way for those who would succeed in spiritual life. Nothing should be delayed for the future–it is all now or not at all. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation”
There are many partially awakened people who know that God is the only real goal. Yet they delay their endeavor. “After I get this,” they say, “then I will really dig in and seek God.” But they never do, for as soon as one little short-term goal is reached another arises that seems even more demanding. I know a woman that claimed she would intensely seek God the day after her only child graduated from high school. But then it became after his graduating from college. Then after he was married and “really settled down.” Death found her anticipating still another “after which,” but it was all over. And by her foolishness she had created in her mind the habit of postponing spiritual life, a habit that will surely carry over into the next life and perhaps into others.
How often do we think that the vision of God will somehow interfere with our life–when in reality we have no life outside that vision. Silly children, we dawdle and dally until the night falls, that “night in which no man can work” which Jesus warned us about. “Now or never” happens to be the simple truth.
Merging in Life
Many people want to “embrace life” so they can egocentrically possess it and exploit it to the full. But they have no idea what life is. Just the opposite, for what they think is life is really death. “The all-pervading life” is the only life, for that is God. And the necessity is not to find or see God as an object (again, to possess), but to merge with God in complete unity-identity. That is, our consciousness must be completely merged in the infinite Consciousness, and irrevocably so. Just as a cup of water poured into the ocean cannot be drawn back out of the ocean, so we need to attain that state of unity which can never be reversed. Many yogis paddle their feet or go for a quick dip in the ocean of Satchidananda, but the goal is to unite with that ocean, to merge in it and become totally one with it. Consequently at ever moment of our life we must be holding in mind and living out the sankalpa: “Let my life now merge in the all-pervading life.”
Those who are unfit for union with God become all anxious and even fearful when they hear about merging with the Divine. “O! will I go out of existence?” they quaver. “What will happen to me?” Over and over again they plunge headlong into the sea of rebirth, never raising such questions about relative existence, but “going for it” heedlessly. Only when confronted with God do they develop prudence and caution. Jesus has assured us, though: “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” This is because we are truly negative–that is, we are absolutely backwards one hundred and eighty degrees. Consequently what we think will annihilate us will immortalize us, whereas what we think will make us live will destroy us.
Like the great master, Yogananda, we must pray: “Let me drown in Thine ocean and live!”
Understanding the destiny of the body
It is not a simple thing to rid ourselves of the conditionings of billions of lives wherein we identified completely with the body. Even when we have evolved enough to identify more with the mind and the spirit, still the body claims the majority of our attention–and attachment. It is completely reflexive with us, overriding any emotional or intellectual factors to the contrary. Therefore we must continually affirm in word, attitude, and act: “Ashes are my body’s end.” This will only seem painful or pessimistic if we are still identifying with the body. But if not, it will be as happy a statement as an affirmation that our prison is going to evaporate into dust.
We have died many times (or thought we did), but that did not free us at all. And in many lives we were no doubt cremated. Still, that accomplished nothing. Evidently there is a deeper meaning to the “ashes” that are the body’s end. It is the fire of wisdom that turns our “bodies” into ashes. Let us then be busy stoking the fires of yoga and getting on with the burning. Sadhus wear gerua, orange-red color, to remind them of the fire of discrimination and spirit-knowledge that must be perpetually burning in order to reduce all that impels us into embodiment to the ashes of freedom.
Flying from fear,
From lust and anger,
He hides in me
His refuge, his safety:
Burnt clean in the blaze of my being,
In me many find home.
The blazing fire turns wood to ashes:
The fire of knowledge turns all karmas to ashes.
When the “bridges” of all bodies, subtle and gross, have been burned in the holy fires, then we will pass on into the kingdom of Infinity that is our eternal birthright.
Remember!
How to kindle the ignorance-consuming fire? The upanishadic sage continues: “O mind, remember Brahman. O mind, remember thy past deeds. Remember Brahman. Remember thy past deeds.”
“Remember Brahman” is extremely easy to say, but how is it done? The Upanishads do not waste our time, but go straight to the mark, saying:
“I will tell you briefly of that Goal which all the Vedas with one voice propound, which all the austerities speak of, and wishing for Which people practice discipline: It is Om.”
“Om is the Supreme Brahman.”
“God is the Syllable Om.”
“Om is Brahman, the Primeval Being.”
“That [Om] is the quintessence of the essences, the Supreme, the highest.”
“Om is Brahman.”
After the battle of Kurukshetra, before which he had spoken the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna again spoke to Arjuna at length. In that conversation he told him: “The gods, rishis, and the nagas, and the asuras, approaching Prajapati [the Creator], said to Him: ‘Tell us the highest good.’ To them who were inquiring about the highest good, the Venerable One said, ‘Om, which is Brahman in a single Syllable.’”
“The monosyllable Om is the highest Brahman,” said the sage Manu, and Patanjali summed it all up by simply saying: “Its repetition and meditation is the way.”
To remember Brahman we engage in the japa and meditation of Om–simple and direct. “One should meditate on this Syllable [Om].”
“This [Om] is the best means [of attainment and realization]; this means is the Higher and Lesser Brahman. Meditating on Om, one becomes worthy of worship in the world of Brahman.”
“The Self [atman] is of the nature of the Syllable Om. Thus the Syllable Om is the very Self. He who knows It thus enters the Self [Supreme Spirit] with his self [individual spirit].”
“Taking as the bow the great weapon of the Upanishads [Om], one should place in It the arrow sharpened by meditation. Drawing It with a mind engaged in the contemplation of That [Brahman], O beloved, know that Imperishable Brahman as the target. The Syllable Om is the bow: one’s self, indeed, is the arrow. Brahman is spoken of as the target of that. It is to be hit without making a mistake. Thus one becomes united with it [Brahman] as the arrow becomes one with the target. He in Whom the sky, the earth, and the interspace are woven, as also the mind along with all the pranas, know Him alone as the one Self. Dismiss other utterances. This [Om] is the bridge to immortality. Meditate on Om as the Self. May you be successful in crossing over to the farther shore of darkness.”
“Then Satyakama, son of Shibi, asked him [the Rishi Pippalada]: ‘Venerable Sir, what world does he who meditates on Om until the end of his life, win by That?’ To him, he said: ‘If he meditates on the Supreme Being [Parampurusha] with the Syllable Om, he becomes one with the Light, the Sun. He is led to the world of Brahman. He sees the Person that dwells in the body, Who is higher than the highest life.…That the wise one attains, even by the mere sound Om as support, That Which is tranquil, unaging, immortal, fearless, and supreme.”
“The knower of the real nature of Brahman that is identical with the Pranava, should cross all the formidable streams [of samsara] with the ferryboat of the Pranava.”
“He who utters Om with the intention ‘I shall attain Brahman’ does verily attain Brahman.”
Alternating remembrance
The thorough practicality and good sense of dharma is one of its most striking features: it works. And it works very well. So it is meaningful that the upanishad tells us to remember Brahman, then remember our own past deeds, then remember Brahman, and then remember our own past deeds in a kind of alternating current. This is to keep us from falling into two serious errors: 1) being so focused on the “spiritual” that we do not pay attention to what is really going on with us, and 2) becoming so obsessed with ourselves that we utterly leave God out of the picture. Patanjali lists swadhyaya–introspective self-study–as an essential ingredient of yoga practice. Yet this self-study must be done in the greater context of divine consciousness: “In thy light shall we see light.” Only in the divine light can we see things as they really are.
So we should meditate on Brahman through Om, and outside of meditation we should look at our past, comparing our past deeds and our past states of mind with our present deeds and mental condition. This will reveal to us whether we are truly progressing or not. I knew a woman who sincerely believed that God was appearing to her in meditation and talking to her so sweetly, making her feel so holy and pure. Then she would come out of meditation and be unspeakably cruel to her daughter, both physically and mentally. In meditation she was an angel, but outside of meditation she was a devil. Wrong meditation gives us a wrong image of ourselves, but right meditation shows us the truth about both God and ourselves.
Of course we have to have a correct memory of our past. Many people are so blinded to the truth about themselves that when they learn to meditate they start saying: “My mind used to be calm, but it has gotten so restless,” or: “I used to be a nice person, but now I am just a wreck and falling apart.” The reality is that their mind was always restless, but not being introspective they did not realize it. They were also a complete ruin, mentally and spiritually, but they had no eyes with which to see it. Now they do, and they foolishly blame meditation. On the other hand, people who are practicing a wrong form of meditation (or a right form wrongly) do become increasingly restless and increasingly negative. I know of several kinds of meditation that really do bring about the mental and spiritual disintegration of those who practice them, and often the physical degeneration, as well. But those who meditate according to the teachings of the upanishads will have no problem.
End of Isha Commentary:
Kena Upanishad
Translated by Vidyavachaspati V. Panoli
Om ! May my limbs, speech, vital air, eyes, ears, strength,
And all the senses be fully developed.
All that is revealed by the Upanishads is Brahman.
May I never deny Brahman:
May Brahman never disown me.
Let there be no repudiation (from Brahman);
Let there be no infidelity from my side.
May all the Dharmas extolled by the Upanishads shine in me
Who am intent on knowing the Self.
May they shine in me !
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
I-1. Wished by whom is the mind directed to fall (on its objects)? Directed by whom does the foremost vital air move? By whom is wished this speech which the people utter? Who is the radiant being that unites the eye and the ear (with their objects)?
I-2. Because He is the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, the speech of speech, the vital air of the vital air, and the eye of the eye, the wise, freeing themselves (from the identity with the senses) and renouncing the world, become immortal.
I-3. The eye does not reach there, nor speech, nor mind, nor do we know (Its mature). Therefore we don’t know how to impart instruction (about It). Distinct indeed is That from the known and distinct from the unknown. Thus have we heard from the ancients who expounded It to us.
I-4. That which is not uttered by speech, that by which the word is expressed, know That alone to be Brahman, and not this (non-Brahman) which is being worshiped.
I-5. That which one does not think with the mind, that by which, they say, the mind is thought, know That alone to be Brahman, and not this (non-Brahman) which is being worshiped.
I-6. That which man does not see with the eye, that by which man sees the activities of the eye, know That alone to be Brahman, and not this (non-Brahman) which is being worshiped.
I-7. That which man does not hear with the ear, that by which man hears the ear’s hearing, know That alone to be Brahman, and not this (non-Brahman) which is being worshiped.
I-8. That which man does not smell with the organ of smell, that by which the organ of smell is attracted towards its objects, know That alone to be Brahman, and not this (non-Brahman) which is being worshiped.
II-1. If you think, ‘I know Brahman rightly’, you have known but little of Brahman’s (true) nature. What you know of His form and what form you know among the gods (too is but little). Therefore Brahman is still to be inquired into by you. I think Brahman is known to me.
II-2. I think not I know Brahman rightly, nor do I think It is unknown. I know (and I do not know also). He among us who knows that knows It (Brahman); not that It is not known nor that It is known.
II-3. It is known to him to whom It is unknown; he to whom It is known does not know It. It is unknown to those who know, and known to those who know not.
II-4. When Brahman is known as the inner Self (of cognition) in every state of consciousness, It is known in reality, because one thus attains immortality. Through one’s own Self is attained strength and through knowledge is attained immortality.
II-5. Here if one has realized, then there is accomplishment. Here if one has not realized, then there is utter ruin. Having realized Brahman in all beings, and having withdrawn from this world, the wise become immortal.
III-1. It is well-known that Brahman indeed achieved victory for the gods. But in that victory which was Brahman’s the gods reveled in joy.
III-2. They thought, “Ours alone is this victory, ours alone is this glory”. Brahman knew this their pride and appeared before them, but they knew not who this Yaksha (worshipful Being) was.
III-3. They said to Agni: “O Jataveda, know thou this as to who this Yaksha is”. (He said:) “So be it.” III-4. Agni approached It. It asked him, “Who art thou?” He replied, “I am Agni or I am Jataveda”.
III-5. (It said:) “What is the power in thee, such as thou art?” (Agni said:) “I can burn all this that is upon the earth.”
III-6. For him (It) placed there a blade of grass and said: “Burn this”. (Agni) went near it in all haste, but he could not burn it. He returned from there (and said:) “I am unable to understand who that Yaksha is”.
III-7. Then (the gods) said to Vayu: “O Vayu, know thou this as to who this Yaksha is”. (He said:) “So be it”.
III-8. Vayu approached It. It said to him, “Who art thou?” He replied, “I am Vayu or I am Matarsiva”. III-9. (It said:) “What is the power in thee, such as thou art?” (Vayu said:) “I can take hold of all this that is upon the earth”.
III-10. For him (It) placed there a blade of grass and said: “Take this up”. (Vayu) went near it in all haste, but he could not take it up. He returned from there (and said:) “I am unable to understand who that Yaksha is”.
III-11. Then (the gods) said to Indra: “O Maghava, know thou this as to who this Yaksha is”. (He said:) “So be it”. He approached It, but It disappeared from him.
III-12. In that space itself (where the Yaksha had disappeared) Indra approached an exceedingly charming woman. To that Uma decked in gold (or to the daughter of the Himalayas), he said: “Who is this Yaksha?”
IV-1. She said: “It was Brahman. In the victory that was Brahman’s you were reveling in joy”. Then alone did Indra know for certain that It was Brahman.
IV-2. Therefore, these gods viz. Agni, Vayu and Indra excelled other gods, for they touched Brahman who stood very close and indeed knew first that It was Brahman.
IV-3. Therefore is Indra more excellent than the other gods, for he touched Brahman who stood very close and indeed knew first that It was Brahman.
IV-4. Its instruction (regarding meditation) is this. It is similar to that which is like a flash of lightning or like the winkling of the eye. This is (the analogy of Brahman) in the divine aspect.
IV-5. Then (follows) the instruction through analogy on the aspect of the individual self. (It is well-known that) the mind seems to attain to It, that It is continually remembered by the mind, and that the mind possesses the thought (regarding It).
IV-6. That Brahman is known indeed as Tadvana (worshipful or adorable to all beings); That is to be worshiped as Tadvana. To him who knows It thus verily all beings pray.
IV-7. (Disciple:) “Revered sir, speak Upanishad to me.” (Teacher:) “I have spoken Upanishad to thee. Of Brahman verily is the Upanishad that I have spoken.”
IV-8. Of this knowledge austerity, self-restraint and action are the feet, the Vedas are all limbs and truth is the abode.
IV-9. He who knows this thus, with his sins destroyed, becomes firmly seated in the infinite, blissful and supreme Brahman. He becomes firmly seated (in Brahman).
Om ! May my limbs, speech, vital air, eyes, ears, strength,
And all the senses be fully developed.
All that is revealed by the Upanishads is Brahman.
May I never deny Brahman:
May Brahman never disown me.
Let there be no repudiation (from Brahman);
Let there be no infidelity from my side.
May all the Dharmas extolled by the Upanishads shine in me
Who am intent on knowing the Self.
May they shine in me !
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Kenapanishad, as contained in the Sama-Veda.
Kena Upanishad Commentary
Commentary on the Kena Upanishad–by Swami Nirmalananda Giri
The Mover of the Moved
In the world we see a prime duality: cause and effect. Yet, we see no cause for the world itself. Inquiry into its cause naturally arises. The lazy and the cowardly insist there is no cause and pursue their exploitation of the world and its inhabitants. The worthy and the bold, however, seek to know. Many are the theories set forth by profound thinkers. But those who have gone beyond thought into pure knowing have unanimously told us of the cause, and in that insight have also come to perfectly understand the effect–the world and all within it.
The question
The Kena Upanishad opens with a question that is answered in the rest of the upanishad.
“At whose behest does the mind think? Who bids the body live? Who makes the tongue speak? Who is that effulgent Being that directs the eye to form and color and the ear to sound?”
This is one of the few philosophical questions that really matter, for if we come to the wrong conclusion it will cloud, or even distort, our understanding of life. For example, if we say God, or Nature, or happenstance, we will in essence be saying that we have nothing to do with our existence, that a force far beyond us is making all this occur to us, that we are like seaweed being carried along on the wave of the sea, able to yearn for situations and things but unable to bring anything about. If we are theists we believe that if we somehow do the needful, in response God will give us what we want, but still it will be his doing and beyond our capacity to accomplish or even hold on to once we have it. This view of ourselves as utterly helpless and therefore utterly insignificant in the vast universe will cripple and frustrate us, distorting us profoundly. You Are Nothing becomes the watchword of our life–a life which bears that maxim out. Hopeless and helpless we drift along, controlled by everything that is other than us. This is truly a living hell.
Into this darkness shines the realization embodied in the upanishads, a realization that we will somehow recognize from deep within us, for that realization is ours on the inmost level of our existence. We do not learn the truth–we recognize it.
All right, then: who makes the mind think, the body live, the faculty of speech to manifest, and causes the senses to operate?
The answer
“The Self is ear of the ear, mind of the mind, speech of speech. He is also breath of the breath, and eye of the eye. Having given up the false identification of the Self with the senses and the mind, and knowing the Self to be Brahman, the wise, on departing this life, become immortal.”
The ear, mind, speech, breath, and eye are only instruments, only messengers. The one who causes them to function, the hearer of hearing, the witness of the mind and thought, the understander of speech, the source of the breath and the seer of seeing, is the Atman, the Self. External experience may be illusory, but if we trace the illusion back and back to the perceiver of perception we will find the reality that is the Self. In a motion picture we see so many images, so many illusions, but when the picture stops we see the pure white screen that was behind it all the time, without which no picture would have been possible. Such is the Self. Knowing the Self to be none other than Brahman, the Absolute, rebirth is no more.
Swami Prabhavananda has translated the word dhira as “the wise,” but in actuality dhira means those who are steadfast–in this instance those who are firmly established in the practice of yoga and in the realization arising from yoga.
Brahman the inexpressible
Brahman is beyond all sensory perception or intellectual comprehension. Yet we can infer the existence of Brahman by that which It causes to occur, by the consciousness that does perceive and comprehend. So in conclusion the upanishad says this, which really needs little comment:
“Him the eye does not see, nor the tongue express, nor the mind grasp. Him we neither know nor are able to teach.
“Different is he from the known, and different is he from the unknown. So have we heard from the wise.
“That which cannot be expressed in words but by which the tongue speaks know that to be Brahman. Brahman is not the being who is worshiped of men.
“That which is not comprehended by the mind but by which the mind comprehends–know that to be Brahman. Brahman is not the being who is worshiped of men.
“That which is not seen by the eye but by which the eye sees–know that to be Brahman. Brahman is not the being who is worshiped of men.
“That which is not heard by the ear but by which the ear hears–know that to be Brahman. Brahman is not the being who is worshiped of men.
“That which is not drawn by the breath but by which the breath is drawn know that to be Brahman. Brahman is not the being who is worshiped of men.”
When the upanishad says that we do not know Brahman, it refers to intellectual knowledge. Therefore, as it continues, we cannot “teach” Brahman as an intellectual subject.
When it says that Brahman is different “from the unknown” it is not speaking of Brahman’s unknowability, but rather that Brahman is not an unknown object that in time the intellect will come to know.
The most striking part of this passage is the statement that “Brahman is not the being who is worshiped of men.” This presents two significant points. First, that Brahman is not an object, but the Eternal Subject, and consequently cannot be worshiped as an object. Second, “men” cannot relate to Brahman at all, but those that have passed beyond all relative identity can experience Brahman as their own Self.
Knowing that is Ignorance, and Unknowing That is Knowing
At the beginning
All classical commentators say that in this second part of the Kena Upanishad the first two verses are a dialogue between a teacher and a student, and the remaining three verses are an exposition of the discussion. First, the teacher says to the student:
“If you think that you know well the truth of Brahman, know that you know little. What you think to be Brahman in your self, or what you think to be Brahman in the gods–that is not Brahman. What is indeed the truth of Brahman you must therefore learn.”
The student responds:
“I cannot say that I know Brahman fully. Nor can I say that I know him not. He among us knows him best who understands the spirit of the words: “Nor do I know that I know him not.”
To help us in this, here is the translation of Swami Gambhirananda:
“[Teacher:] If you think, ‘I have known Brahman well enough,’ then you have known only the very little expression that It has in the human body and the little expression that It has among the gods. Therefore Brahman is still to be deliberated on by you.
“Student:] ‘I think [Brahman] is known. I do not think, “I know [Brahman] well enough;” [i.e. I consider] “Not that I do not know: I know and I do not know as well.” He among us who understands that utterance, “Not that I do not know. I Know and I do not know as well,” knows that [Brahman].’”
That may have only compounded the bewilderment, but we can untangle it with patience. These verses are excellent examples of the difficulty we have when we try to speak the Unspeakable and explain the Unexplainable.
An easy mistake
Brahman is not only everywhere, but actually is all things. (This, too, we cannot exactly comprehend, and to express it simplistically is to make things much worse.) Because of this, it is easy for those who have experienced only a hint of Brahman–even a hint of Which is tremendous–to say: “Now I know Brahman.” But that would be like someone who has seen a cup of seawater saying: “Now I have seen the Sea.” If we do not know Brahman fully, we cannot truly say that we know Brahman at all. Yet, there is a knowing that is beyond the intellect and is both knowing and unknowing in an experiential sense. This is why a medieval mystical English text on the knowledge of God is called The Cloud of Unknowing. When we know Brahman we know that It cannot known in the human sense of knowing. The same concept is held in Eastern Christianity, where it is said that God cannot be seen, but you must see God to realize that He cannot be seen.
Is all this said to confuse and mystify us? No; but it does have the purpose of our giving up the hopeless attempt to comprehend Brahman intellectually.
So the teacher says that to think we know Brahman when we have just glimpsed a hint of Its existence is a mistake. The clever student, however, points out that we can dimly know something of Brahman. He then points out that when come to truly know Brahman we will understand that we both know and do not know Brahman, that it is foolish to say either, “I know Brahman,” or “I do not know Brahman.” In wisdom, the two go together.
If you still do not get the idea, do not worry. The upanishadic author assumed we might not, so he gives us this verse to clear things up:
“He truly knows Brahman who knows him as beyond knowledge; he who thinks that he knows, knows not. The ignorant think that Brahman is known, but the wise know him to be beyond knowledge.”
Practical experience
The knowledge of Brahman is not an intellectual matter, and neither is it incapacitating, despite the common misconception that mystical vision renders us unfit for practical life. So the next verse tells us:
“He who realizes the existence of Brahman behind every activity of his being whether sensing, perceiving, or thinking–he alone gains immortality. Through knowledge of Brahman comes power. Through knowledge of Brahman comes victory over death.”
To live in unbroken consciousness of God is liberation. Liberation is possible even here in this world, while living in the body. For the upanishad continues:
“Blessed is the man who while he yet lives realizes Brahman. The man who realizes him not suffers his greatest loss. When they depart this life, the wise, who have realized Brahman as the Self in all beings, become immortal.”
The Blessed
“Blessed is the man who while he yet lives realizes Brahman. The man who realizes him not suffers his greatest loss. When they depart this life, the wise, who have realized Brahman as the Self in all beings, become immortal.”
Swami Nikhilananda renders this verse: “If a man knows Atman here, he then attains the true goal of life. If he does not know It here, a great destruction awaits him. Having realized the Self in every being, the wise relinquish the world and become immortal.”
Here and now
It is affirmed over and over in the upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita that perfect realization and liberation is possible even here in the world. This is one of the glories of Sanatana Dharma. It does not hold out some vague “bye and bye” hope to be realized only after death–a sure trait of fraudulent religion. The truth of the Eternal Religion–including Yoga–can be proven at every moment of our life, just as advances in science, especially in physics and astronomy, reveal the truths intuited by the sages of India thousands of years ago.
We need to hold firmly to the fact that we can overcome ignorance and bondage in this very lifetime, that we need not think it will take many incarnations to come to enlightenment. The Bhagavad Gita, particularly, emphasizes the immediacy of our spiritual potential. “Faith”–another trait of false religion–is not needed, either. Our practice of yoga and the resulting maturation of consciousness will enable us to see, experience, and demonstrate the great truths of the upanishads.
What about doubts? They mean nothing, any more than blind beliefs. In some instances, a negative rejection of truth on the subconscious level masquerades as doubts and can hinder our progress. But honest doubts cannot. I could cite for you many instances in which I not only doubted something, I denied its possibility, but still I came to see for myself the truth of what I had not believed. My practice of yoga kept pushing the frontiers of my insight into areas that I had ignorantly thought were superstition or silly. And my doubt and denial did not delay even for a moment my coming to understand the truth I had disbelieved.
This is why no scripture of India is considered to be the “word of God,” the supreme and final authority. Scriptures, like spiritual teachers, can only point the way, but they cannot definitively state “the truth.” Yet through interior development there is nothing that can elude the yogi in his quest for reality. This is why Krishna speaks of Abhyasa Yoga–the Yoga of Practice–as the foundation for those who wish to really know.
The great loss
Those who do not realize God suffer the greatest loss, for they “lose” themselves and God. What, then, is left for them? Nothing. Desolate they wander in the desert of their own barren minds and hearts.
Shankara says that the mahati vinashtih, the great destruction, is interminable birth and death in the material world with all is attendant pains, sorrows, and fears.
The great gain
On the other hand, the wise whose consciousness is steadfastly fixed in God, turn away from the world–or more exactly, from the bonds and blandishments of the world–and become immortal (amritam bhavanti) by entering forever into Immortal Brahman.
Blessed are those who live their lives in the perspective of this single verse. Realization and attainment shall be theirs. For them immortality shall be their assured and eternal future.
Approaching Brahman
The Kena Upanishad is quite brief, and now concludes with a story and a short reflection on the story. Here is the story:
The victory of the gods
Once the gods won a victory over the demons, and though they had done so only through the power of Brahman, they were exceedingly vain.
They thought to themselves, “It was we who beat our enemies, and the glory is ours.” Brahman saw their vanity and appeared before them. But they did not recognize him.
Then the other gods said to the god of fire: “Fire, find out for us who this mysterious spirit is.” “Yes,” said the god of fire, and approached the spirit.
The spirit said to him: “Who are you?” “I am the god of fire. As a matter of fact, I am very widely known.”
“And what power do you wield?” “I can burn anything on earth.”
“Burn this,” said the spirit, placing a straw before him. The god of fire fell upon it with all his might, but could not consume it. So he ran back to the other gods, and said: “I cannot discover who this mysterious spirit is.”
Then said the other gods to the god of wind: “Wind, do you find out for us who he is.” “Yes,” said the god of wind, and approached the spirit.
The spirit said to him: “Who are you?” “I am the god of wind. As a matter of fact, I am very widely known. I fly swiftly through the heavens.”
“And what power do you wield?” “I can blow away anything on earth.”
“Blow this away,” said the spirit, placing a straw before him. The god of wind fell upon it with all his might, but was unable to move it. So he ran back to the other gods, and said: “I cannot discover who this mysterious spirit is.”
Then said the other gods to Indra, greatest of them all: “O respected one, find out for us, we pray you, who he is.” “Yes,” said Indra, and drew nigh to the spirit. But the spirit vanished,
And in his place stood Uma, God the Mother, well adorned and of exceeding beauty. Beholding her, Indra asked: “Who was the spirit that appeared to us?”
“That,” answered Uma, “was Brahman. Through him it was, not of yourselves, that you attained your victory and your glory.” Thus did Indra, and the god of fire, and the god of wind, come to recognize Brahman.
The Divine Power
This is a very straightforward account. The “gods” are mostly the intelligent faculties of the individual human being. The “doctrinal” element is very simple: the senses and mind cannot comprehend Brahman, but Its truth can be revealed by the Divine Feminine aspect of God, Mahashakti or Adishakti, the Great, Primal Power that is the dynamic aspect of Brahman, the Prakriti–Divine Creative Energy–that is inseparable from Purusha–the Supreme Spirit. God the Father is Unmoving Consciousness, whereas God the Mother is Moving Consciousness. The entire field of creation is Mother, the Father being the Transcendental Witness of Her manifestations. The Mother is the Divine Ladder which we ascend to the Bosom of the Father.
Prakriti proceeds from Purusha, the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father.”
The fundamental idea of the “dance” of the Creative Energy before the “face” of the Supreme Spirit is found in the book of Proverbs where she speaks of herself, saying:
“The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made any thing from the beginning. I was set up from eternity, and of old before the earth was made. The depths were not as yet, and I was already conceived. neither had the fountains of waters as yet sprung out: The mountains with their huge bulk had not as yet been established: before the hills I was brought forth: He had not yet made the earth, nor the rivers, nor the poles of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was present: when with a certain law and compass he enclosed the depths: When he established the sky above, and poised the fountains of waters: When he compassed the sea with its bounds, and set a law to the waters that they should not pass their limits: when be balanced the foundations of the earth; I was with him forming all things: and was delighted every day, playing before him at all times; playing in the world.” The Divine Mother dances the dance of creation before the witnessing Lord.
Although Prabhavananda used the expression “Uma, God the Mother,” the Sanskrit phrase is Uma Haimavatim. Uma in Indian history, was the daughter of King Himalaya, and so was called Himavati. She was considered a manifestion (avatara) of the Divine Mother aspect of God. Uma is a name often given the Divine Power. But Shankara has a different, and interesting interpretation of Haimavatim. He say it means “one who was as though attired in dress of gold.”
This is most intriguing, because in the Bible we have similar imagery of the Divine Mother, the Queen–sometimes called “the King’s Daughter” because She emanates from the King–being dressed in gold. David wrote: “Upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.” And a few verses later: “The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold.”
In the book of Revelation we find: “There appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun.” In this instance the “gold” is the light of the sun.
The elements
“The god of fire, the god of wind, and Indra—these excelled the other gods, for they approached nearest to Brahman and were the first to recognize him.”
As said above, in this upanishadic story, the “gods” are mostly the intelligent faculties of the individual human being. However, Agni, Vayu, and Indra are representative of the primeval Elements fire, air, and ether. These are “closer” to the Self, to Brahman, than are the earth and water elements, whose faculties are smell and taste. The faculties of fire, air, and ether respectively are sight, touch, and sound. In meditation we see light of various colors, experience sensations that are the inner modes of touch, and in our silent japa of Om hear the inner mental sound. These are three revealers of the presence of the Self/Brahman. However:
“But of all gods Indra is supreme, for he approached nearest of the three to Brahman and was the first of the three to recognize him.” The etheric body is the nearest to the Self, and its faculty of sound is that which unites our consciousness with Brahman. Thus etheric sound is the supreme “god” by which we “recognize”–perceive–Spirit.
Brahman in all
Brahman and Shakti (Power) are in reality one. Sri Ramakrishna often used the simile of fire and its power to burn. Fire is the Purusha and the burning power is the Prakriti. It is not amiss to say that Prakriti is the Effect of the presence of Brahman–is Brahman Itself. The upanishad recapitulates this, saying:
“This is the truth of Brahman in relation to nature: whether in the flash of the lightning, or in the wink of the eyes, the power that is shown is the power of Brahman. This is the truth of Brahman in relation to man: in the motions of the mind, the power that is shown is the power of Brahman. For this reason should a man meditate upon Brahman by day and by night.”
Wherefore: “Brahman is the adorable being in all beings. Meditate upon him as such. He who meditates upon him as such is honored by all other beings.”
It is the presence of Brahman which draws us to seek after or value an object. As the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says:
“It is not for the sake of the husband, my beloved, that the husband is dear, but for the sake of the Self.
“It is not for the sake of the wife, my beloved, that the wife is dear, but for the sake of the Self. “It is not for the sake of the children, my beloved, that the children are dear, but for the sake of the Self.
“It is not for the sake of wealth, my beloved, that wealth is dear, but for the sake of the Self.
“It is not for the sake of the Brahmins, my beloved, that the Brahmins are held in reverence, but for the sake of the Self.
“It is not for the sake of the Kshatriyas, my beloved, that the Kshatriyas are held in honor, but for the sake of the Self.
“It is not for the sake of the higher worlds, my beloved, that the higher worlds are desired, but for the sake of the Self.
“It is not for the sake of the gods, my beloved, that the gods are worshiped, but for the sake of the Self.
“It is not for the sake of the creatures, my beloved, that the creatures are prized, but for the sake of the Self.
“It is not for the sake of itself, my beloved, that anything whatever is esteemed, but for the sake of the Self.”
The proof of this is the fact that when we successfully meditate on Brahman other sentient beings will sense the presence of Brahman in us and value us accordingly.
It is now up to us
The teaching is wonderful, but it is not enough. The student of the upanishadic sage intuits this, but comes to a wrong conclusion, asking: “Sir, teach me more of the knowledge of Brahman.” But the teacher responds: “I have told you the secret knowledge.” Naturally, the student will assume–as would we–that the “secret knowledge” is the philosophy about Brahman, etc. Therefore the teacher continues:
“Austerity, self-control, performance of duty without attachment–these are the body of that knowledge. The Vedas are its limbs. Truth is its very soul.”
The importance of this perspective simply cannot be exaggerated. The Secret Knowledge is not philosophic formulations: It is practice–what Krishna calls Abhyasa Yoga, the Yoga of Practice. The Vedas are only its adjuncts. Truth is at its heart to be realized by the practitioners. Tapasya, self-mastery, and karma yoga form the body of the secret knowledge. There are no effects without a cause. These three “cause” the knowing of Brahman. about which the sage concludes:
“He who attains to knowledge of Brahman, being freed from all evil, finds the Eternal, the Supreme.” End of Kena Commentary:
Katha Upanishad
Translaetd by Vidyavachaspati V. Panoli
Om ! May He protect us both together (by illumining the nature of knowledge).
May He sustain us both (by ensuring the fruits of knowledge). May we attain the vigour (of knowledge) together.
Let what we learn enlighten us. Let us not hate each other.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
1-I-1. Out of desire, so goes the story, the son of Vajasrava gave away all his wealth. He had a son named Nachiketas.
1-I-2. Though young, faith possessed him as presents were being brought; he thought:
1-I-3. Water has been drunk (for the last time by these cows), grass has been eaten (for the last time); they have yielded all their milk, and are devoid of (the power of) the organs. Those worlds are indeed joyless where he goes who offers these.
1-I-4. He then said to his parent, "father, to whom wilt thou give me?" A second time and a third time (he said it). To him he (the father) said, "To Death I give thee."
1-I-5. Of many I go the first; of many I go the middle most. What purpose of Yama could there be which (my father) will get accomplished today through me?
1-I-6. Think how your ancestors behaved; behold how others now behave. Like corn man decays, and like corn he is born again.
1-I-7. Like Vaisvanara (fire), a Brahmana guest enters the houses. Men offer this to propitiate him. O Vaivasvata (Yama): fetch water (for him).
1-I-8. Hope, expectation, association with the effects (of these two), pleasant discourse, sacrifice, acts of pious liberality, sons and cattle – all these are destroyed in the case of the man of little intellect in whose house a Brahmana dwells without food.
1-I-9. O Brahmana, since thou, a worshipful guest, hast dwelt in my house for three nights without food, let me make salutation to thee. O Brahmana, may peace be with me. Therefore, ask for three boons in return.
1-I-10. O Death, let Gautama (my father) be relieved of the anxiety, let him become calm in mind and free from anger (towards me), and let him recognise me and talk to me when liberated by thee. Of the three boons, this is the first I choose.
1-I-11. Ouddalaki, the son of Aruna, will recognise thee as before and will, with my permission, sleep peacefully during nights and on seeing thee released from the jaws of Death, he will be free from anger. 1-I-12. There is no fear in heaven; nor art thou there; nor is there any fear from old age. Transcending both hunger and thirst and rising above grief, man rejoices in heaven.
1-I-13. O Death, thou knowest the Fire that leads to heaven. Instruct me, who am endowed with faith, about that (Fire) by which those who dwell in heaven attain immortality. This I choose for my second boon.
1-I-14. I will teach thee well; listen to me and understand, O Nachiketas, I know the Fire that leads to heaven. Know that Fire which is the means for the attainment of heaven and which is the support (of the universe) and located in the cavity.
1-I-15. Death told him of the Fire, the source of the worlds, the sort of bricks (for raising the sacrificial altar), how many, and how (to kindle the fire) and he (Nachiketas) too repeated it as it was told. Then Death, becoming delighted over it, said again:
1-I-16. The exalted one, being pleased, said to him: "I grant thee again another boon now. By thy name itself shall this fire be known; and accept thou this necklace of manifold forms".
1-I-17. Whoso kindles the Nachiketas fire thrice and becomes united with the three and does the three-fold karma, transcends birth and death. Knowing the omniscient one, born of Brahma, bright and adorable, and realizing it, he attains to surpassing peace.
1-I-18. He who, knowing the three (form of brick etc.,), piles up the Nachiketa Fire with this knowledge, throws off the chains of death even before (the body falls off), and rising over grief,
rejoices in heaven.
1-I-19. This is the Fire, O Nachiketas, which leads to heaven and which thou hast chosen for the second boon. Of this Fire, people will speak as thine indeed. O Nachiketas, choose the third boon.
1-I-20. This doubt as to what happens to a man after death – some say he is, and some others say he is not, – I shall know being taught by thee. Of the boons, this is the third boon.
1-I-21. Even by the gods this doubt was entertained in days of yore. This topic, being subtle, is not easy to comprehend. Ask for some other boon, O Nachiketas. Don’t press me; give up this (boon) for me.
1-I-22. (Nachiketas said:) Since even by the gods was doubt entertained in this regard and (since) thou sayest, O Death, that this is not easily comprehended, no other preceptor like thee can be had to instruct on this nor is there any other boon equal to this.
1-I-23. Ask for sons and grandsons who will live a hundred years. Ask for herds of cattle, elephants gold and horses, as also for a vast extent of earth and thyself live for as many autumns as thou desirest. 1-I-24. If thou thinkest any other boon to be equal to this, ask for wealth and longevity. Be thou the ruler over a vast country, O Nachiketas; I shall make thee enjoy all thy longings.
1-I-25. What all things there are in the human world which are desirable, but hard to win, pray for all those desirable things according to thy pleasure. Here are these damsels with the chariots and lutes, the like of whom can never be had by men. By them, given by me, get thy services rendered, O Nachiketas, do not ask about death.
1-I-26. These, O Death, are ephemeral and they tend to wear out the vigour of all the senses of man. Even the whole life is short indeed. Be thine alone the chariots; be thine the dance and music.
1-I-27. Man cannot be satisfied with wealth. If we need wealth, we shall get it if we only see thee. We shall live until such time as thou wilt rule. But the boon to be asked for (by me) is that alone.
1-I-28. Having gained contact with the undecaying and the immortal, what decaying mortal dwelling on the earth below who knows the higher goal, will delight in long life, after becoming aware of the (transitoriness of) beauty (Varian) and sport (rati) and the joy (pramoda) thereof.
1-I-29. O Death, tell us of that, of the great Beyond, about which man entertain doubt. Nachiketas does not pray for any other boon than this which enters into the secret that is hidden.
1-II-1. Different is (that which is) preferable; and different, indeed, is the pleasurable. These two, serving different purposes, blind man. Good accrues to him who, of these two, chooses the preferable. He who chooses the pleasurable falls from the goal.
1-II-2. The preferable and the pleasurable approach man. The intelligent one examines both and separates them. Yea, the intelligent one prefers the preferable to the pleasurable, (whereas) the ignorant one selects the pleasurable for the sake of yoga (attainment of that which is not already possessed) and kshema (the preservation of that which is already in possession).
1-II-3. Thou hast relinquished, O Nachiketas, all objects of desire, dear and of covetable nature, pondering over their worthlessness. Thou hast not accepted the path of wealth in which perish many a mortal.
1-II-4. What is known as ignorance and what is known as knowledge are highly opposed (to each other), and lead to different ways. I consider Nachiketas to be aspiring after knowledge, for desires, numerous though they be, did not tear thee away.
1-II-5. Living in the midst of ignorance and deeming themselves intelligent and enlightened, the ignorant go round and round staggering in crooked paths, like the blind led by the blind.
1-II-6. The means of attaining the other world does not become revealed to the non-discriminating one who, deluded by wealth, has become negligent. He who thinks, ‘this world alone is and none else’ comes to my thraldom again and again.
1-II-7. Of the Self many are not even able to hear; Him many, though they hear, do not comprehend. Wonderful is the expounder of the Self and attainer, proficient. The knower (of the Self) taught by an able preceptor is wonderful.
1-II-8. This (Self), if taught by an inferior person, is not easily comprehended, for It is variously thought of. Unless taught by another (who is a perceiver of non-difference) there is no way (of comprehending It), for It is not arguable and is subtler than subtlety.
1-II-9. This (knowledge of the Self) attained by thee cannot be had through argumentation. O dearest, this doctrine, only if taught by some teacher (other than a logician), leads to right knowledge. O, thou art rooted in truth. May a questioner be ever like thee, O Nachiketas.
1-II-10. I know that the treasure is impermanent, for that which is constant cannot be reached by things which are not constant. Therefore, has the Nachiketa Fire been kindled by me with impermanent things, and I have attained the eternal.
1-II-11. The fulfilment of all desires, the support of the universe, the endless fruits of sacrifice, the other shore of fearlessness, the extensive path which is praiseworthy and great, as also (thy own exalted) state – seeing all these thou hast, intelligent as thou art, boldly rejected (them).
1-II-12. The intelligent one, knowing through concentration of mind the Self that is hard to perceive, lodged in the innermost recess, located in intelligence, seated amidst misery, and ancient, abandons joy and grief.
1-II-13. Having heard this and grasped it well, the mortal, separating the virtuous being (from the body etc.,) and attaining this subtle Self, rejoices having obtained that which causes joy. The abode (of Brahman), I think, is wide open unto Nachiketas.
1-II-14. Tell me of that which thou seest as distinct from virtue, distinct from vice, distinct from effect and cause, distinct from the past and the future.
1-II-15. The goal which all the Vedas expound, which all austerities declare, and desiring which aspirants resort to Brahmacharya, that goal, I tell thee briefly: It is this – Om.
1-II-16. This syllable (Om) indeed is the (lower) Brahman; this syllable indeed is the higher Brahman; whosoever knows this syllable, indeed, attains whatsoever he desires.
1-II-17. This support is the best; this support is the supreme. Knowing this support one is magnified in the world of Brahman.
1-II-18. The intelligent Self is not born, nor does It die. It did not come from anywhere, nor did anything come from It. It is unborn, eternal, everlasting and ancient, and is not slain even when the body is slain.
1-II-19. If the slayer thinks that he slays It and if the slain thinks of It as slain, both these do not know, for It does not slay nor is It slain.
1-II-20. The Self that is subtler than the subtle and greater than the great is seated in the heart of every creature. One who is free from desire sees the glory of the Self through the tranquility of the mind and senses and becomes absolved from grief.
1-II-21. While sitting, It goes far, while lying It goes everywhere. Who other than me can know that Deity who is joyful and joyless.
1-II-22. The intelligent one having known the Self to be bodiless in (all) bodies, to be firmly seated in things that are perishable, and to be great and all-pervading, does not grieve.
1-II-23. The Self cannot be attained by the study of the Vedas, not by intelligence nor by much hearing. Only by him who seeks to know the Self can It be attained. To him the Self reveals Its own nature.
1-II-24. None who has not refrained from bad conduct, whose senses are not under restraint, whose mind is not collected or who does not preserve a tranquil mind, can attain this Self through knowledge. 1-II-25. The Self to which both the Brahmana and the Kshatriya are food, (as it were), and Death a soup, how can one know thus where It is.
1-III-1. The knowers of Brahman and those who kindle the five fires and propitiate the Nachiketa Fire thrice, speak of as light and shade, the two that enjoy the results of righteous deeds, entering within the body, into the innermost cavity (of the heart), the supreme abode (of Brahman).
1-III-2. May we be able to know the Nachiketa Fire which is the bridge for the sacrificers, as also the
imperishable Brahman, fearless, as well as the other shore for those who are desirous of crossing (the ocean of samsara).
1-III-3. Know the Self to be the master of the chariot, and the body to be the chariot. Know the intellect to be the charioteer, and the mind to be the reins.
1-III-4. The senses they speak of as the horses; the objects within their view, the way. When the Self is yoked with the mind and the senses, the wise call It the enjoyer.
1-III-5. But whoso is devoid of discrimination and is possessed of a mind ever uncollected – his senses are uncontrollable like the vicious horses of a driver.
1-III-6. But whoso is discriminative and possessed of a mind ever collected – his senses are controllable like the good horses of a driver.
1-III-7. But whoso is devoid of a discriminating intellect, possessed of an unrestrained mind and is ever impure, does not attain that goal, but goes to samsara.
1-III-8. But whoso is possessed of a discriminating intellect and a restrained mind, and is ever pure, attains that goal from which he is not born again.
1-III-9. But the man who has a discriminating intellect as his driver, and a controlled-mind as the reins, reaches the end of the path – that supreme state of Vishnu.
1-III-10. The sensory objects are subtler than the senses, and subtler than the sensory objects is mind. But intellect is subtler than mind and subtler than intellect is Mahat (the Hiranyagarbha).
1-III-11. The unmanifested (avyakta) is subtler than Mahat (Hiranyagarbha) and subtler than the unmanifested is Purusha. There is nothing subtler than Purusha. That is the end, that is the supreme goal.
1-III-12. This Self hidden in all beings does not shine. But by seers of subtle and pointed intellect capable of perceiving subtle objects, It is seen.
1-III-13. Let the wise man merge speech in his mind, merge that (mind) into the intelligent self and the intelligent self into the Mahat. (Let him then) merge the Mahat into the peaceful Self.
1-III-14. Arise, awake, and learn by approaching the exalted ones, for that path is sharp as a razor’s edge, impassable, and hard to go by, say the wise.
1-III-15. By knowing that which is soundless, touchless, formless, undecaying, so also tasteless, eternal, odorless, beginningless, endless, subtler than Mahat and constant, man is liberated from the jaws of death.
1-III-16. Narrating and hearing this eternal story of Nachiketas told by Death, the intelligent man attains glory in the world of Brahman.
1-III-17. Whoso, becoming pure, causes this supreme secret to be recited before am assembly of the Brahmanas, or at the time of Sraddha, that (ceremony) secures for him infinite results, secures infinite results.
2-I-1. The self-existent damned the out-going senses. Therefore one sees externally and not the internal Self. Someone (who is) intelligent, with his eyes turned away, desirous of immortality, sees the inner Self.
2-I-2. The unintelligent go after outward pleasures; they fall into the meshes of wide-spread death. But the intelligent, having known immortality to be constant, never covet here objects that are inconstant. 2-I-3. By the self (a man knows) form, taste, odor, sound, touch, and the sexual joy. What remains here (unknowable to the Self)? This verily is that (thou seekest).
2-I-4. Knowing that great and all-pervading Self by which one sees (the objects) both in the sleep and the waking states, the intelligent man grieves no more.
2-I-5. Whoso knows the self closely, the honey-eater, the supporter of the vital airs and the lord of the past and the future, will not henceforward protect himself. This verily is that (thou seekest).
2-I-6. He who perceives the First-born that came into being from Tapas (Brahman) before the waters, and that, entering into the cavity of the heart, is seated there, he perceives that very Brahman. This
verily is that (thou seekest).
2-I-7. (He who perceives) this Aditi that comes into being as the Prana, comprising all the gods, that is manifested along with the elements, and that, entering into the cavity of the heart, is seated there, he perceives that very Brahman. This verily is that (thou seekest).
2-I-8. The (sacrificial) fire lodged in the two aranis, even as the foetus is carefully borne by the pregnant woman, is fit to be worshipped every day by men who are wakeful and possessed of oblation. This verily is that (thou seekest).
2-I-9. On that from which the sun rises and in which it sets, are fixed all the gods. None ever goes beyond that. This verily is that (thou seekest).
2-I-10. What indeed is here is there; what is there is here again. Whoso here sees as though different, passes from death to death.
2-I-11. By mind alone is this attainable; there is no difference here whatsoever. Whoso here sees as though different, passes from death to death.
2-I-12. The Purusha, of the size of a thumb, dwells in the body. (Realizing Him as) the Lord of the past and the future, one does not (henceforward) want to protect oneself. This verily is that (thou seekest). 2-I-13. The Purusha of the size of a thumb is like a smokeless flame and is the Lord of the past and the future. He certainly exists now and shall certainly exist tomorrow. This verily is that (thou seekest).
2-I-14. As rain-water fallen on a mountain ridge runs down the rocks, so does one seeing the selves differently run after them alone.
2-I-15. As pure water poured into pure water remains the same only, so does the Self of the thinker who knows thus become, O Gautama.
2-II-1. The city of the unborn whose knowledge is like the light of the sun, consists of eleven gates. Meditating on Him, one does not grieve and, becoming free (from bondage), one becomes liberated. This verily is that (thou seekest).
2-II-2. As mover (sun), He dwells in heaven; (as air), He pervades everything and dwells in inter-space; as fire, on the earth; as guest, in the houses; He dwells in men; dwells in the gods; dwells in truth and dwells in space. He is all that is born in water, all that is born on earth, all that is born in sacrifices and all that is born on the mountains; He is unchanging and great.
2-II-3. (He) raises the prana upward and casts the apana downward. All the gods worship Him who is adorable and seated in the middle.
2-II-4. When this Self seated in the body is torn away and freed from the body, what remains here? This verily is that (thou seekest).
2-II-5. Not by prana, not by apana does a mortal live; but all live by something else on which these two depend.
2-II-6. I will describe to thee, O Gautama, this secret ancient Brahman and also what becomes of the Self after death.
2-II-7. Some jivas enter the womb for assuming bodies; others go into the unmoving, in accordance with their karma and with their knowledge.
2-II-8. This Purusha who is awake when all are asleep, creating all things cherished, is certainly pure; that is Brahman; that is called the Immortal. All worlds are strung on that; none passes beyond that.
This verily is that (thou seekest).
2-II-9. Just as fire, though one, having entered the world, assumes a separate form in respect of every form, so does the in-dwelling Self of all beings, though one, assume a form in respect of every form, and is outside it.
2-II-10. Just as wind, though one, having entered the world, assumes a separate form in respect of each form, so does the in-dwelling Self of all beings, though one, assumes a form in respect of every form and is outside it.
2-II-11. Just as the sun, which is the eye of the entire world, is not tainted by the external impurities
seen by the eyes, so also, the in-dwelling Self of all beings, though one, is not tainted by the sorrows of the world, It being external.
2-II-12. Eternal happiness belongs to the intelligent – not to others – who realize in their hearts Him who is one, the controller and the in-dwelling Self of all beings, and who makes the one form manifold. 2-II-13. Whoso among the intelligent realize the Self in the (inner space of the) heart as the eternal among the ephemeral, the consciousness among the conscious, who, though one, dispenses the desired objects to many, to them belongs eternal peace, not to others.
2-II-14. How shall I know that indescribable and supreme Bliss which they think of as ‘This’? Is It self-luminous or does It shine distinctly, (making Itself perceptible to the intellect), or does It not?
2-II-15. There the sun shines not, nor do the moon and the stars, nor do these lightnings. How (then) can this fire (shine)? Everything shines after Him that shines. By His light shines all this.
2-III-1. This peepul tree with root above and branches down is eternal. That (which is its source) is certainly pure; that is Brahman and that is called immortal. On that are strung all the worlds; none passes beyond that. This verily is that (thou seekest).
2-III-2. All this universe, evolved (from Brahman), moves in prana (in Brahman); the most frightful like an uplifted thunderbolt. Those who know this become immortal.
2-III-3. For fear of Him, fire burns; For fear of Him, shines the sun;
For fear of Him, Indra and Vayu function;
For fear of Him, death, the fifth, stalks on the earth.
2-III-4. If one could know here prior to the falling of the body, (one becomes liberated); (if not), one becomes fit to be embodied in the worlds of creatures.
2-III-5. As in a mirror, so in one’s intellect; as in a dream, so in the world of manes; as seen in water, so in the world of the Gandharvas; as in the case of shade and light, so in the world of Brahma.
2-III-6. The intelligent man, having known the different nature of the senses originating separately (from their causes), as also their rising and setting, does not grieve.
2-III-7. The mind is subtler than the senses; subtler than the mind is the intellect; Mahat (Hiranyagarbha) is subtler than the intellect; subtler than Mahat is Avyakta (Unmanifested).
2-III-8. But subtler than Avyakta is Purusha, all-pervading and without a linga (distinguishing mark) indeed, knowing whom a mortal becomes freed and attains immortality.
2-III-9. His form does not stand within the scope of vision; none beholds Him with the eye. By the intellect restraining the mind, and through meditation is He revealed. Those who know this become immortal.
2-III-10. When the five senses of knowledge are at rest together with the mind, and the intellect is not active, that state they call the highest.
2-III-11. That steady restraint over the senses they regard as yoga. Then one becomes vigilant, for yoga can indeed originate (in one) and can be lost (as well).
2-III-12. Not by speech, not by mind, not by the eye can It be attained. Except in the case of one who says, ‘It exists’, how can It be known to anyone else?
2-III-13. The Self should be apprehended as existing and also as It really is. Of these two (aspects), to him who knows It to exist, Its true nature is revealed.
2-III-14. When all longings that are in the heart vanish, then a mortal becomes immortal and attains Brahman here.
2-III-15. When all the knots of the heart are cut asunder here, then a mortal becomes immortal. Only this much is the instruction.
2-III-16. There are a hundred and one nerves of the heart. Of then, one goes out piercing the head. Going up through that, one attains immortality; the others serve for departing in different ways.
2-III-17. Purusha of the size of a thumb, the inner Self, is ever seated in the heart of all living beings.
One should, with steadiness, separate Him from one’s own body as stalk from the Munja grass. One should know Him as pure and immortal; one should know Him as pure and immortal.
2-III-18. Nachiketas then, having acquired this knowledge imparted by Death, as also the instructions on Yoga in entirety, attained Brahman having become dispassionate and deathless. So does become any one else also who knows the inner Self thus.
Om ! May He protect us both together (by illumining the nature of knowledge). May He sustain us both (by ensuring the fruits of knowledge).
May we attain the vigour (of knowledge) together. Let what we learn enlighten us.
Let us not hate each other. Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Kathopanishad, as contained in the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Katha Upanishad Commentary
Commentary on the Katha Upanishad–by Swami Nirmalananda Giri
The Past is the Future
In very ancient times a man named Vajrabasa decided to perform a rite intended to give the performer great merit. The rite entailed the giving away of all the performer’s possessions. However he had no such intention, and instead was going to give away only his cattle–and of them only the useless ones: the old, the barren, the blind, and the lame. His son, Nachiketa, observing this, came to his father and said: “Father, do not repent thy vow! Consider how it has been with those that have gone before, and how it will be with those that now live. Like corn, a man ripens and falls to the ground; like corn, he springs up again in his season.”
There is no use denying it: we all follow in the path of Vajrabasa on occasion, though some do it more exuberantly. This is especially deadly in the realm of spiritual life.
I well remember when two newly-made Indian friends from South India asked me wonderingly: “What is an ‘Indian giver’?” When I said it meant someone who promised but did not deliver, or who gave and then took back, they were really bewildered. But when I explained that it was not the Indians who were the “givers” but the deceitful white men, they understood–and to my confusion thought it was very funny. (When I told them about “Honest Injun?” and “The only good Indian is a dead Indian” they laughed till they cried, and thereafter frequently asked: “Honest Injun?” when I told them something.) It is not funny when we are “Indian givers” in spiritual life, just as double-tongued and devious with
God and our own spirit as the politicians were with the Native Americans.
One of the funniest and most typical examples is found in the comic motion picture, The End. In one scene Burt Reynolds is swimming in the ocean about to drown. He starts shouting out to God how much of his income he vows to give if he survives. The percentage goes up and up to the total amount. But then he sees that there is a chance he may make it back to shore. So the percentage starts dropping in proportion to how near he gets to the land! Finally he is telling God that he will be giving nothing, and if God does not like it, that is just too bad. We are very much (often exactly) like that ourselves.
When we think we are not going to have something, or will have no use for it, we generously offer it to God or renounce it. But the moment we see a need or a use for it, then we announce to ourselves that God would not expect us to hand it over or renounce it.
Many people start out spiritual life with great enthusiasm, ready to dedicate and sacrifice in order to attain liberation. But as time goes by, the sands in the hourglass of will and interest grow less and less, shifting back to the bottom level of ego and the material life until what remains is so feeble and negligible it would be better if it, too, were eliminated in honesty.
The principle that we reap only and exactly what we sow is an absolute in spiritual life. Here are Saint Paul’s words on the subject: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Fainting is a very real possibility for all of us, and that is why these warning words of Nachiketa were written in the upanishad: “Father, do not repent thy vow!
Consider how it has been with those that have gone before, and how it will be with those that now live. Like corn, a man ripens and falls to the ground; like corn, he springs up again in his season.”
The law of reaping what has been sown–and conversely not reaping what has not been sown–is to be taken most seriously in all aspects of life, but especially in spiritual matters. Solomon cautions us: “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for…better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.” The question here is not that of God being angry or sad at our non-payment, but the negative effect our own perfidy will have on us directly. It is not God that rewards and punishes, but our own self, and its justice is inexorable. So asking God to release us or forgive us means positively nothing–it is our own self we are dealing with and it cannot be gotten around in any degree whatsoever.
Sad to say, there are many examples of “those that have gone before” who foolishly reneged on their own selves and suffered the consequences, from simple unhappiness to abject and long-lasting misery, and even death. This latter is no exaggeration, I know of examples myself. If you will excuse me, I will not cite any examples at all, for it is simply too bleak. Just do not be one yourself! But I will tell you the principle I have seen demonstrated over and over again: Whatever a person abandons his spiritual life to keep or to gain will be (usually abruptly or even violently) taken away from him and he will never regain or restart his spiritual life in this incarnation. I have never seen an exception. Never. (I am, however, not speaking of merely risking or retarding the personal spiritual life–we all do that just from making mistakes or from silly foibles–but of the actual giving up and turning from, even rejecting of, one’s spiritual life and obligations. This is fatal.)
At every step of our spiritual life we must keep in mind the law of cause and effect and “consider how it has been with those that have gone before, and how it will be with those that now live.” And lest we think that if we escape the karmic reaction in this life we are “home free,” Nachiketa added: “Like corn, a man ripens and falls to the ground; like corn, he springs up again in his season.” So there are
future lives in which our neglect can come to fruition in many forms–all inimical to our further progress.
Of course, the words of Nachiketa only have meaning to the wise. As Krishna told Arjuna: “Even a wise man acts according to the tendencies of his own nature. All living creatures follow their tendencies. What use is any external restraint? If a man keeps following my teaching with faith in his heart, and does not make mental reservations, he will be released from the bondage of his karma. But those who scorn my teaching, and do not follow it, are lost. They are without spiritual discrimination. All their knowledge is a delusion.”
Seeing Death, Seeing Life
Visiting Death
Long ago a man named Vajrabasa undertook a ritual to gain divine favor, but deliberately performed it in such a way that only misfortune could accrue to him rather than good. His virtuous son, Nachiketa, tried to reason with him, but in response he uttered the curse: “Thee I give to Death!”
Nachiketa was no ordinary son. He was an accomplished yogi, one who could penetrate into the unseen worlds, and in keeping with his unjust father’s unjust words he went to the realm presided over by Yamaraja, the King of Death. Yama welcomed him with great respect and told Nachiketa to ask three favors from him. Being a worthy son of an unworthy father, his first request was that his father should suffer no anxiety about his fate, but that his anger should be appeased so that when Nachiketa returned home his father would acknowledge and welcome him. Yama agreed.
Next Nachiketa asked to learn the sacrificial rite that leads to heaven. Yama agreed to that also and taught him. Then Yama asked him to make his third request. The upanishadic text continues:
“And then Nachiketa considered within himself, and said:
“‘When a man dies, there is this doubt: Some say, he is; others say, he is not. Taught by thee, I would know the truth. This is my third wish.’
“‘Nay,’ replied Death, ‘even the gods were once puzzled by this mystery. Subtle indeed is the truth regarding it, not easy to understand. Choose thou some other boon, O Nachiketa.’
“But Nachiketa would not be denied.
“‘Thou sayest, O Death, that even the gods were once puzzled by this mystery, and that it is not easy to understand. Surely there is no teacher better able to explain it than thou–and there is no other boon equal to this.’
“To which, trying Nachiketa again, the god replied:
“‘Ask for sons and grandsons who shall live a hundred years. Ask for cattle, elephants, horses, gold. Choose for thyself a mighty kingdom. Or if thou canst imagine aught better, ask for that–not for sweet pleasures only but for the power, beyond all thought, to taste their sweetness. Yea, verily, the supreme enjoyer will I make thee of every good thing. Celestial maidens, beautiful to behold, such indeed as were not meant for mortals—even these, together with their bright chariots and their musical instruments, will I give unto thee, to serve thee. But for the secret of death, O Nachiketa, do not ask!’
“But Nachiketa stood fast, and said: ‘These things endure only till the morrow, O Destroyer of Life,
and the pleasures they give wear out the senses. Keep thou therefore horses and chariots, keep dance and song, for thyself. How shall he desire wealth, O Death, who once has seen thy face? Nay, only the boon that I have chosen–that only do I ask. Having found out the society of the imperishable and the immortal, as in knowing thee I have done, how shall I, subject to decay and death, and knowing well the vanity of the flesh–how shall I wish for long life?
“‘Tell me, O King, the supreme secret regarding which men doubt. No other boon will I ask.’
“Whereupon the King of Death, well pleased at heart, began to teach Nachiketa the secret of immortality.”
The mystery
As Yama told Nachiketa, even those powerful beings that control the forces of the cosmos have been puzzled by the mystery of whether those who have gone beyond death can be said to exist or not to exist. Reflective human beings have agonized over the same problem. When they came to Buddha with the question he refused to give any answer, saying that whichever he told them they would misunderstand and distort his words. So he said nothing. Consequently, to say that Buddha taught the non-existence of an immortal self and individual immortality is perhaps an even worse distortion than that which he sought to avoid through silence.
Yama, however, was not talking to word-juggling ignoramuses, but to an eminently qualified inquirer. Yet, testing the strength of Nachiketa’s interest in such a profound matter, he attempted to dissuade him from pressing the question. When that failed, he resorted to that which has effectively deflected “seekers” through the history of humanity. He offered him long-lived and prosperous progeny, vast material wealth and possessions, unlimited pleasure and unlimited power, and finally, dominion over even the subtle worlds and all that is therein. Throughout countless ages the mere promise or prospect of such acquisitions have turned awakening consciousnesses from the path of immortality and led them further into the morass of mortal life. But Nachiketa could not be moved from his original resolve to learn the truth regarding immortality.
The Katha Upanishad cannot have been unknown to Jesus when he lived and studied in India, and it can be speculated that it was in the context of the teachings of this upanishad that he asked his disciples: “What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” I have to admit that when as a primary grade-schooler I first heard this verse read out in church, I immediately thought: “No. The real question is: ‘What will a man take in exchange for his soul?’” Through the years I kept questioning as to whether things were a blessing for life or a bribe to embrace inner death. This, too, we see so often. From those early years and even till now I have seen so many bribes offered and taken, all of them cheap and paltry compared to what the seekers would have gained if they had turned away from the offers. And as I have pointed out, in every instance the promise was withdrawn unfulfilled or the “gain” was ruthlessly wrested from their grasp and they were left broken and empty. People do not need to die to become “lost souls.” The suffering may not be eternal, but it is no less terrible for that. I can truthfully say that throughout my life the most desolate souls I have met were those that said to me with sad nostalgia: “I used to be…,” and then mentioned some abandoned spiritual calling or involvement. The wheels of life were grinding them down and tormenting them with the bitter memory of their loss along with the impossibility of their regaining that which they had so carelessly and foolishly tossed aside for “life” long ago.
Let us attend!
In Eastern Christian worship the exclamation “Let us attend!” is usually uttered before some special
reading or prayer is about to be intoned. We should indeed attend to the words of Nachiketa when he replied to Yama’s offer:
“These things endure only till the morrow, O Destroyer of Life, and the pleasures they give wear out the senses. Keep thou therefore horses and chariots, keep dance and song, for thyself. How shall he desire wealth, O Death, who once has seen thy face? Nay, only the boon that I have chosen–that only do I ask. Having found out the society of the imperishable and the immortal, as in knowing thee I have done, how shall I, subject to decay and death, and knowing well the vanity of the flesh–how shall I wish for long life? Tell me, O King, the supreme secret regarding which men doubt. No other boon will I ask.”
In Christianity and Buddhism a great deal of emphasis is placed on the memory of death as a universal principle and the particular mortality of each one of us. In the West this is superficially shrugged off as morbidity and “unhealthy,” but it can be salutary indeed. It was only sensible that Nachiketa, having come face-to-face with Death, should disregard all that which the human race has been madly seeking throughout its existence. For in the East (including Christianity) only that which lasts forever without any change is considered Real. Everything else is unreal, illusory. Therefore that which can change and pass away is even now essentially nothing. Who, then, would value any such? There is no need for a lengthy philosophical analysis of psychic niceties or suchlike. The fact of their evanescent nature turns all desired objects to mere fantasies in the consciousness of the wise.
“Whereupon the King of Death, well pleased at heart, began to teach Nachiketa the secret of immortality.”
The Good and the Pleasant
“The good is one thing; the pleasant is another. These two, differing in their ends, both prompt to action. Blessed are they that choose the good; they that choose the pleasant miss the goal.”
How simple and direct these words are! When, after years of being soaked (sometimes drowned) in mere religion, when I found dharma one of the most beautiful and wonderful things about it was its incredible simplicity. The religion I had had before was simplistic–childishly so–but at the same time it was complex, convoluted and tangled, because that was state of mind that had produced it and which it produced in those unfortunate enough to accept and follow it. (Many avoided the problem by professing the religion but not really following it.) In contrast, the profound dharma was also as simple as the great ocean, gathering all into unity. I had tried reading Western philosophers and theologians, and found them impossible to understand–mostly because they were not really saying anything. The first time I opened a book by Shankara, the greatest philosopher India has ever produced, it was with real anxiety. Would I break apart on the rock of his verbiage? Not at all. Every sentence was so exquisitely clear, every concept so unbelievably simple–and equally vast and deep. I understood why: Shankara knew by his acquisition of Divine Consciousness. When Shankara talked to me God was speaking. And God knows how to communicate.
Neither Shankara nor the Upanishads or the Gita really require a commentary. All a “commentator” can really do is expand what is already there so we do not rush from point to point in the original text and miss so much of it. Actually, all my commentaries are really Pauses and Reflections. There is no need to explain to you what those sacred texts mean. You can easily understand them for yourself. So all I am really doing is ruminating over them with you. We are digesting them together. It is very satisfying. At least to me–I hope it is to you, also.
The good and the pleasant
“The good is one thing; the pleasant is another.” This does not have to be the situation–the problem is in us. Since the good dissolves the ego and frees us from its seemingly eternal domination and bondage, it is only natural that those who are inured, even addicted, to its rule will find the good bitter in the extreme. In the closing chapter of the Bhagavad Gita Krishna speaks of the one who chooses the good: “Deep his delight after strict self-schooling: sour toil at first but at last what sweetness, the end of sorrow.” Who would not choose this? Just about everybody. Why? Because it requires “strict self-schooling.” We have to educate and deliver ourselves. Neither God nor any holy being can do it for us. Therefore those who cling to their ego-addiction avidly “take refuge” in and “surrender” to and “place all my trust” in God, gods, gurus, saints, teachers, a religion, and whatever, knowing at least subconsciously that it will not work, for they alone can do the needful. The Holy Ones have already done all they could do for them. They have given the message and pointed out the way. Now it is their turn to get to work. Otherwise nothing will happen. And in their perversity this satisfies them completely, though they cover it up with religiosity and “devotion.” Those who do wish to achieve the good must shake off their self-hypnosis and begin the labor. They will be surprised at how pleasant it really is, and in time will come to realize that they were enjoying pain and avoiding the real pleasure that is found only in spiritual life.
Krishna describes the pleasant as essentially “sweet at first but at last how bitter: that pleasure is poison.” It is not just harmful–it is deadly. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of Saint John the Evangelist, wrote of those who, drinking a sweet drink that contains poison, “sweetly drink in their death.” “Aren’t we having fun?” “Come on–live!” “What are you afraid of?” “Why don’t you find out what it is all about?” “What do you know about life?” These are the desperate appeals of those whose consciousness is awakened enough for them to be tormented by the example of those who have more fully awakened and who “touch not the cup–it is death to the soul.”
The wise know that the good and the pleasant utterly differ in their ends. The pleasant leads to ever more addiction, a craving for ever-increasing intoxication, and finally complete collapse and destruction.
"When senses touch objects, the pleasures therefrom are like wombs that bear sorrow.They begin, they are ended. They bring no delight to the wise."
On the other hand:
"Self-controlled, cut free from desire, curbing the heart, and knowing the Atman, man finds Nirvana that is in Brahman, here and hereafter."
“For when a man’s heart has reached fulfillment through knowledge and personal experience of the truth of Brahman, he is never again moved by the things of the senses. Earth, stone and gold seem all alike to one who has mastered his senses. Such a yogi is said to have achieved union with Brahman. Then he knows that infinite happiness which can be realized by the purified heart but is beyond the grasp of the senses. He stands firm in this realization. Because of it, he can never again wander from the inmost truth of his being.”
The good also leads to complete collapse and destruction–the collapse and disintegration of the ego and its attendants, ignorance and desire. Then:
He knows bliss in the Atman, and wants nothing else. Cravings torment the heart: he renounces cravings. I call him illumined.
The man of faith, whose heart is devoted, whose senses are mastered: he finds Brahman. Enlightened, he passes at once to the highest, the peace beyond passion.
His mind is dead to the touch of the external: it is alive to the bliss of the Atman. Because his heart knows Brahman his happiness is for ever.
Already, here on earth, before his departure, let man be the master of every impulse Lust-begotten or fathered by anger: thus he finds Brahman, thus he is happy.
Motivating forces
“These two, differing in their ends, both prompt to action.” Both the good and the pleasant impel us to actions, but they do so in completely different ways.
The good points us to the way of benefit in a completely intelligent and non-emotional way. For example, the good never motivates us by selfish means such as promising reward or threatening punishment–this is the way of evil, including much of religion. The good motivates us toward itself simply by revealing its inherent value.
The pleasant is altogether different. It only shows us its external appearance. It does not reason with us, but entices or even compels us to seize it. The pleasant only shows us its immediate or short-term effect, but completely hides from us its long-term effects and blinds us to its inherent defects. The archetypal example of this is found in the Bible. There we are told that “when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat.” Here we see all the problems with the pleasant: only the external is considered, emotion and instinct come to dominate and eclipse reason, and the ultimate effect is completely unapparent.
In sum, the good reveals but the pleasant conceals. It is necessary that we see the good as truly good and the pleasant as harmful and even evil. This is not easy.
The bigger picture
One of the problems with prevailing religion of all kinds is its incredible small-sightedness. Like the pleasant-oriented and pleasant-obsessed ego which it supports and feeds, it is concerned with only the moment at hand or with goals that are utterly irrelevant to the real nature of the human being. When we understand who/what we really are, then alone can we comprehend what is the sole purpose of our existence: conscious union with the Absolute. In light of this the upanishad concludes: “Blessed are they that choose the good; they that choose the pleasant miss the goal.” So the discrimination between the good and the pleasant is no light matter.
A genuine test of character
In the twenty-fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew we find a parable about foolish and wise souls. Most of us do not really care if we are foolish, just as long as no one labels us so. But we should care, and so the upanishad continues its teaching, saying:
“Both the good and the pleasant present themselves to men. The wise, having examined both, distinguish the one from the other. The wise prefer the good to the pleasant; the foolish, driven by fleshly desires, prefer the pleasant to the good.” There is a lot of truth in these few lines, some of it embarrassing, but nevertheless beneficial for us. (The good is not the pleasant, even in philosophy.)
“Both the good and the pleasant present themselves to men.” Whatever may be the excuses we may make for ourselves, even portraying ourselves as weak or victims, no one, NO ONE, forces anything upon us in life, however much it may seem otherwise. Rather, the good and the pleasant simply “present themselves” to us. We are totally responsible for our response to them, although, like Adam and Eve back in Genesis, we try to put the blame on someone else, on some external factor.
It is really essential to us as we move through life (hopefully forward) that although our deluded experience seems just the opposite, in reality all “things” are completely neutral–it is our response to them that really gives them any character such as good, bad, destructive, positive, etc. A little thought will show this. The deadliest poison is harmless if we do not make contact with it. Conversely, the best medicine is worthless if we do not consume it. Or think of this: garbage seems heavenly food to a starving person, but not to someone who is well fed; a child’s toy means nothing to a mature adult.
Nothing has an innate ability to draw or force us–all the drawing and forcing is in our own mind as it responds to the object. We can blame no one at any time. It is all in us. If there are no grass seeds in the soil no grass will grow. The seeds have to be in us to sprout and grow and bear fruit as thinking, willing, and acting.
“The wise, having examined both, distinguish the one from the other.” Viveka, the ability to distinguish between the real and the unreal, between the true and the false, between the transient and the permanent, is indispensable for the serious spiritual aspirant. The wise possess and exercise this faculty, the eye of wisdom, by deeply examining whatever is presented to them and discerning whether it is the good or the merely pleasant they are being confronted with. Intelligence comes into the foreground, feeling and emotion being banished from the mental field altogether. Human beings operate either rationally or instinctually-emotionally. The wise are rational at all times. At all times. For example, real love is clearsighted–never blind–whereas infatuation masquerading as love is both blinding and blindness.
Preferring and driven
If two people are walking, one toward the north and the other toward the south, the difference between them is very little–just the direction they are facing. But in the matter of the wise and the foolish the differences are profound, for they are rooted in their very being, especially the mind and intellect. Even as a child I always thought that the statement of Abraham to Lazarus that “between us and you there is a great gulf fixed,” was spiritually symbolic, that a great gulf did indeed lie between the Godwards and the earthwards. The upanishad is outlining this nature of this gulf for us by describing its effects on both.
The wise prefer the good–they are not enticed, coerced, or “somehow drawn” to the good. They intelligently–yes, intellectually–prefer it because they know its nature and its effects. This is true of everything in their life, mundane, mental, and spiritual. This is markedly true in the matter of religion. The religious expression of the wise is always, peaceful, clear, intelligent, informed, and practical–it works.
The foolish, however are not so. They truly are a “troubled sea” “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind” as Isaiah and Saint Paul observed. “Driven by fleshly desires,” it only follows that they prefer the pleasant to the good, for the “flesh” cannot even perceive the good to any appreciable degree; but they create a lot of illusions about it–all negative and self-assuring. Their religion is subhuman, of course, catering to their emotions and their demands for the indulgence of their whims and vices. However educated they may be, or how boring and dry their church services, still animality reigns and all manner of subhuman behavior is sanctioned and even elevated and “spiritualized.”
Wallowing in the sty of their comforting and indulgent religion, they cast many a contemptuous (and secretly guilty) glance at those who are not so, and create many a bon mot about their “unnatural denial and repressions” hinting of sinister implications for those who “run away from life” and “refuse to face themselves,” and “expect too much from themselves and others.” But they are still only talking pigs.
Even though they like to say they are “only human” and that God understands they are.
Driven by pleasure/pain, their humanity becomes submerged in the animality impressed in their subconscious by millions of incarnations in subhuman forms. Merely possessing a human body is no guarantee of humanity. The redoubtable Dr. Bronner in a conversation with one of the monks of our ashram referred to some people as “not yet HUMAN!” He was right. A house does not make a home and a human body does not make a human. Humanity only dawns when intelligence dominates and wisdom is gained. We need not be intellectual in the academic sense, but we must be intelligent. Then if we use our intelligence there is a chance we may become wise and thereby cross the great gulf.
The plain facts
Chances are Nachiketa never got voted “most popular” of anything and may not even have been “a good mixer.” But Yama assessed him quite highly, saying: “Thou, O Nachiketa, having looked upon fleshly desires, delightful to the senses, hast renounced them all. Thou hast turned from the miry way wherein many a man wallows.” Now this is a thumbnail portrait of a wise human being, but it is a test of the wise and the foolish. The wise will accept it and the foolish will not. So we should take a square look at it and our reaction will tell us which we are.
First of all, Nachiketa is not naive or “innocent.” He knows what is going on, even if most things should not be going on. He has not turned away, but has deeply looked into the desires of the flesh and the delights of the senses. He knows what the fake life of the foolish is all about, and he has renounced it ALL–not just a little bit or even most, but the whole mess. Why? Because he does not identify with the flesh and the senses, but with the intelligence and his true self that is pure consciousness. He knows he is not the perishable body.
“Thou hast turned from the miry way wherein many a man wallows,” says Yama. Nachiketa sees that the world of body-sense enslavement is a suffocating bog–not just ugly and repulsive to the wise, but deadly. He knows, with Jesus, that: “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” He also knows that in reality once a person has reached the level of human evolution he cannot really live like an animal without dire consequences, including terrible suffering. As humans we have simply gone beyond that to which the foolish cling to so obsessively.
This is strikingly illustrated in Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son found in the fifteenth chapter of Saint Luke. After wasting his inheritance, the man hired himself out to a pig farmer. This is a symbol of someone who has enslaved himself to the lower nature and the senses–pigs that wallow in filth, eat garbage, and demand more. “And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.” Like nearly all of us, the poor soul wants to feed on and be satisfied with the garbage that the pigs revel in, grunting: “This is living!” But it cannot be; we are not pigs; we are not the senses or the body.
No matter how much we desire to regress to animal living, we cannot really do so. And usually only pain will wake us up from such folly. When we do wake up, like the Prodigal we will resolve: “I will arise and go” forward in the path of evolution, leaving the sty and its pigs behind. The rising and the going will not be easy, but there simply is nothing else for a true human being to do. Moreover, the path will not be long, though it may seem so, for time drags when we are having struggle and pain. Jesus indicates this, saying: “when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and
ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” All the perfected souls that have taught us about spiritual life have assured us that the effort required of us is but a token–nevertheless a token that must be paid. If we can but get a glimpse or conceive a bit of what it will be to have arisen and travelled the way, then the price will seem so small. Amazingly, Saint Paul tells us that Jesus “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Just think: the joy. This should be our perspective, too.
Again, renunciation is the way of immortality.
The Way of Ignorance
The Two Ways
Yama, the King of Death, praises Nachiketa, saying: “Far from each other, and leading to different ends, are ignorance and knowledge. Thee, O Nachiketa, I regard as one who aspires after knowledge, for a multitude of pleasant objects were unable to tempt thee.”
It is interesting to note that the concept of Two Ways of human life are to be found in all religious traditions. Jesus spoke of the Broad Way and the Strait Way, and when they met in Jerusalem and issued a joint spiritual letter, his apostles began by saying there are two Ways in this world. Long before that, the Katha Upanishad spoke of the Way of Ignorance and the Way of Knowledge.
The Way of Ignorance is the subject of the three verses we will be considering, but first Yama tells us the key trait of one who aspires to knowledge: he cannot be tempted by the pleasant. This is because he sees its nature and its results. The pursuers of the Way of Ignorance are not such as Nachiketa, and Yama now tells us about them and the results of their walking in that Way.
The Way of Folly
“Living in the abyss of ignorance yet wise in their own conceit, deluded fools go round and round, the blind led by the blind.” That certainly is plain speaking! Let us go through this verse bit by bit.
Living in the abyss of ignorance. This word “abyss” is very disturbing in this context. It indicates that the condition of ignorance is profound–not something than can easily be removed or escaped. Rather, the person is sunk deep into the darkness of ignorance, so deep that he cannot see anything but darkness, so deep that he can hardly be extricated from it–at least in this life. It is not that his condition is utterly hopeless, but that he simply has neither awareness nor interest. If that dawns, he is on his way out of the abyss. But most of the time it does not happen. In a routine of the Firesign Theatre, a disease is described with the concluding words: “The only cure for which is death.” In many (actually most) cases of abysmal ignorance this is the truth. The individual requires another birth before he can arise from the depths. Until then he should be left alone.
Yet wise in their own conceit. Somewhere I read the words: “The problem with ignorance is that it picks up confidence as it goes along.” Since ignorance is a by-product of ego, as ignorance increases so does egotism. Increasing in this alternating cycle, invincible arrogance and invincible ignorance arise, take hold and consume the ignorant person. This is really an ugly picture; but an accurate one. Thinking themselves wise, how can the ignorant ever see the truth about themselves–both the higher and the lower selves–and try to rectify themselves? They cannot. Not content to revel in their private kingdom of ignorance, they then set about to aggressively expand it through influence of others. And if they cannot influence they will dominate and bully until they have extended their sphere of darkness. Again:
ugly but accurate. Living in the fantasy-land of ego, they sink deeper, believing that they are rising.
Deluded fools go round and round. Cycling in confusion, the foolish spiral downward, seeming to go up and down but really only going down and down. In their minds they veer back and forth, up and down, agitating themselves and others, but in actuality they just keep on sinking. Because of this they continually go round and round in the wheel of birth and death, perpetually bound to the torture wheel of samsara–and reveling in every moment. They have discovered the secret of happiness in this world: unconsciousness.
The blind led by the blind. Ignorance as well as misery loves company, in fact needs it desperately and thrives on it. Supporting each other they stumble through this world until death claims them and they get to do it all over–and over and over. When they are not being the leader and the led, they are the pusher and the pushed, the dominating and the dominated, the victimizer and the victim–alternating in these two roles, they reel onward and downward.
Blind to eternity
“To the thoughtless youth, deceived by the vanity of earthly possessions, the path that leads to the eternal abode is not revealed. This world alone is real; there is no hereafter–thinking thus, he falls again and again, birth after birth, into my jaws.”
Rendered heedless of the truth about his condition through involvement with materiality–both his body and objects in the world–and deluded by what he thinks is going on, the ignorant never sees the way beyond the abyss in which he dwells. He simply cannot see it, just as we cannot hear frequencies beyond the range of our hearing or see things beyond the range of our sight. He is deaf and blind to spirit in all its aspects. Even if by some chance he should seek the way, if he finds it he will not know it, nor if he come face to face with the way will he realize it. Just the opposite. He will despise and deny it, even denouncing it as delusive or evil. On the other hand, he will exult in devilish religion, teachers, and practices, seeking them out and devoting himself to them. Let me give two examples I know of personally.
A great master used to plead with a young man to learn meditation, assuring him that his progress would be rapid and he would be liberated in this life. But he did not get initiated. When the master was about to leave his body he told his disciples that if the man ever came to the ashram and expressed an interest, one of them was to initiate him immediately. He never did. But a dozen or so years later one of the biggest frauds the “yoga world” has ever produced came to town charging money for a worthless technique. The man was in poor financial condition, and could not really afford it, but he immediately slapped down the cash and got initiated into nothing.
Two Buddhist friends of mine visit a prison and instruct the inmates in Buddhist philosophy and spiritual practice. They are practicers of the Pure Land School of Buddhism. Whenever they try to get the prisoners to chant the liberating name of Amida Buddha they refuse and insist that they chant Tibetan “power mantras” instead. They love bondage and lust after control. They belong where they are.
“This world alone is real; there is no hereafter” is thought by many of the foolish, but there are many more who do not actually think it but live as though they did. Denial of spiritual realities is done more by deeds than by words. It does not matter how devoutly or spiritually we may think, if we live carelessly and materially, as centered on our ego as any ignoramus we would regard as “unspiritual.”
This is the real test. Thinking the material world alone is real, the ignorant return to it again and again,
living in the jaws of death. If we do the same, then we are fools. If we do not, then we are wise.
The Mystery of the Self
Seeing is not always seeing and hearing is not always hearing. In some instances it is misperception, and in others it is no perception at all. This is illustrated by an incident from the life of Jesus. While speaking to the people, he prayed: “Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.” Four levels of perception are manifested here. One level knew that God had spoken, another thought that an angel had spoken, another thought it had only thundered, and the fourth did not hear a thing.
As a rule, phenomena can be classified in fours. The four castes spoken of in Indian scriptures are not social strata based on physical birth, but four levels of awareness–in fact, they correspond to the four responses to the speaking of God that Saint John has recorded in this Gospel passage. Krishna follows the same classification in the Bhagavad Gita, saying: “There are some who have actually looked upon the Atman, and understood It, in all Its wonder. Others can only speak of It as wonderful beyond their understanding. Others know of Its wonder by hearsay. And there are others who are told about It and do not understand a word.” But it is the Katha Upanishad we are looking into at the moment, so let us see what Yama had to say to Nachiketa about this matter of understanding the Self (atman).
“To many it is not given to hear of the Self. Many, though they hear of it, do not understand it. Wonderful is he who speaks of it. Intelligent is he who learns of it. Blessed is he who, taught by a good teacher, is able to understand it.”
The “silent” majority
“To many it is not given to hear of the Self.” Most people–by far the most people–have never heard of the Self and never will in this lifetime. Oh, yes, they will hear about an immortal soul/spirit that a tyrannical God will reward or punish according to His whim, but the real nature of that spirit as part of–and therefore one with–the Supreme Reality and therefore supreme reality itself, eternal, immortal, and indivisible, will never be even hinted at nor will they come up with the concept on their own. Further, it will not be even suggested to them, either from within or without, that the spirit nature is the Self–nothing more–and is the only true identity they can ever have.
Being unchanging, this Self cannot be affected or changed by anything–no, not even by God. It is what it is, just as much as God is what He is. It is, therefore, not only the most worthwhile thing for us to get involved with, it is the only thing we can possibly be involved with. Everything else is illusion. This glorious truth of the Self, known only to the seers of Sanatana Dharma (there are others in various religions that hold this, but they are looked upon as mavericks and heretics by those groups), must be the sole perspective in which we view our present situation as consciousnesses experiencing the process of evolution. (It is the ever-shifting dance of prakriti to which we have become attached that evolves; we are ever the same, ever the One.)
Living in the silence of ignorance, what can they do? Not much, obviously.
The uncomprehending
“Many, though they hear of it, do not understand it.” This is true of many who, though ostensibly adherents to Sanatana Dharma, really do not get the idea–especially about the Self. These are those that
frequent temples, ashrams and saints as a kind of insurance against calamity and trouble. Then there are those that only run to those holy places when problems arise. Obviously they have no degree of comprehension regarding the Self.
Neither do most who profess to understand the Self. This is seen by their words and deeds. If someone believes the building is on fire we can tell it by their attempts to get out. Similarly, if someone believes in the truth about the Self they will order their entire lives accordingly–not just assent to the concept. To know the Self, to enter into the fullness of its consciousness and being, will be the focus of their life and thought.
Sri Ramakrishna often said that if a thief learned of a great treasure being kept in the room next to where he was living, he would not be able to sleep for thinking about how to break through the wall and get it. In the same way, those who really understand about the wonder of the Self will not rest until they have (re)claimed the Treasure for themselves. Spiritual purification and spiritual practice are the means for breaking through the wall and claiming the prize.
We have a dilemma here, also: Only those who understand about the self will be motivated to engage in tapasya to realize it fully; yet only those who are engaged in tapasya can have any glimmer of the self and be motivated to practice! The solution lies in the fact that in time the Self begins to urge us to its realization, that we will intuit the presence of the Self and start moving toward the point where, when we hear about it, we will accept and act upon what we hear.
It is interesting to see that Yama does not mention those who reject or deny the truth of the Self. Apparently to him they do not even exist.
Wonderful
We joke sometimes about the exaggerations of the theatrical and motion picture industries. “It is colossal! Magnificent! The greatest ever!” and suchlike continually pour out in conversation and advertisements. The song, Hollywood, assures us that out there “you’re ‘terrific’ if you’re good.” Divinity, on the other hand, has a somewhat different viewpoint, so Yama tells Nachiketa: “Wonderful is he who speaks of it.” He is not speaking of a parrot, a spiritual phonograph, but of one who speaks with awakened awareness–even if not from perfect knowledge or realization. “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” The implication here is that we should seek out and only listen to those who speak of the Self, from the Self, and in the perspective of the Self. Theology is usually only so much distracting noise, and so is most “religious” and “spiritual” talk. Buddha likened a true teacher or teaching to a finger pointing at the moon–only that which points us to our own Reality is itself real and worthwhile. Such a teacher or teaching is wonderful indeed.
Intelligent
The word “stupid” gets tossed about in casual conversation as much as does “wonderful,” and no one relishes being thought stupid. (Few care whether they actually are stupid, just as long as nobody notices or points it out.) Yama, with his very definite perspective, assures Nachiketa that the intelligent person is the one who pursues knowledge of the Self. This is done in two ways: listening to or reading the teachings about the Self of those who have themselves known the self, and–most importantly–by actively seeking to know one’s own Self through careful analysis (swadhyaya) and spiritual practices, most especially meditation. This latter point is very necessary for us to grasp. Intellectually intelligent people love learning–and they should. However, it is easy to fall into the trap of studying all the theory and not getting down to any practice to determine the validity of the theory.
Saint Silouan of Athos said that delight in the study of theology was the false mysticism of the ego. When Swami Turiyananda first met Sri Ramakrishna he was intensely studying Vedanta for at least six hours a day. Upon hearing of this, Sri Ramakrishna was astounded. “What else does Vedanta say except that Brahman alone is real, the world is illusory, and the Self and Brahman are one?” he asked. “So why do you need six hours of study for that?” Turiyananda had the good sense to understand, and began to devote himself to japa and meditation in order to know the Self–not just know about the Self. In the West it is a common error to assume that knowing about something is the same thing as knowing it. More than once I have read in catechisms that knowing God is accomplished by reading the catechism! That is stupid.
Blessed
To be wonderful and intelligent is good, but to be blessed is the ideal. So Yama concludes: “Blessed is he who, taught by a good teacher, is able to understand it.” This is because a good teacher does not just impart theoretical knowledge, but reveals to the student the practical means by which he can open his understanding through meditation to behold and know the Self. Krishna, being the Supreme Teacher, instructs Arjuna in the Gita about meditation, saying: “If he practices meditation in this manner, his heart will become pure.” “He must be…united constantly with me in his meditation.” “The practice of serenity, sympathy, meditation upon the Atman, withdrawal of the mind from sense-objects, and integrity of motive, is called austerity of the mind.” “Make a habit of practicing meditation, and do not let your mind be distracted. In this way you will come finally to the Lord, who is the light-giver, the highest of the high.”
How to Either Know or Not Know the Self
Let the student (who is often a “buyer”) beware
“The truth of the Self cannot be fully understood when taught by an ignorant man, for opinions regarding it, not founded in knowledge, vary one from another. Subtler than the subtlest is this Self, and beyond all logic. Taught by a teacher who knows the Self and Brahman as one, a man leaves vain theory behind and attains to truth.”
By “the truth of the Self” is meant both the philosophical, scriptural truth and the direct perception of the truth experienced in meditation. However Yama is at this point speaking more on the side of learning the intellectual truth about the Self, its nature, and its possibility of realization.
We all know the incredible and impenetrable tangle of theologies that constitute what most people think are the religions of the world. The reason for this is simple: most (almost all) teachers of religion are fundamentally ignorant. Ignorant not in the intellectual sense, but in the intuitive sense. Since we do need an intellectual road map to help us in our search for direct experience of the Self, this is a serious matter. For an attempt to figure out the truth of the Self in a purely theoretical manner will only add to the prevailing confusion. We will just become one more voice in the cacophony of ignorant religion or philosophy. Nothing is worse than an ignoramus that believes he has an “inside track.” As Jesus observed: “If the ‘light’ that is in thee be [actually] darkness, how great is that darkness!”
Consequently, it is a most detrimental thing to come into the orbit of an ignorant teacher and accept his words–and even worse to act on them. Some years back there was a most interesting motion picture called Apprentice to Murder. It was based on the actual experience of a man who as an adolescent came into contact with a “wise man” in the southern hills. This man conducted a kind of church whose members studied a nineteenth-century book of what might be called folk magic. He had genuine
psychic abilities and really did work miracles. This boy became his student and ended up being jailed as an accomplice in the man’s murder of someone he considered a “black magician.” This is a rather drastic example, but frankly it is much less destructive in the long run than involvement with many contemporary teachers, some of the worst of whom are in the yoga world. To be confused is worse than being merely ignorant, and being flawed and distorted by wrong yoga practices is even worse.
Beyond the intellect
“Subtler than the subtlest is this Self, and beyond all logic,” says Yama. Being subtler than the subtlest, the Self cannot possibly be perceived by any sense–including those of the subtle bodies–or conceived of by even the highest and subtle reaches of the intellect. Yet, the Self can be known. This is possible only when “taught by a teacher who knows the Self and Brahman as one, a man leaves vain theory behind and attains to truth” through the practice of meditation, instruction in which a qualified teacher will give. This really marks out the knowledgous teacher from the ignorant teacher. The ignorant teacher will only expound theory, “proving” what he teaches by intellectual means. The worthy teacher may say much the same words, but will point the student to the means by which he can attain the vision of the Self. He will establish the student in the practice of correct meditation, without which nothing that is real can possibly be known.
A bit more. Yama tells us that the teacher should be one who knows–not a rhetorician or theoretician. Now it is impossible for us to look into the consciousness of a teacher, so how will we know he has real knowledge? We cannot in an absolute sense, but Yama gives us a trait that at least assures us the teacher is not altogether astray: He will affirm the oneness of the Self and Brahman. No matter how cleverly, convincingly, and cutely he may speak, however much he may appeal to our emotions and deluded intellects, if he does not insist on the unity of the Self and Brahman, saying with the Chandogya Upanishad “THAT THOU ART,” he is unworthy and to be turned away from. Unhappily, there are a lot of ignoramuses who appeal to egotistical fools by saying: “You are God.” The true teacher says not that we are God, but that God is us. There is an infinite difference. Furthermore, the real teacher does not just tell us this fact, he instructs in the means to find it out for ourself. These two traits must be present before we even begin to think about accepting a teacher as a valid guide.
The ultimate test of a teacher is our own capacity, made accessible to us by his instruction, to leave all speculation behind and enter into the Reality that is both Brahman and the Self while remaining ever One. Then all the gods and sages will say of us what Yama said of Nachiketa: “The awakening which thou hast known does not come through the intellect, but rather, in fullest measure, from the lips of the wise. Beloved Nachiketa, blessed, blessed art thou, because thou seekest the Eternal. Would that I had more pupils like thee!”
From the Unreal to the Real
Eternal values
There is an obscure Protestant song entitled “With Eternity’s Values in View.” Musically it is not much, but philosophically it is profound. We are not temporal, mortal beings, and if we live our life as though we were, then only confusion and chaos can result. Instead we must see ourselves as eternal beings presently dreaming the dream of evolution–a dream whose culmination is awakening, toward which all of our attention and awareness should be focused. Nachiketa knew this, but Yama underlined it, telling him:
“Well I know that earthly treasure lasts but till the morrow. For did not I myself, wishing to be King of
Death, make sacrifice with fire? But the sacrifice was a fleeting thing, performed with fleeting objects, and small is my reward, seeing that only for a moment will my reign endure.” What are a billion years compared to eternity? Not even a glimmer. Why, then, do we scramble after such short-lived earthly goals, goals that even if attained prove to be worthless since they vanish away so quickly? Why do we continually deny our eternity and affirm the delusion of temporality? Because we identify thoroughly with that which is temporal and finite.
Buddha and two fools
Buddha once encountered two deluded ascetics. One always behaved like a dog and the other like a water buffalo. No explanation is given for their behavior. Perhaps it related to some deity worshipped by them. For example, a dog would be related to Bhairava, a form of Shiva, and a water buffalo to the goddess Durga. However it might be, they wanted to know from Buddha what the results of their way of life would be. He refused to answer, but they kept insisting, so he told them plainly that if they were lucky they would be reborn as a dog and a water buffalo, and if they were unlucky they would find themselves in astral hells corresponding to their aberrative life and thought. As anticipated by Buddha, they wailed and fussed and went away without gaining any sense or rectifying their foolish ways. We are just like them, except we are hypocrites, claiming to believe in the eternal, unconditioned Self and acting just the opposite.
The dilemma of the gods
It is true that there is nothing on this earth we cannot attain if we put forth the effort. In previous creations human beings performed elaborate rituals to become “gods” in this creation, including Brahma the creator. They succeeded, and the result was that they suffer more pain and anxiety than human beings do and are more subject to mental aberrations than humans. Furthermore, they are bound until the end of this creation cycle to fulfil their offices and can in no way shirk or abandon them. So they are more bound than any human being could ever be. In other words, their heaven has turned out to be a hell. Still their main anxiety is fear over falling from their exalted status and returning to human form. They have learned nothing from their experience. (Do we?)
A metaphysical fact
“But the sacrifice was a fleeting thing, performed with fleeting objects, and small is my reward, seeing that only for a moment will my reign endure.” Within this lament of Yama is embedded a profound truth regarding spiritual life.
Only the spirit is eternal and everlasting. Everything else, however highly evolved or sacred, is temporal and impermanent. However long-lived they may be, in time they will dissolve back into the primal energy of manifestation and we will lose them–never really having “had” them at all.
Consequently, the wise seek only for the eternal spirit, though using the material and the temporal to aid them in their search. For example, physical health is not enlightenment, but it certainly makes the enlightenment process easier. Material sufficiency relieves us from anxiety and helps us pursue spiritual life without distraction. And so forth.
Discipline is essential for material life, and even more so for spiritual life. Yet, discipline will not take us to the goal–it will greatly facilitate our going, but we must never mistake proficiency in any discipline or practice for spiritual attainment. In the same way, any type of yogic practice that does not deal directly with Consciousness will not result in enlightenment. Like discipline, it may help us in our ascent to higher awareness, but it must not be mistaken for that awareness.
“Sadhana” means spiritual practice that leads to the revelation of the Real (Sat). The temporal does not lead to the eternal, therefore real sadhana must begin and end in spirit consciousness. No material procedure is sadhana, nor is any externally-oriented practice sadhana. The only true sadhana is the turning inward of the mind and the perception of the inmost spirit. In other words, meditation alone is sadhana–meditation free of all mechanics and gimmicks, simple and direct, leading to the ultimate Simplicity that is the Self. We must begin with spirit if we are to end with spirit. That is why Patanjali briefly outlines the nature of God, telling us that “His manifesting Word is Om,” and concluding: “Its japa and meditation is The Way.” For constant japa/meditation utilizing the Eternal Om will render us an Infinite Reward.
In just a few more verses the Katha Upanishad encapsulates it thus: “Of that goal which all the Vedas declare, which is implicit in all penances, and in pursuit of which men lead lives of continence and service, of that will I briefly speak. It is–OM. This syllable is Brahman. This syllable is indeed supreme. He who knows it obtains his desire. It is the strongest support. It is the highest symbol. He who knows it is reverenced as a knower of Brahman.”
The truth
All truth is a two-edged sword. It tells us what IS and what IS NOT. The truth about the Self and Brahman also tells us what is not the Self or Brahman. Those of us who are clinging to the unreal will find this painful or at least uncomfortable. But we have to let go of the unreal to lay hold of the Real. If we do not like this fact we need not bother with Real, but keep on whirling around in our little hamster wheel we call life. But the wise listen and act upon Yama’s next words to Nachiketa:
‘The goal of worldly desire, the glittering objects for which all men long, the celestial pleasures they hope to gain by religious rites, the most sought-after of miraculous powers—all these were within thy grasp. But all these, with firm resolve, thou hast renounced.”
To enter into Life we turn away from all fulfillments of material and temporal desires, no longer attracted by their false glitter. Nor do we aspire to some heaven or heavenly pleasures offered to us by ego-oriented religion–things that also end as painfully as the joys of earth. Even miracles mean nothing to us, for they occur only in the realm of duality, the realm of death.
Where is Life?
Seeing that Nachiketa was yearning to pass from death to Immortality, Yama continues: “The ancient, effulgent being, the indwelling Spirit, subtle, deep-hidden in the lotus of the heart, is hard to know. But the wise man, following the path of meditation, knows him, and is freed alike from pleasure and from pain.”
First of all, before analyzing this, it must be realized that Yama is talking about us. Certainly, we are finite and God is infinite, but substantially (essentially) we are the same. So Yama is talking about our true nature in these amazing words, and we should consider them accordingly.
Ancient
We are puranam–ancient. God is called the Purana Purusha, the Ancient Person. Since we coexist with Him, we, too, are ancient. Shankara in his commentary explains that in this context puranam does not just mean incredibly old, but everlasting. That is, we, too, are primeval beings. “There was never a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor any of these kings. Nor is there any future in which we shall cease to be,” Krishna tells Arjuna in the Gita.
Our eternity is very hard for us to grasp even theoretically because we have been caught in the time-space web for ages beyond calculation. Creations have come and gone as we barely crawled along the evolutionary path. We just cannot conceive of eternity, for it is not time without end, it is that state of being which lies beyond time. Actually, we are living in that state right now, but have completely lost sight of it and imagine we are immersed in the sea of constant change, of constant birth and death with their attendant sufferings.
To view ourselves as eternal, immortal beings is therefore most important, for without that perspective “life” will totally overwhelm us, drowning us in illusions without either numbering or end. Yet when we step back, withdrawing our consciousness into our own reality, it will end instantly. It is the stepping back and withdrawal that takes the time.
Effulgent Being
Devam means “shining one.” We are ourselves “the light that shines in darkness” for we are a living part of the Light of Life. Consequently we must turn within for illumination. Until we are perfected in that in-turning we do need some external lights such as holy books and teachers, but it is unwise to become dependent on any outer source of knowledge. Eventually we must get it all from within, having become swayamprakash, self-illumined.
Certainly we should be discontented with our present ignorant and bound state of being, but there is no room here for condemning or loathing ourselves for being sinners, weak, foolish, etc. Our discontent with our present state should arise from our conviction that we are ourselves divine–for devam means that as well. We are living far beneath our selves. Knowing that, we should turn around, stop our descent, and begin ascending to our real place–far beyond any childish heaven or relative condition of any type however exalted.
Since we are self-effulgent, all guidance must eventually come from within. We may not be able to tap the inner light right now to the needed degree, but in time our atma alone must be our guide through and beyond this life. We must learn to rely on our capacity for pure Knowing.
As a child and a young man I looked upon myself as a “Bible-believing Christian,” so naturally I believed that Jesus Christ was the Light of the World. But it was only when I found the wisdom of the Upanishads that I really believed Jesus when he said: “Ye are the light of the world.” For the fundamental necessity is to realize that we are the Light also. “God is light” and so are we, for we and God are one, not two. No one who claims to be spiritually enlightened can teach otherwise, “for with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” The Light of God reveals the Light of our own Self. The closer we get to our real self, the closer we come to God, and vice versa. Then “the sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.” For we shall know ourselves as Light and Glory. This is not egotism, for in the Light the ego melts away. “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”
Indwelling Spirit
“Indwelling spirit” not only tells us that we are pure consciousness by nature, but the important fact that our consciousness is the noumenon which dwells at the heart of all phenomena. That wherever there is any “thing” there are we as the reality that is the substratum of all existence–even of illusion. That is why we find our selves if we pierce the veil of illusion or look within. We are omnipresent.
Subtle
We do not perceive the Self because our conditionings from aeons of relative existence has coarsened our perceptions. Experiencing materiality over and over and over again has oriented and confined our awareness to the grossest levels of existence. Further, it has oriented and confined our awareness to externalities. Any reflective person can readily understand the need to turn our awareness inward to perceive the self, but more is needed: we must refine our minds, rendering them more and more subtle so they can eventually see the Most Subtle: the Self.
Meditation refines the mind no doubt, but we have to do more than that, otherwise an entire life will simply not be enough time to produce the requisite refinement. Therefore Patanjali in Yoga Sutras 2:30,32 lists the necessary means for the physical and psychic refinement without which the Self cannot be realized to any degree. They are:
) Ahimsa: non-violence, non-injury, harmlessness
2) Satya: truthfulness, honesty
3) Asteya: non-stealing, honesty, non-misappropriativeness
4) Brahmacharya: sexual continence in thought, word and deed as well as control of all the senses
5) Aparigraha: non-possessiveness, non-greed, non-selfishness, non-acquisitiveness
6) Shaucha: purity, cleanliness
7) Santosha: contentment, peacefulness
8) Tapas: austerity, practical (i.e., result-producing) spiritual discipline
9) Swadhyaya: introspective self-study, spiritual study
10) Ishwarapranidhana: offering of one’s life to God
All of these deal with the innate powers of the human being–or rather with the abstinence and observance that will develop and release those powers to be used toward our spiritual perfection, to our self-realization and liberation. Equally important is their effect on our minds: harmonization, strengthening, and refinement.
These ten factors and successful meditation are actually interdependent. Without meditation they are impossible to accomplish, and without their steady and complete observance meditation becomes impossible. This is why after nearly forty years of the “yoga boom” in this country nothing significant has been accomplished spiritually. A lot of money has been made, organizations formed and exalted over the lives of their members, and a great deal of folly and neurosis has resulted (what to say of virulent scandals) but that is all. Why? Because these ten needful elements are utterly omitted from the spheres of their existence. They are never mentioned, much less advocated. The only exception is ahimsa–limited only to opposition to war. This is because everybody wants to be nice and the pop-yoga movement was born during the “Hell no, we won’t go!” war-protesting hip era. However, the most obvious personal application of ahimsa: advocacy of abstention from the eating of animal flesh, is usually absent.
The sensible aspirant cannot do otherwise than make these ten disciplines part of his life if he truly wishes to render himself capable of beholding the Self and living as the Self.
Deep-hidden in the lotus of the heart
Why are we out of touch with God and our Self? Because we are skimming on the surface of “things” while Reality is “deep-hidden in the lotus of the heart”–the Core of All. Actually, Reality is deep-hidden in the core of the things we are experiencing. We only need to see into them to find the True. That is why in Buddhism we find the word Penetration so frequently used. We must See Deeply. That is, we need not turn away or withdraw from outer phenomena, but rather develop the capacity to see into them to their ultimate Depth. To do this we do enter inside through meditation, but since there really is neither Inside nor Outside in the truest sense, in time–through the practice of meditation–we come to see all there is to see: The One.
Hard to know
We have all experienced getting a mistaken idea or impression stuck in our head that we could not get rid of even when we knew better. The same is true of habit patterns. Living in conditioned existence we ourselves have become conditioned–or at least we identify with the conditionings of the ever-shifting mind. This is the only reason that the Self is hard to know. It has nothing to do with the nature of the Self, but with the conditioning of the mind–conditioning resulting from billions and billions of lifetimes as everything from an atom of hydrogen onward to where we are now. It is not easy to undo in a few years what we have taken thousands of creation cycles to build up! Yet it can be done and will be done in time. We just have to understand the way things work and that it will take time. Nevertheless, the words “hard to know” assure us that the Self can be known.
The way and its effects
“But the wise man, following the path of meditation, knows him, and is freed alike from pleasure and from pain.” It is the path of meditation that leads to Self-knowledge, none other.
The uncontrolled mind
Does not guess that the Atman is present:
How can it meditate?
Without meditation, where is peace? Without peace, where is happiness?
It is not that Self-knowledge renders us incapable of experiencing pleasure or pain, but of being in bondage to them–that is, being subject to reaction to pleasure and pain.
The bonds of his flesh are broken. He is lucky, and does not rejoice:
He is unlucky, and does not weep. I call him illumined.
To obey the Atman Is his peaceful joy; Sorrow melts
Into that clear peace:
His quiet mind
Is soon established in peace.
Finding the Treasure
All the world seeks happiness. Our American Declaration of Independence says that the pursuit of
happiness is an inalienable right for every human being. But see how miserable people really are beneath the frantic veneer of the pursuit of happiness in an ever-changing and pain-producing world. The problem? We are looking in the wrong direction. We are seeking outward when we should be seeking inward. We are seeking the non-self instead of the Self. From the Katha Upanishad we learn the right line of action.
“The man who has learned that the Self is separate from the body, the senses, and the mind, and has fully known him, the soul of truth, the subtle principle–such a man verily attains to him, and is exceeding glad, because he has found the source and dwelling place of all felicity. Truly do I believe, O Nachiketa, that for thee the gates of joy stand open.”
Separate
“The Self is separate from the body, the senses, and the mind.” Therefore the body, senses, and mind cannot even “see” the Self as an object, and certainly cannot possibly experience the Self to any degree. The happiness experienced by body, senses, and mind is not true happiness at all, but an approximation, a sham that distracts us from the real thing, inevitably leading us to frustration and all-around misery.
This must be learned. Then the Self itself must be known.
Soul of truth, subtle principle
The Self is the very soul of Truth, of Reality. It is not just the basis of reality, it IS reality. Apart from it there simply is nothing. It is subtle beyond all conception–but not beyond all experience. It is when we enter fully into the Being that is the Self, that we “attain to him,” that boundless happiness shall be ours. For the Boundless itself shall be ours.
Source and dwelling
Yama then tells us an important fact: the Self is the source of all and the dwelling place of all felicity. Now this is most intriguing. We are saying that the Self is all there really is, and then we hear that it is the source of “all.” This is the key to true non-dual comprehension. Sri Ramakrishna explained that at first we follow the path of negation saying “Not this, not that,” the idea being that everything we can see or think of is not the Real. But when we come to the real end of that approach–which is not just intellection or mind-gaming, but the inner path of meditation–and turn back we will say “ALL this!” That is, we will see that everything is the Real, that the unreal was only our way of seeing and (mis)understanding it. The whole world, said Sri Ramakrishna, will then be seen as “a mart of joy.” Unless this is understood at the beginning we will end up being just another dyspeptic world-and-life-denying grouch, claiming that our dryness and grimness is jnana (wisdom). “There is a state beyond bliss, you know,” grated one of them to a friend of mine who dared to find joy in the Self. India abounds with these anatmic misfits and we have plenty of them in the West, too. (One is too many.)
All that is dwells in–is rooted in–the Self and is therefore an expression of divine Ananda. What a wonderful world-view: one that sees not “the world” but Spirit. We do not go from one point to another to pass from the unreal to the Real, from darkness to the Light, from death to Immortality. It is only a matter of changing our base of perception. This is the real alchemy, changing the lead of mundane experience to the gold of supernal joy.
The conclusion
No one is excluded from this glorious truth, it extends to all and is vital to all in an equal degree. No one is nearer or farer from the Self–it embraces all. This is the real Gospel–the Evangelion, the Good
News humanity needs so desperately: “Truly, for thee the gates of joy stand open.” Let us pass through them!
The Transcendent Reality of the Self
Previously Yama has spoken to Nachiketa of the manner to experience the Self that is immanent in all that “is.” Now he completes the picture by an exposition of the Transcendent and the means to realize It. He does this in response to Nachiketa’s question: “Teach me, O King, I beseech thee, whatsoever thou knowest to be beyond right and wrong, beyond cause and effect, beyond past, present, and future.” He desires to know about the Transcendental Reality that is beyond all qualities or designations. As the Immanent Being, That has infinite names, forms, conditions, and qualities, but beyond that is something much greater: the Transcendent. That can neither be said to exist or not to exist, to be with form or without form, with qualities or without qualities, for all these propositions are dualities, one presupposing the other. Where there is one there is its opposite–duality is an absolute in the realm of the Immanent Reality. Nachiketa is certainly pleased with the truth that all can be seen as the Divine Unity, but he wishes to complete his knowledge by learning about what lies beyond even that. Sri Ma Anandamayi, when discussing these things, always insisted on the point that there is a state in which even the question of duality/unity, form/formless, and such like cannot even arise. That is the state Nachiketa aspires to comprehend and experience.
The answer is in the question
Everything in manifestation is dual. This is the truth for every aspect of life. There is an interesting divinatory process known as The Alphabet of the Magi. To “work” it a question is formulated and then written on cards–one letter per card. These cards are then shuffled and dealt out in a special way (unknown to me) to form the words that are the answer to the question! It was The Alphabet of the Magi, worked by a Benedictine monk who practiced divination and astrology in Paris after his monastery had been closed by the anti-religious government, that inspired Charlotte Corday to assassinate Marat and inspired Napoleon, then a mere corporal, to aspire to the rulership of France. So it works.
The idea that the answer is inherent in the question is very important, for it means that the questioner already knows the answer on the subconscious (or superconscious) level, that the question cannot arise until the answer is subliminally known. The purpose of questioning, then, is to bring out on the conscious level what is known unconsciously. When we seemingly ask another to teach us we are really seeking to stimulate and bring forth our own knowledge. That is why the wise have assured their students that in time they would be able to find the answers within themselves–it is only a matter of developing intuition through clarifying the mind.
It is very common to hear someone demand: “Why did you ask me if you are not going to accept what I tell you?” The reply should be: “So I can figure the answer out for myself.” The very fact that we reject a given answer indicates that we think we do know what is the truth about the matter. Otherwise we would mindlessly accept what we are told. (Many do, alas.) It is all inside us. Questioning reveals the ripening of our innate knowledge. Knowing this, Jesus said: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” He is not urging us to seek outside ourselves, but to seek within.
Nachiketa seems to be asking Yama about the Transcendent, but his question reveals how much he
already knows.
Beyond right and wrong
The moment we enter duality–relative existence–we become subject to the situation that some thoughts, words, and acts will impel us onward to higher consciousness and others will impel us to lower consciousness. No matter where we may “be” at the moment, it cannot be permanent. By the nature of things we will keep moving up and down, back and forth. Whenever we think we have attained some stability it is only a matter of the movement being so slow it is imperceptible to us. We are always in danger of incurring suffering because of this. In truth, suffering is inevitable, for even rising requires effort and unsureness or doubt as to the success of our endeavor. As Krishna says of us: “Anxiety binds them with a hundred chains.” We suffer anxiety as to what is the right or wrong and anxiety as to whether we can avoid the wrong and manage to think and do the right. Even more, we are busy getting and losing, anxious to get the good and rid ourselves of the wrong. And of course we are mostly deluded as to what is really right and wrong, usually thinking that the pleasurable is right and the painful is wrong. That is why Krishna told Arjuna: “Both the good and the pleasant present themselves to men. The wise, having examined both, distinguish the one from the other. The wise prefer the good to the pleasant; the foolish, driven by fleshly desires, prefer the pleasant to the good.” The danger is obvious.
Nachiketa intuits that this terrible dragging back and forth, this dilemma inherent in “existence,” can come to an end–not in the realm of relative existence, but in its transcendence. Realizing the truth that trying to “rise above” any of the dualities is as foolish as trying to make dry water or cold fire, is a tremendous breakthrough for the developing consciousness and indicates that the end of the search is near. Some of our monks visited a great saint in the Himalayan foothills and spoke with him about spiritual life. He told them: “Your questions show that you are not far from the Goal.”
Beyond cause and effect
In ignorant religion “sin” and “righteousness” occupy a great deal of attention, not necessarily because of a sincere desire to be virtuous, but because of their effects. Desire and fear motivate the religionist–at least mentally and emotionally–for sin gets punished and righteousness gets rewarded. Punishment hurts and reward feels good. Punishment takes away and reward supplies. The dispenser of reward and punishment is some kind (or many kinds) of deity who, being an extension of the ignorant egos of the adherents of the religion, judges good and bad on the basis of “I like” and “I don’t like,” “I want” and “I don’t want.” Good sense and practicality have nothing to do with it. The deity is either pleased or displeased and acts accordingly. To complicate matters, the deity can be placated if “sinned against” and, being mollified by groveling and penitence, will reward the sinner as much as if he had been virtuous–maybe even more, so the deity’s “love” and “mercy” can be revealed. We see this behavior in human beings all the time: tears, apology and self-castigation not only stop the anger or displeasure, they evoke a tenderness and openness that should sensibly only be evoked by right conduct. So in evil religion (for ignorance is evil), despite the assurance that virtue is rewarded, we see that sin and repentance are rewarded and the sinner assured of salvation. Such a religion becomes a living hell populated and promoted by living demons.
I expect that just about everyone reading these words are congratulating themselves on having gotten out of or avoided such religion. Ah, the sane wisdom of the East. Really? Do we not see that “good karma” and “bad karma” are bugaboos just as much desired and feared as any heaven or hell proffered by Western religion? I knew a man that had a metaphysical bookstore. Shoplifting was a real problem. Now, if he had put a sign on the door so the departing malefactors would have read something like:
“Thou shalt not steal,” or “The soul that sinneth it shall die,” or ““Know thou that God will bring thee into judgment,” it would have had no result–perhaps even the opposite. For after all, were not his customers “beyond all that” Judeo-Christian negativity? Indeed they were! So he did this. He put a sign on the door for all to see as they departed saying: “Shoplifting is Bad Karma.” Nearly every day that sign stopped at least one person. Most sheepishly shuffled back to the shelf and sneaked the book back. Some actually came to the owner and gave him the book along with an apology. Why? Had he evoked their higher moral sensibilities? Not a bit. They had traded fear of sin and hell for fear of bad karma and retribution–maybe even a bad rebirth. The ego was still in the driver’s seat, and quite liable to stay there for a long time. Karma may be more “scientific” a concept than sin, punishment, and hell, but the fear engendered is just as egoic, and therefore just as negative and ultimately ignorant.
Nachiketa had a clear vision of things. The problem was not tears or smiles, but the LAW of cause and effect, the truth that for every action there is an equal responsive reaction. Reactivity, inner and outer, is also inherent in relative–dual–consciousness. But Nachiketa did not just want to get away from the noise and damp of the ocean of samsara, he wanted to get away from the ocean itself. A jail cell may be miserable or luxurious, but it is still a prison. Nachiketa aspired to freedom. He wished to attain that which was beyond cause and effect, not just a means of avoiding them. This is one of the reasons why religion is usually so pointless: it attempts to make the fire stop burning rather than showing the way out of the conflagration. It seeks to make bondage palatable, pleasing to both the egocentric deity and the egocentric devotee. A confederacy of dunces, indeed.
Beyond past, present, and future
My first reading of the Bhagavad Gita revealed to me something I had intuited all my life: the fundamental truth that space and time are utter illusions, basic delusions of human consciousness. What a relief! So when in three or four days I heard one of the most intelligent of my university professors remark that time and space were the two fundamental realities, you can imagine how much I appreciated the Gita for clearing that nonsense up for me. (I appreciated myself, too, for being so clever as to understand it.)
The time-space continuum is a torment to the awakened consciousness, for it is the basis for the existence of cause and effect and therefore of right and wrong. It is impermanence itself, the root cause of all suffering, fear, anxiety, and instability. Since we have been immersed in relativity for creation cycles beyond number, we find ourselves in a present whose vast roots are thoroughly unknown, and whose effects will create an unknown future that will be a fusion of the past and the “present present.” Uncertainty and confusion are the results of even a small attempt to make sense of the whole thing.
And the idea of controlling any aspect is simply beyond our imagination. We are drowning in a shoreless ocean. But we do not just drown once and have it over with. We drown daily–every moment, actually. Only the stupid or the willfully ignorant do not see this. How can we blame those who take refuge in illusion, whatever the form? They do not need an analysis or judgment of their predicament; they need a way out. Nachiketa is asking for that, not for more philosophy or exposition of the problem.
Transcendent being
There is not a “place” beyond right and wrong, beyond cause and effect, beyond past, present, and future, but a state of being that transcends them. Nachiketa sought to become an altogether different order of being, to enter into the state of Brahman Itself. Knowing this to be so, Yama does not hesitate, but literally spells it out. He begins:
“Of that goal which all the Vedas declare, which is implicit in all penances, and in pursuit of which
men lead lives of continence and service, of that will I briefly speak.”
Goal
That which Nachiketa seeks is not an abstraction but a positive reality known to Yama. Perhaps the most heartening thing that can be said about That Which Is is the fact that it is The Goal. Its attainment is not only possible, it is inevitable. The entire field of relative existence, however much we have damaged or corrupted it, and it in turn has damaged or corrupted us, has a single purpose: the attainment of Brahman and the consequent liberation of the questing spirit (atman). This is what everything is all about. So no wonder we have made such a mess of things–literally. Not knowing either their or our purpose, what else could be the result? We are like the character in the Woody Allen movie that tried to play the cello by blowing through the holes. Ignorance is the root of all the trouble.
“Shake off this fever of ignorance. Stop hoping for worldly rewards. Fix your mind on the Atman. Be free from the sense of ego,” counsels Krishna. “You dream you are the doer, you dream that action is done, you dream that action bears fruit. It is your ignorance, it is the world’s delusion that gives you these dreams.” “Seek this knowledge and comprehend clearly why you should seek it: such, it is said, are the roots of true wisdom: ignorance, merely, is all that denies them.” “When men have thrown off their ignorance, they are free from pride and delusion. They have conquered the evil of worldly attachment. They live in constant union with the Atman. All craving has left them. They are no longer at the mercy of opposing sense-reactions. Thus they reach that state which is beyond all change.”
Vedas
By “vedas” Yama means the teachings of illumined sages regarding the nature of Brahman and the way to conscious union with Brahman. For “veda” means knowledge or wisdom. Although that word has come to be used only in the sense of the ancient Sanskrit hymns found in the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas, they are not meant here. At the time of Nachiketa the vedas were the orally transmitted wisdom of the Vedic Rishis that only later were written down as the upanishads. In a broader sense, the vedas are the words of any enlightened person about the nature of God and the realization of God.
Books of speculative philosophy mean nothing to our search for Divine Consciousness. Only the teachings of those who have themselves reached the Goal are relevant and worthy of our attention.
Implicit in all penances
The word rather poorly translated here as “penances” is tapasya. Literally it means the generation of heat or energy, but is always used in a symbolic manner, referring to spiritual practice and its effect, especially the roasting of karmic seeds, the burning up of karma. Tapasya means a practical–i.e., result-producing–spiritual discipline which culminates in spiritual evolution and enlightenment.
The important idea in Yama’s words are that our spiritual practice must be congruent with the nature of God. Though tapasya implies a discipline, it cannot just be some type of militaristic coercion or “mortification” of the body and mind that are often nothing more than an expression of self-loathing. The religions of the world abound in admiration for those who torture the body and mind, attaining abnormal psychic states foolishly mistaken for spiritual attainment. But according to Yama, the Goal must be implicit in all disciplines. That is, the disciplines themselves must embody the nature of God–and our own selves, as well. A person unfamiliar with spiritual truth should be able through analysis of authentic practice to actually come to understand the truth regarding the nature of both the seeker and the Goal. If a spiritual practice cannot impart this knowledge by its very mechanics, then it is invalid and cannot possibly lead to the Goal. For this is a very valuable fact: only that practice which from the very first moment puts us in touch with God and begins to reveal our true nature is genuine yoga. All
else is illusion. That is why Krishna says: “What is man’s will and how shall he use it? Let him put forth its power to uncover the Atman, not hide the Atman: man’s will is the only friend of the Atman: his will is also the Atman’s enemy.” The plain truth is that putting the force of the will into erroneous practices will hide the Truth from us even more, whereas applying the will in correct practice will reveal Divinity to us. For Divinity is inherent in true yoga.
In pursuit of which…
The upanishads teach us the truth of the unity of the atman and Brahman. Therefore that truth is known as advaita, “not two,” meaning that there is no separation of the atman and Brahman at any time.
Simplistic thinkers, especially in the West, immediately begin to decry the idea of tapasya, yoga, or any other discipline, insisting very shrilly that there is no need for such, that to engage in spiritual practice is to affirm a delusion of separation between us and God. They usually end up denying that either we or God even exist, advocating a kind of petulant, bullying nihilism, reminding any sensible person of Krishna’s indictment: “These malignant creatures are full of egoism, vanity, lust, wrath, and consciousness of power. They loathe me, and deny my presence both in themselves and in others. They are enemies of all men and of myself.” Drastic words, these, but they address a drastic mental and spiritual aberration. Read the entire sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita for a full outline of such kinds of people. This is but one of the reasons why a continual study of the Gita is necessary for those who do not wish to go (or be led) astray in their spiritual pursuit. No student of the Gita could ever fall into such absurd pitfalls as these “advaitans” whose only unity is their absorption in the illusion of the ego.
The truth is that the realization of God not only can but must be pursued. We do not pursue God, understand, for God is everywhere and always one with us. Rather, we pursue the revelation of that eternal oneness and its manifestation on all levels of our present existence. Regarding this, a yogi-adept of the twentieth century, Dr. I. K. Taimni, remarked in his book The Science of Yoga: “According to the yogic philosophy it is possible to rise completely above the illusions and miseries of life and to gain infinite knowledge, bliss, and power through enlightenment here and now while we are still living in the physical body. And if we do not attain this enlightenment while we are still alive we will have to come back again and again into this world until we have accomplished this appointed task. So it is not a question of choosing the path of yoga or rejecting it. It is a question of choosing it now or in some future life. It is a question of gaining enlightenment as soon as possible and avoiding the suffering in the future or postponing the effort and going through further suffering which is unnecessary and avoidable. This is the meaning of Yoga Sutra 2:16: ‘The misery which is not yet come can and is to be avoided.’ No vague promise of an uncertain postmortem happiness this, but a definite scientific assertion of a fact verified by the experience of innumerable yogis, saints, and sages who have trodden the path of yoga throughout the ages.”
It is absolutely sure: “Seek, and ye shall find.”
Brahmacharya
Brahmacharyam is the word Swami Prabhavananda translates as “lives of continence and service.” Radhakrishnan renders it “the life of a religious student,” and Swami Sivananda: “life of a brahmacharin.” In India the first stage of life is that of a student, a brahmachari. The brahmachari-student leads a life of discipline, the core of which is sexual continence–a concept utterly lacking in other cultures as their present disintegration reveals. He also serves his teacher in a practical way, for the ideal environment of the brahmacharya ashram is rural, a forest setting being the ideal. At the time the upanishads were first spoken, all Aryas lived in the forests, living an agrarian life of the utmost
simplicity. The students of a teacher helped out in the day-to-day routine required by such a lifestyle.
But Yama is not confining brahmacharya to the student’s stage of life, and in “modern times,” whatever the age or outer circumstances of the seeker, it would consist of both self control (abstinence) and practical positive action, including selfless service.
I once saw a cartoon in which a drunk was lying in a gutter and asking a Salvation Army woman: “Can you save me here, or do I have to go somewhere?” Obviously, being “saved” did not interest him very much. But those who are truly interested say with the Prodigal Son: “I will arise and go.” And they do. Living a life of purity and discipline is the way they rise and go.
Briefly speak.
It is most significant that Yama says he will briefly speak of the Goal. Why is this? Because the Goal is Brahman, and Brahman can only be spoken of very briefly. This is because Brahman is exceedingly simple, in fact the only really simple (incomplex) “thing” there is. Also, the intellect can only grasp the tiniest bit of the truth about Brahman, so not only can little be said, little can be understood. In a way this makes it very easy for us. Here is how the Gita teaches us about Brahman:
“Now I shall describe That which has to be known, in order that its knower may gain immortality. That Brahman is beginningless, transcendent, eternal. He is said to be equally beyond what is, and what is not.” “Light of all lights, He abides beyond our ignorant darkness; Knowledge, the one thing real we may study or know, the heart’s dweller.”
But Nachiketa does not want to know about Brahman, he wants to know Brahman. With this in mind, Yama reveals both Brahman and the way to Brahman–for they are the same–by saying:
“It is–OM.”
You cannot be briefer than that. Nor do you need to be. Yama has said it all, for Om is the embodiment of The All.
He has, as I say, said it all, but Yama continues with a brief exposition of the nature of Om.
Om is Supreme Brahman
“This syllable is Brahman. This syllable is indeed supreme. He who knows it obtains his desire.”
Om is Brahman. It is not a symbol of Brahman, It IS Brahman. Om is not even a word–It is the very presence of Brahman. “Om is not counted among words,” said Sri Ramakrishna. “It is not a word, it is God Himself,” said Swami Vivekananda. This assertion is borne out by the fact that in Sanskrit Om is not treated as a word–that is, It does not go through any changes in form according to its grammatical position or status. It has no plural, possessive, subjective, objective, or adjectival forms. It is always just “Om” and nothing else.
I could cite a great many authoritative statements affirming the divine nature of Om, but I recommend our publication, The Glories and Powers of Om, which contains under many headings the scriptural statements on Om.
Obviously Om is supreme, being Itself the Supreme. But Yama has made this seemingly obvious comment to convey the fact that Om is the supreme means to the realization of the Supreme. There is nothing higher than Om, nor is there any means of spiritual cultivation higher than Om. That is why Patanjali simply said: “Its repetition and meditation is the way.”
Yama then tells Nachiketa that he who knows Om obtains whatever he desires. Many upanishads state that Om encompasses all existence and therefore literally is all things, that all things are formed of Om just as all clay pots are made of the single substance, clay. Since all things are contained in Om, it can only follow that he who truly knows Om by uniting his consciousness with It through Its japa and meditation shall attain all that he desires as a matter of course. Such a wise one, will of course desire only That which fulfills all desire: Brahman. Commenting on this very verse, Swami Vivekananda said: “Ay, therefore first know the secret of this Om, that you are the Om….” Om is the ending of all desire by being the fulfillment of all desire.
The strongest and the highest
“It is the strongest support. It is the highest symbol. He who knows it is reverenced as a knower of Brahman.” The need for security is fundamental to human existence. This is especially true in relation to spiritual life. Even a little observation reveals how incredibly fragile spiritual consciousness and spiritual activity is in human life, for everything militates against it and overwhelms it. Observing this, Jesus’ disciples asked him: “Lord, are there few that be saved?” And he assured them that indeed few manage to be saved. The New Testament Greek word translated “saved” is sodzo, which means to be safe in the sense of delivered from danger or harm. It also means to be healed and become whole.
Salvation in the view of Jesus and his disciples was not having sins forgiven and allowed into heaven, but was the same as the upanishadic sages: Liberation (Moksha). All shall eventually attain liberation, but only a few at a time do so. Not because it is so difficult, but that so few even conceive of it, and even fewer persevere in the pursuit of it. Jesus quoted the Gita in his discourses and was certainly familiar with Krishna’s words to Arjuna: “Who cares to seek for that perfect freedom? One man, perhaps, in many thousands. Then tell me how many of those who seek freedom shall know the total truth of my being? Perhaps one only.”
With this perspective, Yama tells Nachiketa that Om is the strongest and highest support. Swami Pabhavananda translated alambana the second time as “symbol” no doubt thinking of Om as an object of meditation. Although its supporting power is most important in relation to spiritual life and practice, Yama makes no such explicit qualification, so we can be sure that Om is the empowerment and support of everything positive in our life. This, too, is asserted many times in the upanishads.
Knower of Om–knower of Brahman.
“He who knows It is reverenced as a knower of Brahman.” Some translators render this: “He who knows It is revered in the world of Brahman.” For a knower of Om is translated into that world, having been transmuted into Brahman through Om. It is no wonder, then, that the Mundaka Upanishad says about Om: “Dismiss other utterances. This is the bridge to immortality.”
Om is our self (atman)
How can Om have such an incredible effect upon us? Because we are Om. It is our own self (atman).
“The Self, whose symbol is OM, is the omniscient Lord. He is not born. He does not die. He is neither cause nor effect. This Ancient One is unborn, imperishable, eternal: though the body be destroyed, he is not killed.”
If Brahman was not at the core of our being, as the core of our being, we could not possibly become one with Brahman. All talk of “becoming” is of course not really accurate if we think of it as becoming something we are not. Rather, it is the becoming aware of, becoming established in, our eternal unity with Brahman. Some years ago, workers in a Burmese temple were moving a huge plaster image of
Buddha with heavy equipment. Something went wrong and the image was dropped. To their astonishment the plaster, which was only a layer a few inches thick, broke and fell off, revealing that the image was solid gold! Centuries before it had been covered with plaster to protect it from thieves. Today it is considered the single most valuable image of Buddha in the world. We are like that. A layer of relative existence has been plastered onto our consciousness for so long that we think we are the plaster. When the plaster was broken the image was revealed to be gold, and when our “plaster” is broken we shall be revealed as parts of Brahman, waves of the One Ocean of Being.
We shall then know that we are not born, we do not die, we are neither cause nor effect; we are unborn, imperishable, eternal, unaffected by any conditions of the body whatsoever. For as Shankara sang:
I am not the mind, intellect, thought, or ego;
Not hearing, not tasting, not smelling, not seeing; I am not the elements–ether, earth, fire, air:
I am the form of Conscious Bliss: I am Spirit!
I am neither Prana, nor the five vital airs; Nor the seven components of the gross body; Nor the subtle bodies; nor organs of action:
I am the form of Conscious Bliss: I am Spirit!
I have no aversion, clinging, greed, delusion; No envy or pride, and no duty or purpose;
I have no desire, and I have no freedom:
I am the form of Conscious Bliss: I am Spirit!
I have no merit or sin, nor pleasure or pain; No mantra, pilgrimage, Veda or sacrifice; Not enjoying, enjoyable, or enjoyer:
I am the form of Conscious Bliss: I am Spirit!
I have no death or fear, no distinction of caste; Neither father, nor mother, nor do I have birth; No friend or relation, guru or disciple:
I am the form of Conscious Bliss: I am Spirit!
I am without attributes; I am without form; I am all-pervading, I am omnipresent;
By senses untouched, neither free, nor knowable:
I am the form of Conscious Bliss: I am Spirit!
We do not really need to become immortal and eternal, for we are that already. Instead we need to get beyond the illusory consciousness of birth and death, cause and effect, and the entire range of relative existence. The japa and meditation of Om is the Way.
The Immortal Self
Yama has just told Nachiketa that “though the body be destroyed, he [the Self] is not killed.” Then he continues: “If the slayer think that he slays, if the slain think that he is slain, neither of them knows the truth. The Self slays not, nor is he slain.” Before considering this upanishadic passage, here is what the
Bhagavad Gita, the great digest of the upanishads, has to say about this:
“Bodies are said to die, but That which possesses the body is eternal. It cannot be limited, or destroyed.
…Some say this Atman is slain, and others call It the slayer: they know nothing. How can It slay or who shall slay It? Know this Atman unborn, undying, never ceasing, never beginning, deathless, birthless, unchanging for ever. How can It die the death of the body? Knowing It birthless, knowing It deathless, knowing It endless, for ever unchanging, dream not you do the deed of the killer….”
Dreaming–that is the key. God is dreaming the entire drama of the cosmos, but he knows it and controls the dream. We, too, are dreaming the drama of our life, so Krishna tells us: “You dream you are the doer, you dream that action is done, you dream that action bears fruit. It is your ignorance, it is the world’s delusion that gives you these dreams.” The richest people in the world, if they dream they are penniless, suffer the frustration and fear of poverty just as keenly as do those who really are paupers.
When they awake, the mental pain disperses, but it was no less real.
This is something we often miss when we subscribe to the theory of Maya. The experiences, such as birth, death, and disease, may be illusion, but the suffering they produce is not. It is real. The grief we feel at the death of a loved one is real, even if the death is not. That is why the Sankhya Karika, the basic text of the Sankhya philosophy upon which the Yoga philosophy is based, opens with a discussion of suffering as our problem. Certainly, illusion should be dispelled, but that will not take care of the deeper problem: our capacity for suffering. It is foolish and callous to bully those who suffer by expounding on the unreality of that to which they are reacting. For there is no thing or situation which can make us suffer. Suffering is our reaction to those things. When we reach the state where we no longer react–for pleasure is as destructive as pain–then we will be free.
Patanjali’s dictum that yoga is the cessation of modifications of the chitta does not refer at all to restless thoughts in the superficial mind. He is speaking of the capacity for any kind of reactivity to outer stimuli. It is when we are unreacting and resting in our true self that we are in the state of Yoga. To merely fiddle around with the shallow thinking mind, believing that calming it makes us yogis, is deluding ourselves. Our problem is far, far greater and deeper than jittery thoughts. It is the capacity for suffering and for being deluded. To be awake in the fullest sense is to be incapable of sleep and dream. (I am speaking metaphysically.) All the philosophy and analysis in the world will not help us. We need to awaken forever. That is what real yoga is all about.
Slayer and slain are roles in the dream-drama of the evolving consciousness. If we know–not just suppose or believe–this, then nothing can move us from the state of peace that is a quality of our true self. Fortunately for us all, the cliche about “There is naught but thinking makes it so,” is bunkum, another Western “truth” that mercifully is false.
The body can be slain and can be a slayer. Being part of the dream, it really acts and is acted upon in the dream context. The dreamer, however is not part of the dream, even when it projects an image of itself into the dream and slays or is slain. Nothing external can affect or change the internal reality. Again, awakening is the only solution, and we should accept nothing less. Any view other than this which Yama presents to Nachiketa is but the blind leading the blind.
A great flaw in the thinking of most of us is only accepting half of this great truth. We easily affirm our immortality, saying: “I can never die,” and thus reject the idea that we can be slain. Yet we accept the concept that we can be slayers, and make a great to-do about “sin” and “karma.” Is not that so?
Because we want to control the behavior of others by promising rewards and threatening punishments, we have literally bought into this delusion and traded on it for life after life, fooling even ourselves.
Though we find the truth in the upanishads or the Gita, we still keep on worrying about purifying
ourselves and clearing out our karma. Half-deluded, we stumble on, distracting ourselves from the real goal, sinking deeper into the morass. Consider the lives of saints. So many of them have been great sinners, even murderers, or incredibly ignorant, and yet we see them either instantly entering into the state of holiness or rocketing to it in a short time. The reason is simple: they had never committed a sin in their eternal lives. Like David, they awoke and found themselves with God.
The Indwelling Self
“Smaller than the smallest, greater than the greatest, this Self forever dwells within the hearts of all. When a man is free from desire, his mind and senses purified, he beholds the glory of the Self and is without sorrow.” So Yama now tells Nachiketa.
Smaller than the smallest, greater than the greatest
We tend to think of infinity as boundlessly large, when in actuality that which is infinite transcends space and can therefore not be measured in any manner. It cannot be small or large. Which is why there is no thing too small or to great for God to be involved with. The Self, being a part of God, is likewise beyond measurement. It is neither small nor large, gross nor subtle. In fact, the Self is simply beyond description. We can only talk around it, not really express its mystery.
This Self forever dwells within the hearts of all
However, there are some things that can be said about the presence of the Self, therefore Yama does tell Nachiketa that “this Self forever dwells within the hearts of all.”
The Self is eternal. It has no beginning and it can never have an end. Whatever it is, it has been forever. What it is not, it shall never be. We say this glibly, but usually do not believe, and rarely manifest it.
Nevertheless, it is bedrock truth.
The Self, being beyond time and space, cannot possibly be anywhere. Yet we readily say that it is within. This is as close to the truth about the Self as we can get. At the core of all things, having itself neither periphery or core, is the unchanging Self. It “dwells” in the sense that it abides, yet the Self does not at all “exist” in the way we understand existence, which is completely relative. The Self is absolute, and relativity can never affect or touch it.
The Self abides in the hearts of all. But what is the “heart”? Guha means both cave and heart, but it also means to be “in a secret place.” Within the inmost heart of all things is that which transcends even “inmost.” That is the Self. And there is no thing whatsoever that does not have the Self as its eternal, unchanging indweller. The Self can be within all as their essential being only if the Self is all. This is the Great Revelation. All that we see around us is resting upon the Self as the substratum. All that we “see” objectively is Maya, illusion. That which we cannot see, but which we can “be” is the Self, the all-pervading subject.
This all sounds wonderful, but what possible meaning can it have if we do not experience this glorious truth for ourselves? Nothing, obviously. So Yama proceeds to tell Nachiketa how the Self can be realized.
When a man is free from desire
To be truly free from desire is to be incapable of desire. To not be desiring anything at the moment is not what is spoken of here. We mistakenly think that if we can become indifferent to all things and
want nothing we will be free from desire. But we will still be in the condition where desire is possible–even if it be in the future–or even a future life.
To desire something we have to feel inadequate, but even more fundamentally, we have to have objective consciousness and a belief in the reality of the objects perceived, and a belief that in some way we can enter into relation with those objects, that we can affect them and they can affect us. What a heap of delusions! Desire is only a symptom of profound ignorance and delusion. In itself it is no more the problem than red blotches on the skin are the disease we call measles. (See? We even name a disease as the symptoms.) However, true desirelessness–and that is what Yama is speaking about–is the state of the liberated, those who know the Self.
His mind and senses purified
A few years ago a valuable book was published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math in Madras: a translation of the Sankhya Karika by Swami Virupakshananda. In the Publisher’s Note we find this: “Vedanta takes off to ethereal heights only from the granite platform provided by Sankhya.…Not only Vedanta, but also modern science, cannot be understood in all their nuances without a firm grasp of the Sankhyan tenets.” And the translator writes: “Of all the philosophical systems, the Sankhya philosophy is considered to be the most ancient school of thought. Sankhya philosophy maintains a prominent place in all the shastras…. In the Mahabharata it is said that there is no knowledge such as Sankhya and no power like that of Yoga. [On which Sankhya is based.] We should have no doubt as to Sankhya being the highest knowledge. (Shantiparva 316-2).” Later he outlines how the Sankhya philosophy is presented in the Chandogya, Katha, and Svetasvatara upanishads particularly. And: “In the Mahabharata and Puranas we find the Sankhya Philosophy fully explained.” The second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita (part of the Mahabharata) is entitled Sankhya Yoga, and Krishna mentions Sankhya by name as the truth he is expounding.
I mention this because it is so common for students to approach the upanishads as exponents of the simplistic monism that is erroneously thought to be Advaita. With this distorted frame of reference the upanishadic teachings that are very obviously opposed to their opinion are ignored. But we cannot afford the luxury of wilful ignorance. Simply babbling that “It is all one” and “We are already there” accomplishes absolutely nothing. And besides, it is not true–in the simplistic sense they mean.
God, the Primal Purusha, is eternally associated with Prakriti (Pradhana) on the macrocosmic level, and continually projects and withdraws it as the ever-evolving creation. In the same way each individual purusha is eternally associated with prakriti on the microcosmic level and engages in a series of incarnations, evolving the personal prakriti to the point where it becomes a perfect mirror of the individual purusha and there is a practical separation between the two, just as on the cosmic level. Let us not forget: Patanjali defines yoga (liberation) as a condition of the chitta–of our personal prakriti–not a simple intellectual insight or “realization.”
The essence is this: Each one of us is evolving our own prakriti, just as God is evolving the universe. The difference is that God is not caught in the drama, and we are. Sankhya states that we must learn to separate our consciousness from its enmeshment in prakriti, but that is only the preparation. Then we must engage in the process of bringing our prakriti to a state of perfection in which it no longer produces waves, but becomes a permanently quiescent reflection of purusha–of our true Self, which Buddhism calls our Original Face.
That process is Yoga, and Yama has this in mind when he speaks of the seeker having “his mind and senses purified.” Merely reading a few books and hearing a few lectures on the nature of the Self will not do it. We must focus our attention on/in the energy fields we call “mind” and “senses” and
completely repolarize and reconstruct them. “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,” wrote Saint Paul. Patanjali speaks of the process of kriya yoga, the yoga of purification, consisting of austerity (tapasya), self-study, and devoting the life to God. Yama, Saint Paul, Patanjali, and Krishna all tell us the same thing: “Become a yogi.”
He beholds the glory of the Self
The Self cannot be intellectually conceived or spoken about, but it can be seen–and thereby fully known–by the purified consciousness. And it is seen within the core of our being, within the cave of the heart. Caves are important symbols. Though they are to be found everywhere, we naturally think of yogis as dwelling in caves. Which they do, metaphorically. In the Gospels we see that Christ (Consciousness) is born in a cave and resurrects in a cave. It all takes place in the heart. Wherefore the wise Solomon said: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” The practice of yoga (mediation) is the keeping of the heart which transforms the yogi’s life.
It is said that Shiva sits immersed in samadhi, but occasionally awakens, arises, and dances in ecstasy, exclaiming over and over: “O! Who I am! Who I am!” The same wonder at the glory of the Self will be experienced by the persevering yogi.
And is without sorrow
How could there be sorrow or any slightest form of suffering or discontent for those who behold that glory and realize that they are themselves that glory? It can be said of such a one, as Arjuna said of Krishna: “You know yourself through yourself alone.” And as Krishna said of the perfected yogi: “To obey the Atman is his peaceful joy; sorrow melts into that clear peace: his quiet mind is soon established in peace.…Now that he holds it [the knowledge of the Self], he knows this treasure above all others: faith so certain shall never be shaken by heaviest sorrow.…Who knows the Atman knows that happiness born of pure knowledge: the joy of sattwa. Deep his delight after strict self-schooling: sour toil at first but at last what sweetness, the end of sorrow.”
The Omnipresent Self
“Though seated, he travels far; though at rest, he moves all things. Who but the purest of the pure can realize this Effulgent Being, who is joy and who is beyond joy.”
Yama continues instructing Nachiketa on the nature of the Self. Being a highly developed being, Nachiketa had doubtless intuited most of this already, but for us who were raised in the dry gulch of the West and its “religions” his words are profoundly stirring–astounding, actually. Who could believe that in this chaotic world there were ever–and still are–sages who by direct experience have seen and spoken these truths? We should analyze them carefully, not for mere philosophical exactitude, but for a good, joyful revel in knowing the facts at last.
Unmoving, he moves
Being rooted in Infinity and thereby beyond space, the Self can never “go” anywhere. When we speak of the atma descending into relative existence or coming into matter, we are only describing the mayic experience that is itself nothing more than a training movie. If we see a motion picture about Europe, we do not think we have actually been there–yet, we did see Europe. In the same way, under the spell of Maya we have all kinds of experiences, yet they are mere appearance only. “Appearance,” however is real, even if insubstantial. So we both are and are not here. I experience writing this, and you experience reading it. That is real. But the environment in which we live, including our bodies, is but
the picture projected onto the formless screen of consciousness that is our Self.
So, going nowhere, the Self “goes” everywhere. Being no thing, the Self “becomes” all things. Doing nothing, the Self “does” everything. This is the way of it.
Unmoved, he is the mover
Nothing affects the Self, but the Self affects all situations and things. Sankhya philosophy postulates that although Prakriti never touches the Purusha, it is the proximity of the Purusha that causes Prakriti to move and manifest in manifold ways. In the West we find the expressions “uncaused Cause” and “unmoved Mover.” These apply to the individual Self as much as to God.
There is a very practical application of this fact. Being under the spell of Maya we think: “All this is happening to me. All this is being done to me.” But that is erroneous. We are making it all happen, we are “doing” it to ourselves. There are no victims. Everything proceeds from us. Consequently we can study our lives and determine what is going on in our inner mind (which is not the Self, either). Our lives and environment are mirror images, revealing our states of mind. Our life is an exercise in consciousness. There are computer games in which the images on the screen are actually manipulated by the player’s mind and will. That is but a feeble glimpse of the truth about our entire chain of births and deaths. That is also what karma is. “You dream you are the doer, you dream that action is done, you dream that action bears fruit. It is your ignorance, it is the world’s delusion that gives you these dreams.”
Who can know him?
We have a terrible conditioning. We believe that all knowledge must come from outside ourselves, that we are blanks that need to be written on. In contemporary America this is very marked. Everybody thinks they need to have classes or lessons on everything. Some years back a friend of our ashram pointed this out about horse-riding. She commented that everyone she knew took horse-riding lessons, in contrast to her children who just got up on a horse and rode. The she commented: “Everyone thinks they have to be taught to do anything, rather than learning on their own by experience.”
This spills over into our philosophical life, too. We think we are dummies that have to have every nuance, every subtle point, taught to us–and even worse, that they all have to be embodied in technical terms. It is only sensible to inquire about these things from those with more experience and knowledge than ourselves, but childish dependence is no wisdom at all. Dr. Spock began one of his books my telling new mothers that they knew much more about caring for babies than they thought they did, and to trust their inner feelings on the matter. This caused quite a stir. I was only a child at the time, and yet the ripples of consternation even reached me through a magazine review of his “revolutionary” book. We have no confidence, and spiritual laziness often compounds the problem.
For some reason Swami Prabhavanandaji gives us this translation: “Who but the purest of the pure can realize this Effulgent Being.” That is so lofty, so noble, that frankly it paralyzes our aspiration completely. “I am not ‘the purest of the pure,’ so how can I know the Self? I will have to ask others to give me hints about it.” But that is very mistaken. The actual upanishadic question is: “Who else but myself can know that radiant one [devam],” the Self? This is not just an inspiring thought, it is perfect good sense. Being the Self, who else but I can know my Self? Others may see the divine in me, but I alone can know the divine in me.
In the Chandogya Upanishad we have the thrilling story of Uddalaka instructing Svetaketu on the nature of the Self, saying to him over and over: “Thou art That.” But however stirring that account may
be, Uddalaka is only telling him about the Self. It is up to Svetaketu to know the Self. Someone can bring us strawberries, show them to us, and even put them in our mouths, but we alone can know their taste–no one can taste them for us. In the same way, millions may tell us about our Self, but we alone can really know It. It begins and ends with us. Self-knowledge is the most natural thing for us all. We are working very hard to produce and maintain the unnatural state of not knowing the Self. Once we get sensible and literally “wise up” things will change.
Joy and beyond
The self is “this Effulgent Being, who is joy and who is beyond joy.” We are ourselves devas–gods. There is no happiness or joy anywhere but in ourselves, for we are not happy or joyful by nature, we ARE happiness and joy. The idea is that joy is the permanent, eternal, condition of our true Self. The word translated “joy” in this verse is mada, which means delight, intoxication, and exhilaration. To delight in our Self is the ultimate enjoyment. In the last essay I mentioned that it is said that Shiva sits immersed in samadhi, but occasionally awakens, arises, and dances in ecstasy, exclaiming over and over: “O! Who I am! Who I am!” This is delight in the self.
Yet, Yama says that the Self “rejoices and rejoices not.” He is trying to convey that the delight in the Self is not delight in an object, but is totally subjective and inward-turned. This is very important, for as the yogi develops through his sadhana, his prakriti-nature begins to reflect his inner joy more and more, and he can start delighting in the delight-reflection rather than in the real thing, and come to the conclusion that he has already attained the state Yama is speaking about. This is the state of shuddhasattwa, of extreme purity of the chitta, the mind-substance of the yogi. If he is not careful, he will mistake the mirror image for his true “face” and believe he has attained what still lies before him. Innumerable are the yogis who have been deluded in this way and become trapped in the subtlest reaches of Maya. That is why Lord Krishna said: “How hard to break through is this, my Maya, made of the gunas!” For to delight in the mere picture of the joy that is the Self is to still be trapped in objective, outward-turned consciousness. As Krishna further tells us: “Only that yogi whose joy is inward, inward his peace, and his vision inward shall come to Brahman and know nirvana.
How do we avoid mistaking the image for the reality? By continuing to practice meditation and other spiritual disciplines until the moment the body drops off! A sure sign of a deluded individual is the belief that he has gone beyond the need for meditation and other spiritual practices. “Baba no longer needs to meditate.” “Baba has transcended these things long ago.” “Baba is always in That, so such things are unnecessary for him.” (You can put “Ma” in place of “Baba” if need be.) But what about Sahaja Nirvikalpa Samadhi? Yes. What about it?
A very famous Indian guru of the twentieth century believed that he had attained sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi, so he announced that he no longer needed to meditate, since there was nothing more it could do for him. While his disciples meditated, he stayed in his room and fiddled around with this and that. After some years he was visited by two Americans who thought of themselves as big guns on the American spiritual scene. Not wanting to scandalize them by messing about while everyone else in the ashram meditated, Sahaja Nirvikalpa Samadhi Baba started attending the meditation sessions and meditating also. After a few days he remarked in wonder to a group of disciples that he could perceive a very marked improvement in his mind and consciousness since starting to meditate daily, and expressed wonder and puzzlement over how that could be. Unfortunately, no one had either the good sense or the courage to tell him, so when the American biggies left, SNSB went back to fooling around in his room during the meditation periods.
Consider the perfect life of Gautama Buddha. To the last moment of his life he lived like a normal
monk. He was eighty years of age, yet he went forth and begged for his food every day–no one brought specially-prepared goodies for him. He lived outdoors, under a tree, not in a special “retreat” designed by a renowned architect-disciple. He dressed in the simple, minimal clothing of a monk, not in some expensive rigs donated by disciples to express their “devotion.” He walked everywhere he went. He did not ride in some cart or chariot provided by a rich patron out of consideration for his age. And here is the most important point of all: He meditated for hours a day, even withdrawing for weeks and months at a time to engage in even more intense meditation. He never relaxed his disciplines for an hour, much less a day. In this way he showed us how to not fall into delusion: keep on till the end, until the Self is truly known. And then keep on until death says: The End.
The Sorrowless Self
“Formless is he, though inhabiting form. In the midst of the fleeting he abides forever. All-pervading and supreme is the Self. The wise man, knowing him in his true nature, transcends all grief.
Yama continues to instruct us regarding the nature of the Self, using the most simple words yet with the most profound meanings.
Formless is he, though inhabiting form
Ashariram sharireshu–the bodiless within bodies–such is the Self. Though ever without a “body” or adjunct in any form (as far as its true nature is concerned), yet all bodies are inhabited by the Self.
There is no form in which the Self, the Formless, does not dwell. Who can number the forms in which we have manifested from the beginning of our evolutionary peregrinations in relativity, yet we have slipped away from each embodiment as bodiless as we were from the first. Being one with Brahman, it can be said of the Self as well as of Brahman:
Everywhere are His hands, eyes, feet; His heads and His faces:
This whole world is His ear; He exists, encompassing all things; Doing the tasks of each sense, yet Himself devoid of the senses:
Standing apart, He sustains: He is free from the gunas but feels them. He is within and without: He lives in the live and the lifeless:
Subtle beyond mind’s grasp; so near us, so utterly distant:
Undivided, He seems to divide into objects and creatures;
Sending creation forth from Himself, He upholds and withdraws it; Light of all lights, He abides beyond our ignorant darkness;
>Knowledge, the one thing real we may study or know, the heart’s dweller.
In the midst of the fleeting he abides forever
Anavastheshv’ avasthitam–the stable among the unstable, the unchanging among the ever-changing–so is the Self. For aeons we are entertained with the ever-shifting kaleidoscope of Maya’s web. Finally we are no longer entertained by it, but wearied. Yet we find ourselves addicted to it. Only in the beginning do addicts love their addiction. In time they come to loathe it, yet refuse to even hear of ridding themselves of it. And then at last they see themselves as slaves, hating their bondage but incapable of shedding it. Yet we are ever free.
People bound by various addictions, including alcohol and drugs, would come to Sri Ramakrishna and plead for help. Often he would just touch them, and their enslavement would be gone forever. Learning of this, we naturally glorify Sri Ramakrishna for his power of merciful deliverance, but we must not overlook the great truth it demonstrates: It was the nature of those people to be free. Otherwise he
could not have freed them.
If we would seek freedom, then, we must seek it only in the Self. And the Self being within, we must seek within. For “Without meditation, where is peace? Without peace, where is happiness?”
All-pervading
Time and space being mirages, the Self is everywhere. Infinity is not “bigness” so big it cannot be calculated, it is beyond measuring because it transcends the modes of measurable being. It is simply another mode of existence altogether. The truth is, the atman, like the Paramatman is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. (This latter is easy, since the Self never “does” anything.) So there is no place where the Self is not present. It goes everywhere without moving.
Supreme
The Self is supreme, but not in the sense of earthly entities. It is all-embracing. Not only is there nothing above it, there is nothing beneath it, for such states are not native–and therefore impossible–to it. But Maya is doing a superb job at convincing us otherwise and fooling us into thinking that the purpose of both material life and sadhana is to expand in the illusory realms of conditioned existence, to become large or small, to enter in or depart–none of which are even possible for the Self.
Simply hearing about the Self can make us more ignorant than we were before if we interpret the Self in terms of samsaric delusion.
The wise
The wise are those who know the Self as it is. And that they have accomplished by shedding their association with the unreal and turning back to their own reality.
Transcend all grief
They transcend all grief by removing their center of awareness from the realm in which suffering is possible. Suffering being an illusion, they need only awaken from the dream and abide in the Real. This is not a negative state, for it is not just a removal of sorrow, but the entering into the bliss that is the nature of the Self.
Who Can Know the Self?
The sense of nonsense
I once read a long and rather tedious essay on Shakespeare’s policy of putting discomfiting truths into the mouths of fools so people could scorn them and not get upset with him for unmasking their folly. It often happens that what people hope is “just fun” or “nonsense” is really insightful commentary on their foibles. The happens very often in poetry, for everybody knows we need not take poetry seriously.
Edward Lear, who protected himself by first claiming that he wrote “nonsense verse,” made some profound observations on life. Some of his limericks have a lot to say about how life should be lived. One of his wisest works was a poem entitled “The Jumblies,” in which he tells us at the end of every verse:
Far and few, far and few,
Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve.
These exotic people, went to sea in a sieve. Everyone else said they would drown, considering that a sieve is more holes than anything else. Some even told them that though they might manage, it would be a wrong thing to do. But they did it anyway–excellently and to great profit. Upon their return, all the nay-sayers announced that they, too would go to sea in a sieve. But Lear assures us still that “Far and few, far and few, are the lands where the Jumblies live.” No; everyone will not be going to sea in a sieve. Just the far and few Jumblies.
The requirements
Perhaps Lear, as he wrote the poem, thought of the following from the Gospel of Saint Luke: “Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” This is not a statement of pessimism, but of simple fact. All manage in time, but in dribbles.
Yama has been very encouraging in his exposition of the Self, but now having told of its wonder he enters upon the subject of what is required to know the Self. Actually, the “price” he presents to us is quite simple and direct. If we are interested, then the price is substantial but not impossible. If we are only window-shoppers, then the price seems unreasonable and beyond payment. Here it is in two verses:
“The Self is not known through study of the scriptures, nor through subtlety of the intellect, nor through much learning; but by him who longs for him is he known.’ Verily unto him does the Self reveal his true being.”
“By learning, a man cannot know him, if he desist not from evil, if he control not his senses, if he quiet not his mind, and practice not meditation.”
Not through study of the scriptures
I was fortunate some years back to live near an ideal Brahmin scholar, a professor of mathematics at a university. Together we formed a Hindu Parishad to help Indian residents stay focused on Sanatana Dharma while living in the West. At our first meeting several of us spoke. In his discourse, Sri Dwivedi spoke of the nature of true dharma as a way of life and not a system of abstract concepts. In contrast, the other religions of the world are all “people of The Book.” Their entire identity is taken up with following a Book and professing its teachings. As a consequence, he pointed out, they can all “dialogue” with even the Marxists, for they, too, are people of a Book. But what can they say to real dharma, which cannot be gotten out of a book? See how vast are the sacred writings of Sanatana Dharma, yet we know that they are of limited value once true wisdom is gained.
Reading the Bhagavad Gita opened to me a world I had never thought could exist. How many wonderful things I found therein! Many were amazing, not the least being the statement: “When the whole country is flooded, the reservoir becomes superfluous. So, to the illumined seer, the Vedas are all superfluous.” Here was a scripture that told me I should go beyond it and know for myself–and showed me the way to do that! Sri Ramakrishna often used the simile of a letter. Once you read it and know what it says, what more need do you have for it?
The self cannot be known through scriptural study, for Krishna tells us that “he who even wishes to know of yoga transcends the Vedic rites.” Books are nothing more than paper and ink. Obsession with
them is detrimental, proving the truth of the statement that: “the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.” We must get behind the words of even illumined masters and tap the Source of those words.
Sri Ramakrishna frequently pointed out that almanacs predict rainfall, but you cannot get a drop by squeezing them, however hard. In the same way, intense study of scriptures cannot give a drop of spiritual life, for no book can reveal That which lies beyond all we think or know.
Not through subtlety of the intellect
We cannot possibly figure out the nature of anything, much less the Self, by mere intellection. This is not the fault of the mind, any more than it is the fault of a blender that you cannot get television programs through it. There is absolutely no faculty which can perceive or reveal the Self. The Self alone knows Itself. As long as we attempt to perceive the Self through any intermediary, just so long shall we be frustrated–or worse, deluded. There is no instrument, however subtle, no capacity of the mind, however refined, that can reveal the Self. Yet, the purified intellect (buddhi) can intuit the presence of the Self and even some of its traits, and this is good, but this is not Self-knowledge. Many intelligent people with highly developed intellects mistake this intuition for direct experience and knowledge. This is a subtle trap we must avoid diligently. How could we know if we have fallen into the trap rather than risen into the Light? That, actually is easy to determine. If we can talk about what we perceive, and define it, then it is not the Self, but only our approximation. That which lies within the range of speech lies outside the Self. No matter how near we can come to the Self, it is not the same as knowing the Self. For when the Self is revealed, all “knowing” not only ceases, it becomes impossible.
Intelligence should not be confused with intellectuality. Intelligence is a help to the revelation of the Self, but intellectuality is an insurmountable hindrance. That is why Jesus said to God: “Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” To demonstrate this vividly, “Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Think how direct and uncomplicated a child’s mind usually is. Also, they are capable of intensely magical/mystical thought. How unquestioning they accept the idea of the miraculous, including the power of the individual–including themselves–to work marvels. How sad that they ever come to “know better” in a wrong way. A friend of mine was watching a television program in which a pianist seemed to be floating in the air and even turning over and over. “How do you suppose they do that?” she mused to herself aloud. Instantly her five-year-old said: “Easy! There’s a magician hidden in the piano.” And that is so true: there is a magical being hidden in each one of us known as the Self which can do–and does–all things.
Not through much learning
Vyasa was the greatest sage of post-Vedic India, codifier of the Vedas, commentator on the Yoga Sutras, author of the Mahabharata (which includes the Bhagavad Gita), and the Brahma Sutras (Vedanta Sutras). Vast as his writings were, hummed up everything that was taught by these holy books, saying:
I shall tell you in half a verse (sloka) what has been written in tens of millions of books: Brahman is real. The world is unreal. The jiva [individual spirit] is none other than Brahman.
That is it. So when the future Swami Turiyananda told Sri Ramakrishna that he studied Vedanta for several hours a day, the great Master was astonished. Quoting the words of Vyasa, he asked: “How can you spend hours studying something so simple? What more is there to say?” Turiyananda got the idea behind the idea and himself became a knower of the Self.
All the learning in the world is futile in relation to the Self and Brahman, for they lie outside the scope of the intellect. The ear cannot hear color, the eye cannot smell fragrance. No thing can know the Self but the Self.
It can be done
Yama’s words of seeming negation are really quite positive, for he then tells Nachiketa: “But by him who longs for him is he known. Verily unto him does the Self reveal his true being.”
This is a remarkable statement. There are no tools or gimmicks that can mechanically lead us to the vision of the Self. Certainly there are methods that aid in our search–that is what yoga is all about. But it is a mistake to think that a technique can be applied like a crowbar to break open the inner treasury and loot the vault. (And this is the attitude of most “seekers.”) Methods, such as yoga (meditation), worship, and good deeds are necessary to successfully prosecute our quest for God. Their function is twofold: they prepare us–make us capable–for the attainment of self-knowledge, and they are manifestations–evidence, actually–of the genuineness of our aspiration. By engaging in them we live out our intention.
Ma Anandamayi continually assured people that the desire for the God was the way to God–everything else were aids or expressions, but it is our own divine self-will that accomplishes our liberation. This is very important to understand.
It is commonly said that all religions are valid, that they all led to the same goal. That is true to some degree, but it leaves out the real fact: it is the seeking that brings about the finding. Frankly, it is the seekers who validate the religions, not the other way around. People finding God in all religions is not a statement about the worth of those religions, but a statement about the worth of those people. Sri Ramakrishna attained God-vision through the various religions he practiced and thereby demonstrated their viability as spiritual paths. But he also revealed that it is the nature of the individual to attain that vision whatever the path that is followed. For without that innate capacity what value would the religions have? The jivatman by its nature can know the Paramatman. As the Psalmist said: “Deep calleth unto deep.” Like attracts like; it really does take one to know one.
Swami Prabhavananda notes that an alternate translation can be: “Whom the Self chooses, by him is he attained.” In India they have the saying: “He who chooses God has first been chosen by Him.” Jesus told his disciples: “ Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.” The very fact that we are seeking God is guarantee of our finding, for it is an indication that He has called us. And He does not call in vain. Nor do we seek in vain. “Verily unto him does the Self reveal his true being.”
Yet there are obstacles to knowing the Self: “By learning, a man cannot know him, if he desist not from evil, if he control not his senses, if he quiet not his mind, and practice not meditation.”
Learning
Yama lists mere intellectual study, the heaping up of extraneous “knowledge” which by its character is external and superficial as an obstacle–not so much in itself, but by the illusion of knowledge that arises in the self-satisfied mind of the “knower.” Yama’s assertion shows how mistaken it is to translate swadhyaya (self-study) as “study of scriptures” when we encounter it in the Yoga Sutras.
The Kena Upanishad examines this matter, saying: “He by whom Brahman is not known, knows It; he by whom It is known, knows It not. It is not known by those who know It; It is known by those who do not know It.” Obviously the word “know” has two meanings here. One is the mere intellection about
Brahman, the other is knowledge derived from the direct experience of Brahman, from conscious union with Brahman. There is a knowing that is unknowing and an unknowing that is knowing. That is why Swami Prabhavananda renders the Kena verse: “He truly knows Brahman who knows him as beyond knowledge; he who thinks that he knows, knows not. The ignorant think that Brahman is known, but the wise know him to be beyond knowledge.”
Persisting in evil
Evil in all forms must be abandoned if the Self, which is all good, is to be known. This should not be hard to understand, but many deny it anyway, or try to skirt around it. Of them Jesus said: “They have their reward”–a false security that is really “the sleep of death.” But for us who wish to live it is important to determine what is good and what is evil, what is right and what is wrong.
Sanatana Dharma has a concept of right and wrong unique among the world religions. The others teach that something is right or wrong because their God or Prophet has said so in their infallible scriptures. “It is in the Bible,” “It is in the ZendAvesta,” “It is in the Koran,” etc. Although the scriptures of Hindu Dharma do mention things as being good or evil, the basis for the statements are utterly different from that of other religions.
Sanatana Dharma does not look upon a thing as wrong because God or gods have declared it wrong or some lawgiver has prohibited it. And the same in relation to the things that are right. Rather, a thing is good or evil according to its innate character. Many times people tried to get Mata Anandamayi to approve or disapprove of something. But she would simply say: “If it takes you toward the Goal it is good. If it takes you away from the Goal it is evil.” That which darkens, obscures, or limits our consciousness is bad. That which lights, clears, and expands our consciousness is good. That which helps in the search for God is good; that which hinders or delays it is not.
We all know people who declare that their addictions and illusions either do not hurt them or even are good for them. Very well; they have their reward. But the intelligent do not engage in such childish rationalization. They impartially examine and conclude accordingly. It is all a matter of the individual’s interest and honesty. In other words, it is all in our hands–as are all the aspects of our life if we face up to it. Sanatana Dharma does not list “bads” and “goods” because it assumes that those who wish to pursue dharma can judge for themselves. Though we can certainly determine whether the Vedic scriptures consider something harmful or helpful, we should look upon the list as neither exhaustive or even binding. Sanatana Dharma is Manava Dharma–human dharma. And human beings use their intelligent reason. Sanatana Dharma also leaves every one free to be wise or foolish. Dharma never condemns or praises. It just waits to be fulfilled.
Lack of sense control
The senses must be controlled, but we usually mistake the way to do so. The upanishads use the simile of horses pulling a chariot, and we mistake that, too, thinking it a symbol of incredible forces to be overcome. But we need not think of it so drastically. Before you control a horse, you tame it. So before we control the senses we “tame” them through purification. Sadhana is the only way. Meditation alone purifies in a lasting manner. At the same time we purify the senses by directing them Godward. We make the eyes look at sacred symbols or depictions, the ears to hear the words of sacred texts and sacred music, the nose to smell the offered incense, the tongue to taste the offered sweets or food, and the inner sense of touch to feel the exalted atmosphere created by worship and contact with the holy.
Pilgrimage is valuable because it is a “total sense” experience of holiness. The good news is that we need not struggle with the senses, but turn them in spiritual directions.
Restlessness of mind
Restlessness of mind is itself great suffering. Yama says that a quiet mind is indispensable to self-knowledge. Here is what Krishna has to say about it:
“If a yogi has perfect control over his mind, and struggles continually in this way to unite himself with Brahman, he will come at last to the crowning peace of Nirvana, the peace that is in me.”
“When can a man be said to have achieved union with Brahman? When his mind is under perfect control and freed from all desires, so that he becomes absorbed in the Atman, and nothing else. “The light of a lamp does not flicker in a windless place”: that is the simile which describes a yogi of one-pointed mind, who meditates upon the Atman. When, through the practice of yoga, the mind ceases its restless movements, and becomes still, he realizes the Atman. It satisfies him entirely. Then he knows that infinite happiness which can be realized by the purified heart but is beyond the grasp of the senses. He stands firm in this realization. Because of it, he can never again wander from the inmost truth of his being.”
Can I say more than that?
Without meditation
“Without meditation, where is peace? Without peace, where is happiness?”
The sine qua non of self-knowledge is meditation. The Self is ever-present but we do not perceive it because our vision is obscured by the illusion known as Maya. After describing the method of meditation, Krishna says: “If he practices meditation in this manner, his heart will become pure” and the Self will become literally self-evident. In conclusion he remarks: “Make a habit of practicing meditation, and do not let your mind be distracted. In this way you will come finally to the Lord, who is the light-giver, the highest of the high.”
The formula
The Self can be known by those who truly desire to know. And that true desire manifests through desisting from evil, controlling of the senses, quieting (restraining) the mind, and practicing meditation. This is the real Formula For Success.
The All-Consuming Self
Somewhere along the line–perhaps when they stopped killing their own people for sacrificial victims and committing genocide for the glory of their gods–the religion of Westerners lost its vigor. “Spiritual” came to be equated with the insubstantial and ethereal, degenerating in time into an airy and vaporous sentimentalism of the sickliest character. Languishing in love for God became an ideal along with nobly bearing the terrible burdens God threw onto a groaning and groveling humanity. The keynote of all this was passivity, and not a passivity born of true courage or nobility, but from a crushing sense of impotence and hopelessness. Hell became exalted to heaven, and the contempt of a capricious and tyrannical God became Divine Love, a love that demanded placation and acceptance-obedience. This God of love hated a lot more things than he liked and basically tolerated nothing. His religion in time became just like him, and so did many of his devotees–in attitude and deed. Since he was the ideal Father, they began treating their children just as he did his. Contemporary Western society is the result. Even the rebellion against this madness is as hateful, ignorant, and repressive as that which is being supposedly rejected. Only the pious cover is discarded; the evil core flourishes. The utter
insubstantiality of the “spirituel” has become a logical doorway to denial of any spiritual reality.
In the East (India) things are fundamentally different, even if some of the sillier ways of Western religion are also to be found there, particularly in the “bhakti movement.” The concept of the Self as identified with the Supreme Self rather than a creation whose tenuous existence is continually threatened by the possibility of divine wrath, has produced a psychology and a society the reverse of that found in the West. The Self is as eternal and immovable as God–because it is one with God.
Always.
In the nineteenth century the remarkable poet, author, and mystic Emily Bronte became exposed to the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita while studying in Belgium. She had long before instinctually rejected the ignorant religion of her childhood, but now she had an intelligent basis for her rejection.
Fortunately it took the form of affirmation rather than negation. She had seen clearly when nine or so that she and all her sisters (and brother) would die young of the same disease (tuberculosis), and had written a poem about it. When death was only a matter of weeks away, she wrote this final poem:
No coward soul is mine,
No trembler in the world’s storm-troubled sphere: I see Heaven’s glories shine,
And Faith shines equal, arming me from Fear.
O God within my breast, Almighty, ever-present Deity! Life, that in me has rest,
As I, undying Life, have power in Thee!
Vain are the thousand creeds
That move men’s hearts: unutterably vain; Worthless as withered weeds,
Or idlest froth amid the boundless main,
To waken doubt in one Holding so fast by Thy infinity, So surely anchored on
The steadfast rock of Immortality.
With wide-embracing love
Thy Spirit animates eternal years, Pervades and broods above,
Changes, sustains, dissolves, creates, and rears.
Though earth and moon were gone, And suns and universes ceased to be, And Thou wert left alone,
Every existence would exist in Thee.
There is not room for Death,
Nor atom that his might could render void: Thou–thou art Being and Breath,
And what thou art may never be destroyed.
Yama’s analysis of the Self has had a very logical progression. Then he tosses out to Nachiketa a single incredible sentence: “To him Brahmins and Kshatriyas are but food, and death itself a condiment.”
All that we consider worthy of respect, either venerable (brahmin) or powerful (kshatriya), is but a snack to the everlasting Self. Even death, which is ever with us and seemingly rules our destiny, is but a flavoring for the Self at its feast of life, adding spice.
Yama’s words are reminiscent of Arjuna’s vision of the Universal Self in the eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. Since the individual atman and the Paramatman are one they have the same qualities. Just as Arjuna saw that all things emanate from the Supreme and are reabsorbed in the Supreme–are “eaten” by It, so it is with the Self. All that is “us” has come from the Self and shall return to the Self. The Self is the eternal immortal source of that which we think is temporal and perishable. But only the forms are such. Their essence is the Self.
Unborn, the Self moves through many births. Formless, the Self inhabits many forms. Untouched, the Self encounters a myriad objects. Unconditioned, the Self manifests countless qualities. Remaining what it is, the Self appears to be all that it is not. All that it encounters is but its repast, and its births and deaths merely a sauce.
“Licking with your burning tongues, devouring all the worlds, you probe the heights of heaven!”
The Divine Indwellers
“Both the individual self and the Universal Self have entered the cave of the heart, the abode of the Most High, but the knowers of Brahman and the householders who perform the fire sacrifices see a difference between them as between sunshine and shadow.”
The two selves
There are two selves–the many individual selves and the one Universal Self. The Mundaka Upanishad likens them to two birds of the same appearance who sit in the same tree. First we come to know the individual self, and that enables us to attain the knowledge of the All-inclusive Self. How the two exist as one yet two is incomprehensible to the intellect but is readily experienced by the inmost consciousness of the persevering yogi. Yet intellectually we need to have some grasp of the unity/duality, otherwise we can have no correct perspective on anything, inner or outer. Extreme dualism is an error, and “monism” of any kind is even worse in its “simplisticism.” For this reason the enlightened use the expression Non-Dual (advaita) as the nearest we can come to conveying the truth of our existence. The verse beginning Purnamadah purnamidam is usually interpreted as a statement that the Relative has come from the Transcendent while retaining essential unity with the Transcendent. But it can also be understood as referring to the individual Self that exists rooted in the Universal Self. It, the atman, originates in the Supreme Self, the Paramatman, and is never separate from that Self. If examined, the two will be seen to be one. How is it possible? The One alone knows–and those who have united their consciousness with the One through yoga.
The cave of the heart
It is easy to see that the individual Self abides in–and as–the heart (hridaya), but when we look at the vast manifestation of Cosmic Life we call “creation” it is natural for our awareness to be drawn outward and thereby forget that the Supreme Self is right there inside in the same space (akasha). The Paramatman is not in the cave of our heart only incidentally, since It is everywhere, but that is Its abode, its “native place,” Its center. Its manifestation can be found everywhere, but It can be found
only in the cave of the heart.
Only that yogi Whose joy is inward, Inward his peace,
And his vision inward Shall come to Brahman And know Nirvana.
Great is that yogi who seeks to be with Brahman, Greater than those who mortify the body,
Greater than the learned,
Greater than the doers of good works:
Therefore, Arjuna, become a yogi.
How foolish to climb mountains, delve into the earth, wander across the plains, or cross the seas, thinking to find the Abode of God–which is the heart alone.
The two knowers
There are those who know Brahman directly and those who possess a secondary knowledge based on intuition resulting from their seeking of Brahman. Though only the first really know Brahman, yet the others’ “knowing about” Brahman is of such a character that it can lead them on to the direct knowledge of the illumined. Both of these have the same understanding without contradiction.
Therefore the Finders never disdain the Seekers.
The difference
What do the Finders and Seekers know? That the atman and the Paramatman, though one, are as different as sunshine and shadow. But not in the sense of being opposite or antithetical to one another. Rather, it means that the individual Self exists only because the Supreme Self exists, just as a shadow can only exist because of the light. As the Rig Veda says of the Supreme Self: “His shadow is immortality.” Also, the idea is that the individual self (jivatman) is a reflection of the Supreme Self (Paramatman). Later, Yama will say: “He shining, everything shines.”
The aspiration
Since the foregoing is true, the next verse of the upanishad says: “May we perform the Nachiketa Sacrifice, which bridges the world of suffering. May we know the imperishable Brahman, who is fearless, and who is the end and refuge of those who seek liberation.”
What is the Nachiketa Sacrifice? It is not a secret fire ritual that produces a magical enlightenment. The Nachiketa Sacrifice is the determined search for knowledge (jnana) which stops not until the Goal is reached. That is this the correct understanding is demonstrated by the results desired by the sacrificer: the knowledge of Brahman.
The search for union with God is the bridge which we cross to be free from this world of suffering. Seeking God is itself the guarantee that we shall find Him. Many who lack confidence worry as to whether they can succeed in spiritual life, if they are “ready,” and so forth. But the very fact that they wish to find God means that they have already travelled far along the path in previous lives. Otherwise they would sleep along with most of the world. “For the man who has once asked the way to Brahman goes further than any mere fulfiller of the Vedic rituals.” “The scriptures declare that merit can be
acquired by studying the Vedas, performing ritualistic sacrifices, practising austerities and giving alms. But the yogi who has understood this teaching of mine will gain more than any who do these things. He will reach that universal source, which is the uttermost abode of God.”
Truly, “May we know the imperishable Brahman, who is fearless, and who is the end and refuge of those who seek liberation.”
The Chariot
Perhaps the most perfect simile of our condition as human beings as we meander through the labyrinth of continual birth and death is that given in the Katha Upanishad, and it is worthy of careful analysis.
“Know that the Self is the rider, and the body the chariot; that the intellect is the charioteer, and the mind the reins.” The first idea set forth in this verse is the completely inactive role of the individual Self (atman). The other “ingredients” in the list are actively involved in “living” but the atman is absolutely beyond any activity, and is merely the observer. This is because its nature is pure consciousness–and nothing else.
Body-chariot
The body is the chariot, a conglomerate of parts without any consciousness or will of its own. (Did anyone else “out there” grow up hearing certain fundamentalists say: “I don’t sin but my body sins”?) Yet, being pervaded by the intellect (buddhi) it does seem to have “a mind of its own.” It does not, but it is an extension-expression of the mind and as such has great relevance to the spiritual aspirant. Sri Ramakrishna used to study the physical configuration of newcomers and thereby determine their spiritual qualifications. So we must think of the body as an inert thing. It is alive, but alive through the indwelling spirit. We may not be the body, but the body is certainly an expression of ourself. The body is not only the vehicle of our accumulated karmas it is the embodiment of them. Our karmas are incarnated in the body much more than is the Self.
Intellect-charioteer
“The intellect is the charioteer.” Our movement through “life” is solely through the agency of the intellect, the buddhi. This is why Krishna speaks of Buddhi Yoga as the process of liberation. Yoga is solely under the supervision of the buddhi. Yoga takes place both through the buddhi and within the buddhi. This gives us a tremendous insight into the nature of liberation: it is totally a matter of intellect, of reconstruction of awareness. The wise certainly undertake many external, even physical, disciplines to assist in their practice of yoga, but all of these are intended to affect the buddhi in its striving towards enlightenment. Since the buddhi is the charioteer, its quality determines everything in life. The cultivation of our buddhi, then, must be the focus of our sadhana. Any humanimal can be taught asanas and pranayama, but only the developed human can engage in real yoga. If you think this previous statement is extreme let me tell you something I learned early on in my “yoga life.”
In 1962 I was privileged to meet and listen to the venerable A. B. Purani, the administrator of the renowned Aurobindo Ashram. Sri Purani had been a fellow revolutionary with the (future) great Master Sri Aurobindo Ghosh (who, incidentally, was a high school teacher and inspirer of Paramhansa Yogananda). Later he became his disciple and lived in the ashram for many years before the master’s passing.
During one of his brilliant discourses at the East-West Cultural Center in Hollywood, Sri Purani told of an experience he had while travelling to the United States. He had stopped over in Japan where he was
invited to speak to a yoga group in Tokyo. This group taught and practiced only Hatha Yoga (asanas and pranayama). At the conclusion of his talk, Sri Purani asked them: “Would you agree that the greatest yogis of recent times were Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Aurobindo, and Sri Ramana Maharshi?” They expressed unanimous assent to this statement. “Yet,” he pointed out, “not one of them practiced Hatha Yoga. So why do you consider yourselves yogis when you only practice that which they never bothered with?”
No matter how many external assists we may use, yoga is essentially of the buddhi alone.
Mind-reins
“And the mind the reins.” By mind (manah) is meant the sensory mind, the intermediary between the intellect and the body–and the entire world, as well. Through the mind the intellect sees whether the body should act or be still. For example, the mind conveys the sensation of a hand burning to the intellect, which then directs the body–again, through the mind–to pull the hand away from the fire and plunge it in cold water or some such remedy.
The next element in the matter are the senses, without which the mind would have nothing to show the intellect. Therefore:
Sense-horses
“The senses, say the wise, are the horses; the roads they travel are the mazes of desire.”
It is the senses that drag the chariot of the body along according to their impulses. If the buddhi is weak or underdeveloped, the mind which is driven by pain-pleasure motivation alone takes complete charge in giving “full rein” to the senses. Having no intelligence they plunge onward, ever seeking fulfillment and, not finding it, hurtling even further on the paths of unreason and folly. For “the roads they travel are the mazes of desire” rather than intelligence. As a consequence the individual becomes hopelessly lost and mired in the morass of external sensation. Enslavement to body and senses is the only possible consequence–death in life and ultimately death in “actuality”–of the body and senses.
Self-definition
“Who am I?” is the gate to real understanding, for it sets us seeking true knowledge. And the upanishadic verse continues: “The wise call the Self the enjoyer when he is united with the body, the senses, and the mind.” We certainly do not enjoy a great deal of our experiences in/through the body, so perhaps a better translation of bhokta is “experiencer” rather than enjoyer.
The major idea in this verse is that the Self is the actionless consciousness that experiences the intellect, mind, senses, and body. As a consequence we can understand that the Self is never “the doer” at any time. The Gita illumines this for us, saying: “Every action is really performed by the gunas [sensory energies]. Man, deluded by his egoism, thinks: ‘I am the doer.’ But he who has the true insight into the operations of the gunas and their various functions, knows that when senses attach themselves to objects, gunas are merely attaching themselves to gunas. Knowing this, he does not become attached to his actions.” “You dream you are the doer.” “Let the wise man know these gunas alone as the doers of every action; let him learn to know That Which is beyond them, also.”
There is more material like this, but the sum is: “The truly admirable man controls his senses by the power of his will.” This is because: “The senses are said to be higher than the sense-objects. The mind is higher than the senses. The intelligent will is higher than the mind. What is higher than the intelligent will? The Atman Itself.”
The practical application
“When a man lacks discrimination and his mind is uncontrolled, his senses are unmanageable, like the restive horses of a charioteer. But when a man has discrimination and his mind is controlled, his senses, like the well-broken horses of a charioteer, lightly obey the rein.”
And more:
“He who lacks discrimination, whose mind is unsteady and whose heart is impure, never reaches the goal, but is born again and again. But he who has discrimination, whose mind is steady and whose heart is pure, reaches the goal, and having reached it is born no more. The man who has a sound understanding for charioteer, a controlled mind for reins–he it is that reaches the end of the journey, the supreme abode of Vishnu, the all pervading.”
The Chariot’s Journey
The upanishadic seers have just told us that the Self in the body is like a driver in a chariot. Now they set the intended journey before us.
“The senses derive from physical objects, physical objects from mind, mind from intellect, intellect from ego, ego from the unmanifested seed, and the unmanifested seed from Brahman–the Uncaused Cause. Brahman is the end of the journey. Brahman is the supreme goal.”
It is the genealogy of perception that is being outlined here, for if we reverse the order of perception we will come to perceive the Source, the Eternal Witness Itself. This verse, then, is a exposition of the chain, or progression of consciousness. According to it, the hierarchy of perception is:
Brahman (Purusha) Unmanifested seed (Avyaktam)
Ego (Atma Mahan–the Great Self or Mahat Tattwa) Intellect (Buddhi)
Mind (Manas) Senses (Indriyas)
Physical objects (Arthas)
The Bhagavad Gita gives a similar but simpler list relating exclusively to the individual (microcosm) rather than the Universal (Macrocosm), but we can translate the foregoing list to relate to us as individual beings (jivas). In that case we get:
The Self
The unmanifested yet out-turned will-energy The sense of “I am”
The intellect The mind The senses
The sense organs.
My list is more literal than that of Swami Prabhavananda. It is not more meritorious when considering the Cosmos, but it is better when looking at the situation of the individual being.
Having descended the ladder, how do we get back up–especially sense we have no memory of how we
managed the descent? Luckily for us the yogis of India figured that out for us untold eons ago, and it works as well today as it did then. Meditation is the way of ascent back to awareness of the Self. It is possible to work our way back up the ladder, for the “rungs” are not disparate elements but evolutes or emanations of those above them. If all the rungs, including the senses themselves, were not extensions of the Self, we could not reach back to the Self. This is as true on the microcosmic level as it is on the macrocosmic. Fortunately Brahman has not “fallen” and forgotten Itself, but It, too, withdraws and projects himself as creation–as we do ourselves by coming into manifestation and eventually into physical birth. “As above, so below” has many ramifications.
The destination and how to get there
“Brahman is the end of the journey. Brahman is the supreme goal.” But the simple saying counts for little. So the upanishad continues: “This Brahman, this Self, deep-hidden in all beings, is not revealed to all; but to the seers, pure in heart, concentrated in mind–to them is he revealed.” Who sees Brahman? The sukshma-darshibhih–those who can see the subtle, the inmost Reality.
How, then, can we become seers of the Subtle? By continually developing our capacity for inner perception and simultaneously refining our inner faculties. To do that we must “go inside” in meditation and work with our inner mechanism called the antahkarana by the yogis. As the Taittiriya Upanishad says: “Seek to know Brahman by meditation.” And: “Om is Brahman. Om is all. He who meditates on Om attains to Brahman.”
“Within the lotus of the heart he dwells, where, like the spokes of a wheel in its hub, the nerves meet. Meditate on him as OM. Easily mayest thou cross the sea of darkness.”
“The mind may be compared to a firestick, the syllable OM to another. Rub the two sticks together by repeating the sacred syllable and meditating on Brahman, and the flame of knowledge will be kindled in your heart and all impurities will be burnt away.” “Let your body be the stick that is rubbed, the sacred syllable OM the stick that is rubbed against it. Thus shall you realize God, who is hidden within the body as fire is hidden within the wood.”
Turning back
“The senses of the wise man obey his mind, his mind obeys his intellect, his intellect obeys his ego, and his ego obeys the Self.” This, too, is the product/effect of meditation! Meditation is the establishing of order within and without.
Marching orders!
“Arise! Awake! Approach the feet of the master and know THAT.”
In point of fact, the text does not say “approach the feet of the master,” but prapya varan, which means “having attained boons.” The idea is to seek and attain kripa–grace. Actually, the scriptures speak of three kinds of kripa: 1) sadhana kripa, the grace of self-effort; ) guru kripa, the grace of a teacher, and
3) divya kripa, divine grace. This wise will gain all three. But there is no denying that kripa is a requisite for those who, having arisen and awakened, seek Brahman.
The path
The verse continues: “Like the sharp edge of a razor, the sages say, is the path. Narrow it is, and difficult to tread!” Immediately we think of Jesus words: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because
strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
Because popular religion, despite its attempt to entice followers, continually implies or outright states that spiritual life is hard (I grew up with this in fundamentalist Protestantism and found it outrageous), we tend to look at the principles of Sanatana Dharma with a tainted perspective. The upanishad is not telling us in the manner of Western religion how hard it will be to follow the way of life.
The clue to difficulty in spiritual is found in the description of the path as “like the sharp edge of a razor.” The idea is that the path is extremely subtle–not arduous. But that makes it all the more difficult, even impossible, for those of coarse minds. This, and this alone, is what makes the path hard to tread.
No spiritual discipline comes near to being as hard as the things human beings commonly do every day to get the things they want. And “want” is the operative word. If we do not want a thing, then any action needed to obtain it will be tedious and “too hard.” But if we want it intensely, then no effort is too much or too hard. That is why the thirty-fourth Ode of Solomon says: “There is no hard way where there is a simple heart, nor any barrier where the thoughts are upright. Nor is there any whirlwind in the depth of the illuminated thought. Where one is surrounded on every side by pleasing country, there is nothing divided in him.” So the problem is in us, not in the path.
Here, as in the last essay, we see that the solution is to refine our consciousness through meditation. We must also refine our physical and mental bodes through purity of thought and deed and especially purity of diet. The ingesting of animal flesh, alcohol, nicotine and mind-affecting drugs is a frontal attack on spiritual life. It is completely insane for a seeker to engage in such destructive habits (and they are addictions).
The subtle Goal
The absolute necessity for refinement of perception through refinement of all the levels of our being is revealed by the nature of the path’s goal: “Soundless, formless, intangible, undying, tasteless, odorless, without beginning, without end, eternal, immutable, beyond nature, is the Self. Knowing him as such, one is freed from death.”
We must become able to hear Silence, see the Formless, touch the Untouchable, live to the Immortal, taste the Tasteless, perceive the fragrance of the Odorless, and transcend all relative measure, and even relativity itself. Such a state is verily inconceivable to us at the present. But it can be achieved through yoga.
Let us arise, awake, pass from death unto life, and lay hold of Immortality.
The Glorious Way
The Katha Upanishad is now going to elaborate on the path so we can better understand how to journey upon it.
“The Self-Existent made the senses turn outward. Accordingly, man looks toward what is without, and sees not what is within. Rare is he who, longing for immortality, shuts his eyes to what is without and beholds the Self.”
Why?
The first thing this verse teaches us is that the Divine Itself has caused our consciousness to turn outward. This is not the result of any negative force or “fall” on our part. (The fall took place as a
wrong response to the outward turn.) What was the purpose of our turning outward? Evolution. We had to enter into relative existence and run the maze of ever-ascending evolution in order to satisfy our innate urge for infinity. (For more on this, see .) Consequently, there is nothing wrong with the senses turning outward; the problem is when the sense become locked in externalizing. The purpose of our entering the field of evolutionary life was for us to experience the many shades of evolving consciousness while never losing awareness of our true nature or identifying with the costumes we constantly donned and put off as the ages progressed. However it may have been intended, the situation has horribly changed, making us blind to inner realities.
Sunk in awareness of seeming mortality, human beings either seek to distract themselves from the terror and pain which arises from their delusion, or they seek some way to attain immortality. Both searches are based on delusion, so they can only fail. We need not become immortal, but must realize our present, eternal immortal nature. Those who shut their eyes–their consciousness–to the false appearances of external existence and turn within discover the truth of their immortality. No longer do they think that the solution is to be found in some external factor, but clearly see that their own Self is the wondrous answer.
The foolish and the wise
“Fools follow the desires of the flesh and fall into the snare of all-encompassing death; but the wise, knowing the Self as eternal, seek not the things that pass away.”
In its true state, relative existence is a vast field of life, but when it is overlain with the veneer of our inner delusions, it becomes death to us. That which is meant to expand our consciousness and free us into Infinity becomes a prison, a killer of our soul–and this is all our doing. The world remains what it ever was, but we have lost sight of its nature just as we have become blind to our own Self.
The urge to expansion of consciousness through upward-moving evolution becomes distorted into a myriad desires arising from our false identity with the body and its illusory mortality. “Seize the moment!” is our despairing cry. Seeking to live, we plunge ourselves “into the snare of all-encompassing death.”
The wise, who have come to know their immortality through the direct experience produced (only) by meditation, turn from the snare and seek only that which cannot pass away because it has never come into being at some point in time, but is immortal–like us. In other words, we seek the kingdom of God that is nothing less than God–and our own Self.
There is a seeking that is necessary, but a seeking for deepening consciousness rather than for something that is not already ours. We must not fall into the facile illusion that we have nothing to do or attain. Certainly there is nothing objective to be done or attained, but in the subjective realm of Consciousness there is literally Everything to be sought and attained. “Strive without ceasing to know the Atman, seek this knowledge and comprehend clearly why you should seek it: such, it is said, are the roots of true wisdom.”
To Know The Self
Defining the Self
Recently I read of a yogi who was asked, “What is the Self?” The yogi answered: “The one who knows the mind.” How simple! And the answer to the query, “Who/What is God?” is equally simple: The one who enables the Self to know the mind and Who knows the Self as its Self.
“He through whom man sees, tastes, smells, hears, feels, and enjoys, is the omniscient Lord.” All the doors of perception function through the Divine Presence, not just the Divine Power. Our consciousness is the Consciousness of God, the finite drawn from the Infinite, as the wave draws its existence from the ocean. It is a grave error to decry the experience of our senses as either illusory or somehow degrading. It is our response to sensory experience that is often illusory or degrading. But we are at every moment living in and by God.
But God is not just the Power by which “we live, and move, and have our being.” “He, verily, is the immortal Self. Knowing him, one knows all things.” He is the all-embracing Consciousness within our consciousness and within all things. If we come to know–enter into the being of–that Infinite One we shall know with His knowing, and therefore know all things. As Saint Paul said: “Now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” This is the inmost meaning of Saint John’s statement: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
“He through whom man experiences the sleeping or waking states is the all-pervading Self. Knowing him, one grieves no more.” All states of consciousness are directly rooted in the Self, individual and universal. When through yoga this is truly known, all grief ceases, for the yogi identifies with his all-perceiving Self.
He transcends fear as well, for “He who knows that the individual soul, enjoyer of the fruits of action, is the Self–ever present within, lord of time, past and future–casts out all fear. For this Self is the immortal Self.” What an incredible statement! We are thinking that we are poor, mortal beings swept along by forces alien to us and totally beyond our control, when all the time we are the masters of past and future. All our fear comes from our unawareness of this glorious fact. By turning inward and discovering the truth of ourself we will pass beyond fear. The message of the upanishads is inseparably bound up with the necessity for sadhana if it is not to be no more than dead words on a dead page.
Seeing truly
“He who sees the First-Born—born of the mind of Brahma, born before the creation of waters–and sees him inhabiting the lotus of the heart, living among physical elements, sees Brahman indeed. For this First-Born is the immortal Self.” The only way to “see true” is to see The True.
When we turn within, to the core of our being, there we will not only find the individual self, the jiva or atman, but we will find its origin, the Supreme Self, the Paramatman, the eternal Brahman. This is the true vision of God–that in which the two are seen to be One, although their distinction is eternal. The word “born” is misleading, for the Self is never born. There does come a time when it becomes manifest in relative creation, but it existed before that “birth.” It is not even right to say that God is our “origin,” for the Self is co-eternal with God. As Krishna told Arjuna: “There was never a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor any of these kings. Nor is there any future in which we shall cease to be.”
The all-embracing Self
It is no news to us that God not only is within all things but in an ineffable way IS all things. But there is a further fact: We, too, embrace all the levels of being on the finite level, just as does God on the infinite level. So the upanishads further says: “That being who is the power of all powers, and is born as such, who embodies himself in the elements and in them exists, and who has entered the lotus of the heart, is the immortal Self.” Again, this refers to both the finite and the Infinite spirits.
Therefore we see that in the vision of the upanishadic sages we are not abstract spirits with no
connection whatever with the energies of prakriti. Rather, as with God, those energies are our own expanded and “frozen” energies that in time are to be revealed as consciousness and assimilated into our Self–from which they have never really been separate. Everything is consciousness. In the final sense there is no matter or energy at all. Yet, at the moment we find ourselves in the seemingly manifold condition that is necessary for our evolution and ultimate freedom.
We not only mistake our own nature, we mistake the nature of God as well. We are ourselves “the power of all powers,” having willingly embodied ourselves in subtle and gross matter while still living essentially in “the lotus of the heart.” How then can we consider ourselves the servants or slaves of any being–including God? There is no “work of God” in this world for us to do–only our work, the ascension to perfect freedom. There is a theism that is bondage and a theism that is freedom. We must discriminate between the two.
The source
Because it fits better with the foregoing, let us skip a verse and read: “That in which the sun rises and in which it sets, that which is the source of all the powers of nature and of the senses, that which nothing can transcend–that is the immortal Self.”
The Self and the Supreme Self are both the Chidakasha, the Sky or Ether of Consciousness in which the sun of manifested life rises and sets. The waking, dreaming, and deep sleep states take place within the consciousness that is the Self. The experience of birth and death likewise take place within the Self.
The Self is, like the Supreme Self, the source of the energies that manifest as the various levels of the subtle and gross bodies which we are presently evolving until they manifest as the spirit-self. Nothing is ever destroyed, but is resolved back into its origin, the spirit. This is the great and awesome assertion of the upanishads.
Nothing is beyond or higher than the Self–not even God, for God and the Self are essentially one, as are the ocean and the waves. As long as we dream of separation, so long will we continue to come and go, suffering the pain and fear of continual change. But when we awaken into Unity, all sorrow and fear cease forever.
The Power of Enlightenment
“Agni, the all-seeing, who lies hidden in fire sticks, like a child well guarded in the womb, who is worshiped day by day by awakened souls, and by those who offer oblations in sacrificial fire–he is the immortal Self.”
According to the researches of Sri Aurobindo, Agni, the supposed “god of fire,” is really the will power of the individual which manifests specifically in the practice of yoga. This is not the whimsical will power of egoic goals, but the will to liberate our consciousness from all bonds. This manifests exclusively in spiritual practice, not in philosophizing or in feeling “spiritual.” This is the highest form of action possible to any being in relativity, and merits our careful analysis.
Hidden in fire sticks
The fire for the Vedic sacrifice is kindled by the friction of two sticks. The upanishad uses this as a simile, saying that the yogic fire “lies hidden in fire sticks.” Both the Kaivalya and the Swetashwatara Upanishads explain this as follows.
“The mind may be compared to a firestick, the syllable OM to another. Rub the two sticks together by repeating the sacred syllable and meditating on Brahman, and the flame of knowledge will be kindled in your heart and all impurities will be burnt away.” “Fire, though present in the firesticks, is not perceived until one stick is rubbed against another. The Self is like that fire: it is realized in the body by meditation on the sacred syllable OM.” Not only is the will to practice meditation produced by meditation on Om, so is the goal–enlightenment.
“Like a child well guarded in the womb”
The propensity toward the Divine is rare, and it is also fragile because the downward pull accumulated in thousands of previous lives threaten its very existence. Consequently, the wise sadhaka guards it well once it arises, ensuring that it can grow unhindered and in time come forth as the liberating force we need to be successful yogis. The observance of Yama and Niyama are absolutely essential in this, as is the need to reorder one’s life so as not to put this developing power in danger of harm or destruction.
“Worshiped day by day by awakened souls”
The idea of the previous section is being continued. The awakened (though no yet enlightened) soul cherishes the yogic will, and realizes that it is a worshipful thing–the Godward-tending divine power of the divine Self that moves within him like an embryo within the womb. Day by day he worships it by using it to meditate.
“Those who offer oblations in sacrificial fire”
Those who are consciously engaging in Ishwarapranidhana, the offering of the life to God, extend the power of their spiritual will beyond the practice of meditation into every moment of their life and activity, using it to accomplish a spiritualized mode of life. Here, too, the necessity for reordering the life of the sadhaka is evident.
May that divine Agni be enkindled and maintained within us.
The Infinite Self
“What is within us is also without. What is without is also within. He who sees difference between what is within and what is without goes evermore from death to death.” These words have various levels of meaning, and we should consider them all.
Microcosms
Many years ago, Dr. Judith Tyberg, a disciple of Sri Aurobindo and director of the East-West Cultural Center in Los Angeles, told me that she had attended a lecture at Benares Hindu University in which a map of the universe and charts from Gray’s Anatomy were compared and seen to be strikingly alike. Our bodies are little models of the universe.
Some months before she told this to me I had experienced this for myself. While meditating one day all ordinary physical sensation vanished. Spatial relation ceased to exist and I found myself keenly aware of being beyond dimension, neither large nor small, but infinite (for infinity is beyond size). Although the terminology is inappropriate to such a state, to make it somewhat understandable I have to say that I perceived an infinity of worlds “within” me. Suns–some solo and others surrounded by planets–glimmered inside my spaceless space. Not that I saw the light, but I felt or intuited it. Actually, I did not “see” anything–and yet I did. It is not expressible in terms of ordinary sense experience, yet I must use
those terms. I experienced myself as everything that existed within the relative material universe. Or so it seemed, for the human body is a miniature universe, a microcosmic model of the macrocosm. The physical human body is a reflection of the universal womb that conceived it. I had experienced the subtle level of the physical body that is its ideational (i.e., causal) blueprint. On that level it can be experienced as a map of the material creation.
In this matter, it was crucial that I not mistake the copy for the Original and think I was an infinite being or had attained Cosmic Consciousness. It was Macrocosmic Consciousness–not an insignificant experience, but certainly not the final step in evolution.
“As above, so below”
In the Hermetic Philosophy of the ancient Mediterranean world there was a principle: “As above, so below.” That is, this material plane of existence is a mirroring of higher levels of being all the way up to the Absolute. Therefore, by studying earthly phenomena we can gain some idea of heavenly things. Also, that material conditions are reflections of psychic forces. Astrology is an example of this. The physical planets, through universal gravitation, certainly have some influence on our physical being, but their movements are indications of the arising and subsiding of inner, subtle energies that greatly affect us, both psychologically and externally.
We need to realize that the inner is always more real than the outer. The thirty-fourth Ode of Solomon, one of the earliest Christian hymns, says: “The likeness of that which is below is that which is above. For everything is above, and below there is nothing, but it is believed to be by those in whom there is no knowledge.”
This is also true in yoga. Everything real happens in the head–the Sahasrara, the Thousand-petalled Lotus, the astral/causal brain. This is why Paramhansa Nityananda told his students: “Awareness [buddhi] should be concentrated in the head. Your attention should always be above the neck; never below the neck.” Yogis should never look to or trust phenomena that take place in the body below the Sahasrara.
Outer/inner
The outer is the inner; the inner is the outer. We have touched on this slightly. It is of inestimable importance to realize that our outer life is but a mirror image of our inner life, that whatever is taking place in our external body and environment is happening in the depths of our mind. So by studying and analyzing our outer life we come to gauge the true character of our inner life. This is not palatable to the ego, for it means that our misfortunes are our own doing and reveal our inner negativity. As the Chinese maxim has it: When mean-spirited people live behind the door, mean-spirited people come in front of the door. So let us be careful before we indulge in a litany of all the wrongs we have suffered and all the bad people that have done those wrongs to us. We will only be confessing our own sins. It is not sympathy we need, but self-correction. As a very wise book, The Astral City, says: “Self-pity is a symptom of mental illness.”
Consistency
It is also necessary that our inner and outer lives be identical. We are all aware that very corrupt people can act and speak in a seemingly virtuous way. Also, many soft-hearted people pretend to be callous or even prickly. But neither is admirable. “What you see is what you get” should be our rule of life. Our outer life must be an exact imaging of our inner life. In the Gospel of Thomas, section 22, Jesus tells his disciples that they will enter the kingdom of God: “When you make the two one, and when you
make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below.”
The inner and outer Reality
God is the inner, and God is the outer. “He who sees difference between what is within and what is without goes evermore from death to death.” We are bound to the cycle of perpetual births and deaths until we see God, both within and without–until we know that God is the sole reality of both “the world” and ourselves. In that vision we become immortal. The great Swami Sivananda wrote the following expressing this truth:
When I surveyed from Ananda Kutir, Rishikesh, By the side of the Tehri Hills, only God I saw.
In the Ganges and the Kailas peak,
In the famous Chakra Tirtha of Naimisar also, only God I saw.
In tribulation and in grief, in joy and in glee, In sickness and in sorrow, only God I saw.
In birds and dogs, in stones and trees,
In flowers and fruits, in the sun, moon and stars, only God I saw.
In the rosy cheeks of Kashmiri ladies,
In the black faces of African negroes, only God I saw. In filth and scents, in poison and dainties,
In the market and in society, only God I saw.
In Brahmakara Vritti and Vedantic Nididhyasana,
In Atmic Vichara and Atmic Chintana, only God I saw. In Kirtan and Nama Smaran, in Sravana and Vandana,
In Archana and Padasevana, in Dasya and Atmanivedana, only God I saw.
Like camphor I was melting in His fire of knowledge, Amidst the flames outflashing, only God I saw.
My Prana entered the Brahmarandhra at the Moordha, Then I looked with God’s eyes, only God I saw.
I passed away into nothingness, I vanished, And lo, I was the all-living, only God I saw.
I enjoyed the Divine Aisvarya, all God’s Vibhutis,
I had Visvaroopa Darshan, the Cosmic Consciousness, only God I saw.
Glory, glory unto the Lord, hail! hail! hail! O sweet Ram.
Let me sing once more Thy Name—Ram Ram Ram, Om, Om, Om, only God I saw.
The seeing mind
Jesus, who said: “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God,” had learned this well in India. For the next verse of the Katha Upanishad tells us: “By the purified mind alone is the indivisible Brahman to be attained. Brahman alone is–nothing else is. He who sees the manifold universe, and not the one reality, goes evermore from death to death.”
The necessary purification is profound, for Saint John tells us: “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he [God] is pure.” Those whose minds have been made pure in the
contemplation of God automatically see Him. As Patanjali explains: “God is a Spirit….…His designator is Om. Its constant repetition and meditation is the way. From it result the disappearance of obstacles and the turning inward of consciousness.” And, more importantly, they attain God, as the upanishad says. They come to know themselves as gods within God.
The universe and ourselves are in an ineffable way part of the indivisible Brahman. That is why Jesus said: “This is life eternal: that they might know thee the only true God.” And why the upanishad tell us that “He who sees the manifold universe, and not the one reality, goes evermore from death to death.”
The upanishad calls us to see God and enter into Life Eternal.
The Dweller in the Heart
For numberless ages, in the rest of the world people were intent on the awesome greatness of God–and nothing more. Whereas in India the sages were intent on the awesome greatness of both the individual and the Universal Selves. Perceiving their unity, they understood that whatever can be said about one can be said about the other. Thus their teachings are a unique revelation of the true nature of us all.
Without this self-understanding, our life is nothing but confusion with a few random stumblings into insight. It is an absolute necessity that we comprehend the upanishadic teachings and strive to gain the upanishadic vision.
In the lotus of the heart
“That being, of the size of a thumb, dwells deep within the heart. He is the lord of time, past and future. Having attained him, one fears no more. He, verily, is the immortal Self.” This verse tells us several things about our true Self.
That being, of the size of a thumb, dwells deep within the heart. Since the Self transcends space, how can it have a measurable size? It cannot. Shankara explains in his commentary that “the lotus of the heart is of the size of a thumb. Existing in the space within the lotus of the heart, [the Self] has the size of a thumb, just like space existing in a section of a bamboo that is of the size of a thumb.” Just as water filling a vessel sunk in the ocean has volume and shape, in the same way the Self seems to have a shape and a measure. But once the vessel is broken, the shape and volume of the water cease to be, and so it is with the Self. Incarnate in a body, the Self pervades it and reflects it, but upon the dissolution of the body those seeming conditions cease instantly, for they have no objective reality. So it is not the Self that is really of the size of a thumb, but rather the lotus of the heart within which it momentarily dwells.
We should not mistake the lotus of the heart for the organ that pumps blood through the body. The real lotus of the heart is the core of the Thousand-Petalled Lotus, the Sahasrara located in the head. This thumb-shaped nucleus is also referred to in yogic teachings as “the Linga in the head.”
“Deep within the heart” indicates that the Self is the inmost level of our being, our absolute essence beyond which we simply do not exist. It also indicates that to know ourself we must meditate and penetrate deep into our consciousness. There is no other way.
He is the lord of time, past and future. It is a grave error to think that we are helpless flotsam and jetsam on the bosom of the ocean of Relativity, being moved about by forces such as karma, our thoughts, and even God. It is our own Self that determines whatever happens to us and is the sole controller of our past, present, and future. Look at the chaotic lives of those who “trust in God” and
“surrender to the Divine Will.” They rationalize their disordered state by saying they have peace of mind through their attitude, but that is a poor substitute for the truth. Look at how many people die peacefully. Peace counts for little when it is nothing more than an opiate. We must stop living a lie. It is not our karma, our thinking, or even God that ordains our life. It is our Self. And until we unite our awareness with the Self we shall know nothing but uncertainty and confusion. But when we do, “sorrow melts into that clear peace” which is ours forever.
Having attained him, one fears no more. For what can produce fear in the knower of the Self? As Emily Bronte wrote:
O God within my breast, Almighty, ever-present Deity! Life, that in me has rest, As I, undying Life, have power in Thee!
Vain are the thousand creeds That move men’s hearts: unutterably vain; Worthless as withered weeds, Or idlest froth amid the boundless main,
To waken doubt in one Holding so fast by Thy infinity, So surely anchored on The steadfast rock of Immortality.
The smokeless flame
“That being, of the size of a thumb, is like a flame without smoke. He is the lord of time, past and future, the same today and tomorrow. He, verily, is the immortal Self.” Now we learn some more essential facts about our Self.
Like a flame without smoke. The Self is pure light without covering or admixture. In our present state of delusion we think that the Self can be inhibited and even corrupted, but that is not so. The various energy levels within which the Self is dwelling certainly can be inhibited, corrupted, and even destroyed. If we identify with those levels we will live in fear and uncertainty, relieved only occasionally by utterly false hopes. “It is your ignorance, it is the world’s delusion that gives you these dreams” of both hope and fear. But once our consciousness is posited in the Self, all that is past, dispelled by the eternal Light of the Self.
The same today and tomorrow. The changeless nature of the Self puts us beyond all fear, concern, and anxiety, “knowing It birthless, knowing It deathless, knowing It endless, for ever unchanging.” The Self really has no past, present or future. It is, itself, the Eternal Now.
Liberating unity
“As rain, fallen on a hill, streams down its side, so runs he after many births who sees manifoldness in the Self.” The “gravity” of delusion pulls inexorably downward those who think that the many layers of their incarnate existence are the Self. Yet, they do not think they are enslaved by the consequences of their ignorance, but think they have free will as they “run” into the valleys of darkness and pain. “It’s my life, and I will do what I want to,” they shout as they roll downward into the jaws of sorrow and death. Only when the unity of our Self is known–both in the fact of its unitary state of being and its eternal oneness with Brahman–will the earthward pull disappear along with the compulsion to continual rebirth. “If a man sees Brahman in every action, He will find Brahman.” It is as simple as that.
Ever the same
“As pure water poured into pure water remains pure, so does the Self remain pure, O Nachiketa, uniting
with Brahman.”
We and Brahman are one Substance. There is no difference. We are not “creations,” we are beginningless and endless, co-eternal with God. Knowing this makes all the difference–the only difference we need. Brahman is Pure Being and we are Pure Being. Uniting with Brahman we remain what we always have been, but no longer subject to ignorance and delusion. As Jesus said: “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out.” The Self does not change, but becomes irrevocably established in the consciousness of its changelessness.
The Birthless Self
The subject of the Self is virtually inexhaustible. It is the sole object of the upanishads. So Yamaraj continues to expound the Self to Nachiketa.
“To the Birthless, the light of whose consciousness forever shines, belongs the city of eleven gates. He who meditates on the ruler of that city knows no more sorrow. He attains liberation, and for him there can no longer be birth or death. For the ruler of that city is the immortal Self.”
This verse tells us many aspects of the Self, each of which should be scrutinized in turn.
Birthless
A cornerstone of Eastern wisdom is the understanding that verbal formulas can never encompass the truth, but can only be hints, albeit excellent hints–that truth is always beyond books, concepts, and words; that in time the aspirant must pass beyond them into the level of spiritual intuition in which direct knowledge is possible. Yet it is understood that the aspirant will not be able to fully translate such direct knowledge into words. As the adage says: “He who knows tells it not; he who tells knows it not.” Not from an attitude of arcane secrecy (always a symptom of spiritual pathology), but from the fact that knowing transcends speech and (discursive) thought.
Nevertheless, “According to your faith be it unto you.” And faith is conceptual, even if not fully verbal. Consequently, our ideas about ourselves, our nature, and our life have a profound influence on our life and its unfoldment. If we think we are sinful mortals, we shall live like sinful mortals, incapable of reaching God. If we think we are evolving consciousness, moving onward to spiritual heights, we shall evolve beyond human limitations. But if we think we are eternal beings, part of God’s infinite Being, we shall rise to the state of Divine Unity and manifest the declaration: “Ye are gods.”
It is necessary, then, for us to firmly set in mind that we are birthless beings, that we have never “come into being” or been “created.” Rather, we are co-eternal with God, the Essence of our existence. We never came into being, nor shall we ever cease to be. When we understand that our consciousness is somehow a wave of the Infinite Consciousness that is God, that we are irrevocably a part of God’s infinite Light and Life, it will have a transforming effect on us.
Sri Ramakrishna was fond of the simile of a washerman’s donkey. Each night the washerman passes a rope around the legs of the donkey and then removes it. The donkey believes it has been tied, so it never tries to move away from that spot. Its bondage is imaginary, yet because of its belief it is as bound as though it were tied. It is the same with us. If we believe we are bound, we shall be bound. But if we believe we are free we can manifest that freedom. This is what yoga–and yoga alone–is all about.
The light of consciousness
God cannot be defined, but it can be said that God is Light–even more, that God is the Light that is Life. In other words, God is Conscious Light. And so are we. If this is realized, then we will not identify with the change and dissolution that is inherent in relative existence. The hymn says: “Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou Who changest not, abide with me.” The mistake is in thinking that what is needed is God as a separate being, when what is really needed is the abiding awareness of our own Self, of which God is the Essence. As the Psalmist sang: “I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.…When I awake, I am still with thee.”
Forever shines
Our divine nature may be obscured to our earthly eyes in the way that clouds can hide the sun and even make the earth dark. But the sun ever shines. Night occurs because of the turning of the earth, and spiritual ignorance and darkness arise because our awareness is turned wrong. Yet, as Buddha said: “Turn around and lo! The Other Shore.” And Jesus said over and over: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand”–right here where it has always been. It is only a matter of attunement of consciousness. Again, that is where yoga comes in.
The Self is what It is forever, nothing can alter that. So what we need is a recovering of Consciousness. It need not be produced or even gained–only recognized. This is difficult for us to grasp since we have become habituated to the ways of relativity in which everything is a “process” moving along in stages. Yoga reveals the Truth of our Selves, and since the clouds of illusion have to be moved aside to reveal the ever-shining Self, yoga appears to be a process, too, but essentially it is not. Yoga is simply Seeing True.
The city of eleven gates
The human body is usually called “the city of nine gates” for the nine apertures of the body, but here it has the number eleven. Shankara says this is because the navel and the Brahmarandhra, the “soft spot” at the crown of the head are also being counted as gates. This is appropriate, as before birth we are nourished through the navel, and at death we often depart through the Brahmarandhra.
The important point that is being made here is in contradistinction to religions other than Hinduism, and even to the attitudes found today in contemporary Indian philosophy. For it is commonly thought very “spiritual” to disregard the body, push it aside in our consciousness, and despise it as a liability and even a prison. But the upanishad tells us that the body is not alien to the Self (atman), but rather belongs to the Self, just as the cosmos belongs to God–and is in a sense the “body” of God. (It is important to continually keep in mind that whatever can be said of God can usually be said about the individual being, as well.) The body is ours, and is fundamentally a mirroring of our personal consciousness, which is why we can legitimately speak of “the body-mind connection.”
The body is the vehicle through which the individual evolves during the span of life on earth, and must be taken into serious account by the yogi who will discover that the body can exert a necessary effect on the mind. For example, the yogi meditates and discovers that the process of yoga takes place in the thousand-petalled lotus of the brain. For, as Paramhansa Nityananda said: “All takes place to a raja yogi in the brain center.…What is called Raja Yoga is above the neck.” Furthermore, the yogi joins the japa (repetition) of Om to the breath–a physical process known as pranayama.
The yogi who observes will discover that the diet of the physical body is also the diet of the mind, that whatever is eaten physically will have an effect mentally. One who does not know this is no yogi at all.
No more sorrow
“He who meditates on the ruler of that city knows no more sorrow.” When we meditate on our Self, our atman, we will end all sorrow. The Gita says of the yogi who meditates on the Self: “To obey the Atman is his peaceful joy; sorrow melts into that clear peace: his quiet mind is soon established in peace.” “When, through the practice of yoga, the mind ceases its restless movements, and becomes still, he realizes the Atman. It satisfies him entirely. Then he knows that infinite happiness which can be realized by the purified heart but is beyond the grasp of the senses. He stands firm in this realization.
Because of it, he can never again wander from the inmost truth of his being. Now that he holds it he knows this treasure above all others: faith so certain shall never be shaken by heaviest sorrow. To achieve this certainty is to know the real meaning of the word yoga. It is the breaking of contact with pain. You must practice this yoga resolutely, without losing heart.”
We must meditate on the Self–not on external deities or symbolic forms of psychic states. As Sri Ma Sarada Devi said: “After attaining wisdom one sees that gods and deities are all maya.” The upanishads, Gita, and Yoga Sutras know nothing of meditating on “ishta devatas”–only on Om, for Om is our Self. Here are a few upanishadic statements on the subject:
“The Self is of the nature of the Syllable Om.” “Directly realize the self by meditating on Om.”
“The Self is of the nature of the Syllable Om. Thus the Syllable Om is the very Self.” “Meditate on Om as the Self.”
“Om is the atman himself.”
“Om is a single syllable that is of the nature of the Self.…Om is the true form of the Self.”
Liberation–no longer birth or death
“He attains liberation, and for him there can no longer be birth or death.” There is no need for commentary, but here is some corroboration:
“Know this Atman unborn, undying, never ceasing, never beginning, deathless, birthless, how can It die the death of the body?”
“The seers…reach enlightenment. Then they are free from the bondage of rebirth, and pass to that state which is beyond all evil.”
“Knowing the Atman, man finds Nirvana that is in Brahman, here and hereafter.”
Immortal
“For the ruler of that city is the immortal Self.” The Gita encapsulates it perfectly:
“This true wisdom I have taught will lead you to immortality. The faithful practice it with devotion, taking me for their highest aim. To me they surrender heart and mind. They are exceedingly dear to me.”
“For I am Brahman within this body, life immortal that shall not perish: I am the Truth and the Joy for ever.”
The Shining Self
“The immortal Self is the sun shining in the sky, he is the breeze blowing in space, he is the fire burning on the altar, he is the guest dwelling in the house; he is in all men, he is in the gods, he is in the ether, he is wherever there is truth; he is the fish that is born in water, he is the plant that grows in the soil, he is the river that gushes from the mountain–he, the changeless reality, the illimitable!”
Where in all the scriptures of the world can we find such a thrilling statement–thrilling and glorious because it is TRUE?
The two that are One
To fully comprehend the teachings of the upanishadic sages we must keep in mind that whatever can be said of the Paramatman on the cosmic, universal level can usually also be said of the jivatman on the level of our individual life within the cosmos. So the upanishads are describing not only God, the Supreme Spirit, but the nature of our own individual spirit.
What is needed
There is another, essential, side to this upanishadic statement–and indeed to all scriptural teachings–that must be kept in mind at all times in our study: We must experience and know the realities spoken of by the sages. They did not write down their perceptions for us to merely accept them and be intellectually convinced of their veracity. Rather, they wrote them down as signposts so we could check our own perceptions against them. Never did they mean for their writings to become dogmas and doctrines.
They assume that their readers will be yogis like themselves, sadhaka-pilgrims pressing on toward the ultimate frontiers of consciousness.
This is the absolutely unique character of the basic texts of Sanatana Dharma. All other scriptures, including those of later authorship in India as well as those of other religions, are statements of “truths” we are supposed to accept “on faith” without question. This is why intelligent investigation and analysis are so little valued by the expounders of those scriptures, why nearly all religions warn their adherents away from reading the books of “heretics” and demand that they shun their company.
Intellectual fearlessness terrifies “the chosen faithful” and sets their teeth on edge.
But no religious system that employs a single bond can lead us to freedom. For example, in Yoga, yama and niyama are not “commandments” but helpful information. Just as we learn what food is harmful to the body, so from Patanjali we learn what conduct limits and clouds the consciousness of the aspiring yogi. If we wish to ignore his counsel, that is our own concern. No one will call us to account for our heedlessness except our own Self. Those who are fit to be yogis joyfully learn what to cultivate and what to avoid, and live accordingly. Those who drag their feet, sigh, and sullenly demand mitigations, are simply not fit for yoga and should occupy themselves in other areas. This is why Jesus asked: “Which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.”
Every yogi must be adhikarin–qualified and worthy, fit for yoga and capable of its total practice. Jesus said: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” It is interesting that he likens spiritual life to the cumbersome wooden yoke of oxen or bullocks, assuring us that it will be restful and easy and light to bear. How is
this? To a strong ox or bullock the heaviest of yokes will be of no consequence. So if we are the kind of people for whom yoga is intended, its requirements and disciplines will be light and easeful. But if, instead of being oxen or bullocks we are dogs and swine–symbols used by Jesus for the unworthy–the “light and easy” yoke will break our backs! This is why some people should take up bowling or surfing and forget religion altogether, what to say of yoga.
For the serious seekers, though, the ancient rishis hold back nothing, but give the full picture of the Self.
“The immortal Self”
The self can appear (please note I say “appear”) to enter into numberless conditions and interior states. It even experiences millions of births and deaths, yet It never really dies, for immortality is a fundamental trait of Its nature. It is not easy, but the yogi must cultivate a continual awareness that he is Immortal Being–never anything less, and never anything more–and order his life accordingly. I do not mean by this that he denies his present (seeming) condition, but that, as Yogananda continually advised, he is always aware that he is only sitting in the motion picture theatre of the cosmos watching a movie that, cosmic as its scope may be, can be wiped away in a moment, that only he and the other viewers are real, that all must eventually leave the theater and go home to Infinity. How splendid are the truths of the Vedanta!
“The sun”
The Self is the source of all light–the Inner Light of Consciousness that illumines all things. For outside the Self there is no perception of even the brightest of material suns. It is the presence of the Self that produces awareness of all phenomena. Outside the Self nothing at all exists. Within the Self is everything.
“Shining in the sky”
The Self shines in the “sky” of the Chidakasha, the subtle Ether (Akasha). The Chidakasha is the infinite, all-pervading expanse of Consciousness from which all “things” proceed; the true “heart” of all things. The “shining” of the Self in the Chidakasha is the emanation of Om. In the individual, the Chidakasha is the subtle space of Consciousness located in the Sahasrara, the Thousand-petalled Lotus that is the astral/causal brain. From that point Om, the Word of Life (Pranava) enlivens and illumines all things; which is why we meditate upon Om in the head.
“The breeze blowing in space”
The Self is also that power which moves within the Chidakasha as the wind moves within earthly space. As the wind causes movement in the trees and on the surfaces of earth and water, in the same way it is the Self that produces all movement in the cosmos, in all the worlds gross and subtle.
“The fire burning on the altar”
The Self is the transmuting force of Cosmic Fire on the altar of the universe. In India of the upanishadic rishis there were no temples, nor were there any external religious rites other than the sandhya (morning and evening salutations of the sun) and the havan, the fire ritual in which by the agency of consecrated fire the offerings were transformed into subtle energy forms and transferred into higher worlds. The Self, then is the ultimate transmuting power which evolves both the cosmos and the personal energies of the individual spirits within it. The entire universe is an altar in which, through the power of the Self, all things are offerings unto–and into–Infinite Being.
“The guest dwelling in the house”
All things, even the least atom, are “houses” for the all-pervading Self. All things that exist have the Self as their inmost dweller. Where there is any objecting “thing,” there is the Self. Yet, since no things are permanent, the Self is only a momentary Guest–but none the less real for that.
“In all men”
What is meaningful to us is the truth that the Self is the dweller in all consciousness beings. And since they are not “things,” the Self is not a guest but the permanent Indweller as the Self of the Self. The consciousness of each one of is the only temple is which Spirit ever dwells in Its essential being.
Although it can be said that in a sense our bodies are temples of God, that is not really true in the purest sense. Only in our consciousness is Spirit to be found. This is why the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita insist that we must identify with the Self alone, seeing all else as mirages destined to dissolve away and cease to exist. Their message has been summed up by Shankara in these words: “Brahman is real. The world is illusory. The jiva is nothing but Brahman.”
“In the gods”
In the upanishads, “gods” mean not only highly evolved beings that can control the forces of nature, etc., “gods” are also our higher faculties of perception which illumine our awareness of both the inner and outer worlds. Here the idea is that the Self is the enlivening power by which our higher faculties function.
“In the ether”
The Ether, the Chidakasha, is the natural home of the Self. Only in this inmost level of being can the Self be always perceived. In the lesser levels we usually “lose” the Self by losing perception of It. How can we establish ourselves in “etheric awareness”? Through the unique property of akasha: sound–specifically, through the japa and meditation of Om, as Patanjali has stated in the Yoga Sutras. In the Vedanta Sutras of the sage Vyasa (also called the Brahma Sutras) he tells us: “Anavrittih shabdai–By sound vibration one becomes liberated.”
“Wherever there is truth”
Wherever there is true knowing, there the Self is operative as the Sun of Consciousness, revealing both relative and absolute truth. For Truth is Its nature. A popular Sanskrit adage is: “Truth alone conquers,” meaning that victory over ignorance and bondage is found only in the Self, the ultimate Truth.
“The fish that is born in water”
Egotism is a prime train of human beings–usually in the form of outright arrogance. In religion this manifests in the insistence that human beings are superior to all other beings. Even in India we have the idea that “even the gods pray for human birth” because supposedly only human beings can be enlightened. In Christianity there is an insistence that human beings are higher than angels because they alone can be “saved” through Christ. In the most ignorant of religions there is the insistence that only human beings are immortal and that animals are some kind of animated machines, that human beings alone are “in the image of God” and suchlike.
Therefore the upanishad tells us the truth: that even in the dullest of animals–the fish–the Self is present, that the fish is the Self in manifestation, as are we.
“The plant that grows in the soil”
Lest we confine the Self to animal life, the upanishad further tells us that plants are dwellingplaces of the Self, too.
“The river that gushes from the mountain”
And lest we think that the Self in only in “living” things, the seers assure us that in inanimate things the Self is living and moving. Everything is alive in Spirit. What a sublime world-view!
“The changeless reality”
All the things listed as abodes of the Self are ever-changing, and their forms are evanescent, soon seen to be without permanent reality. Since we identify with what we see around us, we continually fall into the snare of thinking that we, too, change and have no ultimate reality. Even if we think otherwise intellectually, we keep acting in a delusive manner. Hence we must keep reminding ourselves that we are changeless and absolutely real.
“The illimitable”
Equally wonderful is the truth that we are beyond limitation, that infinite are our possibilities–for we are the Infinite Self.
The call
Those who embodied their realizations in the upanishads did not do so to furnish us with a bundle of beliefs to “take on faith” and wrangle over. Their intention was to spur us onward to attain the same vision as they possessed, to be sages equal with them, no longer “servants” but “friends.” Their call to us is the same as that of Swami Vivekananda, who continually exhorted his hearers: “Awake! Arise!”
The Life-Giving Self
Just as children babble on aimlessly about things they do not understand, so we do the same, though in a more sophisticated way, especially in religion and philosophy. So the three verses relating to the Self and life are very much needed by us. First the upanishad tells us:
“He, the adorable one, seated in the heart, is the power that gives breath. Unto him all the senses do homage.”
Adorable
The word Prabhavananda translates “adorable” is vamanam, which means adorable, dear, and pleasing. These epithets are traditionally used in relation to Shiva, the symbol of the atman and atmic consciousness. This is important, for the Self is not just Truth or Reality–a mere abstraction–but when experienced as either the individual Self or the Supreme Self produces in us a personal response, literally the response of bhakti (devotion) and even prema (love).
In contemporary India there is the idea that bhakti and prema can only be experienced toward a being that possesses form (rupa) or qualities (guna)–that it is impossible to have these responses to Brahman the transcendent Being. But in the upanishads and the Gita we are constantly exhorted to love Brahman–not just some “forms” of Brahman–and the atman. This also indicates that the ancient upanishadic sages did not believe that the Absolute or the Self was without attributes of any kind.
Rather, they considered that, although anything said would be only approximations of divine realities, still human beings could conceive of God in at least a dim way. And they absolutely could experience God, and have reactions and definitions arising from their experience. In Chapter Twelve Krishna speaks of this in more detail, and we will consider it there.
To the yogi, then, the Self and Brahman are equally adorable.
Seated in the heart
God and the Self are seated in the heart, as the upanishads and the Gita continually emphasize. There they abide permanently–it is not a matter of occasional visitations. Knowing this, Jesus said: “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” This, too, is a matter of direct experience. Saint Luke used the word idou–in other words, “See for yourself that the kingdom of God is within you.” This is not something Jesus wants us to believe and act on blindly–he wants us to experience this truth, for only experience produces lasting effects.
The heart is the throne of God and the throne of the divine Self. When Jesus says: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne,” he is speaking of our heart–not his. Our heart and the heart of God are not the same, but they are ONE.
Power that gives breath
The upanishads literally say that it is the Self which produces our inhalations and exhalations. “Who could live, who could breathe, if that blissful self dwelt not within the lotus of the heart?” “The Self is the breath of the breath.” “The breaths are the Real, and their Reality is the Self.” “He who breathes in with your breathing in is your Self. He who breathes out with your breathing out is your Self.” “From him is born the breath.” “The shining, immortal person who is breath is the Self, is Brahman.” “Which is the one God? The breath. He is Brahman.”
In the spiritual texts of India the word hridaya–heart–means not just the heart, or core, but also is said to indicate the space (akasha) where the inbreath and outbreath merge–the ultimate heart. This is why yoga must involve working with the inhaling and exhalation breaths in the form of subtle pranayama. “The breath is the Supreme Brahman. The breath never deserts him who, knowing thus, meditates upon it. Having become a god, he goes to the gods.” “They who know the breath of the breath…have realized the ancient, primordial Brahman.”
The senses do homage
In the primal texts of Sanatana Dharma we find references to “gods” (devas). In modern Hinduism we find a panorama of all kinds of gods, demigods, and suchlike, so it is supposed that the ancient tests refer to them when speaking of “devas.” But a simple perusal of the context of those references reveal that the upanishadic sages meant the senses (jnanendriyas), not some kind of external deific intelligences.
The senses “do homage” in the sense that in the evolved individual they draw near to (upasate) and become merged in the Self, which is their source. Now this tells us two interesting and usually unsuspected things. First, that it is natural for the Self to control the senses, not to be their slave.
Second, it is completely natural for the senses to move inward toward the Self and experience the Self by uniting with It. Neither of these is our present experience. Rather, we consider it normal for the Self to be bound by the senses, and for it to require great struggle to turn them inward and bring them to
experience of the Self. Evidently we have lived in a subnormal condition so long that we have come to think subnormality is normal. We are like the drunk man who was walking along with one foot on the sidewalk and the other down in the street. When someone stopped him and asked why he was walking that way, he burst into tears and answered: “Thank God! I thought I was a cripple.”
Basically, the Self is the goal of all.
The essence
The upanishad then asks: “What can remain when the dweller in this body leaves the outgrown shell, since he is, verily, the immortal Self?” The answer is quite simple: nothing but the body remains, for the Self is as different from the body as the pearl is from the oyster and its shell. The departure of the Self produces death and decay, for it is the Self alone that gives–and is–life, the sustenance of the body.
Jesus, Himself a yogi having lived over half of his life in India, said: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” That is, we live not on matter, but on the very Life of God–because matter is only a modification of that Life Energy. The upanishad–which Jesus would have known–expresses the same idea by saying: “Man does not live by breath alone, but by him in whom is the power of breath.”
It is not breath that makes us live–though breath is the basis of our body’s metabolism. This is why yogis can live without the physical act of breathing. What we cannot do without, and by which we do live is Him who is the source of breath, especially in His primeval form: Om, the Pranava, the Life-Giver, the Word of Life. Through the repetition and meditation of Om as recommended by Patanjali we enter into communication with the Lord, Ishwara, and then into unity with Him.
“For in him we live, and move, and have our being.”
The Eternal Brahman–The Eternal Self
Brahman and the Self
“And now, O Nachiketa, will I tell thee of the unseen, the eternal Brahman, and of what befalls the Self after death.”
This is an interesting juxtaposition: Brahman and the Self after death (of the body). The upanishad puts these together because Brahman and the Self are one, and after death the spirit recovers the memory of its immortality–its eternity. One with Brahman, the Self yet experiences many changes. Those changes may only be appearances, but they are nonetheless real, and profoundly affect the Self in its evolutionary journey. So they need to be set forth.
The ignorant
“Of those ignorant of the Self, some enter into beings possessed of wombs, others enter into plants–according to their deeds and the growth of their intelligence.”
Here again we have a most interesting thing. Instead of discussing the worlds entered by the spirit after bodily death, and their nature as reflections of the spirit’s karma, physical rebirth is immediately being spoken of. This is because it takes a goodly degree of evolution for the subtle worlds to have meaning for the developing spirit. The undeveloped learn neither from earthly or astral experiences. Further, many of them simply go to sleep at the moment of death and awaken only at the moment of birth. The
period of time in between does not exist for them in any meaningful sense.
In his commentary on this verse Shankara cites another upanishadic statement: “Creatures are born in accordance with their knowledge.” For evolution is a matter of knowing (jnana). The spirits that are unaware of their true nature come back into two general categories: into living organisms that gestate them in some form or other, and plant life. Obviously, very little goes on in the life of the plant as far as consciousness is concerned. Only those who are “born” and live a life with some degree of control over a body vehicle can develop their consciousness to any significant extent.
Implicit in this verse is the principle of the transmigration of the atman from lower to higher forms of life. We start out as atoms of hydrogen, move into mineral forms, then plant forms, then “living” organisms, and then into the human body from which we shall eventually evolve into forms in higher worlds. For most of the time evolution is automatic and incredibly slow. But at some point we become capable of directing and enhancing our evolutionary movement. At first this is only through thinking and acting, but eventually we become capable of yoga, of fully taking charge of our growth in consciousness. Until this point is reached, little of any importance occurs to us. So the upanishad is starting at a basic rung of the ladder of evolution. But since, as I have said, nothing of much value take place on that level, the upanishad moves ahead quite a bit to the level when we are capable of dreaming–to at least the intelligent animal level.
Dream creation
“That which is awake in us even while we sleep, shaping in dream the objects of our desire–that indeed is pure, that is Brahman, and that verily is called the Immortal. All the worlds have their being in that, and no one can transcend it. That is the Self.”
It is a fundamental assertion of India’s primal wisdom that there are four states of consciousness: jagrat (waking), swapna (dreaming), sushupti (dreamless sleep), and turiya, the pure consciousness that witnesses the first three. Turiya is the state proper to the Self–actually is the Self–which is why this verse speaks of It as “that which is awake in us even while we sleep.”
“Shaping in dream the objects of our desire.” But there is more to this Self than consciousness. It is also creative power. Although as yogis we use the terminology of Sankhya and speak of Purusha and Prakriti as two entities, we are only speaking of two aspects or views of the One Existence. They are absolutely One. The upanishad reveals this by telling us that the Self is not only Witness, It is also the Witnessed.
The Self is desireless, yet it shows us in dreams the things we desire. Why? Because the Self is more than Witness, It is Guide and Guru. In every way it is attempting to show us our present spiritual status. Dreams are one of the avenues for its teaching. It is true that dreams arise from the subconscious, but they do so at the impulse of the Self. Unfortunately our subconscious is distorted, like a badly ground lens, so the original imaging of the Self comes through to us distorted or partial, and the message is flawed. However, the more we clarify our minds through meditation, the more faithful our dreams will be to the original impulses from the Self. In time our dreams can become authentic spiritual visions, at least on occasion.
Although showing us our desires, the Self remains pure–the actual word being “white” to signify that the Self has no inherent “colors” (qualities or traits), for it is Brahman by nature. Thus it is also immortal, no matter how many “deaths” we may experience, both through the death of the body and the “little death” we experience each time we sleep–dreams being a kind of “after death” astral experience.
All “worlds,” all levels of experience, arise from the Self in Union with Brahman. Nothing exists apart from the Self. The Self is also the ultimate Being. There is no “going beyond” it. Because it is one with Brahman, even conscious union with Brahman does not cancel out our awareness of the individual Atman. This is a most important principle, for many are led into the delusion that they have transcended the Self and “entered the Not-Self,” when they have merely sunk into the morass of tamasic ignorance. They are suffering from the subtlest form of mental illness which in time will manifest as recognizable psychosis and lead to great mental and moral disintegration–in many instances to attempted or successful suicide.
The indwelling Self
“As fire, though one, takes the shape of every object which it consumes, so the Self, though one, takes the shape of every object in which it dwells. As air, though one, takes the shape of every object which it enters, so the Self, though one, takes the shape of every object in which it dwells.”
Each individual Self inhabits a vast number of body-vehicles as it moves up the ladder of evolution to the Highest. (For a detailed study of this, see .) And in each one it appears to actually become that vehicle. Yet the Self remains only Itself, one and unique. In this way the Self gathers experiences of every form of life that exists. This is necessary for It if It is to approximate the status of Brahman, for Brahman, existing in all forms, has the experience of “being” all those forms. Hence the microcosmic Self mirrors the Macrocosmic Self.
The untouched Self
“As the sun, revealer of all objects to the seer, is not harmed by the sinful eye, nor by the impurities of the objects it gazes on, so the one Self, dwelling in all, is not touched by the evils of the world. For he transcends all.”
Having spoken to us of the fact that the Self somehow takes on the form of its many incarnational forms, the upanishad reminds us that the Self is nonetheless absolutely unmarked by that “formation” and undergoes no alteration or conditioning whatsoever. Even while immanent in relative existence, the Self remains essentially transcendent, in the same relation to its incarnate form as is Brahman to the universe. The divine eye of the Self illumines all things yet is affected by none.
Bliss and peace
“He is one, the lord and innermost Self of all; of one form, he makes of himself many forms. To him who sees the Self revealed in his own heart belongs eternal bliss–to none else, to none else!”
The Self is ever the Master, however much the forms inhabited by the Self may be bound. The Self is the essential principle of the existence of all those forms, always remaining one and unchanged. He alone who beholds the Self in/as the core of his being possesses eternal bliss.
“Intelligence of the intelligent, eternal among the transient, he, though one, makes possible the desires of many. To him who sees the Self revealed in his own heart belongs eternal peace–to none else, to none else!”
Consciousness of the conscious, the eternal link between all the temporal bodies Its inhabits, the Self it is that which “makes possible the desires of many” through countless incarnations. He alone who beholds the Self in/as the core of his being possesses eternal peace.
The Radiant Self
Yamaraj has presented his student with a great deal of philosophical knowledge regarding the Self. This is all valuable, but Nachiketa feels impelled to ask a question, without the answer to which all the teaching on the Self means nothing. He asks: “How O King, shall I find that blissful Self, supreme, ineffable, who is attained by the wise? Does he shine by himself, or does he reflect another’s light?” It is pointless to hear about the Self if we do not know how to find the Self. It is true that in metaphysical realms the majority of people are enamored of theory and discussion without practical application, but the wise see things differently. Nachiketa has already grasped the fundamental nature of the Self.
Blissful
Analysis shows that the basic motivation of all beings is bliss (ananda) or happiness (sukham), that all the things we strive for are only prized because their acquisition will give rise to joy. In this perspective we see that all beings are in search of the Self, for It alone is of the nature of joy. Once a person grasps this fact–really grasps it–he can only seek for the Self, all else being seen as insignificant.
In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad we find the following relevant exposition:
”It is not for the sake of the husband, my beloved, that the husband is dear, but for the sake of the Self.
”It is not for the sake of the wife, my beloved, that the wife is dear, but for the sake of the Self. ”It is not for the sake of the children, my beloved, that the children are dear, but for the sake of the Self.
”It is not for the sake of wealth, my beloved, that wealth is dear, but for the sake of the Self.
”It is not for the sake of the Brahmins, my beloved, that the Brahmins are held in reverence, but for the sake of the Self.
”It is not for the sake of the Kshatriyas, my beloved, that the Kshatriyas are held in honor, but for the sake of the Self.
”It is not for the sake of the higher worlds, my beloved, that the higher worlds are desired, but for the sake of the Self.
”It is not for the sake of the gods, my beloved, that the gods are worshiped, but for the sake of the Self.
”It is not for the sake of the creatures, my beloved, that the creatures are prized, but for the sake of the Self.
”It is not for the sake of itself, my beloved, that anything whatever is esteemed, but for the sake of the Self.
”The Self, Maitreyi, is to be known. Hear about it, reflect upon it, meditate upon it. By knowing the Self, my beloved, through hearing, reflection, and meditation, one comes to know all things.”
Supreme
The Self is supreme–there is nothing that is higher or more desirable than the Self; there is nothing that exists beyond the Self. It is supreme because It is Existence Itself. There is no reality other than the Self. We must seek the Self because only the Self can be attained–everything else is a mirage.
Ineffable
The Self cannot be defined or evaluated in the terms of relative existence or relative objects–none of
which exist outside the Self. Consequently the Self cannot be intellectually understood or even defined. Nevertheless, the Self can be known in a manner beyond any ordinary knowing, for It can be experienced as both object and subject–a quality unique to Itself.
Attained by the wise
The Self is attainable. Those who at present are ignorant of the Self can become knowers of the Self. Although only the knowers of the Self are fully worthy of being called wise, we can certainly call those who are seeking the Self also wise. All of us can be the potentially wise if we follow the path to Self-knowledge as outlined in the upanishads, the Gita, and the Yoga Darshan of Patanjali.
A necessary question
Nachiketa has declared the Self to be Supreme, yet he prudently follows that statement with a question to dispel any possibility that he may be misunderstanding Yama’s teaching: Does the Self shine by Itself, is Light Its essential nature, or does It reflect another’s light? This is a most crucial inquiry. Is the Self Light, or is Its light drawn from a source other than the Self. This is a question that penetrates to the foundations of the cosmos, demanding a clear insight.
The sublime answer
“Him the sun does not illumine, nor the moon, nor the stars, nor the lightning–nor, verily, fires kindled upon the earth. He is the one light that gives light to all. He shining, everything shines.” So Yama answers his worthy pupil’s worthy question.
Nothing of heaven or earth illumines the Self or causes It to be radiant. Rather, It is swayamprakash–self-luminous. Furthermore, it is the Self that illumines all beings. “He is the one light that gives light to all.” The Self is the essential nature of all sentient beings that “shine” with consciousness. “He shining, everything shines.”
All glory to the blissful, supreme, and ineffable Self! All glory to the wise who strive to attain that Self as well as the supremely wise who have attained It!
The Universal Tree
“This universe is a tree eternally existing, its root aloft its branches spread below. The pure root of the tree is Brahman, the immortal, in whom the three worlds have their being, whom none can transcend, who is verily the Self.”
Little needs to be said about this verse, its meaning is quite obvious. We can, however, infer a significant principle: all things are rooted above in the Supreme Consciousness, in Brahman. Everything has Brahman for its essential Being. From this we get the Hermetic principle: As Above, So Below. Applying this principle to our own experience we can come to understand a great deal about the higher–and truer–nature of what is arising and subsiding in our life. Original Christianity, being rooted in the upanishadic teachings of Jesus (Isha Nath), taught the same, and that is why in the oldest text of Christian hymns, , we find this: “The likeness of that which is below is that which is above. For everything is above, and below there is nothing, but it is believed to be by those in whom there is no knowledge.” That is, the ignorant believe that “things” have an independent existence–an existence that can cease–rather than the truth that they are not only rooted in Brahman, they are an imperishable extension of Brahman. “For in him we live, and move, and have our being…for we are also his offspring” as Saint Paul pointed out. “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” David
simply sang: “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” Brahman is the ultimate state and stage of being. There is no transcending Brahman, for Brahman is truly the Self of all.
From this we see the principle only (comparatively) recently discovered by science: that in essence all things are immortal, that there is not a single atomic particle in creation that can go out of existence, that the changes we think are death and birth are only rearrangements of the living energies of which all consist.
A yogic aspect
Though yoga is not the subject of this verse, we can extract some important yogic information from it.
Since we are miniature cosmoses, little universes, our origin is also “above” in the root ball of the brain, the Thousand-petalled Lotus, the Sahasrara. Therefore, to experience that Source, in meditation we orient our attention toward the head, and we invoke the “pure root” of our being in the form of Om, which is the same as Brahman.
The fearless Source
“The whole universe came forth from Brahman and moves in Brahman. Mighty and awful is he, like to a thunderbolt crashing loud through the heavens. For those who attain him death has no terror.”
“Awful” is outdated English. “Awesome” is much more correct. (In older forms of English, “awful,” “horrible,” and “terrible” all meant awesome, and were positive, but at this point in time they have reversed polarity and become negative descriptions.)
Brahman is Inexorable Power as well as Infinite Consciousness. His presence is like the thunderbolt whose light blinds us to all lesser lights, whose Creative Sound is Om expanding through the Chidakasha, the Ether of Consciousness, in which all things exist–and of which they consist. Those who unite with this Brahman experience their eternal immortality and become fearless, especially in the face of the mirage called death.
The Divine Will
In fear of him fire burns, the sun shines, the rains fall, the winds blow, and death kills. (Katha Upanishad 2:3:3)
Here, too, a state of ecstatic awe and wonder is meant. In older English, which Prabhavananda is using, “fear” meant to be filled with awe and respect–not to be afraid. So when we read in the older Bible translations that we should fear God we are actually being told to reverence God.
In awesome reverence of Brahman the creation responds to the Supreme Will–for it is itself an extension of Brahman, as already said. All that occurs is the movement of Divine Consciousness, is response to Divine Will. Brahman moves Brahman, and creation manifests and moves onward.
Brahman ceases to move Brahman, and creation resolves into its potential, causal form and seems to cease. At all times it is Brahman reacting upon–and to–Brahman. Even death is only a change of Life.
The root of rebirth
“If a man fail to attain Brahman before he casts off his body, he must again put on a body in the world of created things.”
Perfect knowledge of Brahman resulting from total union of our consciousness with Brahman’s Consciousness is the only passport beyond this world–or any worlds of relative existence. Knowledge is the root determinant of our rebirth or our freedom from rebirth. This is why most religion is so useless–it deals with “good” and “bad,” with “truth” and “error,” on the tiny level of individual human mentalities. The infinite scope of Brahmic Consciousness simply does not come into its purview.
Human beings waste lifetimes with such mundane religions that only program them for more and more births upon this earth. Even their ideas of the afterlife and “heaven” only condition them for more birth and bondage. Degenerate Christianity, especially, with its doctrine of physical resurrection and immortality instills material consciousness in its adherents, condemning them to the wheel of perpetual birth and death. Thinking they are “creatures,” they sink into the quagmire of “creation.” Actually, they impel themselves into the morass, calling it the will of God. As Jesus said: “If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” If our “truth” be actually untruth, its blinding–and binding–power is nigh well inescapable.
The realm of realization
“In one’s own soul Brahman is realized clearly, as if seen in a mirror. In the heaven of Brahma also is Brahman realized clearly, as one distinguishes light from darkness. In the world of the fathers he is beheld as in a dream. In the world of angels he appears as if reflected in water.”
First, this verse should put the lie to the absurd claim in contemporary Hinduism that enlightenment is impossible unless the individual is born on earth in a human body. What is the truth is the fact that the highest realm of relativity, the heaven of Brahma (Brahmaloka) is the only one in which the capacity for realizing Brahman is inherent in the form proper to that world. In all other worlds the incarnational form is the bar to such realization, for in the minds of the inhabitants of those worlds Brahman appears only as a dream or a reflection in water.
The most important fact, though, is the statement that Brahman can be “seen” and experienced in the Self of each one of us–no matter what world we may or may not inhabit. We need not aspire to ascend to any other world, thinking that incarnation there is necessary for our spiritual liberation. Not at all. Whatever world we may be in, whatever form we may find ourselves incarnate in, we can realize Brahman perfectly. Why? Because our Self is one with Brahman. This is why we sometimes read in the lore of India about animals that at their death attained moksha (liberation). It is all in the knowing, the jnana.
Hierarchy of Consciousness
The senses
“The senses have separate origin in their several objects. They may be active, as in the waking state, or they may be inactive, as in sleep. He who knows them to be distinct from the changeless Self grieves no more.”
If a lost person could somehow be lifted up high and see his surroundings from that perspective, he could easily see his way out of his confusion. In the same way, those who are lost in the jungle of the senses can find their way by heeding the wisdom of the upanishads.
Sense experience is just that–the experiences of the senses themselves. The Self witnesses these experiences and thinks that it is really undergoing them and being affected by them. This produces great fear and suffering, what to say of the mountain-high heaps of illusions and delusions those
experiences produce–not in the Self, but in the mind. The Self, however, attributes these things to itself and fears and suffers even more. Whether the senses are active or inactive, the potential suffering is ever there. If, however, we can realize that such perceptions are utterly separate from us, from our Self, all fear and sorrow cease forever. But we must realize that truth, not just accept it or act as though it is so. In other words, we must become yogis, for only yogis realize the truth of the Self and the error of the Not-Self.
The hierarchy
“Above the senses is the mind. Above the mind is the intellect. Above the intellect is the ego. Above the ego is the unmanifested seed, the Primal Cause. And verily beyond the unmanifested seed is Brahman, the all-pervading spirit, the unconditioned, knowing whom one attains to freedom and achieves immortality.”
It will be good to do some vocabulary building at this point.
By “senses” is meant the five organs of perception: ear, skin, eye, tongue, and nose. Often the word “senses” really refers to the five sense perceptions.
By “mind” is meant the sensory mind; the perceiving faculty that receives the messages of the senses. “Intellect” is the faculty of understanding, of reason–the thinking mind.
The “ego” is the false “I”–egoism or self-conceit. It is also the self-arrogating principle “I” that is projected by the mind rather than the real Self. “Ego” is in manifestation whenever “I” is said or claimed by anything other than the spirit-self.
“The unmanifested seed, the Primal Cause” is Prabhavananda’s translation of two terms: Mahat (Tattwa) and Avyakta. The Mahat Tattwa, or “Great Principle” is the first evolute from Prakriti. It is the principle of Cosmic Intelligence (Buddhi). The Avyakta is the Unmanifest, the primal Prakriti, from which all things evolve.
It is necessary for us to be aware of this hierarchy, for the lesser levels can be controlled from the higher levels, thus saving a great deal of time and frustration.
The Supreme, the Source
Beyond all these various levels that are the machinery of the individual and the cosmos is That which is the Supreme, the Source of all. Regarding That, the upanishad continues: “And verily beyond the unmanifested seed is Brahman, the all-pervading spirit, the unconditioned, knowing whom one attains to freedom and achieves immortality.”
The Self and Brahman being one, it is the knowledge of our Self that bestows upon us freedom and immortality.
To know the Self
But how do we know this Self–not merely hear about It or believe in It, but truly know it by direct experience?
“None beholds him with the eyes, for he is without visible form. Yet in the heart is he revealed, through self-control and meditation. Those who know him become immortal.”
What could be simpler? We enter into the heart, into the Chidakasha (not the physical organ called “the heart”) that is at the core of our being. There the Self is revealed to the disciplined meditator.
Immortality is the result of such knowing. The upanishad continues with a description of the process that leads to Self-knowledge.
“When all the senses are stilled, when the mind is at rest, when the intellect wavers not–then, say the wise, is reached the highest state.”
This is extremely, extremely important. Because of the razzamatazz of the Yoga Carnival that has been rioting on from the last century, nearly everyone thinks that the highest state involves chills and thrills in the form of inner sensory experiences of cataclysmic proportion, including “opening of chakras” and “rising of kundalini.” Notice that the upanishad says nothing like that–nor does the Gita or the Yoga Sutras. What it does tell us is that the pure consciousness that is Reality is experienced “when all the senses are stilled, when the mind is at rest, when the intellect wavers not.” That, and that alone, is the highest state which in time becomes permanent and is itself liberation.
Yoga
Obviously much that is called yoga is not yoga at all. This is brought out by the next verse: “This calm of the senses and the mind has been defined as yoga. He who attains it is freed from delusion. In one not freed from delusion this calm is uncertain, unreal: it comes and goes.”
The state of calm, or steadiness (sthiram) in awareness of awareness itself, is yoga. This frees us from delusion because it makes us aware of our true nature as the Self. In those who have not attained perfection this state comes and goes. The upanishad tells us this so we will not be foolish enough to think that experiencing it once or even a few times is enough and wrongly think we are enlightened. (People claim enlightenment on the basis of much less.) We must practice diligently to become permanently established in it.
Although I have told about Lahiri Mahashaya’s teaching on the subject of this state–which he called sthirattwa–in the Gita commentary, I would like to repeat it here.
Yogiraj Shyama Charan Lahiri Mahasaya continually expounded the idea that the goal of yoga is to be established in sthirattwa, in perfect tranquility.
“A group of spiritual leaders from Calcutta once conspired against Lahiri Mahasay. They invited him to join in an evening discussion on spiritual matters. Lahiri Mahasay accepted the invitation and accordingly attended the meeting.
“The conspirators had well prepared themselves to trap Lahiri Mahasay. For example, if Lahiri Mahasay were to express his preference for a particular deity, or Istadev, ‘desired Lord,’ then a particular leader would find exception to that choice.
“In fact, each member of the group selected a particular Devata, ‘deity’ such as Lord Vishnu, Lord Krishna, Lord Siva, the Goddess Kali (the Divine Mother) and prepared to debate and challenge Lahiri Mahasay’s choice.
“As soon as Lahiri Mahasay arrived, he was received in the traditional manner and shown proper courtesy. After a while one of the members of the group asked Lahiri Mahasay, ‘Upon which deity do you meditate?’
“Lahiri Mahasay looked at him but did not reply. Then another gentleman asked him, ‘Who is your
Istadev, “desired deity?”’ Lahiri Mahasay turned his head towards him and looked at him in the same way, while keeping his peace.
“Finally, a third gentleman asked him, ‘Can you tell us upon which deity usually you meditate?’ “Lahiri Mahasay faced him and said very gently, ‘I meditate on Sthirattva (Tranquility).’
“The gentleman replied that he did not understand what was meant by this. Lahiri Mahasay continued to observe silence. After some time, another gentleman asked him, ‘Could you please explain this? I do not understand exactly what you are saying.’
“Lahiri Mahasay, as before, continued to maintain silence. Another gentleman asked, ‘Can you enlighten me as to what you mean by that? I do not understand at all!’ Lahiri Baba told him, ‘You will not be able to understand, and also I will not be able to make you understand (realize) through words.’
“The group was at a loss. All of their preparation and conniving had come to naught. Only silence prevailed. All kept silent.
“After a long time Lahiri Mahasay got up and silently prepared to leave the meeting. All showed him the traditional courtesy as he left.”
As Paramhansa Yogananda, who made Lahiri Mahashaya known in the West, often said: “He who knows, knows–none else knows.”
How can Brahman be known?
“Brahman words cannot reveal, mind cannot reach, eyes cannot see. How then, save through those who know him, can he be known?”
Brahman can only be truly known by direct experience in meditation. This verse is not speaking of that ultimate knowing, but of the “knowing about” Brahman so we can be stimulated to seek Brahman.
Empty words and intellectual ponderings cannot bring about this knowing, nor can our mind and senses. But those who know of Brahman–even imperfectly–possess a spiritual power in their presence and in their words which convey an intuitive glimmer of the reality of Brahman. That glimmer, entering into our hearts through contact with them, causes our inmost awareness to awaken, arise, and respond, and seek the full realization of Brahman for ourselves. This is why the company of sadhakas is essential for the questing soul. It is like one candle lighting another.
The two selves
“There are two selves, the apparent self and the real Self. Of these it is the real Self, and he alone, who must be felt as truly existing. To the man who has felt him as truly existing he reveals his innermost nature.”
It is common in Western metaphysical thought to speak of the “lower self” that is not truly the Self, but the lesser aspects of human existence, and the “higher self” that is the real Self. We must distinguish between the two, and this impossible without enough inner development making possible the intuition of the Self, even if It is not directly known. One who has this intuition, if intelligent, will then begin to seek to know the Self, to become a yogi in some manner. To such a one who perseveres, the Self will be revealed in Its fulness. As Swami Gambhirananda renders the first part of this verse: “The Self is to be realized as existing, and then as It really is.” This realization is what is meant by distinguishing between the unreal and the Real.
From Mortality to Immortality
“Lead me from death to immortality” is part of a prayer at the beginning of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. In this final part of the Katha Upanishad we are given practical understanding of the way in which immortality is gained.
“The mortal in whose heart desire is dead becomes immortal. The mortal in whose heart the knots of ignorance are untied becomes immortal. These are the highest truths taught in the scriptures.”
When desire dies, when ignorance drops away, immortality is revealed. Practically speaking, we “become” immortal, but in reality we have always been immortal. Yet, like a millionaire who thinks he is a pauper, our immortality is of little meaning to us until we come to realize and experience it.
Furthermore, the upanishad tells us that in essence this truth is the only spiritual teaching there is–not just “the highest truths” as Prabhavananda renders it.. Shankara says that this is the only teaching in all the upanishads, however varying the approaches may be. The aspirant must not lose himself in philosophical byways, including those set forth in mountains of books on Yoga and Vedanta. He must keep his vision clear and focused by understanding that liberation is the only “point” the upanishads ever make.
Attaining immortality
It is easy to tell ourselves to rid ourselves of desire and ignorance, but how is that to be done, especially since we have been in the grip of these two ogres for creation cycles? The upanishad gives us the yogic key to rising above desire and ignorance into immortality:
“Radiating from the lotus of the heart there are a hundred and one nerves. One of these ascends toward the thousand-petaled lotus in the brain. If, when a man comes to die, his vital force passes upward and out through this nerve, he attains immortality; but if his vital force passes out through another nerve, he goes to one or another plane of mortal existence and remains subject to birth and death.”
It is noteworthy that this comes at the very end of the upanishad. Yogananda used to say: “Yoga is the beginning of the end.” So it is appropriate that after all the philosophical exposition the yoga teaching should be given.
By “heart” is meant the hub–located in the midst of the upper trunk of the body–of subtle passages known as nadis (here translated “nerves”) through which the life force (prana) circulates throughout the gross and subtle bodies, just as the blood circulates from the heart through the veins of the physical body. One hundred of these nadis direct the life force to the life processes of the bodies and are the forces of embodiment. One, unique, nadi, however, rises directly upward from the heart-hub into the head. (This nadi rises from the heart directly into the head–it is not the passage in the midst of the spine.) If at the time of death the departing spirit leaves through that channel, he gains immortality. But if his consciousness attaches itself to any of the hundred other nadis he will be impelled into the subtle worlds that lead inexorably back to incarnation in relativity.
In every meditation, by intoning Om in time with the breath we activate this channel, causing the life force to spontaneously and effortlessly, flow upward into the thousand-petalled lotus in the head toward the divine radiance that shines above and upon the upper levels of the brain-lotus. That Divine Light is the essence of Om, the Life-Giving Word, the Pranava. Then at the end of life, having prepared himself by this practice, sitting in meditation the yogi ascends upward from the body into the realm of
immortality.
The Supreme Person
Who is liberated in this manner? In conclusion to his teaching, Yama tells Nachiketa:
“The Supreme Person, of the size of a thumb, the innermost Self, dwells forever in the heart of all beings. As one draws the pith from a reed, so must the aspirant after truth, with great perseverance, separate the Self from the body. Know the Self to be pure and immortal–yea, pure and immortal!”
If the Self is seen, immaterial as it is, it will appear as an oval light, in the shape of a human thumb. (The shape is also that of a Shiva Linga, which is a symbol of the Self.) Those who have seen this are unanimous in describing it in the manner of the upanishad. In my early teens I met a Christian minister who described the death of his twin brother. He said that at the moment of death his brother’s mouth opened, and as he exhaled for the final time, a white light shaped like a thumb emerged from his mouth and passed from the room.
It is through meditation, as I have described it, that we daily work on the separation of the Self from the body which will finally occur at the time of death. Not that we leave our body in meditation, but we begin conditioning all our bodies so they will not hold on to us at the final moments. As the fully ripened kernel of a nut pulls away from the shell so that when it is cracked the kernel comes out in full separation, so will it be with our Self in relation to the body. Sri Ramakrishna described it as being like the release of a fish back into the river.
May these final words of Yama echo within us: “Know the Self to be pure and immortal–yea, pure and immortal!”
Nachiketa–and us
Now the upanishadic sage gives us a final assurance:
“Nachiketa, having learned from the god this knowledge and the whole process of yoga, was freed from impurities and from death, and was united with Brahman. Thus will it be with another also if he know the innermost Self.”
End of Katha Commentary:
Prasna Upanishad
Translated by Swami Gambhirananda Published by Advaita Ashram, Kolkatta
Om ! O gods, may we hear auspicious words with the ears; While engaged in sacrifices,
May we see auspicious things with the eyes; While praising the gods with steady limbs,
May we enjoy a life that is beneficial to the gods. May Indra of ancient fame be auspicious to us;
May the supremely rich (or all-knowing) Pusa (god of the earth) Be propitious to us;
May Garuda, the destroyer of evil, Be well disposed towards us;
May Brihaspati ensure our welfare. Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
I-1: Sukesa, son of Bharadvaja; Satyakama, so of Sibi; the grandson of Surya, born of the family of Garga; Kausalya, so of Asvala; a scion of the line of Bhrigu, born in Vidarbha; and Kabandhi, descendant of Katya – all these, who were devoted to (the inferior) Brahman, engaged in realising (the inferior) Brahman, and intent on a search of the supreme Brahman, approached with faggots in hand, the venerable Pippalada with the belief, “This one will certainly tell us all about It.”
I-2: To them the seer said, “Live (here) again for a year in a fitting manner, with control over the senses and with brahmacharya and faith. Then put questions as you please. If we know, we shall explain all your questions.”
I-3: After that Kabandhi, descendant of Katya, having approached (him) asked, “Venerable sir, from what indeed are all these beings born ?”
I-4: To him he said: The Lord of all creatures became desirous of progeny. He deliberated on (past Vedic) knowledge. Having brooded on that knowledge, He created a couple – food and Prana – under the idea, “These two will produce creatures for me in multifarious ways.”
I-5: The sun is verily Prana; and food is verily the moon. Whatever is gross or subtle is but food. The
gross, as distinguished from that (subtle), is certainly food (of the subtle).
I-6: Now then, the fact that the sun, while rising, enters into the eastern direction, thereby it absorbs into its rays all the creatures in the east. That it enters into the south, that it enters into the west, that it enters into the north, that it reaches the nadir and the zenith, that it enters the intermediate points of the zodiac, that it illumines all, thereby it absorbs all living things into its rays.
I-7: That very one rises up who is Prana and fire, who is identified with all creatures, and who is possessed of all forms. This very one, that has been referred to, is spoken of by the mantra:
I-8: (The realisers of Brahman) knew the one that is possessed of all forms, full of rays, endowed with illumination, the resort of all, the single light (of all), and the radiator of heat. It is the sun that rises – the sun that possesses a thousand rays, exists in a hundred forms and is the life of all creatures.
I-9: The year is verily the Lord of creatures. Of Him there are two Courses, the Southern and the Northern. As to that, those, who follow, in that way, the sacrifices and public good etc., that are products of action, conquer the very world of the moon. It is they who come back. (Since this is so), hence these seers of heaven, who are desirous of progeny, attain the Southern Course. That which is the Course of the Manes is verily food.
I-10: Again, by searching for the Self through the control of the senses, brahmacharya, faith and meditation, they conquer the sun (by proceeding) along the Northern Course. This is the resort of all that lives; this is indestructible; this is fearless; this is the highest goal, for from this they do not come back. This is unrealisable (to the ignorant). Pertaining to this here is a verse:
I-11: Some talk of (this sun) as possessed of five feet, as the father, as constituted by twelve limbs, and as full of water in the high place above the sky. But there are these others who call him the omniscient and say that on him, as possessed of seven wheels and six spokes, is fixed (the whole universe).
I-12: The month verily is the Lord of all creatures. The dark fortnight is His food, and the bright His Prana. Therefore these seers perform the sacrifices in the bright fortnight. The others perform it in the other.
I-13: Day and night are verily the Lord of all creatures. Day is surely His Prana and night is certainly the food. Those who indulge in passion in the day, waste away Prana. That they give play to passion at night is as good as celibacy.
I-14: Food is nothing but the Lord of all creatures. From that indeed issues that human seed. From that are born all these beings.
I- 5: This being so, those who undertake the well-known vow of the Lord of all creatures, beget both sons and daughters. For them alone is this world of the moon in whom there are the vows and continence, and in whom is found for ever avoidance of falsehood.
I- 6: For them is that taintless world of Brahman, in whom there is no crookedness no falsehood, and no dissimulation.
II- 1: Next a scion of the line of Bhrigu, born in Vidarbha, asked him, “Sir, how many in fact are the deities that sustain a creature ? Which among them exhibit this glory ? Which again is the chief among them ?”
II-2: To him he said: Space in fact is this deity, as also are air, fire, water, earth, the organ of speech, mind, eye and ear. Exhibiting their glory they say, “Unquestionably it is we who hold together this body by not allowing it to disintegrate.”
II-3: To them the chief Prana said, “Do not be deluded. It is I who do not allow it to disintegrate by sustaining it by dividing myself fivefold.” They remained incredulous.
II-4: He appeared to be rising up (from the body) out of indignation. As He ascended, all the others, too, ascended immediately; and when He remained quite, all others, too, remained in position. Just as in the world, all the bee take to flight in accordance as the king of the bees takes to his wings, and they settle down as he does so, similarly, did speech, mind, eye, ear, etc., behave. Becoming delighted, they (began to) praise Prana.
II-5: This one (i.e. Prana) burns as fire, this one is the sun, this one is cloud, this one is Indra and air, this one is the earth and food. This god is the gross and the subtle, as well as that which is nectar.
II-6: Like spokes on the hub of a chariot wheel, are fixed on Prana all things – riks, yajus, samas, sacrifice, Kshatriya and Brahmana.
II-7: It is you who move about in the womb as the Lord of creation, and it is you who take birth after the image of the parents. O Prana, it is for you, who reside with the organs, that all these creatures carry presents.
II-8: You are the best transmitter (of libation) to the celestials. You are the food-offering to the Manes that precedes other offerings. You are the right conduct of the organs that constitute the essence of the body and are known as the Atharvas.
II-9: O Prana, you are Indra. Through your valour you are Rudra; and you are the preserver on all sides. You move in the sky – you are the sun, the Lord of all luminaries.
II-10: O Prana, when you pour down (as rain), then these creatures of yours continue to be in a happy mood under the belief, “Food will be produced to our hearts’ content.”
II-11: O Prana, you are unpurified, you are the fire Ekarsi, (you are) the eater, and you are the lord of all that exists. We are the givers of (your) food. O Matarisva, you are our father.
II-12: Make calm that aspect of yours that is lodged in speech, that which is in the ear, that which is in the eye, and that which permeates the mind. Do not rise up.
II-13: All this (in this world), as also all that is in heaven is under the control of Prana. Protect us just as a mother does her sons, and ordain for us splendour and intelligence.
III-1: Then Kausalya, son of Asvala, asked him, “O venerable sir, from where is this Prana born ? How does He come into this body ? How again does He dwell by dividing Himself ? How does he depart ? How does He support the external things and how the physical ?”
III-2: To him he said: You are putting super-normal questions, since you are pre-eminently a knower of Brahman. Hence I speak to you.
III-3: From the Self is born this Prana. Just as there can be shadow when a man is there, so this Prana is fixed on the self. He comes to this body owing to the actions of the mind.
III-4: As it is the king alone who employs the officers saying, “Rule over these villages, and those ones”, just so Prana engages the other organs separately.
III-5: He places Apana in the two lower apertures. Prana Himself, issuing out of the mouth and nostrils, resides in the eyes and ears. In the middle, however, is Samana, for this one distributes equally all this food that is eaten. From that issue out these seven flames.
III-6: This self (i.e. the subtle body) is surely in the heart. There are a hundred and one of the (chief) nerves. Each of them has a hundred (division). Each branch is divided into seventy-two thousand sub-branches. Among them moves Vyana.
III-7: Now then Udana, when it is in its upward trend, leads to a virtuous world as a result of virtue, to a sinful world as a result of sin and to the human world as a result of both.
III-8: The sun is indeed the external Prana. It rises up favouring this Prana in the eye. That deity, that is in the earth, favours by attracting Apana in a human being. The space (i.e. air), that is within, is Samana. The (common) air is Vyana.
III-9: That which if well known as luminosity, is Udana. Therefore, one who gets his light extinguished, attains rebirth together with the organs that enter into (his) mind.
III-10: Together with whatever thought he had (at the time of death), he enters into Prana. Prana, in combination with Udana and in association with the soul, leads him to the world desired by him.
III-11: The line of progeny of any man of knowledge who knows Prana thus sustains no break. He becomes immortal. Pertaining to this there occurs this mantra.
III-12: Having known the origin, coming, lodgement and fivefold overlordship and the physical existence of Prana, one achieves immortality. Having known, one achieves immortality.
IV-1: Then the grandson of Surya, born of the family of Garga, asked him, “O adorable sir, which are the organs that go to sleep in this person ? Which keep awake in him ? Which is the deity who experiences dream ? To whom occurs this happiness ? In whom do all get merged?
IV-2: To him he said, O Gargya, just as all the rays of the setting sun become unified in this orb of light, and they disperse from the sun as it rises up again, similarly all that becomes unified in the high deity, the mind. Hence this person does not then hear, does not see, does not smell, does not taste, does not touch, does not speak, does not grasp, does not enjoy, does not eject, does not move. People say, “He is sleeping.”
IV-3: It is the fires (i.e. the functions resembling fire) of Prana that really keep awake in this city of the body. That which is this Apana really resembles the Garhapatya fire, Vyana resembles the fire, Anvaharyapacana. Since the Ahavaniya fire is obtained from Garhapatya, which is the former’s source of extraction, therefore Prana conforms to Ahavaniya (because of its issuing out of Apana).
IV-4: Samana is the priest called Hota, because it strikes a balance between exhalation and inhalation which are but (comparable to) two oblations. The mind is verily the sacrificer. The desired fruit Udana, which leads this sacrificer every day to Brahman.
IV-5: In this dream state this deity (i.e. the mind) experiences greatness. Whatever was seen, it sees again; whatever was heard, it hears again; whatever was perceived in the different places and directions, it experiences again and again; it perceives all by becoming all that was seen or not seen, heard or not heard, perceived or not perceived, and whatever is real or unreal.
IV-6: When that deity, (the mind), becomes overwhelmed by (solar) rays (called bile), then in this state the deity does not see dreams. Then, all that time, there occurs this kind of happiness in this body.
IV-7: To illustrate the point: As the birds, O good looking one, proceed towards the tree that provides lodging, just so all these proceed to the supreme Self.
IV-8: Earth and the rudiment of earth, water and the rudiment of water, fire and the rudiment of fire, space and the rudiment of space, the organ and object of vision, the organ and object of hearing, the organ and object of smell, the organ and object of taste, the organ and object of touch, the organ and content of speech, the hands and the object grasped, sex and enjoyment, the organ of excretion and the excreta, the feet and the space trodden, the mind and the content of thought, understanding and the content of understanding, egoism and the content of egoism, awareness and the content of awareness, the shining skin and the object revealed by that, Prana and all that has to be held by Prana.
IV-9: And this one is the seer, feeler, hearer, smeller, taster, thinker, ascertainer, doer – the Purusha (pervading the body and senses), that is a knower by nature. This becomes wholly established in the supreme, immutable Self.
IV-10: He who realises that shadowless, bodiless, colourless, pure, Immutable attains the supreme Immutable Itself. O amiable one, he, again, who realises, becomes omniscient and all. Illustrative of this there occurs this verse:
IV-11: O amiable one, he becomes all-knowing and enters into all, who knows that Immutable wherein merges the cognising Self – (the Purusha who is naturally a knower) – as also do the organs and the elements together with all the deities.
V-1: Next, Satyakama, son of Sibi, asked him, “O venerable sir, which world does he really win thereby, who among men, intently meditates on Om in that wonderful way till death ?” To him he said: V-2: O Satyakama, this very Brahman, that is (known as) the inferior and superior, is but this Om.
Therefore the illumined soul attains either of the two through this one means alone.
V-3: Should he meditate on Om as consisting of one letter he becomes enlightened even by that and attains a human birth on the earth. The Rik mantras lead him to the human birth. Being endued there with self-control, continence, and faith he experiences greatness.
V-4: Now gain, if he meditates on Om with the help of the second letter, he becomes identified with the
mind. By the Yajur mantras he is lifted to the intermediate space, the world of the Moon. Having experienced greatness in the lunar world, he turns round again.
V-5: Again, any one who meditates on the supreme Purusha with the help of this very syllable Om, as possessed of three letters, becomes unified in the Sun, consisting of light. As a snake becomes freed from its Slough, exactly in a similar way, he becomes freed from sin, and he is lifted up to the world of Brahma (Hiranyagarbha) by the Sama mantras. From this total mass of creatures (that Hiranyagarbha is) he sees the supreme Purusha that penetrates every being and is higher than the higher One (viz.
Hiranyagarbha). Bearing on this, there occur two verses:
V-6: The three letters (by themselves) are within the range of death. But if they are closely joined, one to another, are not divergently applied to different objects, and are applied to the three courses of action – external, internal and intermediate – that are properly resorted to, then the man of enlightenment does not shake (i.e. remains undisturbed).
V-7: The intelligent know this world that is attainable by the Rik mantras, the intermediate space achievable by the Yajur mantras, and that which is reached by the Sama mantras. The enlightened man attains that (threefold) world through Om alone; and through Om as an aid, he reaches that also which is the supreme Reality that is quiet and beyond old age, death and fear.
VI-1: Then Sukesa, son of Bharadvaja, asked him, “Venerable sir, Hiranyanabha, a prince of Kosala, approached me and put this question, ‘Bharadvaja, do you know the Purusha possessed of sixteen limbs
?’ To that prince I said, ‘I do not know him. Had I known him why should I not have told you ? Anyone who utters a falsehood dries up root and all. Therefore I cannot afford to utter a falsehood. Silently he went away riding on the chariot. Of that Purusha I ask you, ‘Where does He exist ?’”
VI-2: To him he (Pippalada) said: O amiable one, here itself inside the body is that Purusha in whom originate these sixteen digits (or limbs).
VI-3: He deliberated: “As a result of whose departure shall I rise up ? And as a result of whose continuance shall I remain established ?”
VI-4: He created Prana; from Prana (He created) faith, space, air, fire, water, earth, organs, mind, food; from food (He created) vigour, self-control, mantras, rites, worlds and name in the worlds.
VI-5: The illustration is this: Just as these flowing rivers that have the sea as their goal, get absorbed after reaching the sea, and their names and forms are destroyed, and they are called merely the sea, so also these sixteen parts (i.e. constituents) of the all-seeing Purusha, that have Purusha as their goal, disappear on reaching Purusha, when their names and forms are destroyed and they are simply called Purusha. Such a man of realisation becomes free from the parts and is immortal. On this point there occurs this verse:
VI-6: You should know that Purusha who is worthy to be known and in whom are transfixed the parts like spokes in the nave of a chariot wheel, so that death may not afflict you anywhere.
VI-7: To them he said, “I know this supreme Brahman thus far only. Beyond this there is nothing.” VI-8: While worshipping him they said, “You indeed are our father who have ferried us across nescience to the other shore. Salutation to the great seers. Salutation to the great seers.”
Om ! O gods, may we hear auspicious words with the ears; While engaged in sacrifices,
May we see auspicious things with the eyes; While praising the gods with steady limbs,
May we enjoy a life that is beneficial to the gods. May Indra of ancient fame be auspicious to us;
May the supremely rich (or all-knowing) Pusa (god of the earth) Be propitious to us;
May Garuda, the destroyer of evil,
Be well disposed towards us;
May Brihaspati ensure our welfare. Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Prasnopanishad, included in the Atharva-Veda.
Prashna Upanishad Commentary
Commentary on the Prashna Upanishad–by Swami Nirmalananda Giri
The Right Beginning
This upanishad, the Prashna Upanishad, is called The Question (Prashna) Upanishad because of its format of question and answer throughout. But the first two verses set the stage for the reader, and also indicate what is needed for a successful quest after the knowledge of Brahman–at least that which can be taught and comprehended intellectually.
The seekers
“Sukesha, Satyakama, Gargya, Kousalya, Bhargava, and Kabandhi, devotees and seekers after the truth of the supreme Brahman, with faith and humility approached the sage Pippalada.”
Because it would have no meaning for Western readers, Swami Prabhavananda has omitted the parentage and family ties of these six seekers. Nevertheless, their listing is significant, for a yogi must have psychological “ancestors” in the form of inner spiritual qualities that will help him to persevere in yoga practice. Besides a good inner background, the upanishad cites four good traits needed by every aspirant to higher evolution: devotion in the sense of dedication, desire to know God, faith, and humility.
Dedication is needful, for it keeps us steady when we encounter snags and obstacles in our path, and it keeps us plodding along in times of dryness and uncertainty. It ensures that we will persevere in our efforts to attain spiritual heights.
It is easy to forget why we originally took up spiritual life and wander into byways of lesser endeavor. This is why many become tangled up in externalities of religion, wrangling over philosophical concepts, and even becoming enamored of control over others under the pretence of religious discipline. As Jesus told Martha: “Thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful”. Because of this the upanishad tells us that these wise seekers were intent on a single thing: the truth of the Supreme Brahman. We should aspire to–and settle for–nothing less.
Faith in the form of conviction of the reality of spiritual matters is also a necessity, for who can
persevere in search of something about which they have no inner assurance? We need the conviction-faith that God is real and can be known. Saint Paul encapsulated the whole matter when he wrote: “He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” An interior knowing that God is real and can be experienced will give us the strength we need to keep on to the Goal.
Humility in the sense of a willingness to listen and learn, aware of all we do not know, is essential. Respect is also implied here. In the East they overdo it to the point of groveling and mindless acceptance, while in the West the casual, one-on-one attitude is exaggerated into overfamiliarity and virtual disrespect. It is amazing how very wise Western ignoramuses consider themselves. As someone once wrote: “The trouble with ignorance is that it gains confidence as it goes along.”
The seeker must be keenly aware that he lacks something–a great deal, in fact–with emphasis on need. He must not forget that seeking implies needing and asking. Those who strut up to a teacher as though they are visiting the zoo will–and should–receive nothing. On the other hand, the seeker should not grovel or be unthinkingly accepting. The student should carefully examine the prospective teacher to see if he is qualified and worth listening to. The worthy teacher will equally carefully examine the prospective student to see if he has the right attitude and is capable of learning and applying what is learned. A dud on either end ruins the equation.
The requisites
“Said the sage: ‘Practice austerity, continence, faith for a year; then ask what questions you wish. If I can, I will answer.’” Now this is the way of a real teacher of Brahmajnana. He tells what they must do and what he will then do.
There is a story told in India of a young man who came to a guru and asked to learn from him. The guru told him what he would have to do to qualify himself. Not very happy with the list, he asked what the guru would do in all that time. When told that the guru would teach him occasionally, as he would deem appropriate, the would-be disciple remarked: “Why don’t you make me a guru, instead; that sounds a lot easier.” Yes, indeed.
Many approach a teacher while living in a fantasy world projected by their over-confident ego. If the teacher is as false as they and conforms to the fantasy, they are happy. But if the teacher is real, and dares to speak to them realistically about the means and the goal, they are most displeased. We are not of this type, hopefully, so let us look at the requirements Pippalada sets forth.
1) Spiritual discipline (tapasya), most particularly the practice of meditation. 2) Control of the senses (brahmacharya), especially continence. 3) Faith in the teaching of the upanishadic sages regarding the Supreme Goal, the possibility of attaining It, and their assertions as to the means of attainment.
These are absolute necessities–and they must be unwaveringly practiced and held to for a significant length of time before the seeker can possibly be mentally and spiritually capable of comprehending the wisdom of the sages. First the students must be qualified, otherwise a qualified teacher will be of no use to them at all.
The teacher
“Then ask what questions you wish. If I can, I will answer.” This promise contains two major qualities of an authentic spiritual teacher.
First, the teacher will accept and consider whatever the student asks. He will not shrug off even the
silliest inquiry, nor will he reject the student’s questioning of the veracity or value of what he believes or teaches. This is one of the most glorious characteristics of Sanatana Dharma–it has no fear of honest inquiry and honest doubt. Not being insecure, the teacher of Dharma is not disturbed by questioning or statements of disbelief.
A friend of mine told me that she quit being a Christian when, as a teenager, she dared to express doubts to her parish priest. He raved at her and threatened hell, saying that to even ask for explanation of “the mysteries” was a sin and an insult to God. So she walked away and never went back. Over sixty years (!) later she came into the orbit of Sanatana Dharma, asked all her questions, and received answers that restored her faith in Jesus–but not in Churchianity. In true Dharma we find the key to understanding the teachings of all the Masters of all the ages. I have found throughout nearly fifty years that Sanatana Dharma illumines their words to a degree that their professed followers and “isms” cannot even dream of.
Those who would follow Jesus and Buddha, need to seek out the same source from which they drew their teachings: Sanatana Dharma. Then, like them, they can become Sanatana Dharmis and thereby become their true disciples. Sanatana Dharma expands their horizons to embrace all truth wherever it may be found. It is true that of late there have arisen bigots in India who speak as hatefully and ignorantly about other religions as those religions speak of others. But they are not Sanatana Dharmis, for the Dharma has no place for hate, ignorance, and sectarianism. As Jesus said, the truth sets you free.
Second, a worthy teacher will acknowledge that he cannot answer some questions. This is because some things are simply beyond verbal expression. Further, no true teacher is egotistical, therefore he will readily admit it if he feels it is beyond his capacity to explain something–just as we find that sometimes we cannot find a word to express what we know well inwardly. And most of all, a good teacher is willing to admit when he just does not know the answer to something. Only a fool thinks he is omniscient, and only a fake wants others to think he is.
In my encounters with teachers, the person nearest to being all-knowing was Swami Sivananda, and he was known to reply: “I really don’t know” to certain questions. But he certainly knew the way to God, as the lives of his disciples attest. (Sometimes a Master does not know the answer to a question because it is trivial and foolish, and his mind is free from triviality and foolishness.)
So we have seen the two elements needed for a meaningful exchange of questions and answers: worthy questioners and worthy answerers.
The Father and Mother of All
by Swami Nirmalananda Giri
“After a year Kabandhi approached the teacher and asked: ‘Sir, how did the creatures come into being?’” This is the question of any reflective person. There are many answers to it, but this upanishad goes to the root of relative existence as Pippalada replies:
“‘The Lord of beings,’ replied the sage, ‘meditated and produced Prana, the primal energy, and Rayi, the giver of form, desiring that they, male and female, should in manifold ways produce creatures for him.’”
Prajapati–Brahma “The Lord of Creation”–did not create the world in the manner understood in the West, rather, he manifested it from the primal energy known as Prakriti by the power of his meditation. This was no new occurrence, for the projection and withdrawal of the cosmos in precise cycles has
been going on from eternity. Just as wind moving over water causes it to take on a multitude of wave-forms, so does the creative thought of Brahma. In Genesis we are told: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And…darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” The Breath (Ruach) of God, the creative thought of God, moved on the causal “waters” and the cosmos began to manifest.
Creation begins and moves on in an exact order, so the first thing that occurred was the manifestation of Prana and Rayi–internal Life and the outer Energy that manifests as form. There are many levels of manifestation, and Pippalada is only speaking of the lower worlds which are manifested by Brahma. The lower worlds mirror the higher ones, and in Christian terminology this coming forth of Prana and Rayi are equivalent to the coming forth of the Son and the Holy Spirit from the Transcendent Absolute–the Father–at the very highest level of manifestation.
Prana and Rayi are the two poles of manifesting energy–positive and negative, male and female. This duality is at the heart of all that presently exists, and without it everything dissolves. Prana and Rayi are the “parents” of all things. Creation is their perpetual interaction. As Yogananda wrote in one of his chants: “Spirit and Nature dancing together!” All “creatures”–all that exist in relativity–have sprung from Prana and Rayi. This is why all religions have intuited the existence of a primeval Father and Mother of All.
Sun and Moon
Even more, nearly all religions have had some idea about the original Father and Mother being the sun and moon respectively.
“Prana, the primal energy, is the sun; and Rayi, the form-giving substance, is the moon. Be it known that all this universe, that which is gross and that which is subtle, is one with Rayi. Therefore is Rayi omnipresent. In like manner is the universe one with Prana.” Nothing can exist without duality–Prana and Rayi–at the root of their manifestation, and they are still being maintained by them.
In India they knew from the beginning that the sun and moon were essential even for plant life. In the West, also, people have known for hundreds, if not thousands, of years that although the light and heat of the sun causes the germination of seeds, it is the moon that guides their growth, and wise gardeners plant according to the lunar cycles. We even have the term “planting moon.” Even more, all “things” are the embodiment of Prana and Rayi. The universe is Prana and Rayi. Spirit–Paramatman and Atman–alone is independent of these two, and untouched by them.
“The rising sun pervades the east, and fills with energy all beings that there inhabit; and likewise when his rays fall on the south, the west, the north, the zenith, the nadir, and the intermediate regions, to all beings that there inhabit he gives life.” Just as the one sun can be reflected in numberless ways, so Prana enlivens all things and moves within them. The life in even an atom is Cosmic Life.
“Prana is the soul of the universe, assuming all forms; he is the light that animates and illumines all: even as it is written: ‘The wise know him who assumes all forms, who is radiant, who is all-knowing, who is the one light that gives light to all. He rises as the sun of a thousand rays, and abides in infinite places.’” Prana is Parabrahman Itself! Not only is Brahman/Prana “the soul of the universe,” Brahman is also the forms assumed, “He shining, everything shines.” Every single sentient being is a ray of that divine Sun who abides in all their inmost essence.
The two paths
“Prana and Rayi, uniting, divide the year. Two are the paths of the sun–two are the paths that men travel after death. These are the southern and the northern. Those who desire offspring and are devoted to almsgiving and rituals, considering these the highest accomplishment, attain the world of the moon and are born again on earth. They travel by the southern path, which is the path of the fathers, and is indeed Rayi, the maker of forms.”
There are two paths that can be taken after death: the path that leads to expanding life in higher realms of existence and the path that leads back to the world of material embodiment–the paths of Prana and Rayi.
The “year” spoken here is not the earthly measure of time based on the movement of the earth around the sun, although it is believed to be so in the degeneracy of contemporary Hinduism. Rather, it is the cyclic manifestation of prana within the subtle, mental bodies of each one of us. The “southern” path is the part of the cycle in which the prana becomes more embedded or “grounded” in the consciousness of form–the body. On the other hand, the “northern” path is the part of the cycle in which the prana becomes increasingly active in the spiritual levels of our being, causing the consciousness to rise to higher degrees. The supposed south and north movement of the sun has nothing whatsoever to do with this, even though it is commonly thought so at this time.
The “moon” is a symbol of the material creation which is but a reflection of higher regions of consciousness, just as the moon has no light of its own, but only reflects the light of the sun.
The path of rebirth
“Those who desire offspring and are devoted to almsgiving and rituals, considering these the highest accomplishment, attain the world of the moon and are born again on earth. They travel by the southern path, which is the path of the fathers, and is indeed Rayi, the maker of forms.”
This is quite clear: those who are addicted to family life and external religion are impelled by their own earthly desires to be reborn on earth. For such desires are rooted in earthly experience and perpetuate it.
The path of liberation
“But those who are devoted to the worship of the Self, by means of austerity, continence, faith, and knowledge, go by the northern path and attain the world of the sun. The sun, the light, is indeed the source of all energy. It is immortal, beyond fear; it is the supreme goal. For him who goes to the sun there is no more birth nor death. The sun ends birth and death.”
Later in the fifth section of this upanishad it will be explained that by meditation on Om a yogi will be united with the solar light and ascend to the realization of Brahman. But right now the necessary adjuncts to such a meditation are enumerated: austerity [tapasya], continence [brahmacharya], faith [shraddha], and knowledge [vidya]. Those who prepare themselves by these practices–in conjunction with meditation on Om–will ascend to the solar world and, freed from the compulsion to rebirth, will pass onward to the transcendental realm of Brahman.
In the mechanism of the universe there are many wheels within wheels as in clockwork. So the upanishad then speaks of the month as reflection of Prana and Rayi just like the year: “Prana and Rayi, uniting, form the month. Its dark fortnight is Rayi, and its bright fortnight is Prana. Sages perform their devotional rites in the light, with knowledge; fools, in the dark, with ignorance.”
Here, too, the material lunar phases are not being spoken of, but rather the inner cycles of spiritual awareness and spiritual ignorance. The wise do not act blindly, even in spiritual practice, but with
understanding of how and why they should engage in meditation and worship. Because they lack the requisite insight, the ignorant engage in superstition, even if externally they seem to be doing the same as the wise. Without inner awakening all is hopeless, and awakening is a matter of evolution. It cannot come from an external source. This is why ordinary propagandizing religion plunges people deeper into ignorance and folly.
Until the inner consciousness begins to manifest only error can be the fruition of any religion. This is why Sanatana Dharma never engages in any form of missionary persuasion or coercion. Adherents of the Eternal Religion know that until a person ripens spiritually even Sanatana Dharma is meaningless and pointless–inevitably confusing and potentially harmful. That this is true is being proven every moment in the West by those who are deforming Dharma into an ego-driven diversion and often a tool for the same negative domination and opportunism that has made Western religion and philosophy into the absurd and destructive force it has been for centuries. And the “advaitins” are the worst.
Food
Now a very interesting symbol is introduced: “Food is Prana and Rayi. From food is produced seed, and from seed, in turn, are born all creatures.” Nikhilananda translates this verse: “Food, verily, is Prajapati [the Creator]. From that comes semen [retas]; from semen are all these creatures born.”
The idea here is that Prana and Form, the two aspects of Prajapati, are manifesting as food–not just food that is eaten and digested, but rather all things that “enter” the sentient being’s life and mind and shape him. The body is formed of nothing but food, and the same is true of the four subtler bodies as well. The mind and the senses “eat” also. So we can realize that God is not only the source of all, but the manifester, sustainer, and evolver of all. There is nothing around us that is not divine manifestation. This is the vision the yogi strives for. “At the end of his many births the wise man takes refuge in Me. He knows: ‘All is Vasudeva.‘ How very rare is that great soul!”
Sri Ramakrishna once said: “The Divine Mother showed me that there are not two, but one existence only. It is Satchidananda alone that has taken many forms. It is He alone who has become the living beings, the universe and everything. It is He who has become food.” What the rishis perceived so many thousands of years ago can be known even today by the fervent yogi.
Home truths
Now it is time to get down to the solid facts, to the only sensible conclusions that can be drawn if we accept all the upanishad has been saying to us: “Those who worship the world of creation produce children; but those alone attain the world of Brahman who are steadfast in continence, meditation, and truthfulness.”
Guilty, insecure people are always demanding assurance and approval from others. They usually get it from those equally guilty (or equally foolish), and evade facing the truth about themselves. In the long run such avoidance does absolutely no good, but being people who live in the moment they are satisfied with the deception. This especially manifests in “those who worship the world of creation” and materiality by their insisting on being assured that ascetic life is not necessary or superior to their maya-mired mode of existence. They bullyingly demand this assurance from supposed spiritual teachers (and especially monastics) employing a variety of ways to get what they want. But the upanishadic sages are long departed from this world, and their words have been preserved for thousands of years. What they say can be ignored, but it cannot be denied.
World worshippers become gears in “society” and immerse themselves in material involvement with
“the world’s goods,” living as they please in egocentric, self-pleasing modes of life. They may not engender actual children now they have learned to frustrate the natural consequences of sex, but the resulting consciousness will be the same. Living as they “please” they are bound by the hopes and “joys” of earthly life, creating for themselves a guaranteed return to the realm of death that is this world. Sri Ramakrishna used to say: “There is no substance at all in worldly life.” And there is no substance in those that expend themselves in and on the world.
The rare few who have seen through the sham of the world and understood the reality of the Self, live in a very different manner. If their karma is very good, they take up the ascetic life early on, otherwise they wake up somewhere along their path in life, turn from the common folly, and become disciplined and purified in their mode of life. Whichever it may be, the life of all the wise is centered in “continence, meditation, and truthfulness.” There is no need for a comment on that, or on the final statement:
“The pure world of Brahman is attainable by those only who are neither deceitful, nor wicked, nor false.”
The Powers That Make Us “Be”
Each of us is both Who and What. The Who is simple to define: Individualized Consciousness or jivatman–Individualized Self. The What, on the other hands is quite complex, which is why we have gotten lost in it and confused for lifetimes beyond number. The first step in learning how to undo this dilemma is learning what is keeping it going. For that reason:
“Then Bhargava approached the teacher and asked: ‘Holy sir, how many several powers hold together this body? Which of them are most manifest in it? And which is the greatest?’” (Prashna Upanishad 2:1) We need to know who our jailers are and especially who the governor of the jail may be. So:
Our makeup
“‘The powers,’ replied the sage, ‘are ether, air, fire, water, earth–these being the five elements which compose the body; and, besides these, speech, mind, eye, ear, and the rest of the sense organs. Once these powers made the boastful assertion: “We hold the body together and support it”’” (Prashna Upanishad 2:2)
The five elements (panchabhuta) are forms of cosmic energy which make up the various bodies of the human being, including the five senses. They are not passive, but are living and moving powers.
However, Bhargava has asked which powers hold together the body, which itself is formed of the elemental forces. Only one of them is the cohesive force which keeps the others in its magnetic field and enables them to assume form and function within that form. To illustrate this, Pippalada gave him a parable, saying that once all the elements claimed to be the dominant force in the body.
Prana
“Whereupon Prana, the primal energy, supreme over them all, said to them: ‘Do not deceive yourselves. It is I alone, dividing myself fivefold, who hold together this body and support it.’ But they would not believe him.” (Prashna Upanishad 2:3)
“Even the smallest particle of the cosmos is the Universal Life in manifestation.”
We see from this that the five elements are modifications of the cosmic life, the Prana (Vishwaprana),
that although the body seems to be formed only of the five elements, the Prana itself is the underlying substratum as the ocean is to the waves. The body, then, is really nothing but Prana, as is anything else in the realm of relative existence. Even the smallest particle of the cosmos is the Universal Life in manifestation.
Another point is the supposed conversation between the elements. This is not just a device in a fable, but is an indication that since all things are manifestations of Cosmic Life they can take on a seemingly independent life (and even consciousness) of their own. This is a fundamental trait of Maya, the Cosmic Illusion, one which lies at the root of most confusion and ignorance.
The proof
“Prana, to justify himself, made as if he intended to leave the body. But as he rose and appeared to be going, all the rest realized that if he went they also would have to depart with him; and as Prana again seated himself, the rest found their respective places. As bees go out when their queen goes out, and return when she returns, so was it with speech, mind, vision, hearing, and the rest. Convinced of their error, the powers now praised Prana, saying:” (Prashna Upanishad 2:4)
All the elements of the cosmos are rooted in Prana. It is the same with the elements and the senses in the individual’s body complex (for the human being has five bodies corresponding to the five elements). Just as the waves are in total dependence upon the ocean for their very being, so everything cosmic and microcosmic depend upon Prana. This is why Om is called the Pranava: It is the sound-form of Prana, the mantric syllable by which the Prana is contacted and controlled. Furthermore, the breath (also called prana) is the outermost, physical manifestation of prana. Because of this the yogi joins his inner intonations of Om to his breath in the highest form of pranayama.
“Pranayama is accomplished by effortlessly breathing and joining to it the repetition of the sacred Om.”
“That which causes all the pranas to prostrate themselves before and get merged in the Paramatman [the Supreme Soul: God], so as to attain identity with Him, is for that reason known as the Pranava.” (Atharvashikha Upanishad 1:10) “With Om alone he should breathe.” (Amritabindu Upanishad 20) “Pranayama is accomplished through concentrating the mind on Om.” (Saubhagyalakshmi Upanishad) “The Pranava alone becomes the pranayama.” (Shandilya Upanishad 6:2 ) “Pranayama is composed of the Pranava, Om. [Therefore] he should repeat the Pranava mentally. This only will be pranayama.” (Darshan Upanishad 6:2,5,6) “Pranayama is accomplished by effortlessly breathing and joining to it the repetition of the sacred Om.” (Yoga Vashishtha 5:78)
The powers of Prana
He who controls Prana controls all since Prana is all. Therefore the elements praised Prana, saying:
“ ‘As fire, Prana bums; as the sun, he shines; as cloud, he rains; as Indra, he rules the gods; as wind, he blows; as the moon, he nourishes all. He is that which is visible and also that which is invisible. He is immortal life.
“ ‘As spokes in the hub of a wheel, so is everything made fast in Prana–the Rik, the Yajur, the Sama, all sacrifices, the Kshatriyas, and the Brahmins.
“ ‘O Prana, lord of creation, thou movest in the womb, and art born again. To thee who, as breath, dwellest in the body, all creatures bring offerings.
“ ‘Thou, as fire, dost carry oblations to the gods; and through thee the fathers receive their offerings. To every organ of sense thou givest its function.
“ ‘Prana, thou art the creator; thou art the destroyer by thy prowess; and thou art the protector. Thou movest in the sky as the sun, and lord of lights art thou.
“ ‘Prana, when thou showerest down rain, thy creatures rejoice, hoping that they will find food, as much as they desire.
“ ‘Thou art purity itself, thou art the master of all that exists, thou art fire, the eater of offerings. We, the organs of sense, offer to thee thy food–to thee, the father of all.
“ ‘That power of thine which dwells in speech, in the ear, and in the eye, and which pervades the heart–make that propitious, and forsake us not.
“ ‘Whatsoever exists in the universe is dependent on thee, O Prana. Protect us as a mother protects her children. Grant us prosperity and grant us wisdom.’” (Prashna Upanishad 2:5-13)
Obviously, then, the yogi cannot neglect the cultivation of Prana and Pranava together.
Prana: Its History and Nature
Sanatana Dharma is not a “shut up and believe and obey” religion. Those who follow the Eternal Dharma must gain the fullest knowledge of how things work, for without that knowledge mastery will be impossible. And mastery is the result of evolution. Prana, the universal life force, must be known about and mastered. So:
Conscious being
“When it was the turn of Kousalya, he put this question: “Master, of what is Prana born; how does he enter the body; how does he live there after dividing himself; how does he go out; how does he experience what is outside; and how does he hold together the body, the senses, and the mind?” (Prashna Upanishad 3:1)
All these questions are going to be answered subsequently, so the only important point is the referring to prana as a conscious being–which it is because it is the life of Brahman and therefore is Brahman. The fact that everything is conscious is unique to the teachings of Sanatana Dharma. Science considers itself extremely bold in cautiously approaching this concept and tentatively postulating it. Those in the West who bravely make the statement as evident fact are those whose thinking has–at least in its ancestry–been derived from the wisdom of India.
The worthy questioner
“To which the sage replied: Kousalya, you ask very difficult questions; but since you are a sincere seeker after the truth of Brahman, I must answer.” (Prashna Upanishad 3:2) This I have seen for myself in India. The great saints just will not bother with the idly curious and the hopelessly shallow. But they will gladly speak with those who are seeking the knowledge of Reality.
Once I made the mistake of taking a Western spiritual wanderer to meet Maitri Devi, a beloved saint in New Delhi. When he told her he wanted to ask a question she replied in Hindi: “I do not speak English.” When he asked if someone could translate his questions she again responded: “I do not speak English.” So I said to him quietly: “Tell me your question and I will ask it.” For quite some time he
would softly tell me his questions and I would ask them–in English!–and she would readily answer through a translator. I appreciated her kindness to me, but I also decided to never again bother her with roamabouts. Other saints I met would do the same–some more diplomatically, others not so tactful.
We should learn from this and question ourselves as to why we “seek” and even why we study: To eventually reach the knowledge of God, or just to cram more ideas in our head to show how “wise” we are? Yogananda often spoke of those who had “spiritual indigestion” from cramming useless philosophy into their minds.
But Kousalya is a worthy questioner, so the sage replies:
Prana in us
“Prana is born of the Self. Like a man and his shadow, the Self and Prana are inseparable. Prana enters the body at birth, that the desires of the mind, continuing from past lives, may be fulfilled.” (Prashna Upanishad 3:3)
Just as the cosmos is an extension of the Consciousness that is Brahman, in the same way our individual prana is an extension of our Self (atman). It is inseparable from the Self because it is the Self. This is the authentic non-duality (advaita) of the upanishads, not a negation or denial of either Prakriti or prana. Seeing them as separate from Spirit, and therefore dual, is the error–not acknowledging their intimate reality.
Prana provides the continuity between our present and past lives–both minds and bodies. It is also the force that enables the continuation of our evolution from past lives, carries us through this present life and through future ones as well. Prana truly is Life itself.
This verse also tells us that karma is a matter of the mind, and not some external force. Change the mind and you change the karma–or even dissolve it. It need never extend into our external existence. “Working out karma” is not a compelling necessity. We are never slaves to karma. We are its creators and its masters, at least potentially. But we have forgotten that fact and lost control of our karma. It must be regained if we would be free.
Its “associates”
“As a king employs officials to rule over different portions of his kingdom, so Prana associates with himself four other Pranas, each a portion of himself and each assigned a separate function.” (Prashna Upanishad 3:4) We usually speak of “five pranas,” but there is really only pure Prana and its four modalities.
Prana: Vital energy; life-breath; life-force. In the human body the prana is divided into five forms: 1) Prana: the prana that moves upward; 2) Apana: The prana that moves downward, producing the excretory functions in general. 3) Vyana: The prana that holds prana and apana together and produces circulation in the body. 4) Samana: The prana the carries the grosser material of food to the apana and brings the subtler material to each limb; the general force of digestion. 4) Udana: The prana which brings up or carries down what has been drunk or eaten; the general force of assimilation.
If this is kept in mind the following will be more comprehensible and meaningful.
“The Prana himself dwells in eye, ear, mouth, and nose; the Apana, which is the second Prana, rules the organs of excretion and generation; the Samana, which is the third Prana, inhabits the navel and governs digestion and assimilation.
“The Self dwells in the lotus of the heart, whence radiate a hundred and one nerves [nadis]. From each of these proceed one hundred others, which are smaller, and from each of these, again, seventy-two thousand others, which are smaller still. In all these moves the Vyana, which is the fourth Prana.
“And then at the moment of death, through the nerve in the center of the spine, the Udana, which is the fifth Prana, leads the virtuous man upward to higher birth, the sinful man downward to lower birth, and the man who is both virtuous and sinful to rebirth in the world of men.” (Prashna Upanishad 3:5-7)
This final verse is an interpretive translation saying more than is really there. Swami Nikhilananda translates it literally: “And then udana, ascending upward through one of them, conducts the departing soul to the virtuous world, for its virtuous deeds; to the sinful world, for its sinful deeds; and to the world of men, for both.” As you see, there is no mention of a “nerve in the center of the spine,” the sushumna. The nadi of ascending consciousness is spoken of at the end of the Katha Upanishad thusly: “Radiating from the lotus of the heart there are a hundred and one nerves. One of these ascends toward the thousand-petaled lotus in the brain. If, when a man comes to die, his vital force passes upward and out through this nerve, he attains immortality; but if his vital force passes out through another nerve, he goes to one or another plane of mortal existence and remains subject to birth and death.” (Katha Upanishad 2:3:16) Here is what I wrote in comment on this verse:
“By ‘heart’ is meant the hub–located in the midst of the upper trunk of the body–of subtle passages known as nadis (here translated ‘nerves’) through which the life force (prana) circulates throughout the gross and subtle bodies, just as the blood circulates from the heart through the veins of the physical body. One hundred of these nadis direct the life force to the life processes of the bodies and are the forces of embodiment. One, unique, nadi, however, rises directly upward from the heart-hub into the head. (This nadi rises from the heart directly into the head–it is not the passage in the midst of the spine.) If at the time of death the departing spirit leaves through that channel, he gains immortality. But if his consciousness attaches itself to any of the hundred other nadis he will be impelled into the subtle worlds that lead inexorably back to incarnation in relativity.
“In every meditation, by intoning Om in time with the breath we activate this channel, causing the life force to spontaneously and effortlessly, flow upward into the thousand-petalled lotus in the head toward the divine radiance that shines above and upon the upper levels of the brain-lotus. That Divine Light is the essence of Om, the Life-Giving Word, the Pranava. Then at the end of life, having prepared himself by this practice, sitting in meditation the yogi ascends upward from the body into the realm of immortality.”
Cosmic prana
Since each of us is a reflection of the universe, there is a cosmic pranic arrangement also, so the sage continues:
“The sun is the Prana of the universe. It rises to help the Prana in the eye of man to see. The power of earth maintains the Apana in man. The ether between the sun and the earth is the Samana, and the all-pervading air is the Vyana.
“The Udana is fire, and therefore he whose bodily heat has gone out dies, after which his senses are absorbed in the mind, and he is born again. Whatever his thought at the moment of death, this it is that unites a man with Prana, who in turn, uniting himself with Udana and with the Self, leads the man to be reborn in the world he merits.” (Prashna Upanishad 3:8-10)
This final principle is the most important. It is expanded in the Gita in this way: “At the hour of death,
when a man leaves his body, he must depart with his consciousness absorbed in me. Then he will be united with me. Be certain of that. Whatever a man remembers at the last, when he is leaving the body, will be realized by him in the hereafter; because that will be what his mind has most constantly dwelt on, during this life. Therefore you must remember me at all times, and do your duty. If your mind and heart are set upon me constantly, you will come to me. Never doubt this. Make a habit of practicing meditation, and do not let your mind be distracted. In this way you will come finally to the Lord, who is the light-giver, the highest of the high.” (Prashna Upanishad 3:5-8)
This is why the japa and meditation of Om is “The Way,” as Patanjali states in the Yoga Sutras (1:28)
The knowing of Prana: immortality
The importance of knowing the functions of Prana by direct experience–through yoga practice–is summed up by the sage, saying:
“The progeny of him who knows Prana as I have revealed him to you is never cut off; and he himself becomes immortal.
“It was said of old: One who knows the Prana–whence he has his source, how he enters the body, how he lives there after dividing himself five-fold, what are his inner workings—such an one attains to immortality, yea, even to immortality.” (Prashna Upanishad 3:11, 12)
For, as the other upanishads declare: Prana is Brahman.
The Witnessing Self
The one in the three
“Gargya then asked: ‘Master, when a man’s body sleeps, who is it within that sleeps, and who is awake, and who is dreaming? Who then experiences happiness, and with whom are all the sense organs united?’”(Prashna Upanishad 4:1)
Anyone who ponders the nature of consciousness comes to realize that there are three modes of experience: waking, dream, and dreamless sleep. All three of these states are experienced by a single witness who says: “I slept without dream,” “I slept and dreamed,” and “I am now awake.” Who is that witness? This is Gargya’s inquiry. Who is the unchanging witness of change? Who is the unseen seer? For no intelligent person of unclouded intellect can doubt the existence of such a one.
Sleep
“‘As the rays of the sun, O Gargya, when he sets,’ replied the sage, ‘gather themselves up in his disk of light, to come out again when he rises, so the senses gather themselves up in the mind, the highest of them all. Therefore when a man does not hear, see, smell, taste, touch, speak, grasp, enjoy, we say that he sleeps. Only the Pranas are then awake in the body, and the mind is led nearer to the Self.’” (Prashna Upanishad 4:2-4)
Prana is the primal life-force or vital energy. The prana that manifests in the evolving universe also manifests in the evolving body of each human being. In the body there are five basic forms of prana: 1) Prana, the prana that moves upward; 2) Apana: The prana that moves downward, producing the excretory functions in general. 3) Vyana: The prana that holds prana and apana together and produces circulation in the body. 4) Samana: The prana that carries the grosser material of food to the apana and brings the subtler material to each limb; the general force of digestion. 5) Udana: The prana which
brings up or carries down what has been drunk or eaten; the general force of assimilation.
The pranas also correspond to the five elements: earth (prithvi), water (apa), fire (tejas), air (vayu), and ether (akasha). One of these five elements is the foundation for one of the five senses: earth=smell, water=taste, fire=sight, air=touch, and ether=hearing/speech.
In the waking state all the pranas are quite active and fundamentally outflowing, even those that maintain the internal functions of the body being externalized through being expended in the fulfillment of their tasks. But in sleep they withdraw into the inner reservoirs of the body and the state of sleep occurs. On the subtlest energy level they withdraw into the manas, the energy field we call the mind. For the mind is the highest “sense,” being the sum and goal of them all. It is not amiss to say that the senses serve the mind–at least when the right order prevails. Otherwise they drag the mind helplessly along addicting and enslaving it. Breaking the web of this addiction-slavery is then impossible without the practice of pranayama–control and refinement of the pranas. For this reason all viable spiritual traditions have methods that involve breath–the most objective manifestation of prana–to some degree.
When the pranas withdraw into the mind, their distracting activities lessen–unless they occupy and overwhelm the mind with constant and vivid dreaming. When/If the mind is thus granted a reprieve from their clamor, it begins to sense what is behind it, just as it is behind the senses. The mind is the witness of the senses, but it is also witnessed. That ultimate witness is the Self. Therefore the upanishad says that in sleep “the mind is led nearer to the Self.”
Dreams and dreamlessness
Where do dreams come from? Gargya has not asked, but Pippalada tells him: “While in dream, the mind revives its past impressions. Whatever it has seen, it sees again; whatever it has heard, it hears again; whatever it has enjoyed in various countries and in various quarters of the earth, it enjoys again. What has been seen and not seen, heard and not heard, enjoyed and not enjoyed, both the real and the unreal, it sees; yea, it sees all.” (Prashna Upanishad 4:5) Everyone is creative in the dream state, though some are definitely better writer/directors of their inner movies than others. He continues: “When the mind is overpowered by deep slumber, it dreams no more. It rests happily in the body.” (Prashna Upanishad 4:6)
From the very first yogis have spoken of the importance of the dreamless, deep sleep state they call sushupti. This is because in dreamless sleep we are aware of awareness itself with no interference from the senses. We are aware deep within ourselves, aware of our nature as simple, pure consciousness.
Dreamless sleep is also proof that the Self exists. For although no objects are presented to the mind, there is a witness of that non-experiencing. Otherwise we would not awaken and say: “I slept but had no dreams at all.” Instead we would not know any time had passed, would not know that we had been asleep. That witness which cognizes the waking, dream, and dreamless states is the Atman itself.
There is a higher form “when sushupti [the dreamless sleep state] is rightly cognized [experienced] while conscious,” says the Shandilya Upanishad. In that state we are “asleep while awake” and are fully conscious of the fact. This is very near the actual experience of the Self and partakes of that experience to some degree, the happiness and ease we feel being a touch of the joy (ananda) that is the nature of the Self. It is extremely valuable because it shows us that when all sensory experience is gone beyond there yet remains the truth of ourselves in the form of pure, unconditioned consciousness that is the Self.
In deep meditation we enter this state intentionally and begin working our inner transformation from
this center by the subtle intonations of Om.
To the Self
“As birds, my friend, fly to a tree for rest, even so do all these things fly to the Self: Earth and its peculiar essence, water and its peculiar essence, fire and its peculiar essence, air and its peculiar essence, ether and its peculiar essence, the eye and what it sees, the ear and what it hears, the nose and what it smells, the tongue and what it tastes, the skin and what it touches, the voice and what it speaks, the hands and what they grasp, the feet and what they walk on, the mind and what it perceives, the intellect and what it understands, the ego and what it appropriates, the heart and what it loves, light and what it illumines, energy and what it binds together.” (Prashna Upanishad 4:7, 8)
They “fly to the Self” because the Self is their origin. They are returning to their source after ages upon ages of separation in relative existence/experience.
“For verily it is the Self that sees, hears, smells, tastes, thinks, knows, acts. He is Brahman, whose essence is knowledge. He is the immutable Self, the Supreme.” (Prashna Upanishad 4:9) The Self is the Experiencer in all beings, the knower of all things, and the doer of all acts. This points out the fact that Maya–illusion–is the misperception of things, not perception itself. Also, sense experience, thought, and actions are NOT illusions. It is our misunderstanding of them that is illusion. The Self is real and its experiences are real. It is true that they are purely mental in nature, but is the mind not real? Again, it is a matter how we perceive.
The Self is a wave of the ocean of Brahman, the Absolute, whose nature is Consciousness. The Self is immutable, and beyond it there is nothing else, for in essence it is one with Brahman, the ultimate Being. Yet, the Self needs to attain itself, needs to attain the consciousness of its Being which is Brahman. Therefore the sage says further:
The end result
“He who knows the immutable, the pure, the shadowless, the bodiless, the colorless, attains to Brahman, O my friend. Such an one becomes all-knowing, and he dwells in all beings. Of him it is written: ‘He who knows that immutable Self, wherein live the mind, the senses, the pranas, the elements–verily such an one knows all things, and realizes the Self in all.’” (Prashna Upanishad 4:10, 11)
This is most important, for it indicates that first we know the Self–the individual Self, the jivatman–and then we are enabled to know the Supreme Self, the Paramatman: Brahman. And the Self we will know is itself:
Immutable. Eternally changeless, incapable of being either diminished or increased, for it is one with the Infinite.
Pure. Ever only itself, never really being influenced or changed by any thing whatsoever. Untainted by any contact, for it is untouchable.
Shadowless. The Self is Pure Light within which there is no shadow of darkness or differentiation. It is always exactly what it is
Bodiless. It is perfectly non-dual. It is neither inside or outside of any thing. It cannot be contained. It is absolutely one, having nothing appended to it or necessary to it.
Colorless. It has no “qualities” or “characteristics” but is always I AM. The three gunas are not present in it, nor are any gradations of any kind. It is indescribable. All we can really say about it is what it is not.
All of these terms indicate that the Self is the same as Brahman. And the Self that knows its Self–Brahman, “wherein live the mind, the senses, the pranas, the elements”–does in truth come to know all things and the Self in all things.
Omniscience and omnipresence are experienced by that liberated spirit who knows its oneness with The All.
Meditation on Om
So far the questions put to Pippalada have been about the components of the human organism which both empower and limit it. In the last section the subject of the Self was considered–specifically the nature of the Self and the results of knowing the Self. Now we approach the subject of the way in which the Self is known. Without knowing this, all the foregoing teaching is pointless.
Life and death
“Whereupon Satyakama, coming near to the master, said: Venerable sir, if a man meditate upon the syllable OM all his life, what shall be his reward after death?” (Prashna Upanishad 5:1)
Satyakama understood that what really mattered was not short-term gain in this life, but the state of consciousness that would determine where the individual would go after death when stripped of body, possessions, relationships, and all that is “of the earth, earthly”–when he has nothing but his degree of evolution to determine his future.
So he wants to know what will be the result of meditating on Om throughout one’s life. Literally, the Sanskrit texts asks what will be the result of intense meditation (abhidhyana) on Om, and what world (loka) will be won (jayati) by means of that meditation. For the world in which we find ourselves after death reveals our fundamental state of consciousness.
The supreme attainment
“And the master answered him thus: Satyakama, OM is Brahman–both the conditioned and the unconditioned, the personal and the impersonal. By meditating upon it the wise man may attain either the one or the other.” (Prashna Upanishad 5:2)
Brahman is absolutely one, but from our present perspective seems to be of a dual character. In this verse the expression “higher” (para) and “lower” (apara) are used, though Prabhavananda has used the explanatory translations “conditioned and the unconditioned” and “the personal and the impersonal.” It is more usual to use the terms nirguna (without attributes or qualities–guna) and saguna (with attributes or qualities) in relation to Brahman. In A Brief Sanskrit Glossary Nirguna Brahman is defined as: “The impersonal, attributeless Absolute beyond all description or designation.” Saguna Brahman is defined as: “The supreme Absolute conceived of as endowed with qualities like mercy, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipotence, etc., as distinguished from the undifferentiated Absolute–Nirguna Brahman.” Nirguna Brahman is the “higher” Brahman and Saguna Brahman is the “lower” or lesser.
Again, this distinction is just a means of expression adopted for the limitations of our human intellects.
Presently it is commonly assumed–erroneously–that there is one way to meditate on Nirguna Brahman and another way to meditate on Saguna Brahman. But this was not so in the upanishadic era, as can be
seen from the texts cited in both Om Yoga and The Word That Is God. It was understood that Om is all-inclusive, since It is Brahman Itself. Consequently, meditation on Om is meditation on both Nirguna and Saguna Brahman. Our perceptions will be according to whichever aspect we wish to contact.
According to our knowing
It also depends on our experience-knowlege of Om, not mere intellectual ideas. For Pippalada then says: “If he meditate upon OM with but little knowledge of its meaning, but nevertheless is enlightened thereby, upon his death he will be immediately born again on this earth, and during his new life he will be devoted to austerity, continence, and faith, and will attain to spiritual greatness.” (Prashna Upanishad 5:3) That is, if for whatever reasons the yogi gains but little experience-knowledge of Om, still he will be enlightened by it to some degree. This being so, he will not spend a long period in the astral world, but will quickly be reborn so he can take up yoga again and make better progress than he did before. To ensure this, in his new life “he will be devoted to austerity, continence, and faith, and will attain to spiritual greatness.”
“If, again, he meditate upon OM with a greater knowledge of its meaning, upon his death he will ascend to the lunar heaven, and after he has partaken of its pleasures will return again to earth.” (Prashna Upanishad 5:4) “The lunar heaven” is the astral world in which the yogi experiences great happiness and even power according to the immense strength of positive karma which is engendered by the practice of yoga. Yet he will in time take birth again on the earth.
“But if he meditate upon OM in the full consciousness that it is one with God, upon his death he will be united with the light that is in the sun, he will be freed from evil, even as a snake is freed from its slough, and he will ascend to God’s dwelling place. There he will realize Brahman, who evermore abides in the heart of all beings–Brahman Supreme!” (Prashna Upanishad 5:5) Those who experience in meditation that Om truly is Divinity Itself–is their own Divine Self–will be freed from the compulsion to earthly rebirth as well as all that has bound them to lower things and, united with the Light of Spirit that invisibly shines upon us through the intermediary of the sun, will ascend to the heights of existence and beyond into the transcendent Being of Nirguna Brahman.
Then Pippalada cites two verses even older than the upanishads that encapsulate all this:
“Concerning the sacred syllable OM it is written: “The syllable OM, when it is not fully understood, does not lead beyond mortality. When it is fully understood, and meditation is therefore rightly directed, a man is freed from fear, whether he be awake, dreaming, or sleeping the dreamless sleep, and attains to Brahman.
“By virtue of a little understanding of OM a man returns to earth after death. By virtue of a greater understanding he attains to the celestial sphere. By virtue of a complete understanding he learns what is known only to the seers. The sage, with the help of OM, reaches Brahman, the fearless, the undecaying, the immortal!” (Prashna Upanishad 5:6, 7)
As Sri Ramana Maharshi said: Om ever shines within us as the Self. May we all realize this.
Where is the Self?
“Lastly, Sukesa approached the sage and said: ‘Holy sir, Hiranyanabha, prince of Kosala, once asked me this question: ““Sukesa, do you know the Self and his sixteen parts?”” I replied, ““I do not. Surely, if I had known them, I should have taught them to you. I will not lie, for he who lies perishes, root and all.”” The prince silently mounted his chariot and went away. So now I ask of thee, Where is the
Self?’” (Prashna Upanishad 6:1)
This is an introduction to the actual teachings of this section, but it contains a couple of interesting points.
Sixteen parts
The Self is said in this verse to have sixteen “parts.” Yet the Self is one, so how can this be? The upanishad is referring to the “extensions” or instruments of the Self by means of which it manifests within relative existence. They will be enumerated shortly.
Spiritual honesty
It is impressive when a spiritual teacher honestly admits to not knowing something. In a filmed interview, Carl Jung was asked what he thought some dream symbol meant. He laughed and said: “I haven’t the faintest idea!” End of question!
Here we see the integrity of Sukesha who readily admitted not knowing the answer to a question. And his reason he gives, saying: “I will not lie, for he who lies perishes, root and all.” Satya–truthfulness–is one of the essential observances of Yoga according to Patanjali, and here we see why. This should be taken to heart by us throughout our life. Sri Ramakrishna said that a person can realize God by scrupulously adhering to truth.
Abode of the Self
Where is the Self? “The sage replied: “My child, within this body dwells the Self, from whom sprang the sixteen parts of the universe; and in this manner they came into being.” (Prashna Upanishad 6:2)
How precious, then, is the human body! And how foolish it is to think that spiritual experience will involve “escaping” from the body and flying off to some “spiritual world” to hobnob with angels and masters!
Now he will describe the sequence of cosmic manifestation.
Stabilizing Itself within creation
“If, creating, I enter my creation, the Self reflected, what is there to bind me to it; what is there to go out from it when I go out, to stay within it when I stay?” (Prashna Upanishad 6:3) This is a problem for both the infinite and the finite Selves.
“Pondering thus, and in answer to his thought, he made Prana; and from Prana he made desire; and from desire he made ether, air, fire, water, earth, the senses, the mind, and food; and from food he made vigor, penance, the Vedas, the sacrificial rites, and all the worlds. Thereafter, in the worlds, he created names. And the number of the elements he thus created was sixteen.” (Prashna Upanishad 6:4) We need to take this part by part.
Pondering thus, and in answer to his thought, he made…. The world was made by the mere thought of God. As said before, this is the “dream” of God; it is all creative thought. Merely thinking of something gets us human beings nowhere–we have to bring it into manifestation by action and materials. This is not the case with God. He thought–and so it was. Consequently, in the following list of cosmic ingredients, we must not think of them as “stuff” but as cosmic thoughts.
Prana. First the Universal Life Force (vishwaprana) was manifested. This was the formless, basic
“substance” of relative existence.
Desire. Next came the power of intention or aspiration. For unless we are motivated with the idea that something can be attained, we will not act. So the power to desire or will–and thereby to shape and work with the cosmic prana–is absolutely necessary for anything to “happen.” “Desire” is the explanatory translation of Prabhavananda, and I think it is the best one. But the actual word in the Sanskrit is shraddha–faith. This was used, Shankara says, to mean a stimulus to the individual spirits (jivas). That is, subliminally all of us know that we have come from God and are intended to return to God. With this aspiration as the deepest impulse of our being, we are moving up the evolutionary path, ever onward, however many delays our ignorance and laziness may bring about.
Ether, air, fire, water, earth–the great primal elements and all their variations down to their material manifestations.
The senses. Actually, the word is indriyam, which means “organs” and often does mean only the five organs of perception (jnanendriyas): ear, skin, eye, tongue, and nose, but Shankara feels (and so do I) that it no doubt includes the five organs of action (karmendriyas): voice, hand, foot, organ of excretion, and the organ of generation. The indriyas are here being thought of as “wrappings” of the individual consciousness as well as being instruments of bodily function.
Mind. The indriyas are unconscious. That which activates them is the mind which both perceives and acts through them.
Food. By this term is meant all that goes to affect the evolving consciousness, from physical food to psychological and intellectual impressions that shape and move our development either forward or backward, according to their character. That this is so is demonstrated by those things that are said to be “made” from food:
Vigor. Virya is the strength and energy than manifests in body, mind, and intellect–especially as will power in the yogi.
Penance. Tapasya is practical spiritual disciplines, such as moral observances, self-purification, and the practice of meditation.
Vedas. The word is not Veda, but mantra–words of power which produce changes spiritually, mentally and physically by their repetition. From vigor comes the capacity for spiritual discipline, which is manifested in the form of the repetition (japa) and meditation (dhyana) centered on mantras, especially the Supreme Mantra: Om.
Sacrificial rites. This is not only an interpretive translation, it is a very narrowing one. The actual word is karma–a very wide and far-reaching matter, indeed. Here it means the law of action/reaction which fuels the very existence of the world and our bodies within it. Karma causes the manifestation of the cosmos and impels all sentient beings to take incarnation within it in forms appropriate to their level of consciousness and the nature of their past deeds, both physical and mental. Certainly merit-producing actions are part of karma, but karma is much more.
All the worlds. The many worlds (lokas) are produced in response to the varying degrees of evolution and past karma of the sentient beings within them.
Names. The prime factor in relative existence is nama: name. This seems very peculiar to those whose philosophy does not postulate that everything is ideation–thought. But the primeval sages of India perceived through their meditation that the thoughtform, the idea that is the matrix around which the
body-vehicle of any manifested entity forms itself is that entity’s “name.” In the depths of their meditation the sages perceived the primal thought of each “thing.” Since everything is formed of vibration, they translated that into spoken forms. In all other languages a word is just an agreed-upon symbol of an object, but in Sanskrit each word is a sound-form of the basic energy pattern of the designated object. Sanskrit is a kind of sonic physics–creative speech. For that reason Sanskrit script is call Devanagari–The City of the Gods–meaning that the divine powers manifesting as all objects “dwell” in the Sanskrit words. In the subtle levels of being the Sanskrit word IS the thing designated by the word. That is why it is stated that the Name of God IS God! Om is Divinity Itself. (See the section entitled The Glories and Powers of Om in Om Yoga and The Word That Is God.)
These are the sixteen parts of the cosmic and the individual Selves.
The Great Return
“As the flowing rivers, whose destination is the sea, having reached it disappear in it, losing their names and forms, and men speak only of the sea; so these sixteen parts created from out his own being by the Self, the Eternal Seer, having returned to him from whom they came, disappear in him, their destination, losing their names and forms, and people speak only of the Self. Then for man the sixteen parts are no more, and he attains to immortality. Thus was it said of old: ‘The sixteen parts are spokes projecting from the Self, who is the hub of the wheel. The Self is the goal of knowledge. Know him and go beyond death.’” (Prashna Upanishad 6:5, 6)
There is an important principle here: All that exists has emanated from the Cosmic Self and is withdrawn into It–and the same is true of our many levels: they have come from the true “us” and will remerge in us. The idea that “the world” is to be discarded–escaped from–so we can be free is as illusory as the world from which we wish to rid ourselves. It is ignorance alone that we need to banish. We need to refine all our bodies through the practice of tapasya so they will be seen as nothing more than the projections of our mind–projections that can be reabsorbed in the state of perfect knowing. The macrocosm and the microcosm are both “proper” to Spirit and spirit. They are not impositions or prisons (though we make them so), but rays of the Self. They exist because we exist.
The only path to the Self is that of knowledge. Once that arises within us, death dissolves and immortality alone remains.
The right ending
“The sage concluded, saying: What I have told you is all that can be said about the Self, the Supreme Brahman. Beyond this there is naught.” (Prashna Upanishad 6:7) So anything more we may say, that has not already been said in the upanishads (and the Gita), will really be nothing–worthless and pointless, if not outright self-deception. This merits being taken to heart. We should toss away our books of idle philosophy and speculation and become genuine yogis. Then we will truly know That Which Is To Be Known.
So: “The disciples worshiped the sage, and said: You are indeed our father. You have led us beyond the sea of ignorance. We bow down to all the great seers! Obeisance to the great seers!”
Those who teach us the truth of the Self–and more: the way to realize the Self–they are our true fathers, begetting us in Knowledge. They are worthy of worship (archanam) and all honor. They are the gods that lead us to God. Namah Paramarishibhyah–Salutations to the Great Rishis!
End of Prashna Commentary:
Mundaka Upanishad
Translated by Swami Gambhirananda Published by Advaita Ashram, Kolkatta
Om ! O gods, may we hear auspicious words with the ears; While engaged in sacrifices,
May we see auspicious things with the eyes; While praising the gods with steady limbs,
May we enjoy a life that is beneficial to the gods. May Indra of ancient fame be auspicious to us;
May the supremely rich (or all-knowing) Pusa (god of the earth) Be propitious to us;
May Garuda, the destroyer of evil, Be well disposed towards us;
May Brihaspati ensure our welfare. Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
I-i- 1: Om ! Brahma, the creator of the Universe and the protector of the world, was the first among the gods to manifest Himself. To His eldest son Atharva He imparted that knowledge of Brahman that is the basis of all knowledge.
I-i- 2: The Knowledge of Brahman that Brahma imparted to Atharva, Atharva transmitted to Angir in days of yore. He (Angir) passed it on to Satyavaha of the line of Bharadvaja. He of the line of Bharadvaja handed down to Angiras this knowledge that had been received in succession from the higher by the lower ones.
I-i- 3: Saunaka, well known as a great householder, having approached Angiras duly, asked, ‘O adorable sir, (which is that thing) which having been known, all this becomes known ?’
I-i- 4: To him he said, ‘"There are two kinds of knowledge to be acquired – the higher and the lower"; this is what, as tradition runs, the knowers of the import of the Vedas say.’
I-i- 5: Of these, the lower comprises the Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda, Atharva-Veda, the science of pronunciation etc., the code of rituals, grammar, etymology, metre and astrology. Then there is the higher (knowledge) by which is attained that Imperishable.
I-i- 6: (By the higher knowledge) the wise realize everywhere that which cannot be perceived and grasped, which is without source, features, eyes, and ears, which has neither hands nor feet, which is eternal, multiformed, all-pervasive, extremely subtle, and undiminishing and which is the source of all. I-i-7: As a spider spreads out and withdraws (its thread), as on the earth grow the herbs (and trees), and as from a living man issues out hair (on the head and body), so out of the Imperishable does the Universe emerge here (in this phenomenal creation).
I-i- 8: Through knowledge Brahman increases in size. From that is born food (the Unmanifested). From food evolves Prana (Hiranyagarbha); (thence the cosmic) mind; (thence) the five elements; (thence) the worlds; (thence) the immortality that is in karmas.
I-i- 9: From Him, who is omniscient in general and all-knowing in detail and whose austerity is constituted by knowledge, evolve this (derivative) Brahman, name, colour and food.
I-ii- 1:That thing that is such, is true.
The karmas that the wise discovered in the mantras are accomplished variously (in the context of the sacrifice) where the three Vedic duties get united. You perform them for ever with desire for the true results. This is your path leading to the fruits of karma acquired by yourselves.
I-ii- 2: When, the fire being set ablaze, the flame shoots up, one should offer the oblations into that part that is in between the right and the left.
I-ii- 3: It (i.e. the Agnihotra) destroys the seven worlds of that man whose Agnihotra (sacrifice) is without Darsa and Paurnamasa (rites), devoid of Chaturmasya, bereft of Agrayana, unblest with guests, goes unperformed, is unaccompanied by Vaisvadeva (rite) and is performed perfunctorily.
I-ii- 4: Kali, Karali, Manojava and Sulohita and that which is Sudhumravarna, as also Sphulingini, and the shining Visvaruchi – these are the seven flaming tongues.
I-ii- 5: These oblations turn into the rays of the sun and taking him up they lead him, who performs the rites in these shining flames at the proper time, to where the single lord of the gods presides over all.
I-ii- 6: Saying, ‘Come, come’, uttering pleasing words such as, ‘This is your well-earned, virtuous path which leads to heaven’, and offering him adoration, the scintillating oblations carry the sacrificer along the rays of the sun.
I-ii- 7: Since these eighteen constituents of a sacrifice, on whom the inferior karma has been said to rest, are perishable because of their fragility, therefore those ignorant people who get elated with the idea ‘This is (the cause of) bliss’, undergo old age and death over again.
I-ii- 8: Remaining within the fold of ignorance and thinking, ‘We are ourselves wise and learned’, the fools, while being buffeted very much, ramble about like the blind led by the blind alone.
I-ii-9: Continuing diversely in the midst of ignorance, the unenlightened take airs by thinking, ‘We have attained the goal.’ Since the men, engaged in karma, do not understand (the truth) under the influence of attachment, thereby they become afflicted with sorrow and are deprived of heaven on the exhaustion of the results of karma.
I-ii-10: The deluded fools, believing the rites inculcated by the Vedas and the Smritis to be the highest, do not understand the other thing (that leads to) liberation. They, having enjoyed (the fruits of actions) in the abode of pleasure on the heights of heaven, enter this world or an inferior one.
I-ii-11: Those who live in the forest, while begging for alms – viz. those (forest-dwellers and hermits) who resort to the duties of their respective stages of life as well as to meditation – and the learned (householders) who have their senses under control – (they) after becoming freed from dirt, go by the path of the sun to where lives that Purusha, immortal and undecaying by nature.
I-ii-12: A Brahmana should resort to renunciation after examining the worlds acquired through karma, with the help of this maxim: ‘There is nothing (here) that is not the result of karma; so what is the need of (performing) karma ?’ For knowing that Reality he should go, with sacrificial faggots in hand, only to a teacher versed in the Vedas and absorbed in Brahman.
I-ii-13: To him who has approached duly, whose heart is calm and whose outer organs are under
control, that man of enlightenment should adequately impart that knowledge of Brahman by which one realizes the true and imperishable Purusha.
II-i- 1: That thing that is such, is true.
As from a fire fully ablaze, fly off sparks in their thousands that are akin to the fire, similarly O good-looking one, from the Imperishable originate different kinds of creatures and into It again they merge. II-i-2: The Purusha is transcendental, since He is formless. And since He is coextensive with all that is external and internal and since He is birthless, therefore He is without vital force and without mind; He is pure and superior to the (other) superior imperishable (Maya).
II-i- 3: From Him originates the vital force as well as the mind, all the senses, space, air, fire, water, and earth that supports everything.
II-i- 4: The indwelling Self of all is surely He of whom the heaven is the head, the moon and sun are the two eyes, the directions are the two ears, the revealed Vedas are the speech, air is the vital force, the whole Universe is the heart, and (It is He) from whose two feet emerged the earth.
II-i- 5: From Him emerges the fire (i.e. heaven) of which the fuel is the sun. From the moon emerges cloud, and (from cloud) the herbs and corns on the earth. A man sheds the semen into a woman. From the Purusha have originated many creatures.
II-i- 6: From Him (emerge) the Rik, Sama and Yajur mantras, initiation, all the sacrifices – whether with or without the sacrificial stake – offerings to Brahmanas, the year, the sacrificer, and the worlds where the moon sacrifices (all) and where the sun (shines).
II-i- 7: And from Him duly emerged the gods in various groups, the Sadhyas, human beings, beasts, birds, life, rice and barley, as well as austerity, faith, truth, continence and dutifulness.
II-i- 8: From Him emerge the seven sense-organs, the seven flames, the seven kinds of fuel, the seven oblations, and these seven seats where move the sense-organs that sleep in the cavity, (and) have been deposited (by God) in groups of seven.
II-i- 9: From Him emerge all the oceans and all the mountains. From Him flow out the rivers of various forms. And from Him issue all the corns as well as the juice, by virtue of which the internal self verily exists in the midst of the elements.
II-i-10: The Purusha alone is all this – (comprising) karma and knowledge. He who knows this supreme, immortal Brahman, existing in the heart, destroys here the knot of ignorance, O good-looking one !
II-ii- 1: (It is) effulgent, near at hand, and well known as moving in the heart, and (It is) the great goal. On It are fixed all these that move, breathe, and wink or do not wink. Know this One which comprises the gross and the subtle, which is beyond the ordinary knowledge of creatures, and which is the most desirable and the highest of all.
II-ii- 2: That which is bright and is subtler than the subtle, and that on which are fixed all the worlds as well as the dwellers of the worlds, is this immutable Brahman; It is this vital force; It, again, is speech and mind. This Entity, that is such, is true. It is immortal. It is to be penetrated, O good-looking one, shoot (at It).
II-ii- 3: Taking hold of the bow, the great weapon familiar in the Upanishads, one should fix on it an arrow sharpened with meditation. Drawing the string, O good-looking one, hit that very target that is the Imperishable, with the mind absorbed in Its thought.
II-ii- 4: Om is the bow; the soul is the arrow; and Brahman is called its target. It is to be hit by an unerring man. One should become one with It just like an arrow.
II-ii- 5: Know that Self alone that is one without a second, on which are strung heaven, the earth and the inter-space, the mind and the vital forces together with all the other organs; and give up all other talks. This is the bridge leading to immortality.
II-ii- 6: Within that (heart) in which are fixed the nerves like the spokes on the hub of a chariot wheel,
moves this aforesaid Self by becoming multiformed. Meditate on the Self thus with the help of Om. May you be free from hindrances in going to the other shore beyond darkness.
II-ii- 7: That Self which is omniscient in general and all-knowing in detail and which has such glory in this world – that Self, which is of this kind – is seated in the space within the luminous city of Brahman.
It is conditioned by the mind, It is the carrier of the vital forces and the body, It is seated in food by placing the intellect (in the cavity of the heart). Through their knowledge, the discriminating people realize that Self as existing in Its fullness everywhere – the Self that shines surpassingly as blissfulness and immortality.
II-ii- 8: When that Self, which is both the high and the low, is realized, the knot of the heart gets united, all doubts become solved, and all one’s actions become dissipated.
II-ii-9: In the supreme, bright sheath is Brahman, free from taints and without parts. It is pure, and is the Light of lights. It is that which the knowers of the Self realize.
II-ii-10: There the sun does not shine, nor the moon or the stars; nor do these flashes of lightning shine there. How can this fire do so ? Everything shines according as He does so; by His light all this shines diversely.
II-ii-11: All this that is in front is but Brahman, the immortal. Brahman is at the back, as also on the right and the left. It is extended above and below, too. This world is nothing but Brahman, the highest.
III-i- 1: Two birds that are ever associated and have similar names, cling to the same tree. Of these, one eats the fruit of divergent tastes, and the other looks on without eating.
III-i- 2: On the same tree, the individual soul remains drowned (i.e. stuck), as it were; and so it moans, being worried by its impotence. When it sees thus the other, the adored Lord, and His glory, then it becomes liberated from sorrow.
III-i- 3: When the seer sees the Purusha – the golden-hued, creator, lord, and the source of the inferior Brahman – then the illumined one completely shakes off both merit and demerit, becomes taintless, and attains absolute equality.
III-i- 4: This one is verily the Vital Force which shines divergently through all beings. Knowing this, the illumined man has no (further) occasion to go beyond anything in his talk. He disports in the Self, delights in the Self, and is engrossed in (spiritual) effort. This one is the chief among the knowers of Brahman.
III-i- 5: The bright and pure Self within the body, that the monks with (habitual effort and) attenuated blemishes see, is attainable verily through truth, concentration, complete knowledge, and continence, practised constantly.
III-i- 6: Truth alone wins, and not untruth. By truth is laid the path called Devayana, by which the desireless seers ascend to where exists the supreme treasure attainable through truth.
III-i- 7: It is great and self-effulgent; and Its form is unthinkable. It is subtler than the subtle. It shines diversely. It is farther away than the far-off, and It is near at hand in this body. Among sentient beings It is (perceived as) seated in this very body, in the cavity of the heart.
III-i- 8: It is not comprehended through the eye, nor through speech, nor through the other senses; nor is It attained through austerity or karma. Since one becomes purified in mind through the favourableness of the intellect, therefore can one see that indivisible Self through meditation.
III-i- 9: Within (the heart in) the body, where the vital force has entered in five forms, is this subtle Self to be realized through that intelligence by which is pervaded the entire mind as well as the motor and sensory organs of all creatures. And It is to be known in the mind, which having become purified, this Self reveals Itself distinctly.
III-i-10: The man of pure mind wins those worlds which he mentally wishes for and those enjoyable things which he covets. Therefore one, desirous of prosperity, should adore the knower of the Self.
III-ii- 1: He knows this supreme abode, this Brahman, in which is placed the Universe and which shines holy. Those wise ones indeed, who having become desireless, worship this (enlightened) person, transcend this human seed.
III-ii- 2: He who covets the desirable things, while brooding (on the virtues), is born amidst those very surroundings along with the desires. But for one who has got his wishes fulfilled and who is Self-poised, all the longings vanish even here.
III-ii- 3: This Self is not attained through study, nor through the intellect, nor through much hearing. The very Self which this one (i.e. the aspirant) seeks is attainable through that fact of seeking; this Self of his reveals Its own nature.
III-ii- 4: This Self is not attained by one devoid of strength, nor through delusion, nor through knowledge unassociated with monasticism. But the Self of that knower, who strives through these means, enters into the abode that is Brahman.
III-ii- 5: Having attained this, the seers become contented with their knowledge, established in the Self, freed from attachment, and composed. Having realized the all-pervasive One everywhere, these discriminating people, ever merged in contemplation, enter into the All.
III-ii- 6: Those to whom the entity presented by the Vedantic knowledge has become fully ascertained, who are assiduous and have become pure in mind through the Yoga of monasticism – all of them, at the supreme moment of final departure, become identified with the supreme Immortality in the worlds that are Brahman, and they become freed on every side.
III-ii- 7: To their sources repair the fifteen constituents (of the body) and to their respective gods go all the gods (of the senses). The karmas and the soul appearing like the intellect, all become unified with the supreme Undecaying.
III-ii- 8: As rivers, flowing down, become indistinguishable on reaching the sea by giving up their names and forms, so also the illumined soul, having become freed from name and form, reaches the self-effulgent Purusha that is higher than the higher (Maya).
III-ii- 9: Anyone who knows that supreme Brahman becomes Brahman indeed. In his line is not born anyone who does not know Brahman. He overcomes grief, and rises above aberrations; and becoming freed from the knots of the heart, he attains immortality.
III-ii-10: This (rule) has been revealed by the mantra (which runs thus): ‘To them alone should one expound this knowledge of b who are engaged in the practice of disciplines, versed in the Vedas, and indeed devoted to Brahman, who personally sacrifice to the fire called Ekarsi with faith, and by whom has been duly accomplished the vow of holding fire on the head.’
III-ii-11: The seer Angiras spoke of this Truth in the days of yore. One that has not fulfilled the vow does not read this. Salutation to the great seers. Salutation to the great seers.
Om ! O gods, may we hear auspicious words with the ears; While engaged in sacrifices,
May we see auspicious things with the eyes; While praising the gods with steady limbs,
May we enjoy a life that is beneficial to the gods. May Indra of ancient fame be auspicious to us;
May the supremely rich (or all-knowing) Pusa (god of the earth) Be propitious to us;
May Garuda, the destroyer of evil, Be well disposed towards us;
May Brihaspati ensure our welfare. Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Mundakopanishad, included in the Atharva-Veda.
Mundaka Upanishad Commentary
Commentary on the Mundaka Upanishad–by Swami Nirmalananda Giri
Knowing the ALL
It is an interesting trait of the Western mind that it wants encapsulations of things, lists of “essentials,” advice on “shortcuts,” and “what is the one thing?…” in every department of life and thought. Whether this is a desire for efficiency or a form of intellectual minimalism or outright laziness is hard to say–chances are it varies from person to person. Nevertheless, “getting to the heart of the matter” is something dear to the heart of Americans, especially. They are not alone in this attitude. The upanishads reflect the same mentality. Perhaps that is why Vivekananda considered the West, and America particularly, as being more suited to the teachings of Vedanta–the upanishads–than the contemporary East.
In the first section of the Mundaka Upanishad we find the highest expression of this attitude:
“Out of the infinite ocean of existence arose Brahma, first-born and foremost among the gods. From him sprang the universe, and he became its protector. The knowledge of Brahman, the foundation of all knowledge, he revealed to his first-born son, Atharva.” (Mundaka Upanishad 1:1:1)
A pre-creation story
According to Indian texts, at the beginning of the present creation cycle Brahma, that person who was destined to be the creator/projector of the three worlds, awoke to find himself in infinite, empty space. At first he felt fear, but then he laughed at his foolishness, for there was no one there but him. Who would he fear? Then he pondered his situation, attempting to comprehend it. At one point a great voice resounded all around him, saying a single word: “Tapa”–meaning “do tapasya.” This awakened Brahma’s memory of yoga meditation, so he began to mediate. After some time he attained full memory of his past as well as the knowledge of how to create the worlds–which he did. He also became established in direct perception of Brahman.
Among his “children” brought forth through his meditation, was Atharva, to whom he taught the way to realize Brahman. “In turn Atharva taught this same knowledge of Brahman to Angi. Angi, again, taught it to Satyabaha, who revealed it to Angiras.” (Mundaka Upanishad 1:1:2)
The essence of knowledge
To Angiras came upon a time Sounaka, the famous householder, and asked respectfully: “Holy sir, what is that by which all else is known?” (Mundaka Upanishad 1:1:3)
We have already been told that the knowledge of Brahman, Brahmavidya, is the foundation of all
knowledge. But Sounaka has a very salutary impatience and ambition. He wants to know what is the one thing which, being known, causes all to be known. This is both a wise quest and a wise attitude. Little Red Riding Hood ended up in the wolf’s stomach because she dawdled on the way instead of going straight to her destination. If we look at the history of religions we will find that the countries which produce the most enlightened persons are those countries which have produced empires. For when such people turn to spiritual life they go after the loftiest spiritual attainments–they become imperialists of the spirit! They seek out the most direct way…and go there. Sounaka is one of them–and hopefully so are we. Knowledge is the subject of the question, so Angiras lays a foundation for his answer.
“Those who know Brahman,” replied Angiras, “say that there are two kinds of knowledge, the higher and the lower.
“The lower is knowledge of the Vedas (the Rik, the Sama, the Yajur, and the Atharva), and also of phonetics, ceremonials, grammar, etymology, metre, and astronomy. The higher is knowledge of that by which one knows the changeless reality.” (Mundaka Upanishad 1:1:4-5)
Analysis of knowledge
Now we should look at this very carefully. First of all, who do we believe? When I first emerged from the deadly cocoon of fundamentalist Protestantism my intellectual world was quite simple–simplistic, actually. Fortunately I first read the Bhagavad Gita and then Autobiography of a Yogi. The next step was to get out of my deadly environment, so within a few months I was on the plane to California and wider horizons.
But I discovered in a short time that wider horizons can have a drawback. I began encountering just about every shade of philosophical and religious thought and attitude, most of them incompatible with each other. Almost daily I was told conflicting things, and always with the utmost confidence. As someone once said: “The problem with ignorance is that it picks up confidence as it goes along.” I loved being in the wide-open mental spaces of California (and I still do), but which way should I go? Who could–or should–I trust? Since I had been shaken out of my spiritual entombment by learning of the yoga tradition I wisely followed the principle that only those who know God really know anything. So I sought out the teachings of illumined yogis of past and present, discarding those inauspicious Indian teachers who claimed to have a new revelation for a new age, and only paying attention to those who were right in the center of the Eternal Dharma. (Once somebody asked me what a great yogi’s “distinctive teachings” were. “None!” I replied with satisfaction. “If he taught anything ‘new” I would have nothing to do with him. Truth is eternal.”) I appreciated it if the English was good (and equally if the book was free from typos), and expressed in a way that someone in the twentieth century like myself could comprehend, but I wanted to know what all the great yogis throughout history knew: the tried and proven way to God.
My great blessing was being able to trek many times to the Vedanta Bookshop in Hollywood. There I found an abundance of eternal wisdom, the same wisdom that had been flowing in a life-giving stream for countless ages–like the holy Ganga. The Ganga that emerges at Gangotri high in the Himalayas is the same Ganga that flows into the ocean at Gangasagar. In the same way I found on the shelves of that little shop the same Sanatana Dharma spoken by the primeval sages of India. A little further east in Hollywood at the Self-Realization Fellowship I listened every Sunday to an ideal presentation of both the philosophy and spiritual practice of Eternal India. All this prepared me for India where, as a friend of ours once said about the same pilgrimage, “I got the idea.” And have treasured it ever since.
So those who know Brahman “say that there are two kinds of knowledge, the higher and the lower.”
The lower, they say, is the knowledge of scriptures, ritual, philosophic, expression and suchlike–including, by the way, astrology. Please note that they do not denounce these things as useless or as ignorance. They are definitely said to be knowledge, and a sensible person appreciates and learns them to a reasonable and practical degree. But it must be understood that the essential, “the higher is knowledge of that by which one knows the changeless reality”–Brahman. The knowledge which enables us to Know is to be sought for and prized above all else. While writing this previous sentence I could clearly hear in memory the recorded voice of Yogananda saying: “I walked my feet off from Cape Cormorin to the Himalayas” in search of the knowledge that would reveal God to him.
The lesser knowledge tells us only of that which changes, including our own short physical life. But the higher knowledge brings us to the Changeless Reality. “By this is fully revealed to the wise that which transcends the senses, which is uncaused, which is indefinable, which has neither eyes nor ears, neither hands nor feet, which is all-pervading, subtler than the subtlest–the everlasting, the source of all.” (Mundaka Upanishad 1:1:6) The Absolute Consciousness, the Totality of Being, is shown to the wise–to the yogis–by this knowledge.
And the world?
What about this world in which we find ourselves? Is it to be despised as worthless and antithetical to Brahman, our Goal? Lest we think such a foolish thing Angiras further says: “As the web comes out of the spider and is withdrawn, as plants grow from the soil and hair from the body of man, so springs the universe from the eternal Brahman.” (Mundaka Upanishad 1:1:7)
The world, then, is an extension or emanation of Brahman. In other words, the world IS Brahman. We are living and moving in divinity manifesting as the world. Why, then, do we say that the world is illusory? It is the world in our mind–our perception, our interpretation, of the world–that is an illusion, not the world itself. In Indian texts we continually find the simile of the snake in a rope or a man in tree. That is, in darkness we see a rope lying on the ground and immediately “see” a snake lying there–we see the glitter of its eyes and may even hear it hiss! Yet, when light is brought we see only a rope. The rope was always real, was always there. The snake was an illusion that existed only in our mind. In the same way, walking in the darkness we may see a dead tree and mistake it for a human being, taking its branches for arms. We may even see the “arms” move and think we see a face looking at us. But when we come closer we see it is only a tree–and a dead one, at that. The tree was real, but the man was not. Illusion is always a mental phenomenon, never a real or objective thing. So it is illusion and ignorance we must decry, but never find fault with the world; for the world is Brahman.
In both instances, rope and tree, we may experience great fear. But the moment we see them for what they really are, our fear evaporates and we are at peace. This is how it is with us and this world. Our illusions fill us with terrible fears and anxieties, all of which will be dispelled when we see its actual nature as Brahman. No wonder, then, that Krishna told Arjuna: “Even a little of this dharma delivers you from great fear.” (Bhagavad Gita 2:40)
The chain of causation
The sage now gives us an outline of the process of the emanation of the world from Brahman.
“Brahman willed that it should be so, and brought forth out of himself the material cause of the universe; from this came the primal energy, and from the primal energy mind, from mind the subtle elements, from the subtle elements the many worlds, and from the acts performed by beings in the many worlds the chain of cause and effect–the reward and punishment of works.” (Mundaka Upanishad 1:1:8)
Creation is also spoken of as expansions from Brahman, and that is the mode here. Brahman first expands as primordial matter, than as primordial energy. From this comes the intelligence inherent in creation, then the elements, and the various worlds in which they predominate. The final ingredient, though, comes from the sentient beings within the universe: karma. God supplies the stage and we supply the actions and reactions which unfold upon the stage.
“Brahman sees all, knows all; he is knowledge itself. Of him are born cosmic intelligence, name, form, and the material cause of all created beings and things.” (Mundaka Upanishad 1:1:9) No wonder, then, that in the Gita, that great digest of the upanishads, we find the words: “Brahman is the ritual, Brahman is the offering, Brahman is he who offers to the fire that is Brahman. If a man sees Brahman in every action, He will find Brahman.” (Bhagavad Gita 4:24)
Seeing is freeing.
Delusion and Ignorance
We usually think of delusion and ignorance in terms of “ordinary” life and its situations. Those who are more occupied with “spiritual” matters assume that they are beyond such, but Angiras thinks differently, and so should we.
“Finite and transient are the fruits of sacrificial rites. The deluded, who regard them as the highest good, remain subject to birth and death.” (Mundaka Upanishad 1:2:7. Swami Prabhavananda has omitted verses 1 to 6 of this section as they enumerate various technical aspects of Vedic sacrifices. Verse seven begins the philosophical exposition of the external rites.) Swami Nikhilananda translates a bit more literally: “Frail indeed are those rafts of sacrifices, therefore they are destructible. Fools who rejoice in them as the Highest Good fall victims again and again to old age and death.” “Back they must turn to the mortal pathway, subject still to birth and to dying,” (Bhagavad Gita 9:3) says the Gita on the same subject.
Karma and religion
I think just about everybody puts karma into two lumps: Good Karma and Bad Karma. But that is not very satisfactory. Karma, like all of life, has many nuances and can vary greatly. Some karma, for example, creates more karma, and some actually dissolves karma. For example, Sri Ramakrishna said that all spiritual practices are part of Karma Yoga, but they deliver us from karma. There are material, mental, and spiritual karmas. The material and mental karmas impel us to more of the same, whether good or bad. But spiritual karma enables us to rise above the material and mental planes and free ourselves from karmic bondage.
Angiras wants us to understand that religious karma is not always spiritual. This should not surprise us when we can readily see that most religion is based on material goals. “Stuff” and “happiness” just about sums up the motives of all the religions of the world, including that of modern India. As a result, most religious acts culminate in more mental and psychological involvement, not freedom. In the verses omitted by Swami Prabhavananda it is pointed out that most religion creates karma that takes us to heaven–and then dumps us back on earth when our “merit” is used up. So we end back where we started. What a gyp.
Just because a religious act is either directed toward God or offered to God does not mean it will ultimately lead to God. Usually it leads us away from God into the labyrinth of relative existence in some form or other. Since most people have been cultivating a taste for earthly things through life after life, this suits them. But it should gall us, and we should refuse the pursuit and get off the merry-go-
round.
Great suffering
So there are aspects of religion we should avoid adamantly. Otherwise: “Living in the abyss of ignorance, yet wise in their own conceit, the deluded go round and round, like the blind led by the blind.” (Mundaka Upanishad 1:2:8) “They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch,” (Matthew 15:14) said Jesus, surely having this verse in mind.
Swami Gambhirananda’s translation points out a sad aspect of all this: “Remaining within the fold of ignorance, and thinking, ‘We are ourselves wise and learned,’ the fools, while being buffeted very much, ramble about like the blind led by the blind alone.” Buffeted very much. (“Being afflicted by many ills” is the translation of Swami Nikhilananda.) How true. Promising others the cessation of all troubles and sorrows, these religious mountebanks are more afflicted than ordinary people. Whether this is from the negative karma accruing from their dishonesty or a manifestation of their own inner diseases, the result is the same. “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption,” (II Peter 2:19) as Saint Peter put it.
You have better ways to spend your time, so I will not recount to you the observations of over sixty years in which I have seen such hucksters and their dupes literally undergoing “the sufferings of the damned.” And all the while they denounce those taking another path as “deluded” and “of the devil.” Well, as Jesus said: “They have their reward.” (Matthew 6:2, 5, 16) And they must like it, for they certainly cling to it.
Such is the grave danger of externalized religion.
Great delusion
As I say, they love and cling to their miserable condition. As the upanishad continues: “Living in the abyss of ignorance, the deluded think themselves blest. Attached to works, they know not God. Works lead them only to heaven, whence, to their sorrow, their rewards quickly exhausted, they are flung back to earth.” (Mundaka Upanishad 1:2:9)
Then the heart of the matter is revealed in the next verse: “Considering religion to be observance of rituals and performance of acts of charity, the deluded remain ignorant of the highest good. Having enjoyed in heaven the reward of their good works, they enter again into the world of mortals.” (Mundaka Upanishad 1:2:10)
Rituals of worship and good deeds certainly produce good karma, but that is not the force that lifts us above samsara, the ever-turning wheel of birth and death. If our religion consists only of outer observances it will condition our consciousness even more to identify with the material level of existence. And that identification will be a round-trip ticket for our return to another birth after another death!
Even helping others is spiritually valueless if it is not done with a wider, spiritual perspective. One of the hallmarks of today’s ineffectual religion is its obsessive involvement in social action and reform. When we look at the lives of saints we see they were the most generous of people, even sacrificing themselves for others. But they did these things not as their religion, but as an expression of their love for God and His children–which is the true religion.
We must not “remain ignorant of the highest good,” but must seek that Highest Good within through meditation and the cultivation of spiritual consciousness even outside meditation. Unless we do this we
will find ourselves shuttled right back to earth on completion of our good “heaven karma.”
Wisdom and Truth
The wise
No one likes to be thought stupid, and all like to be thought intelligent. Even better is it to be thought wise. Of course, in all ages there have been the fools that preferred to be “cool” or “sharp” or “neat” or such idiotic expressions. The sad thing is that the vast majority want to be thought of as smart or wise, but only a small percentage care whether they really are smart or wise. The upanishad is meant for these latter people, so the sage continues: “But wise, self-controlled, and tranquil souls, who are contented in spirit, and who practice austerity and meditation in solitude and silence, are freed from all impurity, and attain by the path of liberation to the immortal, the truly existing, the changeless Self.” (Mundaka Upanishad 1:2:11)
Let us look at the traits of the wise. They are disciplined, and so are self-controlled. As a result of their discipline they have become peaceful. Intent on spiritual development, giving priority to the spirit, they have become contented–for outside the spirit there is no peace or tranquility. This means that they are harmonious and balanced, as well. They continually engage in those disciplines which purify them, and by being so purified they are capable of becoming adept in meditation. As a result of these qualities they are firmly on the path to liberation, and shall without doubt attain to the Self which is the only truly existing thing, changeless and sure from eternity.
Some adjectives
Now a look at some Sanskrit terms will be helpful to us.
The wise are said to be aranye–living in the forest. At the time of the Gita, many serious sadhakas lived on the outskirts of towns, preferring to live in the wooded areas where neighbors would not be visible, even if somewhat near. This ideal is found twice in the Gita: “Turn all your thought toward solitude, spurning the noise of the crowd, its fruitless commotion.” (Bhagavad Gita 13:10) And: “When a man seeks solitude,…ever engaged in his meditation on Brahman,…that man is ready for oneness with Brahman.” (Bhagavad Gita 18:52, 53) It is not a matter of surrounding vegetation, but the inward withdrawal from outer association that is being praised here. Even in a crowded city we can live in “the forest” of inner solitude. In the thirteenth chapter of Autobiography of a Yogi, the master yogi, Ram Gopal Muzumdar, asked Yogananda: “Are you able to have a little room where you can close the door and be alone?” When he said that he did have such a room, the saint told him: “That is your cave. That is your sacred mountain. That is where you will find the kingdom of God.” Though that is so, still the aspiring yogi should be extremely sparing of social contacts, and then only with those who benefit him spiritually.
The first words of this verse in Sanskrit describe the wise as tapahshraddhe–an interesting fusion of tapasya and shraddha–ascetic discipline and faith–shraddha in this instance meaning aspiration more than faith. Many people engage in spiritual practice for the wrong reasons, but the right one is a confidence in one’s ability to attain self-realization. Tapah literally means to generate heat, so tapahshraddha can also mean heat-generating faith or aspiration, that which heats us up, builds the proverbial fire under us, gets us moving and keeps us moving. Tapasya is the energy generator of the wise directed by their assurance that the Goal exists and is within grasp. Tapahshraddha is the radiance (tejas) that fills the proficient yogi. In the Chandogya Upanishad, when a young man returns from a long period of tapasya, his teacher said to him: ““My son, your face shines like one who knows Brahman.” (Chandogya Upanishad4:14:2) This is the effect of tapahshraddha.
The wise are vidvamsah–learned. They not only practice, they study and learn and assimilate what they have learned. There is no place in spiritual life for pious ignorance. Sentimental dummies are not “devotees,” they are fools. And fools do not find God. It is very true that many people get what Yogananda called “intellectual indigestion” from reading loads of theories and trivia. But the wise carefully choose books of spiritual wisdom such as scriptures, lives of holy people, and the writings/teachings of those who possess genuine inner illumination. Such books can never do anything but good. It is especially necessary to read the teachings of realized yogis. (I am not talking about super-gurus, glitter-gurus, and empire-building gurus, but real Masters of the spiritual life.) Naturally, they will have to use their own good sense as to whose words are worthwhile and whose are worthless or even poisonous. They will not have a library of thousands of books, I assure you. But they will have a goodly number of spiritual gems which they will perpetually read and ponder daily. Certainly they will not spend hours a day on reading, but they will allot an appropriate amount of time for it. Fake teachers and cults hate what I have just written, insisting that “loyal” and “in tune” cultists will read nothing but what the cult authorizes, so the dupes will not “get confused.” This only reveals their predatory cruelty. Their “protection” of their “sheep” is nothing less than the “protective custody” of the Nazi death camps. They fear that if their followers become informed as to the real nature of traditional philosophy and yoga they will realize they are being lied to, and will sensibly go elsewhere and find real truth. And that is bad for business.
Now comes an interesting adjective: virajah–beyond (free from) rajas. This may seem odd, but those of you who have been yogis for some years will remember how at the beginning of your “yoga days” you were very rajasic in your approach. First of all, you wanted to tell everyone about it, and you went around accumulating “spiritual stuff” of all kinds. You really began to star in your own spiritual movie, and you made quite an epic. Your motives were perfectly all right, even laudable, but they were rajasic, filled with activity and “passion” for getting on to the Goal. Again, the intentions were good, but the feverishness and externalization was not. For a lot of people, when the rajas fizzles out so does their impetus toward God. Most abandon any form of spiritual life, while others settle down to a comfortable and ineffectual life in some yoga cult that makes them feel secure and one of the “chosen.” But what is needed is for the rajasic heat to mutate into the steady warmth and radiance of sattwa. Then the aspiration and involvement actually increases, but in a fully effectual way, an increasingly interior way. Spiritual life changes over from a compulsion to an intelligent choice. Spiritual restlessness becomes steadiness in spiritual practice and development. God is no longer the brass ring to strain at but an ever-present Reality whose perception keeps on increasing in a naturally supernatural way.
And the result of all this? The upanishad says: “prayanti suryadvarena,” which Shankara says means: “they move superbly [skillfully] along the path of the sun.” That is, they ascend steadily and skillfully to the solar world, the realm of the Self-existent Light that is Brahman.
Getting in Perspective
Many things are needed in life, but none more important than an overview, a perspective on the values of life. This is true for everyone, so the sage now speaks of it in a spiritual context.
“Let a man devoted to spiritual life examine carefully the ephemeral nature of such enjoyment, whether here or hereafter, as may be won by good works, and so realize that it is not by works that one gains the Eternal. Let him give no thought to transient things, but, absorbed in meditation, let him renounce the world. If he would know the Eternal, let him humbly approach a Guru devoted to Brahman and well-versed in the scriptures.” (Mundaka Upanishad 1:2:12)
This needs to be looked at bit by bit.
Let a man devoted to spiritual life examine carefully the ephemeral nature of such enjoyment, whether here or hereafter, as may be won by good works, and so realize that it is not by works that one gains the Eternal. Back in high school I came across an eighteenth-century collection of humor and satire. I have forgotten most of it, but there was one story about a man who fell in love with a woman he often saw at the theater. That was when all lighting came from candles, and in that light she looked stunningly beautiful. He got the courage to ask her if he could visit her at home in the daytime. She agreed, and in the daylight he saw that she was horrible-looking, incredibly old, wore a wig and loads of make-up. He fell out of love instantly! It is the same with this and all other worlds and the enjoyments they offer in return for good karma. It is all deathly illusion. What we need is the light of spiritual day.
Seeing the world clearly is the only lasting antidote for the poison of worldliness. First we approach the matter intellectually. Just the fact of inevitable death should begin to turn us from attachment, and the fact that nothing lasts should seal our disillusionment. Yet, old habits do indeed die hard, and there is no habit as strongly entrenched as attraction to the world and its promises. So discipline is needed.
Let him give no thought to transient things. The wise aspirant must exert his will and refuse to even give a thought to the “good things” offered by the world, “good things” that will melt away in time, and that often prove to be anything but good. Look at those that have worldly success. Misery and confusion is their daily bread, but those who envy them are convinced that they alone have found the way to happiness. We must in contrast refuse to even look at the mirages held out to us by the world and our own habit-deluded mind. How will we cure the mind of its awful addictions? By being…
Absorbed in meditation. For meditation cures the fevers of the mind and heart and dispels the hallucinations produced by illusions and desires. The only way to be absorbed in meditation is to be constantly cultivating interior consciousness even outside of meditation. Our whole life must become a meditation process.
Let him renounce the world. The Sanskrit word nirvedam does not really mean renunciation, though many translators use that term. Actually, nirvedam means being indifferent, not being influenced or moved by something–in this case the world and its ways. It is an inner state, a condition of the mind very akin to the non-arising (nirodha) of mental reactions (vrittih) spoken about in the Yoga Sutras as being the state of yoga. “When your intellect has cleared itself of its delusions, you will become indifferent to the results of all action, present or future.” (Bhagavad Gita 2:52) And consequently you will be indifferent to the actions that produce those results as well as the world-stage on which their dramas are enacted. None of this occurs just for the asking or wishing, so Angiras give us practical advice:
If he would know the Eternal, let him humbly approach a Guru devoted to Brahman and well-versed in the scriptures. The ideal of the upanishads often differs from that of later Indian thought which is not based on wisdom but on whimsy–and often on theatrical effect. Today there is a lot of talk about how valueless a teacher is who only knows the scriptures but has no inner realization, and how wonderful is the illiterate–or one who is ignorant of the scriptures–but who has spiritual knowledge. This is silly.
First of all, a scholar can tell you what the great masters of the spiritual life taught in the scriptures, and you can learn from them just as you would if they were still on earth. You cannot get spirituality from books, it is true, but you can get spiritual instruction that will lead to the acquisition of spirituality. On the other hand, what kind of a person, supposedly intent on gaining spiritual knowledge, will choose to remain ignorant? Consider Sri Ramana Maharshi. He had no interest in academic matters, but after going to Arunachala and attaining realization he became a living library of countless spiritual texts, having read widely in several languages. So the sage tells us that a worthy teacher has a thorough
knowledge of the holy writings and is also Brahmanishtham–established in the experiential knowledge of Brahman.
Such a teacher is rare, but we should accept no lesser teacher. If we find such a one we must learn all we can and then apply it. If we cannot find one, then we should diligently study the words of realized masters and follow them. The Mahayana Buddhists say a very wonderful thing: Whenever someone resolves to seek enlightenment a host of buddhas and bodhisattwas immediately become aware of it and begin blessing and guiding him. Real masters never die, so we can become their disciples no matter how long ago they lived in a physical body. This is especially true of three great Masters who both teach and save even now: Krishna, Buddha, and Jesus. One who sincerely, with right intention, takes refuge in them and prays for guidance will find they respond. Such a one will need to act on what he already knows if he hopes to gain further understanding. And if he is wise he will assiduously avoid all those who claim to be their representatives or intermediaries.
“To a disciple who approaches reverently, who is tranquil and self-controlled, the wise teacher gives that knowledge, faithfully and without stint, by which is known the truly existing, the changeless Self.” (Mundaka Upanishad 1:2:13) By these words we know the qualified student and the qualified teacher. When the two come together the result is Perfect Knowing.
Origin and Return
“The Imperishable is the Real. As sparks innumerable fly upward from a blazing fire, so from the depths of the Imperishable arise all things. To the depths of the Imperishable they in turn descend.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:1:1) This is a spectacular simile–mostly because it happens to be the absolute truth. But a more literal translation brings out some important points Prabhavananda decided to pass over. Here is Swami Nikhilananda’s rendering: “As from a blazing fire, sparks essentially akin to it fly forth by the thousand, so also, my good friend, do various beings come forth from the imperishable Brahman and unto Him again return.” Swami Gambhirananda, the saintly President of Ramakrishna Mission, translated it this way: “As from a fire, fully ablaze, fly off sparks, in their thousands, that are akin to the fire, similarly from the Immutable originate different kinds of creatures and into It again they merge.”
Three prime truths
There are three points being made here that are the bedrock of upanishadic philosophy. First, all beings that exist–past, present, future–are of the same nature, even the same substance, as Brahman. Second, all forms (modes of existence), though ever-changing, proceed from the Unchanging, Unchangeable.
This seeming contradiction is made possible by the illusory power of Maya. That is, the changing forms are illusory while the essential being, the Self/Atman is unchanging. Third, having come from Brahman they shall all, without exception return to Brahman. When life is viewed this way we can understand its nature and purpose, and live accordingly. For the upanishads are not interested in giving us empty theory without a practical application.
Some traits of the Source
“Self-luminous is that Being, and formless. He dwells within all and without all. He is unborn, pure, greater than the greatest, without breath, without mind.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:1:2) Pervading all, both Brahman and the Atman are yet untouched by any forms in which they dwell, knowing themselves through themselves–self-luminous. Both the internal and the external are permeated with the presence of Conscious Spirit. Although the forms floating on the surface of the Ocean of Being are born, conditioned, endowed with mind and senses, and compelled to “live” as a consequence of the sowing
and reaping of karma in previous lives, in reality none of this takes place in an absolute, objective sense. Rather, it is the power of Maya that produces these appearances. As the Gita says: “Helpless all, for Maya is their master….” (Bhagavad Gita 9:8) Yet, the sage is telling us in this upanishad that, almighty as Maya seems to be, Spirit is “greater than the greatest.” When we are sunk in delusion, then Maya seems the most powerful, but when we transfer our conscious into spirit, then we find that the Self is always the master of Maya, on the universal and the individual levels.
Again, Brahman is the Source: “From him are born breath, mind, the organs of sense, ether, air, fire, water, and the earth, and he binds all these together.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:1:3) God’s “creation” is never separated from Him for an instant. By His indwelling presence He maintains and unifies them. All that exists is held in the Mind of God, for they are His thoughts made visible or tangible.
“Heaven is his head, the sun and moon his eyes, the four quarters his ears, the revealed scriptures his voice, the air his breath, the universe his heart. From his feet came the earth. He is the innermost Self of all.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:1:4) The universe is not really God’s creation, it is His manifestation–His “incarnation.” And he remains its Inner Controller (Antaryamin).
“From him arises the sun-illumined sky, from the sky the rain, from the rain food, and from food the seed in man which he gives to woman. Thus do all creatures descend from him.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:1:5) Though this differs from her style of expression, it reminds me of great wisdom spoken by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science. She said that in reality we all come from God, but we ignore the fact. We say: “Everybody in my family gets…” and then name some disease or negative condition. We think it is “genetics” that must manifest. But our real genes are Divine Qualities. Why do we not believe they will manifest in us? Our father and mother were adult human beings, and we became the same. The ultimate Father/Mother is God, so why do we neglect the development of Divine Consciousness? Divinity is our only true nature.
“From him are born hymns, devotional chants, scriptures, rites, sacrifices, oblations, divisions of time, the doer and the deed, and all the worlds lighted by the sun and purified by the moon.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:1:6) You cannot get more complete than that!
“From him are born gods of diverse descent. From him are born angels, men, beasts, birds; from him vitality, and food to sustain it; from him austerity and meditation, faith, truth, continence, and law.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:1:7) It is this last part that is of special meaning for us. We are told that austerity (tapasya), meditation, faith, truth, continence, and law arise from God. They are the presence of God manifesting in our life and through us to the world. Who, then, can be more beneficial to the world than a yogi? The word vidhi, translated “law,” means both instruction and method. There is an innate order in the universe which each of us should embody. It is not learned intellectually but is intuited by the yogi. The yogi will then order his life accordingly–methodically. Of course the supreme method is the method of meditation itself.
“From him spring the organs, of sense, their activities, and their objects, together with their awareness of these objects. All these things, parts of man’s nature, spring from him.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:1:8) This explains how human beings are “made in the image of God.”
“In him the seas and the mountains have their source; from him spring the rivers, and from him the herbs and other life-sustaining elements, by the aid of which the subtle body of man subsists in the physical body.
“Thus Brahman is all in all. He is action, knowledge, goodness supreme. To know him, hidden in the lotus of the heart, is to untie the knot of ignorance.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:1:9, 10)
Knowing God
About God
Further description of Brahman is now to be given along with instructions on how to know Brahman. The upanishad is so clear, and the concepts have been referred to before, so some verses hardly need more than a sentence of comment.
“Self-luminous is Brahman, ever present in the hearts of all. He is the refuge of all, he is the supreme goal. In him exists all that moves and breathes. In him exists all that is. He is both that which is gross and that which is subtle. Adorable is he. Beyond the ken of the senses is he. Supreme is he. Attain thou him!” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:2:1) The last part is the most important. What value is it to know about God if we do not go to God? Saint Silouan of Athos used to say that theology is the false mysticism of the ego, for people become satisfied, or even fascinated, with philosophical concepts that are nothing but bare words. Rare are those who want to experience the things they believe. In many instances it may be that people intuit the untruth of their religious beliefs and subconsciously know that they cannot be experienced. But it is sad to see those that have come to understand the concepts of karma, reincarnation, and evolution of consciousness still dawdling along with the theorists instead of getting on to the Goal.
“He, the self-luminous, subtler than the subtlest, in whom exist all the worlds and all those that live therein–he is the imperishable Brahman. He is the principle of life. He is speech, and he is mind. He is real. He is immortal. Attain him, O my friend, the one goal to be attained!” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:2:2) Not only must we attain God, we must understand while striving that He is the only goal to be attained–for everything else is antithetical to our eternal nature.
The means to reach God
Having hopefully convinced us of the value of seeking God (!) the sage is going to tell us how to find God by telling us the actual means: “Affix to the Upanishad, the bow incomparable, the sharp arrow of devotional worship; then, with mind absorbed and heart melted in love, draw the arrow and hit the mark–the imperishable Brahman. OM is the bow, the arrow is the individual being, and Brahman is the target. With a tranquil heart, take aim. Lose thyself in him, even as the arrow is lost in the target.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:2:3, 4)
Here is Swami Gambhirananda’s more literal version: “Taking hold of the bow, that is the Great Weapon familiar in the Upanishads, one should fix on it an arrow, sharpened with meditation. Drawing the string with a mind absorbed in Its thought, hit that very target that is the Immutable. Om is the bow; the soul [atma] is the arrow; and Brahman is called its target. It is to be hit by an unerring man. One should become one with It just like an arrow.” This is really a description of meditation, so each point is significant.
Taking hold of the bow (Om is the bow). Right away we are being given a most valuable instruction in meditation. We “take hold” of Om by intoning It within. Our practice must not be passive, but calmly active–we are always to be in charge by taking hold of Om and applying it in meditation through the generation of subtle sound. (See Om Yoga, Its Theory and Practice.) The active character of Om is indicated by Its being called a bow, for a bow impels the arrow to its target. It is a matter of strength, of power. In the Rig Veda we find the Gayatri Mantra, a great prayer for enlightenment: “We meditate on the Spiritual Effulgence of that Supreme Divine Reality. May That impel us toward It.” Om is the force that impels us toward Divinity.
That is the Great Weapon familiar in the Upanishads. Om is not just a weapon among many, It is the Great Weapon for conquering ignorance that is referred to throughout the Upanishads. This is not a matter of opinion or discussion. In the eleven basic upanishads, the Gita, and the Yoga Sutras the only mantra recommended is Om, and the only meditation set forth is the meditation on Om. An honest perusal of these texts will reveal that this is neither an exaggeration nor a wishful interpretation.
Although the wisdom of these sacred texts has been almost totally ignored for past centuries, their truth is not to be denied by any who ascribe to Sanatana Dharma. It is departing from the upanishadic philosophy that has resulted in the confused mess of contemporary Hinduism, the worst of it aspects being the treacherous and destructive idolatry of Gurudom. Because of this aberration people have accepted a myriad substitutes for the upanishadic truth on the basis of “guru bhakti” and “faith in the guru.” The resulting confusion is obvious to those not drowning in it themselves.
One should fix on it an arrow, sharpened with meditation (the Self is the arrow). Our very Self, our very consciousness, is to be united with Om in calm and whole-hearted attention. This can only be done by being “purified by constant meditation” according to Shankara’s commentary. So meditation is itself the way to become proficient in meditation. The simple fact that we are meditating is assurance that we shall become more and more proficient in it. When that proficiency is gained, then we will easily unite our consciousness with Om.
Drawing the string with a mind absorbed in Its thought. Through constant meditation we develop the ability to fill our awareness with the inner intonations of Om which act like the string of a bow to the mind that is fixed on It.
Hit that very target that is the Immutable (Brahman). We do not start out small and work up to bigger things. From the first we aim at Brahman. By means of this determination Brahman alone will be realized by us without wandering into the psychic byways that can confuse and delude the wandering meditator who does not know the method of the upanishads.
It is to be hit by an unerring man. The idea here is that the one who can successfully “hit” the target of Brahman is one who has no distractions or waverings, whose mind remains firmly established in the japa and meditation of Om. There is a kind of parable about this in the Mahabharata. In Yoga As A Universal Science, Swami Krishnananda tells it this way:
“Those who are familiar with the Mahabharata know the story of the tournament arranged by Acharya Drona for the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The test of concentration which Dronacharya arranged for those boys was like this. There was a tree with many branches. In one fine twig, he hung a wooden bird. The eye of the bird was looking like a black spot, and that eye was to be shot by the arrow. So he asked the boys: ‘Concentrate yourself on the eye of that bird and hit it. Look! What do you see?’ ‘Well,’ one said, ‘well, I see a bird sitting on the tree.’ Dronacharya said, ‘You are unfit. You are not able to concentrate.’ Then he asked another, ‘What do you see?’ ‘I see the bird sitting on the branch.’ ‘No, you are not able to concentrate.’ Then he asked Yudhishthira, ‘What do you see?’ ‘I see only the eye.’ ‘No. No good,’ he said. He asked Arjuna. Arjuna said, ‘I see only the black spot. I see nothing else.’ ‘Yes, you are the man’ said Dronacharya, ‘Hit it!’ Arjuna’s concentration was so intense that he could see only the black spot. He could not see even the eye of the bird there, let alone the bird and the tree and the people around. That was Arjuna.” And that must be us. It may take time, but it nonetheless must come about.
One should become one with It just like an arrow. The arrow embeds itself in the target and becomes one with it. This is not an occasional ascent to higher awareness, but a permanent establishment in the Being of Brahman. It is meditation on Om that can accomplish this.
What we will perceive in that union
As a result of our meditation we shall directly perceive: “In him are woven heaven, earth, and sky, together with the mind and all the senses. Know him, the Self alone. Give up vain talk. He is the bridge of immortality.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:2:5) This verse actually refers to Om, and literally says: “On that [Om] are strung heaven, earth, space, the mind and all the senses. It alone is the sole support of all. Having known the Self [through Om] discard other speech [or mantras] and their results. For this [Om] is the bridge to immortality.” That is a bit different! Om is the all-encompassing Reality from which all things have come. It alone leads us back to Immortality. Om should be our continual–and in meditation our only–thought insofar as it is possible and practical.
Where we find God
“Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!” (Job 23:3 ) lamented the Biblical Job. If he had access to the upanishads as we do, he would have found the answer in the next verse:
“Within the lotus of the heart he dwells, where, like the spokes of a wheel in its hub, the nerves meet. Meditate on him as OM. Easily mayest thou cross the sea of darkness.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:2:6) Gambhirananda: “With that [hub] in which are fixed the nerves [nadis] like the spokes on the hub of a chariot wheel, moves this aforesaid Self by becoming multiformed. Meditate on the Self thus with the help of Om. My you be free from hindrances in going to the other shore beyond darkness.”
At the core of all our manifest existence there moves the immortal Spirit-self which has assumed all the forms and aspects we call “us.” Although these numberless veils hide the Self from our present vision, we can meditate on it by the means of Om. This will remove all obstacles and carry us safely over the heaving waves of samsara into the harbor of Spirit. As Patanjali says regarding Om: “Its constant repetition and meditation is the way. From it result the disappearance of obstacles and the turning inward of consciousness.” The same thing is said in the Varaha and Yoga Tattwa (B) Upanishads.
More about the heart
When the upanishads speak of the “heart” they do not mean the physical organ that pumps blood, but the center of our being where the Self ever dwells. The sage now speaks more about this spiritual heart.
“This Self, who understands all, who knows all, and whose glory is manifest in the universe, lives within the lotus of the heart, the bright throne of Brahman. By the pure in heart is he known. The Self exists in man, within the lotus of the heart, and is the master of his life and of his body. With mind illumined by the power of meditation, the wise know him, the blissful, the immortal.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:2:7) There is a great deal to learn from this verse.
Since the Self understands and knows all, to be truly knowledgous and wise all we need do is shift our awareness into our own Self.
Although the Self should not be identified with external things such as our body or the world, nevertheless, the glory of our Self–including the Supreme Self–is manifested in our own private universe and the greater universe as well. We can come to perceive spiritual realities hidden within the material illusions.
The Self abides in the core of our being–not in the physical heart. According to the great yogis, we can speak of the thousand-petalled lotus of the brain as our spiritual “heart,” especially the very core of the brain, the cave-like area within which the pineal gland is located. This is sometimes called the
Chidakasha, the Space of Consciousness. Both God and the individual Self dwell there. In the Sanskrit text there is the expression Brahmapuri–the City of God–used for this spiritual heart. It further says that God and the Self are known by centering our awareness in this heart.
It is meditation which illumines the mind and enables us to see and know this blissful, immortal Self all around us, in everything. This is living!
“The knot of the heart, which is ignorance, is loosed, all doubts are dissolved, all evil effects of deeds are destroyed, when he who is both personal and impersonal is realized.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:2:8) When we enter into the consciousness of our individual spirit and the Infinite Spirit, the blinding veil of ignorance will dissolve away along with all the bonds of karma.
“In the effulgent lotus of the heart dwells Brahman, who is passionless and indivisible. He is pure, he is the light of lights. Him the knowers of the Self attain.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:2:9) What greater goal can we have than this?
The Light of lights
In summation of this section, the sage says:
“Him the sun does not illumine, nor the moon, nor the stars, nor the lightning–nor, verily, fires kindled upon the earth. He is the one light that gives light to all. He shining, everything shines.
“This immortal Brahman is before, this immortal Brahman is behind, this immortal Brahman extends to the right and to the left, above and below. Verily, all is Brahman, and Brahman is supreme.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2:2:10, 11)
These thrilling words need no comment–only response.
The Two Selves
Cross-eyed people see a single object as two. In the same way the ignorant see the One as many. Yet, there is a perverse spiritual cross-eyedness which works just the opposite, making its victims see two as one. This is the disease of half-baked Vedanta that is merely conceptual and not based on the experience that only yoga imparts. There is no such thing as a genuine Vedantist who is not first and foremost a Yogi. Anyway, the upanishad is now going to give us the right understanding of the Paramatman and the jivatman–the Supreme Self and the individual Self–their unity and their distinction, and their relationship with each other. Here, too, only the yogi will really understand what is being said.
“Like two birds of golden plumage, inseparable companions, the individual self and the immortal Self are perched on the branches of the selfsame tree. The former tastes of the sweet and bitter fruits of the tree; the latter, tasting of neither, calmly observes.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:1:1) This is a case where the Sanskrit original gives very precise information which is necessary for us to carefully peruse.
Otherwise we will miss some remarkable truths.
Three qualities
This verse gives us three words in relation to the two “birds”–the two Selves: suparna, sayuja, and sakhaya. Suparna means intimately related, the idea being that the individual Self and the Cosmic Self exist in an eternal relation. Sayuja means being in a state of union–perpetual union, as Shankara points out in his commentary. A secondary meaning of sayuja is being in the same place–that the two Selves
are inseparable, are ever present to one another. According to Shankara, the third expression, sakhaya, means that the two Selves have the identical name or designation, and exists in an identical manner.
The upanishads say that Om is the name or designator of them both and that they possess the same qualities–one in an absolute degree and the other in a limited degree. Sakhaya also means companionship and friendship, indicating the deep personal relation between the jivatman and Paramatman.
The “selfsame tree” is the body–and by extension, the cosmos. The form of every sentient being has two indwellers–the two Selves. However, they do not have the same experience of the tree. The individual, the jiva, “tastes” the fruit of the tree in the form of the inner and outer senses, and according to the quality of that experience is made happy, unhappy, contented, discontented–and so forth. The individual “undergoes” experience. The Supreme Self, on the other hand, “tasting of neither [sweet or bitter experiences], calmly observes.” God experiences being in all forms and is aware of all that the individual spirit experiences, yet, as a more literal translation says, He “looks on without eating”–without being affected or conditioned by it. But he does know exactly the effect and conditioning that accrues to the individual Self. He is experiencing right along with us, but unlike us is not pulled into a mistaken identity with the body-mind and its experiences.
The problem and the solution
On the other hand: “The individual self, deluded by forgetfulness of his identity with the divine Self, bewildered by his ego, grieves and is sad. But when he recognizes the worshipful Lord as his own true Self, and beholds his glory, he grieves no more.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:1:2) This is quite interpretive, though correctly so. The literal translation of Swami Gambhirananda is: “On the same tree, the individual soul remains drowned, as it were; and so it moans, being worried by its impotence. When it sees thus the other, the adored Lord, and His glory, then it becomes liberated from sorrow.” We are drowned, submerged, in the deadly ocean of samsara, of continual birth, death, unsurety, pain, and confusion. Shankara points out that the individual is overwhelmed with confusion because it cannot understand what is really happening to it, and why. Just like a piece of driftwood on the heaving sea, it is lifted up and down, thrown onto the shore and then pulled out to sea again. So it grieves at its helplessness and hopelessness.
All is changed, though, when the individual sees, right in the core of its being, the very God it has been hitherto worshipping as separate from itself. Experiencing within its own being the presence and the glory of God–and thereby realizing that glory as his own–the individual becomes liberated from sorrow.
The sage elaborates on this, continuing: “When the seer beholds the Effulgent One, the Lord, the Supreme Being, then, transcending both good and evil, and freed from impurities, he unites himself with him.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:1:3) More literally: “When the seer sees the Purusha–self-effulgent, creator, lord, and source of all [relative existence]–then the illumined one completely shakes off both virtue and vice, becomes taintless, and attains absolute equality [non-duality]. That is, the jiva recognizes that Shiva–the Absolute–is its true nature. Then, no longer bound by “do” and “don’t,” it is able to act according to its essential being. Not that morality will be abandoned, but that there will be no more need to think it “should” or “should” not do something. Rather, it will do the right and the perfect spontaneously, naturally, as a consequence of its rediscovered divinity. For it will be free from all bonds or compulsions whatever. This is because in the divine vision it has become free from all defects or blemish.
But most important is the trait that is listed last: paramam samyam, supreme sameness, literally, but the
meaning is absolute unity–and therefore absolute identify–with the Absolute Itself.
Since the two are really one, the upanishad continues describing both the individual and the infinite Selves, as they partake of one another’s traits. “The Lord is the one life shining forth from every creature. Seeing him present in all, the wise man is humble, puts not himself forward. His delight is in the Self, his joy is in the Self, he serves the Lord in all. Such as he, indeed, are the true knowers of Brahman.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:1:4)
How to do it
Anyone who ponders these astounding words with intelligence will be eager to attain Brahman, so the sage tells how that is done.
“This Effulgent Self is to be realized within the lotus of the heart by continence, by steadfastness in truth, by meditation, and by superconscious vision. Their impurities washed away, the seers realize him.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:1:5) This is quite clear, but some precise terms should be considered to put a fine point on the message of this verse. Swami Gambhirananda renders it: “The bright and pure Self within the body, that the monks with attenuated blemishes see, is attainable through truth, concentration, complete knowledge, and continence, practiced constantly.”
The Self within the body. The Self is within the body, therefore it is absurd to disdain the body, and even more absurd to engage in a meditation practice that ignores the body and the necessity for its purification and spiritual empowerment. Just forgetting about the material side of things and flying off into pure spirit is an appealing idea–the problem is, it is mistaken and can never work. However long or short a journey, it always begins right from the point where we are. And at this point we are not only in the body, we are tied into it by a multitude of bonds, bonds that must be dissolved. Our yoga practice must cover this situation.
The prime implication, though, is that since the Self is right here in the body It is not far away. We need not even seek It–just see It.
The monks. The word rather poorly translated as “monk” is yati, which actually means a wanderer. This is because in the ancient times in India the wandering ascetics who moved about teaching dharma were given this title. They were not monks or sannyasis in the later sense. Obviously they were not married, as their mode of life prevented that, and their life was dedicated to spiritual discipline and teaching.
Nevertheless, they were not considered outside society as the sadhu is today in India. They were simply those who sacrificed personal life to serve others. It was a noble way of life, but not a separation. The original Christian ascetics were just the same. They wore ordinary clothes and were considered Christian laity. The only distinctive thing about them was their way of life. The men usually lived on the edge of towns, usually as hermits. The women lived together in houses within the town for mutual protection. In the eyes of everyone they were pious bachelors and spinsters, not at all distinct from other Christians in an official sense.
All right, that is the historical background, but what is the meaning for us today? No matter where we might live, or how, we must all be “wanderers” in the spirit, aware with both Saint Paul and Saint Peter that we are “strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” (Hebrews 11:13; I Peter 2:11.) Jesus told someone: “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20) This is actually the truth about every single sentient being on the earth: there is no place where we can come to rest and be at home, for our nature is Spirit and our home is Infinity.
So the yatis spoken of here are those who have become rootless in relation to this world. Or more to the
point, those who have recognized that they have no roots in the world, only in God. (“The world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Galatians 6:14) And so in their hearts they are always on pilgrimage back to the Source, aware that wherever they may be it is only a temporary accommodation on the long journey home–to Brahman.
Attenuated blemishes. The upanishad has a very informative expression: kshinadoshah–those whose mental defects such as anger, etc., have become significantly lessened. Eventually they will be totally eliminated, but even now such persons are capable of the beginning stages of knowing the Self. This is important, because we tend to think that until we are absolutely perfect we cannot know either God or our Self. This is not so. Just as the sky becomes lightened even before the sun appears above the horizon, so it is with those yogis who earnestly strive for realization. The elementary stages of enlightenment dawn for them.
Complete knowledge. Samyag-jnanena, complete insight into the nature of the Self both intellectually and intuitively, also enables us to begin experiencing the realities of the Self. Of course this cannot occur outside of yoga practice that is disciplined and steady.
Practiced constantly. Some translators think this word nityam–perpetual–refers to continence (brahmacharya), but others think it refers to constant and uninterrupted observance of all the virtues and practices listed in this verse. That is logical, because a break in any of these will set back the sadhaka to a significant degree, and in some cases can destroy the possibility of his continuance in sadhana by turning his mind away from the Real to the unreal. This is, however, particularly true about brahmacharya as is seen over and over. In Autobiography of a Yogi, Yogananda relates this sad but telling incident:
“A year later [after entering the ashram], Kumar set out for a visit to his childhood home. He ignored the quiet disapproval of Sri Yukteswar, who never authoritatively controlled his disciples’ movements. On the boy’s return to Serampore in a few months, a change was unpleasantly apparent. Gone was the stately Kumar with serenely glowing face. Only an undistinguished peasant stood before us, one who had lately acquired a number of evil habits.
“Master summoned me and brokenheartedly discussed the fact that the boy was now unsuited to the monastic hermitage life.
“‘Mukunda, I will leave it to you to instruct Kumar to leave the ashram tomorrow; I can’t do it!’ Tears stood in Sri Yukteswar’s eyes, but he controlled himself quickly. ‘The boy would never have fallen to these depths had he listened to me and not gone away to mix with undesirable companions. He has rejected my protection; the callous world must be his guru still.’” This narrative is particularly ironic, since “Kumar” means a young male virgin.
Now all this is extremely to the point, with no fudging under the guise of diplomacy or moderation. Perhaps that is why the sage then says to us: “Truth alone succeeds, not untruth. By truthfulness the path of felicity is opened up, the path which is taken by the sages, freed from cravings, and which leads them to truth’s eternal abode.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:1:6) Once again Swami Gambhirananda helps us understand: “Truth alone wins, and not untruth. By truth is maintained for ever the path called Devayana, by which the desireless seers ascend to where exists the supreme treasure attainable through truth.”
Sri Ramakrishna often said that “God is realized if one holds fast to truth. If there is no strictness in observing truth everything is gradually lost.” As this upanishad says: Satyam eva jayate–truth alone triumphs, both in material and in spiritual life. The path to liberation, Devayana, “the Path of the
Shining Ones,” is opened through truth.
Truth in this context has a much higher and wider meaning than mere accuracy or honesty in speech. It means to be a living embodiment of the truth of our Self-nature, and eventually to be a virtual incarnation of the realized Truth: God, “the supreme treasure attainable through truth.”
The God Within, The Sage Without
God
“Brahman is supreme; he is self-luminous, he is beyond all thought. Subtler than the subtlest is he, farther than the farthest, nearer than the nearest. He resides in the lotus of the heart of every being.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:1:7) This is the great mystery of the Divine. It is subtle beyond subtlety, yet exists equally in the most tangible. God is utterly beyond us, and yet nearer to us than can be expressed. This latter fact is a foundation-stone of spiritual life. The more we can turn inward, the deeper we can penetrate into our own essential being, the closer we will come to God. Yoga is an absolute necessity.
Though Prabhavananda uses the expression “lotus of the heart,” the Sanskrit text has guhayam–“in the cave,” referring to the absolute core of our being.
“The eyes do not see him, speech cannot utter him, the senses cannot reach him. He is to be attained neither by austerity nor by sacrificial rites. When through discrimination the heart has become pure, then, in meditation, the Impersonal Self is revealed.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:1:8) No action or feeling or ideas can reveal God to us. But when the heart has become purified by the spiritual insight that only meditation can produce, then in meditation itself God is revealed. For: “The subtle Self within the living and breathing body is realized in that pure consciousness wherein is no duality–that consciousness by which the heart beats and the senses perform their office.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:1:9) Meditation is the beginning, middle, and end of spiritual life. There is a remarkable statement made here–that the same consciousness which even now causes the body, senses, and mind to function is the same consciousness in which the Divine Vision takes place. So we need not try to turn ourselves into something other than what we are. We need only use it to free ourselves into Spirit. For that which binds also frees. This is the unique understanding of the ancient sages in India, an understanding needed by the whole world.
The sage
The West may have no history of such great wisdom, but we have a little platitude that can say much: “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” As yogis we should keep this principle ever in mind. The results of our yoga practice reveal its character, relevance, and value. The yogi should be thoroughly pragmatic. “What is this doing for me?” should be the constant inquiry regarding his sadhana. That this is not inappropriate is shown by the last verse in this section: “Whether of heaven, or of heavenly enjoyments, whether of desires, or of objects of desire, whatever thought arises in the heart of the sage is fulfilled. Therefore let him who seeks his own good revere and worship the sage.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:1:10)
This tells us two things. First, whatever the liberated sage thinks of, wills, or desires, that comes about. Examples of this are given in Autobiography of a Yogi, and manifested all through Yogananda’s life, especially toward its end, as seen in Paramahansa Yogananda: In Memoriam The life of Sri Ramakrishna also demonstrates this. Second, those that seek their highest good–self-realization–should reverence and honor the atmajnam, the one who knows the Self. This is very important. The upanishad is not counseling us to make a god of a master or to substitute a Brahmajnani for God. When we want to learn something we go to an expert. In the same way, those seeking the knowledge of God should
seek out the teachings of great masters of past and present. If very fortunate, the seeker will meet such a person in the flesh and have personal interchange with him. The mere presence of such a great soul can transform our thinking and awaken our consciousness.
If we follow the instructions of an enlightened person regarding our inner development we will come to the exact same state of consciousness revealed in him. Remember, true masters never die. They can bless and guide those who approach them in their hearts. Often this is sufficient for the seeker, and can be much safer than following a physically embodied teacher, for often sentimentality and emotional projection completely blind the seeker to the reality/unreality of the teacher. I personally knew gurus whose presence was stunning, even supernatural, but after their physical death they vanished from the earth plane, leaving their followers empty. But I also knew teachers who became more intimately present to seekers after their physical form had departed, proving themselves to truly be one with the Immortal and Omnipresent. Those who meditate can attune themselves to such masters and benefit from their very real presence.
How can we tell a true master? A true master keeps pointing their students away from themselves to God, the only Goal. And a true disciple is one who goes to God instead of making an idol or fetish of the guru. Anyone silly enough can be a brainwashed groupie, but the wise heed the teacher’s message and go on to God. As Buddha said, a worthy teacher or teaching is like a finger pointing at the moon. The idea is to see the moon–not the finger. Nevertheless, the sage can be a very meaningful factor in our spiritual life, so the upanishad continues with more information for us.
“The sage knows Brahman, the support of all, the pure effulgent being in whom is contained the universe. They who worship the sage, and do so without thought of self, cross the boundary of birth and death.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:1) Here are two more principles: A sage is one who knows Brahman in the absolute sense, and those who honor them without any personal desire for benefit or gain from them will break the ties of earthly rebirth.
This second part gives us a picture of real disciples or students who will attain spiritual benefit from a teacher: they have no egocentric or personal desire coloring the way they relate to the teacher. Their only interest is in the Self. They are not looking for a teacher to give them “power” or a reputation for having the best guru–glory through association is of no interest to them. Nor are they wanting the guru to become a substitute for an unsatisfactory parent, friend, spouse, or lover. They do not want a “personal” relationship with the guru–to either possess the guru or be possessed by the guru. They are not looking for some kind of fulfillment in a “relationship” with the teacher, but only fulfillment in the Self. Swami Bimalananda, a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, once told us in a conversation that those who lived in the ashram-headquarters of Self-Realization Fellowship just for the personality of Yogananda eventually left the spiritual life as well as the ashram, but those who came for God remained steadfast in both. I think we can conclude that real disciples are as rare as real gurus! The upanishad is not talking to spiritual fool-arounds, but to the worthy, those who wish, in the actual words of the upanishad, to “transcend the seed of human birth”–the ego.
Two kinds of seekers
Since the sage Angiras has put so much emphasis on the value of approaching and reverencing a master-teacher, he now digresses a bit to point out what makes the student succeed or fail in spiritual life.
“He who, brooding upon sense objects, comes to yearn for them, is born here and there, again and again, driven by his desire. But he who has realized the Self, and thus satisfied all hunger, attains to liberation even in this life.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:2) The Sanskrit implies that those in the grip of
desire are born where the objects of desire are to be found, and bring the desire for them along. It does not say that the objects are obtained, however, and we see that this is a continual torment for human beings–wanting something but not able to get it. To be in such a situation will only condition the mind more and more toward grasping at the things desired. After who knows how long, the object is then gotten and either lost, or in danger of loss, or proves to be disappointing or misery-producing. Such is the dilemma of those who desire.
There is no use asking silly questions like: “How do I kill desire?” or: “How do I get rid of the ego?” You do not kill desire or discard the ego, for that is a negative approach that by its nature will not work. Rather you take the positive approach: “I SHALL realize the Self.” For realization of the Self alone can quench all desire and dissolve the ego. Until then we ignore the clamor of desires, disregard the demands of the ego, and single-mindedly go after the Self. Along the way the desires will begin dropping away of themselves, and the ego, starved of attention, will become less and less until desires and ego are simply gone forever. It may not be easy, but it is marvelously simple.
“The Self is not to be known through study of the scriptures, nor through subtlety of the intellect, nor through much learning. But by him who longs for him is he known. Verily unto him does the Self reveal his true being.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:3)
Anyone who has travelled this far through the upanishads is very well acquainted with the fact that the Self is not to be known through the usual avenues of human knowledge. What is striking is the literal meaning of the next phrase: “By the very fact that he [the aspirant] seeks for It, does It become attainable.” Elsewhere I have mentioned that Sri Ma Anandamayi often said: “The desire for God is the way to God,” meaning that the desire would prompt us to action, not just mere wishing. No one seeks for God who is not already able to find God, for it is the very nearness of God that prompts his seeking. Seeking God is a guarantee, a symptom, of sure attainment. It is also the thing which enables the Self to reveal Itself to him.
“The Self is not to be known by the weak, nor by the thoughtless, nor by those who do not rightly meditate. But by the rightly meditative, the thoughtful, and the strong, he is fully known.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:4) Too many meanings are being missed by this translation. Here it is literally: “This Self is not attained by one devoid of strength, nor through delusion produced by false experience, nor through tapasya devoid of corresponding externals. But the Self of the man of knowledge who strives with diligence through these means [strength, clarity of sight and mind, and a life ordered in conformity to tapasya] enters the abode of Brahman.” There is a lot to think over here.
The plain truths
Those devoid of the strength imparted by the strict observance of yama and niyama cannot possibly know the Self. Both yama and niyama should be listed here for our most serious consideration. Yama (Restraint) consists of ahimsa (non-violence, non-injury, harmlessness), satya (truthfulness, honesty–i.e., non-lying), asteya (non-stealing, honesty, non-misappropriativeness), brahmacharya (sexual continence and control of all the senses), and aparigraha (non-possessiveness, non-greed, non-selfishness, non-acquisitiveness). Niyama (Observance) consists of shaucha (purity, cleanliness), santosha (contentment, peacefulness), tapas (austerity, practical–i.e., result-producing–spiritual discipline), swadhyaya (self-study, spiritual study), and Ishwarapranidhana (offering of one’s life to God).
A great deal of people, including yogis, are simply deluded, mostly because they follow false teachings and teachers whose errors actively harm them or cause them to stagnate spiritually. No matter how dedicated they may be, or even how disciplined, they cannot know the Self because their intellects are
confused and distorted–especially by their aberrant meditation practices. Lucky are those “yoga duds” who merely vegetate. But neither reach the Goal.
It is utterly useless to engage in meditation without making the life correspond to the sole purpose of meditation: liberation of the spirit. Yoga has been propagated here in the West for a little over a hundred years, and see how little good and how much devastation and delusion has resulted. The reason is supremely simple: yama and niyama are not followed, and in many instances the fake gurus actually tell their dupes that yama and niyama are unnecessary. I cannot calculate how many tangled-minded “yogis” have boasted to me that they do not need to be vegetarians. If a survey is taken of almost any yoga group, over half will be living together “in a relationship” without being married, and those who are married have no idea of the need for brahmacharya in marriage except for the conception of children–and even then, not unrestrained. Sri Ramakrishna said that after the birth of two children the parents should live in chastity. In my commentary on the Gita I wrote the following that is most relevant here:
“The Dharma Shastras which describe the correct life of non-monastics are quite explicit about the need for husband and wife to lead lives of continence. See how the yogi parents of Paramhansa Yogananda lived it as presented in Autobiography of a Yogi. In the very first chapter we find: ‘Mother made a remarkable admission to my eldest sister Roma: “Your father and myself live together as man and wife only once a year, for the purpose of having children.”’ The fact that Yogananda, a devoted son and a pure-hearted yogi, would reveal this to the world in the pages of a book show how necessary he felt it was for both Eastern and Western readers to be shown the standard of chastity that yogis should observe in their life, not using their non-monastic status as excuse for lesser behavior. He underlined this later in the forty-fourth chapter, giving these words written to Mahatma Gandhi by his wife Kasturbai: ‘I thank you for the most perfect marriage in the world, based on brahmacharya and not on sex.’ Please note that these are examples of married yogis, not monks imposing their ideas on others.
Also remember that the guru of Yogananda’s parents was himself a married yogi, so there is no monastic influence in their case.”
I really have no hope that the foregoing will provoke anything but anger and resentment, but it still has to be said in case some do want to reach the Goal whatever the price. The other aspects of yama and niyama are also important, but these two shoals have wrecked many a yogi of East and West.
“But the Self of the man of knowledge who strives with diligence through these means”–strength, clarity of sight and mind, and a life ordered in conformity to tapasya–“enters the abode of Brahman.”
Hail To the Sages!
“Having known the Self, the sages are filled with joy. Blessed are they, tranquil of mind, free from passion. Realizing everywhere the all-pervading Brahman, deeply absorbed in contemplation of his being, they enter into him, the Self of all.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:5) What an inspiring description. These are the things that should motivate us, not such cheap things as promises of heaven and threats of hell, or bribes of “good things” and “power.” To at last be ourselves as we really are, to end all struggle with unreality and ignorance–this is the worthy aim. The only worthy prayer is that of Jesus: “O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” (John 17:5)
How to become a sage
How do the sages get that way? “Having fully ascertained and realized the truth of Vedanta, having established themselves in purity of conduct by following the yoga of renunciation, these great ones
attain to immortality in this very life; and when their bodies fall away from them at death, they attain to liberation.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:6)
Having fully ascertained and realized the truth of Vedanta. First the Vedantic truths–the teachings found in the upanishads–are carefully read and pondered. But this is not enough–in fact it is worthless unless they go on to realize those truths through meditation, for it is this realization which is of supreme value, and the wise diligently seek it.
Having established themselves in purity of conduct. Not wanting empty theory, the wise understand that their lives must be disciplined for the purification of their outer actions and inner consciousness.
Moreover, they ground themselves immovably in that purity.
Following the yoga of renunciation. Since neither Angiras or his students were monks, it is mistaken to interpret sannyasa yoga as monastic life. Rather, it is the inner discipline of detachment from all externals (sannyasa) while fixing the mind on the Eternal (yoga).
Immortality in this very life. Those who follow this path of the sages will realize their nature as immortality itself. They will not attain it, they will recover and manifest it. Nor will this happen in some vague heavenly realm, but right here and now.
At death, they attain to liberation. For them there is no longer any need for future birth in the material plane. As the Buddhist texts say: “Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world.” But they are not just liberated from the earth, they are liberated from all “worlds” and enter The Real as their eternal abode.
The liberation process
“When death overtakes the body, the vital energy enters the cosmic source, the senses dissolve in their cause, and karmas and the individual soul are lost in Brahman, the pure, the changeless. As rivers flow into the sea and in so doing lose name and form, even so the wise man, freed from name and form, attains the Supreme Being, the Self-Luminous, the Infinite.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:7, 8) There are two aspects to these verses: what is shed by the sage and What he merges with in liberation.
At the time of death, the various bodies no longer retain their configuration. Since they are no longer needed for future incarnations, they resolve back into the elements from which they came. Even the karmic forces, now unnecessary, melt away into basic energy along with the subtle bodies that created and embodied them. What remains? Brahman and their atman-self. Since these are really the source of all the foregoing, in reality nothing whatever is lost–only the conditioning dreams that held them in false bondage for so long. Finitude is traded for infinity–blessed bargain!
“He who knows Brahman becomes Brahman. No one ignorant of Brahman is ever born in his family. He passes beyond all sorrow. He overcomes evil. Freed from the fetters of ignorance he becomes immortal.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:9)
Who should learn this?
“Let the truth of Brahman be taught only to those who obey his law, who are devoted to him, and who are pure in heart. To the impure let it never be taught.” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:10)
In India everyone knows the basic principles of Brahmavidya. The sage is not recommending secrecy, but warning us away from wasting our time with people who are wilfully disqualifying themselves for spiritual life. So who are qualified (adhikari) to receive detailed instruction in the eternal truths? Here is
a much more literal and complete translation of the verse with some very interesting symbols: “To them alone should one expound this knowledge of Brahman who are engaged in the practice of purificatory disciplines, versed in the Vedas, and devoted to Brahman, who personally sacrifice to the fire called Ekarshi with faith, and by whom has been duly accomplished the vow of holding fire on the head.”
Engaged in the practice of purificatory disciplines. The word translated by this phrase is kriyavantah, which means those who are engaged in the practice of kriyas. In the broad sense a kriya is any practice that entails doing something, because the root of kriya is kri, which means “I do.” Any practice, exercise, rite, or even movement can be called a kriya. Usually, though, kriya means a yogic practice or method which purifies the body and nervous system, as well as the subtle bodies, to enable the yogi to reach and hold on to higher levels of consciousness and being. Only those who are perpetually engaged in such practices need even hear about those states and their meaning. For to anyone else it is mere theory which can easily be misunderstood by those who have no practical yogic experience.
Versed in the scriptures. The word shrotriyah means one who both knows the scriptures and the disciplines and practices they enjoin. Although mere scriptural knowledge is of little value, it is necessary to know the teachings of the upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita in order to retain a right perspective in spiritual life. Buddha said that a seeker for enlightenment must be sure to follow the teachings of the liberated ones that have gone before. A great deal of problems in spiritual life will be avoided if the upanishads and Gita are studied daily and applied in their entirety.
Devoted to Brahman. Shankara says that the Brahmanishthah are those devoted to Brahman as manifested in the cosmos, yet who are actively seeking to know the transcendent Brahman beyond the cosmos. In other words, the prevailing idea that one is either intent on Saguna or Nirguna Brahman–only one aspect to the exclusion of the other–is mistaken. That the worthy seeker starts from where he finds himself–in the realm of Ishwara, the creation–but strives to know That which lies beyond, as well. This is the real “yoga of synthesis.”
Who personally sacrifice to the fire called Ekarshi with faith. In the Atharva Veda there is a form of sacred fire called “ekarshi,” but in this verse the reference is to “the sole fire”–the “fire” that is Brahman. For ekarshi can be a contraction of “eka-rishi,” the sole Seer. As the Gita says: “Brahman is the ritual, Brahman is the offering, Brahman is he who offers to the fire that is Brahman. If a man sees Brahman in every action, He will find Brahman.” (Bhagavad Gita 4:24) The ultimate “offering” into Brahman is our own Self.
By whom has been duly accomplished the vow of holding fire on the head. Continuing this idea, the rishi speaks of those who have accomplished in due order the shirovratam–a vow of holding or carrying the holy fire in the head. That is, one who has established the Divine Fire of Brahman-realization within himself, who ever carries Brahman in his “head”–his consciousness.
There will not be a great number of students if these criteria are followed, but we must make sure that we are among them.
The sum and substance
In conclusion the upanishad exclaims: “Hail to the sages! Hail to the illumined souls! This truth of Brahman was taught in ancient times to Shounaka by Angira. Hail to the sages! Hail to the illumined souls!” (Mundaka Upanishad 3:2:11)
End of Mundaka Commentary:
Mandukya Upanishad
Translated by Vidyavachaspati V. Panoli
Om ! O gods, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious; May we see with our eyes what is auspicious;
May we, while offering our praise to gods With our bodies strong of limbs,
Enjoy the life which the gods are pleased to grant us. May Indra of great fame be well disposed to us;
May the all-knowing (or immensely wealthy) Pusha be propitious to us; May Garuda, the vanquisher of miseries, be well pleased with us;
May Brihaspati grant us all prosperity. Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
1. All this is the letter Om. A vivid explanation of this (is begun). All that is past, present, and future is but Om. Whatever transcends the three periods of time, too, is Om.
2. All this is certainly Brahman. This Self is Brahman. This Self, as such, is possessed of four quarters.
3. (The Self) seated in the waking state and called Vaisvanara who, possessed of the consciousness of the exterior, and seven limbs and nineteen mouths, enjoys the gross objects, is the first quarter.
4. (The Self) seated in the state of dream and called Taijasa who, possessed of the consciousness of the interior, and seven limbs and nineteen mouths, enjoys the subtle objects, is the second quarter.
5. Where the sleeper desires not a thing of enjoyment and sees not any dream, that state is deep sleep. (The Self) seated in the state of deep sleep and called Prajna, in whom everything is unified, who is dense with consciousness, who is full of bliss, who is certainly the enjoyer of bliss, and who is the door to the knowledge (of the preceding two states), is the third quarter.
6. This is the Lord of all; this is omniscient; this is the in-dwelling controller (of all); this is the source and indeed the origin and dissolution of all beings.
7. The Fourth is thought of as that which is not conscious of the internal world, nor conscious of the external world, nor conscious of both the worlds, nor dense with consciousness, nor simple consciousness, nor unconsciousness, which is unseen, actionless, incomprehensible, uninferable, unthinkable, indescribable, whose proof consists in the identity of the Self (in all states), in which all phenomena come to a cessation, and which is unchanging, auspicious, and non-dual. That is the Self;
that is to be known.
8. That same Self, from the point of view of the syllable, is Om, and viewed from the stand point of the letters, the quarters are the letters, and the letters are the quarters. The letters are a, u and m.
9. Vaisvanara seated in the waking state is the first letter a, owing to its all-pervasiveness or being the first. He who knows thus verily accomplishes all longings and becomes the first.
10. Taijasa seated in the dream is u, the second letter (of Om), owing to the similarity of excellence or intermediate position. He who knows thus verily advances the bounds of his knowledge and becomes equal (to all) and none who is not a knower of Brahman is born in his family.
11. Prajna seated in the state of deep sleep is m, the third letter (of Om), because of his being the measure or the entity wherein all become absorbed. He who knows thus measures all this and absorbs all.
12. That which is without letters (parts) is the Fourth, beyond apprehension through ordinary means, the cessation of the phenomenal world, the auspicious and the non-dual. Thus Om is certainly the Self. He who knows thus enters the Self by the Self.
Om ! O gods, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious; May we see with our eyes what is auspicious;
May we, while offering our praise to gods With our bodies strong of limbs,
Enjoy the life which the gods are pleased to grant us. May Indra of great fame be well disposed to us;
May the all-knowing (or immensely wealthy) Pusha be propitious to us; May Garuda, the vanquisher of miseries, be well pleased with us;
May Brihaspati grant us all prosperity. Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Mandukyopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda. MANDUKYA KARIKA OF GAUDAPADA
I. AGAMA PRAKARANA
Invocation
1. I bow to that Brahman who pervades the entire world by a diffusion of the rays of knowledge that pervade all things that are moving and unmoving, who after having enjoyed (in the waking state) all objects of enjoyment that are gross, and who again, after having drunk (in the state of dream) all objects born of desire and illumined by the intellect, reposes while experiencing bliss Himself and making us all enjoy by (His own) Maya, and who, through an attribution of Maya, is the fourth in number, and is supreme, immortal and unborn.
2. May he, the Self of the universe, dwelling in the fourth state, protect us, who, after having enjoyed (in the waking state) the gross enjoyments resulting from virtue and vice, enjoys again (in the dream state) the other subtle objects which are created by His own intelligence and illumined by His own light, and who, after having absorbed all of them gradually into Himself and having abandoned all distinctions, becomes devoid of attributes.
I-1. Visva having exterior consciousness is all-pervading, whereas Taijasa has interior consciousness, and Prajna, similarly is dense with consciousness. Thus the One alone is regarded in there ways.
I-2. Visva is seen in the right eye which is its seat of experience, whereas Taijasa is inside the mind and Prajna is in the space inside the heart. In these three ways he dwells in the body.
I-3. Visva is ever the enjoyer of the gross, taijasa of the subtle, and, similarly, Prajna of bliss. Know (therefore) the enjoyment in three ways.
I-4.The grass satisfies Visva, the subtle satisfies Taijasa and, similarly, gladness satisfies Prajna. Know (therefore) the satisfaction in three ways.
I-5. He who knows these two, viz that which is shown to be the thing to be enjoyed and that which is (shown) to be the enjoyer, in the three states, does not become affected, even though enjoying.
I-6. It is a settled fact that coming into being can be said only of positive entities that exist. Prana creates all; and Purusha creates the conscious beings separately.
I-7. Those who think of creation hold it as the manifestation of God's power; while others regard creation as same as dream and illusion.
I-8. Creation is the mere will of the Lord, say those who thought out well the (process of) creation, but those who rely upon time hold that the birth of beings is from time.
I-9. Some others hold that creation is for the enjoyment (of God), yet others say that it is for His sport. But it is the very nature of the resplendent Being, (for) what desire can he have whose desire is all fulfilled?
I-10. Turiya, the Lord powerful to bring about the cessation of all sorrows, is imperishable, is regarded as the non-dual Lord of all entities, and is all-pervading.
I-11. Visva and Taijasa are regarded as conditioned by cause and effect. Prajna is conditioned by cause. But these two (viz cause and effect) do not exist in Turiya.
I-12. Prajna knows neither himself nor others, neither truth nor untruth. But that Turiya is ever the all seer.
I-13. The non-cognition of duality is common to both Prajna and Turiya. Prajna is possessed of sleep of the nature of cause, whereas that sleep does not exist in Turiya.
I-14. The first two (viz Visva and taijasa) are associated with dream and sleep, but Prajna (is associated) with sleep devoid of dream. The knowers of Brahman do not see either sleep or dream in Turiya.
I-15. Dream belongs to him who perceives wrongly and sleep to him who knows not Reality. When the false notion of these two comes to an end, the state of Turiya is attained.
I-16. When the individual Self, sleeping under the influence of Maya that is beginningless, is awakened, then he realises (Turiya that is) unborn, sleepless, dreamless and non-dual.
I-17. If a phenomenal world were to exist, it should, no doubt, cease to be. This duality is but an illusion; in reality it is non-dual.
I-18. The notion (such as the teacher, the taught and the scripture) will disappear, if anyone had imagined it. This notion (of the teacher etc.,) is for the purpose of instruction. When (the Truth is) realised, duality does not exist.
I-19. When the identity of Visva with the letter a is meant, ie., when the identity of Visva with the letter a is admitted, the common feature of being the first is seen to be obvious, as also the common feature of all-pervasiveness.
I-20. In the event of Taijasa being apprehended as identical with u, ie, when the identity of taijasa with the letter u is admitted, the common feature of superiority is seen clearly and so, too, is the intermediate position.
I-21. In the even of Prajna being apprehended as identical with m, ie, when the identity of Prajna with the letter m is admitted, the common feature of being the measure is seen to be obvious and so too is the common feature of absorption.
I-22. He who knows conclusively the common similarities in the three states, becomes worthy of worship and adoration by all beings, and is also a great sage.
I-23. The letter a leads to Visva and the letter u to Taijasa. Again, the letter m (leads) to Prajna. For the one who is free from letters, there is no attainment.
I-24. Om should be known, quarter by quarter. It is beyond doubt that the quarters (of the self) are the letters (of Om). Having known Om, quarter by quarter, one should not think of anything else.
I-25. Let the mind be fixed on Om, for Om is Brahman, the fearless. For him who us ever fixed on Om,
there is no fear anywhere.
I-26. Om is indeed the lower Brahman; Om is (also) regarded as the higher (Brahman). Om is without a cause, without interior and exterior, without effect, and is undecaying.
I-27. Om is indeed the beginning, middle and end of everything. Having known Om thus, one attains immediately the identity with the self.
I-28. One should know Om to be the Lord dwelling in the hearts of all. having known the all-pervasive Om, the intelligent one does not grieve.
I-29. He by whom is known Om which is without measure and possessed of infinite magnitude and which is auspicious, since all duality ceases in it, is a sage and none else.
II. VAITATHYA PRAKARANA
II-1. The wise declare the unreality of all objects in a dream because they are located within (the body) and (also) because they are confined within a limited space.
II-2. Since the period is short, one does not go to the place and see. Also, every dreamer, when awakened, does not exist in that place (of dream).
II-3. The non-existence of the chariot etc., (seen in dream) is heard of (in the sruti) from the point of view of reasoning. The knowers of Brahman say that the unreality thus arrived at (through reasoning) is revealed (by the sruti) in the context of dream.
II-4. There is the unreality of the objects even in the waking state. Just as they are unreal in dream, so also are they unreal in the waking state. the objects (in dream) differ owing to the location within the body owing to the spatial limitation.
II-5. The wise say that the states of waking and dream are same, in view of the similarity of the objects (seen in both the states) and in view of the well-known ground of inference.
II-6. That which is non-existent in the beginning and at the end is definitely so in the present (ie., in the middle). The objects, though they bear the mark of the unreal, appear as though real.
II-7. Their utility is opposed in dream. therefore, on the ground of having a beginning and an end, they are regarded as definitely unreal.
II-8. (To see) unusual things (in dream) is indeed an attribute of the dreamer just as it is in the case of those who dwell in heaven. These he perceives by going there, even as one, well instructed, does in this world.
II-9. Even in dream what is imagined by the mind (chitta) within is unreal, while what is grasped outside by the mind is real. But both these are seen to be unreal.
II-10. Even in the waking state what is imagined by the mind within is unreal, while what is grasped by the mind outside is real. It is reasonable to hold both these to be unreal.
II-11. If the objects of both the states be unreal, who comprehends all these and who again imagines them?
II-12. The self-luminous Self, by Its own Maya imagines Itself by Itself and It alone cognises all objects. This is a settled fact of the Vedanta-texts.
II-13. The Lord imagined in diverse forms the worldly objects existing in the mind. With the mind turned outward, He imagines diversely permanent objects (as also impermanent things). Thus the Lord imagines.
II-14. Things that exist within as long as the thought lasts and things that are external and conform to two points of time, are all imaginations alone. The distinction (between them) is caused by nothing else.
II-15. The objects that seem to be unmanifested within the mind, and those that seem to be manifested without, are all mere imaginations, their distinction being the difference in the sense-organs.
II-16. First of all, He imagines the Jiva (individual soul) and then (He imagines) various objects, external and internal. As is (a man’s) knowledge, so is (his) memory of it.
II-17. Just as a rope, the nature of which is not known in the dark, is imagined to be things such as a
snake, a water-line, etc., so too is the Self imagined (as various things).
II-18. As when the (real nature of the) rope is known, the illusion ceases and the rope alone remains in its non-dual nature, so too is the ascertainment of the Self.
II-19. (The Self) is imagined as infinite objects like prana etc. This is the Maya of the luminous One by which It itself is deluded, (as it where).
II-20. The knowers of Prana hold Prana (to be the cause of the world), which the knowers of the elements regard the elements (to be the cause). Qualities (are the cause), say the knowers of quality, whereas the knowers of category consider categories (to be so).
II-21. The knowers of the quarters (such as Visva) hold the quarters (to be the cause), while the knowers of sensory objects regard sensory objects (to be the cause). the worlds (are real), say the knowers of the worlds, and the knowers of the gods consider the gods (to be so).
II-22. Those well-versed in the Vedic lore hold the Vedas (to be real), while the sacrificers subscribe it to the sacrifices. Those who know the enjoyer hold the enjoyer (to be real), whereas those familiar with the enjoyable things think of them (to be real).
II-23. Subtlety (is real), say those who know the subtlety, while those familiar with the gross regard it to be so. (Reality is) possessed of a form, say the worshippers of God with form, while the worshippers of the formless (hold the reality) to be formless.
II-24. The astrologers hold time (to be real), while the knowers of directions consider directions (to be so). Those stiff in debate affirm that disputations (lead to the reality), whereas those who aspire after the worlds consider them (to be real).
II-25. The knowers of the mind hold it (to be the Self), while the knowers of the intellect regard it (to be so). The knowers of the heart ascribe (reality to it), whereas it is attributed to virtue and vice by those who know them.
II-26. Some say that twenty-five categories (constitute the reality), whereas others speak of twenty-six. Again, some say that thirty-one categories (constitute it), yet some others hold that they are infinite.
II-27. Those who know the people (and their pleasures) find reality in pleasures. Those who are familiar with the stages of life regard them (as real). The grammarians (ascribe reality) to the words in the masculine, feminine and neuter genders, whereas others (know reality) to be the higher and lower (brahman).
II-28. Those who know all about creation (say that reality consists in) creation. (Reality lies) in dissolution, say those who know it, while those who know about subsistence (hold it to be the reality). All these ideas are always imagined on the Self.
II-29. He to whom (a teacher) might show an object sees that alone (as the reality). That object, too, becoming one with him, protects him. That state of being engrossed culminates in his self-identity with the object shown.
II-30. By these things that are non-separate (from the Self), this Self is manifested as though separate. He who knows this truly comprehends (the meaning of the Vedas) without entertaining any doubt.
II-31. Just as dream and magic, as well as a city in the sky, are seen (to be unreal), so too, is this universe seen (to be unreal) from the Vedanta-texts by the wise.
II-32. There is no dissolution, no origination, none in bondage, none possessed of the means of liberation, none desirous of liberation, and none liberated. This is the ultimate truth.
II-33. This (Self) is imagined to be unreal objects and also to be non-dual. The objects are also imagined on the non-dual (Self). therefore non-duality is auspicious.
II-34. This (world) viewed on the basis of the Self, is not different. Neither does it ever exist independent by itself nor is anything different or non-different (from the Self). Thus know the knowers of Truth.
II-35. By the sages who are free from attachment, fear and anger and well-versed in the Vedas is realised this Self which is beyond all imaginations, in which the phenomenal world ceases to exist and which is non-dual.
II-36. Therefore, having known it thus, one should fix one’s memory on non-duality (ie., should give undivided attention). Having attained the non-dual, one should conduct oneself as though one were a dullard.
II-37. The ascetic should be free from praise and salutation and also from rituals. The body and the Self should be his support and he should depend upon what chance brings.
II-38. Having perceived Truth internally and having perceived it externally, one should become identified with Truth, should derive delight from Truth, and should never deviate from Truth.
III. ADVAITA PRAKARANA
III-1. The aspirant, resorting himself to devotion, remains in the conditioned Brahman. Prior to creation all this was of the nature of the birthless Brahman. Hence the man (with such a view) is considered to be of narrow outlook.
III-2. Therefore, I shall describe that (Brahman) which is free from limitation, is unborn and is ever the same. Listen how nothing whatsoever is born, though it appears to be born in all respects.
III-3. The self is said to be existing in the form of Jivas (individual souls), just as (the infinite) ether exists in the form of ether confined within jars. Similarly, It is said to be existing as the aggregate of bodies, even as ether exists like jars etc. This is the illustration with regard to birth.
III-4. Just as when the jars etc., cease to exist, the ether etc., confined within them become merged in the infinite ether, so also the individual souls become merged in the Self here.
III-5. Just as when the ether confined within a particular jar contains dust and smoke, that is not the case with all jars, in the same way, all the individual souls are not associated with happiness etc.
III-6. Though forms, functions and names differ here and there (in respect of the ether contained by jars etc.,), yet this causes no differences in the ether. Similar is the conclusion with regard to individual souls.
III-7. As the ether within a jar is not a modification nor a part of the (infinite) ether, so an individual soul is never a modification nor a part of the (supreme) Self.
III-8. Just as to the children the sky becomes soiled by dirt, so too, to the unwise the Self becomes tainted by impurities.
III-9. The Self, in regard to Its death and birth, going and coming, and Its existence in all the bodies, is not dissimilar to ether.
III-10. All aggregates (such as body) are created like dream by the Maya of the Self. Whether they be superior (to another) or equal, there is no ground to prove their reality.
III-11. The individual Self of the sheaths beginning with that made of food, which have been described in the Taittiriya Upanishad, is (the same as) the supreme Self, as explained (by us already) on the analogy of ether.
III-12. Just as it is taught that ether in the earth and the belly is verily the same, so also the supreme Brahman is declared to be the same with reference to every two (viz., the corporeal and superphysical), in the Madhu-Brahmana (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad).
III-13. Since the non-difference of Jiva (individual soul) and the supreme Self is extolled on the basis of their identity, and since diversity is censured, therefore, that (non-duality) alone is reasonable.
III-14. The separateness of the individual soul and the supreme Self which has been declared (in the sruti) prior to the discussion of creation (in the Upanishads), is in a secondary sense in view of the result of the future, for it (separateness) is not in fitness if held in its primary sense.
III-15. The creation which is differently set forth by means of (the illustrations of) earth, gold, sparks etc., is (just) a means to reveal the idea (of identity). But multiplicity does not exist in any manner.
III-16. There are three stages of life – low, medium, and high. This meditation is enjoined for their sake out of compassion.
III-17. The dualists, firmly settled in their own doctrine which is arrived at by their own conclusions, contradict one another. But this (view of the non-dualist) is in no conflict with them.
III-18. Non-duality is indeed the supreme Reality, inasmuch as duality is said to be its product. For them duality constitutes both (the Real and the unreal). Hence this (our view) is not opposed (to theirs). III-19. This unborn (Self) undergoes modification through Maya and not in any other way. For, if the modifications are to be a reality, the immortal would tend to be mortal.
III-20. The disputants think of the very unborn Self on terms of birth. How can the Self that is unborn and immortal tend towards mortality?
III-21. The immortal can never become mortal. So, too mortal can never become immortal. For a change in one’s nature cannot ever take place in any manner.
III-22. How can the entity that is immortal remain unchanged according to one to whom a thing that is immortal by nature can be born, since it is a product (in his view) ?
III-23. The sruti favours equally the creation in reality and through Maya. That which is settled by the sruti and supported by reasoning is true, and not anything else.
III-24. Since the sruti says, "There is no multiplicity here", "the Lord, owing to Maya, (is seen diversely)", and "The Self, though unborn, (appears to be born in many ways)", it becomes obvious that He is born through Maya.
III-25. By the censure of (the worship of) Hiranyagarbha is negated creation. By the statement, "Who will cause it to be born?", is denied causality.
III-26. On the ground of non-apprehension (of Brahman), all the preceding instruction (for Its comprehension) is negated by the sruti, "This Self is that which has been declared as ‘Not this, not this’". Hence the unborn Self becomes revealed by Itself.
III-27. Birth of that which exists occurs only through Maya and not in reality. He who thinks that something is born in reality, (should know) that that which is already born is (re)born.
III-28. The birth of that which is non-existent cannot occur either through Maya or in reality, for a son of a barren woman cannot be born either through Maya or in reality.
III-29. As in dream the mind vibrates through Maya, as though with dual roles, so in the waking state the mind vibrates through Maya, as though with dual roles.
III-30. There can be no doubt that the non-dual mind alone appears in dream in dual roles. Similarly, in the waking state too, the non-dual mind appears to possess dual roles.
III-31. Whatever there is, moving and unmoving, which constitutes this duality, is perceived by the mind, for when mind does not exist as mind, duality is never perceived.
III-32. When the mind ceases to imagine consequent on the realisation of the Truth which is the Self, then it attains the state of not being the mind and becomes a non-perceiver, owing to the absence of objects to be perceived.
III-33. (The knowers of Brahman) say that the knowledge which is free from imagination, and unborn is not distinct from the knowable. The knowledge of which Brahman is the sole object is unborn and everlasting. The unborn (Self) is known by the (knowledge that is) unborn.
III-34. The behaviour of the mind (thus) restrained, which is free from all imagination and which is endowed with discrimination, should be noticed. The mind in deep sleep is of a different character and is not like that (when it is under restraint).
III-35. The mind becomes dissolved in deep sleep, but when under restraint, it doesn’t become dissolved. That (mind) alone becomes Brahman, the fearless, endowed with the light that is Consciousness on all sides.
III-36. (Brahman is) birthless, sleepless, dreamless, nameless, formless, ever-resplendent and omniscient. (As regards That) there can be no routine practice of any kind.
III-37. The Self is devoid of all (external) organs, and is above all internal organs. It is exquisitely serene, eternally resplendent, divinely absorbed, unchanging and fearless.
III-38. Where there is no thought whatever, there is no acceptance or rejection. Then knowledge, rooted in the Self, attains the state of birthlessness and sameness.
III-39. This Yoga that is said to be not in touch with anything is hard to be perceived by anyone of the
Yogis, for the Yogis who behold fear in what is fearless, are afraid of it.
III-40. For all the Yogis, fearlessness, cessation of misery, awareness and everlasting peace, depend upon the control of their mind.
III-41. By a tireless effort such as that by which the emptying of an ocean, drop by drop, is aimed at with the help of the edge of a Kusa grass, the conquest of the mind will become possible through absence of dejection.
III-42. With the (proper) means one should bring under restraint the mind that is torn amid desire and enjoyment. Even when the mind is well settled down in sleep, it should be brought under restraint, for sleep is as harmful as desire.
III-43. Remembering that everything is productive of grief, one should withdraw (one’s mind) from the enjoyment of the objects of desire. (Similarly), remembering that everything is the unborn Brahman, one does not certainly see the born (ie., duality).
III-44. The mind that is in deep sleep should be awakened and the mind that is distracted should be brought back to tranquillity again. One should know the mind as passion-tinged, and should not disturb it when it has attained the state of equillibrium.
III-45. In that state one should not enjoy the happiness, but should, by means of discrimination, become unattached. When the mind that has become still tends towards wandering, it should be unified (with the self) with efforts.
III-46. When the mind does not become merged nor distracted again, when it becomes motionless and does not make appearances (as objects), then it verily becomes Brahman.
III-47. That highest Bliss exists in one’s own Self. It is calm, identical with liberation, indescribable, and unborn. Since It is one with the unborn knowable (Brahman), the knowers of Brahman speak of It as the Omniscient (Brahman).
III-48. No Jiva (individual soul), whichsoever, is born. It has no cause (of birth). (Such being the case), this is the highest Truth where nothing is born whatsoever.
IV. ALATASANTI PRAKARANA
(On extinguishing the fire brand)
IV-1. I bow down to him who is the best among men and who has realised the individual souls that are like ether, through his knowledge which again resembles ether and is not different from the object of knowledge.
IV-2. I bow down to that Yoga which is devoid of touch with anything (that implies relationship), which conduces to the happiness of all beings and is beneficial, and which is free from dispute and contradiction and is taught by the scriptures.
IV-3. Certain disputants postulate the birth of an entity already existing, while some others, proud of their intelligence, and opposing among themselves, postulate the birth of what is not existing already. IV-4. That which already exists cannot be born and that which does not exist also cannot be born.
Those who argue thus are none but non-dualists and proclaim only the birthlessness.
IV-5. We approve the birthlessness revealed by them. We do not quarrel with them. Now, learn this which is free from all disputes.
IV-6. The disputants think of the self on terms of birth. How can the Self that is unborn and immortal tend towards mortality.
IV-7. The immortal can never become mortal. So, too the mortal can never become immortal. For a change in one’s nature cannot ever take place in any manner.
IV-8. How can the entity that is immortal remain unchanged according to one in whose view a thing that is immortal by nature can be born, since it is an effect (in his view) ?
IV-9. By the term nature is to be known that which comes into being through right attainments, which is intrinsic, inborn, and non-produced, and which does not give up its character.
IV-10. All the souls are free from decay and death by nature. But by thinking of decay and death, and
becoming absorbed in that thought, they deviate (from that nature).
IV-11. According to him who holds that the cause itself is the effect, the cause must be born. How can that which is born be unborn? How can that which is subject to modification be eternal ?
IV-12. If (in your view) the effect is non-different from the cause and if, for that reason, the effect also is unborn, how can the cause be eternal, since it is non-different from the effect that undergoes birth ? IV-13. He who holds the view that the effect is born from an unborn cause, has no example (to be cited). If the born effect is viewed as born from another born thing, it leads to ad infinitum.
IV-14. How can they, who hold that the effect is the source of the cause and the cause is the source of the effect, assert beginninglessness for cause and effect ?
IV-15. According to the disputants who hold that the effect is the origin of the cause and the cause is the origin of the effect, birth may be possible, just as a father might be born of a son.
IV-16. If cause and effect be possible, the order (in which they originate) has to be found out by you, for if they originate simultaneously, there is no relationship between the two, as is the case with the horns of a cow.
IV-17. Your cause that is produced from an effect cannot be established. How will a cause, that is itself not established, produce an effect ?
IV-18. If the cause emerges from the effect and if the effect emerges from the cause, which of the two has arisen first on which depends the emergence of the other ?
IV-19. Your inability (to reply) tantamounts to ignorance, or there will be a difference in the order of succession (postulated by you). Thus indeed is the absence of birth revealed by the wise in all manner. IV-20. What is called the illustration of a seed and a sprout is always equal to the major term (yet to be proved). The middle term (viz., the illustration) that is equal to the unproved major term, cannot be applied for establishing a proposition yet to be proved.
IV-21. The ignorance regarding antecedence and succession reveals birthlessness. From a thing that is born, why is it that its antecedent cause is not comprehended ?
IV-22. Nothing whatsoever is born either of itself or of something else. Similarly, nothing whatsoever is born whether it be existent or non-existent or both existent and non-existent.
IV-23. A cause is not born of an effect that is beginningless, nor does an effect take birth naturally (from a cause that is beginningless). For that which has no cause has no birth also.
IV-24. Knowledge has its object, since otherwise it brings about the destruction of duality. Besides, from the experience of pain, the existence of external objects, as upheld by the system of thought of the opponents, is admitted.
IV-25. In accordance with the perception of the cause of knowledge, the latter is deemed to be based on external objects. But from the point of view of reality, the (external) cause is regarded as no cause.
IV-26. Consciousness is not in contact with objects nor is it in contact with the appearances of objects. For the object is certainly non-existent and (the ideas constituting) the appearances of object are not separate from consciousness.
IV-27. Consciousness does not ever come in contact with objects in the three periods of time. Without a cause (ie., external object) how can there be its false apprehension ?
IV-28. Therefore consciousness is not born, nor are things perceived by it born. Those who perceive it as having birth, may as well see footprints in the sky.
IV-29. Since it is the birthless that is born (in the view of the disputants), birthlessness is its nature. Hence deviation from this nature can happen in no way whatsoever.
IV-30. If transmigratory existence be beginningless, its termination will not be reached. And liberation will not be eternal, if it has a beginning.
IV-31. That which is non-existent in the beginning and the end is definitely so in the present. The objects, although similar to the unreal, look as though real.
IV-32. Their utility is opposed in dream. Therefore, for the reasons of their having a beginning and an end, they are definitely remembered to be unreal.
IV-33.All objects are unreal in dream, inasmuch as they are seen within the body. In this narrow space, how is the vision of creatures possible ?
IV-34. It is not reasonable to say that objects in dream are seen by (actually) going to them, since it runs counter to the regulation of time that is needed for the journey. Further, none, when awake, remains in the place of dream.
IV-35. (In dream) what has been discussed with friends and others (and settled) is not resorted to when awake. Whatsoever is acquired (in dream0, too, is not seen when awake.
IV-36. And in dream the body becomes unreal, since another body is seen (in the bed). As is the body, so is everything cognised by the consciousness – all unreal.
IV-37. Since the experience (of objects) in dream is just like that in the waking state, the former is thought of as being caused by the latter. Such being the case, the waking state is considered to be real for that dreamer alone.
IV-38. Such birth is not established, everything is said to be unborn. Besides, it is not possible for the unreal to be born from the real, in any way whatsoever.
IV-39. Having seen unreal things in the waking state, one, deeply impressed, sees those very things in dream. Likewise, having seen unreal objects in dream, one does not see them when awake.
IV-40. There is no non-existent that serves as the cause of the non-existent, in the same way as the existent does not serve as the cause of the non-existent. There is no real entity that serves as the cause of another real entity. How can the unreal be the product of the real ?
IV-41. Just as one, for want of discrimination, takes unthinkable objects in the waking state as real, so too, in dream, one sees things in that state alone, for want of discrimination.
IV-42. For those who, from their own experience and right conduct, believe in the existence of substantiality, and who are ever afraid of the birthless, instruction regarding birth has been imparted by the wise.
IV-43. For those who, for fear of the Unborn, and also owing to their perception (of duality), deviate from the right path, the evil springing up from acceptance of birth (creation), does not accrue. The evil effect, if there be any, will be but little.
IV-44. Just as an elephant magically conjured up is called an elephant by relying on perception and right conduct, similarly, for reasons of perception and right conduct a thing is said to be existing.
IV-45. That which bears semblance of birth, appears as though moving, and, similarly seems to be a thing (of attributes), is Consciousness that is birthless, unmoving and non-material, serene and non-dual.
IV-46. Thus Consciousness is unborn; thus the souls are regarded to be unborn. Those who realise thus certainly do not fall into misfortune.
IV-47. Just as the fire-brand set in motion appears as straight, crooked etc., similarly, the vibration of Consciousness appears as the perceiver and the perceived.
IV-48. Just as the fire-brand devoid of motion is without appearances and birth, so also Consciousness devoid of vibration is without appearances and birth.
IV-49. When the fire-brand is in motion, the appearances do not come from elsewhere. Neither do they, when the fire-brand is free from motion, go elsewhere, nor do they enter into it.
IV-50. They did not go out of the fire-brand owing to their not being of the nature of substance. In the case of Consciousness, too, the appearances must be the same, for as appearance there can be no distinction.
IV-51. When Consciousness is in motion, the appearances do not come from elsewhere. Neither do they, when the Consciousness is free from motion, go elsewhere, nor do they enter again into It.
IV-52. They did not go out of Consciousness owing to their not being of the nature of substance, for they ever remain incomprehensible on account of the absence of relation of effect and cause.
IV-53. A substance could be the cause of a substance and another could be the cause of any other thing. But the souls cannot be regarded either as substances or as some other thing different from all else.
IV-54. Thus external objects are not born of Consciousness; nor is Consciousness born of external objects. Thus have the wise settled the birthlessness of cause and effect.
IV-55. As long as there is fascination for cause and effect, so long do cause and effect come into existence. When the fascination for cause and effect ceases, there is no further springing up of cause and effect.
IV-56. As long as one is completely absorbed in cause and effect, so long does transmigration continue. When the absorption in cause and effect ceases, one does not undergo transmigration.
IV-57. From the relative plane (of thinking) everything seems to be born and is not, therefore, eternal. From the absolute plane (of perception) everything is the unborn (Self) and there is, therefore, nothing like destruction.
IV-58. The souls that are thus born are not born in reality. Their birth is like that of an object through Maya. And that Maya again is non-existent.
IV-59. Just as from a magical seed comes out a sprout of that very nature which is neither permanent nor destructible, so too, is the reasoning applicable in respect of objects.
IV-60. In the case of all birthless entities the terms permanent and non-permanent can have no application. Where words fail to describe, no entity can be spoken of in a discriminative manner.
IV-61. As in dream Consciousness vibrates through illusion, as though dual by nature, so in the waking state Consciousness vibrates through illusion as though possessed of dual appearances.
IV-62. There can be no doubt that the non-dual Consciousness alone appears in dream as though dual. Similarly, in waking state, too, the non-dual Consciousness appears as though dual, undoubtedly.
IV-63. The dreamer, as he wanders in the dream-land always sees the creatures born from eggs or from moisture as existing in all the ten directions.
IV-64. These (creatures), perceptible to the consciousness of the dreamer, have no existence apart from his consciousness. So also this consciousness of the dreamer is admitted to be the object of perception to that dreamer alone.
IV-65. The man in the waking state, as he wanders in the places of the waking state, always sees the creatures born from eggs or from moisture as existing in all the ten directions.
IV-66. These (creatures), perceptible to the consciousness of the man in the waking state, have no existence apart from his consciousness. So also, this consciousness of the man in the waking state is admitted to be the object of perception to that man of the waking state alone.
IV-67. Both these are perceptible to each other. "Does it exist?" (To such a question) "No" is said (by way of answer). Both these are devoid of valid proof, and each can be perceived only through the idea of the other.
IV-68. Just as a creature seen in dream takes birth and dies, so also do all these creatures come into being and disappear.
IV-69. Just as a creature conjured up by magic takes birth and dies, so also do all these creatures come into being and disappear.
IV-70. Just as an artificial creature (brought into being by incantation and medicine), takes birth and dies, so also do all these creatures come into being and disappear.
IV-71. No creature whichsoever is born, nor is there any source for it. This is that supreme truth where nothing is born whatsoever.
IV-72. This duality consisting in the subject-object relationship is nothing but the vibration of Consciousness. Again, Consciousness is without object and is, therefore, declared to be ever unattached.
IV-73. That which exists by virtue of being an imagined empirical view, does not exist in reality. Again, that which exists on the basis of the empirical view brought about by other schools of thought, does not really exist.
IV-74. Inasmuch as the soul, according to the conclusions arrived at by other schools of thought, takes birth from a fancied empirical view point, it is said in consistence with that empirical point of view that the soul is unborn; but from the point of view of supreme Reality, it is not even unborn.
IV-75. There is a mere fascination for unreal things, though there exists no duality. Having realised the absence of duality, one is not born again for want of a cause.
IV-76. When there are no causes – superior, inferior or medium – then Consciousness does not take birth. How can there be any result when the cause is absent.
IV-77. The birthlessness of Consciousness which is free from causes is constant and absolute, for all this (ie., duality and birth) was an object of perception to It which had been unborn (even before).
IV-78. Having realised the Truth that is uncaused and having abstained from obtaining any further cause, one attains the state of fearlessness that is devoid of grief and delusion (kama).
IV-79. Owing to fascination for unreal objects, Consciousness engages Itself in things that are equally unreal. On realisation of the non-existence of objects, Consciousness, becoming free from attachment, abstains (from them).
IV-80. Then, there follows a state of stillness, when the Consciousness has become free from attachment and does not engage Itself (in unreal things). That is the object of vision to the wise. That is the (supreme) state on non-distinction, and that is birthless and non-dual.
IV-81. This is birthless, sleepless, dreamless, and self-luminous. For this Entity (the Self) is ever luminous by Its very nature.
IV-82. Owing to the Lord’s fondness for any object whatsoever, he becomes ever veiled effortlessly, and is unveiled every time with strenuous effort.
IV-83. A man of puerile imagination definitely covers the Self by affirming that It "exists", exists not", "Exists and exists not", or again, "exists not", "exists not", and by possessing such views as (that It is) changing and unchanging, both changing and unchanging and non-existent.
IV-84. These are the four alternative views, owing to a fascination for which the Lord becomes ever hidden. He is the all-seer by whom is the Lord perceived as untouched by these.
IV-85. Having attained omniscience in its entirety, as well as the non-dual state of Brahmanhood that is devoid of beginning, middle, and end, does anyone wish anything thereafter ?
IV-86. This is the humility of the Brahmanas; this is said to be their natural control. Since, by nature, they have conquered the senses, this is their restraint. Having known thus, the enlightened one becomes rooted in tranquillity.
IV-87. The duality that is co-existent with both object and (its) perception is said to be the ordinary (waking) state. That state where there is only perception without (the actual presence of an) object is said to be the ordinary (dream) state.
IV-88. The state devoid of object and devoid of perception is regarded as extraordinary. Thus have the wise for ever declared knowledge, object, and the knowable.
IV-89. On acquiring knowledge (of the threefold objects) and on knowing the objects in succession, there follows consequently, for the man of great intellect here, the state of omniscience for ever.
IV-90. Those which are to be abandoned, realised, adopted, and made ineffective should be known first. Of these, the three, excepting the thing to be realised, are regarded as mere imaginations born of ignorance.
IV-91. It should be known that all souls are, by nature, similar to ether, and eternal. There is no diversity anywhere among them, even an iota of it.
IV-92. All souls are, by nature, illumined from the very beginning, and their characteristics are well ascertained. He, for whom there is thus the freedom from want of further acquisition of knowledge, is considered to be fit for immortality.
IV-93. All souls are, from the very beginning, tranquil, unborn and, by nature, entirely detached, equal, and non-different, and inasmuch as Reality is thus unborn, unique, and pure, (therefore there is no need of tranquillity to be brought into the Self).
IV-94. There cannot ever be any purification for those who always tread the path of duality. They follow the path of difference, and speak of diversity and are, therefore, considered to be mean.
IV-95. They who have well-settled convictions regarding that which is unborn and ever the same,indeed are possessed of great knowledge in this world. But the common man cannot comprehend it.
IV-96. The knowledge existing in the birthless souls is regarded unborn and unrelated. Inasmuch as the knowledge has no relation with other objects, it is declared to be unattached.
IV-97. If there be birth for a thing, however insignificant it may be, non-attachment shall never be possible for the ignorant man. What to speak (then) of the destruction of covering for him ?
IV-98. All souls are devoid of any covering and are by nature pure. They are illumined as well as free from the beginning. Thus they are said to be masters since they are capable of knowing.
IV-99. The knowledge of the one who is enlightened and all-pervasive, does not enter into objects. And so the souls also do not enter into objects. This fact was not mentioned by the Buddha.
IV-100. Having realised the non-dual state that is hard to perceive, deep, unborn, uniform and serene,we offer our salutations to It, as best as we can.
Om ! O gods, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious;
May we, while offering our praise to gods
With our bodies strong of limbs,
Enjoy the life which the gods are pleased to grant us.
May Indra of great fame be well disposed to us;
May the all-knowing (or immensely wealthy) Pusha be propitious to us;
May Garuda, the vanquisher of miseries, be well pleased with us;
May Brihaspati grant us all prosperity.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Mandukyopanishad, included in the Atharva-Veda.
Mandukya Upanishad Commentary
Commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad–by Swami Nirmalananda Giri
The Shabda Brahman: Om
Om is a principal subject in the eleven major upanishads, but the entire Mandukya Upanishad is dedicated to an explanation of Its meaning for the sadhaka. It wastes no time, but starts right at the pinnacle, saying: “The syllable OM, which is the imperishable Brahman, is the universe. Whatsoever has existed, whatsoever exists, whatsoever shall exist hereafter, is OM. And whatsoever transcends past, present, and future, that also is OM.” (Mandukya Upanishad 1)
This is so vast, and yet at the same time so simple, that it renders comment impossible and unnecessary. The essential point is the infinity of Om, because It is the infinite Brahman.
The four aspects of the Self
“All this that we see without is Brahman. This Self that is within is Brahman. This Self, which is one with OM, has three aspects, and beyond these three, different from them and indefinable–The Fourth.” (Mandukya Upanishad 2) The three aspects of those within relativity are waking, dreaming sleep, and dreamless sleep. Beyond these three is the pure consciousness itself known as turiya. This fourth state is the sole state of the liberated consciousness. Even if a liberated being reenters into relative existence for the upliftment of those still caught in that net, he remains consciously centered in turiya and experiences the three lower states only peripherally. When the turiya level overwhelms such a one we say he has “gone into samadhi,” but in actuality he has simply become absorbed in his continual state, having momentarily dropped the flimsy dreams of relative existence which we think are so real and binding. I have heard more than one disciple tell of their having to hold Yogananda up and help him walk when toward the end of his earthly time he was continually flying upward into his true state.
Often he would see his body moving along far below, as though he were soaring high in the sky.
“As above, so below” is a fundamental truth of the cosmos. What can be said of the macrocosm can also be said of the microcosm. And since the Infinite and the finite are essentially one, the upanishad now begins analyzing the three levels of the Cosmic Man.
Vaiswanara
“The first aspect of the Self is the universal person, the collective symbol of created beings, in his physical nature—Vaiswanara. Vaiswanara is awake, and is conscious only of external objects. He has seven members. The heavens are his head, the sun his eyes, air his breath, fire his heart, water his belly, earth his feet, and space his body. He has nineteen instruments of knowledge: five organs of sense, five organs of action, five functions of the breath, together with mind, intellect, heart, and ego. He is the enjoyer of the pleasures of sense.” (Mandukya Upanishad 3) This is an extremely explanatory translation, but all correct. The last statement: “He is the enjoyer of the pleasures of sense” should really be: “He is the experiencer of material things.” Other than that, all is well, the idea being that God encompasses all perceptible being.
Taijasa
“The second aspect of the Self is the universal person in his mental nature–Taijasa. Taijasa has seven members and nineteen instruments of knowledge. He is dreaming, and is conscious only of his dreams. In this state he is the enjoyer of the subtle impressions in his mind of the deeds he has done in the past.” (Mandukya Upanishad 4) Subconsciousness is the springboard from which all present action stems. We speak of karma and samskara, the deeds of past lives and their effects, as producing all that we now experience. Actually the field of the subconscious is sown with the seeds of the past that are destined to germinate and manifest on the Vaiswanara level. So to separate Taijasa and Vaiswanara is impossible. They are really only two aspects of a single thing. Further, there is a third aspect through which the unity of consciousness manifests itself: Prajna.
Prajna
“The third aspect of the Self is the universal person in dreamless sleep–Prajna. Prajna dreams not. He is without desire. As the darkness of night covers the day, and the visible world seems to disappear, so in dreamless sleep the veil of unconsciousness envelops his thought and knowledge, and the subtle impressions of his mind apparently vanish. Since he experiences neither strife nor anxiety, he is said to be blissful, and the experiencer of bliss.” (Mandukya Upanishad 5) Gambhirananda’s translation brings out some more aspects of this: “That state is deep sleep where the sleeper does not desire any enjoyable thing and does not see any dream. The third quarter is Prajna who has deep sleep as his sphere, in whom everything becomes undifferentiated, who is a mass of mere consciousness, who abounds in bliss, who is surely an enjoyer of bliss, and who is the doorway to the experience [of the dream and waking states].”
What we have here is a picture of the third layer of experience that underlies the conscious and subconscious levels of the mind. Not only is this layer undifferentiated because it is the raw material out of which the other two emerge, it is also the level of assimilation in which the changes of the two resolve back into their basic constituents. Therefore: “Prajna is the lord of all. He knows all things. He is the dweller in the hearts of all. He is the origin of all. He is the end of all.” (Mandukya Upanishad 6) This is all true, and is a very exact description of our own personal level of prajna as well as the universal Prajna. This verse really sounds like a eulogistic definition of God in ordinary theistic religion. But Sanatana Dharma is not ordinary religion, so it goes much further, far beyond the vistas of “the world’s religions”–a kind of Freudian slip in its way, indicating that they spring from the world, from world-based consciousness. Rather the upanishad tells us of a fourth level of Being.
Turiya: The Self
“The Fourth, say the wise, is not subjective experience, nor objective experience, nor experience intermediate between these two, nor is it a negative condition which is neither consciousness nor unconsciousness. It is not the knowledge of the senses, nor is it relative knowledge, nor yet inferential knowledge. Beyond the senses, beyond the understanding, beyond all expression, is The Fourth. It is pure unitary consciousness, wherein awareness of the world and of multiplicity is completely obliterated. It is ineffable peace. It is the supreme good. It is One without a second. It is the Self. Know it alone!” (Mandukya Upanishad 7) This is rather a huge lump for the intelligence to chew, swallow, and assimilate, because it mostly consists of what the mysterious Fourth–the Turiya–is not.
Proof
There is one point that for some reason is omitted (ignored) by Prabhavananda and other translators. In this verse the Self is said to be eka atma pratyaya saram. Some translators have rendered it to mean that the Turiya is the essence, the sole factor, of the Self. And of course this is the truth. But Shankara says something quite interesting. He says this phrase means that the proof or evidence of this Fourth is the very belief in its existence! What he means is that when the deep conviction arises from within the consciousness that the Turiya exists it is not a matter of reason–for reason stops at the stage of verse six. Rather, it is a manifestation of the Self as well as the dawning in the individual’s awareness of the Turiya’s reality. It is a kind of primary or preliminary vision of the Self, and not at all a matter of the intellect (buddhi). Obviously, then, the truth about Turiya cannot really be taught to anyone–it has to arise own its own as a result of the individual drawing near to the Self. It is a matter of spiritual evolution alone.
And here is the essence of the essence of subject: “It is the Self. Know it alone!”
Om
The upanishad is not dispensing mere theory to us, but knowledge meant to be put into practice and proven by that practice. So it continues: “This Self, beyond all words, is the syllable OM. This syllable, though indivisible, consists of three letters—A-U-M.” (Mandukya Upanishad 8)
The Self, the Atman, is Om! If we knew only this fact and none other, we would possess the key to liberation. All the philosophy in the world, however profound or true, means absolutely nothing unless we can experience the truth and be freed from the effects of ignorance: karma and rebirth. Om is the means of experience and freedom.
Om is also considered to be formed of the three letters a, u, and m, which represent the three states of waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep respectively, as well as the physical, astral, and causal levels of existence. In Sanskrit, when a and u are combined they produce the sound of o. However, this only applies to verbal speech. In mental “speaking” we make the pure sound of o, not a and u together. So inwardly Om is only two letters, not three. Nevertheless, the upanishad is considering the three-letter form because Om contains within Itself the three states of conscious that have been discussed, and Om is the way to access and unify the three.
“Vaiswanara, the Self as the universal person in his physical being, corresponds to the first letter–A. Whosoever knows Vaiswanara obtains what he desires, and becomes the first among men.” (Mandukya Upanishad 9) He who masters the waking state through the japa and meditation of Om also masters the material world and becomes himself a master among men–not of men, but among men, for sages have no wish to control others though they gladly tell us how to control ourselves. The desires of such masters are fulfilled because they are intimately connected with the very essence of creation and whatever they think can be realized. This is how they work miracles, even creating things if needed.
“Taijasa, the Self as the universal person in his mental being, corresponds to the second letter—U. Taijasa and the letter U both stand in dream, between waking and sleeping. Whosoever knows Taijasa grows in wisdom, and is highly honored.” (Mandukya Upanishad 10) Sanskrit is capable of more than one interpretation, and this verse can also say two very interesting things: 1) Such a master increases the knowledge of humanity and even gives inner momentum to assist questing souls to access knowledge, and 2) he becomes one with all human beings in the sense that when they meet him they feel that his is one with them–one of them–and they are so attuned and comfortable with him that they feel he is virtually their own self. This is seen in the great saints. Whether a beggar or a king approaches them, they feel that they are their dear and their own. I saw and experienced this for myself with Swami Sivananda. His greatness was cosmic; he was a virtual god upon the earth; and yet, I felt so at ease with him–even though I was always in awe of him. How many times I have sat looking at his radiant countenance and thought: “If there is anyone in this world who loves me, it is this man.” Of course he was “man” only in form. Within he was the divine Self. Yet he was so accessible and so easy to communicate with. He was as close to me as my Self–for he was one with That Which is my Self.
It is important for us in the West to understand this aspect of holy people because we are so brainwashed with the idea of power and control and much more impressed with the power to curse than the power to bless. Rebuke, curse, deprecate, punish, torment, and destroy–these are the “ways” of the Western “God” who fortunately is a blasphemy and not a reality. No wonder Jesus said: “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:22, 23)
Om is the key to the subconscious, just as it is to the conscious, so through Om the master yogi knows all about himself and has no illusions about himself. He also knows all about others and understands them. No one can fool him. I saw this in Sivananda, as well. He was always so kind, and often humorous, but he went right to the truth of things in relation to people’s foibles.
“Prajna, the Self as the universal person in dreamless sleep, corresponds to the third letter—M. He is the origin and the end of all. Whosoever knows Prajna knows all things.” (Mandukya Upanishad 11) Being one with the source and the ultimate goal of all, a self-realized being is omniscient because he ever dwells at the core of all–past, present, and future.
In conclusion
Having said all these amazing things, the upanishad brings us back to the heart of it all: Om.
“The Fourth, the Self, is OM, the indivisible syllable. This syllable is unutterable, and beyond mind. In it the manifold universe disappears. It is the supreme good–One without a second.
Whosoever knows OM, the Self, becomes the Self.” (Mandukya Upanishad 12) Gambhirananda: “The partless Om is Turiya–beyond all conventional dealings, the limit of the negation of the phenomenal world, the auspicious, and the non-dual. Om is thus the Self to be sure. He who knows thus enters the Self through his Self.”
The partless Om. In its attempt to convey to our human intellects a bit of the glory of Om, the upanishad has considered It as having four aspects or “parts,” but in reality It is without parts, being absolutely unitary in Its nature. So the upanishad reminds us of this lest we mistake its intent and meaning. Just as we sometimes have to speak inaccurately to children to get our ideas across, so has the upanishad done with us. But now it corrects any wrong impression we may have gotten.
Beyond all conventional dealings. Swami Nikhilananda renders this: “without relationship,” meaning that we cannot “deal” with God as we do with a material object or another human being. Nor can it be spoken about as It really is, for It lies beyond phenomena–although It is the source of phenomena. We cannot “relate” to God, but we can know our oneness with God when we ourselves pass beyond all dual relationships.
The limit of the negation of the phenomenal world. We must realize that the Self is absolutely like nothing we know in relative existence, and therefore It is beyond the reach of any words. That is the intellectual side of the situation. On the metaphysical side we have to negate all “things” from our consciousness that we find in the phenomenal world.
The auspicious. Lest we think this is a losing or a giving up of something worthwhile, the upanishad tells us that the Self is the truly auspicious, the truly fortunate, and producing good fortune. We really only give up and negate a mirage in exchange for The Real.
The non-dual. The Real being non-dual, we discover that It is us! So we not only gain everything, we experience it as being us. We recognize ourselves as truly being “the kingdom, the power, and the glory.”
Om is thus the Self to be sure. Om reveals the truth of what the upanishad is telling us. Om is not a symbol or designator of the Self, It IS the Self. This can be known.
He who knows thus enters the Self through his Self. We enter into our true Being through the japa and meditation of Om–which is our eternal Self. There is no greater or higher knowledge than the knowledge of Om. And now the upanishad has given us that knowledge.
End of Mandukya Commentary:
Taittiriya Upanishad
Translated by Swami Gambhirananda
Published by Advaita Ashram, Kolkatta
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Siksha Valli
I-i- 1: May Mitra be blissful to us. May Varuna be blissful to us. May Aryaman be blissful to us. May Indra and Brihaspati be blissful to us. May Vishnu, of long strides, be blissful to us. Salutation to Brahman. Salutation to you, O Vayu. You, indeed, are the immediate Brahman. You alone I shall call the direct Brahman. I shall call you righteousness. I shall call you truth. May He protect me. May He protect the teacher. May He protect me. May He protect the teacher. Om, peace, peace, peace !
I-ii- 1: We shall speak of the science of pronunciation. (The things to be learnt are) the alphabet, accent, measure, emphasis, uniformity, juxtaposition. Thus has been spoken the chapter on pronunciation.
I-iii- 1: May we both attain fame together. May spiritual pre-eminence be vouchsafed to both of us together. Now therefore, we shall state the meditation on juxtaposition through five categories – relating to the worlds, to the shining things, to knowledge, to progeny, and to the body. These, they call the great juxtapositions. Now then, as regards the meditation on the worlds. The earth is the first letter. Heaven is the last letter. The sky is the meeting-place.
I-iii-2-4: Vayu is the link. This is the meditation with regard to the worlds. Then follows the meditation with regard to the shining things. Fire is the first letter. The sun is the last letter. Water is the rallying point. Lightning is the link. This is the meditation with regard to the shining things. Then follows the meditation with regard to knowledge. The teacher is the first letter. The student is the last letter.
Knowledge is the meeting-place. Instruction is the link. This is the meditation with regard to knowledge. Then follows the meditation with regard to progeny. The mother is the first letter. The father is the last letter. The progeny is the focal point. Generation is the link. This is the meditation with regard to progeny. Then follows the meditation with regard to the (individual) body. The lower jaw is the first letter. The upper jaw is the last letter. Speech is the meeting-place. The tongue is the link. This is the meditation with regard to the (individual) body. These are the great juxtapositions. Anyone who meditates on these great juxtapositions, as they are explained, becomes conjoined with progeny, animals, the splendour of holiness, edible food, and the heavenly world.
I-iv-1-2: The Om that is the most exalted in the Vedas, that pervades all worlds, and that emerged from the immortal Vedas as their quintessence, may he (Om that is Indra), the supreme Lord, gratify me with intelligence. O Lord, may I be the receptacle of immortality. May my body be fit; may my tongue be surpassingly sweet; may I hear much through the ears. You are the sheath of Brahman: you are covered by (worldly) wisdom. Protect what I have heard. Then vouchsafe to me who am her (i.e. Prosperity’s) own, that Prosperity which brings, increases, and accomplishes quickly for me clothes, cattle, food, and drink for ever, and which is associated with furry and other animals. Svaha. May the Brahmacharins (i.e. students) come to me from all sides. Svaha. May the Brahmacharins come to me in various ways. Svaha. May the Brahmacharins come to me in the proper way. Svaha. May the Brahmacharins have physical self-control. Svaha. May the Brahmacharins have mental self-control. Svaha.
I-iv- 3: May I become famous among people. Svaha. May I become praiseworthy among the wealthy. Svaha. O adorable One, may I enter into you, such as you are. Svaha. O venerable One, you, such as you are, enter into me. Svaha. O adorable One, who are greatly diversified, may I purify my sins in you. Svaha. As water flows down a slope, as months roll into a year, similarly O Lord, may the students come to me from all quarters. Svaha. You are like a resting house, so you become revealed to me, you reach me through and through.
I-v-1-2: Bhuh, Bhuvah, Suvah – these three, indeed, are the Vyahritis. Of them Mahacamasya knew a fourth one – Maha by name. It is Brahman; it is the Self. The other gods are the limbs. Bhuh, indeed, is this world. Bhuvah is the intermediate space. Suvah is the other world. Maha is the sun; through the sun, indeed, do all the worlds flourish. Bhuh, indeed is the fire. Bhuvah is the air. Suvah is the sun.
Maha is the moon; through the moon, indeed, all the luminaries flourish. Bhuh, indeed, is the Rig-Veda. Bhuvah is the Sama-Veda. Suvah is the Yajur-Veda.
I-v- 3: Maha is Brahman (i.e. Om), for by Brahman (Om), indeed, are all the Vedas nourished. Bhuh, indeed, is Prana; Bhuvah is Apana; Suvah is Vyana; Maha is food; for by food, indeed, are all the vital forces nourished. These, then, that are four, are (each) fourfold. The Vyahritis are divided into four groups of four (each). He who knows these knows Brahman. All the gods carry presents to him.
I-vi-1-2: In the space that there is in the heart, is this Person who is realisable through knowledge, and who is immortal and effulgent. This thing that hangs down between the palates like a teat, through it runs the path of Brahman; and reaching where the hairs part, it passes out by separating the skulls. (Passing out through that path, a man) becomes established in Fire as the Vyahriti Bhuh; he becomes established in Air as the Vyahriti Bhuvah; in the sun as the Vyahriti Suvah; in Brahman as the Vyahriti Mahah. He himself gets independent sovereignty; he attains the lord of the mind; he becomes the ruler of speech, the ruler of eyes, the ruler of ears, the ruler of knowledge. Over and above all these he becomes Brahman which is embodied in Akasa, which is identified with the gross and the subtle and has truth as Its real nature, which reveals in life, under whose possession the mind is a source of bliss, which is enriched with peace and is immortal. Thus, O Pracinayogya, you worship.
I-vii- 1: The earth, sky, heaven, the primary quarters, and the intermediate quarters; fire, air, the sun, the moon, and the stars; water, herbs, trees, sky, and Virat – these relate to natural factors. Then follow the individual ones: Prana, Vyana, Apana, Udana and Samana; the eye, the ear, the mind, speech and sense of touch; skin, flesh, muscles, bones and marrow. Having imagined these thus, the seer said, “All this is constituted by five factors; one fills up the (outer) fivefold ones by the (individual) fivefold ones.
I-viii- 1: Om is Brahman. Om is all this. Om is well known as a word of imitation (i.e. concurrence). Moreover, they make them recite (to the gods) with the words, “Om, recite (to the gods)”. They commence singing Samas with Om. Uttering the words “Om som” they recite the Shastras. The (priest) Brahma approves with the word Om. One permits the performance of the Agnihotra sacrifice with the word Om. A Brahmana, when about to recite the Vedas utters Om under the idea, I shall attain Brahman”. He does verily attain Brahman.
I-ix- 1: Righteousness and learning and teaching (are to be practised). Truth and learning and teaching (are to be practised). Austerity and learning and teaching (are to be resorted to). Control of the outer senses and learning and teaching (are to be practised). Control of the inner organs and learning and teaching (are to be resorted to). The fires (are to be lighted up), and learning and teaching (are to be followed). The Agnihotra (is to be performed), and learning and teaching (are to be carried on). Guests (are to be entertained), and learning and teaching (are to be practised). Social good conduct (is to be adhered to), and learning and teaching (are to be practised). Children (are to be begotten), and learning and teaching (are to carried on). Procreation and learning and teaching (are to carried on). A grandson (is to be raised), and learning and teaching (are to be practised). Truth (is the thing) – this is what Satyavacha, of the line of Rathitara, thinks. Austerity (is the thing) – this is what Taponitya, son of Purusisti, thinks. Learning and teaching alone (are the things) – this is what Naka, son of Mudgala, thinks. For that indeed is the austerity; for that indeed is the austerity.
I-x- I: I am the invigorator of the tree (of the world). My fame is high like the ridge of a mountain. My source is the pure (Brahman). I am like that pure reality (of the Self) that is in the sun. I am the effulgent wealth. I am possessed of a fine intellect, and am immortal and undecaying. Thus was the statement of Trisanku after the attainment of realisation.
I-xi- 1: Having taught the Vedas, the preceptor imparts this post-instruction to the students: “Speak the truth. Practise righteousness. Make no mistake about study. Having offered the desirable wealth to the teacher, do not cut off the line of progeny. There should be no inadvertence about truth. There should be no deviation from righteous activity. There should be no error about protection of yourself. Do not neglect propitious activities. Do not be careless about learning and teaching.
I-xi-2-4: There should be no error in the duties towards the gods and manes. Let your mother be a goddess unto you. Let your father be a god unto you. Let your teacher be a god unto you. Let your guest be a god unto you. The works that are not blameworthy are to be resorted to, but not the others. These actions of ours that are commendable are to be followed by you, but not the others. You should, by offering seats, remove the fatigue of those Brahmanas who are more praiseworthy among us. The offering should be with honour; the offering should not be with dishonour. The offering should be in plenty. The offering should be with modesty. The offering should be with awe. The offering should be with sympathy. Then, should you have any doubt with regard to duties or customs, you should behave in those matters just as Brahmanas do, who may happen to be there and who are able deliberators, who are adepts in those duties and customs, who are not directed by others, who are not cruel, and who are desirous of merit. Then, as for the accused people, you should behave with regard to them just as the Brahmanas do, who may happen to be there and who are able deliberators, who are adepts in those duties and customs, who are not directed by others, who are not cruel, who are desirous of merit. This is the injunction. This is the instruction. This is the secret of the Vedas. This is divine behest. This is how the meditation is to be done. This is how this must be meditated on.
I-xii- 1: May Mitra be blissful to us. May Varuna be blissful to us. May Aryaman be blissful to us. May Indra and Brihaspati be blissful to us. May Vishnu, of long strides, be blissful to us. Salutation to Brahman. Salutation to you, O Vayu. You, indeed, are the immediate Brahman. You alone I shall call the direct Brahman. I shall call you righteousness. I shall call you truth. May He protect me. May He protect the teacher. May He protect me. May He protect the teacher. Om, peace, peace, peace !
Brahmananda Valli
II- i: May He protect us both together. May He nourish us both together. May we both acquire strength together. Let our study be brilliant. May we not cavil at each other.
Om! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
II-i- 1: The knower of Brahman attains the highest. Here is a verse uttering that very fact: “Brahman is truth, knowledge, and infinite. He who knows that Brahman as existing in the intellect, lodged in the supreme space in the heart, enjoys, as identified with the all - knowing Brahman, all desirable things simultaneously.
From that Brahman, which is the Self, was produced space. From space emerged air. From air was born fire. From fire was created water. From water sprang up earth. From earth were born the herbs. From the herbs was produced food. From food was born man. That man, such as he is, is a product of the essence of food. Of him this indeed, is the head, this is the southern side; this is the northern side; this is the Self; this is the stabilising tail.
Here is a verse pertaining to that very fact:
II-ii- 1: All beings that rest on the earth are born verily from food. Besides, they live on food, and at the end, they get merged in food. Food was verily born before all creatures; therefore it is called the medicine for all, those who worship food as Brahman acquire all the food. Food was verily born before all creatures; therefore it is called the medicine for all. Creatures are born of food; being born, they grow by food. Since it is eaten and it eats the creatures, it is called food.
As compared with this self made of the essence of food, as said before, there is another inner self which is made of air. By that is this one filled. This Self is also of the human form. Its human form takes after the human form of that (earlier one). Of this, Prana is the head, Vyana is the southern side, Apana is the northern side, space is the self, the earth is the tail that stabilises. Pertaining to that is this (following) verse:
II-iii- 1: The senses act by following the vital force in the mouth; all human beings and animals that are there act similarly; since on the vital force depends the life of all creatures, therefore it is called the life of all; those who worship the vital force as Brahman, attain the full span of life; since on the vital force depends the life of all, it is called the life of all.
Of the preceding (physical) one, this one, indeed, is the embodied self. As compared with this vital body, there is another internal self constituted by mind. By that one is this one filled up. That self constituted by mind is also of a human shape. The human shape of the mental body takes after the human shape of the vital body. Of the mental body, the Yajur-mantras are the head. The Rig-mantras are the right side, the Sama-mantras are the left side, the Brahmana portion is the self (trunk), the mantras seen by Atharvangiras are the stabilising tail. Pertaining to this there is a verse:
II-iv- 1: One is not subjected to fear at any time if one knows the Bliss that is Brahman failing to reach which (Brahman, as conditioned by the mind), words, along with the mind, turn back.
Of that preceding (vital) one, this (mental one is verily the embodied self. As compared with this mental body, there is another internal self constituted by valid knowledge. By that one is this one filled up. This one as aforesaid, has verily a human shape. It is humanly shaped in accordance with the human shape of the earlier one. Of him faith is verily the head; righteousness is the right side; truth is the left side; concentration is the self (trunk); (the principle, called) Mahat, is the stabilising tail.
Pertaining to this, here is a verse:
II-v- 1: Knowledge actualises a sacrifice, and it executes the duties as well. All the gods meditate on the first-born Brahman, conditioned by knowledge. If one knows the knowledge-Brahman, and if one does not err about it, one abandons all sins in the body and fully enjoys all enjoyable things.
Of that preceding (mental) one this (cognitive one) is verily the embodied self. As compared with this cognitive body, there is another internal self constituted by bliss. By that one is this one filled up. This one, as aforesaid, has verily a human shape. It is humanly shaped in accordance with the human shape of the earlier one. Of him joy is verily the head, enjoyment is the right side, hilarity is the left side; bliss is the self (trunk). Brahman is the tail that stabilises. Apropos of this here is a verse:
II-vi- 1: If anyone knows Brahman as non-existing, he himself becomes non-existent. If anyone knows that Brahman does exist, then they consider him as existing by virtue of that (knowledge).
Of that preceding (blissful) one, this one is the embodied self. Hence hereafter follow these questions: After departing (from here) does any ignorant man go to the other world (or does he not) ?
Alternatively, does any man of knowledge, after departing (from here) reach the other world (or does he not) ?
He (the Self) wished, “Let me be many, let me be born. He undertook a deliberation. Having deliberated, he created all this that exists. That (Brahman), having created (that), entered into that very thing. And having entered there, It became the formed and the formless, the defined and the undefined, the sustaining and the non-sustaining, the sentient and the insentient, the true and the untrue. Truth became all this that there is. They call that Brahman Truth. Pertaining to this, there occurs this verse:
II-vii- 1: In the beginning all this was but the Unmanifested (Brahman). From that emerged the manifested. That Brahman created Itself by Itself. Therefore It is called the self-creator.
That which is known as the self-creator is verily the source of joy; for one becomes happy by coming in contact with that source of joy. Who, indeed, will inhale, and who will exhale, if this Bliss be not there in the supreme space (within the heart). This one, indeed, enlivens (people). For whenever an aspirant gets fearlessly established in this un-perceivable, bodiless, inexpressible, and un-supporting Brahman, he reaches the state of fearlessness. For, whenever the aspirant creates the slightest difference in It, he is smitten with fear. Nevertheless, that very Brahman is a terror to the (so-called) learned man who lacks the unitive outlook.
Illustrative of this is this verse here:
II-viii-1-4: Out of His fear the Wind blows. Out of fear the Sun rises. Out of His fear runs Fire, as also Indra, and Death, the fifth.
This, then, is an evaluation of that Bliss:
Suppose there is a young man – in the prime of life, good, learned, most expeditious, most strongly built, and most energetic. Suppose there lies this earth for him filled with wealth. This will be one unit of human joy. If this human joy be multiplied a hundred times, it is one joy of the man-Gandharvas, and so also of a follower of the Vedas unaffected by desires. If this joy of the man-Gandharvas be multiplied a hundred times, it is one joy of the divine-Gandharvas, and so also of a follower of the Vedas unaffected by desires. If the joy of the divine-Gandharvas be increased a hundredfold, it is one joy of the manes whose world is everlasting, and so also of a follower of the Vedas unaffected by desires. If the joy of the manes that dwell in the everlasting world be increased a hundredfold, it is one joy of those that are born as gods in heaven, and so also of a follower of the Vedas untouched by desires. If the joy of those that are born as gods in heaven be multiplied a hundredfold, it is one joy of the gods called the Karma-Devas, who reach the gods through Vedic rites, and so also of a follower of the Vedas unaffected by desires. If the joy of the gods, called the Karma-Devas, be multiplied a hundredfold, it is one joy of the gods, and so also of a follower of the Vedas untarnished by desires. If the joy of the gods be increased a hundred times, it is one joy of Indra, and so also of a follower of the Vedas unaffected by desires. If the joy of Indra be multiplied a hundredfold, it is one joy of Brihaspati and so also of a follower of the Vedas unaffected by desires. If the joy of Brihaspati be increased a hundred times, it is one joy of Virat, and so also of a follower of the Vedas untarnished by desires. If the joy of Virat be multiplied a hundred times, it is one joy of Hiranyagarbha, and so also of a follower of the Vedas unsullied by desires.
II-viii- 5: He that is here in the human person, and He that is there in the sun, are one. He who knows thus attains, after desisting from this world, this self made of food, attains this self made of vital force, attains this self made of mind, attains this self made of intelligence, attains this self made of bliss.
Expressive of this there occurs this verse:
II-ix- 1: The enlightened man is not afraid of anything after realising that Bliss of Brahman, failing to reach which, words turn back along with the mind.
Him, indeed, this remorse does not afflict: “Why did I not perform good deeds, and why did I perform bad deeds ? He who is thus enlightened strengthens the Self with which these two are identical; for it is he, indeed, who knows thus, that can strengthen the Self which these two really are. This is the secret teaching.
Bhrigu Valli
III-i-1: Bhrigu, the well-known son of Varuna, approached his father Varuna with the (formal) request, “O, revered sir, teach me Brahman”. To him he (Varuna) said this: “Food, vital force, eye, ear, mind, speech – (these are the aids to knowledge of Brahman)”. To him he (Varuna) said: “Crave to know that from which all these beings take birth, that by which they live after being born, that towards which they move and into which they merge. That is Brahman”. He practised concentration. He, having practised concentration,
III-ii-1: He realised food (i.e. Virat, the gross Cosmic person) as Brahman. For it is verily from food that all these beings take birth, on food they subsist after being born and they move towards and merge into food. Having realised that, he again approached his father Varuna with the (formal) request. “O, revered sir, teach me Brahman”. To him he (Varuna) said: “Crave to know Brahman through concentration; concentration is Brahman”. He practised concentration. He, having practised concentration,
III-iii-1: He knew the vital force as Brahman; for from the vital force, indeed, spring all these beings; having come into being, they live through the vital force; they move towards and enter into the vital force, Having known thus, he again approached his father Varuna with the (formal) request. “O, revered sir, teach me Brahman”. To him he (Varuna) said: “Crave to know Brahman through concentration; concentration is Brahman”. He practised concentration. Having practised concentration,
III-iv-1: He knew mind as Brahman; for from mind, indeed, spring all these beings; having been born, they are sustained by mind; and they move towards and merge into mind. Having known that, he again approached his father Varuna with the (formal) request. “O, revered sir, teach me Brahman”. To him he (Varuna) said: “Crave to know Brahman through concentration; concentration is Brahman”. He practised concentration. Having practised concentration,
III-v-1: He knew knowledge as Brahman; for from knowledge, indeed, spring all these beings; having been born, they are sustained by knowledge; they move towards and merge in knowledge. Having known that, he again approached his father Varuna with the (formal) request. “O, revered sir, teach me Brahman”. To him he (Varuna) said: “Crave to know Brahman through concentration; concentration is Brahman”. He practised concentration. Having practised concentration,
III-vi-1: He knew Bliss as Brahman; for from Bliss, indeed, all these beings originate; Having been born, they are sustained by Bliss; they move towards and merge in Bliss. This knowledge realised by Bhrigu and imparted by Varuna (starts from the food-self and) terminates in the supreme (Bliss), established in the cavity of the heart. He who knows thus becomes firmly established; he becomes the possessor of food and the eater of food; and he becomes great in progeny, cattle and the lustre of holiness, and great in glory.
III-vii-1: His vow is that, he should not deprecate food. The vital force is verily the food, and the body is the eater; for the vital force is lodged in the body. (Again, the body is the food and the vital force is the eater, for) the body is fixed on the vital force. Thus (the body and vital force are both foods; and) one food is lodged in another. He who knows thus that one food is lodged in another, gets firmly established. He becomes a possessor and an eater of food. He becomes great in progeny, cattle, and the lustre of holiness and great in glory.
III-viii-1: His vow is that he should not discard food. Water, indeed, is food; fire is the eater; for water is established on fire. (Fire is food and water is the eater, for) fire resides in water. Thus one food is lodged in another food. He who knows thus that one food is lodged in another, gets firmly established. He becomes a possessor and an eater of food. He becomes great in progeny, cattle, and the lustre of holiness and great in glory.
III-ix-1: His vow is that he should make food plentiful. Earth is food; space is eater; for earth is placed in space. (Space is food; and earth is eater, for) space is placed on earth. Thus one food is lodged in another food. He who knows thus that one food is lodged in another, gets firmly established. He becomes a possessor and an eater of food. He becomes great in progeny, cattle, and the lustre of holiness and great in glory.
III-x-1-2: His vow is that he should not refuse anyone come for shelter. Therefore one should collect plenty of food by whatsoever means he may. (And one should collect food for the further reason that) they say, “Food is ready for him”. Because he offers cooked food in his early age with honour, food falls to his share in the early age with honour. Because he offers food in his middle age with medium courtesy, food falls to his share in his middle age with medium honour. Because he offers food in his old age with scant esteem, food falls to his share in old age with scant consideration. To him who knows thus (comes the result as described).
(Brahman is to be meditated on) as preservation in speech; as acquisition and preservation in exhaling and inhaling; as action in the hands; as movement in the feet; discharge in the anus. There are meditations on the human plane.
Then follow the divine ones. (Brahman is to be meditated on) as contentment in rain; as energy in lightning.
III-x-3-4: Brahman is to be worshipped as fame in beasts; as light in the stars; as procreation, immortality, and joy in the generative organ; as everything in space. One should meditate on that Brahman as the support; thereby one becomes supported. One should meditate on that Brahman as great; thereby one becomes great. One should meditate on It as thinking; thereby one becomes able to think. One should meditate on It as bowing down; thereby the enjoyable things bow down to one. One should meditate on It as the most exalted; Thereby one becomes exalted. One should meditate on It as Brahman’s medium of destruction; thereby the adversaries that envy such a one die, and so do the enemies whom this one dislikes.
This being that is in the human personality, and the being that is there in the sun are one.
III-x-5-6: He who knows thus, attains, after desisting from this world, this self made of food. After attaining this self made of food then, attaining this self made of vital force, then attaining this self made of mind, then attaining this self made of intelligence, then attaining this self made of bliss, and roaming over these worlds with command over food at will and command over all forms at will, he continues singing this Sama song: “Halloo ! Halloo ! Halloo ! I am the food, I am the food, I am the food; I am the eater, I am the eater, I am the eater; I am the unifier, I am the unifier, I am the unifier; I am (Hiranyagarbha) the first born of this world consisting of the formed and the formless, I (as Virat) am earlier than the gods. I am the navel of immortality. He who offers me thus (as food), protect me just as I am. I, food as I am, eat him up who eats food without offering. I defeat (i.e. engulf) the entire universe. Our effulgence is like that of the sun. This is the Upanishad.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may
He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Taittiriyopanishad, included in the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Taittiriya Upanishad Commentary
Commentary on the Taittiriya Upanishad–by Swami Nirmalananda Giri
Reflections On Brahman
In his translations of some upanishads Swami Prabhavananda omitted parts that were in such obscure language that any attempt at translation would really only be speculation. He also omitted very repetitious passages and those that dwelt with matters irrelevant to the knowledge of Brahman and the Self. I think that if you get complete translations of those you will see he was quite justified in this.
Anyhow, I am writing this to explain why in the references to the verses of this upanishad there will be some jumping around.
Thou art indeed…
“Thou art indeed the manifested Brahman. Of thee will I speak. Thee will I proclaim in my thoughts as true. Thee will I proclaim on my lips as true.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 1:1:1)
This fervent profession of faith and fidelity seems quite simple, but when we consider what it entails, it is a high aspiration indeed. It is also strikingly in contrast to most of the upanishads, which continually insist on the transcendence of Brahman and the impossibility of comprehending or speaking of It.
While typing in the forgoing sentence my memory reached back to a time of blessed tranquility in the sacred city of Sukhtal in north India. Tradition says that the supreme Master Sukhadeva, the illumined son of Vyasa, came to Sukhtal and taught the dying King Parikshit the principles of Self-knowledge and liberation. Many centuries later I was in Sukhtal at a spiritual gathering (Samyan Saptah) under the aegis of Sri Ma Anandamayi. One of the great souls (mahatmas) also gathered there was Sri Yogeshwar Brahmachari, a venerable saint of Bengal whom I had met and visited with before. Every day he would be seated on the platform near Ma, sitting in profound meditation, not moving for hours or even seeming to breathe. The exception would be when he would give a daily talk on spiritual life. In the evening there would be a question-and-answer session with people putting questions to the various renowned spiritual leaders on the platform. One evening, right after a famous Vedantin had given a rather lengthy answer to a question, Yogeshwar Brahmachari began to speak forcefully. In a matter of moments the tranquil atmosphere was replaced by one of anger and suppressed violence–toward him. It really felt like they were about to physically attack and maul him, the only restraint being the presence of Ma Anandamayi.
Naturally, the next morning found me seeking out Yogeshwar Brahmachari to find what had taken place, since everything had been said in Hindi. I found him happily ensconced in a cowshed (!) where he was sleeping on some straw placed on a stone ledge. I was very aware that not one of the other savants sitting on the platform day after day would have tolerated such humble and primitive surroundings. But Brahmachariji was very happy, as he could cuddle and talk to the little calf that was tethered nearby.
After some time of giving our latest news to each other, I questioned him about the previous nights’ volcanic near-explosion. He laughed merrily and told me that he had challenged and rebuked all the “big Advaitins (Non-dualists)” sitting there, demanding to know why they harped all the time on the transcendence of God and ignored the divine immanence. “Why do you keep telling these people who have so many worldly involvements and problems that the world is unreal, that they should care nothing about it, and that to do otherwise is ignorance? In all these days I have not heard even one of you say just one piece of practical advice that would help them live their lives and remember God.
They have come here at great inconvenience and expense, leaving their homes and work behind, seeking ways to keep from drowning in the world. And you just tell them the world is no more than a dream and to forget it! How could they forget it? How many children must they have to care for and how many debts and obligations? What is wrong with you? Why can’t you tell them how to better their lives and rise above their worries and fears? You expect them to honor and support you, but what use are you to anybody? You should be ashamed!” He laughed and concluded: “So their Non-dual ‘realization’ and philosophy went out the window and they got very interested in a dualistic battle with me. If it had not been for Mataji being there I would have gotten some blows!” The thought of the frail saint being assailed by the “big Babas” who were as robust as their tempers, was not a happy one. But my dear friend was quite content with the situation, being firmly committed to the good sense embodied in this opening verse of the upanishad. What the Taittiriya Upanishad now will do is balance out the very true, though one-sided, teachings of some of the other upanishads regarding the nature of
Brahman and the world.
Thou art indeed the manifested Brahman. First we must understand that the cosmos is NOT Maya. Maya is the illusion in our mind as to the nature of the cosmos and our relation to it. Maya is a product of our ignorance, it is our wrong seeing and acting. The world “out there” is not Maya. Maya is the world “in here”–in our mind. Maya is the product of ego. Once this inner veil has been destroyed, then we see the world as God in manifestation. In reaction we then exult with the upanishadic sage, also saying: “Thou art indeed the manifested Brahman!”
Of thee will I speak. This will consist of two ways of speaking: denying what the world is not and affirming what the world is. We will speak of the reality of the world as Brahman. We will also speak of the unreality in the minds of ignorant human beings and explain its nature as delusion. Further, we will speak of the nature of the world as an evolutionary ladder, and explain how it is used by the yogi as the means of freedom and ascent.
Thee will I proclaim in my thoughts as true. We will see and know in our minds that which is real in the world, always aware that it is not “the world” at all, but Divinity Itself. This is a matter of knowing, not mere speaking or speculating.
Thee will I proclaim on my lips as true. And this truth will we both live and speak to others. The important point here is that we must know before we speak. Otherwise our words are just empty noise.
The true Knower revels in the affirmation expressed in this first verse.
Necessary Lessons
Protection
All sentient beings–not just humans–seek for security, for safety. “Shelter” means a lot more than a place out of the rain. It is commonly said that there is safety in numbers, but that it not true. There is only one assurance of safety, and the next verse expresses it rightly:
“May truth protect me, may it protect my teacher, may it protect us both. May glory come to us both. May the light of Brahman shine in us both.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 1:1:1, 1:3:1)
Satyam means truth, both relative and absolute, truthfulness, and Brahman Who is The Truth. Obviously, this verse is referring mostly to Brahman, but simple truth in the sense of accuracy and honesty is also implied. If Truth is possessed by both student and teaching, then it only follows that renown (yashah) and the splendor of Brahman (Brahma-varchasam) will accrue to them as well.
A lesson on Om
“Thou art Brahman, one with the syllable OM, which is in all scriptures–the supreme syllable, the mother of all sound. Do thou strengthen me with true wisdom. May I, O Lord, realize the Immortal. May my body be strong and whole; may my tongue be sweet; may my ears hear only praise of thee. The syllable OM is verily thine image. Through this syllable thou mayest be attained. Thou art beyond the grasp of the intellect. Vouchsafe that I forget not what I have learned in the scriptures.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 1:4:1)
This verse and those following are addressed to the Infinite, to Brahman, but there is a purpose for opening with a declaration that Brahman and Om are the same: what is going to be petitioned for can be attained through the japa and meditation of Om. We should look at these verses in that context.
Thou art Brahman, one with the syllable OM, which is in all scriptures–the supreme syllable, the mother of all sound. The more literal description is: “The Om that is the most exalted in the Vedas, that pervades all words, and that emerged from the immortal Vedas as their quintessence.” Om is the crown jewel of the Vedas–which includes the upanishads. All sound, including humans speech, is contained in Om–is actually a variation of the root-sound (mula shabda) that is Om. All words, then, are permutations of Om. This indicates that the faculty of speech is the supreme faculty in human beings, the one that most directly links them to their Divine Source–that actually Om IS their Source. The quintessence of the Vedas is the Divine Vision which is their very basis. And Om is identical to that Illumination. No wonder, then, that Patanjali tells us that the japa and meditation of Om is the way to the highest realization. (Yoga Sutras 1:28) Or that the Mundaka Upanishad urges us to “dismiss other utterances.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.5) We should let go of the chitter-chatter of the mind and its irrelevant thoughts and constantly repeat Om. For the Mundaka Upanishad says in the next part of the verse: “This [Om] is the bridge to immortality.”
Do thou strengthen me with true wisdom. True wisdom is knowledge of the True (Sat), the knowledge of God. Nothing can impart such knowledge but God–and Om is God. So It is the only way to that knowledge. Om is that “one thing which, when known…all is known.”
May I, O Lord, realize the Immortal. Here, too, Om is the means. Swami Gambhirananda renders this phrase: “May I be the receptacle of immortality.” If we continually fill our consciousness with the invocation of Om we shall be vessels of immortality, of Brahman.
May my body be strong and whole; may my tongue be sweet; may my ears hear only praise of thee. Through Om even our external, material life becomes spiritually glorified.
The syllable OM is verily thine image. Through this syllable thou mayest be attained. There is no need for comment on this–what we need is experience of its truth through our own spiritual practice.
Thou art beyond the grasp of the intellect. Vouchsafe that I forget not what I have learned in the scriptures. Since the nature of Brahman–and therefore of Om, as well–is beyond conception and words, it is only natural that we keep forgetting the Truth of them both, just as Arjuna kept forgetting the true nature of Krishna. Since right now we are not consciously established in the Being of Brahman/Om, the fact keeps slipping away from us. For that reason we need to set the scriptural statements regarding Om most firmly in our minds. For the moment, at least, we need to let the sacred texts “remember” for us.
“Thou art the source of all happiness and of all prosperity. Do thou come to me as the goddess of prosperity and shower thy blessings upon me. May the seekers after truth gather round me, may they come from everywhere, that I may teach them thy word.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 1:4:2)
Om is the Manifester of all, so It is the source of all abundance, spiritual and material. Lakshmi, the Goddess of Prosperity, is, like all the other “gods,” a symbol of Om. As we see here, there is no fault in the yogi aspiring to material fulfillment so he can have his mind free to be fixed on the awareness of God.
It is noteworthy that it is not only lawful to desire material welfare, we should also desire to impart to worthy souls around us the truth of “Thy Word”–Om. We should all to some extent be yogacharyas–teachers of yoga. We must share our spiritual wealth with others. “Freely ye have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8)
“May I be a glory among men. May I be richer than the richest. May I enter into thee, O Lord; and mayest thou reveal thyself unto me. Purified am I by thy touch, O Lord of manifold forms.
Thou art the refuge of those who surrender themselves to thee. Reveal thyself to me. Make me thine own. I take my refuge in thee.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 1:4:3) This says a lot: May I be a glory among men. This is not a bid for fame as some translators think. As Swami Prabhavananda understands, our desire must be to manifest glorious humanity on our way to divinity. Even if no one knows we exist, we can still through our sadhana be “a glory among men.” That is a worthy ambition, realized through Om.
May I be richer than the richest. This is done by possessing everything in Infinite Consciousness. What is mere money–or even a mere universe–in comparison to that? Om is Infinite Consciousness.
May I enter into thee, O Lord; and mayest thou reveal thyself unto me. “O Adorable One, may I enter into Thee. O Venerable One, enter into me.” This is Gambhirananda’s rendering. This is the great “Meeting of the Twain.” We unite with Om and Om unites with us.
Purified am I by thy touch, O Lord of manifold forms.
“Om! This Syllable is Brahman. …With frequent application of this divine sound he washes away the stains of the soul.” (Amritabindu Upanishad 20)
“The meditation on Om should not be discontinued. With this divine mantra one should meditate many times for ridding himself of his own impurities.” (Amritanada Upanishad 20)
“The Taraka-Nama [Om], annihilates all sins. The Supreme Brahman shines in him who takes to this Taraka-Nama.” (Sannyasa Upanishad)
“The Pranava [Om] burns away sins;…Hence the Pranava removes all obstacles and destroys all defects.” (Varaha Upanishad 5:68,71)
“The Pranava shall be recited and repeated by those who desire all their sins annihilated.” (Shiva Purana, Vidyeshwarasamhita 17:15)
“Japa of Om purifies the mind.” (Shiva Purana)
“If the devotee repeats the Pranava he becomes pure.” (Shiva Purana, Vidyeshwarasamhita 17:18)
“Just as the bow is the cause of the arrow’s hitting the target, so Om is the bow that brings about the soul’s entry into the Immutable. For the soul when purified by the repetition of Om gets fixed in Brahman with the help of Om without any hindrance, just as an arrow shot from a bow gets transfixed in the target.” (Shankara, Commentary on the Mundaka Upanishad)
Thou art the refuge of those who surrender themselves to thee. Om is the safe haven of the sadhaka.
Reveal thyself to me. It is by the experiencing of Om in its higher and higher (subtler and subtler) forms that It is fully revealed and united with in meditation.
Make me thine own. By ending all separation from Thee. Though we ask the divine blessing for this, it is our effort that enables the Pranava to truly be The Word of Life for us.
I take my refuge in thee. As they often say in India: Japa-Tapa; japa-tapa; japa-tapa. By holding on to Om as “dear life” we enter into Life Itself.
A lesson on Brahman
Now Brahman is addressed in words of those that have crossed the sea of samsara and entered the harbor of the Supreme Self. Rather than obscure them with comments, I will give them just as they are for your inspiration.
“Thou art the Lord, immortal, self-luminous, and of golden effulgence, within the lotus of every heart. Within the heart art thou revealed to those that seek thee.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 1:6:1)
“He who dwells in thee becomes king over himself. He controls his wandering thoughts. He becomes master of his speech and of all his organs of sense. He becomes master of his intellect. Thou art Brahman, whose form is invisible, like ether; whose Self is truth. Thou art perfect peace and immortality, the solace of life, the delight of the mind. May I worship thee!” (Taittiriya Upanishad 1:6:2)
“Om is Brahman. OM is all. He who meditates on OM attains to Brahman.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 1.8.1)
“Having attained to Brahman, a sage declared: “I am life. My glory is like the mountain peak. I am established in the purity of Brahman. I have attained the freedom of the Self. I am Brahman, self-luminous, the brightest treasure. I am endowed with wisdom. I am immortal, imperishable.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 1.10.1)
A lesson on learning
To conclude the first part (adhyaya) of the upanishad, we are given a four-verse exhortation to a student who is departing from the teacher’s house after the completion of his study. It is fitting for all who are involved in “the world” or society to any degree to take these words to heart. For without them we will lose our way, however much we may have read and learned.
“Let your conduct be marked by right action, including study and teaching of the scriptures; by truthfulness in word, deed, and thought; by self-denial and the practice of austerity; by poise and self-control; by performance of the everyday duties of life with a cheerful heart and an unattached mind.
“Speak the truth. Do your duty. Do not neglect the study of the scriptures. Do not cut the thread of progeny. Swerve not from truth. Deviate not from the path of good. Revere greatness.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 1:11:1)
If we seriously intend to get anywhere in spiritual life, these principles will guarantee our success–as surely as their neglect or omission will guarantee our failure. Spiritual life is not a lark or a bit of spice to add to life. And absolutely it is not some emollient to make a negative and foolish life somehow tolerable. Many years ago at the beginning of the yoga boom sparked off by the Beatles I began outlining a book to be called Is Yoga For You? My intention was to warn people away from wasting their time with yoga if they intended to live a life incompatible with yoga’s fundamental character. But I soon realized that it would be a waste of time to write a book for spiritual idlers and dabblers who really would not care whether they succeeded or failed–they just wanted a diversion and something to impress others with, a topic for conversation. But now is the time for the facts to be set forth. I hope the authority of the upanishads will carry sufficient weight.
Let your conduct be marked by right action. There could be many lists of what constitutes right action, but the best is that of Patanjali the master yogi:
1. Ahimsa: non-violence, non-injury, harmlessness.
2. Satya: truthfulness, honesty.
3. Asteya: non-stealing, honesty, non-misappropriativeness.
4. Brahmacharya: sexual continence in thought, word and deed as well as control of all the senses.
5. Aparigraha: non-possessiveness, non-greed, non-selfishness, non-acquisitiveness.
6. Shaucha: purity, cleanliness.
7. Santosha: contentment, peacefulness.
8. Tapas: austerity, practical (i.e., result-producing) spiritual discipline.
9. Swadhyaya: introspective self-study, spiritual study.
10. Ishwarapranidhana: offering of one’s life to God.
Ahimsa involves gentleness, kindness, mercy, and abstinence from taking life–a matter that necessitates a vegetarian diet. Ishwarapranidhana is not just some noble or sentimental vowing of our life to God, but a very real and practical manner of ordering our life so that every moment brings us closer to God-realization, to union with God.
Including study and teaching of the scriptures. Being justly weary of being beaten over the head by “The Word of God,” both Westerners and Middle-Easterners naturally shy away from the idea of scriptural authority, whether the Torah, the Bible, or the Koran. But they misunderstand the very motivation behind reverence for scriptures in the East. Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism do not respect their spiritual texts because of who has spoken them or written them down. Rather, the value of the scriptures rest solely upon their practical value–nothing else. For them, a principle is not true just because it is written in a holy book, rather it was written in the holy book because it was the truth–a truth an can be put to the test and demonstrated to be true. For example, water is not hydrogen and oxygen because a science book says so; the book says so because it is true. The only reason we who follow Eastern religions quote scriptures is because they say it so well–often much clearer than we could on our own. The upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita are masterpieces of concise expression.
Worlds of meaning often lie within a single phrase, even a single word. The bottom line is this: the Eastern scriptures WORK. For thousands of years multitudes have proven in their own life that Patanjali’s list has practical value. And so can we. It is also our duty to teach what we know to others who are sincere and qualified. Whether by informal conversation, giving of books to read, or formal instruction, we must help others as we have been helped.
By truthfulness in word, deed, and thought. It is so important to realize that truth is not a verbal formula, but a way of life, a state of mind. We must live truthfully. Since God is the ultimate truth, we must live “godly.”
By self-denial. Here, too, the East means something totally different from the negative “mortification” of Western religion that is nothing more than an expression of self-loathing, a declaration of human “vileness” rather than the divine nature we “Orientals” know to be the truth of ourselves. In the East, “self-denial” means discipline and control of the egoic impulses to indulgence and laziness. It means not slipping into the morass of sensuality and selfishness. Basically it is ignoring the false ego to foster the true Self, the Spirit.
And the practice of austerity. This is not “mortification” or “penance” either. Tapasya is any practice
which rouses up and expresses our inner virtue, which clears the way for the revelation of our divine nature. It is not “self-denial” in the Western sense, it is Self-affirmation through spiritual practices that produce results in freeing us from ignorance and limitation.
By poise and self-control. I cannot recall ever hearing anyone exhort someone to cultivate dignity, we are so obsessed with the “plain folks” syndrome that we equate with democracy. How it can be considered a compliment to refer to someone as being “comfortable as an old shoe” is quite beyond me–perhaps an indication of my Eastern samskaras. The sadhaka should have dignity and even an intelligent reserve in dealing with others. This should arise from respect, both for himself and for others. We need not be artificial and put on airs, acting like “Lady Bottomley’s plush horse” (a favorite expression of my father), but we should act with self-respect and awareness. (It was called “circumspection” in a more sensible era.) Anyway, you get the idea.
By performance of the everyday duties of life with a cheerful heart and an unattached mind. This is possible only for a yogi. Cheerfulness is a natural side-effect of valid yoga practice. When you see a “yogi” that is not happy and optimistic, then either the yoga is no good or it is not being practiced. I am not speaking of the manic behavior of some “yogis” that were either cracked before they started yoga or the yoga cracked them. (I am referring to those that laugh raucously at the slightest expression of humor, or grin/smile all the time no matter what. These are the “yoga clowns” whose motto seems to be “Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy.” I heard of a man who once remarked to some of these yoga-hebephrenics: “You know, the way you all smile all the time is spooky.” When they responded by grinning all the more he insisted: “No, I mean it–IT IS REALLY SPOOKY!”) As they say: spot the looney.
Yoga promotes cheerfulness, but so does “an unattached mind”–it may be the major factor. As the Gita says: “He puts aside desire, offering the act to Brahman. The lotus leaf rests unwetted on water: he rests on action, untouched by action.” (Bhagavad Gita 5:10)
Speak the truth. This is not easy, especially since you have to first know the truth. Patanjali claims that a person who speaks absolute truth at absolutely all times will find that whatever he says will come to be. Here is an example from the first chapter of the first edition of Autobiography of a Yogi available from Crystal Clarity Publishers:
“Another early recollection is outstanding; and literally so, for I bear the scar to this day. My elder sister Uma and I were seated in the early morning under a neem tree in our Gorakhpur compound. She was helping me with a Bengali primer, what time I could spare my gaze from the near-by parrots eating ripe margosa fruit. Uma complained of a boil on her leg, and fetched a jar of ointment. I smeared a bit of the salve on my forearm.
“‘Why do you use medicine on a healthy arm?’
“‘Well, Sis, I feel I am going to have a boil tomorrow. I am testing your ointment on the spot where the boil will appear.’
“‘You little liar!’
“‘Sis, don’t call me a liar until you see what happens in the morning.’ Indignation filled me.
“Uma was unimpressed, and thrice repeated her taunt. An adamant resolution sounded in my voice as I made slow reply.
“‘By the power of will in me, I say that tomorrow I shall have a fairly large boil in this exact place on my arm; and your boil shall swell to twice its present size!’
“Morning found me with a stalwart boil on the indicated spot; the dimensions of Uma’s boil had doubled. With a shriek, my sister rushed to Mother. ‘Mukunda has become a necromancer!’ Gravely, Mother instructed me never to use the power of words for doing harm. I have always remembered her counsel, and followed it.
“My boil was surgically treated. A noticeable scar, left by the doctor’s incision, is present today. On my right forearm is a constant reminder of the power in man’s sheer word.
“Those simple and apparently harmless phrases to Uma, spoken with deep concentration, had possessed sufficient hidden force to explode like bombs and produce definite, though injurious, effects. I understood, later, that the explosive vibratory power in speech could be wisely directed to free one’s life from difficulties, and thus operate without scar or rebuke.”
Do your duty. Dharma–here translated “duty”–is the way of life in accordance with the deep wellsprings of our personality–karma and samskaras. These comprise our fundamental nature, our prakriti. Through our personal dharma, our swadharma, we most quickly unfold our inner potential and stimulate our spiritual consciousness. It is so much more than a mere observance of “right and wrong,” “do and don’t.” So important is dharma, that the Gita tells us: “It is better to do your own duty, however imperfectly, than to assume the duties of another person, however successfully. Prefer to die doing your own duty: the duty of another will bring you into great spiritual danger.” (Bhagavad Gita 3:35) This is obviously a very serious matter
Do not neglect the study of the scriptures. This is not just a helpful hint, it is a major spiritual principle. True dharma is a lifelong study, and dharma is perfectly expressed in the eleven major upanishads (the Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya, Brihadaranyaka, and Svetashvatara Upanishads), the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras (Yoga Darshana), the Brahma Sutras, and the commentaries on them by Shankara. The Gita should be a daily study of the sadhaka as it contains the essence of all the others in a most practical and easily understood manner. For centuries many spiritual teachers in India have required their students to study the Gita daily. Much of the gross misunderstanding of Hinduism, and Advaita in particular, would be eliminated if the Gita were carefully studied and applied throughout the aspirant’s life.
Do not cut the thread of progeny. Now this is very, very meaningful. For centuries there has been the misperception that the teachings of the upanishads are somehow the property of monastics–that monastics are at the top of the spiritual hierarchy in Indian spiritual tradition. NOT SO. Not one sage mentioned in the upanishads was monastic, nor was a single author of the scriptures listed in the foregoing paragraph a monastic. Sanatana Dharma is founded upon the vision of the rishis–none of whom were monastics. Sanatana Dharma propounds four ways of life that are fitting for seekers after liberation. Only one is that of the totally committed monastic. It is certainly true that through the centuries monastics have been a major factor in the propagation of dharma, that the three schools of Vedanta were formulated definitively by monastics. Shankara, whose commentaries are mentioned also in the foregoing list of philosophical works, was a monk of monks.
Nevertheless, the life of the rishis, who were married and “in the world,” is the norm of Sanatana Dharma. Any philosophy incompatible with that is not dharma. At the same time, this also means that there is no room for spiritually lazy (and cowardly) people who try to shirk or shrug off their spiritual obligations by saying: “that is for you monks.” They do not want to be thought second-class citizens, but they want to live in a second-class manner and leave the complete fulfilling of dharma to the monks. Shame! There is only one spiritual life: the Yoga Life. Whatever the conditions or circumstances, all are obliged to be yogis. Otherwise their dharma is a sham, whether monastic or non-monastic.
What does “the thread of progeny” have to do with this? The clear implication is that a Sanatana Dharmi (one who follows Sanatana Dharma) is duty-bound to marry, have children, and raise those children to also follow dharma–and yoga. The exceptions are those that become monastics from their youth or who have some impediment to leading a normal married life. “Footloose and fancy free” is not the way of the rishis. There you will see that Sanatana Dharmis are directed to have children, along with instructions on how to preserve brahmacharya in marriage (!). These are not the rules for monks, nor were they written by monks, as is clear. Behold for yourself how high the ideal is for ALL Sanatana Dharmis, whatever their stage of life (ashrama). Those who do not want to bother should leave dharma alone and join some cheap religion that lets them do as they please. There is a lot of it about.
Swerve not from truth. Patanjali says that the need for absolute truthfulness is “not conditioned by class, place, time or occasion, and extending to all stages.” One sign of a sociopath is the belief that he is not bound by the rules but is a law unto himself. There are a lot of spiritual sociopaths, but we cannot be one and survive spiritually. That is why the next counsel is:
Deviate not from the path of good. “The good” is learned by studying the scriptures and associating with the good–the godly. As Davey Crockett said: “Be sure you’re right, then go ahead.”
Revere greatness. Only those who can give respect–even reverence–are worthy of respect; only those who bow can rise. Those who cannot see greatness in others have no greatness in themselves. As the saying goes: “Mediocrity recognizes nothing above itself.” The capacity to perceive, value, and honor virtue, wisdom and holiness in another person is an essential ingredient in spiritual life. This is why those religions that open the way to liberation have great veneration for saint and Masters, in contrast to the “bow down and worship me” religions that can only guarantee earthly rebirth whatever their claims and promises may be. (The more they boast, the less they have.) The lives, teachings, and images of holy beings should fill our homes, keeping us aware that the ideals of spiritual life are attainable for us, too.
A lesson on respect
“Let your mother be a god to you; let your father be a god to you; let your teacher be a god to you; let your guest also be a god to you. Do only such actions as are blameless. Always show reverence to the great.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 1:11:2) The last two sentences have really been just covered, so we will look at the earlier ones.
First, the word translated “god” is deva. Here is the definition given in A Brief Sanskrit Glossary: “Deva: ‘A shining one,’ a god–greater or lesser in the evolutionary hierarchy; a semi-divine or celestial being with great powers, and therefore a ‘god.’ Sometimes called a demi-god. Devas are the demigods presiding over various powers of material and psychic nature.” As you see, deva in no ways means God–Ishwara, Bhagavan, or Brahman. It is indefensible to cite this verse in an attempt to coerce innocent people into worshipping some guru as God.
The meaning is as clear as it is simple. We should revere our mother, father, teacher (acharya), and even our guests as citizens of higher worlds. We need not be blind to their defects, for the gods have defects, also–otherwise they would be free souls and not gods at all. We should do our best to accommodate these earthly gods and to care for them with all love and solicitude. Here, too, exaggeration is not intended. If our parents tell us to commit wrong or damage or neglect our spiritual life we should ignore it, but as much as is sensible we should defer to them in a reasonable manner. This is dharma.
There are many who “do good” grudgingly as though taking bitter medicine, or with a kind of weary “after all it’s my duty” attitude. Many treat the objects of their “care” or charity in a rude and contemptuous manner or adopt the attitude of an exasperated adult toward a worrisome or recalcitrant child. This is not dharma. So the upanishad continues: “Whatever you give to others, give with love and respect. Gifts must be given in abundance, with joy, humility, and compassion.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 1:11:3) This is a high ideal, but I have seen it done in both America and India by Christians, Buddhists, and Hindus. All it requires is a pure heart free from ego and selfishness. One time In Varanasi I saw two people feeding hundreds of poor people. At the end of the meal, each person was given money and clothing. As they left, they walked by the benefactors who saluted each one with folded hands, saying “Thank you” to each of them. They understood: by letting them give in charity, those poor people were enabling them to create good karma for the future.
A lesson on right conduct
Anyone who has a developed conscience is concerned about accurately determining what right conduct really is. So the upanishad tells us: “If at any time there is any doubt with regard to right conduct, follow the practice of great souls, who are guileless, of good judgment, and devoted to truth. Thus conduct yourself always. This is the injunction, this is the teaching, and this is the command of the scriptures.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 1:11:4) Scriptures are important, but they are sometimes abstract, whereas the lives of saints show us exactly how things should be done. If we can have access to a living saint who will advise us, then we are most fortunate. But if not, we should seek out and read the lives of saints of all traditions and learn how to live. Often we may not at all care for the formal theology of a particular saint’s religious tradition, but his life transcends such things and shows how to live in a divine manner. (Do not forget: many saints have been persecuted by their own religion–even martyred. So we need not accept the religion when we honor the saint.) “Guileless, of good judgment, and devoted to truth”–such are the saints. And so should we be.
Those who learn and follow these lessons given us in the upanishad shall be wise indeed.
The Source and the Goal
Brahman
“He who knows Brahman attains the supreme goal. Brahman is the abiding reality, he is pure knowledge, and he is infinity. He who knows that Brahman dwells within the lotus of the heart becomes one with him and enjoys all blessings.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:1:1a)
This verse contains the famous formula: Satyam, jnanam, anantam Brahman–“Brahman is Reality, Knowledge, and Infinity.” The rest of the verse is self-explanatory, except the Sanskrit says that the liberated one knows “Brahman as existing in the intellect [buddhi] in the supreme space in the heart.” This is the seat of Om.
Food
“Out of Brahman, who is the Self, came ether; out of ether, air; out of air, fire; out of fire, water; out of water, earth; out of earth, vegetation; out of vegetation, food; out of food, the body of man. The body of man, composed of the essence of food, is the physical sheath of the Self.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:1:1b)
There are a few listings in the upanishads of the emanation-stages of creation, for it is essential to realize that everything has come from Brahman and shall return to Brahman. Naturally they are broad–very broad–outlines, for the manifestation of relativity has countless subtle stages. First there comes the great elements, forerunners of the elements here on the physical level. When the physical planets are fully formed, then vegetation appears, and then human beings as abodes of the Self. Implied here is the principle that vegetables are the natural and intended food of human beings–certainly of those who intend to manifest the Self. The Gita and upanishads say a great deal about food because the mind is formed of the subtle essence of food. Vegetarian diet is a cornerstone of humanity, and a necessary factor in the aspiration to divinity. No serious aspirant can afford to ignore this or attempt to. So the upanishad continues:
“From food are born all creatures, which live upon food and after death return to food. Food is the chief of all things. It is therefore said to be medicine for all diseases of the body. Those who worship food as Brahman gain all material objects. From food are born all beings which, being born, grow by food. All beings feed upon food, and, when they die, food feeds upon them.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:2:1)
This is a great deal of mental food to digest, but is well worth the effort. Food (annam) is not just something material that an organism subsists on, but includes everything that goes to affect any sentient being. Thoughts and feelings are food, and all life-experiences are food. Intuitions are food. Of course some are positive and some are negative, but they all go to “feed” the evolving consciousness. But frankly if we don’t start with the regulation of physical food we need not bother with the metaphysical food.
Food, physical and subtle, is the medicine for all ills. This the Indian sages knew long before nutritionists or naturopaths existed. I was fortunate to know a truly great man, Dr. Josef Lenninger, who could cure any disease with diet alone. He was never wrong and he never failed to cure anyone who followed his instructions. He even saved people’s lives–people that I knew. Diet is everything–this I learned from him much better than from any yogi.
When we realize that Brahman is the ultimate “food” then our spiritual health is assured. When we live in harmony with Brahman, all good comes to us on all levels of our existence. Just as bodies are absorbed in the earth from which they and their food came, so finally we are absorbed into our original Source to “life forever” in the greatest sense.
The Bodies of the Bodiless
“Different from the physical sheath is the vital sheath. This is encased in the physical sheath and has the same form. Through this the senses perform their office. From this men and beasts derive their life. This determines the length of life of all creatures. He who worships the vital sheath as Brahman lives to complete his span of life. This sheath is the living self of the physical sheath.
“Different from the vital sheath is the mental sheath. This is encased in the vital sheath and has the same form.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:3:1)
Just as God has encased himself in various layers of manifestation, so has the Self. So knowledge of these sheaths (koshas) is worthwhile.
The pranic and mental (manasic) bodies
Inside the physical body is the pranic body, the body of life-force. Without the pranic body the physical body cannot live. The pranic body is also the most objective astral body, and when seen looks just like
the physical body. At death, the grossest part of the pranic body remains, which is why the hair and fingernails grow for a while after death. When it separates from the physical body at death, the pranic body takes on the appearance it had when strongest–usually as the person looked in early middle-age. When projected from the physical while the person still lives in embodiment, however, it looks just like the physical body at that time.
Within the pranic body the currents of life-force move in subtle channels that correspond to the physical nerves. In Sanskrit both the physical and pranic “nerves” are called nadis.
The pranic body draws its substance from food, sunlight, and air. This latter is one of the reasons yogis pay attention to both diet and breathing. Health of the pranic body can produce health of the material body. The pranic body does indeed determine both the health and the length of life of the physical body. Prana is the very Life of God in manifestation, so we live in and by the Divine Life.
In a sense, the pranic body is the “self” of the physical. It is the link between the physical sense organs and the sensory mind, or manas, which is the mental sheath spoken of next. This body also has the form of the embodied person, but is more radiant than the pranic sheath. It, too, is astral, and draws a great deal of its vitality from the pranic body.
Their limitation
These three bodies are mostly integrated with earthly experience–that is their purpose. For this reason they perceive only the slightest hints of spiritual being–of Spirit Itself. Therefore the upanishad interposes this statement:
“Words cannot express the bliss of Brahman, mind cannot reach it. The sage, who knows it, is freed from fear.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:4:1)
This is tremendous information for the yogi. First, it tells him that any words about Brahman and Brahman-experience are worthless, even deceptive, since It cannot be spoken about, nor can the sensory mind perceive Brahman in Its pure Being. Next it tells him that those who know this truth will be freed from great fear and doubts. This is because ignorant people continually mistake physical, pranic, and mental phenomena for spiritual phenomena, Then, when the flaws–and sometimes outright false character–of those phenomena are discovered, the sincere seeker is thrown into doubt, fear, and confusion. Disillusionment with these things sometimes cause the person to forsake spiritual life altogether. Of course, spiritual life is impossible on those levels, so they never really had one–but they aspired to do so. We are being warned by the upanishad to not make similar mistakes. The yogi must continually live higher than these three levels. He must realize that they are delusive to a high degree. Nevertheless they are vehicles of the divine Self and must be cared for.
“The mental sheath is the living self of the vital sheath.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:4:2)
The mental sheath draws much of its power from the pranic sheath, as I said, but it greatly controls the pranic sheath and empowers it by directing it. For example, when the sensory mind sees attractive food, it stimulates the pranic sheath to begin the process of physical digestion. When it perceives something pleasant the two other bodies are likewise affected, and when it perceives something fearful or life-threatening its effects are sometimes cataclysmic.
The intellectual body
“Different from the mental sheath is the intellectual sheath. This is encased in the mental sheath and has the same form. All actions, sacrificial or otherwise, are performed through the intellect.
All the senses pay homage to the intellectual sheath. He who worships intellect as Brahman does not err; he does not identify himself with the other sheaths, and does not yield to the passions of the body.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:5:1)
Now the upanishad speaks of the jnanamaya kosha, the intellectual sheath, that is also called the buddhi, the intellect. This controls the three lower sheaths through intelligent understanding. Light strikes the eye and imprints an image of a tree on the retina, the nerves, physical and pranic, convey impulses to the physical and astral brains, the intellect perceives it and says: “That is a tree–a maple tree.” Without this function of the buddhi, we would not be human beings at all.
The intellectual sheath is not astral but causal. If we saw it, we would see light–usually formless, but on the lesser levels it could have the general outline of the human body. The senses are messengers to the intellect, its servants, actually. The wise yogi “does not identify himself with the other sheaths,” but centers his awareness in and directs his life mostly from the buddhi. As a result he “does not yield to the passions of the body.” Surely the buddhi is worthy of reverence.
The will body
“Different from the intellectual sheath is the sheath of the ego. This sheath is encased in the intellectual sheath and has the same form.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:5:2a)
The completion of the body complex is the highest body, the anandamaya kosha which is the seat of will and the sense of asmita–“I exist.” The intellect may know it is seeing a tree, but the will decides whether or not to keep looking at it. In this way it fully controls the lesser levels. It both brings them into function and stops their actions. Just as the buddhi makes us intelligent human beings, the will-body makes us effective human beings.
The anandamaya kosha is the subtlest causal level, so subtle that it “touches” and partakes of the nature of the spirit-self. Functionally speaking, it is a mixture of subtle energy and pure consciousness–though it is not really, since “beyond all sheaths is the Self.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:5:2b) Sometimes we have to speak inaccurately to get across at least a shadow of higher realities.
Karma
All intelligent thought and action are possible because of the buddhi and the will. So they are really the seat of karma. That is why Buddha taught that intention determined the nature of karma more than the act, that a person who accidentally brought about the death of another would not be a murderer.
Someone who gives poison to an ill person, fully believing that it is medicine, is not guilty of taking life. Ultimately karma is a matter of the will, for it is the basis of action.
All together
These five bodies correspond to the five elements: earth, water, fire, air, and ether. They also correspond to five levels of existence: bhuh, bhuvah, swah, maha, and jana lokas. According to which body we mostly “live” in determines what world (loka) we will incarnate in after this life. Fortunately for the yogi, he steps beyond these five bodies and cultivates awareness of the Self. So at death the skilled yogi goes to tapa loka, the world of those who are consciously evolving themselves. Hopefully he will not return to earthly birth, but will continue on from there to the highest world, satya loka, the realm of the liberated ones who know Brahman.
Brahman and belief
Beyond the sheaths is the Self, and beyond the Self as Its inmost being is Brahman. Brahman is the basis of all and IS all, as the upanishad will soon discuss. This being so: “Vain and useless becomes his life who thinks of Brahman as nonexistent. He alone who knows Brahman as existent truly lives.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:6:1a) Interestingly, the upanishad literally says: “If anyone knows Brahman as non-existent, he himself becomes non-existent.” How many times do people “know” something that is completely wrong. Our belief in God must not be based on our ignorant mind like the unbelief of the atheist. I have known of people who became atheists when tragedy entered their lives, and I have known people who became believers when tragedy came into their lives. Neither their unbelief nor their belief really amounted to anything. People who come to believe in God as a kind of last resort are like conquered enemies, not free and loyal citizens of the kingdom of God.
We should not believe in God, we should know that God exists. There is a deep intuition of the existence of God in each one of us that comes from our spirit-self. But because of the mental debris we have accumulated in this and prior lives it has become greatly attenuated, distorted, or even obliterated. An external factor can sometimes shift the debris pile to let some light through, but how long will it be before other things shift it back? The only really safe and sure way is to practice meditation and burn up the things that are obscuring our intuition of spirit. Then we will be knowers of the existence of Brahman and well on the way to becoming knowers of Brahman.
Our minds possess the same creative power as the Divine Mind, though to a finite degree. Nonetheless, our mind determines our entire life–the whole course of our evolution in this and all higher worlds. It does rest squarely on us. Remember what Sri Ramakrishna said: The mind is everything. God has created the playing field and supplied all the equipment for the game. But how we play is up to us–none else. If we do not know either the goal of the game or the way it is played, it is hopeless. As the upanishad says, the life of one who does not believe in God is vain and useless. But if we know the goal, the rules, and the way to play, then we will play well–truly live, as the upanishad says.
The only reason for the universe is the attainment of Brahmajnana. So the upanishad finally says:
“Surely at death a foolish man does not attain Brahman, but only a wise man.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:6:1b)
Brahman, Creation, and Us
Brahman and creation
Now we are ready for the subject of the creation and its implications for both God and human beings.
“Desiring that he should become many, that he should make of himself many forms, Brahman meditated. Meditating, he created all things. Creating all things, he entered into everything.
Entering into all things, he became that which has shape and that which is shapeless; he became that which can be defined and that which cannot be defined; he became that which has support and that which has not support; he became that which is conscious and that which is not conscious; he became that which is gross and that which is subtle. He became all things whatsoever: therefore the wise call him the Real.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:6:1c)
Desiring that he should become many, that he should make of himself many forms, Brahman meditated. Meditating, he created all things. Certainly the One cannot become two, much less many. But he can experience multiplicity through his omniscience. So he willed, and all things came into being through his innate omnipotence. But it was totally an ideational process. The Cosmic Dreamer projected the cosmic dream. Then:
Creating all things, he entered into everything. Entering into all things, he became…all things whatsoever: therefore the wise call him the Real. Pervading all things through his omnipresence he became aware of them and experienced “being” them just as in dream we take on many identities and forms that constantly change until we awaken. Brahman, in contrast, is always awake and knows what “is” and “is not.” There is nothing that Brahman has not become, described and indescribable, sentient and insentient. Brahman “is” all things.
Swami Gambhirananda’s more literal translation brings about a point to be noted. “He wished, ‘Let me be many, let me be born.’” The Birthless actually undergoes birth. And the same is true of us. We have neither birth nor death. Experience is not reality–this we must learn.
“Concerning which truth it is written: Before creation came into existence, Brahman existed as the Unmanifest. From the Unmanifest he created the manifest. From himself he brought forth himself. Hence he is known as the Self-Existent.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:7:1a)
Gambhirananda’s more literal translation gives us a better idea: “In the beginning all this was but the unmanifested [Brahman]. From that emerged the manifested. That Brahman created Itself by Itself. Therefore It is called the self-creator” There is really no need for comment.
And us
“The Self-Existent is the essence of all felicity. Who could live, who could breathe, if that blissful Self dwelt not within the lotus of the heart? He it is that gives joy.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:7:1b)
Gambhirananda: “That which is known as the self-creator is verily the source of joy; for one becomes happy by coming in contact with that source of joy. Who, indeed, will inhale, and who will exhale, if this Bliss be not there in the supreme space [within the heart]. This one, indeed enlivens.”
One becomes happy by coming in contact with that source of joy. Brahman is of the nature of bliss itself, the source of joy to all beings. It is clear and simple: by coming in contact with that source of joy we will be joyful. A lot of people are hyper and hysterical, and some are so heedless and unaware that they are “happy” like village idiots. But only those who consciously contact Brahman through meditation are truly happy and have inner joy–the only kind that is real and lasting. Seeking happiness in anything but God can only lead to unhappiness. How many “deliriously happy” people have we seen ending up in what John Bunyan calls The Slough of Despond in Pilgrim’s Progress? Their false joy evaporates so very quickly. Then they go running after another mirage. And another. And another.
Who, indeed, will inhale, and who will exhale, if this Bliss be not there in the supreme space [within the heart]. This part is of utmost importance to yogis, for it indicates that the breath arises from the Chidakasha, the principle (tattwa) of Conscious Ether, the abode of the Self. This is why all liberating yoga involves breath. For if breath arises from the Source, it will take us to that Supreme Bliss if we understand how to work with it. (See the chapter Breath and Sound in Meditation in Om Yoga.)
Knowing Brahman
This one, indeed enlivens. This is why just a few verses back the upanishad says: “Vain and useless becomes his life who thinks of Brahman as nonexistent. He alone who knows Brahman as existent truly lives.” This is bedrock truth. That is why yoga is the Path to Life. The persevering yogi experiences ever-increasing life on all levels of his being. “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” (Proverbs 4:18)
“When a man finds his existence and unity in the Self–who is the basis of life, who is beyond the senses, who is formless, inexpressible, beyond all predicates–then alone does he transcend fear. So long as there is the least idea of separation from him, there is fear. To the man who thinks himself learned, yet knows not himself as Brahman, Brahman, who drives away all fear, appears as fear itself.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:7:1c)
We reach fearlessness when we know our unity with the Self and Brahman. To attain this fearlessness our consciousness must become more and more centered in That which is “formless, inexpressible, beyond all predicates.” While living in this world we must inwardly dwell in the Transcendent Reality that is Brahman, that is our Self. For “so long as there is the least idea of separation from him, there is fear”–and with good cause. The life separated from God is no life at all, but a mirage of suffering, change, decay, and death.
Perhaps one of the saddest truths in any of the upanishads is this: “To the man who thinks himself learned, yet knows not himself as Brahman, Brahman, who drives away all fear, appears as fear itself.” We see this all the time. Intelligent people fear the idea of living in the state of unity with God lest they lose their “individuality.” They cling to death and call it life while avoiding life as though it were death. How will they get out of that state? Only by a lot of buffeting by what they call life. It is not God who punishes and forsakes us because of this wrong choice–it is the false world that does so from life to life. Yet we grasp in desperation for more of its fake appearances and run from our only Life. In my early teens I spoke with a friend about how wonderful it was to free oneself of “the good things of life” and turn to the Only Life. “Oh!” he exclaimed, “if I lived like that I would feel like I was in prison!” So he chose what the world told him was “real living,” and now he is a broken, miserable old man with nothing but alcoholism and sexual deviance as his companions. He chose imprisonment, and will no doubt do so in future lives, for enslavement becomes a habit hard to break.
“Concerning which truth it is written: Through fear of Brahman the wind blows and the sun shines; through fear of him Indra, the god of rain, Agni, the god of fire, and Yama, the god of death, perform their tasks.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:8:1) The entire cosmos and all the processes of personal life take place through cognition of God and his purpose. The “fear” spoken of here is awe which cancels out any possibility of defiance or disobedience. In the human being there should be a clear understanding that since God is All, life should be lived accordingly. Along with that should be the realization that God is our Self, that we are “obeying” our own nature in which is all joy, but outside of which there can be nothing but fear.
Measuring the joy
In the seventh verse this question was set forth: “Who could live, who could breathe, if that blissful Self dwelt not within the lotus of the heart? He it is that gives joy. Now the upanishad takes up that subject of the joy of the Self.
“Of what nature is this joy?
“Consider the lot of a young man, noble, well-read, intelligent, strong, healthy, with all the wealth of the world at his command. Assume that he is happy, and measure his joy as one unit.
“One hundred times that joy is one unit of the joy of Gandharvas: but no less joy than Gandharvas has the seer to whom the Self has been revealed, and who is without craving.
“One hundred times the joy of Gandharvas is one unit of the joy of celestial Gandharvas: but no less joy than celestial Gandharvas has the sage to whom the Self has been revealed, and who is without craving.
“One hundred times the joy of celestial Gandharvas is one unit of the joy of the Pitris in their paradise: but no less joy than the Pitris in their paradise has the sage to whom the Self has been revealed, and who is without craving.
“One hundred times the joy of the Pitris in their paradise is one unit of the joy of the Devas: but no less joy than the Devas has the sage to whom the Self has been revealed, and who is without craving.
“One hundred times the joy of the Devas is one unit of the joy of the karma Devas: but no less joy than the karma Devas has the sage to whom the Self has been revealed, and who is without craving.
“One hundred times the joy of the karma Devas is one unit of the joy of the ruling Devas: but no less joy than the ruling Devas has the sage to whom the Self has been revealed, and who is without craving.
“One hundred times the joy of the ruling Devas is one unit of the joy of Indra: but no less joy than Indra has the sage to whom the Self has been revealed, and who is without craving.
“One hundred times the joy of Indra is one unit of the joy of Brihaspati: but no less joy than Brihaspati has the sage to whom the Self has been revealed, and who is without craving.
“One hundred times the joy of Brihaspati is one unit of the joy of Prajapati: but no less joy than Prajapati has the sage to whom the Self has been revealed, and who is without craving.
“One hundred times the joy of Prajapati is one unit of the joy of Brahma: but no less joy than Brahma has the seer to whom the Self has been revealed, and who is without craving.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:8:2-4)
Joy comes from knowing the Self and becoming free of all desire through the fulfillment that comes from union with Brahman.
Rising into joy
“He who is the Self in man, and he who is the Self in the sun, are one. Verily, he who knows this truth overcomes the world; he transcends the physical sheath, he transcends the vital sheath, he transcends the mental sheath, he transcends the intellectual sheath, he transcends the sheath of the ego.” (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:8:5)
This is the real Ascension, and only those who have done so are Ascended Masters. Just as God is untouched by all the worlds that have proceeded from him, in the same way the liberated yogi cannot be affected by his various sheaths (koshas), his own private “worlds.”
It is written: He who knows the joy of Brahman, which words cannot express and the mind cannot reach, is free from fear. He is not distressed by the thought, “Why did I not do what is right? Why did I do what is wrong?” He who knows the joy of Brahman, knowing both good and evil, transcends both. (Taittiriya Upanishad 2:9:1)
He who knows Brahman is freed from all karmic bonds and knows that what he did and did not do will no longer affect him either in the present or the future. Having transcended both good and bad karma, he is free. Sri Ramakrishna described such a person as being like a fish that had been caught in the net but has jumped out into freedom and swims joyfully away.
The Ladder of Understanding
Life is change; nothing ever stands still. When you do find something that is without any kind of change, then that thing is dead–including a lot of religion. A worthy spiritual aspirant is steady and unwavering in his aspiration and his endeavor, but he is always changing, for he is ever learning. He continually sees things either differently or better than before. To show us this, the upanishad is giving the account of Bhrigu’s search for knowledge of Brahman. In the Gita (10:25) Krishna says: “Among the great sages I am Bhrigu,” so this is a very important teaching that is being given us.
Know Brahman…
“Bhrigu, respectfully approaching his father Varuna, said: ‘Sir, teach me Brahman.’ Varuna explained to him the physical sheath and the vital sheath and the functions of the senses, and added: ‘He from whom all beings are born, in whom they live, being born, and to whom at death they return—seek to know him. He is Brahman.’” (Taittiriya 3.1.1)
It is absolutely necessary to “know the territory” in any endeavor, whatever its kind. If equipment is involved, we must know and understand it thoroughly. This is why Oriental religions are so intent on the makeup of the human being. First we have to be a conscious human before we can move on to the next level of evolution. Therefore Varuna taught Bhrigu about the gross and subtle bodies, pointing out to him that all these have proceeded from Brahman–are reflections of Brahman–and that dealing with them is dealing with Brahman in manifestation. Brahman is the totality of all being.
Gambhirananda gives a better version of the latter part of this verse: “Crave to know that from which all these beings take birth, that by which the live after being born, that towards which they move and into which they merge. That is Brahman.” The first point is that we should not just seek to know Brahman, we must crave to know It–there must be an intense hunger, a sense of absolute necessity, a life-and-death attitude behind us. For that is the fuel that propels us onward to realization. At the same time, we are not going against the current, but cooperating with the Eternal Flow, for all beings move toward Brahman through the many stages of evolution, and eventually merge into Brahman. This is the only natural mode of life, the only way of life which puts an end to all suffering and brings supreme fulfillment.
Tapasya
“Bhrigu practiced austerity and meditation. Then it seemed to him that food was Brahman. For of food all beings are born, by food they are sustained, being born, and into food they enter after death. This knowledge, however, did not satisfy him. He again approached his father Varuna and said: “Sir, teach me Brahman.” Varuna replied: ‘Seek to know Brahman by meditation. Meditation is Brahman.’” (Taittiriya 3.2.1)
Bhrigu was highly intelligent, so his concept of “food” was not just what humans eat to stay alive. Rather, as in the teachings of the Prashna Upanishad, “food” is emblematic of anything that sustains or is assimilated to the evolving organism and the inner consciousness. But even that did not satisfy him, for it was too “here and now” while Reality is mostly transcendent. Varuna opened new vistas for him by saying that Tapasya is Brahman. In A Brief Sanskrit Glossary we find this definition: “Tapasya: Austerity, practical (i.e., result-producing) spiritual discipline; spiritual force. Literally it means the generation of heat or energy, but is always used in a symbolic manner, referring to spiritual practice and its effect, especially the roasting of karmic seeds, the burning up of karma.” Who else but Brahman can incinerate the seeds of karma? Although tapasya includes specific methods of spiritual practice, ultimately it is the power of release, of transmutation into Perfect Being. So tapasya in the highest sense is the active power of Brahman that IS Brahman bringing about liberation (moksha). Tapasya is Brahman within us. This should be the yogi’s constant perspective. But tapasya is the means, not the end, so the search continues. It is necessary to realize this, for some people meditate a bit, get a little experience, and think they are enlightened and know the mysteries of the universe. But, like Bhrigu, we must never be satisfied. Sri Ramakrishna told the following parable:
“Once upon a time a wood-cutter went into a forest to cut wood. Suddenly he came upon a Brahmachari [a monk]. The Brahmachari told him, ‘My good man, go forward.’ The wood-cutter upon returning home began to think, ‘Why did the Brahmachari tell me to go forward?’
“A few days passed. One day as he was sitting idly the words of the Brahmachari came to mind. Then he said to himself, ‘Today I will go further forward.’ Going into the forest and moving deeper he discovered innumerable sandalwood trees. He felt happy and brought back cartloads of sandalwood. And selling them in the market he became a rich man.
“A few days passed and he remembered again that the Brahmachari had said, ‘Go forward.’ He returned to the forest and advancing deeper discovered a silver mine near a river. He had not even dreamt of it. Then he only mined silver and selling it made heaps of money.
“A few more days passed. And one day he thought, ‘The Brahmachari did not tell me to go up to the silver mine alone. He told me to go forward.’ This time going across the river he discovered a gold mine. Then he thought, ‘Ah! That’s why the Brahmachari asked me to go forward.’
“Again a few days afterwards, he advanced further and saw heaps of diamonds and other gems. Then he became prosperous like the god of wealth himself.
“Therefore I say whatever you may do you will find better things if you go forward. Do not think that you have achieved all that is there because you felt a little inspired. If you go still further you will find God.”
Primal Energy–Prana
“Bhrigu practiced meditation and learned that primal energy is Brahman. For from primal energy all beings are born, by primal energy they are sustained, being born, and into primal energy they enter after death. But Bhrigu was still doubtful about his knowledge. So he approached his father again and said: ‘Sir, teach me Brahman.’ Varuna replied: ‘Seek to know Brahman by meditation. Meditation is Brahman.’” (Taittiriya 3.3.1)
The word here translated “primal energy” is really Prana. Prana as used in this verse means the Vishwaprana, the universal life force that makes all things live. It is energy, but that particular energy that manifests as living things as well as the power of life itself.
Mind
“Bhrigu practiced meditation and learned that mind is Brahman. For from mind all beings are born, by mind they are sustained, being born, and into mind they enter after death. Still doubtful, he approached his father and said: ‘Sir, teach me Brahman.’ His father replied: ‘Seek to know Brahman by meditation. Meditation is Brahman.’” (Taittiriya 3.4.1)
The word translated “mind” is manas(a), which means the mind of the senses, that which perceives the message of the senses. It is like the screen on which images are projected. For this reason it is very easy to confuse the mind with consciousness–indeed with the Self. But that is not so.
Intellect
“Bhrigu practiced meditation and learned that intellect is Brahman. For from intellect all beings are born, by intellect they are sustained, being born, and into intellect they enter after death. Not yet satisfied, doubting his understanding, Bhrigu approached his father and said: ‘Sir, teach me Brahman.’ Varuna replied: ‘Seek to know Brahman by meditation. Meditation is Brahman.’” (Taittiriya 3.5.1)
The word translated “intellect” is vijnana. This is one of those instances in which the Sanskrit has more than one meaning, and they are all intended. First, vijnana means the buddhi, the intellect, which is superior to the manas, the merely sensory mind. The buddhi is the intelligent, thinking mind, the faculty that hopefully marks humans out from lesser evolved life-forms. Since the cosmos is Intelligence, it is easy to equate the buddhi with that; but it is not so. The other meaning of vijnana is supreme knowledge, supreme wisdom, and supreme realization: the knowing that transcends mere intellectual knowing. It is the direct intuitive knowing of the spirit. This is so exalted that no one can be faulted for assuming it is the highest. But it is not, so:
Joy
“Bhrigu practiced meditation and learned that joy is Brahman. For from joy all beings are born, by joy they are sustained, being born, and into joy they enter after death. This is the wisdom which Bhrigu, taught by Varuna, attained within his heart. He who attains this wisdom wins glory, grows rich, enjoys health and fame.” (Taittiriya 3.6.1)
Ananda is the word translated here as “joy.” Ananda means bliss, supreme happiness, joy, and delight. It is a very dynamic experience, for Brahman is defined as bliss (ananda). So to experience this supreme bliss (Paramananda) is to be united with Brahman, for Brahman is that bliss.
Some reflections
This account of Bhrigu’s ascent to Brahman-knowledge has some very instructive points. First, no one needed to tell Bhrigu that he had not really found Brahman–his meditation-produced intuition told him that. So he was not deluded by any experience he had; rather, the experience led him onward of itself. Of course, all along he was intuiting Brahman, but only partially, and he knew that. And he knew when he finally had attained to complete realization, Purnananda, the Perfect (Total) Bliss. Equally important is the fact that Varuna never comments on Bhrigu’s experience or conclusions, but just keeps telling him to engage in tapasya. This is the way of the true Masters. They do not waste the aspirants’ time with hours and hours of theoretical philosophy, but urge them to find out the truth for themselves through the practice of yoga. This is the glory of yoga: it will reveal everything in time. It must also not be overlooked that perfection in yoga brings about abundance in this world as well. Many are the yogis who live simply and frugally, but that is their choice–the treasurehouse of the world is open to them.
Final teachings
Swami Prabhavananda skips some verses that are little more than a tedious recap of the “food” part that has gone before and comes directly to the meaningful verses at the very end:
“Brahman is to be meditated upon as the source of all thought and life and action.” (Taittiriya 3.10.2)
We must know that Brahman is ALL. “He is the splendor in wealth, he is the light in the stars. He is all things.
“Let a man meditate upon Brahman as support, and he will be supported. Let him meditate upon Brahman as greatness, and he will be great. Let him meditate upon Brahman as mind, and he will be endowed with intellectual power. Let him meditate upon Brahman as adoration, and he will be adored. Let him worship Brahman as Brahman, and he will become Brahman. He who is the Self in man, and he who is the Self in the sun, are one.” (Taittiriya 3.10.3. 4)
To know Brahman is to know our Self as well, enabling us to exclaim:
“I am that Self! I am life immortal! I overcome the world—I who am endowed with golden effulgence! Those who know me achieve Reality.” (Taittiriya 3.10.6)
Anyone who knows who a realized person is knows himself also. This is the true value of meeting those who are liberated–it furthers our own liberation.
End of Taittiriya Commentary:
Aitareya Upanishad
Translated by Swami Gambhirananda
Published by Advaita Ashram, Kolkatta
Om ! May my speech be based on (i.e. accord with) the mind;
May my mind be based on speech.
O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me.
May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me.
May not all that I have heard depart from me.
I shall join together (i.e. obliterate the difference of) day
And night through this study.
I shall utter what is verbally true; I shall utter what is mentally true.
May that (Brahman) protect me;
May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me;
May that protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
I-i- 1: In the beginning this was but the absolute Self alone. There was nothing else whatsoever that winked. He thought, “Let Me create the worlds.”
I-i- 2: He created these world, viz. ambhas, marici, mara, apah. That which is beyond heaven is ambhas. Heaven is its support. The sky is marici. The earth is mara. The worlds that are below are the apah.
I-i- 3: He thought, “These then are the worlds. Let Me create the protectors of the worlds.” Having gathered up a (lump of the) human form from the water itself, He gave shape to it.
I-i- 4: He deliberated with regard to Him (i.e. Virat of the human form). As He (i.e. Virat) was being deliberated on, His (i.e. Virat'’) mouth parted, just as an egg does. From the mouth emerged speech; from speech came Fire. The nostrils parted; from the nostrils came out the sense of smell; from the sense of smell came Vayu (Air). The two eyes parted; from the eyes emerged the sense of sight; from the sense of sight came the Sun. The two ears parted; from the ears came the sense of hearing; from the sense of hearing came the Directions. The skin emerged; from the skin came out hair (i.e. the sense of touch associated with hair); from the sense of touch came the Herbs and Trees. The heart took shape; from the heart issued the internal organ (mind); from the internal organ came the Moon. The navel parted; from the navel came out the organ of ejection; from the organ of ejection issued Death. The seat of the procreative organ parted; from that came the procreative organ; from the procreative organ came out Water.
I-ii- 1: These deities, that had been created, fell into this vast ocean. He subjected Him (i.e. Virat) to hunger and thirst. They said to Him (i.e. to the Creator), “Provide an abode for us, staying where we can eat food.”
I-ii- 2: For them He (i.e. God) brought a cow. They said, “This one is not certainly adequate for us.” For them He brought a horse. They said, “This one is not certainly adequate for us.”
I-ii- 3: For them He brought a man. They said “This one is well formed; man indeed is a creation of God Himself”. To them He said, “Enter into your respective abodes”.
I-ii- 4: Fire entered into the mouth taking the form of the organ of speech; Air entered into the nostrils assuming the form of the sense of smell; the Sun entered into the eyes as the sense of sight; the Directions entered into the ears by becoming the sense of hearing; the Herbs and Trees entered into the skin in the form of hair (i.e. the sense of touch); the Moon entered into the heart in the shape of the mind; Death entered into the navel in the form of Apana (i.e. the vital energy that presses down); Water entered into the limb of generation in the form of semen (i.e. the organ of procreation).
I-ii- 5: To Him Hunger and Thirst said, “Provide for us (some abode).” To them He said, “I provide your livelihood among these very gods; I make you share in their portions.” Therefore when oblation is taken up for any deity whichsoever, Hunger and Thirst become verily sharers with that deity.
I-iii- 1: He thought, “This, then, are the senses and the deities of the senses. Let Me create food for them.
I-iii- 2: He deliberated with regard to the water. From the water, thus brooded over, evolved a form. The form that emerged was verily food.
I-iii- 3: This food, that was created, turned back and attempted to run away. He tried to take it up with speech. He did not succeed in taking it up through speech. If He had succeeded in taking it up with the speech, then one would have become contented merely by talking of food.
I-iii- 4: He tied to grasp that food with the sense of smell. He did not succeed in grasping it by smelling. If He had succeeded in grasping it by smelling, then everyone should have become contented merely by smelling food.
I-iii- 5: He wanted to take up the food with the eye. He did not succeed in taking it up with the eye. If He had taken it up with the eye, then one would have become satisfied by merely seeing food.
I-iii-6: He wanted to take up the food with the ear. He did not succeed in taking it up with the ear. If He had taken it up with the ear, then one would have become satisfied by merely by hearing of food.
I-iii-7: He wanted to take it up with the sense of touch. He did not succeed in taking it up with the sense of touch. If He had taken it up with touch, then one would have become been satisfied merely by touching food.
I-iii-8: He wanted to take it up with the mind. He did not succeed in taking it up with the mind. If He had taken it up with the mind, then one would have become satisfied by merely thinking of food.
I-iii-9: He wanted to take it up with the procreative organ. He did not succeed in taking it up with the procreative organ. If He had taken it up with the procreative organ, then one would have become satisfied by merely ejecting food.
I-iii-10: He wanted to take it up with Apana. He caught it. This is the devourer of food. That vital energy which is well known as dependent of food for its subsistence is this vital energy (called Apana). I-iii-11: He thought, “How indeed can it be there without Me ?” He thought, “Through which of the two ways should I enter ?” He thought, “If utterance is done by the organ of speech, smelling by the sense of smell, seeing by the eye, hearing by the ear, feeling by the sense of touch, thinking by the mind, the act of drawing in (or pressing down) by Apana, ejecting by the procreative organ, then who (or what) am I ?”
I-iii-12: Having split up this very end, He entered through this door. This entrance is known as vidriti (the chief entrance). Hence it is delightful. Of Him there are three abodes – three (states of) dream. This one is an abode, this one is an abode. This one is an abode.
I-iii-13: Being born, He manifested all the beings; for did He speak of (or know) anything else ? He realised this very Purusha as Brahman, the most pervasive, thus: “I have realised this”.
I-iii-14: Therefore His name is Idandra. He is verily known as Idandra. Although He is Idandra, they call Him indirectly Indra; for the gods are verily fond of indirect names, the gods are verily fond of indirect names.
II-i-1: In man indeed is the soul first conceived. That which is the semen is extracted from all the limbs as their vigour. He holds that self of his in his own self. When he sheds it into his wife, then he procreates it. That is its first birth.
II-i-2: That becomes non-different from the wife, just as much as her own limb is. Therefore (the foetus) does not hurt her. She nourishes this self of his that has entered here (in her womb).
II-i-3: She, the nourisher, becomes fit to be nourished. The wife bears that embryo (before the birth). He (the father) protects the son at the very start, soon after his birth. That he protects the son at the very beginning, just after birth, thereby he protects his own self for the sake of the continuance of these worlds. For thus is the continuance of these worlds ensured. That is his second birth.
II-i-4: This self of his (viz. the son) is substituted (by the father) for the performance of virtuous deeds. Then this other self of his (that is the father of the son), having got his duties ended and having advanced in age, departs. As soon as he departs, he takes birth again. That is his (i.e. the son’s) third birth.
II-i-5: This fact was stated by the seer (i.e. mantra): “Even while lying in the womb, I came to know of the birth of all the gods. A hundred iron citadels held me down. Then, like a hawk, I forced my way through by dint of knowledge of the Self”. Vamadeva said this while still lying in the mother’s womb. II-i-6: He who had known thus (had) become identified with the Supreme, and attained all desirable things (even here); and having (then) ascended higher up after the destruction of the body, he became immortal, in the world of the Self. He became immortal.
III-i-1: What is It that we worship as this Self ? Which of the two is the Self ? Is It that by which one sees, or that by which one hears, or that by which one smells odour, or that by which one utters speech, or that by which one tastes the sweet or the sour ?
III-i- 2: It is this heart (intellect) and this mind that were stated earlier. It is sentience, rulership, secular knowledge, presence of mind, retentiveness, sense-perception, fortitude, thinking, genius, mental suffering, memory, ascertainment resolution, life-activities, hankering, passion and such others. All these verily are the names of Consciousness.
III-i- 3: This One is (the inferior) Brahman; this is Indra, this is Prajapati; this is all these gods; and this is these five elements, viz. earth, air, space, water, fire; and this is all these (big creatures), together with the small ones, that are the procreators of others and referable in pairs – to wit, those that are born of eggs, of wombs, of moisture of the earth, viz. horses, cattle, men, elephants, and all the creatures that there are which move or fly and those which do not move. All these have Consciousness as the giver of their reality; all these are impelled by Consciousness; the universe has Consciousness as its eye and Consciousness is its end. Consciousness is Brahman.
III-i- 4: Through this Self that is Consciousness, he ascended higher up from this world, and getting all desires fulfilled in that heavenly world, he became immortal, he became immortal.
Om ! May my speech be based on (i.e. accord with) the mind;
May my mind be based on speech.
O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me.
May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me.
May not all that I have heard depart from me.
I shall join together (i.e. obliterate the difference of) day
And night through this study.
I shall utter what is verbally true;
I shall utter what is mentally true.
May that (Brahman) protect me;
May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me;
May that protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Aitareyopanishad, as contained in the Rig-Veda.
Aitereya Upanishad Commentary
Commentary on the Aitereya Upanishad–by Swami Nirmalananda Giri
The Worlds and the Self
In his translations of some upanishads Swami Prabhavananda omitted parts that were in such obscure language that any attempt at translation would really only be speculation. He also omitted very repetitious passages and those that dwelt with matters irrelevant to the knowledge of Brahman and the Self. I think that if you get complete translations of those you will see he was quite justified in this.
Anyhow, I am writing this to explain why in the references to the verses of this upanishad there will be some jumping around.
The worlds
Before creation, all that existed was the Self, the Self alone. Nothing else was. Then the Self thought. “Let me send forth the worlds.” He sent forth these worlds: Ambhas, the highest world, above the sky and upheld by it; Marichi, the sky; Mara, the mortal world, the earth; and Apa, the world beneath the earth. (Aitareya Upanishad 1:1:1, 2)
Several times in the upanishads we are told that when nothing else existed, Brahman “was;” and from Brahman proceeded all the worlds. But in these opening verses of the Aitareya Upanishad the word Atman–Self–is used instead of Brahman. This is fitting for two reasons: First, because Brahman is the ultimate Self of all. Second, because what occurred on the cosmic level in relation to Brahman has occurred on the microcosmic level with each one of us, with each individual Self that has entered into the field of relative existence. Just as the various worlds or lokas have emanated from Brahman so the several bodies or koshas have emanated from the individual Self.
The upanishad lists four worlds that are also levels of existence. Ambhas is the highest world. It lies beyond the material realm. Marichi is space itself in which many suns and planets are to be found. For this reason, the upanishad uses the plural term Marichis, but it is correct to use the singular word since it means the entire cosmos. Mara is not just planet earth, but any planet on which sentient beings live. Mara means death, and it is applied to the planets because all beings that live there are mortal. Apa is the name of the submaterial regions from which atomic matter rises.
These worlds have a more metaphysical meaning as well. Ambhas is the causal world, Marichi is the astral world, Mara is the physical world, and Apa is the region where those of low evolution go for a time after death–usually in a kind of sleep. In later Indian cosmology the non-material worlds are divided into those that are beneath the earth plane and those that are above the earth plane. The realms beneath are the regions where animals and low-evolved humans go between incarnations. These worlds include the negative regions we call “hells.” Apa embraces all these. The realms above are where normal human beings go between lives, and include the world humans graduate into when they no longer need evolution on the material place. These are the astral and causal worlds, Marichi and Ambhas.
The worlds have a psychological meaning, as well. Ambhas is the superconscious mind, Marichi is the higher intelligence, or buddhi, Mara is the sensory, earth-centered mind or consciousness, and Apa is the subconscious mind. These classifications particularly apply to the individual Self of each one of us.
Their guardians
“He thought: ‘Behold the worlds. Let me now send forth their guardians.’ Then he sent forth their guardians.…He thought: ‘Behold these worlds and the guardians of these worlds. Let me send forth food for the guardians.’ Then he sent forth food for them.” (Aitareya Upanishad 1:1:3, 1:3:1)
The word used here for guardians is lokapala. A lokapala is the ruler or custodian of a world (loka). At the beginning of creation, each world was assigned an overseer or guardian. These are beings who have evolved to the status of “gods” and sometimes are mistaken for the Absolute by those within those worlds whose understanding is imperfect. Nevertheless, to approach them is beneficial, for they will themselves reveal their limited nature and point questing souls to Brahman the Infinite. The lokapalas are like gardeners, for they work with living things and their development as well as their safety.
Actually, the picture of Adam in the Bible is very similar–he was to supervise and foster all forms of life, plant and animal. (Many ancient scriptures contain partial or garbled accounts that were once expositions of wisdom. But the centuries have altered and even eroded them.)
The upanishad is speaking of the beginning of things. So immediately after the manifestation of the worlds, the lokapalas were awakened and made aware of their assignments; for their work is part of their personal evolutionary process. It is this work and the “furnishings” of the worlds that are their “food.”
Now the same thing happens with us. We are the custodians of our private worlds or bodies. And our experiences through those bodies and the development we gain are our food–just as it is for the lokapalas.
Entering the worlds
“He thought: ‘How shall there be guardians and I have no part in them? If, without me, speech is uttered, breath is drawn, eye sees, ear hears, skin feels, mind thinks, sex organs procreate, then what am I?’ He thought: ‘Let me enter the guardians.’ Whereupon, opening the center of their skulls, he entered. The door by which he entered is called the door of bliss.” (Aitareya Upanishad 1:3:11, 12)
This narrative is more instructive than literally accurate. First of all, there is nothing that is not a manifestation of Brahman. It is not possible for Brahman to enter into anything, for It is always everywhere. But the upanishad is teaching us as we teach children–piecemeal and partially. The idea here is that Brahman is enlivening and enabling all beings, from the lokapalas down to the least evolved of sentient beings.
These two verses are more individual than cosmic, however, and refer to us mostly. Our lokapalas are the various faculties of the mind that administer the different levels of our being as humans. Brahman is, as I said, always present, but this verse speaks of the entry of the individual consciousness into the human complex when it incarnates as a human being. The Self enters through the psychic center or energy whorl called the Brahmarandhra–the aperture of Brahman–and from there administers its private cosmos, a god within its finite universe.
According to yogis, when we leave our body we go out through the gate (chakra) that corresponds to our dominant state of consciousness. Those who are depart through the Brahmarandhra. Others leave through the lower centers.
Within the three states of consciousness
“The Self being unknown, all three states of the soul are but dreaming–waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep. In each of these dwells the Self: the eye is his dwelling place while we wake, the mind is his dwelling place while we dream, the lotus of the heart is his dwelling place while we sleep the dreamless sleep.” (Aitareya Upanishad 1:3:12)
This is quite simple: If the Self is not known, then even our waking is only a sleeping and dreaming. There is a lot of going around and around about the question of the reality of the world. But the upanishad gives us a quite simple answer: To those that sleep, not knowing the Self, the world is unreal; to those that are awake in the knowledge of the Self, the world is real–for the world is the Self. This is the frame of reference Buddha had when, meeting a Brahmin after his liberation, when the Brahman asked: “Who are you?” he replied: “I am awake.”
Therefore: “Having entered into the guardians, he identified himself with them. He became many individual beings. Now, therefore, if an individual awake from his threefold dream of waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep, he sees no other than the Self. He sees the Self dwelling in the lotus of his heart as Brahman, omnipresent, and he declares: ‘I know Brahman!’” (Aitareya Upanishad 1:3:13)
This is both the beginning and the end.
More on the Self
The four closing verses of the upanishad need little comment. They begin:
“Who is this Self whom we desire to worship? Of what nature is this Self? Is he the self by which we see form, hear sound, smell odor, speak words, and taste the sweet or the bitter? Is he the heart and the mind by which we perceive, command, discriminate, know, think, remember, will, feel, desire, breathe, love, and perform other like acts? Nay, these are but adjuncts of the Self, who is pure consciousness.” (Aitareya Upanishad 3:1:1, 2)
This is extremely important for us, since it is only natural that we would mistake these various faculties for the Self, for they are functions of consciousness, though not Consciousness itself.
“And this Self, who is pure consciousness, is Brahman. He is God, all gods; the five elements—earth, air, fire, water, ether; all beings, great or small, born of eggs, born from the womb, born from heat, born from soil; horses, cows, men, elephants, birds; everything that breathes, the beings that walk and the beings that walk not. The reality behind all these is Brahman, who is pure consciousness.” (Aitareya Upanishad 3:1:3)
This takes us a very necessary step further: Even those things that are not Brahman Itself in the purest sense, in another sense are Brahman and to be regarded as such. This is a bit like telling us to go two ways at the same time, something impossible for the ordinary mind, but quite easy–and natural–for the yogi’s mind.
Swami Gambhirananda’s rendering of the last part of this verse is very revealing: “All these have Consciousness as the giver of their reality; all these are impelled by Consciousness [Prajna]; the universe has Consciousness as its eye, and Consciousness is its end. Consciousness is Brahman.” What sublime statements. Surely the upanishads are unparalleled in their beauty and profound teaching.
“All these, while they live, and after they have ceased to live, exist in him. The sage Vamadeva, having realized Brahman as pure consciousness, departed this life, ascended into heaven, obtained all his desires, and achieved immortality.” (Aitareya Upanishad 3:1:4) And so shall we.
End of Aitareya Commentary:
Chandogya Upanishad
Translated by Swami Swahananda
Published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
I-i-1: One should meditate on the syllable Om; the Udgitha, for one sings the Udgitha, beginning with Om. Of this, the explanation follows.
I-i-2: The essence of all these beings is the earth. The essence of the earth is water. The essence of water is vegetation. The essence of vegetation is man. The essence of man is speech. The essence of speech is Rik. The essence of Rik is Saman. The essence of Saman is Udgitha.
I-i-3: The syllable Om which is called Udgitha, is the quintessence of the essences, the supreme, deserving of the highest place and the eighth.
I-i-4: Which one is Rik ? Which one is Saman ? Which one is Udgitha ? This is being considered now. I-i-5: Speech alone is Rik. Prana is Saman. The syllable Om is Udgitha. Speech and Prana, (the sources of) Rik and Saman, taken together form a couple.
I-i-6: This couple is joined together in the syllable Om. Whenever a couple come together, they, indeed, fulfil each other’s desire.
I-i-7: He who meditates upon this syllable as Udgitha knowing it thus (as the fulfiller), verily becomes a fulfiller of all the desirable ends.
I-i-8: That verily is the syllable of assent, for whenever one assents to a thing, one says only ‘Om’. Assent alone is prosperity. He who meditates upon this syllable as Udgitha, knowing it thus (as endowed with the quality of prosperity), verily becomes one who increases all the desirable ends.
I-i-9: With this does the threefold knowledge proceed; (because) with Om does one cause to listen; with Om does one recite; with Om does one sing aloud. For the worship of this syllable, with its own greatness and essence (the Vedic rites are performed).
I-i-10: He who knows it thus and he who does not know – both perform actions with it. For knowledge and ignorance are different (in their results). Whatever is performed with knowledge, faith and meditation becomes more effective. Up to this truly is the explanation of (the greatness of) this syllable Om.
I-ii-1: Once upon a time the gods and the demons, both descendants of Prajapati, were engaged in a fight. In that fight, the gods performed the rites of the Udgatir priests resolving, ‘With this we shall defeat them’.
I-ii-2: Then they meditated on (the deity of) Prana connected with the nose, as Udgitha; the demons pierced it with evil. Therefore with it, the nose, one smells both the fragrant and the foul, for it has been pierced with evil.
I-ii-3: Then they meditated on (the deity of) speech as Udgitha; the demons pierced it with evil. Therefore with it one speaks both truth and untruth, for it has been pierced with evil.
I-ii-4: Then they meditated on (the deity of) eye as Udgitha; the demons pierced it with evil. Therefore with the eye one sees both the sightly and the unsightly, for it has been pierced with evil.
I-ii-5: Then they meditated on (the deity of) ear as Udgitha; the demons pierced it with evil. Therefore with the ear one hears both the pleasant and the unpleasant, for it has been pierced with evil.
I-ii-6: Then they meditated on (the deity of) mind as Udgitha; the demons pierced it with evil. Therefore with the mind one thinks both good and evil thoughts, for it has been pierced with evil.
I-ii-7: Then they meditated on the Prana in the mouth as Udgitha. The demons came in clash with it and were destroyed, just as a lump of clay is destroyed, striking against a hard rock.
I-ii-8: Thus it is that the Prana in the mouth has not been destroyed and is pure. Even as a lump of clay striking against a hard rock is destroyed, so will he be destroyed who wishes to do evil to one who knows this (the purity of Prana) or who (actually) injures that knower, for he is like a hard rock.
I-ii-9: With this Prana in the mouth one discerns neither sweet smell nor foul, for it is free from sin. What one eats or drinks through this, even with that he maintains the other Pranas. And not finding this at the time of death, the Prana in the mouth and its dependants depart; and thus indeed one opens the mouth at the time of death.
I-ii-10: Angiras meditated on that Prana as Udgitha. The sages consider this alone as Angirasa which is the essence of the limbs.
I-ii-11: So Brihaspati meditated on Prana as Udgitha. The sages consider this alone as Brihaspati, for speech is great and this Prana is its lord.
I-ii-12: So Ayasya meditated on Prana as Udgitha (identifying it with himself). The sages consider this alone as Ayasya for it goes out of the mouth.
I-ii-13: Baka, the son of Dalbha, knew it thus. So he became the Udgatir-singer of the sacrificers dwelling in Naimisa. For their sake he sang to fulfil their desires.
I-ii-14: He who knows it thus and meditates on the Udgitha as the syllable Om, looking upon it as Prana, certainly becomes the singer (and procurer) of the desired objects. This is the meditation with reference to the body.
I-iii-1: Now the meditation (on the Udgitha) with reference to the gods is described. One should meditate on him who gives heat (i.e. the sun) as Udgitha. Verily, when he rises, he sings aloud for the sake of all creatures. When he rises, he dispels darkness and fear. Verily, he who knows the sun as being endowed with these qualities, becomes the dispeller of darkness and (the consequent) fear.
I-iii-2: This Prana in the mouth and that sun are the same. This is warm and that is warm. People call this as Svara (that is going) and that as Svara and Pratyasvara (that is going and coming). Therefore one should meditate on this Prana and that sun as Udgitha.
I-iii-3: Now, verily one should meditate on Vyana as Udgitha. That which one breathes out is Prana and that which one breathes in is Apana. The junction of Prana and Apana is Vyana. That which is Vyana, even that is speech. Therefore, one utters speech while one neither breathes out nor breathes in.
I-iii-4: That which is speech, even that is Rik. Therefore while one neither breathes out nor breathes in, one pronounces the Rik. That which is Rik, even that is Saman. Therefore, while one neither breathes out nor breathes in, one sings the Saman. That which is Saman, even that is Udgitha. Therefore, while one neither breathes out nor breathes in, one sings the Udgitha.
I-iii-5: Therefore whatever other actions require strength, such as the kindling of fire by friction, running a race towards a goal, the bending of a strong bow, are all performed, while one neither breathes out nor breathes in. For this reason one should meditate on Vyana as Udgitha.
I-iii-6: Now, one should meditate on the syllables of ‘Udgitha’ – namely, the syllables ‘ut’, ‘gi’ and ‘tha’. Prana is ‘ut’, because through Prana one arises (ut-tisthati). Speech is ‘gi’, because speech is called word (girah). Food is ‘tha’, because upon food all this is established (sthitam).
I-iii-7: Heaven is ut, the sky is gi, the earth is tha. The sun is ut, the air gi, the fire, tha. The Sama-Veda is ut, the Yajur-Veda gi, the Rig-Veda tha. For him, speech yields the milk which is the benefit of speech. And he becomes rich in food; and an eater of food, who knows thus and meditates on the syllables of ‘Udgitha’, namely, ut, gi and tha.
I-iii-8: Now follows the fulfilment of wishes: One should meditate on the objects contemplated. One should reflect upon Saman by means of which one proceeds to sing the Stotra.
I-iii-9: One should reflect upon the Rik in which that Saman occurs, upon the sage by whom it is intuited and upon the deity to whom he proceeds to pray.
I-iii-10: One should reflect upon the metre in which he proceeds to sing a Stotra; and he should reflect upon the hymn with which he proceeds to sing it.
I-iii-11: He should reflect upon the quarter (of heaven) towards which he proceeds to sing a Stotra.
I-iii-12: Lastly, having thought about himself, he should sing a Stotra reflecting upon his desired object avoiding all faults. Very quickly will be fulfilled for him the desire, desiring which he may sing the Stotra yea, desiring which he may sing the Stotra.
I-iv-1: One should meditate on the syllable Om, the Udgitha, for one sings the Udgitha beginning with Om. Of this the explanation follows.
I-iv-2: Verily, the gods, being afraid of death, took refuge in the three Vedas. They covered themselves with the metrical hymns. Because they covered themselves with these, the metrical hymns are called Chandas.
I-iv-3: Just as a fisherman would see a fish in water, so did Death observe the gods in the (rites connected with) Rik, Saman and Yajus. They, too, knowing this, arose from the Rik, Saman and Yajus, and entered the Svara (the syllable Om).
I-iv-4: Verily, when one learns the Rik, he loudly pronounces ‘Om’. It is the same with Saman and with Yajus. This syllable Om is indeed Svara; it again is immortality and fearlessness. Having entered into Svara (i.e. having meditated) the gods became immortal and fearless.
I-iv-5: He who worships this syllable knowing it thus, enters this syllable, the Svara, which is immortality and fearlessness. And having entered it, he becomes immortal by that nectar, by which the gods became immortal.
I-v-1: Now, that which is Udgitha is verily Pranava and that which is Pranava is Udgitha. The yonder sun is Udgitha and also Pranava, for he moves along pronouncing ‘Om’.
I-v-2: ‘To him (the sun itself) I sung; therefore you are my only son’ thus said Kausitaki to his son. ‘Reflect upon the Udgitha as the rays of the sun, then surely, you will have many sons. This is the meditation with reference to the gods.
I-v-3: Now (is the meditation) with reference to the body: One should meditate on him who is this
Prana in the mouth, as Udgitha, for he moves along pronouncing ‘Om’.
I-v-4: ‘To him (the Prana itself) did I sing; therefore you are my only son’, thus said Kausitaki to his son. "I shall get many sons", thinking thus, sing praise to the Udgitha as the manifold Pranas.’
I-v-5: ‘Now, that which is Udgitha, is verily Pranava; and that which is Pranava, is Udgitha’, so one should think. As a result of it, even if he chants wrongly, he rectifies it by the act done from the seat of the Hotr priest.
I-vi-1: The earth is Rik, the fire is Saman. This Saman rests upon that Rik. Therefore the Saman is sung as resting upon the Rik. The earth is ‘sa’, the fire is ‘ama’, and that makes ‘Sama’.
I-vi-2: The sky is Rik, the air is Sama. This Saman rests upon that Rik. Therefore the Saman is sung as resting upon the Rik. The sky is ‘sa’, the air is ‘ama’, and that makes ‘Sama’.
I-vi-3: Heaven is Rik, the sun is Saman. This Saman rests upon that Rik. Therefore the Saman is sung as resting upon the Rik. Heaven is ‘sa’, the sun is ‘ama’, and that makes ‘Sama’.
I-vi-4: The stars are Rik, the moon is Saman. This Saman rests upon that Rik. Therefore the Saman is sung as resting upon the Rik. The stars are ‘sa’, the moon is ‘ama’, and that makes ‘Sama’.
I-vi-5: Now, the while light of the sun is Rik, the blue (light) that is extremely dark is Saman. This Saman rests upon that Rik. Therefore the Saman is sung as resting upon the Rik.
I-vi-6: Again, the white light of the sun is ‘sa’, the blue (light) that is extremely dark is ‘ama’, and that makes ‘Sama’. Now, that Person, effulgent as gold, who is seen within the sun, who is with golden beard and golden hair, is exceedingly effulgent even to the very tips of his nails.
I-vi-7: His eyes are bright like a red lotus. His name is ‘ut’. He has risen above all evils. Verily, he who knows thus rises above all evils.
I-vi-8: Rik and Saman are his two joints. Therefore he is Udgitha. Because the priest is the singer of this ‘ut’, he is the Udgitha. Moreover, he (this Person called ‘ut’) controls the worlds which are above that sun, as also the desires of the gods. This is with reference to the gods.
I-vii-1: Now (is the meditation) with reference to the body: Speech is Rik, Prana is Sama. This Saman rests upon that Rik. Therefore the Saman is sung as resting upon the Rik. Speech is ‘sa’, Prana is ‘ama’ and that makes ‘Sama’.
I-vii-2: The eye is Rik, the self (reflected in the eye) is Saman. This Saman rests upon that Rik. Therefore the Saman is sung as resting upon the Rik. The eye is ‘sa’, the self is ‘ama’, and that makes ‘Sama’.
I-vii-3: The ear is Rik, the mind is Saman. This Saman rests upon that Rik. Therefore the Saman is sung as resting upon the Rik. The ear is ‘sa’, the mind is ‘ama’, and that makes "Sama’.
I-vii-4: Now, the white light of the eye is Rik, the blue (light) that is extremely dark is Saman. This Saman rests upon that Rik. Therefore the Saman is sung as resting upon the Rik. The white light of the eye is ‘sa’, the blue (light) that is extremely dark is ‘ama’ and that makes ‘Sama’.
I-vii-5: Now, this person who is seen within the eye – he indeed is Rik, he is Saman, he is Uktha, he is Yajus, he is the Vedas. The form of this (person seen in the eye) is the same as the form of that (person seen in the sun). His joints are the same as those of the other; his name is the same as that of the other. I-vii-6: That (person in the eye) is the lord of all the worlds that are extended below, as also of the desired objects of men. So those who sing on the lute, sing of him alone and thereby become endowed with wealth.
I-vii-7: Now he who sings the Saman after knowing the deity Udgitha thus, sings to both. Through that (person in the sun), he (that singer) gets the worlds beyond that sun and also the desired objects of gods.
I-vii-8-9: Similarly, through this person in the eye, one gets the worlds that are extended below this person, and also the desired objects of men. For this reason, the Udgatir priest who knows thus should ask (the sacrificer): ‘What desire shall I obtain for you by singing the Saman ?’ For he alone becomes capable of obtaining desires by singing , who knowing thus sings the Saman – yea, sings the Saman.
I-viii- 1: In ancient times there were three proficient in Udgitha: Silaka the son of Salavat, Caikitayana of the Dalbhya family and Pravahana the son of Jivala. They said, ‘We are proficient in Udgitha. If you agree, let us enter on a discussion of Udgitha’.
I-viii- 2: ‘Let it be so’, saying this they sat down. Then Pravahana Jaivali said, ‘You two, revered sirs, speak first; and I shall listen to the words of two Brahmanas conversing’.
I-viii- 3: Then Silaka Salavatya said to Caikitayana Dalbhya, ‘If you permit, I shall question you’. ‘Question’, said he.
I-viii- 4: (Silaka asked), ‘What is the essence of Saman ?’ ‘The tune’, said (Dalbhya). ‘What is the essence of the tune ?’ ‘Prana’, said (Dalbhya). ‘What is the essence of Prana ?’ ‘Food’, said (Dalbhya). ‘What is the essence of food ?’ ‘Water’, said (Dalbhya).
I-viii- 5: ‘What is the essence of water ?’ ‘That (heavenly world)’, said (Dalbhya). ‘What is the essence of the world ?’ ‘One cannot carry (the Saman) beyond the heavenly world’, said Dalbhya; ‘we locate the Saman in the world of heaven, for Saman is praised as heaven’.
I-viii- 6: Then Silaka Salavatya said to Caikitayana Dalbhya: ‘O Dalbhya, your Saman is not indeed established. If someone one were to say, "Your head shall fall down", surely your head would fall down’.
I-viii- 7: (Dalbhya) ‘Will you permit me, sir, to learn this of you ?’ ‘Learn’, said (Silaka). ‘What is the essence of that (heavenly) world ?’ ‘This earth’, said (Silaka), ‘What is the essence of this earth ?’ ‘One cannot carry the Saman beyond this world as its support’, said Silaka; ‘we locate the Saman in this world as its support, for Saman is extolled as the earth’.
I-viii- 8: Pravahana Jaivali said to him, ‘O Salavatya, your Sama, really, has a further end. If someone now were to say, "Your head shall fall down", surely your head would fall down. (Salavatya) ‘Will you permit me, sir, to learn (this of you ?) ‘Learn’, said (Jaivali).
I-ix-1: (Salavatya) ‘What is the essence of this world ?’ ‘Akasa’ said (Pravahana); ‘All these beings arise from Akasa alone and are finally dissolved into Akasa; because Akasa alone is greater than all these and Akasa is the support at all times.’
I-ix-2: It is this Udgitha which is progressively higher and better. This again is endless. He who, knowing thus, meditates upon the progressively higher and better Udgitha, obtains progressively higher and better lives and wins progressively higher and better worlds.
I-ix-3: Atidhanvan, the son of Sunaka, having taught this to Udarasandilya, said, ‘As long as among your descendants, this knowledge of the Udgitha continues, so long their life in this world will be progressively higher and better than ordinary lives.’
I-ix-4: ‘And in that other world also their state will be similar’. He who knows and meditates thus – his life in this world surely becomes progressively higher and better, and so also his state in that other world – yea, in that other world.
I-x-1: When the crops in the Kuru country had been destroyed by hailstorms, there lived Usasti, the son of Cakra with his young wife in a deplorable condition in the village of elephant-drivers.
I-x-2: He begged food of an elephant-driver, while he was eating beans of an inferior quality. The driver said to him, ‘There is no other food than what is set before me’.
I-x-3: ‘Give me some of them’, said Usasti. The driver gave them to him and said, ‘Here is drink at hand, if you please 1’ ‘Then I shall be drinking what is defiled’, said Usasti.
I-x-4: ‘Are not these beans also defiled ?’ ‘Unless I ate them, I would surely not have survived’, said Usasti, ‘but drinking is at my option’.
I-x-5: Usasti, after he had eaten, brought the remainder to his wife. She had already obtained her food by alms; so after receiving it she kept it by.
I-x-6: Next morning while leaving the bed he said, ‘Alas, if I could get a little of food, I could earn a little wealth. There a king is going to institute a sacrifice; he would appoint me to all the priestly offices’.
I-x-7: His wife said to him, ‘Well, lord, here are the beans (given by you).’ Having eaten them he went off to that sacrifice which was being performed.
I-x-8: Seeing the singing priests seated there, he sat down near the singers in the place for singing the Stotras. And then he addressed the Prastotir priest.
I-x-9: ‘O Prastotir, if you sing the Prastava without knowing the deity that belongs to the Prastava, your head will fall down’.
I-x-10: In the same manner he addressed the Udgatir priest, O Udgatir, if you sing the Udgitha without knowing the deity that belongs to the Udgitha, your head will fall down’.
I-x-11: In the same manner he addressed the Pratihartir priest, ‘O Pratihartir, if you sing the Pratihara without knowing the deity that belongs to the Pratihara, your head will fall down’. Then they all sat down silently suspending their duties.
I-xi-1: Then the principal of the sacrifice said to him, I should like to know you, revered sir, ‘I am Chakrayana Usasti’, said he.
I-xi-2: He said, ‘I searched for you, revered sir, for all these priestly offices, but not finding you, sir, I have chosen others.’
I-xi-3: ‘Revered sir, you yourself take up all the priestly offices for me’. ‘Be it so; then, let these same priests sing the hymns, being permitted by me. But you should give me as much wealth as you give them.’ ‘Very well’, said the sacrificer.
I-xi-4: Then the Prastotir priest approached him and said, ‘Revered sir, you said to me: ‘O Prastotir, if you sing the Prastava without knowing the deity that belongs to the Prastava, your head will fall down". Which is that deity ?’
I-xi-5: ‘Prana’, said Usasti, ‘all these movable and immovable beings merge in Prana (during dissolution) and rise out of Prana (during creation). This is the deity that belongs to the Prastava. If you sang the Prastava without knowing him, after your having been warned thus by me, your head would have fallen down.’
I-xi-6: Then the Udgatir priest approached him and said, ‘Revered sir, you said to me: ‘O Udgatir, if you sing the Udgitha without knowing the deity that belongs to the Udgitha, your head will fall down". Which is that deity ?’
I-xi-7: ‘The sun’, said Usasti, ‘all these movable and immovable sing the praise of the sun when he has come up. This is the deity that belongs to the Udgitha. If you sang the Udgitha without knowing him, after your having been warned thus by me, your head would have fallen down.’
I-xi-8: Then the Pratihartir priest approached him and said, ‘Revered sir, you said to me: ‘O Pratihartir, if you sing the Pratihara without knowing the deity that belongs to the Pratihara, your head will fall down". Which is that deity ?’
I-xi-9: ‘Food’, said Usasti, ‘all these movable and immovable beings live by partaking of food only. This is the deity that belongs to the Pratihara. If you sang the Pratihara without knowing him, after your having been warned thus by me, your head would have fallen down.’
I-xii- 1: Therefore next begins the Udgitha seen by the dogs. Once Dalbhya Baka, called also Maitreya Glava, went out (of the village) for the study of the Vedas.
I-xii- 2: Before him a white dog appeared and other dogs gathered around it and said, ‘Revered sir, please obtain food for us by singing; we are hungry.’
I-xii- 3: The white dog said to them, ‘Come to me over here tomorrow morning.’ (The sage named) Dalbhya Baka and Maitreya Glava kept watch there for them.
I-xii- 4: Just as those who recite the Stotras singing the Bahispavamana hymn move along clasping one another’s hand, even so did the dogs move along. Then they sat down and began to pronounce ‘him’.
I-xii- 5: ‘Om, let us eat ! Om, let us drink ! Om, may the (sun who is) god, Varuna, Prajapati and Savitir bring us food here. O Lord of food, bring food here, yea bring it, Om !’
I-xiii- 1: Verily, this world is the syllable ‘hau’ (which is a Stobha), the air is the syllable ‘hai’, the moon is the syllable ‘atha’, the self is the syllable ‘iha’ and the fire is the syllable ‘I’.
I-xiii- 2: The sun is the syllable ‘u’ (which is a Stobha), invocation is the syllable ‘e’ the Visvadevas are the syllable ‘auhoyi’, Prajapati is the syllable ‘him’, Prana is the Stobha ‘svara’, food is the Stobha ‘ya’ and Virat is the Stobha ‘vak’.
I-xiii- 3: The undefinable and variable thirteenth Stobha is the syllable ‘hum’.
I-xiii- 4: For him, speech yields the milk, which is the benefit of speech; and he becomes richin food and an eater of food, who thus knows this sacred doctrine of the Samans – yea, knows the sacred doctrine of the Samans.
II-i-1: Om. Surely, the meditation on the whole Saman is good. Anything that is good, people call as Saman, anything that is not good, as Asaman.
II-i-2: Thus, when people say, ‘He approached him with Saman’, then they say only this: ‘He approached him with a good motive’. And when they say, ‘He approached him with Asaman’, then they say only this" ‘He approached him with an evil motive.’
II-i-3: Again, people say: ‘Oh, this is Saman for us’, when it is something good; then they say only this: ‘Oh, this is good for us’. Again, they say, ‘Oh, this is Asaman for us’, when it is not good; then they say only this: ‘Oh, this is evil.’
II-i-4: When one who knows it thus meditates on the Saman as good, all good qualities hasten towards him and serve him.
II-ii-1: Among the worlds one should meditate upon the Saman as fivefold. The earth is the syllable him, the fire is Prasrava, the sky is Udgitha, the sun is Pratihara, and heaven is Nidhana. Thus this meditation pertains to the higher worlds.
II-ii-2: Now, among the lower worlds. Heaven is the syllable him, the sun is Prastava, the sky is Udgitha the fire is Pratihara, and the earth is Nidhana.
II-ii-3: The worlds in the ascending and descending lines belong to him. Who, knowing it thus (endowed with the quality of ‘good’) meditates on the fivefold Saman in the worlds.
II-iii-1-2: One should meditate on the fivefold Saman as rain. The wind that precedes is the syllable him, the cloud that is formed is Prastava, the shower is Udgitha, lightning and thunder are Pratihara, and the ceasing is Nidhana. It rains for him – indeed, he causes rain – who, knowing it thus, meditates on the fivefold Saman as rain.
II-iv- 1: One should meditate on the fivefold Saman in all the waters. When a cloud gathers, it is the syllable him. When it rains, it is Prastava. Those (waters) that flow to the east, are Udgitha. Those that flow to the west are Pratihara. The ocean is Nidhana.
II-iv- 2: He who, knowing it thus, meditates on the fivefold Saman in all the waters, does not drown in water and he becomes rich in water.
II-v- 1: One should meditate on the fivefold Saman as the seasons: The spring is the syllable him, the summer is Prastava, the rainy season is Udgitha, the autumn is Pratihara, and the winter is Nidhana.
II-v- 2: He, who knowing it thus, meditates on the fivefold Saman in the seasons, him the seasons serve and he becomes rich in seasons.
II-vi- 1: One should meditate on the fivefold Saman as the animals. The goats are the syllable him, the sheep are Prastava, the cows are Udgitha, the horses are Pratihara, and man is Nidhana.
II-vi- 2: He, who knowing it this, meditates on the fivefold Saman in animals, to him animals belong and he becomes rich in animals.
II-vii- 1: One should meditate on the progressively higher and better fivefold Saman as the senses; The organ of smell is the syllable him, the organ of speech is Prastava, the eye is Udgitha, the ear is Pratihara, and the mind is Nidhana. Verily, these are progressively higher and better.
II-vii- 2: He who knowing it thus, meditates on the fivefold Saman, progressively higher and better, in the senses, to him belong progressively higher and better lives and he wins ever higher and better worlds. So much for (the meditation on) the fivefold Saman.
II-viii-1-2: Next is the meditation on the sevenfold Saman. One should meditate on the sevenfold Saman as speech. Whatsoever in speech is ‘hum’, that is the syllable him; whatever is ‘pra’, that is Prastava; whatever is ‘a’, that is Adi (the first); whatever is ‘ut’, that is Udgitha; whatever is ‘prati’, that is Pratihara; whetever is ‘upa’, that is Upadrava; and whatever is ‘ni’, that is Nidhana.
II-viii- 3: He who knowing it thus, meditates on the sevenfold (whole) Saman as speech, for him speech yields milk i.e. its appropriate benefit, and he becomes rich in food and an eater of food.
II-ix- 1: Next, one should meditate upon the sevenfold Saman as the yonder sun. He is the Saman because he is always the same. He is the Saman because he is the same to all, for each one thinks, ‘He faces me, he faces me.’
II-ix-2: One should know that all these beings are dependent on him. What he is before rising, that is Himkara. On this, the animals are dependent. As they participate in the Himkara part of this Saman, do they utter him (before sunrise).
II-ix-3: Then, the form of the sun when it has just risen, that is Prastava. On this, men are dependent. As they participate in the Prastava part of this Saman, so are they desirous of praise, direct and indirect. II-ix-4: And the form of the sun as it appears at the time of the assembling of its rays, that is Adi. On this, the birds are dependent. As they participate in the Adi part of this Saman, so do they hold themselves unsupported in the sky and fly about.
II-ix- 5: Next, the form of the sun that appears just at midday, that is Udgitha. On this, the gods are dependent. As they participate in the Udgitha part of this Saman, so are they the best among the offsprings of Prajapati.
II-ix- 6: Next, the form of the sun that appears just after midday and before (the latter part of) afternoon, that is Pratihara. On this, the foetuses are dependent. As they participate in the Pratihara part of this Saman, (so are they held up in the womb) and they do not fall down.
II-ix-7: Next, the form of the sun that appears when it is past afternoon and before sunset, that is Upadrava. On this, the wild animals are dependent. As they participate in the Upadrava part of this Saman, so do they, when they see a man, run away to the forest, as to a place of safety.
II-ix-8: Now, the form of the sun that appears just after sunset, that is Nidhana. On this, the fathers are dependent. As they participate in the Nidhana part of this Saman, so do people lay them aside.
II-x-1: Now, verily, one should meditate on the sevenfold Saman, which has all its parts similar, and which leads beyond death. ‘Himkara, has three syllables; ‘Prastava’ has three syllables. So they are equal to each other.
II-x-2: ‘Adi’ has two syllables; ‘Pratihara’ has four syllables. We take one syllable from Pratihara to Adi. So they are equal to each other.
II-x- 3: ‘Udgitha’ has three syllables; ‘Upadrava’ has four syllables. Three and three become equal. One syllable is left over; that really is tri-syllabic; so it also becomes equal.
II-x- 4: ‘Nidhana’ has three syllables, and this to is equal (to the others). These, indeed, are the twenty two syllables (of the sevenfold Saman).
II-x-5-6: He who, knowing this Saman thus (as good), meditates on the sevenfold Saman, which has all its parts similar and which leads beyond death, reaches the sun (Death) by the number twenty-one; for, counting from this world the yonder sun is verily the twenty-first. With the remaining twenty-second syllable he conquers the world beyond the sun. That world is of the nature of bliss, and is free from misery. (That is), he obtains victory over the sun, and then a victory still higher becomes his, who meditates on the sevenfold Saman.
II-xi- 1: The mind is Himkara, speech is Prastava, the eye is Udgitha, the ear is Pratihara, and the Prana is Nidhana. This is the Gayatra Saman woven in (the Prana and) the senses.
II-xi- 2: He who thus knows this Gayatra Saman as woven in (the Prana and) the senses, becomes the possessor of perfect senses, reaches the full length of life, lives gloriously, becomes great with offspring and cattle, and great also with fame. His holy vow is that he should be high-minded.
II-xii- 1: One rubs, that is Himkara. The smoke is produced, that is Prastava. It blazes, that is Udgitha. The embers are formed, that is Pratihara. It goes down, that is Nidhana. It is completely extinguished, that is Nidhana. This is the Rathantara Saman woven in fire.
II-xii- 2: He who thus knows this Rathantara Saman as woven in fire becomes radiant with the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom, is endowed with good appetite and reaches the full length of life, lives gloriously, becomes great with offspring and cattle, and great also with fame. His holy vow is that he should neither sip nor spit facing the fire.
II-xiii-1-2: The Vamadevya Saman is woven in a couple. He who thus knows this Vamadevya Saman as woven in a couple becomes one of the couple and procreates. He reaches the full length of life, lives gloriously, becomes great with offspring and cattle, and great also with fame. His holy vow is that he should not despise any woman.
II-xiv- 1: The rising sun is Himkara; the risen sun is Prastava; the midday sun is Udgitha; the sun in the afternoon is Pratihara, and the setting sun is Nidhana. This is the Brihat Saman woven in the sun.
II-xiv- 2: He who thus knows this Brihat Saman as woven in the sun becomes refulgent and endowed with good appetite, reaches the full length of life, lives gloriously, becomes great with offspring and cattle, and great also with fame. His holy vow is that he should not find fault with the burning sun.
II-xv- 1: The white clouds gather, that is Himkara. The (rain-bearing) cloud is formed, that is Prastava. It rains, that is Udgitha. It flashes and thunders, that is Pratihara. It ceases, that is Nidhana. This is the Vairupa Saman woven in the rain-cloud.
II-xv- 2: He who thus knows this Virupa Saman as woven in the rain-cloud acquires cattle of handsome and manifold forms, reaches the full length of life, lives gloriously, becomes great with offspring and cattle, and great also with fame. His holy vow is that he should not find fault with the rain-cloud when it rains.
II-xvi- 1: The spring is Himkara, the summer is Prastava, the rainy season is Udgitha, the autumn is Pratihara, and the winter is Nidhana. This is the Vairaja Saman woven in the seasons.
II-xvi- 2: He who thus knows this Vairaja Saman as woven in the seasons shines with offspring, cattle and the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom, reaches the full length of life, lives gloriously, becomes great with offspring and cattle and great also with fame. His holy vow is that he should not find fault with the seasons.
II-xvii-1: The earth is Himkara, the sky is Prastava, heaven is Udgitha, the quarters are Pratihara, and the ocean is Nidhana. This is the Sakvari Saman woven in the worlds.
II-xvii-2: He who thus knows this Sakvari Saman woven in the worlds, becomes the possessor of the worlds, reaches the full length of life, lives gloriously, becomes great with offspring and cattle and great also with fame. His holy vow is that he should not find fault with the worlds.
II-xviii-1: The goats are Himkara, the sheep are Prastava, the cows are Udgitha, the horses are Pratihara, and man is Nidhana. This is the Revati Saman woven in the animals.
II-xviii-2: He who thus knows this Revati Saman woven in the animals, becomes the possessor of animals, reaches the full length of life, lives gloriously, becomes great with offspring and cattle, great also with fame. His holy vow is that he should not find fault with animals.
II-xix- 1: The hair is Himkara, the skin is Prastava, the flesh is Udgitha, the bone is Pratihara, and the marrow is Nidhana. This is the Yajnayajniya Saman woven in the limbs of the body.
II-xix- 2: He who thus knows this Yajnayajniya Saman, woven in the limbs of the body, is endowed with all the limbs, and is not crippled in any limb; he reaches the full length of life, lives gloriously, becomes great with offspring and cattle and great also with fame. His holy vow is that he should not eat fish and meat for a year, or rather, he should not eat fish and meat at all.
II-xx- 1: Fire is Himkara, Air is Prastava, the Sun is Udgitha, the Stars are Pratihara, and the Moon is Nidhana. This is the Rajana Saman woven in the deities.
II-xx- 2: He who knows thus knows this Rajana Saman woven in the deities, abides in the same world or gets the same prosperity as these very deities or attains union with them; he reaches the full length of life, lives gloriously, becomes great with offspring and cattle and great also with fame. His holy vow is that he should not find fault with the Brahmanas.
II-xxi- 1: The three Vedas are Himkara; the three worlds are Prastava; Fire, Air and the Sun are Udgitha; the Stars, the birds and the rays are Pratihara; the serpents, the celestial singers and the fathers are Nidhana. This is the collection of Samans woven in all things.
II-xxi- 2: Verily, he who thus knows this collection of Samans as woven in all things becomes the lord of all things.
II-xxi-3: There is this verse about it: That which is fivefold in groups of three – there is nothing else greater or other than these (fifteen).
II-xxi-4: He who knows that knows all. All the quarters bring offerings to him. His holy vow is that he should meditate ‘I am all’ – yea, that is his vow.
II-xxii-1: ‘Of the Samans, I choose the one that bellows, as it were, and is good for cattle,’ thus (some think). This is the loud singing sacred to Agni, the undefined one to Prajapati, the defined one to Soma, the soft and smooth to Vayu, the smooth and strong to Indra, the heron-like to Brihaspati, and the ill-sounding to Varuna. Verily, one may practise all these, but should avoid the one sacred to Varuna.
II-xxii-2: ‘May I obtain immortality for the gods by singing’, (thinking) thus one should sing. ‘May I obtain my singing, oblation for the fathers, hope for men, grass and water for animals, the heavenly world for the sacrificer, and food for myself’, -- thus reflecting in his mind on all these, he should sing the Stotra attentively.
II-xxii-3: All vowels are the embodiments of Indra; all sibilants are the embodiments of Prajapati; all Sparsa consonants are the embodiments of Death. If anyone should reprove him for the pronunciation of his vowels, he should tell him, ‘I have taken my refuge in Indra; he will answer you.’
II-xxii-4: And if some one should reprove him for sibilants he should tell him, ‘I have taken my refuge in Prajapati; he will crush you’. And if some one should reprove him for his Sparsa consonants, he should tell him, ‘I have taken my refuge in Death; he will burn you up.’
II-xxii-5: All vowels should be pronounced sonant and strong, (with the thought), ‘May I impart strength to Indra (Prana)’. All sibilants should be pronounced, neither inarticulately, nor leaving out the elements of sound, but distinctly (with the thought), ‘May I give myself to Prajapati (Virat).’ All Sparsa consonants should be pronounced slowly, without mixing them with any other letter, (with the thought), ‘May I withdraw myself from Death.’
II-xxiii-1: Three are the branches of religious duty. Sacrifice, study and gifts – these are the first. Austerity alone is the second, and the celibate student of sacred knowledge, who lives in the house of the teacher throughout his life mortifying his body in the teacher’s house, is the third. All these become possessors of meritorious worlds; but he who is established firmly in Brahman, attains immortality.
II-xxiii-2: Prajapati brooded on the worlds. From them, thus brooded upon, issued forth the threefold Veda (as their essence). He brooded on this. From this, thus brooded upon, issued forth the syllables Bhuh, Bhuvah and Svah.
II-xxiii-3: He brooded on them. From them, thus brooded upon, issued forth (as their essence) the syllable Om (Brahman). Just as all the parts of the leaf, are permeated by the ribs of the leaf, so are all the words permeated by the syllable Om. Verily, the syllable Om is all this – yea, the syllable Om is verily all this.
II-xxiv-1-2: The expounders of Brahman say, ‘The morning libation is of the Vasus, the midday libation is of the Rudras and the third libation is of the Adityas and of the Visvadevas. Where, the, is the world of the sacrificer ?’ How can he who does not know this, perform (sacrifices) ? It is only after knowing this that he should perform (sacrifices).
II-xxiv-3-4: Before the commencement of the morning chant, the sacrificer sits down behind the Garhapatya fire, facing the north and sings the Saman sacred to the Vasus: ‘(O Fire), open the door of this world that we may see you for obtaining the kingdom.’
II-xxiv-5-6: Then he offers the oblation (with the Mantra) – ‘Salutation to Fire, who dwells in the region of the earth. Obtain the region, for me the sacrificer. This region, indeed, is to be obtained by the sacrificer. At the end of the duration of this life, I, the sacrificer, am willing to come here – Svaha.’ ‘Unbar the door of the region’, saying this he gets up. (As a result) the Vasus grant him (the region connected with) the morning libation.
II-xxiv-7-8: Before the starting of the midday libation, the sacrificer sits down behind the Agnidhriya fire, facing the north, and sings the Saman sacred to the Rudras: ‘(O Fire), open the door of the region of the sky that we may see you for obtaining the sovereignty of the sky.’
II-xxiv-9-10: Then he offers the oblation (with the Mantra): ‘Salutation to Vayu, who dwells in the region of the sky. Obtain this region for me, the sacrificer. This region, indeed, is to be obtained by the sacrificer. At the end of the duration of this life, I, the sacrificer, am willing to go there – Svaha’. ‘Unbar the door of the region’, saying this he gets up. (As a result) the Rudras grant him (the region of the sky connected with) the midday libation.
II-xxiv-11-13: Before beginning the third libation, the sacrificer sits down behind the Ahavaniya fire, facing the north, and sings the Saman sacred to the Adityas and the one sacred to the Visvadevas: ‘(O Fire), open the door of the region of heaven that we may see you for obtaining the sovereignty of heaven’. This is the Saman sacred to the Adityas. Next is the one sacred to the Visvadevas; ‘(O Fire), open the door of the region of heaven that we may see you for obtaining the supreme sovereignty.’
II-xxiv-14-15: Then the sacrificer offers the oblation (with the Mantra): ‘Salutation to the Adityas and to the Visvadevas, the inhabitants of the region of heaven. Obtain the region of heaven for me, the sacrificer. This region, indeed, is to be obtained by the sacrificer. At the end of the duration of this life, I, the sacrificer, am willing to go there – Svaha’. ‘Unbar the door of the region’, saying this, he gets up. II-xxiv-16: The Adityas and the Visvadevas grant him (the region appropriate to) the third libation. He alone knows the real character of the sacrifice, who knows thus.
III-i- 1: Om. The yonder sun indeed is the honey of the gods. Of this honey, heaven is the cross-beam, the sky is the honey comb, and (the water particles in) the rays are the eggs.
III-i-2-3: The eastern rays of that sun are its eastern honey-cells; the Riks are the bees, (the ritual of) the Rig-Veda is the flower and those waters are the nectar. Those very Riks (the bees) pressed this Rig-Veda. From it, thus pressed, issued forth as juice, fame, splendour (of limbs), (alertness of) the senses, virility, and food for eating.
III-i- 4: That juice flowed forth; it settled by the side of the sun. Verily, this it is that appears as the red hue of the sun.
III-ii- 1: And its southern rays are its southern honey cells. The Yajus verses are the bees. The Yajur-Veda is the flower; and those waters are the nectar.
III-ii- 2: Those very Yajus verses pressed this Yajur-Veda. And from it, thus pressed, issued forth as juice, fame, splendour of limbs, alertness of the senses, virility, and food for eating.
III-ii- 3: It, flowed forth; it settled by the side of the sun. Verily, this it is that appears as the white hue of the sun.
III-iii- 1: And its western rays are its western honey cells. The Samans are the bees. The Sama-Veda is the flower; and those waters are the nectar.
III-iii- 2: Those very Samans pressed this Sama-Veda. From it, thus pressed, issued forth as juice, fame, splendour of limbs, alertness of the senses, virility, and food for eating.
III-iii- 3: It flowed forth; it settled by the side of the sun. Verily, this it is that appears as the black hue of the sun.
III-iv- 1: And its northern rays are its northern honey cells. The Mantras of the Atharva-Veda are the bees. The Itihasa and the Purana are the flower; and those waters are the nectar.
III-iv- 2: Those Mantras of the Atharva-Veda pressed this Itihasa-Purana. From it, thus pressed, issued forth as juice, fame, splendour of limbs, alertness of the senses, virility, and food for eating.
III-iv- 3: It flowed forth; it settled by the side of the sun. Verily, this it is that appears as the deep black hue of the sun.
III-v- 1: And its upper rays are its upper honey cells. The secret teachings are the bees. Brahman (Pranava) is the flower. Those waters (the results of the meditations on the Pranava) are the nectar.
III-v- 2: Those secret teachings pressed this Pranava. From it, thus pressed, issued forth as juice, fame, splendour of limbs, alertness of the senses, virility, and food for eating.
III-v- 3: It flowed forth; it settled by the side of the sun. Verily, this it is that appears as the quivering in the middle of the sun.
III-v- 4: Verily, these hues are the juice of the juices, for the Vedas are the essences and these are their essence. These hues indeed are the nectar of the nectars, for the Vedas are the nectar and these are their nectar.
III-vi- 1: That which is the first nectar (i.e. the red form), that verily Vasus enjoy with Agni as their leader. The gods, indeed, neither eat nor drink, only with seeing this nectar are they satisfied.
III-vi- 2: They enter into this very form (colour) and out of this form they emerge.
III-vi- 3: He who knows thus this nectar becomes one of the Vasus, and with Agni as the leader, is satisfied only with seeing this nectar. He enters into this very form and out of this form he emerges. III-vi-4: As long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so long does he retain the sovereignty and the heavenly kingdom of (or similar to that of) the Vasus.
III-vii- 1: And that which is the second nectar (i.e. the white form), that verily the Rudras enjoy with Indra as their leader. The gods, indeed, neither eat nor drink; only with seeing this nectar are they satisfied.
III-vii- 2: They enter into this very form and out of this form they emerge.
III-vii- 3: He who knows thus this nectar becomes one of the Rudras, and with Indra as the leader, is satisfied only with seeing this nectar. He enters into this very form and out of this form he emerges. III-vii-4: As long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, even twice so long does he (the Sun) rise in the south and set in the north and even so long does he retain the sovereignty and the heavenly kingdom of the Rudras.
III-viii-1: And that which is the third nectar (i.e. the black form), that verily the Adityas enjoy with Varuna as their leader. The gods, indeed, neither eat nor drink; only with seeing this nectar are they satisfied.
III-viii-2: They enter into this very form and out of this form they emerge.
III-viii-3: He who knows thus this nectar becomes one of the Adityas, and with Varuna as the leader, is satisfied only with seeing this nectar. He enters into this very form and out of this form he emerges.
III-viii-4: As long as the sun rises in the south and sets in the north, even twice so long does he (the Sun) rise in the west and set in the east and even so long does he retain the sovereignty and the heavenly kingdom of the Adityas.
III-ix- 1: And that which is the fourth nectar (i.e. the deep black colour), that verily the Maruts enjoy with Soma as their leader. The gods, indeed, neither eat nor drink; only with seeing this nectar are they satisfied.
III-ix- 2: They enter into this very form and out of this form they emerge.
III-ix- 3: He who knows thus this nectar becomes one of the Maruts, and with Soma as the leader is satisfied only with seeing this nectar.
III-ix- 4: As long as the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, even twice so long does he (the Sun) rise in the north and set in the south and even so long does he retain the sovereignty and the heavenly kingdom of the Maruts.
III-x- 1: And that which is the fifth nectar (i.e. the quivering form within the sun), that verily the Sadhyas enjoy with Pranava as their leader. The gods, indeed, neither eat nor drink; only with seeing this nectar are they satisfied.
III-x- 2: They enter into this very form and out of this form they emerge.
III-x- 3: He who knows thus this nectar becomes one of the Sadhyas, and with Pranava as the leader is satisfied only with seeing this nectar.
III-x- 4: As long as the sun rises in the north and sets in the south, even twice so long does he (the Sun) rise in overhead and set below and even so long does he retain the sovereignty and the heavenly kingdom of the Sadhyas.
III-xi- 1: Then, rising from there upward, he will neither rise nor set. He will remain alone in the middle. There is this verse about it:
III-xi- 2: ‘Never does this happen there. Never did the sun set there nor did it rise. O gods, by this, my assertion of the truth, may I not fall from Brahman’.
III-xi- 3: Verily, for him the sun neither rises nor sets. He who thus knows this secret of the Vedas, for him, there is perpetual day.
III-xi- 4: Hiranyagarbha imparted this Doctrine of Honey to Prajapati, Prajapati to Manu, and Manu to his progeny. And the father told his eldest son Uddalaka Aruni this very knowledge of Brahman.
III-xi- 5: A father may declare to his eldest son or to any other worthy disciple this very knowledge of Honey.
III-xi- 6: And not to any one else, even if one should offer him this sea-girt earth filled with wealth. This (doctrine) is certainly greater than that. This certainly is greater than that.
III-xii- 1: Gayatri indeed is all this, whatever being exists. Speech indeed is Gayatri; for speech indeed sings and removes fear of all this that exists.
III-xii- 2: That which is this Gayatri, even that is this earth; for on this earth are all the beings established and they do not transcend it.
III-xii-3: That which is this earth (as Gayatri), even that is this, i.e. this body in respect of this person; for these senses are indeed established in this body and they do not transcend it.
III-xii- 4: That which is the body in respect of a person, even that is identical with) the heart within this body; for these senses are indeed established in it and they do not transcend it.
III-xii- 5: This well-known Gayatri is four footed and sixfold. The Gayatri Brahman is thus expressed in the following Rik:
III-xii- 6: Such is the greatness of this (Brahman called Gayatri). The Person is even greater than this. All this world is a quarter of Him, the other three quarters of His constitute immortality in heaven.
III-xii-7-9: That which is (designated as) Brahman, even that is this Akasa outside the body. That which is the Akasa outside the body, even that is the Akasa inside the body. That which is the Akasa inside the body, even that is this Akasa within the (lotus of the) heart. This Brahman is all-filling and unchanging. He who knows (Brahman) thus, gets all-filling and unchanging prosperity.
III-xiii-1: Of the said heart, there are, indeed, five doors guarded by the gods. (He who is in) that which is the eastern door of this, is Prana. He is the eye, he is the sun. This (Brahman called Prana) should be meditated upon as brightness and as the source of food. He who meditates thus, becomes resplendent and an eater of food.
III-xiii-2: And (he who is in) that which is the southern door of this (heart), is Vyana. He is the ear, he is the moon. This (Brahman called Vyana) should be meditated upon as prosperity and fame. He who meditates thus becomes prosperous and famous.
III-xiii-3: And (he who is in) that which is the western door of this (heart), is Apana. He is speech, he is fire. This (Brahman called Apana) should be meditated upon as the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom and as the source of food. He who meditates thus becomes radiant with the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom and also an eater of food.
III-xiii-4: And (he who is in) that which is the northern door of this (heart), is Samana. He is the mind, he is Parjanya (the rain-god). This (Brahman called Samana) should be meditated upon as fame and grace. He who meditates thus becomes famous and graceful.
III-xiii-5: And (he who is in) that which is the upper door of this (heart), is Udana. He is the air, he is the Akasa. This (Brahman called Udana) should be meditated upon as strength and nobility. He who meditates thus becomes strong and noble.
III-xiii-6: These, verily, are the five persons under Brahman, the sentinels of the heavenly world. He who adores thus these five persons under Brahman, the sentinels of the heavenly world, in his family is a hero born. He who adores thus these five persons under Brahman, the sentinels of the heavenly world, reaches the heavenly world.
III-xiii-7: Again, the light of Brahman that shines above this heaven, above everything, above all, in the incomparably good and the highest worlds, even this is the light within the body of man. This light can be seen inasmuch as one has a perception of warmth when one touches the body. It can be heard inasmuch as, on closing the ears, one hears something like the sound of a chariot or the bellowing of a bull, or the sound of a blazing fire. One should meditate on the light as seen and heard. One who meditates on this thus, becomes beautiful and illustrious – yea, one who meditates thus.
III-xiv-1: Verily, all this universe is Brahman. From Him do all things originate, into Him do they dissolve and by Him are they sustained. On Him should one meditate in tranquillity. For as is one’s faith, such indeed one is; and as is one’s faith in this world, such one becomes on departing hence. Let one, therefore, cultivate faith.
III-xiv-2-3: He, who is permeating the mind, who has Prana for his body, whose nature is consciousness, whose resolve is infallible, whose own form is like Akasa, whose creation is all that exists, whose are all the pure desires, who possesses all the agreeable odours and all the pleasant tastes, who exists pervading all this, who is without speech (and other senses), who is free from agitation and eagerness – this my Atman, residing in (the lotus of) the heart – is smaller than a grain of paddy, than a barley corn, than a mustard seed, than a grain of millet or than the kernel of a grain of millet. This my Atman residing in (the lotus of) the heart is greater than the earth, greater than the sky, greater than heaven, greater than all these worlds.
III-xiv-4: He, whose creation is all that exists, whose are all the pure desires, who possesses all the agreeable odours and all the pleasant tastes, who exists pervading all this, who is without speech (and other senses), who is free from agitation and eagerness, He is my Atman residing in (the lotus of) the heart; He is Brahman. On departing hence I shall attain to His being. He alone who possesses this faith and has no doubt about it (will obtain the result). Thus declared Sandilya – yea, Sandilya.
III-xv- 1: The chest (i.e. the universe), having the sky as its hollow and the earth for its (curved) bottom, does not decay. The quarters are indeed its corners and heaven its upper lid. This well-known chest is the container of wealth. All things rest in it.
III-xv- 2: Of that chest, the eastern quarter is named Juhu, the southern is named Sahamana, the western is named Rajni and the northern is named Subhuta. The air is their calf. He who knows this air, the calf of the quarters, thus (as immortal), never weeps in mourning for his son. I, wishing my son’s, longevity, worship thus this air, the calf of the quarters. May I never weep to mourn my son.
III-xv- 3: I take refuge in the imperishable chest for such and such and such. I take refuge in Prana for such and such and such. I take refuge in Bhuh for such and such and such. I take refuge in Bhuvah for such and such and such. I take refuge in Svah for such and such and such.
III-xv- 4: When I said, ‘I take refuge in Prana’, (it was because) all these beings, whatsoever exist, are indeed Prana. So it was in this alone that I took refuge.
III-xv- 5: Then when I said, ‘I take refuge in Bhuh’, I said only this: ‘I take refuge in the earth, I take refuge in the sky, I take refuge in heaven’.
III-xv- 6: Then when I said, ‘I take refuge in Bhuvah’, I said only this: ‘I take refuge in Fire, I take refuge in Air, I take refuge in the Sun.’
III-xv- 7: Then, when I said, ‘I take refuge in Svah’, I said only this: ‘I take refuge in the Rig-Veda, I take refuge in the Yajur-Veda, I take refuge in the Sama-Veda’ – yea, that was what I said.
III-xvi-1: Man, truly, is the sacrifice. His (first) twenty-four years are the morning libation, for the metre Gayatri is made up of twenty-four syllables, and the morning libation is related to the Gayatri metre. With this the Vasus are connected. The Pranas indeed are the Vasus, for they make all this stable. III-xvi-2: During this period of life if anything (e.g. illness) causes him pain, he should repeat: ‘O Pranas, Vasus, unite this morning libation of mind with the midday libation. May I who am a sacrifice not be lost in the midst of the Vasus who are the Pranas’. He surely recovers from that and becomes healthy.
III-xvi-3: Now, (his next) forty-four years are the mid-day libation, (for) the metre Tristubh is made up of forty-four syllables, and the mid-day libation is related to the Tristubh metre. With this, the Rudras are connected. The Pranas indeed are the Rudras, for they cause all this (universe) to weep.
III-xvi-4: During this period of life if anything (e.g. illness) causes him pain, he should repeat: ‘O Pranas, Rudras, unite this mid-day libation of mine with the third libation. May I, who am a sacrifice, not be lost in the midst of the Rudras who are the Pranas’. He surely recovers from that and becomes healthy.
III-xvi-5: Then (his next) forty-eight years are the third libation. The metre Jagati is made up of forty-eight syllables and the third libation is related to the Jagati metre. With this, the Adityas are connected. The Pranas indeed are the Adityas, for they accept all this.
III-xvi-6: During this period of life if anything (e.g. illness) causes him pain, he should repeat: ‘O Pranas, Adityas, extend this third libation of mine to a full length of life. May I, who am a sacrifice, not be lost in the midst of the Adityas who are the Pranas.’ He surely recovers from that and becomes healthy.
III-xvi-7: Knowing this well-known (doctrine of sacrifice) Aitareya Mahidasa said, ‘Why do you afflict me thus, me who cannot be so killed.’ He lived for one hundred and sixteen years. He, too, who knows thus, lives in vigour for one hundred and sixteen years.
III-xvii-1: That he (who performs the Purusha sacrifice) feels hunger, that he feels thirst, that he does not rejoice –all these are the initiatory rites of this sacrifice.
III-xvii-2: And, that he eats that he drinks, that he rejoices – all these approach Upasadas.
III-xvii-3: And, that he laughs, that he eats, that he behaves as one of a couple – all these approach Stotra and Sastra.
III-xvii-4: And his austerity, gifts, uprightness, non-violence, and truthfulness – all these are the largesses of this sacrifice.
III-xvii-5: Therefore people say ‘sosyati’ (will procreate), and ‘asosta’ (has procreated). Again, that is the procreation of this, and death is the Avabhrita bath.
III-xvii-6: Ghora Angirasa expounded this well-known doctrine to Devaki’s son Krishna and said, ‘Such a knower should, at the time of death, repeat this triad – "Thou art the imperishable, Thou art unchangeable, Thou art the subtle essence of Prana". (On hearing the above) he became thirstless. There are these two Rik stanzas in regard to this.
III-xvii-7: (Those knowers of Brahman who have purified their mind through the withdrawal of the senses and other means like Brahmacharya) see everywhere (the day – like the supreme light) of the ancient One who is the seed of the universe, (the light that shines in the Effulgent Brahman). May we, too having perceived the highest light which dispels darkness, reach it. Having perceived the highest light in our own heart we have reached that highest light, which is the dispeller (of water, rays of light and the Pranas), shining in all gods – yea, we have reached that highest light.
III-xviii-1: The mind is Brahman, thus one should meditate – this is (the meditation) with regard to the body (including the mind). Next, the meditation with regard to the gods – the Akasa is Brahman, thus (one should meditate). Both the meditations, with regard to the body and with regard to the gods are being enjoined.
III-xviii-2: This same Brahman has four feet. The organ of speech is one foot. Prana (the organ of smell) is one foot, the eye is one foot and the ear is one foot. This is with reference to the body. Next, with reference to the gods. Agni is one foot, Vayu is one foot, Aditya is one foot and the quarters are one foot. Thus both the meditations, with reference to the body and with reference to the gods, are enjoined.
III-xviii-3: The organ of speech is one of the four feet of Brahman (called Mind). With the light of fire it shines and warms. He who knows thus, shines and warms with fame and celebrity and with the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom.
III-xviii-4: The organ of smell is one of the four feet of Brahman. With the light of air it shines and warms. He who knows thus, shines and warms with fame and celebrity and with the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom.
III-xviii-5: The eye is one of the four feet of Brahman. With the light of the sun it shines and warms. He who knows thus, shines and warms with fame and celebrity and with the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom.
III-xviii-6: The ear is one of the four feet of Brahman. With the light of the quarters it shines and warms. He who knows thus, shines and warms with fame and celebrity and with the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom – yea, he who knows thus.
III-xix-1: The Sun is Brahman – this is the teaching. The further explanation of this (is here given). Before creation, this universe was non-existent. Then it became existent. It grew; it turned into an egg; it lay for a period of one year; (and then) it burst open. Of the two halves of that egg-shell, one was of silver and the other of gold.
III-xix-2: Of these, that which was of silver is this earth. That which was of gold is heaven. That which was the outer membrane is the mountains. That which was the inner membrane is the mist together with the clouds. Those which were the veins are the rivers. That which was the water in the lower belly is the ocean.
III-xix-3: And that which was born is the yonder sun. After he was born, sounds of the form of loud shouts arose, as also all beings and all desired objects. Therefore at his rise and his every return (or his setting), sounds of the form of loud shouts arise, as also all beings and all desired objects.
III-xix-4: He who knows the Sun thus and meditates on it as Brahman, auspicious sounds will hasten to him and continue to delight him – yea, will continue to delight.
IV-i- 1: Om. There lived Janasruti Pautrayana who made gifts with respect, who gave liberally, and who had much food cooked (for others). He built rest-houses all round, thinking, ‘Everywhere people will eat of my food’.
IV-i- 2: Once at night, the swans flew along. Then one swan addressed another swan thus, ‘Ho, Ho, O Bhallaksa, Bhallaksa, the effulgence of Janasruti Pautrayana has spread like the heaven. Do not come in touch with it, lest it should scorch you.’
IV-i- 3: Bhallaksa replied to him, ‘lo, how could you so describe him as if he were Raikva with the cart ?’ ‘Of what sort is this Raikva with the cart ?’
IV-i- 4: ‘Just as all the lower casts of the dice go over to one who has won the Krita-cast, so does go over to Raikva whatsoever good the creatures do; so also to him who knows what Raikva knows. Such is he who has thus been spoken of by me.’
IV-i-5-6: Janasruti Pautrayana overheard those words. As soon as he arose, he said to the attendant, ‘Lo, did you praise me like Raikva with the cart ?’ ‘What sort of man is this Raikva with the cart ?’ (Janasruti repeated the words of the swan): ‘Just as all the lower casts of the dice go over to one who has won the Krita-cast, so does go over to Raikva whatsoever good the creatures do; and so also to him who knows what Raikva knows. Such is he who has thus been spoken of by me’.
IV-i- 7: The attendant, having searched for him, came back thinking, ‘I could not find him’. Janasruti said to him, ‘Well, where the knower of Brahman should be searched for there search for him’.
IV-i- 8: (After searching) he came to a man sitting under a cart and scratching eruptions on his skin and, sitting near him, asked him, ‘Revered sir, are you Raikva with the cart ?’ ‘Well fellow, yes, I am’, he admitted. Thinking ‘I have found him’, the attendant returned.
IV-ii-1-2: On hearing this, Janasruti Pautrayana took with him six hundred cows, a gold necklace, and a chariot drawn by mules and went to Raikva and addressed him thus: ‘O Raikva, (here are for you) these six hundred cows, this gold necklace, and this chariot drawn by mules. Now, revered sir, instruct me about the deity whom you worship.’
IV-ii- 3: The other man answered him thus: ‘Ah, O Sudra, let this gold necklace together with the chariot and the cows remain with you.’ Thereupon Janasruti Pautrayana again took with him one thousand cows, a gold necklace, a chariot drawn by mules and his daughter and went over to Raikva. IV-ii-4: Janasruti said to him: ‘O Raikva, (here are for you) these one thousand cows, this gold necklace, this chariot drawn by mules, this wife, and this village in which you reside. Now, revered sir, please instruct me’.
IV-ii- 5: Taking that princess to be the portal for the conveying of knowledge, Raikva said, ‘O Sudra, you have brought all these ! Even by this means (i.e. the princess) you will make me talk.’ The king gave away to him all those villages in the Mahavrisa country known as Raikvaparna where Raikva lived. Raikva said to him:
IV-iii- 1: Air indeed is the absorber. For when a fire goes out, it is in air that it merges; when the sun sets, it is in air that it merges; when the moon sets, it is in air that it merges.
IV-iii- 2: When water dries up, it is in air that it merges; for air absorbs all these. This is (the doctrine of Samvarga) with reference to the gods.
IV-iii- 3: Next is (the doctrine of Samvarga) with reference to the body: Prana indeed is the absorber. When one sleeps, speech merges in Prana, the eye merges in Prana, the ear merges in Prana, the mind merges in Prana: for Prana, indeed, absorbs all these.
IV-iii- 4: These, indeed, are the two absorbers: Air among the gods and Prana among the sense-organs. IV-iii-5: Once upon a time, while Kapeya Saunaka and Kaksaseni Abhipratarin were being served with food, a celibate student of sacred knowledge begged of them. They did not give him anything.
IV-iii- 6: The Brahmacharin said, ‘Prajapati, the one god swallowed up the four great ones; he is the protector of the worlds. O Kapeya, O Abhipratarin, mortals do not see him who dwells variously. Even from him, for whom all this food is meant, you have withheld it.’
IV-iii-7: Kapeya Saunaka, reflecting on those words, approached him (and said): ‘He who is the self of all gods and the creator of all beings, who has undecaying teeth, who is the devourer, who is the wise one, who is himself never eaten (but) who devours even those who are not food; and hence (the knowers) describe his magnificence as immeasurable – such, indeed, is the Brahman, O Brahmacharin, whom we worship’. (Then he told the servants): ‘Give him food’.
IV-iii-8: They gave him food. Now, these five and the other five, together becoming ten, constitute the Krita (dice-cast). Therefore (i.e. because the number ten applies to both), these ten are the food or Virat dwelling in all the ten quarters, and these are (the enjoyer) Krita. This Virat, of the form of ten deities, again, is the eater of food (as Krita); by him all this is perceived. He who sees thus, by him also all this is perceived, and he becomes as eater of food.
IV-iv-1: Once upon a time Satyakama Jabala addressed his mother Jabala, ‘Mother, I desire to live the life of a celibate student of sacred knowledge in the teacher’s house. Of what lineage am I ?’
IV-iv-2: She said to him, ‘My child, I do not know of what lineage you are. I, who was engaged in many works and in attending on others, got you in my youth. Having been such I could not know of what lineage you are. However, I am Jabala by name and you are named Satyakama. So you speak of yourself only as Satyakama Jabala.’
IV-iv- 3: He went to Haridrumata Gautama and said, ‘I desire to live under you, revered sir, as a Brahmacharin; may I approach your venerable self (for the same) ?’
IV-iv- 4: Gautama asked him, ‘Dear boy, of what lineage are you ?’ He replied, ‘Sir, I do not know of what lineage I am. I asked my mother; she replied, "I, who was engaged in many works and in attending on others, got you in my youth. Having been such, I could not know of what lineage you are. However, I am Jabala by name and you are named Satyakama". So, sir, I am Satyakama Jabala.’
IV-iv- 5: The teacher said to him, ‘No one who is not a Brahmana can speak thus. Dear boy, bring the sacrificial fuel, I shall initiate you as a Brahmacharin, for you have not deviated from truth’. Having initiated him, he sorted out four hundred lean and weak cows and said, ‘Dear boy, follow them.’ While he was driving them towards the forest Satyakama said, ‘I shall not return till it is one thousand.’ He lived away for a long time, till they had increased to one thousand.
IV-v- 1: Then the bull addressed him thus, ‘Satyakama !’ ‘Yes, revered sir’, thus he responded, ‘Dear boy, we have reached a thousand, take us to the house of the teacher.’
IV-v- 2: ‘Let me instruct you about one foot of Brahman also’. ‘Please instruct me, revered sir.’ (The bull) said to him, ‘The eastern quarter is one part, the western quarter is one part, the southern quarter is one part, the northern quarter is one part. This indeed, dear boy, is one foot of Brahman, consisting of four, named the Radiant.
IV-v- 3: ‘He who knows this one foot of Brahman consisting of four parts thus, and meditates on it as the Radiant, becomes radiant in this world. He who knows this one foot of Brahman consisting of four parts thus, and meditates on it as the Radiant, wins the radiant regions (in the next world).’
IV-vi-1: ‘Fire will tell you of one foot of Brahman’. At dawn of the next day he drove the cows towards the teacher’s house. Towards evening, at the place where those cows came together, he kindled the fire there, penned the cows, laid on fuel and sat down near them behind the fire, facing the east.
IV-vi- 2: The fire addressed him, ‘Satyakama !’ ‘Yes, revered sir’, he responded.
IV-vi- 3: ‘Dear boy, let me instruct you about one foot of Brahman’. ‘Please instruct me, revered sir.’ (The fire) said to him, ‘The earth is one part, the sky is one part, heaven is one part, and the ocean is one part. This indeed, dear boy, is one foot of Brahman, consisting of four parts, named the Endless. IV-vi-4: ‘He who knows this one foot of Brahman consisting of four parts thus, and meditates on it as the Endless, becomes endless in this world. He who knows this one foot of Brahman consisting of four parts thus, and meditates on it as the Endless, wins the endless (undecaying) regions.’
IV-vii- 1: ‘The swan will tell you of one foot of Brahman’. At dawn of the next day, he drove the cows towards the teacher’s house. Towards evening, at the place where the cows came together, he kindled the fire there, penned the cows, laid on fuel and sat down near them behind the fire facing the east.
IV-vii- 2: The swan flew to him and addressed him, ‘Satyakama !’ ‘Yes, revered sir’, he responded. IV-vii-3: ‘Dear boy, let me instruct you about one foot of Brahman’. ‘Please instruct me revered sir.’
(The swan) said to him, ‘Fire is one part, the sun is one part, the moon is one part, and lightning is one part. This indeed, dear boy, is one foot of Brahman, consisting of four parts, named the Effulgent.
IV-vii- 4: ‘He who knows this one foot of Brahman consisting of four parts thus, and meditates on it as the Effulgent, becomes effulgent in this world. He who knows this one foot of Brahman consisting of four parts thus, and meditates on it as the Effulgent, wins the effulgent regions (of the sun, the moon, etc., in the next world).’
IV-viii-1: ‘Madgu will tell you of one foot of Brahman’. At dawn of the next day, he drove the cows towards the teacher’s house. Towards evening at the place where the cows came together, he kindled the fire there, penned the cows, laid on fuel and sat down near them behind the fire facing the east. IV-viii-2: The Madgu bird flew to him and addressed him, ‘Satyakama !’ ‘Yes, revered sir’, he responded.
IV-viii-3: ‘Dear boy, let me instruct you about one foot of Brahman’. ‘Please instruct me, revered sir’. (The Madgu bird) said to him, ‘Prana is one part, the eye is one part, the ear is one part, and the mind is one part. This indeed, dear boy, is one foot of Brahman, consisting of four parts, named the Repository. IV-viii-4: ‘He who knows this one foot of Brahman consisting of four parts thus, and meditates on it as the Repository, becomes repository (i.e. with proper abode) in this world. He who knows this one foot of Brahman consisting of four parts thus, and meditates on it as the Repository, wins the repository (i.e. extensive) regions (in the next world).’
IV-ix- 1: Satyakama reached the house of the teacher. The teacher addressed him, ‘Satyakama !’ ‘Yes, revered sir’, he responded.
IV-ix- 2: ‘Dear boy, you shine like a knower of Brahman; who is it that has instructed you ?’ Satyakama assured him, ‘People other than men. But I wish, revered sir, that you would expound it to me.
IV-ix-3: ‘I have definitely heard from persons like your venerable self that the knowledge directly learnt from one’s own teacher becomes most beneficial’. The teacher taught him the same thing, and nothing was omitted from this – yea, nothing was omitted.
IV-x-1: Once upon a time Upakosala Kamalayana lived with Satyakama Jabala the life of a Brahmacharin. He tended his fires for twelve years. Satyakama performed for other disciples the ceremony of completing studies and returning home, but did not perform the ceremony for Upakosala. IV-x-2: The wife of the teacher said to him, ‘This Brahmacharin has undergone severe austerities and has tended the fires properly; you should teach him so that the fires may not blame you.’ But the teacher went away on a journey without instructing him.
IV-x- 3: Through mental sufferings Upakosala began to fast. The wife of the teacher said to him, ‘O Brahmacharin, do eat; why are you not eating ?’ He replied, ‘In this (very ordinary and disappointed) man (i.e. myself) there are many desires running in various directions; I am full of mental sufferings; so I shall not eat.’
IV-x- 4: Thereupon the fires said among themselves, ‘This Brahmacharin has undergone severe austerities and has tended us properly; come let us instruct him’. They then said to him, ‘Prana (life) is Brahman, Ka (joy) is Brahman, Kha (ether) is Brahman’.
IV-x- 5: He said, ‘I understand that Prana is Brahman; but I do not understand Ka and Kha.’ They said, ‘What is Ka, even that is Kha; and what is Kha, even that is Ka’. Then the fires instructed him about Prana (Brahman) and the Akasa within the heart related to it.
IV-xi- 1: Then the Garhapatya fire instructed him: ‘Earth, fire, food and the sun (are my forms). The person who is seen in the sun, I am he, I am he, indeed.’
IV-xi- 2: ‘He who knows it thus and meditates on it, destroys sinful acts, wins the region (of fire), reaches the full length of life, lives gloriously, and his descendants never perish. We protect him in this world and in the next, who knows it thus and meditates on it.’
IV-xii- 1: Then the Anvaharyapacana fire instructed him: ‘Water, the quarters, the stars and the moon (are my forms). The person who is seen in the moon, I am he, I am he indeed.
IV-xii- 2: ‘He who knows it thus and meditates on it, destroys sinful acts, wins the region (of fire), reaches the full length of life, lives gloriously, and his descendants never perish. We protect him in this world and in the next, who knows it thus and meditates on it.’
IV-xiii-1: Then the Ahavaniya fire instructed him, ‘Prana, Akasa, heaven and lightning (are my forms). The person who is seen in the lightning, I am he; I am he, indeed.
IV-xiii-2: ‘He who knows it thus and meditates on it, destroys sinful acts, wins the region (of fire), reaches the full length of life, lives gloriously, and his descendants never perish. We protect him in this world and in the next, who knows it thus and meditates on it.’
IV-xiv-1: The fires said, ‘O Upakosala, dear boy, to you (are revealed) this knowledge of the fires and the knowledge of the Atman; but the teacher will tell you the way.’ His teacher came back. The teacher addressed him ‘Upakosala !’
IV-xiv-2: ‘Yes, revered sir’, he responded. ‘Dear boy, your face shines like that of a knower of Brahman ! who is it that has instructed you ?’ ‘Who should instruct me sir ?’, said he. Here he concealed the truth, as it were. ‘For this reason it is that though they were (formerly) otherwise they are now this wise’. So saying, he hinted at the (part played by the) fires in this matter. ‘What did they tell you, dear boy ?’
IV-xiv-3: ‘This’, thus he acknowledged. ‘Dear boy, they have told you about the regions only; but I shall tell you the object of your desire (i.e. Brahman). Just as water does not cling to the lotus-leaf, so also sin does not cling to him who knows Brahman thus’. ‘Revered sir, please instruct me further’. (The teacher) said to him:
IV-xv-1: ‘This person who is seen in the eye, he is the Atman’, said the teacher; ‘this is the immortal, the fearless. This is Brahman. Hence, even if one sprinkles clarified butter or water into the eye, it goes away to the edges.’
IV-xv-2: ‘The knowers of Brahman call him as the centre of blessings; for all blessings come together in him. All blessings come together in him who knows thus.’
IV-xv-3: ‘He, again, is the vehicle of blessings; for he carries all blessings. He who knows it thus carries all blessings. He who knows it thus carries all blessings.’
IV-xv-4: ‘He again, is the vehicle of light; for he shines in all the regions. He who knows it thus shines in all the regions.’
IV-xv-5: ‘Now, as for such persons, whether the cremation rites are performed or not, they go to light; from light to the day; from the day to the bright fortnight; from the bright fortnight to those six months during which (the sun) rises towards the north; from the months to the year; from the year to the sun; from the sun to the moon; from the moon to the lightning. (From the region of Brahman) a person, who is other than human, (comes and) causes them existing there, to realize Brahman. This is the path of the gods and the path to Brahman. Those who go by this path do not return to this human whirlpool – yes, they do not return.’
IV-xvi-1: He who blows (i.e. air) is indeed the sacrifice, he, moving along, purifies all this. And because moving along he purifies all this, he is the sacrifice. Mind and speech are the two paths of this sacrifice.
IV-xvi-2-3: One of these two paths, the Brahman priest embellishes with the mind. The Hotir, Adhvaryu and Udgatir priests embellish the other with speech. After the Prataranuvaka (the morning recitation) is commenced, and before the Paridhaniya Rik is begun, if the Brahman priest speaks out (breaking silence), then he embellishes only one path (viz. Speech) and the other is injured. Just as a man walking with one leg, or a chariot moving with one wheel suffers injury, so also that sacrifice of this one suffers injury, and when the sacrifice suffers injury, the sacrificer also suffers injury. For having completed the (defective) sacrifice, he becomes a worse sinner.
IV-xvi-4: But, after the Prataranuvaka is commenced and before the Paridhaniya Rik is begun, if the Brahman priest does not break his silence then both the paths are embellished; and neither one is injured.
IV-xvi-5: And just as a man walking with both the legs, or a chariot moving with both the wheels, remains intact, so also the sacrifice of this one remains intact. If the sacrifice remains intact, the sacrificer also remains intact. He becomes great by performing the sacrifice.
IV-xvii-1: Prajapati brooded on the worlds. From them thus brooded upon, he extracted their essences; fire from the earth, air from the sky and the sun from heaven.
IV-xvii-2: He brooded on these three deities. From them thus brooded upon, he extracted their essences: the Riks from fire, the Yajus-mantras from air, and the Saman from the sun.
IV-xvii-3: He brooded on the three Vedas. From them thus brooded upon, he extracted their existences; Bhuh from the Riks, Bhuvah from the Yajus-mantras and Svah from the Samans.
IV-xvii-4: Therefore if the sacrifice is rendered defective on account of the Riks, then with the Mantra ‘Bhuh Svaha’, (the Brahman priest) should offer an oblation in the Garhapatya fire. Thus verily, through the essence of the Riks, through the virility of the Riks, he makes good the injury of the sacrifice in respect of the Riks.
IV-xvii-5: And if the sacrifice is rendered defective on account of the Yajus, then with the Mantra ‘Bhuvah Svaha’, (the Brahman priest) should offer an oblation in the Daksinagni. Thus verily, through the essence of the Yajus-mantras, through the virility of the Yajus-mantras, he makes good the injury of the sacrifice in respect of the Yajus-mantras.
IV-xvii-6: And if the sacrifice is rendered defective on account of the Samans, then with the Mantra ‘Svah Svaha’ (the Brahman priest) should offer an oblation to the Ahavaniya fire. Thus verily, through the essence of the Samans, through the virility of the Saman, he makes good the injury of the sacrifice in respect of the Samans.
IV-xvii-7-8: Just as one would join gold with salt, silver with gold, tin with silver, lead with tin, iron with lead, wood with iron, and wood with leather, even so does (the Brahman priest) make good the injury of the sacrifice through the virility of these regions, of these deities, and of the three Vedas. That sacrifice indeed is healed where there is a Brahman priest knowing thus.
IV-xvii-9: That sacrifice indeed becomes inclined to the north, where there is a Brahman priest knowing thus. It is in reference to the Brahman priest knowing thus that there is this song: ‘Whence-so-ever the sacrifice comes back, thither verily does the Brahman priest go (to remedy)’.
IV-xvii-10: Just as the mare protects (the soldier), even so the silent Brahman priest is the only priest who protects the people engaged in rituals. The Brahman priest who knows thus verily protects the sacrifice, the sacrificer, and all the priests. Hence one should appoint as a Brahman priest only him who knows thus, not one who does not know thus – yea, not one who does not know thus.
V-i-1: Om, Verily, he who knows the eldest and the best, surely becomes the eldest and the best. Prana is indeed the eldest and the best (of the organs).
V-i-2: Verily, he who knows the richest, becomes the richest among his own people. Speech is indeed the richest.
V-i-3: Verily, he who knows the stable basis, becomes stabilized in this world and in the next. The eye is indeed the stable basis.
V-i-4: Verily, he who knows prosperity, attains all desires, both divine and human. The ear is indeed prosperity.
V-i- 5: Verily, he who knows the abode, becomes the abode of his people. The mind is indeed the abode. V-i-6: Now, once the five senses disputed among themselves about their personal superiority, saying ‘I am superior’.
V-i-7: Those senses approached the father Prajapati and said to him, ‘Revered sir, who is the best amongst us ?’ He replied, ‘He amongst you is the best on whose departure the body would appear its worst, as it were.’
V-i-8: Speech departed. Staying a year out, it came back and asked, ‘How have you been able to live without me ?’ (The others replied,) ‘Just like the dumb, though not speaking, yet living with the breath, seeing with the eyes, hearing with the ear and thinking with the mind.’ (At this) speech entered (the body).
V-i-9: The eye departed. Staying a year out, it came back and asked, ‘How have you been able to live without me ?’ (The others replied,) ‘Just like the blind, though not seeing, yet living with the breath, speaking with the organ of speech, hearing with the ear and thinking with the mind.’ (At this) the eye entered (the body).
V-i-10: The ear departed. Staying a year out, it came back and asked, ‘How have you been able to live without me ?’ (The others replied,) ‘Just like the deaf, though not hearing, yet living with the breath, speaking with the organ of speech, seeing with the eye and thinking with the mind.’ (At this) the ear entered (the body).
V-i-11: The mind departed. Staying a year out, it came back and asked, ‘How have you been able to live without me ?’ (The others replied,) ‘Just like infants without developed minds, yet living with the breath, speaking with the organ of speech, seeing with the eye and hearing with the ear.’ (At this) the mind entered (the body).
V-i-12: Then, as the Prana was about to depart, it uprooted the other senses just as a horse of mettle would uproot the pegs to which it is tethered. They all then came to it and said, ‘O revered sir, be our lord, you are the best amongst us; do not depart from the body.’
V-i-13: Then speech said to that one, ‘Just as I am the richest, in the same manner are you also the richest’. Then the eye said to that one, ‘Just as I am the stable basis, in the same manner are you also the stable basis’.
V-i-14: Then the ear said to that one, ‘Just as I am prosperity, in the same manner are you also prosperity.’ Then the mind said to that one, ‘Just as I am the abode, in the same manner are you also the abode.’
V-i-15: Verily, people do not call them as organs of speech, nor as eyes, nor as ears, nor as minds. But they call them only as Pranas; for the Prana indeed is all these.
V-ii- 1: He (the Prana) asked, ‘What will be my food?’ ‘Whatever there is here, even (the food) of dogs and birds’, replied the senses. Whatever is eaten, all that is the food of Ana. The name "Ana’ indeed is self-evident. For him who knows thus there is nothing that is not food.
V-ii- 2: He asked, ‘What will be my garments ?’ ‘Water’, replied the senses. Therefore, indeed, those who are about to eat, cover it, both before and after, with water. (He who knows thus) becomes the obtainer of clothes and of upper garments.
V-ii- 3: Satyakama Jabala imparted this (doctrine of Prana) to Gosruti, the son of Vyaghrapada, and said, ‘If anyone should impart this even to a dry stump, then branches would certainly shoot and leaves would sprout from it’.
V-ii- 4: Next, if that knower of Prana desires to attain greatness, then having consecrated himself on the new moon day, he should, on the full moon night, stir up in a vessel of curd and honey the mash of all herbs and then offer an oblation into the fire on the spot prescribed for offerings, with the Mantra, ‘Svaha to the eldest and the best’, and throw what remains attached to the ladle into the mash-pot.
V-ii- 5: With the Mantra "Svaha to the richest’, he should offer an oblation into the fire on the spot prescribed for offerings, and throw what remains attached to the ladle into the mash-pot. With the Mantra ‘Svaha to what is stable’, he should offer an oblation into the fire on the spot prescribed for offerings, and throw what remains attached to the ladle into the mash-pot. With Mantra ‘Svaha to prosperity’, he should offer an oblation into the fire on the spot prescribed for offerings, and throw what remains attached to the ladle into the mash-pot. With the Mantra ‘Svaha to the abode’, he should offer an oblation into the fire on the spot prescribed for offerings, and throw what remains attached to the ladle into the mash-pot.
V-ii- 6: Then, moving a little away and taking the mash-pot in his hands, he should recite (the Mantra): ‘You are Ama by name, for all this (universe) rests with you. He (i.e. you as Prana) is the eldest, the best, the effulgent, and sovereign. May he (i.e. you as Prana) lead me to the eldest age, to the best position, to effulgence, and to sovereignty. Verily I wish to become all this.’
V-ii- 7: Then, reciting this Rik-mantra, foot by foot, he should sip. ‘We pray for that food pertaining to the Progenitor’, saying this (line) he should sip. ‘We pray for the food of the effulgent one’, saying this he should sip. ‘(Which is) the best and all-sustaining’, saying this he should sip. We readily meditate upon (the form of the deity) Bhaga’, saying this and washing the pot shaped like a Kamsa (goblet) or a Camasa (cup), he should drink all. Then he should lie down behind the fire on a skin or on the ground, controlling speech and mind. If he should see a woman (in a dream), he should know that his rite has succeeded.
V-ii- 8: There is this verse about it: During the performance of the rites for desired results if the performer sees a woman in a dream, then he should recognize fulfilment in this vision in a dream – yea, in this vision in a dream.
V-iii- 1: Once Svetaketu, the grandson of Aruna, came to the assembly of the Panchalas. Pravahana, the son of Jivala, enquired of him, ‘My boy, has your father instructed you ?’ ‘He has indeed, revered sir’. V-iii-2: ‘Do you know where created beings go above from here ?’ No, revered sir’. ‘Do you know the place of parting of the two paths – the path of the gods and the path of the fathers ?’ ‘No, revered sir’. V-iii-3: ‘Do you know why the other world is not filled up ?’ ‘No, revered sir’. ‘Do you know how, at the fifth oblation, the liquid oblations (or unseen results of action) come to be designated as man ?’ ‘No, indeed, revered sir’.
V-iii- 4: ’Then why did you say, "I have been instructed" ? Foz, how can he who does not know these things say, "I have been instructed" ?’ He was distressed and came to his father’s place and said to him, ‘Revered Sir, wiuhout having instructed me properly you said, "I have instructed you".’
V-iii- 5: ‘That nominal Kshatriya asked me five questions, and I was not able to answer even one of them’. The father said, ‘Even as you have spoken to me about them, so do I not know even one of them. If I had known them, why should I not have toll you ?’
V-iii- 6: Then Gautama went to the king’s place. When he arrived, the king made reverential offerings to him. In the morning he presented himself to the king when he was in the assembly. The king said to him, ‘O revered Gautama, please ask for a boon of human wealth’. He replied, ‘O king, let the human wealth remain with you, tell me those words which you spoke to my boy’. The king was perturbed.
V-iii- 7: The king commanded him, ‘Stay here for a long time.’ At the end of the period he said to him, ‘Even as you told me, O Gautama, prior to you, this knowledge never went to the Brahmanas. This is why the expounding of this knowledge belonged to the Kshatriyas in earlier times in all the worlds’. Then he instructed him.
V-iv- 1: The world yonder is indeed the fire, O Gautama. Of that, the sun is the fuel, the rays are the smoke, the day is the flame, the moon is the embers, and the stars are the sparks.
V-iv- 2: Into this fire the deities offer the oblation of faith. Out of that oblation King Soma arises.
V-v- 1: Parjanya is indeed the fire, O Gautama. Of that, the air is the fuel, the cloud is the smoke, the lightning is the flame, the thunderbolt is the embers, and the rumblings of thunder are the sparks.
V-v- 2: Into this fire the deities offer the oblation of King Soma. Out of that oblation rain arises.
V-vi- 1: The earth indeed is the fire, O Gautama. Of that, the year, is the fuel, Akasa is the smgke, night is the flame, the directions are the embers, and the intermediate directions are the sparks.
V-vi- 2: Into this fire the deities offer the oblation of rain. Out of that oblation food (in the shape of corn) arises.
V-vii- 1: Man indeed is the fire, O Gautama. Of that, speech is the fuel, Prana is the smoke, the tongue is the flame, the eye is the embers, and the ear is the sparks.
V-vii- 2: Into this fire the deities offer the oblation of food. Out of that oblation the seed arises.
V-viii-1-2: Woman indeed is the fire, O Gautama. Into this fire the deities offer the oblation of the seed. Out of that oblation the foetus arises.
V-ix- 1: Thus at the fifth oblation, (the oblation called) water comes to be designated as man. That foetus, covered with membrane, lies for nine or ten months, and is then born.
V-ix- 2: Being born, he lives whatever the length of his life may be. When he is dead (to attain the world) as ordained, they carry him from here (for cremation) to fire itself from which alone he came and from which he arose.
V-x-1-2: Among them, those who know thus (this knowledge of the five fires) and those who are devoted to faith and austerity in the forest – they go to light; from light to the day, from the day to the bright fortnight, from the bright fortnight to those six months during which the sun travels northward; from the months to the year, from the year to the sun, from the sun to the moon and from the moon to the lightning. (From the region of Brahman) a person, who is other than human, (comes and) causes them, existing there, to attain Brahman. This is the path of the gods.
V-x- 3: But those who living in villages (as householders) practise sacrifices and works of public utility and gift, go to smoke, from smoke to night, from night to the dark fortnight, from the dark fortnight to those months during which the sun travels southward. From there they do not reach the year (like those going the path of the gods).
V-x- 4: From the months, (they go) to the region of the fathers, from the region of the fathers to Akasa, from Akasa to the moon. This (i.e. this moon) is King Soma (the king of the Brahmanas). This is the food of the deities. This the deities eat.
V-x-5: Residing in that (region of the moon) till they have exhausted (the results of action) they then return again the same way as they came (by the path that is being mentioned). They come to Akasa, and from Akasa to air. Having become air, they become smoke. Having become smoke they become the
white cloud.
V-x-6: Having become the white cloud, they become the (rain-bearing) cloud. Having become the cloud they fall as rain. Then they are born in this world as rice and barley, herbs and trees, sesamum plants and beans. But the release from these is more difficult, for whoever eats the food and sows the seed, they become like him only.
V-x-7: Among them, those who have good residual results of action here (earned in this world and left as residue after the enjoyment in the region of the moon), quickly reach a good womb, the womb of a Brahmana, or of a Kshatriya or of a Vaisya. But those who have bad residual results of action quickly reach an evil womb, the womb of a dog or of a hog or of a Chandala.
V-x-8: Then, by neither of these two paths, do they go. They, as small creatures, keep repeatedly revolving, subject to the saying ‘Be born and die’. This is the third state. Therefore that region (of the moon) is never filled up. Hence one should be disgusted (with this state). There is this verse about it. V-x-9: One who steals gold, one who drinks wine, one who dishonours the teacher’s bed, and one who injures a Brahmana – all these four fall, as also the fifth one who associates with them.
V-x-10: Moreover, he who knows (worships) these five fires thus, even though he associates with those sinners, is not tainted by sin. He who knows these thus becomes cleansed and pure and obtains the meritorious world – yea, he who knows thus.
V-xi-1: Pracinasala the son of Upamanyu, Satyayajna the son of Pulusa, Indradyumna the son of Bhallavi, Jana the son of Sarkaraksa, and Budila the son of Asvatarasva – these five great householders and great Vedic scholars, having come together, held a discussion on ‘What is our Atman ? What is Brahman ?’
V-xi-2: They reflected among themselves, ‘Revered sirs, Uddalaka, the son of Aruna, knows well this Vaisvanara Atman. Well, let us go to him’. And they went to him.
V-xi-3: Uddalaka reflected, ‘These great householders and great Vedic scholars are going to uestion me; but possibly I shall not be able to tell them everything. However, I shall direct them to another teacher’.
V-xi-4: Uddalaka said to the, ‘Revered sirs, at present, Asvapati, the son of Kekaya, is studying this Vaisvanara Atman. Well, let us go to him’. Then they went to him.
V-xi- 5: When they arrived, the king arranged for each of them separately a welcome with suitable rites. Next morning, on rising, he said to them, ‘In my kingdom there is no thief, no miser, no drunkard, no man who has not installed the fire, no ignorant person, no adulterer, so how can there be any
adulteress ? Revered sirs, I am going to perform a sacrifice. In that as much wealth, sirs, as I give to each single priest, shall I give to you also. Revered sirs, please remain’.
V-xi- 6: They said, ‘The purpose for which a man goes (to another), on that alone he should speak to him. You are, at present, studying the Vaisvanara Atman, please tell us of that.
V-xi- 7: The king said to them, ‘I shall answer you in the morning’. In the morning, they approached him with sacrificial fuel in their hands. The king, without receiving them as initiated pupils, spoke thus:
V-xii- 1: ‘O Aupamanyava, what is the Atman on which you meditate ?’ He replied, ‘Heaven only, O venerable king’. The king said, ‘This that you meditate upon as Atman is the Vaisvanara Atman known as "the highly luminous". Therefore in your family are seen the Suta, Prasuta and Asuta libations of Soma-juice.’
V-xii- 2: ‘So you eat food and see what is dear. One who meditates on this Vaisvanara Atman thus, eats food and sees what is dear, and there is in his family the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom. But this is only the head of the Atman. If you had not come to me your head (a portion) would have fallen down.’
V-xiii- 1: Then the king said to Satyayajna Paulusi, ‘O Pracinayogya, what is that Atman on which you meditate ?’ He replied, ‘The sun only, O venerable king’. The king said, ‘This that you meditate upon as Atman is the Vaisvanara Atman known as "the multiform". Therefore in your family are seen all kinds of enjoyable things.
V-xiii- 2: ‘So, for you are provided a chariot drawn by mules, maid-servants and a gold necklace; so you eat food and see what is dear. One who thus meditates upon this Vaisvanara Atman, eats food and sees what is dear, and there is in his family the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom. But this is only the eye of the Atman. If you had not come to me you would have become blind.’
V-xiv- 1: Then the king said to Indradyumna Bhallaveya, ‘O descendant of Vyaghrapada, what is that Atman on which you meditate ?’ He replied, ‘Air only, O venerable king.’ The king said, ‘This that you meditate upon as Atman is the Vaisvanara Atman known as "the diversely coursed". Therefore from diverse directions offerings come to you, and various rows of chariots follow you.
V-xiv- 2: ‘So you eat food and see what is dear. One who thus meditates upon this Vaisvanara Atman eats food and sees what is dear, and there is in his family the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom. But this is only the Prana of the Atman. If you had not come to me your Prana would have departed’.
V-xv- 1: Then the king said to Jana, ‘O Sarkaraksya, what is that Atman on which you meditate ?’ He replied, ‘Akasa only, O venerable king’. The king said, ‘This that you meditate upon as Atman is the Vaisvanara Atman known as "the manifold". Therefore are your offspring and wealth manifold.
V-xv- 2: ‘So you eat food and see what is dear. One who thus meditates upon this Vaisvanara Atman, eats food and sees what is dear, and there is in his family the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom. But this is only the trunk of the Atman. If you had not come to me your trunk would have been shattered’.
V-xvi- 1: Then the king said to Budila Asvatarasvi, ‘O Vaiyaghrapadya, what is that Atman on which you meditate ?’ He replied, ‘Water only, O venerable king’. The king said, ‘This that you meditate upon as Atman is the Vaisvanara Atman known as "the wealth". Therefore are you endowed with wealth and bodily strength.
V-xvi- 2: ‘So you eat food and see what is dear. One who thus meditates upon this Vaisvanara Atman, eats food and sees what is dear, and there is in his family the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom. But this is only the lower belly of the Atman. If you had not come to me your lower belly would have burst’.
V-xvii-1: Then the king said to Uddalaka Aruni, ‘O Gautama, what is that Atman on which you meditate ?’ He replied, ‘The earth only, O venerable king’. The king said, ‘This that you meditate upon as Atman is the Vaisvanara Atman known as "the foundation". Therefore are you well-founded in offspring and cattle’.
V-xvii-2: ‘So you eat food and see what is dear. One who thus meditates upon this Vaisvanara Atman, eats food and sees what is dear, and there is in his family the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom. But this is only the feet of the Atman. If you had not come to me your feet would have withered away’.
V-xviii-1: The king said to them, ‘All of you (with partial knowledge) eat food knowing the Vaisvanara Atman differently, as it were. But one who thus meditates upon this Vaisvanara Atman as a whole, consisting of parts and self-conscious, eats food in all the worlds, in all the beings, and in all the selves. V-xviii-2: Of the aforesaid Vaisvanara Atman, the head is ‘the highly luminous’, the eye is ‘the multiform’, the breath is ‘the diversely coursed’, the trunk is ‘the vast’, the lower belly is the ‘wealth’, the feet are the earth (‘the foundation’). (Of the enjoyer as Vaisvanara) the chest is the altar, the hairs on the chest are the Kusa grass, the heart is the Garhapatya fire, the mind is the Anvaharyapacana fire, and the mouth is the Ahavaniya fire.
V-xix- 1: Therefore, the food that comes first should be an object of oblation. That eater, when he offers the first oblation, should offer it with the Mantra ‘Svaha to Prana’; thereby Prana is satisfied.
V-xix- 2: Prana being satisfied, the eye is satisfied; the eye being satisfied, the sun is satisfied; the sun being satisfied, heaven is satisfied; heaven being satisfied, whatever is under heaven and the sun is satisfied. Through its satisfaction the eater himself is satisfied. (He is satisfied) also with offspring, cattle, food, lustre and the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom.
V-xx- 1: Then, when he offers the second oblation, he should offer it with the Mantra ‘Svaha to Vyana’; thereby Vyana is satisfied.
V-xx- 2: Vyana being satisfied, the ear is satisfied; the ear being satisfied, the moon is satisfied; the moon being satisfied, the quarters are satisfied; the quarters being satisfied, whatever is under the moon and the quarters is satisfied. Through its satisfaction the eater himself is satisfied. (He is satisfied) also with offspring, cattle, food, lustre and the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom.
V-xxi- 1: Then, when he offers the third oblation, he should offer it with the Mantra ‘Svaha to Apana’; thereby Apana is satisfied.
V-xxi- 2: Apana being satisfied, speech is satisfied; speech being satisfied, fire is satisfied; fire being satisfied, the earth is satisfied; the earth being satisfied, whatever is under the earth and fire is satisfied. Through its satisfaction the eater himself is satisfied. (He is satisfied) also with offspring, cattle, food, lustre and the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom.
V-xxii-1: Then, when he offers the fourth oblation, he should offer it with the Mantra ‘Svaha to Samana’; thereby Samana is satisfied.
V-xxii-2: Samana being satisfied, the mind is satisfied; the mind being satisfied, Parjanya (rain god) is satisfied; Parjanya being satisfied, lightning is satisfied; lightning being satisfied, whatever is under lightning and Parjanya is satisfied. Through its satisfaction the eater himself is satisfied. (He is satisfied) also with offspring, cattle, food, lustre and the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom.
V-xxiii-1: Then, when he offers the fifth oblation, he should offer it with the Mantra ‘Svaha to Udana’; thereby Udana is satisfied.
V-xxiii-2: Udana being satisfied, the skin is satisfied; the skin being satisfied, the air is satisfied; the air being satisfied, Akasa is satisfied; Akasa being satisfied, whatever is under the air and Akasa is satisfied. Through its satisfaction the eater himself is satisfied. (He is satisfied) also with offspring, cattle, food, lustre and the holy effulgence born of sacred wisdom.
V-xxiv-1: If anyone, without knowing this, offers the Agnihotra, it would be just a man removing the live embers and pouring the oblation on the ashes.
V-xxiv-2: But if one, knowing it thus, offers the Agnihotra to Prana his oblation is poured into all the worlds, all the beings, and all the selves.
V-xxiv-3: So, even as reed-cotton when laid on the fire is burnt up, so are burnt up all the sins of this one who knowing it thus offers the Agnihotra.
V-xxiv-4: Therefore, even if one, who knows thus, offers the remnant of his food to a Chandala, then also that food becomes his offering to the Vaisvanara Atman only. There is this verse about it.
V-xxiv-5: As, in this world, hungry boys gather round their mother, even so all the creatures wait upon the Agnihotra.
VI-i-1: Om. Once upon a time there was one Svetaketu, the grandson of Aruna. His father said to him, ‘O Svetaketu, live the life of a Brahmacharin. Dear boy, there never is anyone in our family who does not study and is only nominally a Brahmana.’
VI-i-2-3: Having gone (to the teacher’s house) when twelve years old, he came back when he was twenty-four old, having studied all the Vedas, conceited, arrogant and regarding himself as very learned. His father said to him, ‘Svetaketu, dear boy, you, I see, are conceited, arrogant, regarding yourself as very learned; did you ask for that teaching (about the Supreme Brahman) through which what is unheard becomes heard, what is unthought becomes thought of, what is unknown becomes known ?’ ‘Of what nature, revered sir, is that teaching ?’
VI-i- 4: ‘Dear boy, just as through a single clod of clay all that is made of clay would become known, for all modifications is but name based upon words and the clay alone is real;
VI-i- 5: Dear boy, just as through a single ingot of gold, all that is made of gold would become known, for all modification is but name based upon words and the gold alone is real;
VI-i- 6: Dear boy, just as through a single nail-parer all that is made of iron would become known, for all modification is but name based upon words and the iron alone is real – such, dear boy, is that teaching.’
VI-i- 7: ‘Surely, my revered teachers did not know it, for if they had known, why should they not have told it to me ? However, revered father, teach it to me’. ‘Be it so, dear boy’, said (the father).
VI-ii- 1: ‘In the beginning, dear boy, this was Being alone, one only, without a second. Some say that, in the beginning, this was Non-being alone, one only, without a second. From that Non-being arose Being.’
VI-ii- 2: Aruni said, ‘But now, indeed, dear boy, could it be so ? How could Being arise from Non-being
? In truth, dear boy, in the beginning (before creation), there was Being alone, one only, without a second.
VI-ii- 3: ‘That Being willed, "May I become many, may I grow forth." It created fire. That fire willed, "May I become many, may I grow forth". It created water. Therefore whenever a man grieves or perspires, then it is from fire that water issues.
VI-ii- 4: ‘That water willed, "May I become many, may I grow forth." It created food. Therefore wherever it rains, abundant food grows there; it is from water that food for eating is produced.
VI-iii- 1: ‘Of the aforesaid beings there are only three origins: those born from eggs, born from living beings, and born from sprouts.
VI-iii- 2: ‘That deity willed, ‘Well, let me, entering into these three deities through this living self (Jivatman), differentiate name and form.
VI-iii- 3: "Of these, let me make each one triplicated", willing thus, this deity entered into these three deities through this living self and differentiated names and forms.
VI-iii- 4: ‘It made each one of them threefold. But, dear boy, how each of these three deities becomes threefold (outside the body), know that from me.
VI-iv- 1: ‘In fire, the red colour is the colour of fire; that which is white belongs to water and that which is black belongs to food (earth). Thus vanishes (the idea of) the quality of fire from fire; for all modification is but name based upon words, only the three forms are real.
VI-iv- 2: ‘In the sun, the red colour is the colour of fire, that which is white belongs to water and that which is black belongs to earth. Thus vanishes (the idea of) the quality of the sun from the sun; for all modification is but name based upon words, only the three forms are real.
VI-iv- 3: ‘In the moon, the red colour is the colour of fire, that which is white belongs to water and that which is black belongs to earth. Thus vanishes (the idea of) the quality of the moon from the moon; for all modification is but name based upon words, only the three forms are real.
VI-iv- 4: ‘In lightning, the red colour is the colour of fire, that which is white belongs to water and that which is black belongs to earth. Thus vanishes (the idea of) the quality of lightning from lightning; for all modification is but name based upon words, only the three forms are real.
VI-iv- 5: ‘It was indeed on knowing this (triplication) that the ancient great householders and great Vedic scholars said, ‘There is, at present, nothing that anyone would point out to us as unheard, unthought or unknown"; for from these they understood everything.
VI-iv-6: ‘Whatever else appeared red, that also they knew to be the colour of (untriplicated) fire; whatever appeared white, that also they knew to be the colour of water; whatever appeared black, that also they knew to be the colour of earth.
VI-iv- 7: ‘Whatever appeared to be unknown, that also they knew to be a combination of these very deities. But, dear boy, know from me how, on reaching man, each of these three deities becomes threefold.
VI-v- 1: ‘Food, when eaten, becomes divided into three parts. What is its grossest ingredient, that becomes faeces; what is the middling ingredient, that becomes flesh; and what is the subtlest ingredient, that becomes mind.
VI-v- 2: ‘Water, when drunk, becomes divided into three parts. What is its grossest ingredient, that becomes urine; what is the middling ingredient, that becomes blood; and what is the subtlest ingredient, that becomes Prana.
VI-v- 3: ‘Fire, when eaten, becomes divided into three parts. What is its grossest ingredient, that becomes bone; what is the middling ingredient, that becomes marrow; and what is the subtlest ingredient, hat becomes speech.
VI-v- 4: ‘Hence, dear boy, mind is made up of food, Prana is made up of water, and speech is made of fire. ‘Explain it further to me, revered sir’. ‘Be it so, dear boy’, said the father.
VI-vi- 1: ‘Dear boy, of the curd that is being churned that which is the subtlest part rises upwards and that becomes butter.
VI-vi- 2: ‘So also, dear boy, of the food that is eaten that which is the subtlest part rises upwards and that becomes the mind.
VI-vi- 3: ‘Dear boy, of the water that is drunk that which is the subtlest part rises upwards and that becomes Prana.
VI-vi- 4: ‘Dear boy, of the fire that is eaten that which is the subtlest part rises upwards and that becomes speech.
VI-vi- 5: ‘Hence, dear boy, mind is made up of food, Prana is made up of water, and speech is made up of fire’. ‘Explain it further to me, revered sir’. ‘Be it so, dear boy’, said the father.
VI-vii- 1: ‘Dear boy, man consists of sixteen parts. Do not eat for fifteen days; drink as much water as you like. Prana is made up of water, and the Prana of one who drinks water is not cut off.
VI-vii- 2: Svetaketu did not eat for fifteen days. Then he approached him saying, ‘What shall I say ?’ The father said, ‘The Riks, the Yajus, and the Samans, dear boy.’ ‘They do not at all arise in me, sir’. VI-vii-3: The father said to him, ‘Dear boy, just as a single ember of the size of a firefly, left over from a large burning fire, cannot burn any more than that, even so, dear boy, of your sixteen parts only one part is left over, now by means of that you cannot perceive the Vedas. Eat, then you will understand me’.
VI-vii- 4: He ate and then approached his father. Whatever he asked him, he answered them all.
VI-vii-5-6: The father said to him, ‘Dear boy, just as when a single ember of the size of a firefly left over from a large burning fire, is made to blaze up by adding straw and it burns much more than before, even so, dear boy, of your sixteen parts, only one part remained, and that being nourished by food, has been made to blaze up; and by that you perceive the Vedas now. Hence, dear boy, the mind is made up of food, the Prana is made up of water, and speech is made up of fire. From his words, (Svetaketu) understood it – yea, he understood it.
VI-viii-1: Once Uddalaka Aruni said to his son Svetaketu, ‘Dear boy, know from me the true nature of sleep. When a man is said to be sleeping, then, dear boy, he has become united with Being and has attained his own nature. Hence people speak of him as sleeping, for them he has attained his own nature.
VI-viii-2: ‘Just as a bird tied to a string, after flying in various directions and finding no resting place elsewhere, takes refuge at the very place where to it is tied, even so, dear boy, that mind, after flying in various directions and finding no resting place elsewhere, takes refuge in Prana alone; for the mind, dear boy, is tied to Prana.
VI-viii-3: ‘Dear boy, know from me (the true nature of) hunger and thirst. When a man is said to be hungry, then (it is to be understood that), water is leading away what has been eaten; (therefore water may be designated as hunger). Just as people speak of the leader of cows, the leader of horses, and the leader of men, even so they speak of water as the leader of food. Hence, dear boy, know this shoot (the body) to be put forth (by a root), for it cannot be without a root.
VI-viii-4: ‘Where could its root be apart from food ? Even so, dear boy, with food as the shoot, look for water as the root; with water as the shoot, dear boy, look for fire as the root; with fire as the shoot, dear boy, look for Being as the root. All these creatures, dear boy, have Being as their root, have Being as their abode, and have Being as their support.
VI-viii-5: ‘Again, when a man is said to be thirsty, then (it is to be understood that), fire is leading away what has been drunk: (therefore fire may be designated as thirst). Just as people speak of the leader of cows, the leader of horses, and the leader of men, even so they speak of that fire as the leader of water. Hence, dear boy, know this shoot (water) to be put forth (by a root), for it cannot be without a root.
VI-viii-6: ‘Where could its root be apart from water ? Dear boy, with water as the shoot, look for fire as the root; with fire as the shoot, look for Being as the root. All these creatures, dear boy, have Being as their root, have Being as their abode, and have Being as their support. How dear boy, each of these three deities, on reaching man, becomes threefold has been explained to you earlier. When this man is about to depart, dear boy, his speech merges in the mind, mind in Prana, Prana in fire and fire in the supreme deity.
VI-viii-7: ‘That Being which is this subtle essence (cause), even That all this world has for its self. That is the true. That is the Atman. That thou art, O Svetaketu.’ ‘Revered sir, please explain it further to me’. ‘So be it, dear boy’, said (the father).
VI-ix-1-2: ‘As, dear boy, the bees make honey by collecting juices from different trees and reduce them into one essence, and there, as these juices have no such discrimination as "I am the juice of this tree, I am the juice of that tree"; even so, dear boy, all these creatures having merged into Being, do not know, "We have merged into Being."
VI-ix-3: ‘Whatever these creatures are here, tiger or lion or wolf or boar or worm or flying insect or gad-fly or mosquito, that they become again.
VI-ix- 4: ‘That Being which is this subtle essence (cause), even That all this world has for its self. That is the true. That is the Atman. That thou art, O Svetaketu.’ ‘Revered sir, please explain it further to me’. ‘So be it, dear boy’, said (the father).
VI-x-1-2: ‘These eastern rivers, dear boy, flow along to the east and the western ones to the west. They rise from the ocean and merge in the ocean, and become that ocean itself. And there as these rivers do not know themselves as "I am this river, I am that river", even so, dear boy, all these creatures, having come from Being, do not know, "We have come from Being". And whatever these creatures were here, tiger or lion or wolf or boar or worm or flying insect or gad-fly or mosquito, that they become again.
VI-x- 3: ‘That Being which is this subtle essence (cause), even That all this world has for its self. That is the true. That is the Atman. That thou art, O Svetaketu.’ ‘Revered sir, please explain it further to me’. ‘So be it, dear boy’, said (the father).
VI-xi- 1: ‘Of this large tree, dear boy, if anyone were to strike at the root, it would exude sap, though still living; if anyone were to strike in the middle, it would exude sap, though still living; if anyone were to strike at the top, it would exude sap, though still living. As that tree is pervaded by the living self, it stands firm, drinking constantly and rejoicing.
VI-xi-2: ‘If the life leaves one branch of this tree, then that branch dries up; if it leaves the second one, then that dries up; it leaves the whole tree, the whole tree dries up.’
VI-xi-3: The father said, ‘Dear boy, know that even so, being left by the living self this body surely dies, but the living self does not die. That Being which is this subtle essence (cause), even That all this world has for its self. That is the true. That is the Atman. That thou art, O Svetaketu.’ ‘Revered sir, please explain it further to me’. ‘So be it, dear boy’, said (the father).
VI-xii-1: ‘Bring a fruit from this Banyan tree’. ‘Here it is, revered sir’. ‘Break it.’ ‘It is broken, revered sir’. ‘What do you see in this ?’ ‘These seeds, small like particles, revered sir’. ‘Break one of these, my child’. ‘It is broken, revered sir’. ‘What do you see in it ?’ ‘Nothing, revered sir’.
VI-xii-2: The father said to him, ‘Dear boy, this subtle essence which you do not perceive, growing from this subtle essence the large Banyan tree thus stands. Have faith, dear boy.’
VI-xii- 3: ‘That Being which is this subtle essence (cause), even That all this world has for its self. That is the true. That is the Atman. That thou art, O Svetaketu.’ ‘Revered sir, please explain it further to me’. ‘So be it, dear boy’, said (the father).
VI-xiii-1-2: ‘Put this salt into water and then come to me in the morning’. He did so. The father said to him, ‘Bring the salt, my child, which you put into water at night’. Having searched for it, he did not find it, as it has completely dissolved. ‘My child, take a sip from the top of this water. How is it?’ ‘It is salt’. ‘Take a sip from the middle. How is it ?’ ‘It is salt’. ‘Take a sip from the bottom. How is it ?’ ‘It is salt’. ‘Throw this water away and then come to me’. He did so (and returned saying), ‘It is there always’. The father said to him, ‘Dear boy, as you do not see what is present in this water though indeed it exists in it, similarly, (Being exists) indeed in this body.
VI-xiii-3: ‘That Being which is this subtle essence (cause), even That all this world has for its self. That is the true. That is the Atman. That thou art, O Svetaketu.’ ‘Revered sir, please explain it further to me’. ‘So be it, dear boy’, said (the father).
VI-xiv-1: ‘Just as, dear boy, (some robber) having brought a man from the Gandhara region with his eyes bound up, might leave him in a very desolate place, and just as that man would shout towards the east, or towards the north, or towards the south, or towards the west, (saying) "I have been brought here with my eyes bound up, I have been left here with my eyes bound up."’
VI-xiv-2: ‘And as some one might remove his bandage and tell him, "The Gandhara region is in this direction, proceed in this direction" and as he, enquiring his way from village, to village and being instructed and capable of judging by himself would reach the Gandhara region itself, even so, in this world that person knows who has a preceptor. And for him, only so long is the delay as he is not liberated (from the body) and then immediately he is merged in Being.
VI-xiv-3: ‘That Being which is this subtle essence (cause), even That all this world has for its self. That is the true. That is the Atman. That thou art, O Svetaketu.’ ‘Revered sir, please explain it further to me’. ‘So be it, dear boy’, said (the father).
VI-xv-1: ‘Dear boy, the relatives of a man who is ill assemble round him and ask, "Do you recognise me ? Do you recognise me ?" As long as his speech is not merged in the mind, the mind in Prana, Prana in fire, and fire in the supreme deity, so long does he know them.
VI-xv-2: ‘Then when his speech is merged in the mind, the mind in Prana, Prana in fire, and fire in the supreme deity, then he does not know them.
VI-xv-3: ‘That Being which is this subtle essence (cause), even That all this world has for its self. That is the true. That is the Atman. That thou art, O Svetaketu.’ ‘Revered sir, please explain it further to me’. ‘So be it, dear boy’, said (the father).
VI-xvi-1: ‘Dear boy, (The officers of the king) bring a man, holding him by the hand (while saying) "He has taken something, he has committed a theft, heat the axe for him". If he is doer of that, then he makes himself false. And being addicted to falsehood, he covers himself with falsehood and grasps the heated axe; he is burnt, and then he is punished.
VI-xvi-2: ‘If, however, he is not the doer of that, then he makes himself true. And being attached to truth, he covers himself with truth and grasps the heated axe; he is not burnt and then he is released.
VI-xvi-3: ‘And as in this case he (the man attached to truth) is not burnt, (similarly a man of knowledge is not born again). Thus has all this world That for its self. That is the true. That is the Atman. That thou art, O Svetaketu.’ From his words Svetaketu understood That – yea, he understood.
VII-i- 1: Om. ‘Revered sir, teach me,’ thus saying Narada approached Sanatkumara. Sanatkumara said to him, ‘What you already know, declaring that to me, be my disciple. What is beyond that I shall tell you.’ Narada said:
VII-i- 2: ‘Revered sir, I know the Rig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda and the Atharvanas the fourth, the Itihasa-Purana as the fifth, grammar, the rules for the worship of the ancestors, mathematics, the science of portents, the science of treasures, logic, the science of ethics, etymology, the ancillary knowledge of the Vedas, the physical sciences, the science of war, the science of the stars, the science related to serpents, and the fine arts – all this I know, revered sir.’
VII-i- 3: ‘Revered sir, however, I am only a knower of verbal texts, not a knower of Atman. Indeed I have heard from persons like your revered self that a knower of Atman goes beyond grief. I am in such a state of grief. May your revered self take me across it.’ Sanatkumara replied to him,’ Whatsoever you have studied here, really it is only a name.’
VII-i- 4: ‘Name indeed is Rig-Veda, (so also) Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda and the Atharvana as the fourth, the Itihasa-Purana as the fifth, grammar, the rules of the worship of the ancestors, mathematics, the science of portents, the science of treasures, logic, the science of ethics, etymology, the ancillary knowledge of the Vedas, the physical science, the science of war, the science of the stars, the science related to serpents, and the fine arts – name alone is all this. Worship the name.
VII-i- 5: ‘He who worships name as Brahman becomes free to act as he wishes in the sphere within the reach of name, he who worships name as Brahman’. (Narada) ‘Revered sir, is there anything greater than name ?’ (Sanatkumara) ‘Surely, there is something greater than name’. (Narada) ‘Revered sir, communicate it to me.’
VII-ii- 1: ‘Speech surely is greater than name. Speech indeed makes us understand the Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda, Atharvana as the fourth, Itihasa-Purana as the fifth, grammar, the rules of the worship of the ancestors, mathematics, the science of portents, the science of treasures, logic, the science of ethics, etymology, the ancillary knowledge of the Vedas, the physical science, the science of war, the science of the stars, the science related to serpents, and the fine arts – also heaven and earth, air and Akasa, water and fire, gods and men, cattle and birds, grasses and trees, beasts down to worms, flying insects and ants, merit and demerit, true and false, good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant. Verily, if speech did not exist, neither merit nor demerit would be understood, neither true nor false, neither good nor bad, neither pleasant nor unpleasant. Speech alone makes us understand all this. (Hence) worship speech.
VII-ii- 2: ‘He who worships speech as Brahman becomes free to act as he wishes in the sphere within the reach of speech, he who worships speech as Brahman’. ‘Revered sir, is there anything greater than speech ?’ ‘Surely, there is something greater than speech’. ‘Revered sir, communicate it to me’.
VII-iii- 1: ‘Mind surely is greater than speech. Just as the closed hand encompasses two Amalaka, or two Kola, or two Aksa fruits, so does the mind encompasses speech and name. When by mind one intends "Let me learn the Mantras", then he learns; Let me do sacrificial acts", then he does; "Let me desire offspring and cattle", then he desires; "Let me desire this world and the next", then he desires. Mind indeed is Atman. Mind indeed is the world. Mind indeed is Brahman. Worship the mind.
VII-iii- 2: ‘He who worships the mind as Brahman becomes free to act as he wishes in the sphere within the reach of mind, he who worships the mind as Brahman’. ‘Revered sir, is there anything greater than mind?’ ‘Surely, there is something greater than mind’. ‘Revered sir, communicate it to me’.
VII-iv-1: ‘Will surely is greater than mind. Verily, when one wills, then he intends in his mind, then he sends forth speech, and he sends it forth in a name. In the name sacred formulas and in sacred formulas the sacrifices become one.’
VII-iv-2: ‘All these, indeed, merge in the will, are made up of the will, and abide in the will. Heaven and earth willed, air and Akasa willed, water and fire willed. Through the willing of these, rain wills. Through the willing of rain, food wills. Through the willing of food, Pranas will. Through the willing of Pranas, sacred formulas will. Through the willing of sacred formulas (sacrificial) acts will. Through the willing of (sacrificial) acts, the world wills. Through the willing of the world, all things will. This is will. Worship will.
VII-iv-3: ‘He who worships will as Brahman, he indeed, attains the worlds willed by him – himself being permanent, the permanent worlds; himself being well-founded, the well-founded worlds; himself being undistressed, the undistressed world. He becomes free to act as he wishes in the sphere within the reach of will, he who worships will as Brahman’. ‘Revered sir, is there anything greater than will ?’ ‘Surely, there is something greater than will’. ‘Revered sir, communicate it to me’.
VII-v-1: ‘Intelligence surely is greater than will. Verily, when one understands, then he wills, then he intends in mind, then he sends forth speech, and he sends it forth in a name. In the name sacred formulas and in sacred formulas the sacrificed become one.
VII-v- 2: ‘All these, indeed, merge in intelligence, are made up of intelligence and abide in intelligence. Therefore, even if a man who knows much is without intelligence, people speak of him thus, ‘He does not exist, nor what he has known; if he were really learned, he would not thus be without intelligence". On the other hand, if a man knowing little is endowed with intelligence, people desire to listen to him also. Intelligence, indeed, is the one centre of mergence of all these, intelligence is their soul, and intelligence is their support. Worship intelligence.
VII-v- 3: ‘He who worships intelligence as Brahman, he indeed, attains the worlds of intelligence – himself being permanent, the permanent worlds; himself being well-established, the well-established worlds; and himself being undistressed, the undistressed world. He becomes free to act as he wishes in the sphere within the reach of intelligence, he who worships intelligence as Brahman’. ‘Revered sir, is there anything greater than intelligence ?’ ‘Surely, there is something greater than intelligence’. ‘Revered sir, communicate it to me’.
VII-vi-1: ‘Contemplation surely is greater than intelligence. The earth contemplates as it were. The sky contemplates as it were. Heaven contemplates as it were. Water contemplates as it were. The mountains contemplate as it were. Gods and men contemplate as it were. Therefore, verily, those who attain greatness among men here, they seem to have obtained a share of the result of contemplation. And those who are small people, they are quarrelsome, abusive and slanderous; but those who are great men, they appear to have obtained a share of the result of contemplation. Worship contemplation.
VII-vi-2: ‘He who worships contemplation as Brahman becomes free to act as he wishes in the sphere within the reach of contemplation, he who worships contemplation as Brahman’. ‘Revered sir, is there anything greater than contemplation ?’ ‘Surely, there is something greater than contemplation’. ‘Revered sir, communicate it to me’.
VII-vii-1: ‘Understanding surely is greater than contemplation. By understanding alone one understands the Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda, Atharvana as the fourth, Itihasa-Purana as the fifth, grammar, the rules for the worship of the ancestors; mathematics, the science of portents, the science of treasures, logic, the Vedas, the physical science, the science of war, the science of the stars, the science related to serpents, and the fine arts – also heaven and earth, air and Akasa, water and fire, gods and men, cattle and birds, grasses and trees, beasts down to worms, flying insects and ants, merit and demerit, true and false, good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant, food and drink, this world and the next – (all this) one understands by understanding alone. Worship understanding.
VII-vii-2: ‘He who worships understanding as Brahman, attains the worlds containing the knowledge of the Scriptures and other subjects. He becomes free to act as he wishes in the sphere within the reach of understanding, he who worships understanding as Brahman’. ‘Revered sir, is there anything greater than understanding ?’ ‘Surely, there is something greater than understanding’. ‘Revered sir, communicate it to me’.
VII-viii-1: ‘Strength surely is greater than understanding. A single man with strength causes even a hundred men with understanding to tremble. When a man becomes strong, then he rises; rising, he serves; serving, he approaches nearer; approaching nearer, he sees, hears, reflects, understands, acts and realizes. By strength, indeed, the earth stands; by strength, the sky; by strength, heaven; by strength, the mountains; by strength, gods and men; by strength, cattle and birds, grasses and trees, beasts down to worms, flying insects and ants; by strength the world stands. Worship strength.
VII-viii-2: ‘He who worships strength as Brahman becomes free to act as he wishes in the sphere within the reach of strength, he who worships strength as Brahman’. ‘Revered sir, is there anything greater than strength ?’ ‘Surely, there is something greater than strength’. ‘Revered sir, ommunicate it to me’.
VII-ix-1: ‘Food surely is greater than strength. Therefore, if one does not eat for ten days, even though he might live, yet, verily, he does not see, does not hear, does not reflect, does not act, and does not realize. But with the coming of food, he sees, hears, reflects, understands, acts and realizes. Worship food.
VII-ix-2: ‘He who worships food as Brahman, he verily attains the worlds supplied with food and drink. He is free to act as he wishes in the sphere within the reach of food, he who worships food as Brahman’. ‘Revered sir, is there anything greater than food ?’ ‘Surely, there is something greater than food’. ‘Revered sir, communicate it to me’.
VII-x- 1: ‘Water surely is greater than food. Therefore, when there is not good rain, living creatures are in agony (thinking), "Food will be scarce". But when there is good rain, living creatures become joyous (thinking), "Food will abound". Water, indeed, has assumed all these forms – this earth, this sky, this heaven, these mountains, these gods and men, these cattle and birds, grasses and trees, beasts down to worms, flying insects and ants. Water, indeed, has assumed all these forms. Worship water.
VII-x- 2: ‘He who worships water as Brahman obtains all desires and becomes satisfied. He becomes free to act as he wishes in the sphere within the reach of water, he who worships water as Brahman’. ‘Revered sir, is there anything greater than water ?’ ‘Surely, there is something greater than water’. ‘Revered sir, communicate it to me’.
VII-xi-1: ‘Fire surely is greater than water. It is this fire that having seized the air warms up the Akasa. Then people say, "It is hot, it is burning hot, it will surely rain". There, it is fire that shows itself first, and then creates water. It is (because of) this fire that thunders roll, along with lightnings flashing upwards and across; and so people say, "Lightning is flashing, it is thundering, it will surely rain".
There, it is fire that shows itself first and then creates water. Worship fire.
VII-xi-2: ‘He who worships fire as Brahman, he, being resplendent himself, attains resplendent worlds, full of light and free from darkness. He becomes free to act as he wishes in the sphere within the reach of fire, he who worships fire as Brahman’. ‘Revered sir, is there anything greater than fire ?’ ‘Surely, there is something greater than fire’. ‘Revered sir, communicate it to me’.
VII-xii-1: Akasa surely is greater than fire. In Akasa, indeed, exist both the sun and the moon, lightning, stars and fire. Through Akasa one calls, through Akasa one hears, through Akasa one hears the response. In Akasa one rejoices, in Akasa one does not rejoice. In Akasa a thing is born, and towards Akasa it grows. Worship Akasa.
VII-xii-2: ‘He who worships Akasa as Brahman, he indeed, attains vast worlds full of light, unconfined and spacious. He is free to act as he wishes in the sphere within the reach of Akasa, he who worships Akasa as Brahman’. ‘Revered sir, is there anything greater than Akasa ?’ ‘Surely, there is something greater than Akasa’. ‘Revered sir, communicate it to me’.
VII-xiii-1: ‘Memory surely is greater than Akasa. Therefore, even if many persons should assemble and if they should have no memory, they surely would not hear any sound, they would not think, they would not know. But surely, should they have memory, then they would hear, then they would think, then they would know. Through memory, indeed, one discerns one’s sons, through memory one’s cattle. Worship memory.
VII-xiii-2: ‘He who worships memory as Brahman becomes free to act as he wishes in the sphere within the reach of memory, he who worships memory as Brahman’. ‘Revered sir, is there anything greater than memory ?’ ‘Surely, there is something greater than memory’. ‘Revered sir, communicate it to me’.
VII-xiv-1: ‘Aspiration surely is greater than memory. Kindled by aspiration, (one’s) memory recites the hymns, performs rites, desires sons and cattle, desires this world and the next. Worship aspiration.
VII-xiv-2: ‘He who worships aspiration as Brahman, by aspiration all his wishes prosper, his prayers become infallible. He is free to act as he wishes in the sphere within the reach of aspiration, he who worships aspiration as Brahman’. ‘Revered sir, is there anything greater than aspiration ?’ ‘Surely, there is something greater than aspiration’. ‘Revered sir, communicate it to me’.
VII-xv-1: ‘Prana surely is greater than aspiration. Just as the spokes of the wheel are fastened to the nave, so is all this fastened to this Prana. Prana moves by Prana, Prana gives Prana and it gives Prana. Prana is the father, Prana is the mother, Prana is the brother, Prana is the sister, Prana is the preceptor, Prana is the Brahmana.
VII-xv-2: ‘If one answers something harsh to his father, mother, brother, sister, preceptor or a Brahmana, people say this to him, "Fie on you ! You are indeed a slayer of your father, you are indeed a slayer of your mother, you are indeed a slayer of your brother, you are indeed a slayer of your sister, you are indeed a slayer of your preceptor, you are indeed a slayer of a Brahmana."
VII-xv-3: ‘On the other hand, when the Prana has departed from them, even if one piles them together, dismembers them with a fork and burns them up, surely people would not say to him, "You are a slayer of your father", nor "you are a slayer of your mother", nor "You are a slayer of your brother", nor "You are a slayer of your sister", nor "you are a slayer of your preceptor", nor "You are a slayer of a Brahmana".
VII-xv-4: ‘Prana indeed becomes all these. He, indeed, who sees thus, thinks thus and knows thus becomes a surpassing speaker. If someone were to say to him, "You are a surpassing speaker", he should say, "Yes, I am a surpassing speaker", he should not deny it.
VII-xvi-1: ‘But he really speaks surpassingly who speaks surpassingly with truth’. ‘Revered sir, being such, I would speak surpassingly with truth’. ‘But one must desire to understand the truth’. ‘Revered sir, I desire to understand the truth’.
VII-xvii-1: ‘When one understands, then alone does one declare the truth. Without understanding, one does not declare the truth. Only he who understands declares the truth. But one must desire to understand understanding.’ ‘Revered sir, I desire to understand understanding’.
VII-xviii-1: ‘When one reflects, then alone does one understand. Without reflecting one does not understand. Only he who reflects understands. But one must desire to understand reflection.’ ‘Revered sir, I desire to understand reflection’.
VII-xix-1: ‘When one has faith, then alone does one reflect. Without faith, one does not reflect. Only he who has faith reflects. But one must desire to understand faith’. ‘Revered sir, I desire to understand faith’.
VII-xx-1: ‘When one has steadfastness, then alone does one have faith. Without steadfastness, one does not have faith. Only he who has steadfastness has faith. But one must desire to understand steadfastness.’ ‘Revered sir, I desire to understand steadfastness.’
VII-xxi-1: ‘When one acts, then alone does one become steadfast. Without acting, one does not become steadfast. Only on acting does one become steadfast. But one must desire to understand activity’. ‘Revered sir, I desire to understand activity’.
VII-xxii-1: ‘When one obtains happiness’, then alone does one act. Without obtaining happiness one does not act. Only on obtaining happiness does one act. But one must desire to understand happiness’. ‘Revered sir, I desire to understand happiness’.
VII-xxiii-1: That which is infinite, is alone happiness. There is no happiness in anything finite. The infinite alone is happiness. But one must desire to understand the infinite’. ‘Revered sir, I desire to understand the infinite’.
VII-xxiv-1: ‘In which one sees nothing else, hears nothing else, understands nothing else, that is 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’. ‘Revered sir, in what is that infinite established ?’ ‘On its own greatness or not even on its own greatness’.
VII-xxiv-2: ‘Here in this world people call cows and horses, elephants and gold, servants and wives, fields and houses, "greatness". I do not speak thus (of greatness), for in that case one thing would be established in another. What I do say is thus:
VII-xxv-1: ‘That infinite alone is below. That is above. That is behind. That is in front. That is to the south. That is to the north. That alone is all this. So next is the teaching in regard to the self-sense. I alone am below. I am above. I am behind. I am in front. I am to the south. I am to the north. I alone am all this.
VII-xxv-2: ‘So now is the teaching through 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 it is who sees thus, and understands thus, has pleasure in Atman, delight in Atman, union in Atman, joy in Atman. He becomes Self-sovereign; he becomes free to act as he wishes in all the worlds. But those who know otherwise than this are ruled by others and live in perishable worlds; they are not free to act as they wish in all the worlds.
VII-xxvi-1: Verily, for him alone, who sees thus, reflects thus and understands thus, Prana springs from Atman, aspiration from Atman, memory from Atman, Akasa from Atman, fire from Atman, water from Atman, appearance and disappearances 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.
VII-xxvi-2: ‘There is this verse about it: "He who sees this does not see death nor illness nor any sorrow. He who sees this sees all things and obtains all things in all ways." ‘He is one, becomes threefold, fivefold, sevenfold and also ninefold. Then again he is called the elevenfold, also a hundred-and-ten-fold and also a thousand-and twenty-fold. ‘’When nourishment is pure, reflection and higher understanding become pure. When reflection and higher understanding are pure, memory becomes strong. When memory becomes strong, there is release from all the knots of the heart. The revered Sanatkumara showed to Narada, after his impurities had been washed off, the further shore of darkness. People call Sanatkumara as Skanda – yea, they call him Skanda.
VIII-i- 1: Om. Now, in this city of Brahman, there is a mansion in the shape of a small lotus; in it is a small inner Akasa. What is within that, that should be sought; that indeed, one should desire to understand.
VIII-i-2-3: If the disciples should say to him, ‘In this city of Brahman in which is a small mansion in the shape of a lotus and in the small inner Akasa within – what is it that lies there which should be sought, which one should desire to understand ?’ – he should say in reply, ‘As large indeed as is this Akasa, so large is that Akasa in the heart. Within it, indeed, are contained both heaven and earth, both fire and air, both the sun and the moon, lightning and the stars. Whatever there is of him in this world and whatever is not, all that is contained within it.’
VIII-i- 4: If they should say to him, ‘If in this city of Brahman is contained all this, all beings and all desires, then what is left of it when old age overtakes it or when it perishes ?’
VIII-i- 5: He should say, ‘It (the Brahman called inner Akasa) does not age with the ageing of the body, it is not killed by the killing of this. This (Akasa) is the real city of Brahman, in it are contained the desires. This is the Atman, free from evil, free from old age, free from death, free from sorrow, free from hunger, free from thirst, whose desire is of the truth, whose resolve is of the truth. Just as in this world, the subjects follow as they are commanded and whatever province they desire, be it a country or a part of the field, on that they live. (So the ignorant depend upon others for enjoying the fruits of their Karma).
VIII-i- 6: ‘Just as here on earth the world which is earned by work perishes, even so there in the other world, the world which is earned by righteous deeds perishes. So those who depart from here without having understood the Atman and these true desires, for them there is no freedom to act as they wish in all the worlds. But those who depart from here, having understood the Atman and these true desires, for them there is freedom to act as they wish in all the worlds.’
VIII-ii-1: If he becomes desirous of the world of fathers, by his mere will, fathers arise. Possessed of that world of fathers he feels happy and exalted.
VIII-ii-2: And if he becomes desirous of the world of mothers, by his mere will, mothers arise. Possessed of that world of mothers he feels happy and exalted.
VIII-ii-3: And if he becomes desirous of the world of brothers, by his mere will, brothers arise. Possessed of that world of brothers he feels happy and exalted.
VIII-ii-4: And if he becomes desirous of the world of sisters, by his mere will, sisters arise. Possessed of that world of sisters he feels happy and exalted.
VIII-ii-5: And if he becomes desirous of the world of friends, by his mere will, friends arise. Possessed of that world of friends he feels happy and exalted.
VIII-ii-6: And if he becomes desirous of the world of perfumes and garlands, by his mere will, of perfumes and garlands arise. Possessed of that world of perfumes and garlands he feels happy and exalted.
VIII-ii-7: And if he becomes desirous of the world of food and drink, by his mere will, food and drink arise. Possessed of that world of food and drink he feels happy and exalted.
VIII-ii-8: And if he becomes desirous of the world of song and music, by his mere will, song and music arise. Possessed of that world of song and music he feels happy and exalted.
VIII-ii-9: 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.
VIII-ii-10: Whatever provinces he is attached to and whatever desirable objects he desires by his mere will, they(arise. Possessed of that he feels happy and exalted.
VIII-iii-1: These same are the true desires covdred by the untrue. Although the desires are true, they are covered by the untrue. For whosoever of one’s people departs from here in this world one does not get him back to see.
VIII-iii-2: 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, the Akasa in the heart); for here, indeed, are those true desires of his covered by the untrue. Just as, though people who do not know the field walk again and again over the treasure of gold hidden underground but do not find it, even so all these creatures here, though they go daily into the Brahman-world, yet do not find it, for they are carried away by the untrue.
VIII-iii-3: This Atean verily is in the heart. Its etymological explanation is this. This (Atman) is in the heart, hence it is the heart. He who knows thus(indeed goes daily into the heavenly world.
VIII-iii-4: Now that serene and happy being, rising out of this body and reaching the highest light, appears in his own true form. This is the Atman, said the teacher. This is the immortal, the fearless. This is Brahman. Verily, the name of this Brahman is the True.
VIII-iii-5: These are indeed the three syllables, ‘sa’, ‘ti’, ‘yam’. What is ‘sa’, that is the immortal, and what is ‘ti’, that is the mortal, and what is ‘yam’, with it one holds the two together. Because with it one holds the two together, therefore it is ‘yam’. Verily, he who knows thus goes to the heavenly world.’
VIII-iv-1: Now, this Atman is the dyke, the embankment for the safety of these worlds. This dyke, neither the day nor the night crosses, nor old age nor death nor sorrow, nor merit nor demerit. All evils turn back from it, for this Brahman-world is free from evil.
VIII-iv-2: Therefore, verily, on reaching this dyke, if one was blind he ceases to be blind; if wounded, he ceases to be wounded, if afflicted- he ceases to be afflicted. Therefore, verily, on reaching this dyke, even night becomes day, for this Brahman-world is ever illumined.
VIII-iv-3: But only those who attain according to the iostruction this Brahman-world through Brahmacharya, to them belongs this Brahman-world. For them there is freedom to act as they wish in all the worlds.
VIII-v-1: Now, what people call sacrifice is really Brahmacharya, for only by means of Brahmacharya does the knower attain that world. And what people call worship (Ista) is really Brahmacharya, for only by worshipping with Brahmacharya does one attain the Atman.
VIII-v-2: Now, what people call the sacrificial session is really Brahmacharya, for only by means of Brahmacharya does one obuain one’s salvation from Being. And what people call the vow of silence is really Brahmacharya for only through Brahmacharya does one understand the Atman and then meditate.
VIII-v-3: Now, what people call a course of fasting is really Brahmacharya, for this Atman never perishes which one attains by means of Brahmacharya. And what people call the life of a hermit is really Brahmacharya, for verily Ara and Nya are the two oceans in the Brahman-world in the third heaven from here and therein is the lake Airammadiya, and there is the Aparajita (unconquered) city of Brahma, and there is the gold hall specially built by the Lord.
VIII-v-4: Therefore only those who attain the two oceans, Ara and Nya, in the Brahman-world by means of Brahmacharya, only to them belongs this Brahman-world and for them there is freedom to act as they wish in all the worlds.
VIII-vi-1: Now, these arteries which belong to the heart exist filled with the juice of a fine substance which is reddish-brown, white, blue, yellow and red. The yonder sun indeed is reddish-brown, he is white, he is blue, he is yellow, he is red.
VIII-vi-2: Just as an extending highway runs between two villages, this as well as that, even so the rays of the sun go to both these worlds, this as well as that. They spread out of the yonder sun and enter into these arteries. Out of these arteries they spread and enter into the yonder sun.
VIII-vi-3: Therefore when one is thus sound sleep, composed, serene so that he knows no dreams, then he enters into (the Akasa of the heart through) these arteries. Then no evil touches him for then he is filled with the light of the sun.
VIII-vi-4: Now, when one is thus reduced to a weakened condition, those who sit around him say, ‘Do you know me ? Do you know me ?’ As long as he has not departed from this body, so long he knows them.
VIII-vi-5: But when he thus departs from this body, then he proceeds upwards through those very rays, (if a knower) he surely goes up meditating on Om or (does not got up if he is not a knower). As long as it takes for the mind to travel, in that (short) time, he goes to the sun. That indeed is the door to the world (of Brahman), an entrance for the knowers and a shutting out for the ignorant.
VIII-vi-6: There is this verse about it: A hundred and one are the arteries of the heart; one of them leads up to the crown of the head. Passing upwards through that, one attains immortality, while the other arteries serve for departing in various other directions – yea, serve for departing.
VIII-vii-1: The Atman which is free from evil, free from old age, free from death, free from sorrow, free from hunger and thirst, whose desire is of the truth, whose resolve is of the truth, he should be sought, him one should desire to understand. He who has found out and who understands that Atman attains all the worlds and all the desires. Thus spoke Prajapati.
VIII-vii-2: Both the gods and the demons heard this and said, ‘Well, let us seek that Atman by seeking which one attains all the worlds and all the desires.’ Then Indra alone from among the gods went out and so did Virochana from among the demons. Then without communicating with each other, they both came into the presence of Prajapati, fuel in hand.
VIII-vii-3: For thirty-two years they lived there the disciplined life of a celibate student of sacred knowledge. Then Prajapati asked them, ‘Desiring what have you been living ?’ They replied, ‘The Atman which is free from evil, free from old age, free from death, free from sorrow, free from hunger and thirst, whose desire is of the truth, whose resolve is of the truth, he should be sought, him one should desire to understand. He who has found out and who understands that Atman attain all the worlds and all the desires – these are known to be the words of your revered self. Desiring that Atman we have been living.’
VIII-vii-4: Prajapati said to them, ‘The person which is seen in the eye is the Atman’. He added, ‘This is the immortal, the fearless. This is Brahman’. ‘But, revered sir, he who is perceived in water and he who in a mirror, which of these is the Atman ?’ It is he himself that is perceived in all these’, replied Prajapati.
VIII-viii-1: ‘Look at yourself in a pan of water and whatever you do not understand of the Atman, tell me that’. Then they looked in a pan of water. Prajapati asked them, ‘What do you see ?’ They replied, ‘Revered sir, we both see the self entirely as we are, the very image, even to the very hairs and nails.’ VIII-viii-2: Then Prajapati said to them, ‘Having become well adorned, well dressed and well groomed, look into the pan of water.’ They too, having become well adorned, well dressed and well groomed, looked into the pan of water. Then Prajapati asked them, ‘What do you see ?’
VIII-viii-3: They replied, ‘Just as we are ourselves, revered sir, well adorned, well dressed and well groomed, even so are both these, revered sir, well adorned, well dressed and well groomed.’ ‘This is the Atman’, said he, ‘this is the immortal, the fearless. This is Brahman’. They both went away satisfied in their hearts.
VIII-viii-4: Then Prajapati looked at them and said, ‘They are going away without having perceived, without having understood the Atman. Whosoever will follow such a doctrine be they gods or demons, they will be foiled.’ Now, Virochana, satisfied in his heart, went to the demons and declared this doctrine to them. ‘Here the (bodily) self alone is to be worshipped, the self is to be attended upon. Here it is only by worshipping the self and attending upon the self that one obtains both the worlds, this as well as the yonder.’
VIII-viii-5: Therefore, even to this day, here people say of one who is not a giver, who has no faith, who does not perform sacrifices, ‘Oh, he is a demon’; for this is the doctrine of the demons. They adorn the body of the deceased with enjoyable things, clothes and ornaments for, by this, they think, they will win the other world.
VIII-ix-1: But Indra, even before reaching the gods, saw this difficulty: ‘Just as this (reflected self) becomes well adorned when this body is well adorned, well dressed when the body is well dressed, well groomed when the body is well groomed, even so this (reflected self) also becomes blind when the body is blind, one-eyed when the body is one-eyed, crippled when the body is crippled, and it perishes when this body perishes. I see no good in this.’
VIII-ix-2: He came back again, fuel in hand. Prajapati asked him, ‘Desiring what, O Indra, have you come back, since you went away satisfied in your heart, along with Virochana ?’ Indra replied, ‘Revered sir, just as this (reflected self) becomes well adorned when this body is well adorned, well dressed when the body is well dressed, well groomed when the body is well groomed, even so this (reflected self) also becomes blind when the body is blind, one-eyed when the body is one-eyed, crippled when the body is crippled, and it perishes when this body perishes. I see no good in this.
VIII-ix-3: ‘So is it indeed, O Indra’, said Prajapati; ‘However, I shall explain this further to you. Live here for another thirty-two years.’ He lived there for another thirty-two years. Then Prajapati said to him:
VIII-x-1-2: Prajapati said, ‘He who moves about in dreams, he is the Atman. He is the immortal, the fearless. He is Brahman’. Indra went away satisfied in his heart. But even before reaching the gods he saw this difficulty: ‘Even though this (dream-self) is not blind when this body is blind, nor one-eyed when the body is slain, nor has running nose and eyes when the body has running nose and eyes, yet it is as if they kill it, as if they chase it, it becomes conscious of pain, as it were, and even weeps, as it were. I see no good in this’.
VIII-x-3-4: He came back again, fuel in hand. Prajapati asked him, ‘Desiring what, O Indra, have you come back, since you went away satisfied in your heart ?’ He replied, ‘Revered sir, even though this self is not blind when this body is blind, nor one-eyed when the body is one-eyed, nor suffers defects from the defects of the body, nor is slain when the body is slain, nor has running nose and eyes, yet it is as if they kill it, as if they chase it, it becomes conscious of pain as it were, and even weeps, as it were. I see no good in this’. ‘So is it indeed, O Indra’, said Prajapati; ‘However, I shall explain this further to you. Live here for another thirty-two years.’ He lived there for another thirty-two years. Then Prajapati said to him:
VIII-xi-1: Prajapati said, ‘He who is fully asleep, composed, serene and knows no dream, he is the Atman. He is the immortal, the fearless. He is Brahman’. Indra went away satisfied in his heart. But even before reaching the gods he saw this difficulty: ‘In truth this one does not know himself now as "I am he", nor indeed these beings. It seems as if he has gone to annihilation. I see no good in this’.
VIII-xi-2: He came back again, fuel in hand. Prajapati asked him, ‘Desiring what, O Indra, have you come back, since you went away satisfied in your heart ?’ He replied, ‘Revered sir, in truth this one does not know himself as "I am he", nor indeed these beings. It seems as if he has gone to annihilation. I see no good in this’.
VIII-xi-3: ‘So is it indeed, O Indra’, said Prajapati; ‘However, I shall explain this further to you and none other than this. Live here for another five years.’ He lived there for another five years. That makes sone hundred and one years and so with regard to that, people say thus, ‘Verily, for one hundred and one years Indra lived with Prajapati the disciplined life of a celibate student of sacred knowledge". Then Prajapati said to him:
VIII-xii-1: ‘O Indra, mortal indeed is this body, held by death. But it is the support of this deathless, bodiless Atman. Verily, the embodied self is held by pleasure and pain. Surely, there is no cessation of pleasure and pain for one who is embodied. But pleasure and pain do not indeed touch one who is bodiless.
VIII-xii-2-3: Bodiless is air; and white cloud, lightning, thunder, these also are bodiless. Now as these arise out of the yonder Akasa, reach the highest light and appear each with its own form, even so this serene one rises out of this body, reaches the highest light and appears in his own form. He is the Highest Person. There he moves about, laughing, playing, rejoicing with women, vehicles or relations, not remembering this body in which he was born. As an animal is attached to a chariot, even so is the Prana attached to this body.
VIII-xii-4: Now, where the sight merges in Akasa (inside the eye, i.e., the black pupil of the eye), (there exists) that which is the person in the eye; and the eye is only for (his) seeing. And he who knows ‘I smell this’, is the Atman; the nose is for smelling. And he who knows ‘I speak this’, is the Atman, the organ of speech is for speaking. And he who knows ‘I hear this’, is the Atman; the ear is for hearing.
VIII-xii-5: And he who knows ‘I think this’, is the Atman, the mind is his divine eye. Through this divine eye of the mind he verily sees these desired objects which are in the Brahman-world, and rejoices.
VIII-xii-6: ‘Verily, this is the Atman whom the gods worship. Therefore all the worlds and all the desired objects are held by them. He obtains all the worlds all the desired objects, who having known that Atman (from the teacher and the scriptures) understands it.’ Thus spoke Prajapati – yea, thus spoke Prajapati.
VIII-xiii-1: From the dark I attain to the variegated from the variegated I attain to the dark. Shaking off evil as a horse his hairs, shaking off the body as the moon frees itself from the mouth of Rahu, I, having fulfilled all ends, obtain the eternal Brahman-world – yea, I obtain it.
VIII-xiv-1: Verily, what is called Akasa is the revealer of name and form. That within which they are, is Brahman, that is the immortal, that is the Atman. ‘I attain to the assembly-hall and abode of Prajapati. I am the glory of the Brahmanas, the glory of the Kshatriyas, the glory of the Vaisyas. I wish to attain that glory. I am the glory of the glories. May I never go to that which is reddish-white and toothless yet devouring and slippery – yea, may I never go to it.’
VIII-xv-1: Brahma expounded this to Prajapati. Prajapati to Manu and Manu to his descendants. He who has read the Veda according to the prescribed rule, in the time left over after performing his duties to the teacher, he who after having come back from the teacher’s house, settles down in his household, continues the study of the Veda in a clean place, and has virtuous sons and disciples, he who withdraws all his senses into the Atman, who practises non-injury to all beings except in places specially ordained, he who behaves thus throughout his life reaches the world of Brahman and does not return again – yea, he does not return again.
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Chandogyopanishad, as contained in the Sama-Veda.
Chandogya Upanishad Commentary
Commentary on the Chandogya Upanishad–by Swami Nirmalananda Giri
The Glory of Om
In this commentary I will be mostly using the translation of Swami Prabhavananda. In his translations of some upanishads Swami Prabhavananda omitted some parts, many that were in such obscure language that any attempt at translation would really only be speculation. He also omitted very repetitious passages and those that dwelt with matters irrelevant to the knowledge of Brahman and the Self. That is why in the references to the verses of this upanishad there will be some jumping around. However, Prabhavananda omitted some passages that I think are extremely important. So I will be supplementing his translation.
Meditation on Om
“One should meditate on the syllable Om, the Udgitha. Of this, the explanation follows.” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.1.1)
This leaves us little doubt as to what the author (or authors) of the Chandogya Upanishad consider the subject of prime importance: meditation on Om. “Udgitha” is the technical, ritual term for Om when It is sung aloud in Vedic recitation. So in the subsequent verses I am just going to put Om wherever Udgitha occurs.
The supreme essence
“The essence of man is speech. The essence of speech is the hymns of the Rig Veda. Their essence is the hymns of the Sama Veda. The essence of the Sama Veda is Om.” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.1.2)
That which marks human beings out from the lesser forms of evolution is the power of vak–of symbolic, creative speech. Most animals make some kinds of sounds that indicate their feelings, but only humans have symbolic words that recount and stimulate both thought and behavior. This is the power of logos spoken of in Greek philosophy and Eastern Christian writings. It is not just a simple trait, but a virtual intellectual ocean that separates us from other sentient beings on earth. It is, as said, a product of evolution, and skill in speech is the mark of an evolved human being, though the most important ability is that of creative thought/conceptualization. Vak is what makes us human.
The highest form of Speech is that of the hymns of the Rig Veda that were revealed in meditation untold thousands of years ago to the Vedic Rishis (Seers). The highest of those hymns were collected into the Sama Veda, whose text is marked (pointed) for devotional singing. And the supreme essence of the Sama Veda hymns is the single syllable: OM. In many texts it is stated that to intone Om is to recite all the Vedic hymns. Therefore:
“The syllable Om which is called Udgitha, is the quintessence of the essences, the supreme, deserving of the highest place.” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.1.3) This can be said, because Om is the Primal Word, the Original Sound, the First Word “spoken” by God, and by which all that “is” was created, and is being sustained and evolved at this very moment. The Vedic Seers long ago stated: “In the beginning was Prajapati [God the Creator], with Him was the Word, and the Word was truly the Supreme Brahman.” (Prajapati vai idam agra asit. Tasya vak dvitiya asit. Vag vai paramam Brahman. Krishna Yajurveda, Kathaka Samhita, 12.5, 27.1; Krishna Yajurveda, Kathakapisthala Samhita, 42.1; Jaiminiya Brahmana II, Samaveda, 2244) This was much later paraphrased in the opening verses of the Gospel of Saint John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:1,2)
Chandogya Upanishad 2.23.3 says that Brahma the creator concentrated his awareness on the worlds he had projected and: “From them, thus brooded upon, issued forth [as their essence] the syllable Om. Just as all the parts of the leaf, are permeated by the ribs of the leaf, so are all the words permeated by the syllable Om. Verily, the syllable Om is all this–yea, the syllable Om is verily all this.”
Everything is contained in Om, as other upanishadic texts enumerate, including all the possible states of consciousness, the expanse of time (past, present, future), the three worlds (physical, astral, causal)–ALL. The upanishadic teaching is that Om is identical with Brahman Itself. How then can we regard It as anything other than “the quintessence of the essences, the supreme, deserving of the highest place”?
The divine union
“Speech [Vak] and Breath [Prana] taken together form a couple. This couple is joined together in the syllable Om. Whenever a couple come together, they, indeed, fulfill each other’s desire.” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.1.5,6) This is a most important fact, and one that is explained very fully in the fourth chapter (Breath and Sound in Meditation) of Om Yoga: Its Theory and Practice.
Fulfiller of desires
“He who meditates upon Om knowing it thus (as the fulfiller), verily becomes a fulfiller of all the desirable ends. That verily is the syllable of assent, for whenever one assents to a thing, one says only ‘Om’. Assent alone is prosperity. He who meditates upon Om, knowing it thus (as endowed with the quality of prosperity), verily becomes one who increases all the desirable ends.” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.1.7,8)
This is important for two reasons. First, that Om contains within Itself creative power, and IS Creative Power. Naturally, we must both know how to employ It and to be of such a level of consciousness that we can do with It what God does with It. This is certainly possible. I have known yogis who could heal with Om and do many other “magical” things that were really quite normal for the person who knew how. That is why this section is concluded with these words:
“Whatever is performed with knowledge, faith and meditation becomes more effective. Up to this truly
is the explanation of (the greatness of) this syllable Om.” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.1.10)
The second important point is that the yogi need not be a person who lives in a bare subsistence manner, unworldly, impractical and indifferent to all material things including his body. The opposite is true. In the eighth chapter of this upanishad we find these verses: “If the sage desires to see his fathers of the spirit-world, lo, his fathers come to meet him. In their company he is happy. And if he desires to see his mothers of the spirit-world, lo, his mothers come to meet him. In their company he is happy.
And if he desires to see his brothers of the spirit-world, lo, his brothers come to meet him. In their company he is happy. And if he desires to see his sisters of the spirit-world, lo, his sisters come to meet him. In their company he is happy. And if he desires to see his friends of the spirit-world, lo, his friends come to meet him. In their company he is happy. And if he desires heavenly perfumes and garlands, lo, heavenly perfumes and garlands come to him. In their possession he is happy. And if he desires heavenly food and drink, lo, heavenly food and drink come to him. In their possession he is happy. And if he desires heavenly song and music, lo, heavenly song and music come to him. In their possession he is happy. Indeed, whatsoever such a knower of Brahman may desire, straightway it is his; and having obtained it, he is exalted of men.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8.2.1-10)
Such is the real yogi, the true adept. I remember a recording of Paramhansa Yogananda in which he spoke about how many mortgages he had paid off, how much property he had bought, and how large a “family” he had supported for decades. “I could have kept away a million dollars and no one would have known,” he said, speaking of the abundance that had come to him after enduring great hardship and remaining faithful to the ideals he had been sent to America to teach and practice. (A Bengali song in his honor says: “Going far away you taught dharma. And that dharma which you taught, you showed perfectly in your life.”) Then he told his hearers that despite all the financial outlay, he only had a little box that was never empty by God’s grace, and he never bothered to count how much was in it. One of India’s greatest yogis was Janaka, whose name is invoked as the symbol of tremendous wealth as well as wisdom. They speak of Janaka in India as we do of Midas in the West.
Such is Om; such are those that meditate upon It.
The Gods and Om
Throughout the upanishads, Gita, and other spiritual texts we find references to gods–in Sanskrit: devas. A Brief Sanskrit Glossary defines deva in this way: “‘A shining one,’ a god–greater or lesser in the evolutionary hierarchy; a semi-divine or celestial being with great powers, and therefore a ‘god.’ Sometimes called a demi-god. Devas are the demigods presiding over various powers of material and psychic nature. In many instances ‘devas’ refer to the powers of the senses or the sense organs themselves.”
The sun
“Now the meditation on Om with reference to the gods is described. One should meditate on the sun as Om. Verily, when he rises, he sings aloud for the sake of all creatures.” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.3.1)
We should skip ahead a little bit to continue this subject.
“Now, that which is Om is verily Pranava and that which is Pranava is Om. The yonder sun is Om and also Pranava, for he moves along pronouncing ‘Om.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.5.1) That is, the energy of the sun is a manifestation of Om. Scientists have only recently discovered this phenomenon. On page 16 of the July 2004 issue of National Geographic we find this: “Bubbles the size of Texas cover the sun’s face…. Called granules, the short-lived cells of plasma carry heat to the surface through convection, the same way water boils in a pot. The rise and fall of granules creates sound waves, which cause the sun to throb like a drum every five minutes.”
In The Word That is God we find the following comment: “All plant, animal, and human life on this planet depends upon the sun. It is the subtle powers of sunlight which stimulate growth and evolution. Sunlight particularly stimulates the activity of the higher centers in the brain, especially that of the pineal gland. Even in the depths of the earth a sensitive man can tell when the sun rises and sets above him. The sun truly awakens us in the deepest sense. As the germinating seed struggles upward toward the sun and out into its life-giving rays, so all higher forms of life reach out for the sun, which acts as a metaphysical magnet, drawing them upward and outward toward ever-expanding consciousness.
Sunlight is the radiant form of Om. The sun initiates the entire solar system into Om. Human beings are solar creatures, therefore to intone Om is the most natural things they can do.” Later the upanishad says: “Reflect upon Om as the rays of the sun.” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.5.2)
Further on we find a section that speaks of the divine Person (Purusha) who ensouls and enlivens the sun: Ishwara. “Now, that Person, effulgent as gold, who is seen within the sun, who is with golden beard and golden hair, is exceedingly effulgent even to the very tips of his nails. His eyes are bright like a red lotus. He is above all evils. (Verily, he who knows thus rises above all evils.) He is Om.
Moreover, he controls the worlds which are above that sun, as also the desires of the gods.” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.6.6-8)
Even further on we are told that Om is like the flower of the sun. When the yogi-bees “pressed this Pranava, from It, thus pressed, issued forth as juice: fame, splendor of limbs, alertness of the senses, virility, and nourishment.” (Chandogya Upanishad 3.5.2)
The most important aspect of the solar connection with Om is found in the eighth section of the upanishad. There it speaks of the nadis, the subtle energy channels that function in the subtle bodies of human beings. Then it says that “Just as an extending highway runs between two villages, this as well as that, even so the rays of the sun go to both these worlds, this as well as that. They spread out of the yonder sun and enter into these nadis. Out of these nadis they spread and enter into the yonder sun.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8.6.2) Regarding one who meditates on Om, the upanishad continues: “When he thus departs from this body, then he proceeds upwards through those very rays. He surely goes up meditating on Om. As long as it takes for the mind to travel, in that time he goes to the sun. That indeed is the door to the world of Brahman, an entrance for the knowers and a shutting out for the ignorant.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8.6.5) Those who pass through the sun are free from the compulsion to rebirth on the earth. Om!
The breath and Om
The connection between the sun and our breath is next described. “This breath and that sun are the same. Therefore one should meditate on this breath and that sun as Om.” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.3.2) This is why in Om Yoga we join our intonations of Om with the breath.
The upanishad continues: “Now with reference to the body: One should meditate on the breath as Om, for he moves along pronouncing ‘Om.’ Thinking thus, sing praise to Om as the manifold pranas. Now, that which is Om, is verily Pranava; and that which is Pranava, is Om–so one should think.” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.5.3-5)
Escaping death
Now we have a parable about rising above the realm of death: samsara.
“One should meditate on the syllable Om. Of this the explanation follows. Verily, the gods, being afraid of death, took refuge in the three Vedas. Just as a fisherman would see a fish in water, so did Death observe the gods in the Vedic hymns. They, too, knowing this, arose and entered Om. This syllable Om is indeed immortality and fearlessness. Having entered into Om the gods became immortal and fearless. He who worships this syllable knowing it thus, enters this syllable which is immortality and fearlessness. And having entered it, he becomes immortal by that amrita [Om], by which the gods became immortal.” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.4.1-5)
The devas (gods) are all the aspects of the human being. Those who seek life and immortality in external rites–indeed, in anything other than Brahman–will be caught in the net of death just like fish in the fisherman’s net. But when they take refuge in the meditation of Om they rise above the realm of even the possibility of death. Of course this may also be a story of highly evolved beings who found that they were still subject to death in the higher worlds, being forced to drop the subtle bodies proper to those realms and enter bodies on lesser levels or worlds. At the Mahapralaya, the Great Universal Dissolution, all the worlds are shaken and dissolve away. The wise, knowing that, do not content themselves with living in carefree and beautiful wish-fulfilling worlds, but busy themselves with tapasya to ascend beyond relativity. And they do this through meditation on Om.
And so should we.
The Sages and Om
The upanishad gives some very interesting views on Om in the form of a discussion between three sages. We will look at a condensed version.
“In ancient times there were three proficient in Om: Silaka the son of Salavat, Caikitayana of the Dalbhya family and Pravahana the son of Jivala. They said, ‘We are proficient in Om. If you agree, let us enter on a discussion of Om.’ ‘Let it be so’, saying this they sat down.” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.8.1,2)
Ether (Akasha)
Om is a sound rising from the heart of all things; and the element of ether (akasha), which is its highest form, is consciousness, is the basis of all sound. (Ultimately, Om and consciousness are the same thing.) A Brief Sanskrit Glossary defines akasha in this way: “Ether; space; sky; literally: ‘not visible.’ The subtlest of the five elements (panchabhuta), from which the other four arise. It is all-pervading, and is sometimes identified with consciousness–chidakasha. It is the basis of sound (shabda), which is its particular property.” This being so, the dialogue proceeds as follows: “What is the essence of this world?’ Akasha. All these beings arise from akasha alone and are finally dissolved into akasha; because akasha alone is greater than all these and akasha is the support at all times.” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.9.1)
Remember, Om is the subject of this discussion, and since akasha is the foundation of sound, it moves on, with this: “It is this Om which is progressively higher and better. This again is endless. He who, knowing thus, meditates upon the progressively higher and better Om, obtains progressively higher and better lives and wins progressively higher and better worlds.” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.9.2)
Om is the thread that runs through all levels of existence; It is the core of all worlds, emanating from the Absolute that is beyond them all. By meditating on Om we ascend higher and higher, passing through the states of consciousness that correspond to higher and higher worlds. Whatever the state of mind we are established in at the time of death, it will take us into the corresponding world. “Whatever state of being [bhavam] he remembers when he gives up the body at the end, he invariably goes to that state of being, transformed into that state of being.” (Bhagavad Gita 8:6)
There is another aspect to this. In meditation, our perceptions of Om become subtler and subtler. From being a mental repetition sounding just like it would if we were speaking aloud, it becomes softer and softer, even whisperlike, eventually become a silent ideation or conceptualization while mysteriously remaining a complete word. This mutation takes place as our consciousness is moving into higher and higher states of being or bhavas. Our experiencing of this is experiencing Om and the states of awareness inherent in It.
The conclusion
The upanishad sums it up like this:
“Atidhanvan, the son of Sunaka, having taught this to Udarasandilya, said, ‘As long as among your descendants, this knowledge of Om continues, so long their life in this world will be progressively higher and better than ordinary lives. And in that other world also their state will be similar’. He who knows and meditates thus–his life in this world surely becomes progressively higher and better, and so also his state in that other world–yea, in that other world.” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.9.3,4)
Four Things God REALLY Wants You to Know
Have you ever seen, or been given, a little leaflet entitled “Four Things God Wants You To Know”? When I was young, long ago, it was quite a popular tool of Fundamentalist Protestants. It had four statements–mostly about sin, death, and hell–backed up with Bible quotations. Usually there was a place to sign on the back saying you were willing to let God save you. And that was it! Salvation for the masses. Here in the Chandogya Upanishad we find the real four things we all need to know.
Duty and realization
“The requirements of duty [dharma] are three. The first is sacrifice, study, almsgiving; the second is austerity; the third is life as a student in the home of a teacher and the practice of continence. Together, these three lead one to the realm of the blest. But he who is firmly established in the knowledge of Brahman achieves immortality.” (Chandogya Upanishad 2:23:1)
The basis of dharma, of life that leads to spiritual unfoldment has three elements which need scrutiny, each in turn.
Sacrifice, study, and almsgiving. Sacrifice (yajna) means formal religious observance, especially the offering of the daily activities to God, hopefully leading to the perfect offering of oneself to God–Ishwarapranidhana. Study (adhyaya) means just that, but study of spiritual texts, of the wisdom of the enlightened, and pondering the ways to incorporate that teaching into one’s own life. This is serious application to holy knowledge and its personal assimilation. Almsgiving (dana) means giving of time and money to the welfare of others. It is also the cultivation of generosity as a trait of mind and heart. These three are discussed in the Bhagavad Gita, especially in chapter seventeen, as absolute necessities on the spiritual path, never to be abandoned–not even by the renunciate. For these are not part of worldly life, but essentials of spiritual life.
Austerity–tapasya–is spiritual discipline, including control of mind, body, the factors of external life, and especially meditation. It is an entire reshaping and purification of the inner and outer life, not a mere dabbling or dalliance. It is total in its scope, and therefore total in its effect.
Life as a student in the home of a teacher and the practice of continence. It is a fact that the earlier we begin spiritual cultivation the more likely we are to persevere and therefore succeed. In the ancient culture of India from an early age everyone lived as a religious student in the house of a recognized spiritual teacher. Although the teacher imparted a great deal of practical, world-oriented knowledge, the primary subject was always spiritual life and development through spiritual practice and religious activities. Since the student remained in the teacher’s house until the attainment of adulthood, brahmacharya, sexual continence, was considered a fundament requisite–so much so that the student was called a brahmachari: one who observes continence.
In the West this system was totally unknown in the Indian form, but through the centuries it was not uncommon for monasteries and convents to permit children to live there and study, some becoming monastics and others leaving and leading a secular life. The Franciscan Order had “minor seminaries” in which young boys began preparation for religious life, especially the priesthood, from a very young age. If one decided that he did not wish to eventually be a monk or priest he usually returned home and continued an ordinary course of study.
But here in the West the majority of those following Sanatana Dharma come to it as adults. They can engage in sacrifice, study, charity, and spiritual practice, but what about this factor, which the upanishad says is a requirement of dharma? Besides the general study of the basic scriptures of India, such persons will need to devote themselves to a particular form of spiritual cultivation. For example, someone can take up the study of teachings relating to a specific approach, such as the familiar paths of karma, bhakti, and jnana. They may center their attention on a particular teacher, such as Shankara, Ramanuja, Sri Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Ramana Maharshi, Paramhansa Yogananda, Swami Bhaktivedanta, or a contemporary teacher, of which there are many. Even if a teacher is no longer in the body, through study and application of his teaching they can be his student. The “home” of a teacher is not a building or ashram, but that teacher’s level of spiritual awareness. It is not easy to live in that real home, but it can and must be done. Only those who attune themselves to the teacher’s consciousness are true disciples. Physical proximity of itself means nothing. In India I have seen people that lived for decades in an ashram, often personally attending on or travelling with the teacher–and many of them never really met the teacher once on the level that counts.
For all students of whatever form or situation, brahmacharya is needed. A teacher that does not tell them that right from the start is no real teacher at all.
The blest and the Blesser
“Together, these three lead one to the realm of the blest. But he who is firmly established in the knowledge of Brahman achieves immortality.”
Honesty in spiritual life is a necessity, on the side of the teacher and the student. True spiritual teaching is not a matter of marketing, of appealing to the consumer. Therefore facts that may not be palatable or comforting are always to be found wherever truth is being taught. Degenerate religion revels in adjusting and dumbing down it teachings in order to gain more adherents, and therefore more power and money. True religion always follows the fundamental principle that the seeker conforms to the teaching, not the other way around. All of us really need to get this through our heads and into our hearts–and thereby into our lives.
I say this because we see that the upanishadic sage tells us the truth about what has been commended to us: they will take us into the “realm of the blest.” Now, he does not mean the earthlike “heaven” of most religions, but the realm of the wise and holy who have evolved to the point where earthly rebirth is no longer needed. They–and those who ascend there–are liberated from that bondage, but they are still subject to rebirth in the higher worlds, of which there is a seemingly infinite number. So, painless as it is, and happy as are the worlds involved in our subtle births and deaths, we are still bound and subject to departing and returning. It is a higher and happy portion of the evolutionary ladder, but still not our transcendental Home beyond the ladder for which attainment we originally came forth into relative existence. So we must assiduously engage in the sacred three in order that we may at least become freed from earthly bonds, but always keeping in mind that there is something more needed: the knowledge of (not just about) Brahman. And we should be striving for that as well. So there really should be four elements in our endeavor.
Only the knower of Brahman has immortality, for only he is freed from birth and death in all forms.
The Light Within
The Light of the Self
“The light that shines above the heavens and above this world, the light that shines in the highest world, beyond which there are no others–that is the light that shines in the hearts of men.” (Chandogya Upanishad 3:13:7) Gambhirananda: “Now, that Light which shines beyond this heaven, beyond the whole creation, beyond everything, in the highest worlds which are unsurpassingly good, it is certainly this which is the light within a person.”
It is the Atma Jyoti, the Light of the Self, which is also Divinity Itself. As a student of the upanishadic wisdom through his Master, Jesus, Saint John wrote: “This then is the message which we have heard of him [Jesus], and declare unto you, that God is light.” (I John 1:5) That Light is purely spiritual (Spirit, actually) beyond the light we see in this world, but which nevertheless is also a manifestation or extension of that Light, as is the entire creation. In all the worlds–and beyond all the worlds–it is the One Light that shines in, and as, all. What a glorious concept! A truth as profound as it is simple. “The Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.” (Isaiah 60:19) This was the Essene teaching which Jesus received even in infancy.
Original Christianity–which was identical with Sanatana Dharma–taught that the Divine Light “was the light of men.…the true Light, which lighteth every man” (John 1:4, 9) without exception. That Light cannot be alienated from us, but is ever the essence of our existence, making us “the children of light.” (John 12:36) This is the real Gospel, the Good News, of real religion.
The Light that IS Brahman
This Light is transcendent because God is transcendent–and so are we! Because: “Truly has this universe come forth from Brahman. In Brahman it lives and has its being. Assuredly, all is Brahman. Let a man, freed from the taint of passion, worship Brahman alone.” (Chandogya Upanishad 3:14:1a) Again Gambhirananda: “All this is Brahman. This is born from, dissolves in, and exists in That.
Therefore, one should meditate by becoming calm.” Really, what can–or need be–said about this incredible assertion: ALL is Brahman?
What we can consider is the final part, the practical advice, which in the Sanskrit text is only two words: shanta upasita. Literally, they mean: “Draw near peacefully” or: “Go near peacefully.” Upasana means to sit or draw near, and is usually understood to mean either worship or meditation. In the Greek original of the New Testament the word translated “prayer” is prosevki, which also means to draw near. The Greek word translated “worship” is proskuneo, which has the same meaning.
The important thing to realize is that true worship and meditation are both an inner process, for God is the light that shines within each one of us, as the first verse quoted points out. So to draw near to that light we must turn within. As Jesus said: “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21)
The inner search must be done shanta–peacefully. This is a major key in yoga. All meditation must be done calmly and carefully, otherwise it will be impossible to perceive and assimilate the subtle states of awareness which meditation should produce. The mind must be as still as a mirror to really meditate, and meditation alone produces that stillness. Meditation is being described by Saint Paul when he says: “We all, with open face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory.” (II Corinthians 3:18) That is why in the book of Revelation, which Paramhansa Yogananda said was a book about yoga, it says that a “sea of glass” like a great mirror is before the throne of God, and that the saints “stand” upon it. This symbolizes the perfectly still mind of the yogi by which he experiences higher realities. (Revelation 4:6, 15:2)
The yogi’s will
Now the second half of the verse we just examined: “A man is, above all, his will. As is his will in this life, so does he become when he departs from it. Therefore should his will be fixed on attaining Brahman.” (Chandogya Upanishad 3:14:1b)
This is surely one of the most important statements in the upanishads. The will is the highest faculty we possess. It is higher even than the intellect, for we often say: “I won’t think about that right now…” and we do not, because the will controls it. The only thing higher than the will is the Self. The will approaches closer to the Self than any other aspect of our being. This is so important, because the quality of our religion and our yoga is determined by which aspect is the basis of our belief and practice.
We have five levels or “bodies.” They are: 1) the physical, material body (annamaya kosha), 2) the magnetic or bio-energetic body (pranamaya kosha), 3) the sensory mind (manomaya kosha), 4) the intelligent mind, the intellect (jnanamaya kosha), and 5) the will (anandamaya kosha). These also correspond to the five elements: earth (prithvi), water (apa), fire (agni), air (vayu), and ether (akasha) which are also the seats of the five senses–smell, taste, sight, touch, and hearing.
The will is the anandamaya kosha, which corresponds to the ether element, whose special faculty is sound (shabda), both the passive faculty of hearing and the active faculty of speech. Which is why the highest yoga is based on Sound–specifically, the highest sound: Om. Om Yoga is the way to correct and develop the will. Since we are our will according to the upanishad, it must be made alive through the continual japa and meditation of the Pranava, the Word of Life: Om. Only through Om can we gain mastery of the will, and thereby of ourselves. We must become Om, “the Word that is God” according to the Bhagavad Gita (7:8. “I am the sacred syllable Om.” 10:25). By becoming Om, we become God–not in the absolute sense, but in the relative sense of knowing ourselves as an eternal part of God, identical in essence, even though not the Whole.
If in this life we become united to Brahman, when we leave this world we will go to Brahman. “Then Satyakama, son of Shibi, asked him [the Rishi Pippalada]: ‘Venerable Sir, what world does he who meditates on Om until the end of his life, win by That?’ To him, he said: ‘That which is the sound Om, O Satyakama, is verily the higher and the lower Brahman. Therefore, with this support alone does the
wise man reach the one or the other.’…If he meditates on the Supreme Being [Parampurusha] with the Syllable Om, he becomes one with the Light, the Sun. He is led to the world of Brahman. He sees the Person that dwells in the body, Who is higher than the highest life. …That the wise one attains, even by the mere sound Om as support, That Which is tranquil, unaging, immortal, fearless, and supreme.” (Prashna Upanishad 5:1,2,5,7) “When a man leaves his body and departs,…let him take refuge in steady concentration, uttering the sacred syllable Om and meditating upon me. Such a man reaches the highest goal.” (Bhagavad Gita 8:12, 13) You can’t get more detailed–or more authoritative–than that.
“Therefore should his will be fixed on attaining Brahman,” concludes this verse. For as Krishna said: “When a yogi has meditated upon me unceasingly for many years, with an undistracted mind, I am easy of access to him, because he is always absorbed in me.” (Bhagavad Gita 8:14)
This is the way.
The Self Within
“The Self, who is to be realized by the purified mind and the illumined consciousness, whose form is light, whose thoughts are true; who, like the ether, remains pure and unattached; from whom proceed all works, all desires, all odors, all tastes; who pervades all, who is beyond the senses, and in whom there is fullness of joy forever–he is my very Self, dwelling within the lotus of my heart.” (Chandogya Upanishad 3:14:2)
Rejoicing in the Self
It can reasonably be felt that the Bhagavad Gita is more important than the upanishads because it not only embodies their teachings, it provides practical advice for their personal realization. This is also my opinion, but the upanishads are certainly indispensable for us who seek the Goal. One of their most wonderful aspects–and one that I have never heard mentioned in my nearly half a century of Sanatana Dharma study–is their marvelous ecstatic exulting in the wonder and glory of the Self. Just reading such joyful declarations produces a powerful stirring of the will towards perseverance in the divine search. This verse is one such rapturous affirmation and well worth our savoring carefully.
The Self, who. The Self is a Who, NOT a What. That is, the Self is a conscious Person–or more accurately a person who IS consciousness itself. Of course, the Self–individual or Universal–is not the ego, a conditioned personality, but a changeless consciousness. It is certainly true that the Self is not “personal” or even a “person” in the way we know those terms. It is a transcendent reality, of one essence with the Absolute Reality. But it is Conscious and It is Real. This is bedrock truth. Countless ages of realization are behind this principle. We may not understand it fully or flawlessly, but that is only our human limitation. IT is Eternal Truth. That is the truth being presented in this verse, a truth that brings profound joy to those who realize it. It is said that Shiva sits immersed in the Self, but that sometimes he arises and dances, singing: “O! Who I am! Who I am!”
Is to be realized. We REALIZE the Self, we do not “find” It because it is ever present–It is us. That is, we enter into and experience our eternal nature. We have always had it, but have lost touch with it.
There is nothing to reach out for; rather we need to regain perception of it. It is more “here and now” than anything else, because It IS the Here and Now. It is only a matter of seeing, of experiencing It–and not as an object but as the Subject. Ultimately, it is beyond description, but what can be said is glorious.
By the purified mind. “Mind” does not mean the sensory mind (manas), or even the intellect (buddhi), but the principle of consciousness itself (prajna). The simile of a mirror is very apt here. Covered with thick dust and dirt, the mirror is no more than a lump of earth or a slab of wood. But the more the debris is removed, the more things are seen on its surface, until it shines forth in its reflective nature. In the same way our consciousness–or rather the “glass” that covers it–must be cleansed so there is no obstruction to our perception of the Self. That is why Jesus said: “Blessed are those that are pure (katharos: clean, clear, pure) at the center of their being (kardia: heart, core, center), for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) And Saint John said: “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” (I John 3:3) The path of this necessary purification is fully outlined in the Yoga Sutras (Yoga Darshan) of Patanjali.
And the illumined consciousness. The Self is consciousness that is swayam prakash–self illumined. That is, Its very nature is Light (Jyoti). By Its presence it illuminates all its upadhis–Its various bodies. Being Life as well as Light, it also makes them “live” through Its nearness to them, just as the presence of Brahman makes the worlds “alive.” But it, too, is illumined and enlivened by its essential unity with the Supreme Light, the Supreme Life: Brahman. So it both illumines and is illumined.
Whose form is light. The word Form should really be in quotes, for neither Brahman nor the Atman have a form in the way that is understood in relative existence. Their nature is Light, and although they are inaccessible to the senses, in a mysterious way they can be perceived or intuited as Light. I once heard a great yogi of India speaking of how it was possible to “see” the Self as a blinding light that soothed rather than burned the eyes. “Suppose a thousand suns should rise together into the sky: such is the glory of the Shape of Infinite God.” (Bhagavad Gita 11:12)
Whose thoughts are true. Actually, the word is satyasankalpa, which means a lot more than “true thoughts.” For after all, God does not have thoughts, because He has no mind–and the same is true of the Self. A being that knows does not need to think–actually cannot think. Sankalpa means an act of will, resolution, or intention. This is the nearest we can get to some idea of the movement of consciousness that takes place when God wills or determines something. So we will have to leave it there. Whatever it may be in the consciousness of Brahman, the upanishad assures us that it is always Sat–absolutely true or real. True, in the sense that it is in total keeping with the nature of Brahman; real, in the sense that is always results in something. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)
Who, like the ether, remains pure and unattached. This divine Self is said to be akashatma, which Shankara defines as: “one whose nature is like that of space…all pervasive, subtle, and free from form.” Just as the sky contains suns, planets, atmosphere, clouds, smoke, and suchlike, yet is utterly untouched and unaffected by them, so the Self is free from any effects from its continuous rebirths and their experiences. The Self has no karma or conditionings, and so is like the ether at all times.
From whom proceed all works. It is a fundamental tenet of the upanishads and the Gita that the Self never acts. So when the upanishad uses the term sarvakarma–“all karma”–it is to be taken in the context of Sankhya, the philosophy behind them. Sankhya declares that all action takes place only through the proximity of the Self. That the energy bodies (prakriti) in which the Self is encased are like the iron that is heated and expands through the nearness of fire, or like the globes so popular at state fairs in which the little flags rotate because of light shining on them. So all actions occur through the presence of the Self, but are not done by the Self.
All desires. All movements of will or intention (the higher nature of “desire”) are made possible by the Self, by Its transforming influence. But, as with action, the Self does not produce them.
All odors, all tastes. The same is true of the senses and the impressions they convey to the mind. The Self causes them to function and be perceived–again, not through actually “making” them happen, but through simply being there. The prime idea in these three phrases is that all “life” takes place through the Self being present. The Self does not “live” in a relative sense, but is the “life-giver” in the ultimate sense. This is but part of Its wonder.
Who pervades all. This underscores what has just been said. It is the all-pervasive Presence of the Self that causes all phenomena to occur.
Who is beyond the senses. This is said over and over in the scriptures, but it is put here within the context of the realization of the Self. We must turn inward to find the Self, and in that turning we must get beyond the senses. Those who are finding God do not abound in visions, chills, levitations, revelations, surging of energies, cataclysmic experiences, sweepings of emotions, and all such that are nothing but distractions that can NEVER lead to Reality. All phenomena must be left far behind, and we must “walk in the sky” that is free of all clouds–we must expand into consciousness that is free from all types of “experience” and even “existence” in the relative sense. For centuries people have amused themselves with “mystical” experiences and phenomena, remaining ignorant and earthbound despite their psychic powers and aura of “holiness.” We must seek for the One. And to do that we must abandon the Many.
In whom there is fullness of joy forever. If we could only get this truth through our heads and into our hearts! In God alone is the perfection of happiness, love, peace, and all goodness–and in nothing or nowhere else. It is, however, not enough to momentarily touch or enter the joy of the Self. We must be established in It. By that I mean we must totally enter into It, encompass that Consciousness and be encompassed by It. When this is done, our realization is permanent. It will never be lost or diminished in any way. In the Bible this is spoken of as entering or possessing our “inheritance.” It is forever.
He is my very Self. Although we identify with so much from life to life, this which the upanishads have so carefully described is our true Self, and that alone should be our identity. This is made possible through the realization of the Self–not intellectually, but as a state of eternal Being.
Dwelling within the lotus of my heart. Since the Self is there, in the depths of our being: “Only that yogi whose joy is inward, inward his peace, and his vision inward shall come to Brahman and know Nirvana.” (Bhagavad Gita 5:24)
The all-encompassing Self
“Smaller than a grain of rice is the Self; smaller than a grain of barley, smaller than a mustard seed, smaller than a canary seed, yea, smaller even than the kernel of a canary seed. Yet again is that Self, within the lotus of my heart, greater than the earth, greater than the heavens, yea, greater than all the worlds.” (Chandogya Upanishad 3:14:3)
The Atman transcends time and space, is always beyond them. Consequently the Self cannot really be described as large or small. It is beyond such dualities, and beyond any attempt at measurement. Why, then does the upanishad say what has just been cited? It is indicating to us that there is nothing which is not pervaded by the Self–there is nothing so small or so large that it is “outside” of the Self. Rather, the Self encompasses all relative being as well as the absolute. However large or small something may be, the Self is present within it to the fullest degree.
(“The kernel of a canary seed” is not a reference to bird seed, but to the Shyamaka seed that is extremely small and its kernel is infinitesimal.)
The Self encompasses all worlds–all levels of creation. In modern times we know that the physical universe is beyond all conception, it is so vast. Even so, the Self is much greater. But this is true only because It is part of the Supreme Self Who spoke through Krishna to Arjuna, saying: “But what need have you, Arjuna, to know this huge variety? Know only that I exist, and that one atom of myself sustains the universe.” (Bhagavad Gita 10:42)
The Self is within our heart, and within that Self is contained all the worlds. So we carry Infinity within ourselves. No wonder the pinnacle of the spiritual quest is called self-realization.
The great summing-up
Now the upanishad wraps and sums it all up, saying: “He from whom proceed all works, all desires, all odors, all tastes; who pervades all, who is beyond the senses, and in whom there is fullness of joy forever–he, the heart-enshrined Self, is verily Brahman. I, who worship the Self within the lotus of my heart, will attain him at death. He who worships him, and puts his trust in him, shall surely attain him.” (Chandogya Upanishad 3:14:4a) It is those who “worship” the Self by constantly being intent on the Self through the inward focusing of their japa and meditation of Om, that will shed all false identities and enter into the truth of the Self–if not in this life, then at the time of leaving the body and ascending into higher consciousness.
Even the upanishads recognize the value of citing spiritual authorities, for the second half of this verse says: “Said the seer Sandilya: At the moment of death a knower of Brahman should meditate on the following truths: Thou art imperishable. Thou art the changeless Reality. Thou art the source of life.” (Chandogya Upanishad 3:14:4b) This is possible for those who have made Self-knowledge the central and paramount factor of their life’s work. Those who have come to know the Self through profound meditation and constant remembrance of Om, will then know that they are imperishable, changeless, and Life itself.
Krishna
Then a most interesting statement is made: “This highest knowledge, the knowledge of Brahman, having drunk of which one never thirsts, did Ghora Angirasa teach to Krishna, the son of Devaki.” (Chandogya Upanishad 3:17:6) By this we know that Krishna himself is the embodiment of the upanishadic wisdom, and was therefore qualified to give the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, which has been called the cream and the essence of the upanishads.
Satyakama
Now we come to a very interesting part of the Chandogya Upanishad which consists of stories of seekers who came to know Brahman.
A feature that will seem odd to Western readers is the instruction of some of the seekers by animals and even by the forces of nature. Any explanation I might give is purely speculative and not worth much, but here they are:
1.The accounts are simply symbolic parables, the animals and nature forces symbolizing powers within the yogis.
2.These are not actual events, but dreams which the yogis had–this, too, is a matter of symbolism.
3.They are intuitions occurring to the yogis as they pondered the animals and the natural forces, wanting to understand the ideas behind them–for the universe is entirely ideational in nature. I do not think that any of these are very satisfactory, so I prefer to just focus on the spiritual teaching and let the rest go by, the way we crack the shell and throw it away, keeping the nut inside which is nourishing. One thing is, evident, though, the pure-hearted will be instructed by other means if human teachers fail to do so (or even be available).
Truthfulness (satya), a foundation of yoga, is taught here in the story of Satyakama.
A case of identity
“One day the boy Satyakama came to his mother and said: ‘Mother, I want to be a religious student [brahmachari]. What is my family name [gotra]?’ ‘My son,’ replied his mother, ‘I do not know. In my youth I was a servant and worked in many places. I do not know who was your father. I am Jabala, and you are Satyakama. Call yourself Satyakama Jabala.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 4:4:1, 2)
This is no small thing. At the time of Satyakama it was essential for the teacher (acharya) to know the caste of the student, for the instruction given was according to the student’s caste so as to prepare him for his distinctive life within the society of that era. In this way children were prepared to live the life of Brahmin priests and teachers, Kshatriya administrators and warriors, and Vaishya artisans and merchants. (Shudras–servants–were not accepted in the schools, since education was deemed pointless for their mode of life.) It is true that in very ancient times a student’s caste was finally determined during his education, according to his aptitudes and inclinations, but he started out being considered of the caste of his parents. Later caste was solely a matter of heredity. Whichever era this story took place in, the father’s caste had to be known.
Complicating the whole thing was the matter of gotra. Gotra means clan, family, or lineage, and all the castes were divided in gotras. This, too, could determine what the student would be taught, because different gotras had their own dharma shastras–scriptures which set forth the social and religious rules for members of that gotra. Sometimes these texts governed such minutiae as the student’s style of hair, mode and color of clothing, and even the type of wood their staff should be made of and how long it should be. Those born completely outside such a system may consider this all meaningless complications, but it was not so at the time the upanishad was written, and we should realize the seriousness of all this, even if we do not feel the same way.
Anyhow, Satyakama needed to know his caste and his gotra. Since his mother was a servant, a Shudra, he “should” not be accepted anyway, and on top of it he was illegitimate–a total bar to assimilation by society on any level, including education. But Satyakama thirsted for knowledge, and with the single-minded intent of a child dared to approach the great sage Gautama, something even those of highest caste might hesitate to do.
Truth
“Thereupon the boy went to Gautama and asked to be accepted as a student. ‘Of what family are you, my lad?’ inquired the sage. Satyakama replied: ‘I asked my mother what my family name was, and she answered: “I do not know. In my youth I was a servant and worked in many places. I do not know who was your father. I am Jabala, and you are Satyakama. Call yourself Satyakama Jabala!” I am therefore Satyakama Jabala, sir.’ Then said the sage: ‘None but a true Brahmin would have spoken thus. Go and fetch fuel, for I will teach you. You have not swerved from the truth.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 4:4:3,4)
Here we see that character, composed of karma and samskara, was the basis for caste in the upanishadic age. Truthfulness is a prime trait of a Brahmin, as is indicated here. Though Prabhavananda translates:
“None but a true Brahmin would have spoken thus,” the literal meaning is: “A non-Brahmin will not be able to say this.” This is extremely powerful, for it not only indicates that a true Brahmin is in such a purified state that it is impossible for him to not speak the truth–and speak it fully–it also indicates that a Brahmin will not have the egoity that would prevent him speaking truthfully and plainly regarding himself in all aspects of his life. For him there is no ego-based shyness or embarrassment of any sort. A Brahmin will never seek to hide anything about himself by speech or silence. As yogis we must seek to be perfect Brahmins.
The realization
Now I will summarize what is a rather wordy and sometimes obscure text. (You can read it yourself in 4:4:3 to 4:8:1-4, and you will see what I mean.)
Satyakama, at the instruction of his guru, Gautama, lived some years in the forest. During that time, from various sources he learned in stages that the entire cosmos is a manifestation of Brahman, though only a “particle” of Brahman. Even though I say he “learned” this, it was not learning in the ordinary, intellectual sense. Rather it was direct experience gained in the depths of meditation. Thus Satyakama KNEW Brahman, and KNEW Brahman was manifesting as all the worlds, and at the same time transcending them all.
The return
“At last the youth arrived at the home of his master and reverently presented himself before him. As soon as Gautama saw him, he exclaimed: ‘My son, your face shines like a knower of Brahman. By whom were you taught?’ ‘By beings other than men,’ replied Satyakama; ‘but I desire that you too should teach me. For I have heard from the wise that the knowledge that the teacher imparts will alone lead to the supreme good.’ Then the sage taught him that knowledge, and left nothing out.” (Chandogya Upanishad 4:9:1-3)
This reminds us of the radiant Buddha walking down the road after his enlightenment. Like Gautama, a Brahmin met him and also saw the divine radiance and asked him: “Who are you?” Continuing to walk on, Buddha simply said: “I am awake.”
Although he possessed the perfect knowledge of Brahman (Brahmajnana), Satyakama wisely asked that Gautama should teach him. For he knew that his perceptions might be either incorrect or incomplete, and he wanted to check them by hearing from the lips of an enlightened Master. This is the way of the wise; they are always aware that they may not have perfect knowledge or experience. It is only the ignorant that insist they know the truth and have no need of testing. As Dion Fortune remarked in one of her books, those who are deluded will hysterically insist on the veracity of their “revelations,” even being violent verbally and physically in defense of those delusions. On the other hand, a person who has had valid experiences and garnered true wisdom from them will speak of such things very apologetically–even hesitantly–frequently commenting that they realize their experiences may be delusions or they may be mistaken in their understanding of them even if they are real. Because of his sobriety and humility Satyakama was worthy (and capable) of being instructed fully in the wisdom of the sages (rishis). And so he was.
Such is an ideal spiritual aspirant.
Upakosala
Now we come to the story of another student:
“Upakosala dwelt as a student in the house of Satyakama for twelve years. Though the teacher let other disciples return to their homes after they had been duly taught the way of truth, Upakosala was not allowed to depart. The wife of Satyakama entreated her husband to finish teaching him in order that he might go home like the rest, but Satyakama not only refused to do so but went off on a journey. At this Upakosala was so sad and sick at heart that he could not eat. The teacher’s wife plied him with food, and in everything treated him with tender affection, but to no avail. At last the boy cried out to her: ‘O mother, my heart is still so impure; I am too unhappy to eat!’” (Chandogya Upanishad 4:10:1-3)
The mind of Upakosala
Satyakama did not let Upakosala return home because he had not learned all that was necessary for leading a fully dharmic life according to the scriptural precepts. It is interesting that Upakosala does not consider that his failing is an academic one, but rather one of interior disposition. This shows his fundamental worthiness. “My heart is still so impure” is a misleading translation. The text actually says: “In this person there are these many desires which tend towards many things–I am filled with them.” (He spoke in the third person because he was objective in analyzing himself. This indicates his lack of egotism.)
This reminds us of the following from the life of Jesus: “He entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)
Upakosala understood this (and Jesus must have studied this upanishad in India), realizing that although desires may not be negative or foolish, yet they pull us in many directions, whirling us around and confusing our minds and depleting our life energies. Only when the mind is fixed on the One can the many be safely attended to.
Why…
Why did the sage leave this boy to his sorrow? Those who see with earthly eyes and think only earthly thoughts often accuse the saints of being heartless or even cruel. But they know what they are doing, and are aware that their actions are needed. When Jesus told his disciples that he would be leaving them, they were unhappy. So he said: “Because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” (John 16:6,7) Vivekananda once commented: “A man harms his disciples by staying too long with them,” for they do not develop the independence needed to pursue spiritual life. Swami Sivananda often sent his disciples away to engage in spiritual practice or spiritual work. Even at the time of his leaving this world, few “old” disciples were present.
There was a man who very much wanted spiritual instruction from one of Sri Ramakrishna’s disciples, but that man sent him to another disciple, who sent him to still another–and that one refused him, too. Becoming very upset, even angry and bitter, the man left Calcutta and returned home. That very night he awoke, feeling that someone was in his room. Indeed there was: Sri Ramakrishna himself in living, physical form! He touched the man, blessing him, and gave him spiritual instruction. The next time that man saw one of his “refusers,” he was told: “We knew you were destined to receive personal instruction from Thakur himself; that is why we did not teach you ourselves.”
The teaching
And so it was with Upakosala. Through a voice from the sacred fire Brahman became his teacher. Here is how:
“Then a voice from out the fire which he was tending said: ‘This life is Brahman. The sky is Brahman. Bliss is Brahman. Know thou Brahman!’ ‘I know that life is Brahman,’ replied Upakosala. ‘But that the sky is Brahman, or that bliss is Brahman, I do not know.’ Again came the voice from out the fire, this time explaining that by sky was meant the lotus of the heart, wherein dwells Brahman, and that by bliss was meant the bliss of Brahman. ‘Both,’ said the voice, ‘refer to Brahman’; and, continuing, it taught Upakosala thus: ‘Earth, food, fire, sun–all these that you worship–are forms of Brahman. He who is seen in the sun–that one am I. He who dwells in the east, in the north, in the west, and in the south, he who dwells in the moon, in the stars, and in water–that one am I. He who dwells in the sky and makes the lightning his home–that one also am I. Know well the true nature of the world that it may never do you harm.’ Thereupon the fire, which had been only an earthly fire with which to prepare sacrifices, assumed a new aspect, and became the Lord himself. The earth was transformed; life was transformed; the sun, the moon, the stars, the lightning–everything was transformed, and deified. And thus it was that to Upakosala the true nature of all things was revealed.” (Chandogya Upanishad 4:10:4,5; 4:11:1,2; 4:12:1, 2; 13:1, 2; 14:1)
This is thoroughly clear, and needs no comment, except to say that here we see the nature of enlightenment as a total transformation of perception. And that is one of the greatest teachings of this upanishad.
The final words
“In due time Satyakama returned home. When he saw Upakosala, he said: ‘My son, your face shines like one who knows Brahman. Who has taught you?’ ‘Beings other than men,’ replied Upakosala. Then said Satyakama: ‘My son, what you have learned is true. True also is this that I teach you now. Lo, to him who knows it shall no evil cling, even as drops of water cling not to the leaf of the lotus: He who glows in the depths of your eyes–that is Brahman; that is the Self of yourself. He is the Beautiful One, he is the Luminous One. In all the worlds, forever and ever, he shines!’” (Chandogya Upanishad 4:14:2 3; 4.15:1,4)
Nothing more can or need be said.
Svetaketu
Now we come to the best known and most valued section of the upanishads: the story of Svetaketu and his learning about Brahman–and also his own Self. Prabhavananda has wisely condensed the narrative as it contains a great deal of repetition which at one time in India was considered high literary style (as the Pali Sutras of Buddhism show).
Learning that was ignorance
“When Svetaketu was twelve years old, his father Uddalaka said to him, ‘Svetaketu, you must now go to school and study. None of our family, my child, is ignorant of Brahman.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 6:1:1)
What a blessed time it must have been when education was aimed at the attainment of Brahmajnana!
“Thereupon Svetaketu went to a teacher and studied for twelve years. After committing to memory all the Vedas, he returned home full of pride in his learning.” (Chandogya Upanishad 6:1:2)
Yes, yes, yes, we all have read over and over that the Vedas are the basis of Sanatana Dharma, and that “belief in the Vedas” makes one a Hindu. But this is not the perspective of the upanishads or the Bhagavad Gita. Vedic study is constantly being decried by them as worthless–so what does that say about the Vedas? (Which, by the way, are said to be three, not four.) Just calling them Shabda Brahman–the Sound Brahman–does not make them so. (Anyhow, anyone who reads the upanishads and Gita knows that OM is the Shabda Brahman!) In the same way in the Bible we find the prophets, including David in the Psalms, denouncing the ways of the Law and deriding those who follow it. (The Essenes declared that the Law, the Torah, had been corrupted and brought into line with the ways of the ignorant religions of the nations which surrounded and intimidated Israel.)
However we may look at the question, there is no doubt that twelve years of Vedic study had left Svetaketu both ignorant and arrogant.
“His father, noticing the young man’s conceit, said to him: ‘Svetaketu, have you asked for that knowledge by which we hear the unhearable, by which we perceive the unperceivable, by which we know the unknowable?’ ‘What is that knowledge, sir?’ asked Svetaketu.” (Chandogya Upanishad 6:1:3)
Here we have three words: Ashrutam, amatam, and avijnatam that are most important. Ashrutam means “the unheard,” amatam means “the unthought” or “the unconceived,” and avijnatam means “the unknown.” They also mean “the unhearable,” “the unthinkable,” and “the unknowable.” These are epithets of Brahman, the Absolute Being. Not only do we not at this moment hear, think of, or know Brahman, we cannot do so–not through the mind, that is. But we can know Brahman directly at the core of our Self. When we go beyond the usual perceptors into the Knower…then we will hear without hearing, think without thought, and know without knowing. For it it will be a matter of BEING alone. In other words, we must be yogis.
THE knowledge
Uddalaka now tells Svetaketu: “‘My child, as by knowing one lump of clay, all things made of clay are known, the difference being only in name and arising from speech, and the truth being that all are clay; as by knowing a nugget of gold, all things made of gold are known, the difference being only in name and arising from speech, and the truth being that all are gold–exactly so is that knowledge, knowing which we know all.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 6:1:4-6)
This is pretty straightforward, but it has an interesting implication. Uddalaka says that if we know one lump of clay or one nugget of gold we will know all clay and gold. The Self (Atman) and Brahman are absolutely one, yet the Self is limited in Its scope, whereas Brahman is limitless–and willing to share that limitlessness with us. Therefore the way to know the Paramatman, Brahman, is to know the Jivatman, the individual Self. Once we know the part we know the Whole. There is more to it than this, because in that knowing we participate in the infinite Being of Brahman. This is a matter of yoga and beyond the scope of language to express or explain. That is why the Kena Upanishad says: “He truly knows Brahman who knows him as beyond knowledge; he who thinks that he knows, knows not. The ignorant think that Brahman is known, but the wise know him to be beyond knowledge.” (Kena Upanishad 2:3)
In response Svetaketu says:
“‘But surely those venerable teachers of mine are ignorant of this knowledge; for if they had possessed it, they would have taught it to me. Do you therefore, sir, give me that knowledge.’ ‘Be it so,’ said Uddalaka.” (Chandogya Upanishad 6:1:7)
The ONE
“‘In the beginning there was Existence, One only, without a second. Some say that in the beginning there was nonexistence only, and that out of that the universe was born. But how could such a thing be? How could existence be born of non-existence? No, my son, in the beginning there was Existence alone–One only, without a second.” (Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1,2)
In the beginning–and evermore–there was SAT: Existence; Reality; Being: Brahman, the Absolute, Pure Being. And this Sat was ekam, evam, adwityam: one only, without a second. This Absolute Unity is all that ever has been or that can ever be. This is a major principle of Sanatana Dharma, one that is not easy to always keep in mind since we find ourselves immersed in the experience of duality. But when through self-purification and the practice of yoga we sweep aside this delusive curtain we will see the One and know It within our own Self (atman) as its inmost essence. The Sat is always One, not one among many, and is absolutely indivisible. Duality cannot arise in It to any degree.
This being so, Uddalaka warns Svetaketu away from the mistaken idea that there was an original Nothing from which came Something. Certainly, Brahman is No Thing, but that is a far cry from Nothing. Rather, it is Everything. This is important to us for two reasons. First, if originally there was nothing, then when we return to our primal state we will be annihilated, “become” nothing. And, indeed, there are those who believe and even yearn for this. But it is not so. Second, for us raised in Western religion, it points out the absurdity of the theological principle that God created the world ex nihil–from nothing.
Since this second proposition is merely an intellectual perception, it is not particularly negative, but the first one is, for it deludes us as to what our ultimate state is meant to be. And it is perfectly possible to enter into an empty, jada state of unconscious inertia that can be mistaken for Nirvana, that is often wrongly translated “annihilation” or “extinguishment.”
The “Many”
“He, the One, thought to himself: Let me be many, let me grow forth. Thus out of himself he projected the universe; and having projected out of himself the universe, he entered into every being. All that is has its self in him alone. Of all things he is the subtle essence. He is the truth. He is the Self. And that, Svetaketu, THAT ART THOU. ‘Please, sir, tell me more about this Self.’ ‘Be it so, my child.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:3a; 6:3:2; 6:8:7)
This is extremely important. Brahman did not “create” anything: It projected everything out of Its own being–and not as a separate entity, for It is within every thing as its sole Reality, as its Self, as its subtle Essence.
You might be interested to know that this was the original teaching of Christianity. In the New Testament the word translated “made” in speaking of the origin of the universe is ginomai, which means to be generated–not made from nothing. It also means to arise or be assembled from something already existing. The expression “only-begotten” is monogenis, coming from the same root word. In The Apostolic Constitutions, one of the earliest liturgical texts of Christianity, God is said to have “brought forth all things as from a treasure house”–not from nothing.
After saying all these amazing things, Uddalaka enunciates the highest wonder: Tat Twam Asi: THOU ART THAT. This is the pinnacle of the Upanishads–of all the wisdom scriptures of India. This awesome truth that behind and beneath it all, including our own Self, is THAT, is Brahman. “Of all things he is the subtle essence. He is the truth. He is the Self.”
Svetaketu asked to hear more. In a sense there was no more, but there could be more affirmations of the single truth. So:
The unknowing
“As the bees make honey by gathering juices from many flowering plants and trees, and as these juices reduced to one honey do not know from what flowers they severally come, similarly, my son, all creatures, when they are merged in that one Existence, whether in dreamless sleep or in death, know nothing of their past or present state, because of the ignorance enveloping them–know not that they are merged in him and that from him they came. Whatever these creatures are, whether a lion, or a tiger, or a boar, or a worm, or a gnat, or a mosquito, that they remain after they come back from dreamless sleep. All these have their self in him alone. He is the truth. He is the subtle essence of all. He is the Self. And that, Svetaketu, THAT ART THOU. ‘Please, sir, tell me more about this Self.’ ‘Be it so, my son.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 6:9:1-4)
All of us in relative existence are enveloped in ignorance. That should not be hard to accept! But whatever the background or past of any sentient being, of whatever level, in dreamless sleep and death they all return to Brahman. But their enveloping ignorance prevents them from knowing Where they are, the way a submarine keeps those inside from being wet. So they are not enlightened in any way, though so close to the Light from Whence they came. Although in that state they have no self-concept, no identity with their present level of evolution, when they awake from sleep or return from death to rebirth, they find themselves in the form that corresponds to their inner development. And of course they immediately get lost in the dream and start wandering around, never really coming to rest anywhere. Yet at all times they are within Brahman and ARE Brahman.
Svetaketu wants more, so his father repeats what he has said from another angle.
“The rivers in the east flow eastward, the rivers in the west flow westward, and all enter into the sea. From sea to sea they pass, the clouds lifting them to the sky as vapor and sending them down as rain. And as these rivers, when they are united with the sea, do not know whether they are this or that river, likewise all those creatures that I have named, when they have come back from Brahman, know not whence they came. All those beings have their self in him alone. He is the truth. He is the subtle essence of all. He is the Self. And that, Svetaketu, THAT ART THOU. ‘Please, sir, tell me more about this Self.’ ‘Be it so, my child.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 6:10:1-3)
No comment needed.
Svetaketu asks for more.
The all-pervading Source
“If someone were to strike once at the root of this large tree, it would bleed, but live. If he weren to strike at its stem, it would bleed, but live. If he were to strike at the top, it would bleed, but live. Pervaded by the living Self, this tree stands firm, and takes its food; but if the Self were to depart from one of its branches, that branch would wither; if it were to depart from a second, that would wither; if it were to depart from a third, that would wither. If it were to depart from the whole tree, the whole tree would wither. Likewise, my son, know this: The body dies when the Self leaves it–but the Self dies not. All that is has its self in him alone. He is the truth. He is the subtle essence of all. He is the Self. And that, Svetaketu, THAT ART THOU. ‘Please, sir, tell me more about this Self.’ ‘Be it so.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 6:11:1-3)
Everything is alive, but only because the Living Self, Brahman, inhabits it. If that Presence is withdrawn, then death results. Therefore when the Self leaves the body, the body dies, but not the Self. Yet see how backwards we are in the West. We think that it is being in the body that makes a person alive, that when they leave the body they die. Absolutely backwards! Not only that, we continue to treat the body as the person, dressing it up, putting makeup on it, fixing its hair and putting in in a satin-lined box and mourning over it. Even crazier, we will first have drained out its blood and pumped formaldehyde into it. Then we put the box in a concrete box in a grave and pile dirt on top of it, heap flowers on it, and leave. But we keep coming back to “visit” the “dead” with more flowers and even talk to the body as though it were the still-living person who has long ago departed from the body.
Now, if that is not insane, tell me what is? And it is not only sanctioned by our stupid religions, it is encouraged by them, especially those that disdain prayers for the departed. Spot the looney.
More, says Svetaketu.
The subtle Essence
“Bring a fruit of that Nyagrodha [Banyan] tree.”
“Here it is, sir.”
“Break it.”
“It is broken, sir.”
“What do you see?”
“Some seeds, extremely small, sir.”
“Break one of them.”
“It is broken, sir.”
“What do you see?”
“Nothing, sir.”
“The subtle essence you do not see, and in that is the whole of the Nyagrodha tree. Believe, my son, that that which is the subtle essence–in that have all things their existence. That is the truth. That is the Self. And that, Svetaketu, THAT ART THOU. ‘Please, sir, tell me more about this Self.’ ‘Be it so.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 6:12:1-3)
This is easily understood. What I would like to point out is the fact that Uddalaka says “the whole of the Nyagrodha tree” is in the Divine Essence. It is not part in and part out, as we think in the West, believing that part of us is material and part is spirit, or that part of us lives in this world and part of us in the spiritual world. These distinctions are products of ignorance. There is only The ONE. At all times.
In response to Svetaketu’s request, Uddalaka produces another object lesson. “Put this salt in water, and come to me tomorrow morning.”
Svetaketu did as he was bidden. The next morning his father asked him to bring the salt which he had put in the water. But he could not, for it had dissolved. Then said Uddalaka:
“Sip the water, and tell me how it tastes.” “It is salty, sir.”
“In the same way,” continued Uddalaka, “though you do not see Brahman in this body, he is indeed here. That which is the subtle essence–in that have all things their existence. That is the truth. That is the Self. And that, Svetaketu, THAT ART THOU. ‘Please, sir, tell me more about this Self,’ said the youth again. ‘Be it so, my child.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 6:13:1-3)
For some reason Prabhavananda did not translate this fully. In the original text Uddalaka asks Svetaketu to taste the water from the top, the middle, and the bottom of the bowl. Each time he finds it salty. The idea is that Brahman pervades the entire field of relative existence, AS that field. And we are That.
Yes. Svetaketu wants to hear more.
Teaching needed
“As a man may be blindfolded, and led away, and left in a strange place; and as, having been so dealt with, he turns in every direction and cries out for someone to remove his bandages and show him the way home; and as one thus entreated may loose his bandages and give him comfort; and as thereupon he walks from village to village, asking his way as he goes; and as he arrives home at last–just so does a man who meets with an illumined teacher obtain true knowledge. That which is the subtle essence–in that have all beings their existence. That is the truth. That is the Self. And that, O Svetaketu, THAT ART THOU. ‘Please, sir, tell me more about this Self.’ ‘Be it so, my child.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 6:14:1-3)
The teaching here is of major import. We can know we are blind and lost and need to see and go back home, but it stops there. We have to be made to see and shown the way. This can only happen when we find the teachings of enlightened Masters. If we can meet such a Master face-to-face, our good fortune is incalculable. Over forty years have passed since I received the blessing and wisdom of the first Masters of my acquaintance, and some decades since the last one spoke with me. Yet those memories are my heart’s rosary which I can go over and vividly return in memory to those days. I do not have to believe books: I have seen living embodiments of Sanatana Dharma and listened to their words, many of them addressed personally to me. However, I have spent many, many more hours reading the printed teachings of some of those great Masters, and many more Masters that I have only “met” in books.
However the teachings come to us, it is the application that matters. I saw a lot of do-nothings circulating around the Masters who just played groupie until the Master died and then they wasted their time grieving over the loss of something they never really had, and waiting for the Master to “give the green light” (a quote from one of them) so they could die and go to the Master’s “loka” and be with him forever. Small chance! They were not really with the Master in life, so why in death? What I want to assure you is that truth is always truth. If you learn mathematics from a teacher or a book it is the same. Further, this upanishadic simile does not inculcate the guru-disciple enslavement that is considered so essential for enlightenment. Yes, one person did take away the bandage and point out the way, but notice that “thereupon he walks from village to village, asking his way as he goes.” So he has many teachers, not just one. And it should be the same with us. “Loyalty” to a single teacher should not be a blindfold on the eyes of our soul. All Masters are living, and as Yogananda said, we should realize that all Masters are one and not make differences between them. (He is speaking of Masters, though, not just teachers.)
Ultimately, even the teachers are just the mouthpieces of Brahman, of our own ultimate Self. At his request, Svetaketu now receives one last instruction.
Forgetting and remembering
“When a man is fatally ill, his relations gather round him and ask, ‘Do you know me? Do you know me? Now until his speech is merged in his mind, his mind in his breath, his breath in his vital heat, his vital heat in the Supreme Being, he knows them. But when his speech is merged in his mind, his mind in his breath, his breath in his vital heat, his vital heat in the Supreme Being, then he does not know them. That which is the subtle essence–in that have all beings their existence. That is the truth. That is the Self. And that, O Svetaketu, THAT ART THOU.” (Chandogya Upanishad 6:15:1-3)
When we merge with Brahman in Mahasamadhi–the great exit of death–then all that we “knew” and believed in is nothing to us: only Brahman remains for us to know and identify with. The long journey is over, Reality gained at last. All that was enslaving and misery-producing, all the trivia and folly of relativity, is over forever. No return engagement! No return trip ticket! Home at last; home forever. Home in Infinity; Life to a degree undreamed of by us for ages beyond calculation. For the final time we close our external eyes to open the eye of spirit. My grandmother asked me to have a song entitled “We’ll Say Goodnight Here, But Good Morning Up There” sung at her funeral. It certainly is “night” here and eternal “morning” in God. But attaining it is not so simple as the song implies. Nevertheless, one day–beyond all time–it will happen to us all. Then we will really know: That which is the subtle essence–in that have all beings their existence. That is the truth. That is the Self. And THAT ART THOU.”
The Essence of the Mind and Prana
Sometimes the longer upanishads branch off from the central subject and explore a byway or two. This happened in the preceding dialogue between Uddalaka and Svetaketu. Uddalaka began expounding the origin of various components of the human being, including the mind, the manas, which is the sensory mind, the field of energy which conveys the impressions of the sensory impulses of the brain. It is part of our astral bodies, but since it consists of the grossest of astral substance, it is integrated, even interlaced, with the material body and brain. According to Uddalaka the energy of the mind is derived from the physical body. Here are his words:
“Food, when eaten, becomes divided into three parts. What is its grossest ingredient, that becomes feces; what is the middling ingredient, that becomes flesh; and what is the subtlest ingredient, that becomes mind.” (Chandogya Upanishad 6.5.1,2)
From this we see how important diet is, for the very substance of the mind is the essential energy of the food we eat. For that reason we must be careful both as to what we eat and what its vibration might be.
For example, we should avoid meat, fish, eggs, alcohol, nicotine, and mind-influencing drugs–that should be obvious to the yogi. But we must also be careful about the vibration of acceptable food, for if it is a vehicle of negative vibrations it will be poisonous to the mind. When food is cooked or handled, the vibrations of the cook and the handler enter into it, for cooked food is very receptive to vibrations. Usually a prayer or blessing will neutralize any negative energies attached to food, but not always, especially if the cook or handler were mentally disturbed. Restaurant food can be a problem for that reason, and also because the food may be cooked in the same oil in which meat has been cooked, or may have been touched by meat in some way in the restaurant kitchen.
Prana, the subtle life force in the yogi’s body, must also be kept pure, as it affects everything in the physical and astral bodies, and has a major influence on meditation, during which the pranas must be as pure and subtle as possible, since the mental energies and the prana interact with one another intimately. About the prana, Uddalaka says: “Water, when drunk, becomes divided into three parts.
What is its grossest ingredient, that becomes urine; what is the middling ingredient, that becomes blood; and what is the subtlest ingredient, that becomes Prana.” (Chandogya Upanishad 6.5.1,2) What is said about water stands for any liquid, and we must be as careful about that as about our food.
“Hence, mind is made up of food, Prana is made up of water.” (Chandogya Upanishad 6.5.4) Then he repeats this, giving examples.
“Of the curd [yogurt] that is being churned that which is the subtlest part rises upwards and that becomes butter. So also, of the food that is eaten that which is the subtlest part rises upwards and that becomes the mind. Of the water that is drunk that which is the subtlest part rises upwards and that becomes Prana.…Hence, mind is made up of food, Prana is made up of water.” (Chandogya Upanishad 6.6.1-3,4)
This is extremely valuable knowledge for everyone, but especially for the yogi, as we see that food and drink have a direct effect on the mind and vital force within.
Narada
Now we come to the account of the great sage Narada and his inquiries made to the great Master, Sanatkumara. This contains a lot of rhetoric and repetition, so I will omit some of the first fifteen sections of the seventh chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad as translated by Swami Prabhavananda.
The ladder to reality
“Narada once came to Sanatkumara and asked to be taught. To Sanatkumara’s question, ‘What have you already studied?’ Narada replied that he had studied all the branches of learning–art, science, music, and philosophy, as well as the sacred scriptures. ‘But,’ said he, ‘I have gained no peace. I have studied all this, but the Self I do not know. I have heard from great teachers like you that he who knows the Self overcomes grief. Grief is ever my lot. Help me, I pray you, to overcome it.” (Chandogya Upanishad 7:1:1-4)
This contains a cardinal truth: there is no peace or real happiness outside the knowledge of the Self (atma jnana). Those who wish to end all sorrow must seek that knowledge. Such is the assertion of the great teachers of humanity.
First Sanatkumara taught Narada the ascending steps of reality which we must perfect before we can know the ultimate Reality: that which we hear from others, the faculty of speech, the mind, will, intelligence, meditation, and the wisdom gained from direct spiritual experience.
The Eternal Truth
“Then said Sanatkumara: ‘But, verily, he is the true knower–who knows eternal Truth.’ ‘Revered sir, I wish to be a true knower.’ ‘Then ask to know of that infinite Reality.’ ‘Sir, I ask to know of it.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 7:16:1)
There are two simple points here. The first is that only the knower of Brahman really knows anything. Only those that know Eternal Being are jnanis–knowers. This is a necessary perspective for those that set out to seek the Absolute, for unless they hold to this outlook they may become distracted along the way and settle for less, or even begin actively seeking the less.
The second point is that the seeker must ask a qualified teacher for teaching, that it will not just be dropped in his hands. Asking is the heart of seeking. An equally important point is implied here: a qualified teacher will not teach unless asked. Somewhere I have mentioned that this was one of my first lessons learned during my first trip to India. I found that fools and fakes went into teaching mode the moment they saw me and being grinding out the philosophical cliches–along with the hints that I should arrange a world tour for them to end in America the Land of Opportunity. Since nineteenth-century translations of the upanishads had the teacher addressing the disciple as “my dear,” these ignoramuses and charlatans always called me “my dear” upon meeting me. In contrast, the real teachers and Masters were kind and most polite, asking me about my purpose in coming to India and where I had been, and suchlike. But they never said a word about either philosophy or yoga. If I asked them for wisdom upon our first meeting, they spoke sparingly in an almost diffident way, in no way pushing their words at me or trying to impose their views on me. (Some would not even answer the first time they were questioned. One teacher only told me anything after I had inquired three times in a row.) After more contact, they would become very free with me and answer my questions gladly. But still they never volunteered anything. I always had to ask. This is the mark of a genuine teacher. So Narada had to declare his desire to know Infinite Reality.
Steps on the path
Next Swami Prabhavananda gives a kind of digest of several verses.
“‘It is only when a man has realized eternal Truth that he declares it. He who reflects upon it realizes it. Without reflection it is not realized. And only he who has faith and reverence reflects on eternal Truth. And only he who attends on a teacher gains faith and reverence. And only he attends on a teacher who struggles to achieve self-control. And only he struggles to achieve self-control who finds joy in it. Ask to know of this joy.’ ‘Sir, I ask to know of it.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 7:16:1-22:1)
This list starts at the top and goes to the bottom, and are the steps to realization according to Sri Sanatkumara.
It is only when a man has realized eternal Truth that he declares it. Only one who has realized the Eternal Truth of the Brahman-Self can truly declare It. All others just speak rumor and speculation. So if we want spiritual authority we will have to seek out those that have found Truth and embody it. For their very words will convey awakening and empowerment to the worthy hearer. That is why Jesus made the remarkable statement: “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63) This is not true of the words of ordinary teachers.
He who reflects upon it realizes it. Without reflection it is not realized. This does not mean mere intellectual thought, just pondering on ideas about Brahman. The word matih means thinking of something, reflecting upon it because of love, of great affinity, for it. (Shankara says this in his commentary.) The meaning is that the worthy seeker is purified enough in intellect to intuit both Brahman and his eternal relation with Brahman. As a result a spontaneous inner “recognition” of Brahman arises, along with a reaching out for the experience of Brahman as Reality. Just as a magnet draws metal to itself, so the yogi begins to experience the pull of the Infinite, and loves the drawing and the possibility of the final union. Brahman becomes the most cherished object of his heart, and Its reality is never absent from his consciousness. This is a sign of his nearness to realizing Brahman.
And only he who has faith and reverence reflects on eternal Truth. The worthy yogi is not a casual weekender, paddling his feet in the ocean of Infinity. Rather, he is one in whom intuitive conviction of the reality of God and the necessity of finding God has arisen. This insight motivates him from the depths of his own being.
And only he who attends on a teacher gains faith and reverence. Actually, the text says nothing about a teacher, just the word nishtha, which means steadiness. But Shankara in his commentary says that it indicates the steadfast seeking of a teacher’s wisdom “for acquiring knowledge of Brahman.” So Prabhavananda has translated accordingly. We have already considered that we may have recourse either to a living teacher or the teachings of a realized Master. It is contact with the “vibrations” of a teacher that enable faith to arise in us. Sometimes only the sight of a Master is needed for awakening to begin–even seeing a picture or photograph. Something is stirred deep within, often impressions from a previous life. Wonderful as that may be, it is steadfastness in inwardly and outwardly approaching the teacher that is needed for success in our search.
And only he attends on a teacher who struggles to achieve self-control. For disciple means one who is engaging in discipline. Things do not come automatically or easily to the seeker. That must be faced. And paths that pretend to automatically and easily produce realization are fake. Discipline–willing discipline–is an absolute requisite for spiritual attainment. Otherwise any effort expended is most likely to be useless. A lot of cultish seekers labor and slave and deprive and torment themselves and end up getting nowhere. But they are not truly disciplined in the sense of intelligent understanding and effort put forth in the context of a viable tradition.
And only he struggles to achieve self-control who finds joy in it. This is a signal trait of the worthy seeker: he find joy in the seeking, and rejoices in having at last found the way to real finding. The way is one of discipline and purification, and he loves every bit of it, however it may pain the ego, for he knows it leads to the end of uncertainty and suffering. Such a seeker does not sigh and grudgingly do what is necessary, feeling put upon all the way. That kind will not persevere–and good riddance. No, he is like the men Jesus told about: “The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44-46) They gladly gave all they had. Such are those who find joy in the struggle for self-mastery and Self-realization. Saint Paul says that Jesus himself: “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)
“Ask to know of this joy.” “Sir, I ask to know of it.” Certainly many people seek higher reality as a result of disillusionment and suffering. Some merely seek the cessation of suffering, but the wiser actively seek the joy that is the nature of Brahman.
The source of joy
“‘The Infinite is the source of joy. There is no joy in the finite. Only in the Infinite is there joy. Ask to know of the Infinite.’ ‘Sir, I ask to know of it.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 7:23:1)
This is not an easy lesson to learn: that there is no joy outside of the Infinite Brahman; there is no joy outside of our own Self. The meditator knows how difficult this his, for the mind keeps running after utter trivia in meditation, turning from the way to ananda and thinking of those things that only bring suffering even though the mind delights in the idea of them. Fool’s gold is preferred by the mind to real gold. This is an addiction incredibly hard to be cured. The first step is asking about the Infinite, as this verse shows.
Experiencing the Infinite
What now follows is not a definition of the Infinite, because that is impossible since It is beyond conceptualization, and therefore beyond words. But it is possible to give a hint about the experience of the Infinite, even though it will be more of a neti-neti (not this-not that) approach.
“‘Where one sees nothing but the One, hears nothing but the One, knows nothing but the One–there is the Infinite. Where one sees another, hears another, knows another–there is the finite. The Infinite is immortal, the finite is mortal.’ ‘In what does the Infinite rest?’ ‘In its own glory–nay, not even in that. In the world it is said that cows and horses, elephants and gold, slaves, wives, fields, and houses are man’s glory–but these are poor and finite things. How shall the Infinite rest anywhere but in itself?’ (Chandogya Upanishad 7:24:1,2)
I know I have said it elsewhere, but I must say it here: nowhere in the entire world can there be found teachings equal to those of the upanishads. And these two verses are proof of that.
“Where one sees another, hears another, knows another–there is the finite,” can be understood in two ways, both of which are correct. First, if someone sees anything besides the Infinite, then he is not perceiving the Infinite, for when the Infinite is perceived, all else either disappears or is seen as the Infinite Itself. Second, if anyone sees anything other than his Self–which is one with the Infinite–he is not seeing the Infinite.
“How shall the Infinite rest anywhere but in itself?” This is also true of those who have realized the Infinite.
Where is the Infinite?
“The Infinite is below, above, behind, before, to the right, to the left. I am all this. This Infinite is the Self. The Self is below, above, behind, before, to the right, to the left. I am all this. One who knows, meditates upon, and realizes the truth of the Self–such an one delights in the Self, revels in the Self, rejoices in the Self. He becomes master of himself, and master of all the worlds. Slaves are they who know not this truth.” (Chandogya Upanishad 7:25:1,2)
The knower of the Infinite
“He who knows, meditates upon, and realizes this truth of the Self, finds that everything–primal energy, ether, fire, water, and all other elements–mind, will, speech, sacred hymns and scriptures–indeed the whole universe–issues forth from it. It is written: ‘He who has realized eternal Truth does not see death, nor illness, nor pain; he sees everything as the Self, and obtains all.’ The Self is one, and it has become all things.
“When the senses are purified, the heart is purified; when the heart is purified, there is constant and unceasing remembrance of the Self; when there is constant and unceasing remembrance of the Self, all bonds are loosed and freedom is attained. Thus the venerable Sanatkumara taught Narada, who was pure in heart, how to pass from darkness into light.” (Chandogya Upanishad 7:26:1,2)
Nothing really needs to be said in commentary. What is needed is the resolve to follow the example of Narada and attain the same realization.
Within the Lotus of the Heart
The Chidakasha within
“Within the city of Brahman, which is the body, there is the heart, and within the heart there is a little house. This house has the shape of a lotus, and within it dwells that which is to be sought after, inquired about, and realized. What then is that which, dwelling within this little house, this lotus of the heart, is to be sought after, inquired about, and realized?” (Chandogya Upanishad 8:1:1,2)
The body is the abode of Brahman and the Self. The core-center of each relative, sentient being is its heart. And within the heart is a dahara, a dwelling; and within that dwelling is pure akasha, ether or space. But it is not the akasha that is one of the five primal elements (panchabhuta), but rather the Chidakasha: the space of Consciousness. In other words, the inmost dweller of the heart is Brahman Itself. Such is the import of these verses according to Shankara. So it is Brahman “which is to be sought after, inquired about, and realized.”
The inner cosmos
“As large as the universe outside, even so large is the universe within the lotus of the heart. Within it are heaven and earth, the sun, the moon, the lightning, and all the stars. What is in the macrocosm is in this microcosm.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8:1:3)
How is this possible? Because space, like time, is only a idea, only an experience, not a reality. Infinity is within each one of us. I have had various experiences of this fact, but here is an account I wrote down some years ago.
“While meditating one day all ordinary physical sensation vanished. Spatial relation ceased to exist and I found myself keenly aware of being beyond dimension, neither large nor small, but infinite (for infinity is beyond size). Although the terminology is inappropriate to such a state, to make it somewhat understandable I have to say that I perceived an infinity of worlds ‘within’ me. Suns–some solo and others surrounded by planets–glimmered inside my spaceless space. Not that I saw the light, but I felt or intuited it. Actually, I did not ‘see’ anything–and yet I did. It is not expressible in terms of ordinary sense experience, yet I must use those terms. I experienced myself as everything that existed within the relative material universe.”
I was experiencing the mirror-image of the cosmos that exists within the Chidakasha in the heart. No one had ever told me about this, so at first I was at a loss to figure it out. But then in a moment the truth flashed into my mind. When much later I read these words of the Chandogya Upanishad I realized how amazing and invaluable is yoga. The yogi can realize for himself the things written in the wisdom texts of India. He can both experience and understand the meaning of the experience–and all from within.
And yet…
“All things that exist, all beings and all desires, are in the city of Brahman; what then becomes of them when old age approaches and the body dissolves in death? Though old age comes to the body, the lotus of the heart does not grow old. At death of the body, it does not die. The lotus of the heart, where Brahman exists in all his glory–that, and not the body, is the true city of Brahman. Brahman, dwelling therein, is untouched by any deed, ageless, deathless, free from grief, free from hunger and from thirst. His desires are right desires, and his desires are fulfilled.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8:1:4,5)
The mystic Angelus Silesius wrote that if he could die, then God would die; that if he could cease to exist, God would cease to exist. Such was his absolute understanding of the identity of the Self and God. Since this is so, the upanishad tells us that the Immortal is within us, whatever the condition of the body. Moreover, the desires of that Self are satyakama, true desires, and Its will is satyasankalpa, true will. So if we will center our consciousness in the Self, we will not have worry about desire or will–they will be Sat: revealers of the Real.
True desire and will
Having spoken of true desire and true will as properties of the Self, the upanishad now outlines the practical aspect of such.
“As here on earth all the wealth that one earns is but transitory, so likewise transitory are the heavenly enjoyments acquired by the performance of sacrifices. Therefore those who die without having realized the Self and its right desires find no permanent happiness in any world to which they go; while those who have realized the Self and its right desires find permanent happiness everywhere.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8:1:6)
The desires and intentions of those who have not realized the Self, even if seemingly fulfilled, eventually evaporate and come to nothing. But it is vastly different for those who know the Self and act and will accordingly.
“If the sage desires to see his fathers of the spirit-world, lo, his fathers come to meet him. In their company he is happy.
“And if he desires to see his mothers of the spirit-world, lo, his mothers come to meet him. In their company he is happy.
“And if he desires to see his brothers of the spirit-world, lo, his brothers come to meet him. In their company he is happy.
“And if he desires to see his sisters of the spirit-world, lo, his sisters come to meet him. In their company he is happy.
“And if he desires to see his friends of the spirit-world, lo, his friends come to meet him. In their company he is happy.
“And if he desires heavenly perfumes and garlands, lo, heavenly perfumes and garlands come to him. In their possession he is happy.
“And if he desires heavenly food and drink, lo, heavenly food and drink come to him. In their possession he is happy.
“And if he desires heavenly song and music, lo, heavenly song and music come to him. In their possession he is happy.
“Indeed, whatsoever such a knower of Brahman may desire, straightway it is his; and having obtained it, he is exalted of men.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8:2:1-10)
This is lengthy and perhaps not too obvious of meaning. The idea is that the realized person has access to and embodies all that is positive from his past lives, both persons and karmic conditions. This being so, he can obtain anything he desires and wills in the present and the future. Yet “he is exalted of men” in a different manner than the dead and departed “greats” of human history. He is exalted in the Self, in Brahman, in Absolute Being.
The hallmark of Sanatana Dharma is its thorough practicality, its good sense, and its demonstrable truth. So the upanishad next says:
The obstacle and its removal
“The fulfillment of right desires is within reach of everyone, but a veil of illusion obstructs the ignorant. That is why, though they desire to see their dead, their beloved, they cannot see them.
“Do we wish for our beloved, among the living or among the dead, or is there aught else for which we long, yet, for all our longing, do not obtain? lo, all shall be ours if we but dive deep within, even to the lotus of the heart, where dwells the Lord. Yea, the object of every right desire is within our reach, though unseen, concealed by a veil of illusion.
“As one not knowing that a golden treasure lies buried beneath his feet, may walk over it again and again, yet never find it, so all beings live every moment in the city of Brahman, yet never find him, because of the veil of illusion by which he is concealed.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8:3:1,2)
Meditation is the key to the treasure house! So the upanishad next says:
“The Self resides within the lotus of the heart. Knowing this, devoted to the Self, the sage enters daily that holy sanctuary.
“Absorbed in the Self, the sage is freed from identity with the body and lives in blissful consciousness. The Self is the immortal, the fearless; the Self is Brahman. This Brahman is eternal Truth.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8:3:3,4)
Om!
Crossing the Boundary
The Boundary-Self
“The Self within the heart is like a boundary which divides the world from THAT. Day and night cross not that boundary, nor old age, nor death; neither grief nor pleasure, neither good nor evil deeds. All evil shuns THAT. For THAT is free from impurity: by impurity can it never be touched.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8:4:1)
Setuh literally means a dam. In the experience of conditioned beings within the realm of relativity, the individual Self or jivatman acts as a boundary between Its Supreme Self, Brahman, the Paramatman, and the world of samsara. This is a very interesting fact, made even more interesting by the fact that I have never encountered it except here in this section of the Chandogya Upanishad.
We may think of the Self as a sea wall. On one side is the vast ocean of Brahman, and on the other side is the “earth” of material form and change. On one side the wall is experiencing the wetness of the sea, and on the other the dryness of earth. That in which the individual finds himself immersed only applies to that “side” of his being. However much we may experience birth, death, change, and all that attends them, they never touch the realm of Brahman. Conversely, although we are living in–and as–Brahman, samsara never touches that. Samsara and Brahman are mutually exclusive of one another. But we participate in the “worlds” of both, in a sense linking them with one another. Presently we are centered in samsara, experiencing our own Self as a barrier to Reality. But that barrier can be crossed, so the upanishad continues:
“Wherefore he who has crossed that boundary, and has realized the Self, if he is blind, ceases to be blind; if he is wounded, ceases to be wounded; if he is afflicted, ceases to be afflicted. When that boundary is crossed, night becomes day; for the world of Brahman is light itself.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8:4:2)
That is so powerful and obvious that there is no place for comment, other than to point out that the conditions listed from which the knowers of the Self are freed are really only illusions, just mirages. The Self being Real, such illusions vanish when It is known.
The way across the boundary
“And that world of Brahman is reached by those who practice continence [brahmacharya]. For the knower of eternal truth knows it through continence. And what is known as worship [yajna], that also is continence. For a man worships the Lord by continence, and thus attains him.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8:4:3; 8:5:1)
You cannot get more clear than this! Brahmacharya is THE way to the realm of Brahman (Brahmaloka). Certainly, sexual continence is the core of brahmacharya, but it is really self-restraint on all levels–discipline. This is it: there is no other way to qualify for union with Brahman than through brahmacharya. Yoga is an essential for that union, but frankly the practice of yoga is worthless without brahmacharya. The proof of that is the American and European yoga “scenes.” Nothing is coming of it spiritually, only profiteering and self-delusion.
Brahmacharya is the necessary worship-sacrifice to know God. As the Beloved Disciple wrote: “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” (I John 3:3) Why claim to follow Sanatana Dharma if the teachings of the upanishads and the Gita are not followed, but ignored and despised-degraded?
But there is more.
Liberation
“What is called salvation is really continence. For through continence man is freed from ignorance. And what is known as the vow of silence, that too is continence. For a man through continence realizes the Self and lives in quiet contemplation.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8:5:2)
Perhaps I should explain a bit about this fulsome assurance that brahmacharya will accomplish everything.
We, like God, are incarnate in a field of energy which we are intended to evolve just as God evolves the cosmos. When the evolution is completed, that is enlightenment and liberation. This process requires the total application of the inner and outer powers (energies) of the individual, powers that are devastatingly dissipated through sensory experience, emotion, and desire–especially lust. It is like a machine that requires a certain amount of voltage, or an engine that cannot run without the right amount of fuel. This is a purely pragmatic proposition, having nothing to do with concepts of right, wrong, good, bad, or any kind of moral valuation. For example, sex is not dirty, it is destructive.
Anything that diverts or dissipates the powers needed for evolution-enlightenment is to be avoided. It is not a “sin” but a hindrance, a distraction. For this reason the intelligent (buddhic) yogi is at all times vigilantly disciplined–in other words, a brahmachari or brahmacharini. Those who do not wish to pay the price of enlightenment are free to pass it by. No one is under coercion. To seek freedom the yogi must be free in that decision (sankalpa) and in the requisite disciplines for success in seeking.
The necessity for brahmacharya is an absolute.
Forest-dwellers
“What people call dwelling in the forest [aranyayanam], that is continence.” This is the first sentence of Chandogya Upanishad 8:5:3.
Most yogis have an inward pull to the forest life, to live in the midst of real nature away from the noise and poisons of city life as well as the noise and pollutions of human society. The Gita describes the yogi as “remaining in solitude, alone” (6:10), and having “distaste for crowds of men” (13:10).
Whether this is a samskara or an intuition, it will be found in nearly all serious yogis.
One of my best friends was constantly going out into the wilds and risking life and limb so he would meditate far from any other human being. I am not exaggerating about the risks he took. One time he was literally starving, and even wrote a note to anyone that might find his body, saying that it was his unwise ways that caused his death, and yoga should not be blamed. He had been taken into the wilderness by another man, but he had left his original camp and gone farther into the forest. So when the man came back after some weeks to check on him, he could not be found. As my friend was lying on the ground, preparing to die, suddenly that man came walking up and asked: “Where is that woman?” Hardly able to speak, my friend asked his own question: “What woman?” “That woman with the long black hair in the orange dress! If I hadn’t followed her, I couldn’t have found you.” At first my friend was flummoxed, but then he reached in his pack for his photograph of Paramhansa Yogananda. “Is that the ‘woman’?” he asked, holding it out to the man. “Yes, that’s her!” the man replied. The Master certainly honored my friend’s forest-yearning, however impractical.
Solitude is a matter of interior condition. The incredible Russian Orthodox saint, Saint John of Kronstadt, not only never slept, he was never alone more than two hours in twenty-four. Yet a man who knew him very well said: “Father John was always alone.” In contrast are those that go miles away from any human being and take the whole world and its population right with them. The teaching of the upanishad is that Brahmacharya is the way to accomplish true inner solitude and quiet.
Immortality
“In the world of Brahman there is a lake whose waters are like nectar, and whosoever tastes thereof is straightway drunk with joy; and beside that lake is a tree which yields the juice of immortality. Into this world they cannot enter who do not practice continence. For the world of Brahman belongs to those who practice continence. They alone enter that world and drink from that lake of nectar. For them there is freedom in all the worlds.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8:5:3,4)
Since Brahman is beyond materiality and even any kind of subtle name and form, these verses are speaking symbolically of the immortality-bestowing effects of union with Brahman–which can only be effected by those that practice brahmacharya. (Shankara agrees with me in his commentary.) The meaning is pretty obvious: those who enter the ocean of Brahman and “drink” will be filled with bliss, made immortal with the Immortality of Brahman, and will have access to all the worlds of relative existence and mastery in those worlds. Those who find the Absolute do not lose the relative, for the relative is a manifestation of the Absolute.
The core idea, like the preceding verses, is the necessity of brahmacharya.
Devas and Demons Seeking the Self
“It was said of old: ‘The Self, which is free from impurities, from old age and death, from grief, from hunger and thirst, which desires nothing but what it ought to desire, and resolves nothing but what it ought to resolve, is to be sought after, is to be inquired about, is to be realized. He who learns about the Self and realizes it obtains all the worlds and all desires.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 8.7.1)
This is the very heart of Sanatana Dharma: the Self must be known, otherwise all is lost. Sri Ramakrishna said it quite directly: the purpose of human life is knowing God, so those who do not strive to know God are wasting their life. This is the Truth of truth.
Gods and demons
“The gods [devas] and demons [asuras] both heard of this truth, and they thought to themselves, ‘Let us seek after and realize this Self, so that we may obtain all the worlds and all desires.’ Thereupon Indra from the gods, and Virochana from the demons, went to Prajapati, the renowned teacher.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8.7.2)
The sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad is devoted to the idea that human beings are divided into two types: divine (daivic) and demonic (asuras). It should be carefully studied by those who see higher consciousness, for it is bedrock truth. Here in the upanishad we are given an exposition of the two natures by means of a story.
It may seem that the gods and demons had a common goal: to “obtain all the worlds and all desires,” but that is not so. It was certainly the aim of the demons, but the gods desired the realization of the Self, although they certainly knew that “all the worlds and all desires” come to a knower of the Self as a kind of side effect. As Jesus later said in Israel: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)
The difference in the reactions of gods and demons can be seen today quite glaringly. Multitudes of demons throughout the world are spouting that “we are all God” and “everything is God,” but with a complete misunderstanding of such statements. For, being entrenched in the ego and material consciousness, they have no idea of the real nature of “we” and “everything.” In the same way they have no comprehension of what the divine unity expounded in Advaita (Non-duality) really means, interpreting it according to their own ignorance and limitations, reducing it to a string of childish cliches. Demons have a marked facility for trivializing anything, and degradation is their particular skill.
Approaching Prajapati
Anyhow, Indra the king of the gods, and Virochana, king of the demons, both went to Brahma, to Prajapati the Creator. “For thirty-two years they lived with him as pupils. Then Prajapati asked them why they had both lived with him so long. ‘We have heard,’ they replied, ‘that one who realizes the Self obtains all the worlds and all desires. We have lived here because we want to learn of this Self.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 8.7.3)
This verse has a lesson, not very obvious, yet nonetheless important for us. The two seekers lived with–or near–the teacher for many years, without asking for what they desired. This is because the teacher should know the disciple and the disciple the guru. When one of my friends, Dr. Mukherji, met his guru, Sri Swami Purnananda of Assam, he was astonished at his evident greatness and asked to become his disciple. “Not at all,” the master answered. “You must come to know me well, and I must know you well. Visit me as often as you can and live with me for as much time as you can manage. Then after three years of observing each other we can talk about you learning yoga from me.” What a contrast with the drum-beating, self-promoting gurus of today, including those that pretend to have high standards for accepting disciples, but really try to ensnare everyone their eyes rest upon. And here we see that Indra and Virochana after thirty-two years had not even brought up the subject of instruction.
(We need not take so long, but we should be very careful and not rush into accepting the teachings of anyone. That is one of the value of books. We can read them and discard them if we find them worthless without any conflict with the teacher. And we can apply them without becoming the teacher’s slave or dependent on him.)
Now we observe the first step in the discovery of the nature of the Self. It is not uncommon in the ancient texts for the truth to be presented as a kind of ladder, starting with either a dim perception of the truth or even a complete misunderstanding and leading upward bit by bit until the complete truth is comprehended. Just why this was done has not been said. Perhaps it was to show that even mistaken or partial ideas were to be seen as steps on the way to perfect understanding. Or it may have been as a kind of yardstick by which the level of development of a person might be known. On the other hand it may have been a showing of the logical progression of thought on a subject. However it may be, this account is part of that tradition.
The body–the Self
“Then said Prajapati: ‘That which is seen in the eye–that is the Self. That is immortal, that is fearless, and that is Brahman.’
“‘Sir,’ inquired the disciples, ‘is that the Self which is seen reflected in the water, or in a mirror?’
“‘The Self is indeed seen reflected in these,’ was the reply.
“Then Prajapati added, ‘Look at yourselves in the water, and whatever you do not understand, come and tell me about it.’
“Indra and Virochana gazed on their reflections in the water, and returning to the sage, they said: ‘Sir, we have seen the Self; we have seen even the hair and the nails.’
“Then Prajapati bade them don their finest clothes and look again in the water. This they did, and returning to the sage, they said: ‘We have seen the Self, exactly like ourselves, well adorned and in our finest clothes.’
“To which Prajapati rejoined: ‘The Self is indeed seen in these. The Self is immortal and fearless, and it is Brahman.’ And the pupils went away well pleased.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8.7.4; 8.8.1-3)
Brahma asked the two inquirers to have experience for themselves, which they did. Notice, that they were the first to put forth the idea that the body “which is seen reflected in the water, or in a mirror” was the Self. The teacher agreed. Puzzling as it seems there is a great lesson here. It is better to be mistaken on our own than to have the truth imposed on us. I have known of teachers in India agreeing to very silly ideas or proposals put forth by disciples because they wanted them to learn for themselves the error of their thoughts. This is absolutely unique to India, and surely one of the reasons why so many disciples have become masters in their own right. It is better for an idea to be ours, even if wrong, than to bow to the belief of another, even if it is more correct. The Gita (3:35) says: “Better one’s own dharma though deficient than the dharma of another well performed.…the dharma of another invites danger,” and this applies to personal philosophy, as well. Only when we have the freedom to make wrong conclusions will we develop the capacity for right conclusions. Intellectual integrity is of the utmost necessity, however most religionists are opposed to it.
Indra and Virochana “went away well pleased.” And this is normal. The whole world is happy in delusions and illusions. So a religion or philosophy that “satisfies” us, “answers all our questions,” and in which we are “happy” may be completely worthless. But we need to discover that for ourselves.
Though their conclusions were wrong, twice in this passage Brahma has told them that Brahman is immortal and fearless. In this way he planted the seed of truth in their minds.
“But Prajapati, looking after them, lamented thus: ‘Both of them departed without analyzing or discriminating, and without truly comprehending the Self. Whosoever follows a false doctrine of the Self will perish.’
“Now Virochana, satisfied for his part that he had found out the Self, returned to the demons and began to teach them that the body alone is to be worshipped, that the body alone is to be served, and that he who worships the body and serves the body gains both worlds, this and the next. Such doctrine is, in very truth, the doctrine of the demons!” (Chandogya Upanishad 8.8.4,5)
The assertion that “whosoever follows a false doctrine of the Self will perish” is crucial. It tells us that thoughts really are things and they lead us to a revelation of their nature: if false, to confusion and delusion, and if true, to the True. Jesus said: “According to your faith be it unto you.” (Matthew 9:29) Literally we are creating the world of our personal life sphere. As we think it to be, so it will tend to be, though much depends on the strength of our mind and the intensity put forth in exercising its creative power. Brahma let them hold a wrong concept of the Self because they had to discover the right concept for themselves. This is hard for those brought up in coercive religion to accept, but it is true.
The nursery rhyme is right: “Leave them alone and they will come home.” But only in the East will this faith in the individual be found. Wherever we find it in the West it is but a ray of the Eastern Light–but none the less valuable for that.
Body-worship, which is really only body-enslavement, is the “faith” of those possessing demonic nature, and they literally do die for it. When demons think about yoga it is always Hatha Yoga–“Virochana Yoga.” The myriads of “yoga studios” in the West are the haunts of the children of Virochana.
“But Indra, on his way back to the gods, realized the uselessness of this knowledge. ‘As this Self,’ he reasoned, ‘seems to be well adorned when the body is well adorned, well dressed when the body is well dressed, so will it be blind when the body is blind, lame when the body is lame, deformed when the body is deformed. When the body dies, this same Self will also die! In such knowledge I can see no good.’ So he returned to Prajapati and asked for further instruction.
Prajapati required him to live with him for another thirty-two years, after which time he taught him thus. (Chandogya Upanishad 8.9.1-3)
In Eastern Christianity they say that it is the nature of demons to fall and never rise, and of human beings to fall and rise and fall and rise over and over again. In the same way it is the nature of human demons to adopt an error and hold to it throughout their life. But it is the nature of devic human beings to keep sifting through their ideas, discarding the ones they discover to be mistaken, and using the ones that are true as steps to even more–and higher–truth. Since Indra was not a demon, even before he got back to Indraloka he understood the fallacy of identifying the body with the Self. His reasoning is quite clear. So he returned to Brahman for another period of time, after which he was again instructed.
The astral body–the Self
Brahma told him: “‘That which moves about in dreams, enjoying sensuous delights and clothed in glory, that is the Self. That is immortal, that is fearless, and that is Brahman.’ Pleased with what he had heard, Indra again departed. But before he had reached the other gods he realized the uselessness of this knowledge also. ‘True it is,’ he thought to himself, ‘that this Self is not blind when the body is blind, nor lame or hurt when the body is lame or hurt. But even in dreams it is conscious of many sufferings. So in this doctrine also I can see no good.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 8.10.1,2)
In the conscious, waking state it is the physical body, including the physical brain, that dominates our consciousness, but in the dream state it is the astral body and brain that come into function and dominate our awareness. This astral body leaves the physical body at death, so it is usually mistaken for the Spirit-Self by the various religions. But, as Indra realized, this cannot be if the definition of the Self formulated by the ancient rishis of India is believed to be accurate. We must go a step higher.
The causal body–the Self
“So he went back to Prajapati for further instruction. Prajapati now bade him live with him for another thirty-two years, and when the time had passed taught him, saying, ‘When a man is sound asleep, free from dreams, and at perfect rest–that is the Self. The Self is immortal and fearless, and it is Brahman.’
“Indra went away. But before he had reached his home, he felt the uselessness even of this knowledge. ‘In reality,’ thought he, “one does not know oneself as this or as that while asleep. One is not conscious, in fact, of any existence at all. The state of one in deep sleep is next to annihilation. I can see no good in this knowledge either.’
“So once more Indra went back to Prajapati, who bade him stay with him yet five years.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8:10:3,4; 8:11:1-3)
In dreamless sleep the causal body is dominant, and even in India there are people who try to identify it with the Self, and equate the dreamless sleep state with the eternal state of the Self. This is because of the extreme subtlety of that condition. Here, too, Indra’s reasoning is as clear as it is inevitable.
It is significant that Brahma only required a residence of five years this last time. Obviously Indra is so near the truth that a longer time of purification is not required.
The Self as It is
And when the time had passed, he made known to him the highest truth of the Self, saying: “This body is mortal, always gripped by death, but within it dwells the immortal Self. This Self, when associated in our consciousness with the body, is subject to pleasure and pain; and so long as this association continues, freedom from pleasure and pain can no man find. But as this association ceases, there cease also the pleasure and the pain. Rising above physical consciousness, knowing the Self to be distinct from the senses and the mind–knowing it in its true light–one rejoices and is free.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8:12:1,2)
This is as inspiring as it is simple: freedom and bliss (not mere pleasure) are the attributes of the Self–and of those who know the Self. Therefore Brahma concluded his teaching of Indra with these words:
“The gods, the luminous ones, meditate on the Self, and by so doing obtain all the worlds and all desires. In like manner, whosoever among mortals knows the Self, meditates upon it, and realizes it–he too obtains all the worlds and all desires.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8:12:6)
End of Chandogya Commentary:
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
Translated by Swami Madhavananda
Published by Advaita Ashram, Kolkatta
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
I-i-1: Om. The head of the sacrificial horse is the dawn, its eye the sun, its vital force the air, its open mouth the fire called Vaisvanara, and the body of the sacrificial horse is the year. Its back is heaven, its belly the sky, its hoof the earth, its sides the four quarters, its ribs the intermediate quarters, its members the seasons, its joints the months and fortnights, its feet the days and nights, its bones the stars and its flesh the clouds. Its half-digested food is the sand, its blood-vessels the rivers, its liver and spleen the mountains, its hairs the herbs and trees. Its forepart is the ascending sun, its hind part the descending sun, its yawning is lightning, its shaking the body is thundering, its making water is raining, and its neighing is voice.
I-i-2: The (gold) vessel called Mahiman in front of the horse, which appeared about it (i.e. pointing it out), is the day. Its source is the eastern sea. The (silver) vessel Mahiman behind the horse, which appeared about it, is the night. Its source is the western sea. These two vessels called Mahiman appeared on either side of the horse. As a Haya it carried the gods, as a Vajin the celestial minstrels, as an Arvan the Asuras, and as an Asva men. The Supreme Self is its stable and the Supreme Self (or the sea) its source.
I-ii-1: There was nothing whatsoever here in the beginning. It was covered only by Death (Hiranyagarbha), or Hunger, for hunger is death. He created the mind, thinking, ‘Let me have a mind’. He moved about worshipping (himself). As he was worshipping, water was produced. (Since he thought), ‘As I was worshipping, water sprang up’, therefore Arka (fire) is so called. Water (or happiness) surely comes to one who knows how Arka (fire) came to have this name of Arka.
I-ii-2: Water is Arka. What was there (like) forth on the water was solidified and became this earth. When that was produced, he was tired. While he was (thus) tired and distressed, his essence, or lustre, came forth. This was Fire.
I-ii-3: He (Viraj) differentiated himself in three ways, making the sun the third form, and air the third form. So, this Prana (Viraj) is divided in three ways. His head is the east, and his arms that (north-east) and that (south-east). And his hind part is the west, his hip-bones that (north-west) and that (south-west), his sides the south and north, his back heaven, his belly the sky, and his breast this earth. He rests on water. He who knows (it) thus gets a resting place wherever he goes.
I-ii-4: He desired, ‘Let me have a second form (body).’ He, Death or Hunger, brought about the union of speech (the Vedas) with the mind. What was the seed there became the Year (Viraj). Before him there had been no year. He (Death) reared him for as long as a year, and after this period projected him. When he was born, (Death) opened his mouth (to swallow him). He (the babe) cried ‘Bhan!’ That became speech.
I-ii-5: He thought, ‘If I kill him, I shall be making very little food.’ Through that speech and the mind he projected all this, whatever there is – the Vedas Rig, Yajus and Saman, the metres, the sacrifices, men and animals. Whatever he projected, he resolved to eat. Because he eats everything, therefore Aditi (Death) is so called. He who knows how Aditi came to have this name of Aditi, becomes the eater of all this, and everything becomes his food.
I-ii-6: He desired, ‘Let me sacrifice again with the great sacrifice’. He was tired, and he was distressed. While he was (thus) tired and distressed, his reputation and strength departed. The organs are reputation and strength. When the organs departed, the body began to swell, (but) his mind was set on the body.
I-ii-7: He desired, ‘Let this body of mine be fit for a sacrifice, and let me be embodied through this’, (and entered it). Because the body swelled (Asvat), therefore it came to be called Asva (horse). And because it became fit for a sacrifice, therefore the horse sacrifice came to be known as Asvamedha. He who knows it thus indeed knows the horse sacrifice. (Imagining himself as the horse and) letting it remain free, he reflected (on it). After a year he sacrificed it to himself, and dispatched the (other) animals to the gods. Therefore (priests to this day) sacrifice to Prajapati the sanctified (horse) that is dedicated to all the gods. He who shines yonder is the horse sacrifice; his body is the year. This fire is Arka; its limbs are these worlds. So these two (fire and the sun) are Arka and the horse sacrifice. These two again become the same god, Death. He (who knows thus) conquers further death, death cannot overtake him, it becomes his self, and he becomes one with these deities.
I-iii-1: There were two classes of Prajapati’s sons, the gods and the Asuras. Naturally, the gods were fewer, and the Asuras more in number. They vied with each other for (the mastery of these worlds. The gods said, ‘Now let us surpass the Asuras in (this) sacrifice through the Udgitha’.
I-iii-2: They said to the organ of speech, ‘Chant (the Udgitha) for us’. ‘All right’, said the organ of speech and chanted for them. The common good that comes of the organ of speech, it secured for the gods by chanting, while the fine speaking it utilised for itself. The Asuras knew that through this chanter the gods would surpass them. They charged it and struck it with evil. That evil is what we come across when one speaks improper things.
I-iii-3: Then they said to the nose ‘Chant (the Udgitha) for us’. ‘All right’, said the nose and chanted for them. The common good that comes of the nose, it secured for the gods by chanting, while the fine smelling it utilised for itself. The Asuras knew that through this chanter the gods would surpass them.
They charged it and struck it with evil. That evil is what we come across when one smells improper things.
I-iii-4: Then they said to the eye ‘Chant (the Udgitha) for us’. ‘All right’, said the eye and chanted for them. The common good that comes of the eye, it secured for the gods by chanting, while the fine seeing it utilised for itself. The Asuras knew that through this chanter the gods would surpass them.
They charged it and struck it with evil. That evil is what we come across when one sees improper things.
I-iii-5: Then they said to the ear ‘Chant (the Udgitha) for us’. ‘All right’, said the ear and chanted for them. The common good that comes of the ear, it secured for the gods by chanting, while the fine hearing it utilised for itself. The Asuras knew that through this chanter the gods would surpass them. They charged it and struck it with evil. That evil is what we come across when one hears improper things.
I-iii-6: Then they said to the mind ‘Chant (the Udgitha) for us’. ‘All right’, said the mind and chanted for them. The common good that comes of the mind, it secured for the gods by chanting, while the fine thinking it utilised for itself. The Asuras knew that through this chanter the gods would surpass them. They charged it and struck it with evil. That evil is what we come across when one thinks improper things. Likewise they also touched these (other) deities with evil – struck them with evil.
I-iii-7: Then they said to this vital force in the mouth, ‘Chant (the Udgitha) for us’. ‘All right’, said the vital force and chanted for them. The Asuras knew that through this chanter the gods would surpass them. They charged it and wanted to strike it with evil. But as a clod of earth, striking against a rock, is shattered, so were they shattered, flung in all directions, and perished. Therefore the gods became (fire etc.), and the Asuras were crushed. He who knows thus becomes his true self, and his envious kinsman is crushed.
I-iii-8: They said, ‘Where was he who has thus restored us (to our divinity)?’ (and discovered): ‘Here he is within the mouth’. The vital force is called Ayasya Angirasa, for it is the essence of the members (of the body).
I-iii-9: This deity is called Dur, because death is far from it. Death is far from one who knows thus.
I-iii-10: This deity took away death, the evil of these gods, and carried it to where these quarters end. There it left their evils. Therefore one should not approach a person (of that region), nor go to that region beyond the border, lest one imbibe that evil, death.
I-iii-11: This deity after taking away death, the evil of these gods, next carried them beyond death. I-iii-12: It carried the organ of speech, the foremost one, first. When the organ of speech got rid of death, it became fire. That fire, having transcended death, shines beyond its reach.
I-iii-13: Then it carried the nose. When it got rid of death, it became air. That air, having transcended death, blows beyond its reach.
I-iii-14: Then it carried the eye. When the eye got rid of death, it became sun. That sun, having transcended death, shines beyond its reach.
I-iii-15: Then it carried the ear When the ear got rid of death, it became the quarters. Those quarters, having transcended death, remain beyond its reach.
I-iii-16: Then it carried the mind. When the mind got rid of death, it became the moon. That moon, having transcended death, shines beyond its reach. So does this deity carry one who knows thus beyond death.
I-iii-17: Next it secured eatable food for itself by chanting, for whatever food is eaten, is eaten by the vital force alone, and it rests on that.
I-iii-18: The gods said, ‘Whatever food there is, is just this much, and you have secured it for yourself by chanting. Now let us have a share in this food.’ ‘Then sit around facing me’, (said the vital force). ‘All right’, (said the gods and) sat down around it. Hence whatever food one eats through the vital force satisfies these. So do his relatives sit around facing him who knows thus, and he becomes their support, the greatest among them and their leader, a good eater of food and the ruler of them. That one among his relatives who desires to rival a man of such knowledge is powerless to support his dependants. But one who follows him, or desires to maintain one’s dependants being under him, is alone capable of supporting them.
I-iii-19: It is called Ayasya Angirasa, for it is the essence of the members (of the body). The vital force is indeed the essence of the members. Of course it is their essence. (For instance), from whichever member the vital force departs, right there it withers. Therefore this is of course the essence of the members.
I-iii-20: This alone is also Brihaspati (lord of the Rik). Speech is indeed Brihati (Rik) and this is its lord. Therefore this is also Brihaspati.
I-iii-21: This alone is also Brahmanaspati (lord of the Yajus). Speech is indeed Brahman (yajus), and this is its lord. Therefore this is also Brahmanaspati.
I-iii-22: This alone is also Saman. Speech is indeed Sa, and this is Ama. Because it is Sa (speech) and Ama (vital force), therefore Saman is so called. Or because it is equal to a white ant, equal to a mosquito, equal to an elephant, equal to these three worlds, equal to this universe, therefore this is also Saman. He who knows this saman (vital force) to be such attains union with it, or lives in the same world as it.
I-iii-23: This indeed is also Udgitha. The vital force is indeed Ut, for all this is held aloft by the vital force, and speech alone is Githa. This is Udgitha, because it is Ut and Githa.
I-iii-24: Regarding this (there is) also (a story): Brahmadatta, the great-grandson of Cikitana, while drinking Soma, said, ‘Let this Soma strike off my head if I say that Ayasya Angirasa chanted the Udgitha through any other than this (vital force and speech).’ Indeed he chanted through speech and the vital force.
I-iii-25: He who knows the wealth of this Saman (vital force) attains wealth. Tone is indeed its wealth. Therefore one who is going to officiate as a priest should desire to have a rich tone in his voice, and he should do his priestly duties through that voice with a fine tone. Therefore in a sacrifice people long to see a priest with a good voice, like one who has wealth. He who knows the wealth of saman to be such attains wealth.
I-iii-26: He who knows the gold of this Saman (vital force) obtains gold. Tone is indeed its gold. He who knows the gold of Saman to be such obtains gold.
I-iii-27: He who knows the support of this Saman (vital force) gets a resting place. Speech (certain parts of the body) is indeed its support. For resting on speech is the vital force thus chanted. Some say, resting on food (body).
I-iii-28: Now therefore the edifying repetition (Adhyaroha) only of the hymns called Pavamanas. The priest called Prastotir indeed recites the Saman. While he recites it, these Mantras are to be repeated: From evil lead me to good. From darkness lead me to light. From death lead me to immortality. When the Mantra says, ‘From evil lead me to good’, ‘evil’ means death, and ‘good’ immortality; so it says, ‘From death lead me to immortality, i.e. make me immortal’. When it says, ‘From darkness lead me to light’, ‘darkness’ means death, and ‘light’, immortality; so it says, ‘From death lead me to immortality, or make me immortal’. In the dictum, ‘From death lead me to immortality’, the meaning does not seem to be hidden. Then through the remaining hymns (the chanter) should secure eatable food for himself by chanting. Therefore, while they are being chanted, the sacrificer should ask for a boon – anything that he desires. Whatever objects this chanter possessed of such knowledge desires, either for himself or for the sacrificer, he secures them by chanting. This (meditation) certainly wins the world (Hiranyagarbha). He who knows the Saman (vital force) as such has not to pray lest he be unfit for this world.
I-iv-1: In the beginning, this (universe) was but the self (Viraj) of a human form. He reflected and found nothing else but himself. He first uttered, '‘ am he'’ Therefore he was called Aham (I). Hence, to this day, when a person is addressed, he first says, ‘It is I,’ and then says the other name that he may have. Because he was first and before this whole (band of aspirants) burnt all evils, therefore he is called Purusha. He who knows thus indeed burns one who wants to be (Viraj) before him.
I-iv-2: He was afraid. Therefore people (still) are afraid to be alone. He thought, ‘If there is nothing else but me, what am I afraid of ?’ From that alone his fear was gone, for what was there to fear ? It is from a second entity that fear comes.
I-iv-3: He was not at all happy. Therefore people (still) are not happy when alone. He desired a mate. He became as big as man and wife embracing each other. He parted this very body into two. From that came husband and wife. Therefore, said Yajnavalkya, this (body) is one-half of oneself, like one of the two halves of a split pea. Therefore this space is indeed filled by the wife. He was united with her.
From that men were born.
I-iv-4: She thought, ‘How can he be united with me after producing me from himself ? Well let me hide myself’. She became a cow, the other became a bull and was united with her; from that cows were born. The one became a mare, the other a stallion; the one became a she-ass, the other became a he-ass and was united with her; from that onehoofed animals were born. The one became a she-goat, the other a he-goat; the one became a ewe, the other became a ram and was united with her; from that goats and sheep were born. Thus did he project every thing that exists in pairs, down to the ants.
I-iv-5: He knew, ‘I indeed am the creation, for I projected all this’. Therefore he was called Creation. He who knows this as such becomes (a creator) in this creation of Viraj.
I-iv-6: Then he rubbed back and forth thus, and produced fire from its source, the mouth and the hands. Therefore both these are without hair at the inside. When they talk of particular gods, saying, ‘Sacrifice to him’, ‘sacrifice to the other one’, (they are wrong, since) these are all his projection, for he is all the gods. Now all this that is liquid, he produced from the seed. That is Soma. This universe is indeed this much – food and the eater of food. Soma is food, and fire the eater of food. This is super-creation of Viraj that he projected the gods, who are even superior to him. Because he, although mortal himself, projected the immortals, therefore this is a super-creation. He who knows this as such becomes (a creator) in this super-creation of Viraj.
I-iv-7: This (universe) was then undifferentiated. It differentiated only into name and form – it was called such and such, and was of such and such form. So to this day it is differentiated only into name and form – it is called such and such, and is of such and such form. This Self has entered into these bodies up to the tip of the nails – as a razor may be put in its case, or as fire, which sustains the world, may be in its source. People do not see It, for (viewed in Its aspects) It is incomplete. When It does the function of living. It is called the vital force; when It speaks, the organ of speech; when It sees, the eye; when It hears, the ear; and when It thinks, the mind. These are merely Its names according to functions. He who meditates upon each of this totality of aspects does not know, for It is incomplete, (being divided) from this totality by possessing a single characteristic. The Self alone is to be meditated upon, for all these are unified in It. Of all these, this Self should be realised, for one knows all these through It, just as one may get (an animal) through its foot-prints. He who knows It as such obtains fame and association (with his relatives).
I-iv-8: This Self is dearer than a son, dearer than wealth, dearer than everything else, and is innermost. Should a person (holding the Self as dear) say to one calling anything else dearer than the Self, ‘(what you hold) dear will die’ – he is certainly competent (to say so) – it will indeed come true. One should meditate upon the Self alone as dear. Of him who meditates upon the Self alone as dear, the dear ones are not mortal.
I-iv-9: They say: Men think, ‘Through the knowledge of Brahman we shall become all’. Well, what did that Brahman know by which It became all ?
I-iv-10: This (self) was indeed Brahman in the beginning. It knew only Itself as, ‘I am Brahman’. Therefore It became all. And whoever among the gods knew It also became That; and the same with sages and men. The sage Vamadeva, while realising this (self) as That, knew, ‘I was Manu, and the sun’. And to this day whoever in like manner knows It as, ‘I am Brahman’, becomes all this (universe). Even the gods cannot prevail against him, for he becomes their self. While he who worships another god thinking, ‘He is one, and I am another’, does not know. He is like an animal to the gods. As many animals serve a man, so does each man serve the gods. Even if one animal is taken away, it causes anguish, what should one say of many animals ? Therefore it is not liked by them that men should know this.
I-iv-11: In the beginning this (the Kshatriya and other castes) was indeed Brahman, one only. Being one, he did not flourish. He specially projected an excellent form, the Kshatriya – those who are Kshatriyas among the gods: Indra, Varuna, the moon, Rudra, Parjanya, Yama, Death, and Isana.
Therefore there is none higher than the Kshatriya. Hence the Brahmana worships the Kshatriya from a lower position in the Rajasuya sacrifice. He imparts that glory to the Kshatriya. The Brahmana is the source of the Kshatriya. Therefore, although the king attains supremacy (in the sacrifice), at the end of it he resorts to the Brahmana, his source. He who slights the Brahmana, strikes at his own source. He becomes more wicked, as one is by slighting one’s superior.
I-iv-12: Yet he did not flourish. He projected the Vaisya – those species of gods who are designated in groups: the Vasus, Rudras, Adityas, Visvadevas and Maruts.
I-iv-13: He did not still flourish. He projected the Sudra caste – Pusan. This (earth) is Pusan. For it nourishes all this that exists.
I-iv-14: Yet he did not flourish. He specially projected that excellent form, righteousness (Dharma). This righteousness is the controller of the Kshatriya. Therefore there is nothing higher than that. (So) even a weak man hopes (to defeat) a stronger man through righteousness, as (one contending) with the king. That righteousness, as (one contending) with the king. That righteousness is verily truth.
Therefore they say about a person speaking of truth, ‘He speaks of righteousness’, or about a person speaking of righteousness, ‘He speaks of truth’, for both these are but righteousness.
I-iv-15: (So) these (four castes were projected) – the Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra. He became a Brahmana among the gods as Fore, and among men as the Brahmana. (He became) a Kshatriya through the (divine) Kshatriyas, a Vaisya through the (divine) Vaisyas and a Sudra through the (divine) Sudra. Therefore people desire to attain the results of their rites among the gods through fire, and among men as the Brahmana. For Brahman was in these two forms. If, however, anybody departs from this world without realising his own world (the Self), It, being unknown, does not protect him – as the Vedas not studied, or any other work not undertaken (do not). Even if a man who does not know It as such performs a great many meritorious acts in the world, those acts of his are surely exhausted in the end. One should meditate only upon the world of the Self. He who meditates only upon the world called the Self never has his work exhausted. From this very Self he projects whatever he wants.
I-iv-16: Now this self (the ignorant man) is an object of enjoyment to all beings. That he makes oblations in the fire and performs sacrifices is how he becomes such an object to the gods. That he studies the Vedas is how he becomes an object of enjoyment to the Rishis (sages). That he makes offerings to the Manes and desires children is how he becomes such an object to the Manes. That he gives shelter to men as well as food is how he becomes an object of enjoyment to men. That he gives fodder and water to the animals is how he becomes such an object to hem. And that beasts and birds, and even the ants, feed in his home is how he becomes an object of enjoyment to these. Just as one wishes safety to one’s body, so do all beings wish safety to him who knows it as such. This indeed has been known, and discussed.
I-iv-17: This (aggregate of desirable objects) was but the self in the beginning – the only entity. He desired, ‘Let me have a wife, so that I may be born (as the child). And let me have wealth, so that I may perform rites’. This much indeed is (the range of) desire. Even if one wishes, one cannot get more than this. Therefore to this day a man being single desires, ‘Let me have a wife, so that I may be born. And let me have wealth, so that I may perform rites.’ Until he obtains each one of these, he considers himself incomplete. His completeness also (comes thus): The mind is his self, speech his wife, the vital force his child, the eye his human wealth, for he obtains it through the eye, the ear his divine wealth, for he hears of it through the ear, and the body is its (instrument of) rite, for he performs rites through the body. (So) this sacrifice has five factors – the animals have five factors, the men have five factors, and all this that exists has five factors. He who knows it as such attains all this.
I-v-1: That the father produced seven kinds of food through meditation and rites (I shall disclose). One is common to all eaters. Two he apportioned to the gods. Three he designed for himself. And one he gave to the animals. On it rests everything – what lives and what does not. Why are they not exhausted, although they are always being eaten ? He who knows this cause of their permanence eats food with Pratika (pre-eminence). He attains (identity with) the gods and lives on nectar. These are the verses.
I-v-2: ‘That the father produced seven kinds of food through meditation and rites’ means that the father indeed produced them through meditation and rites. ‘One is common to all eaters’ means, this food that is eaten is the common food of all eaters. He who adores (monopolises) this food is never free from evil, for this is general food. ‘Two he apportioned to the gods’ means making oblations in the fire, and offering presents otherwise to the gods. Therefore people perform both these. Some, however, say, those two are the new and full moon sacrifices. Therefore one should not be engrossed with sacrifices for material ends. ‘One he gave to the animals’ – it is milk. For men and animals first live on milk alone. Therefore they first make a new-born babe lick clarified butter or suckle it. And they speak of a new-born calf as not yet eating grass. ‘On it rests everything – what lives and what does not’ means that on milk indeed rests all this that lives and that does not. It is said that by making offerings of milk in the fire for a year one conquers further death. One should not think like that. He who knows as above conquers further death the very day he makes that offering, for he offers all eatable food to the gods, ‘Why are they not exhausted, although they are always being eaten ?’ – means that the being (eater) is indeed the cause of their permanence, for the produces this food again and again. ‘He who knows this cause of their permanence’ means that the being (eater) is indeed the cause of their permanence, for he produces this food through his meditation for the time being and rites. If he does not do this, it will be exhausted. ‘He eats food with Pratika’; ‘Pratika’ means pre-eminence; hence the meaning is, pre-eminently. ‘He attains the gods and lives on nectar’ is a eulogy.
I-v-3: ‘Three he designed for himself’ means: the mind, the organ of speech and the vital force; these he designed for himself. (They say), ‘I was absent-minded, I did not see it’, ‘I was absent-minded, I did not hear it’. It is through the mind that one sees and hears. Desires, resolve, doubt, faith, want of faith, steadiness, unsteadiness, shame, intelligence and fear – all these are but the mind. Even if one is touched from behind, one knows it through the mind; therefore (the mind exists). And any kind of sound is but the organ of speech, for it serves to determine a thing, but it cannot itself be revealed.
Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana, Samana and Ana - all these are but the vital forces. This body is identified with these – with the organ of speech, the mind and the vital force.
I-v-4: These are the three worlds. The organ of speech is this world (the earth), the mind is the sky, and the vital force is that world (heaven).
I-v-5: These are the three Vedas. The organ of speech is the Rig-Veda, the mind is the Yajur-Veda and the vital force the Sama-Veda.
I-v-6: These are the gods, the Manes and men. The organ of speech is the gods, the mind the Manes, and the vital force men.
I-v-7: These are the father, mother and child. The mind is the father, the organ of speech the mother, and the vital force the child.
I-v-8: These are what is known, what it is desirable to know, and what is unknown. Whatever is known is a form of the organ of speech, for it is the knower. The organ of speech protects him (who knows this) by becoming that (which is known).
I-v-9: Whatever it is desirable to know is a form of the mind, for the mind is what it is desirable to know. The mind protects him (who knows this) by becoming that (which it is desirable to know).
I-v-10: Whatever is unknown is a form of the vital force, for the vital force is what is unknown. The vital force protects him (who knows this) by becoming that (which is unknown).
I-v-11: The earth is the body of that organ of speech, and this fire is its luminous organ. And as far as the organ of speech extends, so far extends the earth and so far does this fire.
I-v-12: Heaven is the body of this mind, and that sun is its luminous organ. And as far as the mind extends, so far extends heaven, and so far does that sun. The two were united, and from that the vital force emanated. It is the Supreme Lord. It is without a rival. A second being is indeed a rival. He who knows it as such has no rival.
I-v-13: Water is the body of this vital force, and that moon is its luminous organ. And as far as the vital force extends, so far extends water, and so far does that moon. These are all equal, and all infinite. He who meditates upon these as finite wins a finite world, but he who meditates upon these as infinite wins an infinite world.
I-v-14: This Prajapati (Hiranyagarbha) has sixteen digits and is represented by the year. The nights (and days) are his fifteen digits, and the constant one is his sixteenth digit. He (as the moon) is filled as well as wasted by the nights (and days). Through this sixteenth digit he permeates all these living beings on the new-moon night and rises the next morning. Therefore on this night one should not take the life of living beings, not even of a chameleon, in adoration of this deity alone.
I-v-15: That Prajapati who has sixteen digits and is represented by the year is indeed this man who knows as above. Wealth constitutes his fifteen digits, and the body his sixteenth digit. He is filled as well as wasted by wealth. This body stands for a nave, and wealth is the felloe. Therefore if a man loses everything, but he himself lives, people say that he has only lost his outfit.
I-v-16: There are indeed three worlds, the world of men, the world of the Manes and the world of the gods. This world of men is to be won through the son alone, and by no other rite; the world of the Manes through rites; and the world of the gods through meditation. The world of the gods is the best of the worlds. Therefore they praise meditation.
I-v-17: Now therefore the entrusting: When a man thinks he will die, he says to his son, ‘You are Brahman, you are the sacrifice, and you are the world’. The son replies, ‘I am Brahman, I am the sacrifice, and I am the world.’ (The father thinks ‘Whatever is studied is all unified in the word "Brahman". Whatever sacrifices there are, are all unified in the word "sacrifice". And whatever worlds there are, are all unified in the world "world". All this (the duties of a householder) is indeed this much. He, being all this, will protect me from (the ties of) this world.’ Therefor they speak of an educated son as being conducive to the world. Hence (a father) teaches his son. When a father who knows as above departs from this world, he penetrates his son together with the organ of speech, the mind and the vital force. Should anything be left undone by him through any slip the son exonerates him from all that.
Therefore he is called a son. The father lives in this world through the son. Divine and immortal speech, mind and vital force permeate him.
I-v-18: The divine organ of speech from the earth and fire permeates him. That is the divine organ of speech through which whatever he says is fulfilled.
I-v-19: The divine mind from heaven and the sun permeates him. That is the divine mind through which he only becomes happy and never mourns.
I-v-20: The divine vital force from water and the moon permeates him. That is the divine vital force which, when it moves or does not move, feels no pain nor is injured. He who knows as above becomes the self of all beings. As is this deity (Hiranyagarbha), so is he. As all beings take care of this deity, so do they take care of him. Howsoever these beings may grieve, that grief of theirs is connected with them. But only merit goes to him. No demerit ever goes to the gods.
I-v-21: Now a consideration of the vow: Prajapati projected the organs. These, on being projected, quarrelled with one another. The organ of speech took a vow, ‘I will go on speaking’. The eye: ‘I will see’. The ear: ‘I will hear’. And so did the other organs according to their functions. Death captured them in the form of fatigue – it overtook the, and having overtaken them it controlled them. Therefore the organ of speech invariably gets tired, and so do the eye and the ear. But death did not overtake this vital force in the body. The organs resolved to know it. ‘This is the greatest among us that, when it moves or does not move, feels no pain nor is injured. Well, let us all be of its form.’ They all assumed its form. Therefore they are called by this name of ‘Prana’. That family in which a man is born who knows as above, is indeed named after him. And he who competes with one who knows as above shrivels, and after shrivelling dies at the end. This is with reference to the body.
I-v-22: Now with reference to the gods: Fire took a vow, ‘I will go on burning.’ The sun: ‘I will give heat’. The moon: ‘I will shine’. And so did the other gods according to their functions. As is the vital force in the body among these organs, so is Vayu (air) among these gods. Other gods sink, but not air.
Air is the deity that never sets.
I-v-23: Now there is this verse; ‘The gods observed the vow of that from which the sun rises and in which he sets. It is (followed) to-day, and it will be (followed) to-morrow.’ The sun indeed rises from the vital force and also sets in it. What these (gods) observed then, they observe to this day. Therefore a man should observe a single vow – do the functions of the Prana and Apana (respiration and excretion), lest the evil of death (fatigue) should overtake him. And if he observes it, he should seek to finish it.
Through it he attains identity with this deity, or lives in the same world with it.
I-vi-1: This (universe) indeed consists of three things: name, form and action. Of those names, speech (sound in general) is the Uktha (source), for all names spring from it. It is their Saman (common feature), for it is common to all names. It is their Brahman (self), for it sustains all names.
I-vi-2: Now of forms the eye (anything visible) is the Uktha (source), for all forms spring from it. It is their Saman (common feature), for it is common to all forms. It is their Brahman (self), for it sustains all forms.
I-vi-3: And of actions the body (activity) is the Uktha (source), for all actions spring from it. It is their Saman (common feature), for it is common to all actions. It is their Brahman (self), for it sustains all actions. These three together are one – this body, and the body, although one, is these three. This immortal entity is covered by truth (the five elements): The vital force is the immortal entity, and name and form and truth; (so) this vital force is covered by them.
II-i-1: Om. There was a man of the Garga family called Proud Balaki, who was a speaker. He said to Ajatasatru, the king of Benares, ‘I will tell you about Brahman’. Ajatasatru said, ‘For this proposal I give you a thousand (cows). People indeed rush saying "Janaka, Janaka". (I too have some of his qualities.)’
II-i-2: Gargya said, ‘That being who is in the sun, I meditate upon as Brahman’. Ajatasatru said, ‘Please don’t talk about him. I meditate upon him as all-surpassing, as the head of all beings and as resplendent. He who meditates upon him as such becomes all-surpassing, the head of all beings and resplendent.
II-i-3: Gargya said, ‘that being who is in the moon, I meditate upon as Brahman’. Ajatasatru said, "Please don’t talk about him. I meditate upon him as the great, white-robed, radiant Soma.’ He who meditates upon him as such has abundant Soma pressed in his principal and auxiliary sacrifices every day, and his food never gets short.
II-i-4: Gargya said, ‘That being who is in lightning, I meditate upon as Brahman’. Ajatasatru said, "Please don’t talk about him. I meditate upon him as powerful’. He who meditates upon him as such becomes powerful, and his progeny too becomes powerful.
II-i-5: Gargya said, ‘This being who is in the ether, I meditate upon as Brahman’. Ajatasatru said, "Please don’t talk about him. I meditate upon him as full and unmoving’. He who meditates upon him as such is filled with progeny and cattle, and his progeny is never extinct from this world.
II-i-6: Gargya said, ‘This being who is in air, I meditate upon as Brahman’. Ajatasatru said, "Please don’t talk about him. I meditate upon him as the Lord, as irresistible, and as the unvanquished army.’ He who meditates upon him as such ever becomes victorious and invincible, and conquers his enemies. II-i-7: Gargya said, ‘This being who is in fire, I meditate upon as Brahman’. Ajatasatru said, "Please don’t talk about him. I meditate upon him as forbearing’. He who meditates upon him as such becomes forbearing, and his progeny too becomes forbearing.
II-i-8: Gargya said, ‘This being who is in water, I meditate upon as Brahman’. Ajatasatru said, "Please don’t talk about him. I meditate upon him as agreeable’. He who meditates upon him as such has only agreeable things coming to him, and not contrary ones; also from him are born children who are agreeable.
II-i-9: Gargya said, ‘This being who is in a looking-glass, I meditate upon as Brahman’. Ajatasatru said, "Please don’t talk about him. I meditate upon him as shining’. He who meditates upon him as such becomes shining, and his progeny too becomes shining. He also outshines all those with whom he comes in contact.
II-i-10: Gargya said, ‘This sound that issues behind a man as he walks, I meditate upon as Brahman’. Ajatasatru said, "Please don’t talk about him. I meditate upon him as life’. He who meditates upon him as such attains his full term of life in this world, and life does not depart from him before the completion of that term.
II-i-11: Gargya said, ‘This being who is in the quarters, I meditate upon as Brahman’. Ajatasatru said, "Please don’t talk about him. I meditate upon him as second and as non-separating’. He who meditates upon him as such gets companions, and his followers never depart from him.
II-i-12: Gargya said, ‘This being who identifies himself with the shadow, I meditate upon as Brahman’. Ajatasatru said, "Please don’t talk about him. I meditate upon him as death’. He who meditates upon him as such attains his full term of life in this world, and death does not overtake him before the completion of that term.
II-i-13: Gargya said, ‘This being who is in the self, I meditate upon as Brahman’. Ajatasatru said, "Please don’t talk about him. I meditate upon him as self-possessed.’ He who meditates upon him as such becomes self-possessed, and his progeny too becomes self-possessed. Gargya remained silent.
II-i-14: Ajatasatru said, ‘is this all ?’ ‘This is all’. ‘By knowing this much one cannot know (Brahman)’. Gargya said, ‘I approach you as a student’.
II-i-15: Ajatasatru said, ‘It is contrary to usage that a Brahmana should approach a Kshatriya thinking, "he will teach me about Brahman". However I will instruct you’. Taking Gargya by the hand he rose. They came to a sleeping man. (Ajatasatru) addressed him by these names, Great, White-robed, radiant, Soma’. The man did not get up. (The King) pushed him with the hand till he awoke. Then he got up.
II-i-16: Ajatasatru said, ‘When this being full of consciousness (identified with the mind) was thus asleep, where was it, and whence did it thus come ?’ Gargya did not know that.
II-i-17: Ajatasatru said, ‘When this being full of consciousness is thus asleep, it absorbs at the time the functions of the organs through its own consciousness, and lies in the Akasa (Supreme Self) that is in the heart. When this being absorbs them, it is called Svapiti. Then the nose is absorbed, the organ of speech is absorbed, the eye is absorbed, the ear is absorbed, and the mind is absorbed’.
II-i-18: When it thus remains in the dream state, these are its achievements: It then becomes an emperor, as it were, or a noble Brahmana, as it were, or attains states high or low, as it were. As an emperor, taking his citizens, moves about as he pleases in his own territory, so does it, thus taking the organs, move about as it pleases in its own body.
II-i-19: Again when it becomes fast asleep – when it does not know anything – it comes back along the seventy-two thousand nerves called Hita, which extend from the heart to the pericardium (the whole body), and remains in the body. As a baby, or an emperor, or a noble Brahmana lives, having attained the acme of bliss, so does it remain.
II-i-20: As a spider moves along the thread (it produces), and as from a fire tiny sparks fly in all directions, so from this Self emanate all organs, all worlds, all gods and all beings. Its secret name (Upanishad) is ‘the Truth of Truth’. The vital force is truth, and It is the Truth of that.
II-ii- 1: He who knows the calf with its abode, its special resort, its post and its tether kills his seven envions kinsmen: the vital force in the body is indeed the calf; this body is its abode, the head its special resort, strength its post, and food its tether.
II-ii- 2: These seven gods that prevent decay worship it: Through these pink lines in the eye Rudra attends on it; through the water that is in the eye, Parjanya; through the pupil, the sun; through the dark portion, fire; through the white portion, Indra; through the lower eye-lid the earth attends on it; and through the upper eye-lid, heaven. He who knows it as such never has any decrease of food.
II-ii- 3: Regarding this there is the following pithy verse: ‘there is a bowl that has its opening below and bulges at the top; various kinds of knowledge have been put in it; seven sages sit by its side, and the organ of speech, which has communication with the Vedas, is the eighth’. The ‘bowl that has its opening below and bulges at the top’ is the head of ours, for it is the bowl that has its opening below and bulges at the top. ‘various kinds of knowledge have been put in it’, refers to the organs; these indeed represent various kinds of knowledge. ‘Seven sages sit by its side’, refers to the organs; they indeed are the sages. ‘The organ of speech, which has communication with the Vedas, is the eighth’, because the organ of speech is the eighth and communicates with the Vedas.
II-ii- 4: These two (ears) are Gotama and Bharadvaja: this one is Gotama, and this one is Bharadvaja: These two (eyes) are Visvamitra and Jamadagni: this one is Visvamitra, and this one Jamadagni. These two (nostrils) are Vasistha, and Kashyapa: this one is Vasistha, and this one Kashyapa: the tongue is Atri, for through the tongue food is eaten. ‘Atri’ is but this name ‘Atti’. He who knows it as such becomes the eater of all, and everything becomes his food.
II-iii- 1: Brahman has but two forms – gross and subtle, mortal and immortal, limited and unlimited, defined and undefined.
II-iii- 2: The gross (form) is that which is other than air and the ether. It is mortal, it is limited, and it is defined. The essence of that which is gross, mortal, limited and defined is the sun that shines, for it is the essence of the defined.
II-iii- 3: Now the subtle – it is air and the ether. It is immortal, it is unlimited, and it is undefined. The essence of that which is subtle, immortal, unlimited and undefined is the being that is in the sun, for that is the essence of the undefined. This is with reference to the gods.
II-iii- 4: Now with reference to the body: the gross form is but this – what is other than (the corporeal) air and the ether that is in the body. It is mortal, it is limited and it is defined. The essence of that which is gross, mortal, limited and defined is the eye, for it is the essence of the defined.
II-iii- 5: Now the subtle – it is (the corporeal) air and the ether that is in the body. It is immortal, it is unlimited, and it is undefined. The essence of that which is subtle, immortal, unlimited and undefined is this being that is in the right eye, for this is the essence of the undefined.
II-iii- 6: The form of that ‘being’ is as follows: like a cloth dyed with turmeric, or like grey sheep’s wool, or like the (scarlet) insect called Indragopa, or like a tongue of fire, or like a white lotus, or like a flash of lightning. He who knows it as such attains splendour like a flash of lightning. Now therefore the description (of Brahman): ‘Not this, not this’. Because there is no other and more appropriate description than this ‘Not this’. Now Its name: ‘The Truth of truth’. The vital force is truth, and It is the Truth of that.
II-iv- 1: ‘Maitreyi, my dear’, said Yajnavalkya, ‘I am going to renounce this life. Allow me to finish between you and Katyayani’.
II-iv- 2: Thereupon Maitreyi said, ‘Sir, if indeed this whole earth full of wealth be mine, shall I be immortal through that ?’ ‘No’, replied Yajnavalkya, ‘your life will be just like that of people who have plenty of things, but there is no hope of immortality through wealth.’
II-iv- 3: Then Maitreyi said, ‘What shall I do with that which will not make me immortal? Tell me, sir, of that alone which you know (to be the only means of immortality).’
II-iv- 4: Yajnavalkya said, ‘My dear, you have been my beloved (even before), and you say what is after my heart. Come, take your seat, I will explain it to you. As I explain it, meditate (on its meaning).
II-iv- 5: He said: ‘It is not for the sake of the husband, my dear, that he is loved, but for one’s own sake that he is loved. It is not for the sake of the wife, my dear, that she is loved, but for one’s own sake that she is loved. It is not for the sake of the sons, my dear, that they are loved, but for one’s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of wealth, my dear, that it is loved, but for one’s own sake that it is loved. It is not for the sake of the Brahmana, my dear, that he is loved, but for one’s own sake that he is loved. It is not for the sake of the Kshatriya, my dear, that he is loved, but for one’s own sake that he is oved. It is not for the sake of worlds, my dear, that they are loved, but for one’s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of the gods, my dear, that they are loved, but for one’s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of beings, my dear, that they are loved, but for one’s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of all, my dear, that all is loved, but for one’s own sake that it is loved. The Self, my dear Maitreyi, should be realised – should be heard of, reflected on and meditated upon. By the realisation of the Self, my dear, through hearing, reflection and meditation, all this is known.
II-iv- 6: The Brahmana ousts (slights) one who knows him as different from the Self. The Kshatriya ousts one who knows him as different from the Self. Worlds oust one who knows them as different from the Self. The gods oust one who knows them as different from the Self. Beings oust one who knows them as different from the Self. All ousts one who knows it as different from the Self. This Brahmana, this Kshatriya, these worlds, these gods, these beings, and this all are this Self.
II-iv-7: As, when a drum is beaten, one cannot distinguish its various particular notes, but they are included in the general note of the drum or in the general sound produced by different kinds of strokes. II-iv-8: As, when a conch is blown, one cannot distinguish its various particular notes, but they are included in the general note of the conch or in the general sound produced by different kinds of playing.
II-iv-9: As, when a Vina is played, one cannot distinguish its various particular notes, but they are included in the general note of the Vina or in the general sound produced by different kinds of playing. II-iv-10: As from a fire kindled with wet faggot diverse kinds of smoke issue, even so, my dear, the Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda, Atharvangirasa, history, mythology, arts, Upanishads, pithy verses, aphorisms, elucidations and explanations are (like) the breath of this infinite Reality. They are like the breath of this (Supreme Self).
II-iv-11: As the ocean is the one goal of all sorts of water, as the skin is the one goal of all kinds of touch, as the nostrils are the one goal of all odours, as the tongue is the one goal of all savours, as the eye is the one goal of all colours , as the ear is the one goal of all sounds, as the Manas is the one goal of all deliberations, as the intellect is the one goal of all kinds of knowledge, as the hands are the one goal of all sort of work, as the organ of generation is the one goal of all kinds of enjoyment, as the anus is the one goal of all excretions, as the feet are the one goal of all kinds of walking, as the organ of speech is the one goal of all Vedas.
II-iv-12: As a lump of salt dropped into water dissolves with (its component) water, and no one is able to pick it up, but from wheresoever one takes it, it tastes salt, even so, my dear, this great, endless, infinite Reality is but Pure Intelligence. (The Self) comes out (as a separate entity) from these elements, and (this separateness) is destroyed with them. After attaining (this oneness) it has no more consciousness. This is what I say, my dear. So said Yajnavalkya.
II-iv-13: Maitreyi said, ‘Just here you have thrown me into confusion, sir – by saying that after attaining (oneness) the self has no more consciousness’. Yajnavalkya said, ‘Certainly, I am not saying anything confusing, my dear; this is quite sufficient for knowledge, O Maitreyi’.
II-iv-14: Because when there is duality, as it were, then one smells something, one sees something, one hears something, one speaks something, one thinks something, one knows something. (But) when to the knower of Brahman everything has become the self, then what should one smell and through what, what should one see and through what, what should one hear and through what, what should one speak and through what, what should one think and through what, what should one know and through what ? Through what should one know That owing to which all this is known – through what, O Maitreyi, should one know the Knower ?
II-v-1: This earth is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this earth. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this earth, and the shining, immortal, corporeal being in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This (Self-knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
II-v-2: This water is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this water. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this water, and the shining, immortal being identified with the seed in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This (Self-knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
II-v- 3: This fire is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this fire. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this fire, and the shining, immortal being identified with the organ of speech in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This (Self-knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
II-v- 4: This air is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this air. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this air, and the shining, immortal being who is the vital force in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This (Self-knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
II-v- 5: This sun is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this sun. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this sun, and the shining, immortal being identified with the eye in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This (Self-knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
II-v- 6: These quarters is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to these quarters. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is these quarters, and the shining, immortal being identified with the ear and with the time of hearing in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This (Self-knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
II-v- 7: This moon is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this moon. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this moon, and the shining, immortal being identified with the mind in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This (Self-knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
II-v- 8: This lightning is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this lightning. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this lightning, and the shining, immortal being identified with light in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This (Self-knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
II-v-9: This cloud is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this cloud. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this cloud, and the shining, immortal being identified with sound and voice in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This (Self-knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
II-v-10: This ether is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this ether. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this ether, and the shining, immortal being identified with the ether in the heart, in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This (Self-knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
II-v-11: This righteousness (Dharma) is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this righteousness. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this righteousness, and the shining, immortal being identified with righteousness in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This (Self-knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
II-v-12: This truth is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this truth. (The same
with) the shining immortal being who is in this truth, and the shining, immortal being identified with truth in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This (Self-knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
II-v-13: This human species is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this human species. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this human species, and the shining, immortal being identified with the human species in the body. (These four) are but this Self. This (Self-knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
II-v-14: This (cosmic) body is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey to this (cosmic) body. (The same with) the shining immortal being who is in this (cosmic) body, and the shining, immortal being who is this (individual) self. (These four) are but this Self. This (Self-knowledge) is (the means of) immortality; this (underlying unity) is Brahman; this (knowledge of Brahman) is (the means of becoming) all.
II-v-15: This Self, already mentioned, is the ruler of all beings, and the king of all beings. Just as all the spokes are fixed in the nave and the felloe of a chariot-wheel, so are all beings, all gods, all worlds, all organs and all these (individual) selves fixed in this Self.
II-v-16: This is that meditation on things mutually helpful which Dadhyac, versed in the Atharva-Veda, taught the Asvins. Perceiving this the Rishi (Mantra) said, ‘O Asvins in human form, that terrible deed called Damsa which you committed out of greed, I will disclose as a cloud does rain – (how you learnt) the meditation on things mutually helpful that Dadhyac, versed in the Atharva-Veda, taught you through a horse’s head.
II-v-17: This is that meditation on things mutually helpful which Dadhyac, versed in the Atharva-Veda, taught the Asvins. Perceiving this the Rishi said, ‘O Asvins, you set a horse’s head on (the shoulders of) Dadhyac, versed in the Atharva-Veda. O terrible ones, to keep his word, he taught you the (ritualistic) meditation on things mutually helpful connected with the sun, as also the secret (spiritual) meditation on them.’
II-v-18: This is that meditation on things mutually helpful which Dadhyac, versed in the Atharva-Veda, taught the Asvins. Perceiving this the Rishi said, ‘He made bodies with two feet and bodies with four feet. That supreme Being first entered the bodies as a bird (the subtle body).’ On account of his dwelling in all bodies, He is called the Purusha. There is nothing that is not covered by Him, nothing that is not pervaded by Him.
II-v-19: This is that meditation on things mutually helpful which Dadhyac, versed in the Atharva-Veda, taught the Asvins. Perceiving this the Rishi said, ‘(He) transformed Himself in accordance with each form; that form of His was for the sake of making Him known. The Lord on account of Maya (notions superimposed by ignorance) is perceived as manifold, for to Him are yoked ten organs, nay, hundreds of them. He is the organs; He is ten and thousands – many and infinite. That Brahman is without prior or posterior, without interior or exterior. This self, the perceiver of everything, is Brahman. This is the teaching.
II-vi-1: Now the line of teachers: Pautimasya (received it) from Gaupavana. Gaupavana from another Pautimasya. This Pautimasya from another Gaupavana. This Gaupavana from Kausika. Kausika from Kaundinya. Kaundinya from Sandilya. Sandilya from Kausika and Gautama. Gautama –
II-vi- 2: From Agnivesya. Agnivesya from Sandilya and Anabhimlata. Anabhimlata from another of that name. He from a third Anabhimlata. This Anabhimlata from Gautama. Gautama from Saitava and Pracinayogya. They from Parasarya. Parasarya from Bharadvaja. He from Bharadvaja and Gautama.
Gautama from another Bharadvaja. He from another Parasarya. Parasarya from Baijavapayana. He from Kausikayani. Kausikayani –
II-vi- 3: From Ghrtakausika. Ghrtakausika from Parasaryayana. He from Parasarya. Parasarya from Jatukarnya. Jatukarnya from Asurayana and Yaska. Asurayana from Traivani. Traivani from Aupajandhani. He from Asuri. Asuri from Bharadvaja. Bharadvaja from Atreya. Atreya from Manti. Manti from Gautama. Gautama from another Gautama. He from Vatsya. Vatsya from Sandilya.
Sandilya from Kaisorya Kapya. He from Kumaraharita. Kumaraharita from Galava. Galava from Vidarbhi-kaundinya. He from Vatsanapat Babhrava. He from Pathin Saubhara. He from Ayasya Angirasa. He from Abhuti Tvastra. He from Visvarupa Tvastra. He from the Asvins. They from Dadhyac Atharvana. He from Atharvan Daiva. He from Mrtyu Pradhvamsana. He from Pradhvamsana. Pradhvamsana from Ekarsi. Ekarsi from Viprachitti. Viprachitti from Vyasri. Vyasti from Sanaru.
Sanaru from Sanatana. Sanatana from Sanaga. Sanaga from Paramesthin (Viraj). He from Brahman (Hiranyabarbha). Brahman is self born. Salutation to Brahman.
III-i- 1: Om. Janaka, Emperor of Videha, performed a sacrifice in which gifts were freely distributed. Vedic scholars from Kuru and Panchala were assembled there. Emperor Janaka of Videha had a desire to know, ‘Which is the most erudite of these Vedic scholars ?’ He had a thousand cows confined in a pen, and on the horns of each cow were fixed ten Padas (of gold).
III-i- 2: He said to them, ‘Revered Brahmanas, let him who is the best Vedic scholar among you drive these cows (home).’ None of the Brahmanas dared. Then Yajnavalkya said to a pupil of his, ‘Dear Samasravas, please drive these cows (home).’ He drove them. The Brahmanas were enraged. ‘How does he dare to call himself the best Vedic scholar among us ?’ there was a Hotr of Emperor Janaka of Videha named Asvala. He now asked Yajnavalkya, ‘Yajnavalkya, are you indeed the best Vedic scholar among us ?’ Yajnavalkya replied, ‘I bow to the best Vedic scholar, I just want the cows’. Thereupon the Hotr Asvala determined to interrogate him.
III-i- 3: ‘Yajnavalkya’, said he, ‘since all this is overtaken by death, and swayed by it, by what means does the sacrificer go beyond the clutches of death ?’ ‘Through the organ of speech – through fire, which is the (real) priest called Hotr. The sacrificer’s organ of speech is the Hotr. This organ of speech is fire; this fire is the Hotr; this (fire) is liberation; this (liberation) is emancipation’.
III-i- 4: ‘Yajnavalkya’, said he, ‘since all this is overtaken by day and night, and swayed by them, by what means does the sacrificer go beyond the clutches of day and night ?’ ‘Through the eye – through the sun, which is the (real) priest called Adhvaryu. The eye of the sacrificer is the Adhvaryu. This eye is the sun; this sun is the Adhvaryu; this (sun) is liberation; this (liberation) is emancipation’.
III-i- 5: ‘Yajnavalkya’, said he, ‘since all this is overtaken by the bright and dark fortnights, and swayed by them, by what means does the sacrificer go beyond the bright and dark fortnights /’ ‘Through the vital force – through air, which is the (real) priest called Udgatir. The vital force of the sacrificer is the Udgatir. This vital force is air, and it is the Udgatir; this (air) is liberation; this (liberation) is emancipation.’
III-i- 6: ‘Yajnavalkya’, said he, ‘since the sky is, as it were, without a support, through what support does the sacrificer go to heaven ?’ ‘Through the mind – through the moon, which is the (real) priest called Brahman. The mind of the sacrificer is the Brahman. This mind is the moon; the moon is the Brahman; this (moon) is liberation; this (liberation) is emancipation’. So far about the ways of emancipation; now about the meditations based on resemblance.
III-i- 7: ‘Yajnavalkya’, said he, ‘with how many kinds of Rik will the Hotr do his part in this sacrifice to-day ?’ ‘With three kinds’. ‘Which are those three ?’ ‘The preliminary, the sacrificial, and the eulogistic hymns as the third’. ‘What does he win through them ?’ ‘All this that is living’.
III-i- 8: ‘Yajnavalkya’, said he, ‘how many kinds of oblations will the Adhvaryu offer in this sacrifice to-day ?’ ‘Three’. ‘Which are those three ?’ ‘Those that blaze up on being offered, those that make a great noise, when offered, and those that sink on being offered’. ‘What does he win through them?’ ‘Through those that blaze up on being offered he wins the world of the gods, for this world shines, as it were. Through those that make a great noise, when offered, he wins the world of the manes, for this world is full of uproar. And through those that sink on being offered, he wins the human world, for this world is lower.’
III-i- 9: ‘Yajnavalkya’, said he, ‘through how many gods does this Brahman from the right protect the sacrifice to-day ?’ ‘Through one’. ‘Which is that one ?’ ‘The mind. The mind is indeed infinite, and infinite are the Visvadevas. Through this meditation he wins an infinite world’.
III-i-10: ‘Yajnavalkya’, said he, ‘how many classes of hymns the Udgatir chant in this sacrifice to-day ?’ ‘Three classes’. ‘Which are those three ?’ ‘The preliminary, the sacrificial, and the eulogistic hymns as the third’. ‘Which are those that have reference to the body ?’ ‘The Prana is the preliminary hymn, the Apana is the sacrificial hymn, and the Vyana is the eulogistic hymn’. ‘What does he win through them ?’ ‘Through the preliminary hymns he wins the earth, through the sacrificial hymns he
wins the sky, and through the eulogistic hymns he wins heaven’. Thereupon the Hotr Asvala kept silent.
III-ii- 1: Then Artabhaga, of the line of Jaratkaru, asked him. ‘Yajnavalkya’, said he, ‘how many are the Grahas, and how many are the Atigrahas ?’ ‘There are eight Grahas and eight Atigrahas’. ‘Which are those eight Grahas and eight Atigrahas ?’
III-ii- 2: The Prana (nose) indeed is the Graha; it is controlled by the Atigraha, the Apana (odour), for one smells odours through the Apana (the air breathed in).
III-ii- 3: The organ of speech indeed is the graha; it is controlled by the Atigraha, name, for one utters names through the organ of speech.
III-ii- 4: The tongue indeed is the Graha; it is controlled by the Atigraha, taste, for one knows tastes through the tongue.
III-ii- 5: The eye indeed is the Graha; it is controlled by the Atigraha, colour, for one sees colours through the eye.
III-ii- 6: The ear indeed is the Graha; it is controlled by the Atigraha, sound, for one hears sounds through the ear.
III-ii- 7: The mind indeed is the Graha; it is controlled by the Atigraha, desire, for one wishes desires through the mind.
III-ii- 8: The hands indeed is the Graha; it is controlled by the Atigraha, work, for one does work through the hands.
III-ii- 9: The skin indeed is the Graha; it is controlled by the Atigraha, touch, for one feels touch through the skin. These are the eight Grahas and eight Atigrahas.
III-ii-10: ‘Yajnavalkya’, said he, ‘since all this is the food of death, who is that god whose food is death
?’ ‘Fire is death; it is the food of water. (One who knows thus) conquers further death’.
III-ii-11: ‘Yajnavalkya’, said he, ‘when the (liberated) man dies, do his organs go up from him, or do they not ?’ ‘No’, replied Yajnavalkya, ‘(They) merge in him only. The body swells, is inflated, and in that state lies dead.’
III-ii-12: ‘Yajnavalkya’, said he, ‘when this man dies, what is it that does not leave him ?’ ‘Name. The name indeed is infinite, and infinite are the Visvadevas. He (who knows thus) wins thereby a really infinite world’.
III-ii-13: ‘Yajnavalkya’, said he, ‘when the vocal organ of a man who dies is merged in fire, the nose in air, the eye in the sun, the mind in the moon, the ear in the quarters, the body in the earth, the ether of the heart in the external ether, the hair on the body in herbs, that on the head in trees, and the blood and the seed are deposited in water, where is then the man ?’ ‘Give me your hand, dear Artabhaga, we will decide this between ourselves, we cannot do it in a crowded place.’ They went out and talked it over.
What they mentioned there was only work, and what they praised there was also work alone. (Therefore) one indeed becomes good through good work and evil through evil work. Thereupon Artabhaga, of the line of Jaratkaru, kept silent.
III-iii- 1: Then Bhujyu, the grandson of Lahya, asked him. ‘Yajnavalkya’, said he, ‘we travelled in Madra as students, and we came to the house of Patanchala of the line of Kapi. His daughter was possessed by a Gandharva. We asked him, "Who are you ?" He said, "I am Sudhanvan, of the line of Angiras". When we asked him about the limits of the world, we said to him, "Where were the descendants of Pariksit ?" And I ask you, Yajnavalkya, where were the descendants of Pariksit ? (Tell me) where were the descendants of Pariksit ?’
III-iii- 2: Yajnavalkya said, ‘The Gandharva evidently told you that they went where the performers of the horse sacrifice go’. ‘And where do the performers of the horse sacrifice go ?’ ‘Thirty-two times the space covered by the sun’s chariot in a day makes this world; around it, covering twice the area, is the earth; around the earth, covering twice the area, is the ocean. Now, as is the edge of a razor, or the wing of a fly, so is there just that much opening at the junction (of the two halves of the cosmic shell). (Through that they go out.) Fire, in the form of a falcon, delivered them to the air; the air, putting them in itself, took them where the (previous) performers of the horse sacrifice were’. Thus did the Gandharva praise the air. Therefore the air is the diversity of individuals, and the air is the aggregate.
He who knows it as such conquers further death. Thereupon Bhujyu, the grandson of Lahya, kept silent.
III-iv- 1: Then Usata, the son of Chakra, asked him. ‘Yajnavalkya’, said he, ‘explain to me the Brahman that is immediate and direct – the self that is within all.’ ‘This is your self that is within all’. ‘Which is within all, Yajnavalkya ?’ ‘That which breathes through the Prana is your self that is within all. That which moves downwards through the Apana is your self that is within all. That which pervades through the Vyana is your self that is within all. That which goes out through the Udana is your self that is within all. This is your self that is within all.’
III-iv- 2: Usata, the son of Chakra, said, ‘You have indicated it as one may say that a cow is such and such, or a horse is such and such. Explain to me the Brahman that is immediate and direct – the self that is within all’. ‘This is your self that is within all’. ‘Which is within all, Yajnavalkya ?’ ‘You cannot see that which is the witness of vision; you cannot hear that which is the hearer of hearing; you cannot think that which is the thinker of thought; you cannot know that which is the knower of knowledge.
This is your self that is within all; everything else but this is perishable.’ Thereupon Usata, the son of Chakra, kept silent.
iii-v-1: Then Kahola, the son of Kusitaka, asked him, ‘Yajnavalkya’, said he, ‘explain to me the Brahman that is immediate and direct – the self that is within all’. ‘This is your self that is within all’. ‘Which is within all, Yajnavalkya ?’ ‘That which transcends hunger and thirst, grief, delusion, decay and death. Knowing this very Self the Brahmanas renounce the desire for sons, for wealth and for the worlds, and lead a mendicant’s life. That which is the desire for sons is the desire for wealth, and that which is the desire for wealth is the desire for worlds, for both these are but desires. Therefore the knower of Brahman, having known all about scholarship, should try to live upon that strength which comes of knowledge; having known all about this strength and scholarship, he becomes meditative; having known all about both meditativeness and its opposite, he becomes a knower of Brahman. How does that knower of b behave ? Howsoever he may behave, he is just such. Except this, everything is perishable.’ Thereupon Kahola, the son of Kusitaka, kept silent.
iii-vi-1: Then Gargi, the daughter of Vacaknu, asked him, ‘Yajnavalkya’, she said, ‘if all this is pervaded by water, by what is water pervaded ?’ ‘By air, O Gargi’. ‘By what is air pervaded?’ ‘By the sky, O Gargi’. ‘By what is the sky pervaded ?’ ‘By the world of the Gandharvas, O Gargi’. ‘By what is the world of the Gandharvas pervaded ?’ ‘By the sun, O Gargi.’ ‘By what is the sun pervaded ?’ ‘By the moon, O Gargi.’ ‘By what is the moon pervaded ?’ ‘By the stars, O Gargi’. ‘By what are the stars pervaded ?’ ‘By the world of the gods, O Gargi’. ‘By what is the world of the gods pervaded ?’ ‘By the world of Indra, O Gargi’. By what is the world of Indra pervaded?’ ‘By the world of Viraj, O Gargi’. ‘By what is the world of Viraj pervaded?’ ‘ By the world of Hiranyagarbha, O Gargi’. ‘By what is the world of Hiranyagarbha pervaded ?’ He said, ‘Do not, O Gargi, push your inquiry too far, lest your head should fall off. You are questioning about a deity that should not be reasoned about. Do not, O Gargi, push your inquiry too far.’ Thereupon Gargi, the daughter of Vacaknu, kept silent.
III-vii-1: Then Uddalaka, the son of Aruna, asked him. ‘Yajnavalkya’, said, ‘in Madra we lived in the house of Patanchala Kapya (descendant of Kapi), studying the scriptures on sacrifices. His wife was possessed by a Gandharva. We asked him who he was. He said, "Kabandha, the son of Atharvan". He said to Patanchala Kapya and those who studied the scriptures on sacrifices, "Hapya, do you know that Sutra by which this life, the next life and all beings are held together ?" Patanchala Kapya said, "I do not know it, sir". The Gandharva said to him and the students, "Kapya, do you know that Internal Ruler who controls this and the next life and all beings from within ?" Patanchala Kapya said, "I do not know Him, sir". The Gandharva said to him and the students, "He who knows that Sutra and that Internal Ruler as above indeed knows Brahman, knows the worlds, knows the gods, knows the Vedas, knows beings, knows the self, and knows everything". He explained it all to them. I know it. If you, Yajnavalkya, do not know that Sutra and that Internal Ruler, and still take away the cows that belong only to the knowers of Brahman, your head shall fall off’. ‘I know, O Gautama, that Sutra and that Internal Ruler’. ‘Any one can say, "I know, I know". Tell us what you know.’
III-vii-2: He said, ‘Vayu, O Gautama, is that Sutra. Through this Sutra or Vayu this and the next life and all beings are held together. Therefore, O Gautama, when a man dies, they say that his limbs have been loosened, for they are held together, O Gautama, by the Sutra or Vayu.’ ‘Quite so, Yajnavalkya. Now describe the Internal Ruler.’
III-vii- 3: He who inhabits the earth, but is within it, whom the earth does not know, whose body is the earth, and who controls the earth from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self.
III-vii- 4: He who inhabits water, but is within it, whom water does not know, whose body is water, and who controls water from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self.
III-vii- 5: He who inhabits fire, but is within it, whom fire does not know, whose body is fire, and who controls fire from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self.
III-vii- 6: He who inhabits the sky, but is within it, whom the sky does not know, whose body is the sky, and who controls the sky from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self.
III-vii- 7: He who inhabits air, but is within it, whom air does not know, whose body is air, and who controls air from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self.
III-vii- 8: He who inhabits heaven, but is within it, whom heaven does not know, whose body is heaven, and who controls heaven from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self.
III-vii- 9: He who inhabits the sun, but is within it, whom the sun does not know, whose body is the sun, and who controls the sun from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self.
III-vii-10: He who inhabits the quarters, but is within it, whom the quarters does not know, whose body is the quarters, and who controls the quarters from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self. III-vii-11: He who inhabits the moon and stars, but is within it, whom the moon and stars does not know, whose body is the moon and stars, and who controls the moon and stars from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self.
III-vii-12: He who inhabits the ether, but is within it, whom the ether does not know, whose body is the ether, and who controls the ether from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self.
III-vii-13: He who inhabits darkness, but is within it, whom darkness does not know, whose body is darkness, and who controls darkness from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self.
III-vii-14: He who inhabits light, but is within it, whom light does not know, whose body is light, and who controls light from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self. This much with reference to the gods. Now with reference to the beings.
III-vii-15: He who inhabits all beings, but is within it, whom no being knows, whose body is all beings, and who controls all beings from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self. This much with reference to the beings. Now with reference to the body.
III-vii-16: He who inhabits the nose, but is within it, whom the nose does not know, whose body is the nose, and who controls the nose from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self.
III-vii-17: He who inhabits the organ of speech, but is within it, whom the organ of speech does not know, whose body is the organ of speech, and who controls the organ of speech from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self.
III-vii-18: He who inhabits the eye, but is within it, whom the eye does not know, whose body is the eye, and who controls the eye from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self.
III-vii-19: He who inhabits the ear, but is within it, whom the ear does not know, whose body is the ear, and who controls the ear from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self.
III-vii-20: He who inhabits the mind (Manas), but is within it, whom the mind does not know, whose body is the mind, and who controls the mind from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self. III-vii-21: He who inhabits the skin, but is within it, whom the skin does not know, whose body is the skin, and who controls the skin from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self.
III-vii-22: He who inhabits the intellect, but is within it, whom the intellect does not know, whose body is the intellect, and who controls the intellect from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self. III-vii-23: He who inhabits the organ of generation, but is within it, whom the organ of generation does not know, whose body is the organ of generation, and who controls the organ of generation from within, is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self. He is never seen, but is the Witness; He is never heard, but is the Hearer; He is never thought, but is the Thinker; He is never known, but is the Knower. There is no other witness but Him, no other hearer but Him, no other thinker but Him, no other knower but Him. He is the Internal Ruler, your own immortal self. Everything else but Him is mortal.’ Thereupon Uddalaka, the son of Aruna, kept silent.
III-viii-1: Then the daughter of Vachaknu said, ‘Revered Brahmans, I shall him two questions, Should he answer me those, none of you can ever beat him in describing Brahman.’ ‘Ask, O Gargi’.
III-viii-2: She said, ‘I (shall ask) you (two questions). As a man of Banaras or the King of Videha, scion of a warlike dynasty, might string his unstrung bow and appear close by, carrying in his hand two bamboo-tipped arrows highly painful to the enemy, even so, O Yajnavalkya, do I confront you with two questions. Answer me those’. ‘Ask, O Gargi’.
III-viii-3: She said, ‘By what, O Yajnavalkya, is that pervaded which is above heaven and below the earth, which is this heaven and earth as well as between them, and which they say was, is and will be ?’ III-viii-4: He said, ‘That, O Gargi, which is above heaven and below the earth, which is this heaven and earth as well as between them, and which they say was, is and will be, is pervaded by the Unmanifested ether.’
III-viii-5: She said, ‘I bow to you, Yajnavalkya, who have fully answered this question of mine. Now be ready for the other question.’ ‘Ask, O Gargi".
III-viii-6: She said, ‘By what, O Yajnavalkya, is that pervaded which is above heaven and below the earth, which is this heaven and earth as well as between them, and which they say was, is and will be ?’ III-viii-7: He said, ‘That, O Gargi, which is above heaven and below the earth, which is this heaven and earth as well as between them, and which they say was, is and will be, is pervaded by the Unmanifested ether alone.’ ‘By what is the Unmanifested ether pervaded?’
III-viii-8: He said: O Gargi, the knowers of Brahman say, this Immutable (Brahman) is that. It is neither gross nor minute, neither short nor long, neither red colour nor oiliness, neither shadow nor darkness, neither air nor ether, unattached, neither savour nor odour, without eyes or ears, without the vocal organ or mind, non-luminous, without the vital force or mouth, not a measure, and without interior or exterior. It does not eat anything, nor is It eaten by anybody.
III-viii-9: Under the mighty rule of this Immutable, O Gargi, the sun and moon are held in their positions; under the mighty rule of this Immutable, O Gargi, heaven and earth maintain their positions; under the mighty rule of this Immutable, O Gargi, moments, Muhurtas, days and nights, fortnights, months, seasons and years are held in their respective places; under the mighty rule of this Immutable,
O Gargi, some rivers flow eastward from the White Mountains, others flowing westward continue in that direction, and still others keep to their respective courses; under the mighty rule of this Immutable, O Gargi, men praise those that give, the gods depend on the sacrificer, and the manes on independent offerings (Darvihoma).
III-viii-10: He, O Gargi, who in this world, without knowing this Immutable, offers oblations in the fire, performs sacrifices and undergoes austerities even for many thousand years, finds all such acts but perishable; he, O Gargi, who departs from this world without knowing this Immutable, is miserable.
But he, O Gargi, who departs from this world after knowing this Immutable, is a knower of Brahman. III-viii-11: This Immutable, O Gargi, is never seen but is the Witness; It is never heard, but is the Hearer; It is never thought, but is the Thinker; It is never known, but is the Knower. There is no other witness but This, no other hearer but This, no other thinker but This, no other knower but This. By this Immutable, O Gargi, is the (Unmanifested) ether pervaded.
III-viii-12: She said, ‘Revered Brahmans, you should consider yourselves fortunate if you can get off from him through salutations. Never shall any of you beat him in describing Brahman’. Then the daughter of Vachaknu kept silent.
III-ix- 1: Then Vidagdha, the son of Sakala, asked him. ‘How many gods are there, Yajnavalkya ?’ Yajnavalkya decided it through this (group of Mantras known as) Nivid (saying), ‘As many as are indicated in the Nivid of the Visvadevas – three hundred and three, and three thousand and three’. ‘Very well’, said Sakalya, ‘how many gods exactly are there, Yajnavalkya ?’ ‘Thirty-three’. ‘Very well’, said the other, ‘how many gods exactly are there, Yajnavalkya ?’ ‘six’. ‘Very well’, said Sakalya, ‘how many gods exactly are there, Yajnavalkya ?’ ‘Three’. ‘Very well’, said the other, ‘how many gods exactly are there, Yajnavalkya ?’ ‘Two’. ‘Very well’, said Sakalya, ‘how many gods exactly are there,
Yajnavalkya ?’ ‘One and a half’. ‘Very well’, said Sakalya, ‘how many gods exactly are there, Yajnavalkya ?’ ‘One’. ‘Very well’, said Sakalya, ‘which are those three hundred and three and three thousand and three ?’
III-ix- 2: Yajnavalkya said, ‘these are but the manifestation of them, but there are only thirty-three gods.’ ‘Which are those thirty-three ?’ ‘The eight Vasus, the eleven Rudras and the twelve Adityas – these are thirty-one and Indra and Prajapati make up the thirty-three’.
III-ix- 3: ‘Which are the Vasus /’ ‘Fire, the earth, air, the sky, the sun, heaven, the moon and the stars – these are the Vasus, for in these all this is placed; therefore they are called Vasus.’
III-ix- 4: ‘Which are the Rudras ?’ ‘The ten organs in the human body, with the mind as the eleventh. When they depart from this mortal body, they make (one’s relatives) weep. Because they then make them weep, therefore they are called Rudras.’
III-ix- 5: ‘Which are the Adityas ?’ ‘The twelve months (are parts) of a year; these are the Adityas, for they go taking all this with them. Because they go taking all this with them, therefore they are called Adityas.’
III-ix- 6: ‘Which is Indra, and which is Prajapati ?’ ‘The cloud itself is Indra, and the sacrifice is Prajapati’. ‘Which is the cloud ?’ ‘Thunder (strength).’ ‘Which is the sacrifice ?’ ‘Animals’.
III-ix- 7: ‘Which are the six (gods) ?’ ‘Fire, the earth, air, the sky, the sun, and heaven – these are the six. Because all those (gods) are (comprised in) these six.’
III-ix-8: ‘Which are the three gods ?’ ‘These three worlds alone, because in these all those gods are comprised.’ ‘Which are the two gods ?’ ‘Matter and the vital force.’ ‘Which are the one and a half ?’ ‘This (air) that blows.’
III-ix-9: ‘Regarding this some say, ‘Since the air blows as one substance, how can it be one and a
half ?’ ‘ It is one and a half because through its presence all this attains surpassing glory’. ‘Which is the one god ?’ ‘The vital force (Hiranyagarbha); it is Brahman, which is called Tyat (that).’
III-ix-10: ‘He who knows that being whose abode is the earth, whose instrument of vision is fire, whose light is the Manas, and who is the ultimate resort of the entire body and organs, knows truly, O Yajnavalkya’. ‘I do know that being of whom you speak – who is the ultimate resort of the entire body and organs. It is the very being who is identified with the body. Go on, Sakalya.’ ‘Who is his deity (cause) ?’ ‘Nectar (chyle)’, said he.
III-ix-11: ‘He who knows that being whose abode is lust, whose instrument of vision is the intellect, whose light is the Manas, and who is the ultimate resort of the entire body and organs, knows truly, O Yajnavalkya’. ‘I do know that being of whom you speak – who is the ultimate resort of the entire body and organs. It is the very being who is identified with lust. Go on, Sakalya’. ‘Who is his deity ?’ ‘Women’, said he.
III-ix-12: ‘He who knows that being whose abode is colours, whose instrument of vision is the eye, whose light is the Manas, and who is the ultimate resort of the entire body and organs, knows truly, O Yajnavalkya’. ‘I do know that being of whom you speak – who is the ultimate resort of the entire body and organs. It is the very being who is in the sun. Go on Sakalya’. ‘Who is his deity ?’ 'Truth (the eye),’ said he.
III-ix-13: ‘He who knows that being whose abode is the ether, whose instrument of vision is the ear, whose light is the Manas, and who is the ultimate resort of the entire body and organs, knows truly, O Yajnavalkya’. ‘I do know that being of whom you speak – who is the ultimate resort of the entire body and organs. It is the very being who is identified with the ear and with the time of hearing. Go on, Sakalya’. ‘Who is his deity ?’ ‘The quarters’, said he.
III-ix-14: ‘He who knows that being whose abode is darkness, whose instrument of vision is the intellect, whose light is the Manas, and who is the ultimate resort of the entire body and organs, knows truly, O Yajnavalkya’. ‘I do know that being of whom you speak – who is the ultimate resort of the entire body and organs. It is the very being who is identified with shadow (ignorance). Go on, Sakalya’. ‘Who is his deity?’ ‘Death’, said he.
III-ix-15: ‘He who knows that being whose abode is (particular) colours, whose instrument of vision is the eye, whose light is the Manas, and who is the ultimate resort of the entire body and organs, knows truly, O Yajnavalkya’. ‘I do know that being of whom you speak – who is the ultimate resort of the entire body and organs. It is the very being who is in a looking-glass. Go on, Sakalya’. ‘Who is his deity ?’ ‘The vital force’, said he.
III-ix-16: ‘He who knows that being whose abode is water, whose instrument of vision is the intellect, whose light is the Manas, and who is the ultimate resort of the entire body and organs, knows truly, O Yajnavalkya’. ‘I do know that being of whom you speak – who is the ultimate resort of the entire body and organs. It is the very being who is in water. Go on, Sakalya’. ‘Who is his deity ?’ ‘Varuna (rain)’, said he.
III-ix-17: ‘He who knows that being whose abode is the seed, whose instrument of vision is the intellect, whose light is the Manas, and who is the ultimate resort of the entire body and organs, knows truly, O Yajnavalkya’. ‘I do know that being of whom you speak – who is the ultimate resort of the entire body and organs. It is the very being who is identified with the son. Go on, Sakalya’. ‘Who is his deity ?’ ‘Prajapati (the father)’, said he.
III-ix-18: ‘Sakalya’, said Yajnavalkya, ‘have these Vedic scholars made you their instrument for burning charcoals ?’
III-ix-19: ‘Yajnavalkya’, said Sakalya, ‘is it because you know Brahman that you have thus flouted these Vedic scholars of Kuru and Panchala ?’ ‘I know the quarters with their deities and supports’. ‘If you know the quarters with their deities and supports --
III-ix-20: ‘What deity are you identified with in the east ?’ ‘With the deity, sun’. ‘On what does the sun rest ?’ ‘On the eye’. ‘On what does the eye rest ?’ ‘On colours, for one sees colours with the eye’. ‘On what do colours rest ?’ ‘On the heart (mind)’, said Yajnavalkya, ‘for one knows colours through the heart; it is on the heart that colours rest’. ‘It is just so, Yajnavalkya’.
III-ix-21: ‘What deity are you identified with in the south ?’ ‘With the deity, Yama (the god of justice)’. On what does Yama rest ?’ ‘On the sacrifice’. ‘On what does the sacrifice rest ?’ ‘On the remuneration (of the priests).’ ‘On what does the remuneration rest ?’ ‘On faith, because whenever a man has faith, he gives remuneration to the priests; therefore it is on faith that the remuneration rests’. ‘On what does faith rest ?’ ‘On the heart’, said Yajnavalkya, ‘for one knows faith through the heart; therefore it is on the heart that faith rests’. ‘It is just so, Yajnavalkya’.
III-ix-22: ‘What deity are you identified with in the west ?’ ‘With the deity, Varuna (the god of rain)’. ‘On what does Varuna rest ?’ ‘On water’. ‘On what does water rest ?’ ‘On the seed’. ‘On what does the seed rest ?’ ‘On the heart. Therefore do they say of a new-born child closely resembles (his father), that he has sprung from (his father’s) heart, as it were – that he has been made out of (his father’s) heart, as it were. Therefore it is on the heart that the seed rests’. ‘It is just so, Yajnavalkya’.
III-ix-23: ‘What deity are you identified with in the north ?’ ‘With the deity, Soma (the moon and the creeper)’ ‘On what does Soma rest ?’ ‘On initiation’. ‘On what does initiation rest ?’ ‘On truth.
Therefore do they say to one initiated, "Speak the truth"; for it is on truth that initiation rests’. ‘On what does truth rest ?’ ‘On the heart’, said Yajnavalkya, ‘for one knows truth through the heart; therefore it is on the heart that truth rests’. ‘It is just so, Yajnavalkya’.
III-ix-24: ‘What deity are you identified with in the fixed direction (above) ?’ ‘With the deity, fire’. ‘On what does fire rest ?’ ‘On speech’. ‘On what does speech rest ?’ ‘On the heart’. ‘On what does the heart rest ?’
III-ix-25: ‘You ghost’, said Yajnavalkya, ‘when you think the heart is elsewhere than in us, (then the body is dead). Should it be elsewhere than in us, dogs would eat this body, or birds tear it to pieces’.
III-ix-26: On what do the body and the heart rest ?’ ‘On the Prana’. ‘On what does the Prana rest ?’ ‘On the Apana.’ ‘On what does the Apana rest ?’ ‘On the Vyana.’ ‘On what does the Vyana rest ?’ ‘On the Udana’. ‘On what does the Udana rest ?’ ‘On the Samana’. This self is That which has been described as ‘Not this, not this’. It is imperceptible, for it is never perceived; undecaying, for It never decays; unattached, for It is never attached; unfettered – It never feels pain, and never suffers injury. ‘These are the eight abodes, the eight instruments of vision, the eight deities and the eight beings. I ask you of that Being who is to be known only from the Upanishads, who definitely projects those beings and withdraws them into Himself, and who is at the same time transcendent. If you cannot clearly tell me of Him, your head shall fall off’. Sakalya did not know Him; his head fell off; and robbers snatched away his bones, mistaking them for something else.
III-ix-27: Then he said, ‘Revered Brahmanas, whichsoever amongst you wishes may interrogate me or all of you may. Or I shall question whichsoever amongst you wishes, or all of you’. The Brahmanas did not dare.
III-ix-28(1): He asked them through these verses: As a large tree, so indeed is a man. (This is) true. His hair is its leaves, his skin its outer bark.
III-ix-28(2): It is from his skin that blood flows, and from the bark sap. Therefore when a man is wounded, blood flows, as sap from a tree is injured.
III-ix-28(3): His flesh is its inner bark, and his tendons its innermost layer of bark; both are tough. His bones lie under, as does its wood; his marrow is comparable to its pith.
III-ix-28(4): If a tree, after it is felled, springs again from its root in a newer form, from what root indeed does man spring forth after he is cut off by death ?
III-ix-28(5): Do not say, ‘From the seed’. (for) it is produced in a living man. A tree springs also from the seed; after it is dead it certainly springs again (from the seed as well).
III-ix-28(6): If someone pulls out a tree with its root, it no more sprouts. From what root does a man spring forth after he is cut off by death ?
III-ix-28(7): If you think he is ever born, I say, no, he is again born. Now who should again bring him forth ? -- Knowledge, Bliss, Brahman, the supreme goal of the dispenser of wealth as well as of him who has realized Brahman and lives in It.
IV-i-1: Om. Janaka, Emperor of Videha, took his seat, when there came Yajnavalkya. Janaka said to him, ‘Yajnavalkya, what has brought you here ? To have some animals, or to hear some subtle questions asked ?’ ‘Both, O Emperor’, said Yajnavalkya.
IV-i- 2: ‘Let me hear what any one of your teachers may have told you’. ‘Jitvan, the son of Silina, has told me that the organ of speech (fire) is Brahman’. ‘As one who has a mother, a father and a teacher should say, so has the son of Silina said this – that the organ of speech is Brahman, for what can a person have who cannot speak? But did he tell you about its abode (body) and support?’ ‘No, he did not’. ‘This Brahman is only one-footed, O Emperor’. ‘Then you tell us, Yajnavalkya’. ‘The organ of speech is its abode, and the ether (the Undifferentiated) its support. It should be meditated upon as intelligence’. ‘What is intelligence, Yajnavalkya ?’ ‘The organ of speech itself, O Emperor’, said Yajnavalkya, ‘through the organ of speech, O Emperor, friend is known; The Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda, Atharvangirasa, (Vedic) history, mythology, arts, Upanishads, verses, aphorisms, elucidations and explanations, (the effects of) sacrifices, (of) offering oblations in the fire and (of) giving food and drink, this world and the next, and all beings are known through the organ of speech alone, O Emperor. The organ of speech, O Emperor, is the supreme Brahman. The organ of speech never leaves him who, knowing thus, meditates upon it, all beings eagerly come to him, and being a god, he attains the gods.’ ‘I give you a thousand cows with a bull like an elephant’, said Emperor Janaka. Yajnavalkya replied, ‘My father was of opinion that one should not accept (wealth) from a disciple without fully instructing him’.
IV-i- 3: ‘Let me hear whatever any one may have told you’. ‘Udanka, the son of Sulba, has told me that the vital force (Vayu) is Brahman’. ‘As one who has a mother, a father and a teacher should say, so has the son of Sulba said this – that the vital force is Brahman, for what can a person have who does not live ? But did he tell you about its abode (body) and support ?’ ‘No, he did not’. ‘This Brahman is only one-footed, O Emperor’. ‘Then you tell us, Yajnavalkya’. ‘The vital force is its abode, and the ether (the Undifferentiated) its support. It should be meditated upon as dear’. ‘What is dearness, Yajnavalkya ?’ The vital force itself, O Emperor’, said Yajnavalkya; ‘for the sake of the vital force, O Emperor, a man performs sacrifices for one for whom they should not be performed, and accepts gifts one from whom they should not be accepted, and it is for the sake of the vital force, O Emperor, that one runs the risk of one’s life in any quarter one may go to. The vital force, O Emperor, is the Supreme Brahman. The vital force never leaves him who, knowing thus, meditates upon it, all beings eagerly come to him, and being a god, he attains the gods’. ‘I give you a thousand cows with a bull like an elephant’, said Emperor Janaka. Yajnavalkya replied, ‘My father was of opinion that one should not accept (wealth) from a disciple without fully instructing him’.
IV-i- 4: ‘Let me hear whatever any one may have told you’. ‘Barku, the son of Vrsna, has told me that the eye (sun) is Brahman’. ‘As one who has a mother, a father and a teacher should say, so has the son of Vrsna said this – that the eye is Brahman. For what can a person have who cannot see ? But did he tell you about its abode (body) and support ?’ ‘No, he did not’. ‘This Brahman is only one-footed, O Emperor’. ‘Then you tell us, Yajnavalkya’. ‘The eye is its abode, and the ether (the Undifferentiated) its support. It should be meditated upon as truth’. ‘What is truth, Yajnavalkya?’ ‘’The eye itself, O Emperor’, said Yajnavalkya; if a person, O Emperor, says to one who has seen with his eyes, "Have you seen ?" and the latter answers, "Yes, I have", then it is true. The eye, O Emperor, is the Supreme Brahman. The eye never leaves him who, knowing thus, meditates upon it; all beings eagerly come to him; and being a god, he attains the gods’. ‘I give you a thousand cows with a bull like an elephant’, said Emperor Janaka. Yajnavalkya replied, ‘My father was of opinion that one should not accept (wealth) from a disciple without fully instructing him’.
IV-i- 5: ‘Let me hear whatever any one may have told you’. ‘Gardabhivipita, of the line of Bharadvaja, has told me that the ear (the quarters) is Brahman’. ‘As one who has a mother, a father and a teacher should say, so has the descendant of Bharadvaja said this – that the ear is Brahman. For what can a person have who cannot hear ? But did he tell you about its abode (body) and support ?’ ‘No, he did not’. ‘This Brahman is only one-footed, O Emperor’. ‘Then you tell us, Yajnavalkya’. ‘The ear is its abode, and the ether (the Undifferentiated) its support. It should be meditated upon as infinite’. ‘What is infinity, Yajnavalkya ?’ ‘The quarters themselves, O Emperor’, said Yajnavalkya; ‘therefore, O Emperor, to whatever direction one may go, one never reaches its end. (Hence) the quarters are infinite. The quarters, O Emperor, are the ear, and the ear, O Emperor, is the Supreme Brahman. The ear never leaves him who, knowing thus, meditates upon it; all beings eagerly come to him; and being a god, he attains the gods’. ‘I give you a thousand cows with a bull like an elephant’, said Emperor Janaka.
Yajnavalkya replied, ‘My father was of opinion that one should not accept (wealth) from a disciple without fully instructing him’.
IV-i- 6: ‘Let me hear whatever any one may have told you’. ‘Satyakama, the son of Jabala, has told me that the Manas (here, the moon) is Brahman’. ‘As one who has a mother, a father and a teacher should say, so has the son of Jabala said this – that the Manas is Brahman. For what can a person have without the Manas ? But did he tell you about its abode (body) and support ?’ ‘No, he did not’. ‘This Brahman is only one-footed, O Emperor’. ‘Then you tell us, Yajnavalkya’. ‘The Manas is its abode, and the ether (the Undifferentiated) its support. It should be meditated upon as bliss’. ‘What is bliss, Yajnavalkya ?’ ‘The manas itself, O Emperor’, said Yajnavalkya; ‘with the Manas, O Emperor, a man (fancies and) woos a woman. A son resembling him is born of her, and he is the cause of bliss. The Manas, O Emperor, is the Supreme Brahman. The Manas never leaves him who, knowing thus, meditates upon it; all beings eagerly come to him; and being a god, he attains the gods’. ‘I give you a thousand cows with a bull like an elephant’, said Emperor Janaka. Yajnavalkya replied, ‘My father was of opinion that one should not accept (wealth) from a disciple without fully instructing him’.
IV-i- 7: ‘Let me hear whatever any one may have told you’. ‘Vidagdha, the son of Sakala, has told me that the heart (mind, here, Prajapati ) is Brahman’. ‘As one who has a mother, a father and a teacher should say, so has the son of Sakala said this – that the heart is Brahman. For what can a person have without the heart ? But did he tell you about its abode (body) and support ?’ ‘No, he did not’. ‘This Brahman is only one-footed, O Emperor’. ‘Then you tell us, Yajnavalkya’. ‘The heart is its abode, and the ether (the Undifferentiated) its support. It should be meditated upon as stability’. ‘What is stability, Yajnavalkya ?’ ‘The heart itself, O Emperor’, said Yajnavalkya; ‘the heart, O Emperor, is the abode of all beings, and the heart, O Emperor, is the support of all beings; on the heart, O Emperor, all beings rest; the heart, O Emperor, is the Supreme Brahman. The heart never leaves him who, knowing thus, meditates upon it; all beings eagerly come to him; and being a god, he attains the gods’. ‘I give you a thousand cows with a bull like an elephant’, said Emperor Janaka. Yajnavalkya replied, ‘My father was of opinion that one should not accept (wealth) from a disciple without fully instructing him’.
IV-ii- 1: Janaka, Emperor of Videha, rose from his lounge and approaching Yajnavalkya said, ‘Salutations to you, Yajnavalkya, please instruct me’. Yajnavalkya replied, ‘As one wishing to go a long distance, O Emperor, should secure a chariot or a boat, so have you fully equipped your mind with so many secret names (of Brahman). You are likewise respected and wealthy, and you have studied the Vedas and heard the Upanishads; (but) where will you go when you are separated from this body ?’ ‘I do not know, sir, where I shall go’. ‘Then I will tell you where you will go’. ‘Tell me, sir’.
IV-ii- 2: This being who is in the right eye is named Indha. Though he is Indha, he is indirectly called Indra, for the gods have a fondness, as it were, for indirect names, and hate to be called directly.
IV-ii- 3: The human form that is in the left eye is his wife, Viraj (matter). The space that is within the heart is their place of union. Their food is the lump of blood (the finest essence of what we eat) in the heart. Their wrap is the net-like structure in the heart. Their road for moving is the nerve that goes upward from the heart; it is like a hair split into a thousand parts. In this body there are nerves called Hita, which are placed in the heart. Through these the essence of our food passes as it moves on.
Therefore the subtle body has finer food than the gross body.
IV-ii- 4: Of the sage (who is identified with the vital force), the east is the eastern vital force, the south the southern vital force, the west the western vital force, the north the northern vital force, the direction above the upper vital force, the direction below the nether vital force, and all the quarters the different vital forces. This self is That which has been described as ‘Not this, Not this’, ‘It is imperceptible, for It is never perceived; undecaying, for It never decays; unattached, for It is never attached; unfettered – It never feels pain, and never suffers injury. You have attained That which is free from fear, O Janaka’, said Yajnavalkya. ‘Revered Yajnavalkya’, said Emperor Janaka, ‘may That which is free from fear be yours, for you have made That which is free from fear known to us. Salutations to you ! Here is this (empire of) Videha, as well as myself at your service !’
IV-iii- 1: Yajnavalkya went to Janaka, Emperor of Videha. He thought he would not say anything. Now Janaka and Yajnavalkya had once talked on the Agnihotra, and Yajnavalkya had offered him a boon. He had begged the liberty of asking any questions he liked; and Yajnavalkya had granted him the boon. So it was the e who first asked him.
IV-iii- 2: ‘Yajnavalkya, what serves as the light for a man ?’ ‘The light of the sun, O Emperor’, said Yajnavalkya; ‘it is through the light of the sun that he sits, goes out, works and returns’. ‘It is just so, Yajnavalkya’.
IV-iii- 3: ‘When the sun has set, Yajnavalkya, what exactly serves as the light for a man ?’ ‘The moon serves as his light. It is through the light of the moon that he sits, goes out, works and returns’. ‘It is just so, Yajnavalkya’.
IV-iii- 4: ‘When the sun and the moon have set, Yajnavalkya, what exactly serves as the light for a
man ?’ ‘The fire serves as his light. It is through the fire that he sits, goes out, works and returns’. ‘It is just so, Yajnavalkya’.
IV-iii- 5: When the sun and the moon have both set, and the fire has gone out, Yajnavalkya, what exactly serves as the light for a man ?’ ‘Speech (sound) serves as his light. It is through the light of speech that he sits, goes out, works and returns. Therefore, O Emperor, even when one’s own hand is not clearly visible, if a sound is uttered, one manages to go there.’. ‘It is just so, Yajnavalkya’.
IV-iii- 6: When the sun and the moon have both set, the fire has gone out, and speech has stopped, Yajnavalkya, what exactly serves as the light for a man ?’ ‘The self serves as his light. It is through the light of the self that he sits, goes out, works and returns.’ ‘It is just so, Yajnavalkya’.
IV-iii- 7: ‘Which is the self ?’ ‘This infinite entity (Purusha) that is identified with the intellect and is in the midst of the organs, the (self-effulgent) light within the heart (intellect). Assuming the likeness (of the intellect), it moves between the two worlds; it thinks, as it were, and shakes, as it were. Being identified with dream, it transcends this world – the forms of death (ignorance etc.).’
IV-iii- 8: That man, when he is born, or attains a body, is connected with evils (the body and organs); and when he dies, or leaves the body, he discards those evils.
IV-iii-9: That man only two abodes, this and the next world. The dream state, which is the third, is at the junction (of the two). Staying at that junction, he surveys the two abodes, this and the next world. Whatever outfit he may have for the next world, providing himself with that he sees both evils (sufferings) and joys. When he dreams, he takes away a little of (the impressions of) this all-embracing world (the waking state), himself puts the body aside and himself creates (a dream body in its place), revealing his own lustre by his own light – and dreams. In this state the man himself becomes the light. IV-iii-10: There are no chariots, nor animals to be yoked to them, nor roads there, but he creates the chariots, the animals and the roads. There are no pleasures, joys, or delights there, but he creates the pleasures, joys and delights. There are no pools, tanks, or rivers there, but he creates the pools, tanks and rivers. For he is the agent.
IV-iii-11: Regarding this there are the following pithy verses: ‘The radiant infinite being (Purusha) who moves alone, puts the body aside in the dream state, and remaining awake himself and taking the shining functions of the organs with him, watches those that are asleep. Again he comes to the waking state.
IV-iii-12: ‘The radiant infinite being who is immortal and moves alone, preserves the unclean nest (the body) with the help of the vital force, and roams out of the nest. Himself immortal, he goes wherever he likes.
IV-iii-13: ‘In the dream world, the shining one, attaining higher and lower states, puts forth innumerable forms. He seems to be enjoying himself in the company of women, or laughing, or even seeing frightful things.
IV-iii-14: ‘All see his sport, but none sees him’. They say, ‘Do not wake him up suddenly’. If he does not find the right organ, the body becomes difficult to doctor. Others, however, say that the dream state of a man is nothing but the waking state, because he sees in dream only those things that he sees in the waking state. (This is wrong) In the dream state the man himself becomes the light. ‘I give you a thousand (cows), sir. Please instruct me further about liberation’.
IV-iii-15: After enjoying himself and roaming, and merely seeing (the result of) good and evil (in dream), he (stays) in a state of profound sleep, and comes back in the inverse order to his former condition, the dream state. He is untouched by whatever he sees in that state, for this infinite being is unattached. ‘It is just so, Yajnavalkya. I give you a thousand (cows), sir. Please instruct me further about liberation itself.’
IV-iii-16: After enjoying himself and roaming in the dream state, and merely seeing (the results of) good and evil, he comes back in the inverse order to his former condition, the waking state. He is untouched by whatever he sees in that state, for this infinite being is unattached. ‘It is just so, Yajnavalkya. I give you a thousand (cows), sir. Please instruct me further about liberation itself.’ IV-iii-17: After enjoying himself and roaming in the waking state, and merely seeing (the result of)
good and evil, he comes back in the inverse order to his former condition, the dream state (or that of profound sleep).
IV-iii-18: As a great fish swims alternately to both the banks (of a river), eastern and western, so does this infinite being move to both these states, the dream and waking states.
IV-iii-19: As a hawk or a falcon flying in the sky becomes tired, and stretching its wings, is bound for its nest, so does this infinite being run for this state, where, falling asleep, he craves no desire and sees no dream.
IV-iii-20: In him are those nerves called Hita, which are as fine as a hair split into a thousand parts, and filled with white, blue, brown, green and red (serums). (They are the seat of the subtle body, in which impressions are stored). Now when (he feels) as if he were being killed or overpowered, or being pursued by an elephant, or falling into a pit, (in short) conjures up at the time through ignorance whatever terrible things he has experienced in the waking state, (that is the dream state). And when (he becomes) a god, as it were, or a king, as it were, thinks, ‘This (universe) is myself, who am all’, that is his highest state.
IV-iii-21: That is his form – beyond desires, free from evils and fearless. As a man, fully embraced by his beloved wife, does not know anything at all, either external or internal, so does this infinite being (self), fully embraced by the Supreme Self, not know anything at all, either external or internal. That is his form – in which all objects of desire have been attained and are but the self, and which is free from desire and devoid of grief.
IV-iii-22: In this state a father is no father, a mother no mother, worlds no worlds, the gods no gods, the Vedas no Vedas. In this state a thief is no thief, the killer of a noble Brahmana no killer, a Chandala no Chandala, a Pulkasa no Pulkasa, a monk no monk, a hermit no hermit. (This form of his) is untouched by good work and untouched by evil work, for he is then beyond all the woes of his heart (intellect).
IV-iii-23: That it does not see in that state is because, though seeing then, it does not see; for the vision of the witness can never be lost, because it is imperishable. But there is not that second thing separate from it which it can see.
IV-iii-24: That it does not smell in that state is because, though smelling then, it does not smell; for the smeller’s function of smelling can never be lost, because it is imperishable. But there is not that second thing separate from it which it can smell.
IV-iii-25: That it does not taste in that state is because, though tasting then, it does not taste; for the taster’s function of tasting can never be lost, because it is imperishable. But there is not that second thing separate from it which it can taste.
IV-iii-26: That it does not speak in that state is because, though speaking then, it does not speak; for the speaker’s function of speaking can never be lost, because it is imperishable. But there is not that second thing separate from it which it can speak.
IV-iii-27: That it does not hear in that state is because, though hearing then, it does not hear; for the listener’s function of hearing can never be lost, because it is imperishable. But there is not that second thing separate from it which it can hear.
IV-iii-28: That it does not think in that state is because, though thinking then, it does not think; for the thinker’s function of thinking can never be lost, because it is imperishable. But there is not that second thing separate from it which it can think.
IV-iii-29: That it does not touch in that state is because, though touching then, it does not touch; for the toucher’s function of touching can never be lost, because it is imperishable. But there is not that second thing separate from it which it can touch.
IV-iii-30: That it does not know in that state is because, though knowing then, it does not know; for the knower’s function of knowing can never be lost, because it is imperishable. But there is not that second thing separate from it which it can know.
IV-iii-31: When there is something else, as it were, then one can see something, one can smell something, one can taste something, one can speak something, one can hear something, one can think something, one can touch something, or one can know something.
IV-iii-32: It becomes (transparent) like water, one, the witness, and without a second. This is the sphere )(state) of Brahman, O Emperor. Thus did Yajnavalkya instruct Janaka: This is its supreme attainment, this is its supreme glory, this is its highest world, this is its supreme bliss. On a particle of this very bliss other beings live.
IV-iii-33: He who is perfect of physique and prosperous among men, the ruler of others, and most lavishly supplied with all human enjoyments, represents greatest joy among men. This human joy multiplied a hundred times makes one unit of joy for the manes who have won that world of theirs. The joy of these manes who have won that world multiplied a hundred times makes one unit joy in the world of the celestial minstrels. This joy in the world of the celestial minstrels multiplied a hundred times makes one unit of joy for the gods by action – those who have attained their godhead by their actions. This joy of the gods by action multiplied a hundred times makes one unit of joy for the gods by birth, as also of one who is versed in the Vedas, sinless and free from desire. This joy of the gods by birth multiplied a hundred times makes one unit of joy in the world of Prajapati (Viraj), as well as one who is versed in the Vedas, sinless and free from desire. This joy in the world of Prajapati multiplied a hundred times makes one unit of joy in the world of Brahman (Hiranyagarbha), as well as of one who is versed in the Vedas, sinless and free from desire. This indeed is the supreme bliss. This is the state of Brahman, O Emperor, said Yajnavalkya. ‘I give you a thousand (cows), sir. Please instruct me further about liberation itself’. At this Yajnavalkya was afraid that the intelligent Emperor was constraining him to finish with all his conclusions.
IV-iii-34: After enjoying himself and roaming in the dream state, and merely seeing the effects of merits and demerits, he comes back, in the inverse order, to his former condition, the waking state. IV-iii-35: Just as a cart, heavily loaded, goes on rumbling, so does the self that is in the body, being presided over by the Supreme Self, go making noises, when breathing becomes difficult.
IV-iii-36: When this (body) becomes thin – is emaciated through old age or disease – then, as a mango, or a fig, or a fruit of the Peepul tree is detached from its stalk, so does this infinite being, completely detaching himself from the parts of the body, again go, in the same way that he came, to particular bodies, for the unfoldment of his vital force.
IV-iii-37: Just as when a king is coming, the Ugras set against particular offences, the Sutas and the leaders of the village wait for him with varieties of food and drink and mansions ready, saying, ‘Here he comes, here he comes’, so for the person who knows about the results of his work, all the elements wait saying, ‘Here comes Brahman, here he comes’.
IV-iii-38: Just as when the king wishes to depart, the Ugras set against particular offences, the Sutas and the leaders of the village approach him, so do all the organs approach the departing man at the time of death, when breathing becomes difficult.
IV-iv-1: When this self becomes weak and senseless, as it were, the organs come to it. Completely withdrawing these particles of light, it comes to the heart. When the presiding deity of the eye turns back from all sides, the man fails to notice colour.
IV-iv- 2: (The eye) becomes united (with the subtle body); then people say, ‘He does not see’. (The nose) becomes united; then they say, ‘He does not smell’. (The tongue) becomes united; then they say, ‘He does not taste’. (The vocal Organ) becomes united; then they say, ‘He does not speak’. (The ear) becomes united; then they say, ‘He does not hear’. (The Manas) becomes united; then they say, ‘He does not think’. (The skin) becomes united; then they say, ‘He does not touch’. (The intellect) becomes united; then they say, ‘He does not know’. The top of the heart brightens. Through that brightened top the self departs, either through the eye, or through the head, or through any other part of the body.
When it departs, the vital force follows; when the vital force departs, all the organs follow. Then the self has particular consciousness, and goes to the body which is related to that consciousness. It is followed by knowledge, work and past experience.
IV-iv- 3: Just as a leech supported on a straw goes to the end of it, takes hold of another support and contracts itself, so does the self throw this body aside – make it senseless – take hold of another support, and contract itself.
IV-iv- 4: Just as a goldsmith takes apart a little quantity of gold and fashions another – a newer and better – form, so does the self throw this body away, or make it senseless, and make another – a newer and better – form suited to the manes or the celestial minstrels, or the gods, or Viraj, or Hiranyagarbha, or other beings.
IV-iv- 5: That self is indeed Brahman, as also identified with the intellect, the Manas and the vital force, with the eyes and ears, with earth, water, air and the ether, with fire, and what is other than fire, with desire and the absence of desire, with anger and the absence of anger, with righteousness and unrighteousness, with everything -–identified, in fact, with this (what is perceived) and with that (what is inferred). As it does and acts, so it becomes; by doing good it becomes good, and by doing evil it becomes evil – it becomes virtuous through good acts and vicious through evil acts. Others, however, say, ‘The self is identified with desire alone. What it desires, it resolves; what it resolves, it works out; and what it works out, it attains.’
IV-iv- 6: Regarding this there is the following pithy verse: ‘Being attached he, together with the work, attains that result to which his subtle body or mind is attached. Exhausting the results of whatever work he did in this life, he returns from that world to this for (fresh) work’. Thus does the man who desires (transmigrate). But the man who does not desire (never transmigrates). Of him who is without desires, who is free from desires, the objects of whose desire have been attained, and to whom all objects of desire are but the Self – the organs do not depart. Being but Brahman, he is merged in Brahman.
IV-iv- 7: Regarding this there is this pithy verse: ‘When all the desires that dwell in his heart (mind) are gone, then he, having been mortal, becomes immortal, and attains Brahman in this very body’. Just as the lifeless Slough of a snake is cast off and lies in the ant-hill, so does this body lie. Then the self becomes disembodied and immortal, (becomes) the Prana (Supreme Self), Brahman, the Light. ‘I give you a thousand (cows), sir’, said Janaka, Emperor of Videha.
IV-iv- 8: Regarding this there are the following pithy verses: the subtle, extensive, ancient way has touched (been reached by) me. (Nay) I have realised it myself. Through that sages – the knowers of Brahman – (also) go to the heavenly sphere (liberation) after the fall of this body, being freed (even while living).
IV-iv- 9: Some speak of it as white, others as blue, grey, green, or red. This path is realised by a Brahmana (knower of Brahman). Any other knower of Brahman who has done good deeds and is identified with the Supreme Light, (also) treads this path.
IV-iv-10: Into blinding darkness (ignorance) enter those who worship ignorance (rites). Into greater darkness, as it were, than that enter those who are devoted to knowledge (the ceremonial portion of the Vedas).
IV-iv-11: Miserable are those worlds enveloped by (that) blinding darkness (ignorance). To them, after death, go those people who are ignorant and unwise.
IV-iv-12: If a man knows the Self as ‘I am this’, then desiring what and for whose sake will he suffer in the wake of the body ?
IV-iv-13: He who has realised and intimately known the Self that has entered this perilous and inaccessible place (the body), is the maker of the universe, for he is the maker of all, (all is) his Self, and he again is indeed the Self (of all).
IV-iv-14: Being in this very body we have somehow known that (Brahman). If not, (I should have been) ignorant, (and) great destruction (would have taken place). Those who know It become immortal, while others attain misery alone.
IV-iv-15: When a man after (receiving instructions from a teacher) directly realises this effulgent Self, the Lord of all that has been and will be, he no longer wishes to hide himself from it.
IV-iv-16: Below which the year with its days rotates, upon that immortal Light of all lights the gods meditate as longevity.
IV-iv-17: That in which the five groups of five and the (subtle) ether are placed, that very Atman I regard as the immortal Brahman. Knowing (Brahman) I am immortal.
IV-iv-18: Those who have known the Vital Force of the vital force, the Eye of the eye, the Ear of the ear, and the Mind of the mind, have realised the ancient, primordial Brahman.
IV-iv-19: Through the mind alone (It) is to be realised. There is no difference whatsoever in It. He goes from death to death, who sees difference, as it were, in It.
IV-iv-20: It should be realised in one form only, (for) It is unknowable and eternal. The Self is taintless, beyond the (subtle) ether, birthless, infinite and constant.
IV-iv-21: The intelligent aspirant after Brahman, knowing about this alone, should attain intuitive knowledge. (He) should not think of too many words, for it is particularly fatiguing to the organ of speech.
IV-iv-22: That great, birthless Self which is identified with the intellect and is in the midst of the organs, lies in the ether that is within the heart. It is the controller of all, the lord of all, the ruler of all. It does not grow better through good work nor worse through bad work. It is the lord of all, It is the ruler of all beings, It is the protector of all beings. It is the bank that serves as the boundary to keep the different worlds apart. The Brahmanas seek to know It through the study of the Vedas, sacrifices, charity, and austerity consisting in a dispassionate enjoyment of sense-objects. Knowing It alone, one becomes a sage. Desiring this world (the Self) alone, monks renounce their homes. This is (the reason for it); The ancient sages, it is said, did not desire children (thinking), ‘What shall we achieve through children, we who have attained this Self, this world (result).’ They, it is said, renounced their desire for sons, for wealth and for the worlds, and lived a mendicant’s life. That which is the desire for sons is the desire for wealth, and that which is the desire for wealth is the desire for worlds, for both these are but desires. This self is That which has been described as ‘Not this, Not this’. It is imperceptible, for It is never perceived; undecaying, for It never decays; unattached, for It is never attached; unfettered – It never feels pain, and never suffers injury. (it is but proper) that the sage is never overtaken by these two thoughts, ‘I did an evil act for this’, ‘I did a good act for this’. He conquers both of them. Things done or not done do not trouble him.
IV-iv-23: This has been expressed by the following hymn: This is the eternal glory of a knower of Brahman: it neither increases nor decreases through work. (Therefore) one should know the nature of that alone. Knowing it one is not touched by evil action. Therefore he who knows it as such becomes self-controlled, calm, withdrawn into himself, enduring and concentrated, and sees the self in his own self (body); he sees all as the Self. Evil does not overtake him, but he transcends all evil. Evil does not trouble him, (but) he consumes all evil. He becomes sinless, taintless, free from doubts, and a Brahmana (knower of Brahman). This is the world of Brahman, O Emperor, and you have attained it – said Yajnavalkya. ‘I give you sir, the empire of Videha, and myself too with it, to wait upon you’.
IV-iv-24: That great, birthless Self is the eater of food and the giver of wealth (the fruits of one’s work). He who knows It as such receives wealth (those fruits).
IV-iv-25: That great, birthless Self is undecaying, immortal, undying, fearless and Brahman (infinite). Brahman is indeed fearless. He who knows It as such certainly becomes the fearless Brahman.
IV-v- 1: Now Yajnavalkya had two wives, Maitreyi and Katyayani. Of these Maitreyi used to discuss Brahman, (while) Katyayani had then only an essentially feminine outlook. One day Yajnavalkya, with a view to embracing life –
IV-v- 2: ‘O Maitreyi, my dear’, said Yajnavalkya, ‘I am going to renounce this life for monasticism. Allow me to finish between you and Katyayani’.
IV-v- 3: Thereupon Maitreyi said, ‘Sir, if indeed this whole earth full of wealth be mine, shall I be immortal through that, or not ?’ ‘No’, replied Yajnavalkya, ‘your life will be just like that of people who possess plenty of things, but there is no hope of immortality through wealth.’
IV-v- 4: Then Maitreyi said, ‘What shall I do with that which will not make me immortal ? Tell me, sir, of that alone which you know (to be the only means of immortality).’
IV-v- 5: Yajnavalkya said, ‘My dear, you have been my beloved (even before), and you have magnified what is after my heart. If you wish, my dear, I will explain it to you. As I explain it, meditate (upon its meaning).
IV-v- 6: He said: ‘It is not for the sake of the husband, my dear, that he is loved, but for one’s own sake that he is loved. It is not for the sake of the wife, my dear, that she is loved, but for one’s own sake that she is loved. It is not for the sake of the sons, my dear, that they are loved, but for one’s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of wealth, my dear, that it is loved, but for one’s own sake that it is loved. It is not for the sake of the Brahmana, my dear, that he is loved, but for one’s own sake that he is loved. It is not for the sake of the Kshatriya, my dear, that he is loved, but for one’s own sake that he is loved. It is not for the sake of worlds, my dear, that they are loved, but for one’s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of the gods, my dear, that they are loved, but for one’s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of beings, my dear, that they are loved, but for one’s own sake that they are loved. It is not for the sake of all, my dear, that all is loved, but for one’s own sake that it is loved. The Self, my dear Maitreyi, should be realised – should be heard of, reflected on and meditated upon. When the Self, my dear, is realised by being heard of, reflected on and meditated upon, all this is known.
IV-v- 7: The Brahmana ousts (slights) one who knows him as different from the Self. The Kshatriya ousts one who knows him as different from the Self. Worlds oust one who knows them as different from the Self. The gods oust one who knows them as different from the Self. The Vedas oust one who knows them as different from the Self. Beings oust one who knows them as different from the Self. All ousts one who knows it as different from the Self. This Brahmana, this Kshatriya, these worlds, these gods, these Vedas, these beings and these all -- are this Self.
IV-v- 8: As, when a drum is beaten, one cannot distinguish its various particular notes, but they are included in the general note of the drum or in the general sound produced by different kinds of strokes. IV-v-9: As, when a conch is blown, one cannot distinguish its various particular notes, but they are included in the general note of the conch or in the general sound produced by different kinds of playing.
IV-v-10: As, when a Vina is played, one cannot distinguish its various particular notes, but they are included in the general note of the Vina or in the general sound produced by different kinds of playing. IV-v-11: As from a fire kindled with wet faggot diverse kinds of smoke issue, even so, my dear, the Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda, Atharvangirasa, history, mythology, arts, Upanishads, pithy verses, aphorisms, elucidations, explanations, sacrifices, oblations in the fire, food, drink, this world, the next world and all beings are (like) the breath of this infinite Reality. They are like the breath of this (Supreme Self).
IV-v-12: As the ocean is the one goal of all sorts of water, as the skin is the one goal of all kinds of touch, as the nostrils are the one goal of all odours, as the tongue is the one goal of all savours, as the eye is the one goal of all colours , as the ear is the one goal of all sounds, as the Manas is the one goal of all deliberations, as the intellect is the one goal of all kinds of knowledge, as the hands are the one goal of all sort of work, as the organ of generation is the one goal of all kinds of enjoyment, as the anus is the one goal of all excretions, as the feet are the one goal of all kinds of walking, as the organ of speech is the one goal of all Vedas.
IV-v-13: As a lump of salt is without interior or exterior, entire, and purely saline in taste, even so is the Self without interior or exterior, entire, and Pure Intelligence alone. (The Self) comes out (as a separate entity) from these elements, and (this separateness) is destroyed with them. After attaining (this oneness) it has no more consciousness. This is what I say, my dear. So said Yajnavalkya.
IV-v-14: Maitreyi said, ‘Just here you have led me into the midst of confusion, sir, I do not at all comprehend this’. He said, ‘Certainly, I am not saying anything confusing. This self is indeed immutable and indestructible, my dear’.
IV-v-15: Because when there is duality, as it were, then one sees something, one smells something, one tastes something, one speaks something, one hears something, one thinks something, one touches something, one knows something. (But) when to the knower of Brahman everything has become the Self, then what should one see and through what, what should one smell and through what, what should one taste and through what, what should one speak and through what, what should one hear and through what, what should one think and through what, what should one touch and through what, what should one know and through what ? Through what should one know that owing to which all this is known ? This self is That which has been described as ‘Not this, Not this’. It is imperceptible, for It is never perceived; undecaying, for It never decays; unattached, for It is never attached; unfettered – it never feels pain, and never suffers injury. Through what, O Maitreyi, should one know the Knower ?
So you have got the instruction, Maitreyi. This much indeed is (the means of) immortality, my dear. Saying this Yajnavalkya left.
IV-vi- 1: Now the line of teachers: Pautimasya (received it) from Gaupavana. Gaupavana from another Pautimasya. This Pautimasya from another Gaupavana. This Gaupavana from Kausika. Kausika from Kaundinya. Kaundinya from Sandilya. Sandilya from Kausika and Gautama. Gautama –
IV-vi- 2: From Agnivesya. Agnivesya from Sandilya and Anabhimlata. Anabhinlata from another of that name. He from a third Anabhimlata. This Anabhimlata from Gautama. Gautama from Saitava and Pracinayogya. They from Parasarya. Parasarya from Bharadvaja. He from Bharadvaja and Gautama.
Gautama from another Bharatvaja. He from another Parasarya. Parasarya from Baijavapayana. He from Kausikayani. Kausikayani –
IV-vi- 3: From Ghrtakausika. Ghrtakausika from Parasaryayana. He from Parasarya. Parasarya from Jatukarnya. Jatukarnya from Asurayana and Yaska. Asurayana from Traivani. Traivani from Aupajandhani. He from Asuri. Asuri from Bharadvaja. Bharadvaja from Atreya. Atreya from Manti. Manti from Gautama. Gautama from another Gautama. He from Vatsya. Vatsya from Sandilya.
Sandilya from Kaisorya Kapya. He from Kumaraharita. Kumaraharita from Galava. Galava from Vidarbhi-kaundinya. He from Vatsanapat Babhrava. He from Pathin Saubhara. He from Ayasya Angirasa. He from Abhuti Tvastra. He from Visvarupa Tvastra. He from the Asvins. They from Dadhyac Atharvana. He from Atharvan Daiva. He from Mrtyu Pradhvamsana. He from Pradhvamsana. Pradhvamsana from Ekarsi. Ekarsi from Viprachitti. Viprachitti from Vyasri. Vyasti from Sanaru.
Sanaru from Sanatana. Sanatana from Sanaga. Sanaga from Paramesthin (Viraj). He from Brahman (Hiranyabarbha). Brahman is self born. Salutation to Brahman.
V-i- 1: Om. That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite. (Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe), it remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone. Om is the ether-Brahman – the eternal ether. ‘The ether containing air,’ says the son of Kauravyayani. It is the Veda, (so) the Brahmans (knowers of Brahman) know; (for) through it one knows what is to be known.
V-ii- 1: Three classes of Prajapati’s sons lived a life of continence with their father, Prajapati (Viraj) – the gods, men and Asuras. The gods, on the completion of their term, said, ‘Please instruct us’. He told them the syllable ‘Da’ (and asked), ‘have you understood ?’ (They) said, ‘We have. You tell us: Control yourselves’. (He) said, ‘Yes, you have understood’.
V-ii-2: Then the men said to him, ‘Please instruct us’. He told them the same syllable ‘Da’ (and asked), ‘Have you understood ?’ (They) said, ‘We have. You tell us: Give’. (He) said, ‘Yes, you have understood’.
V-ii- 3: Then the Asuras said to him, ‘Please instruct us’. He told them the same syllable ‘Da’ (and asked), ‘Have you understood ?’ (They) said, ‘We have. You tell us: Have compassion’. (He) said, ‘Yes, you have understood’. That very thing is repeated by the heavenly voice, the cloud, as ‘Da’, ‘Da’, ‘Da’: ‘Control yourselves’, ‘Give’, and ‘have compassion’. Therefore one should learn these three – self-control, charity and compassion.
V-iii- 1: This is Prajapati - this heart (intellect). It is Brahman, it is everything. ‘Hridaya’ (heart) has three syllables. ‘Hr’ is one syllable. To him who knows as above, his own people and others bring (presents). ‘Da’ is another syllable. To him who knows as above, his own people and others give (their powers). ‘Ya’ is another syllable. He who knows as above goes to heaven.
V-iv- 1: That (intellect-Brahman) was but this – Satya (gross and subtle) alone. He who knows this great, adorable, first-born (being) as the Satya-Brahman, conquers these worlds, and his (enemy) is thus conquered and becomes non-existent – he who knows this great, adorable, first-born (being) thus, as the Satya-Brahman, for Satya is indeed Brahman.
V-v- 1: This (universe) was but water (liquid oblations connected with sacrifices) in the beginning. That water produced Satya. Satya is Brahman. Brahman (produced) Prajapati, and Prajapati the gods. Those gods meditate upon Satya alone. This (name) ‘Satya’ consists of three syllables: ‘Sacrifice’ is one syllable, ‘Ti’ is another syllable, and "Ya’ is the third syllable. The first and last syllables are truth. In the middle is untruth. This untruth is enclosed on either side by truth. (Hence) there is a preponderance of truth. One who knows as above is never hurt by untruth.
V-v-2: That which is Satya is that sun – the being who is in that orb and the being who is in the right eye. These two rest on each other. The former rests on the latter through the rays, and the latter rests on the former through the function of the eyes. When a man is about to leave the body, he sees the solar orb as clear. The rays no more come to him.
V-v-3: Of this being who is in the solar orb, the syllable ‘Bhur’ is the head, for there is one head, and there is this one syllable; the word ‘Bhuvar’ is the arms, for there are two arms, and there are these two syllables; the word ‘Svar’ is the feet, for there are two feet, and there are these two syllables. His secret name is ‘Ahar’. He who knows as above destroys and shuns evil.
V-v- 4: Of this being who is in the right eye, the syllable ‘Bhur’ is the head, for there is one head, and there is this one syllable; the word ‘Bhuvar’ is the arms, for there are two arms, and there are these two syllables; the word ‘Svar’ is the feet, for there are two feet, and there are these two syllables. His secret name is ‘Aham’. He who knows as above destroys and shuns evil.
V-vi- 1: This being identified with the mind and resplendent (is realised by the Yogins) within the heart like a grain of rice or barley. He is the lord of all, the ruler of all, and governs whatever there is.
V-vii- 1: They say lightning is Brahman. It is called lightning (Vidyut) because it scatters (darkness). He who knows it as such – that lightning is Brahman – scatters evils (that are ranged against) him, for lightning is indeed Brahman.
V-viii- 1: One should meditate upon speech (the Vedas) as a cow (as it were). She has four teats – the sounds "Svaha’, ‘Vasat’, ‘Hanta’ and ‘Svadha’. The gods live on two of her teats – the sounds ‘Svaha’ and ‘Vasat’, men on the sound ‘Hanta’, and the manes on the sound ‘Svadha’. Her bull is the vital force, and her calf the mind.
V-ix- 1: This fire that is within a man and digests the food that is eaten, is Vaisvanara. It emits this sound that one hears by stopping the ears thus. When a man is about to leave the body, he no more hears this sound.
V-x- 1: When a man departs from this world, he reaches the air, which makes an opening there for him like the hole of a chariot-wheel. He goes upwards through that and reaches the sun, who makes an opening there for him like the hole of a tabor. He goes upwards through that and reaches the moon, who makes an opening there for him like the hole of a drum. He goes upwards through that and reaches a world free from grief and from cold. He lives there for eternal years.
V-xi- 1: This indeed is excellent austerity that a man suffers when he is ill. He who knows as above wins an excellent world. This indeed is excellent austerity that a man after death is carried to the forest. He who knows as above wins an excellent world. This indeed is excellent austerity that a man after death is placed in the fire. He who knows as above wins an excellent world.
V-xii- 1: Some say that food is Brahman. It is not so, for food rots without the vital force. Others say that the vital force is Brahman. It is not so, for the vital force dries up without food. But these two deities being united attain their highest. So Pratrda said to his father, ‘What good indeed can I do to one who knows like this, and what evil indeed can I do to him either?’ The father, with a gesture of the hand, said, ‘Of, no, Pratrda, for who would attain his highest by being identified with them ?’ Then he said to him this: ‘It is "Vi". Food is "vi", for all these creatures rest on food. It is "Ram". The vital force is "Ram", for all these creatures delight if there is the vital force’. On him who knows as above all creatures rest, and in him all creatures delight.
V-xiii- 1: (One should meditate upon the vital force as) the Uktha (a hymn of praise). The vital force is the Uktha, for it raises this universe. From him who knows as above rises a son who is a knower of the vital force, and he achieves union with and abode in the same world as the Uktha.
V-xiii-2: (One should meditate upon the vital force as) the Yajus. The vital force is the Yajus, for all these beings are joined with one another if there is the vital force. All beings are joined for the eminence of him who knows as above, and he achieves union with and abode in the same world as the Yajus (vital force).
V-xiii-3: (One should meditate upon the vital force as) the Saman. The vital force is the Saman, for all these beings are united if there is the vital force. For him who knows as above all beings are united, and they succeed in bringing about his eminence, and he achieves union with abode in the same world as the Saman.
V-xiii-4: (One should meditate upon the vital force as) the Ksatra. The vital force is the Ksatra, for it is indeed the Ksatra. The vital force protects the body from wounds. He who knows as above attains this Ksatra (vital force) that has no other protector, and achieves union with and abode in the same world as the Ksatra.
V-xiv-1: ‘Bhumi’ (the earth), ‘Antariksa’ (sky) and ‘Dyaus’ (heaven) make eight syllables, and the first foot of the Gayatri has eight syllables. So the above three worlds constitute the first foot of the Gayatri. He who knows the first foot of the Gayatri to be such wins as much as there is in those three worlds.
V-xiv-2: ‘Reah’, ‘Yajumsi’ and ‘Samani’ make eight syllables, and the second foot of the Gayatri has eight syllables. So the above three Vedas constitute the second foot of the Gayatri. He who knows the second foot of the Gayatri to be such wins as much as that treasury of knowledge, the three Vedas, has to confer.
V-xiv-3: ‘Prana’, ‘Apana’ and ‘Vyana’ make eight syllables, and the third foot of the Gayatri has eight syllables. So the above three forms of vital force constitute the third foot of the Gayatri. He who knows the third foot of the Gayatri to be such wins all the living beings that are in the universe. Now its Turiya, apparently visible, supramundane foot is indeed this – the sun that shines. ‘Turiya’ means the fourth. ‘Apparently visible foot’, because he is seen, as it were. ‘Supramundane’, because he shines on the whole universe as its overlord. He who knows the fourth foot of the Gayatri to be such shines in the same way with splendour and fame.
V-xiv- 4: That Gayatri rests on this fourth, apparently visible, supramundane foot. That again rests on truth. The eye is truth, for the eye is indeed truth. Therefore if even today two persons come disputing, one saying, ‘I saw it’, and another, ‘I heard of it’, we believe him only who says, ‘I saw it’. That truth rests on strength. The vital force is strength. (Hence) truth rests on the vital force. Therefore they say strength is more powerful than truth. Thus the Gayatri rests on the vital force within the body. That Gayatri saved the Gayas. The organs are the Gayas; so it saved the organs. Now, because it saved the organs, therefore it is called the Gayatri. The Savitri that the teacher communicates to the pupil is no other than this. It saves the organs of him to whom it is communicated.
V-xiv-5: Some communicate (to the pupil) the Savitri that is Anustubh (saying), ‘speech is Anustubh; we shall impart that to him’. One should not do like that. One should communicate that Savitri which is the Gayatri. Even if a man who knows as above accepts too much as gift, as it were, it is not (enough) for even one foot of the Gayatri.
V-xiv-6: He who accepts these three worlds replete (with wealth), will be receiving (the results of knowing) only the first foot of the Gayatri. He who accepts as much as this treasury of knowledge, the Vedas (has to confer), will receive (the results of knowing) only its second foot. And he who accepts as much as (is covered by) all living beings, will receive (the results of knowing) only its third foot. With its fourth, apparently visible, supramundane foot – the sun that shines – is not to be counter balanced by any gift received. Indeed how could any one accept so much as gift ?
V-xiv-7: Its salutation: ‘O Gayatri, thou art one-footed, two-footed, there-footed and four-footed, and thou art without any feet, for thou art unattainable. Salutation to thee, the fourth, apparently visible, supramundane foot ! May the enemy never attain his object !’ (Should the knower of the Gayatri) bear hatred towards anybody, (he should) either (use this Mantra): ‘Such and such – way his desired object never flourish!’ – in which case that object of the person against whom he thus salutes the Gayatri, never flourishes – or (he may say), ‘May I attain that (cherished object) of his!’
V-xiv-8: On this Janaka, Emperor of Videha, is said to have told Budila, the son of Asvatarasva, ‘Well, you gave yourself out as a knower of the Gayatri; then why, alas, are you carrying (me) as an elephant ?’ He replied, ‘Because I did not know its mouth, O Emperor’. ‘Fire is its mouth. Even if they put a large quantity of fuel into the fire, it is all burnt up. Similarly, even if one who knows as above commits a great many sins, he consumes them all and becomes pure, cleansed, undecaying and immortal’.
V-xv-1: The face (nature) of Satya (Brahman) is hidden (as it were) with a golden vessel. O Pusan (nourisher of the world – the sun), remove it, so that I, whose reality is Satya, may see (the face). O Pusan, O solitary Rishi (seer or traveller), O Yama (controller), O Surya (sun), O son of Prajapati (God or Hiranyagarbha), take away thy rays, curb thy brightness. I wish to behold that most benignant form of thine. I myself am that person; and I am immortal. (When my body falls) may my vital force return to the air (cosmic force), and this body too, reduced to ashes, (go to the earth)! O fire, who art the syllable ‘Om’, O Deity of deliberations, recollect, recollect all that I have done, O Deity of deliberations, recollect, recollect all that I have done. O Fire, lead us along the good way towards our riches (deserts). O Lord, thou knowest everybody’s mental states; remove the wily evil from us. We utter repeated salutations to thee.
VI-i- 1: Om. He who knows that which is the oldest and greatest, becomes the oldest and greatest among his relatives. The vital force is indeed the oldest and greatest. He who knows it to be such becomes the oldest and greatest among his relatives as well as among those of whom he wants to be such.
VI-i- 2: He who knows the Vasistha (that which best helps to dwell or cover) becomes the Vasistha among his relatives. The organ of speech is indeed the Vasistha. He who knows it as such becomes the Vasistha among his relatives as well as among those of whom he wants to be such.
VI-i- 3: He who knows Pratistha (that which has steadiness) lives steadily in difficult as well as smooth places and times. The eye indeed is Pratistha, for through the eye one lives steadily in difficult as well as smooth places and times. He who knows it as such lives steadily in difficult as well as smooth places and times.
VI-i- 4: He who knows Sampad (prosperity) attains whatever object he desires. The ear indeed is Sampad, for all these Vedas are acquired when one has the ear (intact). He who knows it to be such attains whatever object he desires.
VI-i- 5: He who knows the abode becomes the abode of his relatives as well as of (other) people. The Manas indeed is the abode. He who knows it to be such becomes the abode of his relatives as well as of (other) people.
VI-i- 6: He who knows Prajati (that which has the attribute of generation) is enriched with children and animals. The seed (organ) has this attribute. He who knows it to be such is enriched with children and animals.
VI-i- 7: These organs, disputing over their respective greatness, went to Brahman and said to him, ‘Which of us is the Vasistha ?’ He said, ‘That one of you will be the Vasistha, who departing from among yourselves, people consider this body far more wretched’.
VI-i- 8: The organ of speech went out. After staying a whole year out it came back and said, ‘How did you manage to live without me ?’ They said, ‘We lived just as dumb people do, without speaking through the organ of speech, but living through the vital force, seeing through the eye, hearing through the ear, knowing through the mind and having children through the organ of generation.’ So the organ of speech entered.
VI-i- 9: The eye went out. After staying a whole year out it came back and said, ‘How did you manage to live without me ?’ They said, ‘We lived just as blind people do, without seeing through the eye, but living through the vital force, speaking through the organ of speech, hearing through the ear, knowing through the mind and having children through the organ of generation.’ So the eye entered.
VI-i-10: The ear went out. After staying a whole year out it came back and said, ‘How did you manage to live without me ?’ They said, ‘We lived just as deaf people do, without hearing through the ear, but living through the vital force, speaking through the organ of speech, seeing through the eye, knowing through the mind and having children through the organ of generation.’ So the ear entered.
VI-i-11: The mind went out. After staying a whole year out it came back and said, ‘How did you manage to live without me ?’ They said, ‘We lived just as idiots do, without knowing through the mind, but living through the vital force, speaking through the organ of speech, seeing through the eye, hearing through the ear and having children through the organ of generation.’ So the mind entered.
VI-i-12: The organ of generation went out. After staying a whole year out it came back and said, ‘How did you manage to live without me ?’ They said, ‘We lived just as eunuchs do, without having children through the organ of generation, but living through the vital force, speaking through the organ of speech, seeing through the eye, hearing through the ear and knowing through the mind.’ So the organ of generation entered.
VI-i-13: Then as the vital force was about to go out, it uprooted those organs just as a great, fine horse from Sind pulls out the pegs to which his feet are tied. They said, ‘Please do not go out, sir, we cannot live without you’. ‘Then give me tribute.’ ‘All right’.
VI-i-14: The organ of speech said, ‘That attribute of the Vasistha which I have is yours’. The eye: ‘That attribute of steadiness which I have is yours’. The ear: ‘That attribute of prosperity which I have is yours’. The mind: ‘That attribute of abode which I have is yours’. The organ of generation: ‘That attribute of generation which I have is yours’. (The vital force said:) ‘Then what will be my food and my dress ?’ (The organs said:) ‘Whatever is (known as) food, including dogs, worms, insects and moths, is your food, and water your dress’. He who knows the food of the vital force to be such, never happens to eat anything that is not food, or to accept anything that is not food. Therefore wise men who are versed in the Vedas sip a little water just before and after eating. They regard it as removing the nakedness of the vital force.
VI-ii- 1: Svetaketu, the grandson of Aruna, came to the assembly of the Panchalas. He approached Pravahana, the son of Jivala, who was being waited on (by his servants). Seeing him the King addressed him, ‘Boy !’ He replied, ‘Yes, sir’. ‘Have you been taught by your father ?’ He said, ‘Yes’. VI-ii-2: ‘Do you know how these people diverge after death ?’ ‘No’, said he. ‘Do you know how they return to this world ?’ ‘No’, said he. ‘Do you know how the other world is never filled by so many people dying thus again and again ?’ ‘No’, said he. ‘Do you know after how many oblations are offered water (the liquid offerings) rises up possessed of a human voice (or under the name of man) and speaks
?’ ‘No’, said he. ‘Do you know the means of access to the way of the gods, or that to the way of the manes – doing which people attain either the way of the gods or the way of the manes ? We have heard the words of the Mantra: ‘I have heard of two routes for men, leading to the manes and the gods. Going along them all this is united. They lie between the father and the mother (earth and heaven)."’ He said, ‘I know not one of them’.
VI-ii- 3: Then the King invited him to stay. The boy, disregarding the invitation to stay, hurried away. He came to his father and said to him, ‘Well, did you not tell me before that you had (fully) instructed me ?’ ‘How (did you get hurt), my sagacious child ?’ ‘That wretch of a Kshatriya asked me five questions, and I knew not one of them.’ ‘Which are they ?’ ‘These’, and he quoted their first words.
VI-ii- 4: The father said, ‘My child, believe me, whatever I knew I told you every bit of it. But come, let us go there and live as students’. ‘You go alone, please’. At this Gautama came to where King Pravahana, the son of Jivala, was giving audience. The King gave him a seat, had water brought for him, and made him the reverential offering. Then he said, ‘We will give revered Gautama, a boon’.
VI-ii- 5: Aruni said, ‘You have promised me this boon. Please tell me what you spoke to my boy about’. VI-ii-6: The King said, ‘This comes under heavenly boons, Gautama. Please ask some human boon’.
VI-ii- 7: Aruni said, ‘You know that I already have gold, cattle and horses, maid-servants, retinue, and dress. Be not ungenerous towards me alone regarding this plentiful, infinite and inexhaustible (wealth).’ ‘Then you must seek it according to form, Gautama’. ‘I approach you (as a student)’. The ancients used to approach a teacher simply through declaration. Aruni lived as a student by merely announcing that he was at his service.
VI-ii- 8: The King said: Please do not take offence with us, Gautama, as your paternal grandfathers did not (with ours). Before this, this learning never rested with a Brahmana. But I shall teach it to you; for who can refuse you when you speak like this ?
VI-ii- 9: That word (heaven), O Gautama, is fire, the sun is its fuel, the rays its smoke, the day its flame, the four quarters its cinder, and the intermediate quarters its sparks. In this fire the gods offer faith (liquid oblations in subtle form). Out of that offering King Moon is born (a body is made in the moon for the sacrificer).
VI-ii-10: Parjanya (the god of the rain), O Gautama, is fire, the year is its fuel, the clouds its smoke, lightning its flame, thunder its cinder, and the rumblings its sparks. In this fire the gods offer King Moon. Out of that offering rain is produced.
VI-ii-11: This world, O Gautama, is fire, the earth is its fuel, fire its smoke, the night its flame, the moon its cinder, and stars its sparks. In this fire the gods offer rain. Out of that offering food is produced.
VI-ii-12: Man, O Gautama, is fire, the open mouth is its fuel, the vital force its smoke, speech its flame, the eye its cinder, and the ear its sparks. In this fire the gods offer food. Out of that offering the seed is produced.
VI-ii-13: Woman, O Gautama, is fire. In this fire the gods offer the seed. Out of that offering a man is born. He lives as long as he is destined to live. Then, when he dies --
VI-ii-14: They carry him to be offered in the fire. The fire becomes his fire, the fuel his fuel, the smoke his smoke, the flame his flame, the cinder his cinder, and the sparks his sparks. In this fire the gods offer the man. Out of that offering the man emerges radiant.
VI-ii-15: Those who know this as such, and those others who meditate with faith upon the Satya-Brahman in the forest, reach the deity identified with the flame, from him the deity of the day, from him the deity of the fortnight in which the moon waxes, from him the deities of the six months in which the sun travels northward, from them the deity identified with the world of the gods, from him the sun, and from the sun the deity of lightning. (Then) a being created from the mind (of Hiranyagarbha) comes and conducts them to the worlds of Hiranyagarbha. They attain perfection and live in those worlds of Hiranyagarbha for a great many superfine years. They no more return to this world.
VI-ii-16: While those who conquer the worlds through sacrifices, charity and austerity, reach the deity of smoke, from him the deity of the night, from him the deity of the fortnight in which the moon wanes, from him the deities of the six months in which the sun travels southward, from them the deity of the world of the manes, and from him the moon. Reaching the moon they become food. There the gods enjoy them as the priests drink the shining Soma juice (gradually, saying, as it were), ‘Flourish, dwindle’. And when their past work is exhausted, they reach (become like) this ether, from the ether air, from air rain, and from rain the earth. Reaching the earth they become food. Then they are again offered in the fire of man, thence in the fire of woman, whence they are born (and perform rites) with a view to going to other worlds. Thus do they rotate. While those others who do not know these two ways become insects and moths, and these frequently biting things (gnats and mosquitoes).
VI-iii- 1: He who wishes to attain greatness (should perform) on an auspicious day in a fortnight in which the moon waxes, and under a male constellation, during the northward march of the sun, (a sacrifice in the following manner): He should undertake for twelve days a vow connected with the Upasads (i.e. live on milk), collect in a cup of bowl made of fig wood all herbs and their grains, sweep and plaster (the ground), purify the offerings in the prescribed manner, interpose the Mantha (paste made of those things), and offer oblations with the following Mantras: ‘O Fire, to all those gods under you, who spitefully frustrate men’s desires, I offer their share. May they, being satisfied, satisfy me with all objects of desire ! Svaha. To that all-procuring deity who turns out spiteful under your protection, thinking she is the support of all, I offer this stream of clarified butter. Svaha’.
VI-iii- 2: Offering oblations in the fire saying, ‘Svaha to the oldest, Svaha to the greatest’, he dips the remnant adhering to the ladle into the paste. Offering oblations in the fire saying, ‘Svaha to the vital force, Svaha to the Vasistha’, he drips the remnant, etc. Offering oblations saying, ‘Svaha to the organ of speech, Svaha to that which has steadiness’, he drips, etc. Offering oblations saying, Svaha to the eye, Svaha to prosperity’, he drips etc. Offering oblations saying, ‘Svaha to the ear, Svaha to the abode’, he drips, etc. Offering oblations saying, ‘Svaha to the Manas, Svaha to Prajati’, he drips, etc. Offering oblations saying, ‘Svaha to the organ of generation’, he drips, etc.
VI-iii- 3: Offering an oblation in the fire saying, ‘Svaha to fire’, he drips the remnant adhering to the ladle into the paste. Offering and oblation saying, ‘Svaha to the moon,’ he drips, etc. Offering an oblation saying, ‘Svaha to the earth’, he drips, etc. Offering an oblation saying, ‘Svaha to the sky’, he drips, etc. Offering an oblation saying, ‘Svaha to heaven’, he drips, etc. Offering an oblation saying, ‘Svaha to the earth, sky and heaven’, he drips, etc. Offering an oblation saying, ‘Svaha to the Brahmana’, he drips, etc. Offering an oblation saying, ‘Svaha to the Kshatriya’, he drips, etc. Offering an oblation saying, ‘Svaha to the past’, he drips, etc. Offering an oblation saying, ‘Svaha to the future’, he drips, etc. Offering an oblation saying, ‘Svaha to the whole’, he drips, etc. Offering an oblation saying, ‘Svaha to all’, he drips, etc. Offering an oblation saying, ‘Svaha to Prajapati’, he drips, etc.
VI-iii- 4: Then he touches the paste saying, ‘You move (as the vital force), you burn (as fire), you are infinite (as Brahman), you are still (as the sky). You combine everything in yourself. You are the sound ‘Him’, and are uttered as ‘Him’ (in the sacrifice by the Prastotr). You are the Udgitha and are chanted (by the Udgatr). You are recited (by the Adhvaryu) and recited back (by the Agnidhra). You are fully ablaze in a humid (cloud). You are omnipresent, and master. You are food (as the moon), and light (as fire). You are death, and you are that in which all things merge’.
VI-iii- 5: Then he takes it up saying, ‘You know all (as the vital force); we too are aware of your greatness. The vital force is the king, the lord, the ruler. May it make me king, lord and ruler !’
VI-iii- 6: Then he drinks it saying, ‘The radiant sun is adorable --; The winds are blowing sweetly, the rivers are shedding honey, may the herbs be sweet unto us ! Svaha to the earth. Glory we meditate upon; May the nights and days be charming, and the dust of the earth be sweet, may heaven, our father, be gracious ! Svaha to the sky. May he direct our intellect; May the Soma creeper be sweet unto us, may the sun be kind, may the quarters be helpful to us ! Svaha to heaven’. Then he repeats the whole Gayatri and the whole Madhumati, and says at the end, ‘May I be all this ! Svaha to the earth, sky and heaven.’ Then he drinks the whole remnant, washes his hands, and lies behind the fire with his head to the east. In the morning he salutes the sun saying, ‘Thou art the one lotus of the quarters; may I be the one lotus of men !’ Then he returns the way he went, sits behind the fire, and repeats the line of teachers.
VI-iii- 7: Uddalaka, the son of Aruni, taught this to his pupil Yajnavalkya, the Vajasaneya, and said, ‘Should one sprinkle it even on a dry stump, branches would grow and leaves sprout’.
VI-iii-8: The Yajnavalkya, the Vajasaneya, taught this to his pupil Madhuka, the son of Paingi and said, ‘Should one sprinkle it even on a dry stump, branches would grow and leaves sprout’.
VI-iii-9: Madhuka, the son of Paingi, again taught this to his pupil Cula, the son of Bhagavitta, and said, ‘Should one sprinkle it even on a dry stump, branches would grow and leaves sprout’.
VI-iii-10: Then Cula, the son of Bhagavitta, taught this to his pupil Janaki, the son of Ayasthuna, and said, ‘Should one sprinkle it even on a dry stump, branches would grow and leaves sprout’.
VI-iii-11: Janaki, the son of Ayasthuna, again taught this to Satyakama, the son of Jabala, and said, ‘Should one sprinkle it even on a dry stump, branches would grow and leaves sprout’.
VI-iii-12: And Satyakama, the son of Jabala, in his turn, taught this to his pupils and said, ‘Should one sprinkle it even on a dry stump, branches would grow and leaves sprout’. One must not teach this to anyone but a son or a pupil.
VI-iii-13: Four things are made of fig wood: the ladle, the bowl, the fuel and the two mixing rods. The cultivated grains are ten in number: Rice, barley, sesame, beans, Anu, Priyangu, wheat, lentils, pulse and vetches. They should be crushed and soaked in curds, honey and clarified butter, and offered as an oblation.
VI-iv-1: The earth is the essence of all these beings, water the essence of the earth, herbs of water, flowers of herbs, fruits of flowers, man of fruits, and the seed of man.
VI-iv-2: Prajapati thought, ‘Well, let me make an abode for it’, and he created woman. VI-iv-3: …………………
VI-iv- 4: Knowing verily this, Uddalaka, the son of Aruna, Naka, the son of Mudgala, and Kumaraharita said, ‘Many men -Brahmanas only in name – who have union without knowing as above, depart from this world impotent and bereft of merits’.
VI-iv- 5: …………………..
VI-iv- 6: If man sees his reflection in water, he should recite the following Mantra: ‘(May the gods grant) me lustre, manhood, reputation, wealth and merits’. She (his wife) is indeed the goddess of beauty among women. Therefore he should approach this handsome woman and speak to her.
VI-iv- 7: If she is not willing, he should buy her over; and if she is still unyielding, he should strike her with a stick or with the hand and proceed, uttering the following Mantra, 'I take away your reputation’, etc. She is then actually discarded.
VI-iv- 8: If she is willing, he should proceed, uttering the following Mantra: ‘I transmit reputation into you’, and they both become reputed.
VI-iv- 9: ………………….. VI-iv-10: ………………….. VI-iv-11: …………………..
VI-iv-12: If a man’s wife has a lover whom he wishes to injure, he should put the fire in an unbaked earthen vessel, spread stalks of reed and Kusa grass in an inverse way, and offer the reed tips, soaked in clarified butter, in the fire in an inverse way, saying, ‘Thou hast sacrificed in my kindled fire, I take away thy Prana and Apana – such and such. Thou hast sacrificed in my kindled fire, I take away thy sons and animals – such and such. Thou hast sacrificed in my kindled fire, I take away thy Vedic rites and those done according to the Smriti – such and such. Thou hast sacrificed in my kindled fire, I take away thy hopes and expectations – such and such’. The man whom a Brahmana with knowledge of this ceremony curses, departs from this world emasculated and shorn of his merits. Therefore one should not wish even to cut jokes with the wife of a Vedic scholar who knows this ceremony, for he who has such knowledge becomes an enemy.
VI-iv-13: If anybody’s wife has the monthly sickness, she should drink of three days out of a cup (Kamsa). No Sudra man or woman should touch her. After three nights she should bathe, put on a new cloth, and be put to thresh rice.
VI-iv-14: He who wishes that his son should be born fair, study one Veda and attain a full term of life, should have rice cooked in milk, and he and his wife should eat it with clarified butter. Then they would be able to produce such a son.
VI-iv-15: He who wishes that his son should be born tawny or brown, study two Vedas and attain a full term of life, should have rice cooked in curd, and he and his wife should eat it with clarified butter.
Then they would be able to produce such a son.
VI-iv-16: He who wishes that his son should be born dark with red eyes, study three Vedas and attain a full term of life, should have rice cooked in water and he and his wife should eat with clarified butter. Then they would be able to produce such a son.
VI-iv-17: He who wishes that a daughter should be born to him who would be a scholar and attain a full term of life, should have rice cooked with sesame, and he and his wife should eat it with clarified butter. Then they would be able to produce such a daughter.
VI-iv-18: …………….
VI-iv-19: In the very morning he purifies the clarified butter according to the mode of Sthalipaka, and offers Sthalipaka oblations again and again, saying, ‘Svaha to fire, Svaha to Anumati, Svaha to the radiant sun who produces infallible results’. After offering, he takes up (the remnant of the cooked food), eats part of it and gives the rest to his wife. Then he washes his hands, fills the water-vessel and sprinkles her thrice with that water, saying. ‘Get up from here, Visvavasu, and find out another young woman (who is) with her husband.’
VI-iv-20: He embraces her saying, ‘I am the vital force, and you are speech; you are speech, and I am the vital force; I am Saman, and you are Rik; I am heaven, and you are the earth; come, let us strive together so that we may have a male child.’
VI-iv-21: …………….
VI-iv-22: ……………..
VI-iv-23: …………..
VI-iv-24: When (the son) is born, he should bring in the fire, take him in his lap, put a mixture of curd and clarified butter in a cup, and offer oblations again and again with that, saying, ‘Growing in this home of mine (as the son), may I maintain a thousand people ! May (the goddess of fortune) never depart with children and animals from his line ! Svaha. The vital force that is in me, I mentally transfer to you. Svaha. If I have done anything too much or to little in this ceremony, may the all-knowing beneficent fire make it just right for me – neither too much nor too little ! Svaha.’
VI-iv-25: Then putting (his mouth) to the child’s right ear, he should thrice repeat, ‘Speech, speech’. Next mixing curd, honey and clarified butter, he feeds him with (a strip of) gold not obstructed (by anything), saying, ‘I put the earth into you, I put the sky into you, I put heaven into you, I put the whole of the earth, sky and heaven into you’.
VI-iv-26: The he gives him a name, ‘You are Veda (knowledge)’. That is his secret name.
VI-iv-27: Then he hands him to his mother to be suckled, saying, ‘Offering Sarasvati, that breast of thine which is stored with results, is the sustainer of all, full of milk, the obtainer of wealth (one’s deserts) and generous, and through which thou nourishest all who are worthy of it (the gods etc.) – transfer that here (to my wife, for my babe) to suck’.
VI-iv-28: Then he addressed the mother: ‘You are the adorable Arundhati, the wife of Vasistha; you have brought forth a male child with the help of me, who am a man. Be the mother of many sons, for you have given us a son’. Of him who is born as the child of a Brahmana with this particular knowledge, they say, ‘You have exceeded your father, and you have exceeded your grandfather. You have reached the extreme limit of attainment through your splendour, fame and Brahmanical power.’
VI-v- 1: Now the line of teachers: The son of Pautimsa (received it) from the son of Katyayani. He from the son of gautami. The son of Gautami from the son of Bharadvaji. He from the son of Parasari. The son of Parasari from the son of Aupasvasti. He from the son of another Parasari. He from the son of Katyayani. The son of katyayani from the son of Kausiki. The son of Kausiki from the son of Alambi and the son of Vaiyaghrapadi. The son of Vaiyaghrapadi from the son of Kanvi and the son of Kapi.
The son of Kapi –
VI-v- 2: From the son of Atreyi. The son of Atreyi from the son of gautami. The son of Gautami from the son of Bharadvaji. He from the son of parasari. The son of Parasari from the son of Vatsi. The son of Vatsi from the son of another Parasari. The son of Parasari from the son of Varkaruni. He from the son of another Varkaruni. This one from the son of Artabhagi. He from the son of Saungi. The son of Saungi from the son of Samkrti. He from the son of Alambayani. He again from the son of Alambi. The son of Alambi from the son of jayanti. He from the son of Mandukayani. He in his turn from the son of Manduki. The son of manduki from the son of Sandili. The son of Sandili from the son of Rathitari. He from the son of Bhaluki. The son of Bhaluki from the two sons of Kraunciki. They from the son of Vaidabhrti. He from the son of Karsakeyi. He again from the son of Pracinayogi. He from the son of Samjivi. The son of Samjivi from Asurivasin, the son of Prasni. The son of Prasni from Asurayana. He from Asuri. Asuri –
VI-v- 3: From Yajnavalkya. Yajnavalkya from Uddalaka. Uddalaka from Aruna. Aruna from Upavesi. Upavesi from Kusri. Kusri from Vajasravas. He from Jihvavat, the son of Badhyoga. He from Asita, the son of Varsagana. He from Harita Kasyapa. He from Silpa Kasyapa. This one from Kasyana, the son of Nidhruva. He from Vac. She from Ambhini. She from the sun. These white Yajuses received from the sun are explained by Yajnavalkya Vajasaneya.
VI-v- 4: The same up to the son of Samjivi. The son of Samjivi from Mandukayani. Mandukayani from mandavya. Mandavya from Kautsa. Kautsa from Mahitthi. He from Vamakaksayana. He from Sandilya. Sandilya from Vatsya. Vatsya from Kusri. Kusri from Yajnavacas, the son of rajastamba. He from Tura, the son of Kavasi. He from Prajapati (Hiranyagarbha). Prajapati through his relation to Brahman (the Vedas). Brahman is self-born. Salutation to Brahman.
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Brihadaranyopanishad, as contained in the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Commentary
Commentary on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad–by Swami Nirmalananda Giri
Correcting Our Ideas About Brahman
Now we come to the oldest upanishadic dialogue between teacher and student. Gargya, the student, will speak the truth, but without exact perception. That is, his statements will be either partial, skewed, or not of dead-center accuracy. So I will not stay much about what he says, but concentrate on what the teacher Ajatasatru will say in correcting his statements–which are not false, but imperfect and lacking. (All through this discourse Ajatasatru’s disagreements with Gargya are only that Gargya aims much to low in his views of reality, whereas Ajatasatru keeps insisting on viewing Reality–Brahman–not Its manifestations or appearances.)
It must also be kept in mind that when Ajatasatru speaks of “children” or “progeny” he is speaking of the progeny of the illumined mind. Just as the scriptures speak of “the mind-born sons of Brahma” so each of has mind-born offspring, symbolically speaking. Thoughts, words, and deeds, are all our “children.”
The pride of ignorance
“Gargya, son of Valaka, was a good talker, but exceedingly vain. Coming one day into the presence of Ajatasatru, king of Varanasi, he accosted him with boastful speech. Gargya said: ‘I will teach you of Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Indeed? Well, just for that kind proposal you should be rewarded with a thousand cows. People nowadays flock to King Janaka to speak and hear of Brahman; I am pleased that you have come to me instead.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:1:1)
The Sanskrit text actually says: “There was a man of the Garga family called Proud Balaki, who was eloquent.” Shankara comments that he was “‘Proud’ because of his very ignorance about the real Brahman.” We see this a lot in every area of life, not just religion. As someone once said: “The problem with ignorance is that it picks up confidence as it goes along.” It has been my observation that the more confidence some people possess, the more ignorant they are. When they speak with bullying assurance they should never be believed. This has saved me from a lot of potentially disastrous situations.
As has been the practice in nearly all ancient cultures, at that time cows were prized so highly as to even be a medium of exchange, often preferred to money. (It is interesting that the oldest money found in England are huge blocks of metal embossed with the figure of a cow to indicate that each one possesses the value of one cow.)
Janaka was, as A Brief Sanskrit Glossary says: “The royal sage (raja rishi) who was the king of Mithila and a liberated yogi, a highly sought-after teacher of philosophy in ancient India.” So it was very pleasing to Ajatasatru that someone would approach him for philosophical discourse. However, Gargya came to teach and instead was taught–fortunate man! The fact that he was amenable to being taught indicates that his pride was really harmless, like the pride of a child. This is a trait of a sattwic mind.
Transcendent and transcending knowledge
“Gargya said: ‘He who is the being in the sun and at the same time the being in the eye; he who, having entered the body through the eye, resides in the heart and is the doer and the experiencer–him I meditate upon as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Nay, nay! Do not speak thus of Brahman. That being I worship as transcendental, luminous, supreme. He who meditates upon Brahman as such goes beyond all created beings and becomes the glorious ruler of all.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:1:2)
It is certainly true that Brahman is all-pervading and therefore immanent in all creation, but It is much more, and those further attributes are the ones so necessary for the aspiring yogi to learn. That which Gargya said can be held by any devoted religious person in ignorance. But Ajatasatru’s assertions are “the last word” in the matter, both as to the true nature of Brahman and that which he will himself become who comes to know this of Brahman by the direct experience possible only to adept yogis. Brahman is not confined to this present world-experience, and neither are we in our true nature. This must be realized if we would be free (mukta).
Beyond the mind
“Gargya said: ‘The being who is in the moon and at the same time in the mind–him I meditate upon as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Nay, nay! Do not speak thus of Brahman. That being I worship as infinite, clad in purity, blissful, resplendent. He who meditates upon Brahman as such lacks nothing and is forever happy.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:1:3)
Brahman is certainly in the mind [manas], but cannot be grasped by the mind, for it is an instrument of illusory perception. The intellect [buddhi] can be so purified that it becomes a mirror-reflection of Spirit-Being–which is why the Gita emphasizes Buddhi Yoga. The buddhi can perceive Brahman “as infinite, clad in purity, blissful, resplendent.” Such is the gateway to the fulfillment of all right desires and unbroken bliss.
Omnipotence
“Gargya said: ‘The being who is in the lightning and at the same time in the heart–him I meditate upon as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Nay, nay! Do not speak thus of Brahman. That being I worship as power. He who meditates upon Brahman as such becomes powerful, and his children after him.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:1:4)
We see astounding phenomena in creation, but they are only appearances, however wondrous. Brahman is their source, but It is the Power that produces those phenomena, It is their foundation without which they could not occur. Brahman is unlimited Potential. And so are those who come to know Brahman.
Omnipresence
“Gargya said: ‘The being who is in the sky and at the same time in the heart–him I meditate upon as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Nay, nay! Do not speak thus of Brahman. That being I worship as all-pervading, changeless. He who meditates upon Brahman as such is blessed with children and with cattle. The thread of his progeny shall never be cut.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:1:5)
Brahman is not just in a lot of places, Brahman is everywhere and within all things, for It IS all things. And this all-pervasiveness is eternal–has been so forever.
Invincible
“Gargya said: ‘The being who is in the wind and who at the same time is the breath within–him I meditate upon as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Nay, nay! Do not speak thus of Brahman. That being I worship as the Lord, invincible and unconquerable. He who meditates upon Brahman as such becomes himself invincible and unconquerable.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:1:6)
Wind and breath wax, wane, and cease–Brahman never does. It cannot be even affected by anything, much less controlled.
Forbearing
“Gargya said: ‘The being who is in the fire and at the same time in the heart–him I meditate upon as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Nay, nay! Do not speak thus of Brahman. That being I worship as forgiving [forbearing]. He who meditates upon Brahman as such becomes himself forgiving, and his children after him.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:1:7)
The idea here is that, being within all things, Brahman experiences all that happens to them. That is why Bishop James I. Wedgwood, an adherent of Advaita Vedanta, wrote the prayer he called An Act of Union: “Unto Thee, O Perfect One, the Lord and Lover of men, do we commend our life and hope. For Thou art the Heavenly Bread, the Life of the whole world; Thou art in all places and endurest all things, the Treasury of endless good and the Well of infinite compassion.” Brahman is not just in many things, It is the Consciousness inside of all things as the Infinite Witness.
Harmony
“Gargya said: ‘The being who is in the water and at the same time in the heart–him I meditate upon as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Nay, nay! Do not speak thus of Brahman. That being I worship as harmony. He who meditates upon Brahman as such knows only what is harmonious. Of him are born tranquil children.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:1:8)
Water takes the form of any vessel into which it is poured. It is the softest of substances, and has no innate resistance. (Water pressure comes from restraining forms, not from water itself.) Thus it is a perfect symbol of harmony–or “agreeableness” as Madhavananda translates it. Ajatasatru points out that we should not exalt finite objects that exemplify worthy characteristics, but Brahman Which IS those traits, the substances and objects only being tiny reflections of Brahman. We must not mistake the mirror image for the actual object.
Self-effulgent
“Gargya said: ‘The being who is in the mirror–him I meditate upon as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Nay, nay! Do not speak thus of Brahman. That being I worship as effulgent. He who meditates upon Brahman as such becomes himself effulgent, and his children after. He shines brighter than all who approach him.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:1:9)
The ancient Indians were far more sophisticated than is known in the West. Although I once read such an idea denounced as “Hindu Fundamentalism” and “Militant Hinduism,” it is my serious belief that India has in the past attained levels of technology, medicine, and all aspects of culture that have been undreamed of elsewhere on earth. India truly has forgotten more than the modern world can possibly know. This verse is an instance of this.
We see our reflection in a mirror because light waves strike the surface of our bodies and clothing, and as they are deflected into the mirror we see an image there. But Brahman is swayamprakash, Its own illumination. That is why Christian mysticism speaks of Divinity as the “Light of light.” Brahman is the source, the cause, not the effect. “He shining, everything shines.” (Katha Upanishad 2:2:15)
Life itself
“Gargya said: ‘The sound that follows a man as he walks–that I meditate upon as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Nay, nay! Do not speak thus of Brahman. That being I worship as the vital force. He who meditates upon Brahman as such reaches his full age in this world: breath does not leave him before his time.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:1:10)
Brahman is Life Itself, Existence Itself. All phenomena are simply echoes of Brahman. As just quoted: “He shining, everything shines.” (Katha Upanishad 2:2:15)
“My own Self”
“Gargya said: ‘The being who pervades space–him I meditate upon as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Nay, nay! Do not speak thus of Brahman. That being I worship as a second self, who can never be separated from me. He who meditates upon Brahman as such is never lonely, and his followers never forsake him.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:1:11)
Brahman is not outside us as any “thing.” Rather, Brahman is our own Self. What is most important about this verse is that it indicates the important truth that Brahman is our second Self–not our Atman in the simplistic sense. For that would mean that we do not even exist–that as false Advaita says, when we attain realization we will cease to exist and only Brahman will remain. This is not the teaching of the upanishads or the Gita. Brahman is the Self of our Self. First we must come to know our own individual Self, and then proceed to know the Supreme Self, Brahman. Brahman is at the core of our Self, inseparable from It. How this can be is beyond human intelligence, but not beyond our experience, our direct knowing. Buddhi Yoga is the key.
Divine will
“Gargya said: ‘The being who dwells in the heart as intelligence–him I meditate upon as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Nay, nay! Do not speak thus of Brahman. That being I worship as the lord of will. He who meditates upon Brahman as such achieves self-control, and his children after him.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:1:13)
Intelligence or buddhi is centered in the subtle body known as the jnanamaya kosha, which corresponds to the air (vayu) element. But the subtlest body is the anandamaya kosha, which corresponds to the ether (akasha) element. That is the seat of will, the highest power of the individual. The only thing higher is the Self, and since it borders on the Self, the Self (whose Self is Brahman) is “the lord of will.” We can see this in our daily life. We choose what we will or will not think about. Sometimes we even shove thoughts out of our mind, refusing to think on certain subjects or postponing thought till a later time. So the Self is the direct controller of the will. The will determines everything, and even unsophisticated philosophy considers free will the prime trait of a human being.
Insufficient
“Gargya ceased speaking. Ajatasatru, continuing, questioned him. Ajatasatru said: ‘Is that all that you know of Brahman?’ Gargya said: ‘That is all that I know.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘By knowing only so much, one cannot profess to know Brahman.’ Gargya said: ‘Please, sir, accept me as a disciple, and teach me of Brahman.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:1:14)
A practical demonstration
“Ajatasatru said: ‘I will teach you.’ So saying, Ajatasatru took Gargya by the hand and rose. Then, as the two walked side by side, they came to a sleeping man. Ajatasatru said to the sleeper: ‘O thou great one, clad in white raiment, O Soma, O king!’ At first the man did not stir. Then, as Ajatasatru touched him, he awoke.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:1:15)
Occasionally in the upanishads we find humor used to make a point, and this is one of them. Coming across a sleeping man, Ajatasatru addressed him as the divine Self: “O thou great one, clad in white raiment, O Soma, O king!” But it did no good, for the man was unconscious. It was pointless to address him at all. In the same way, all the positive affirming and philosophizing are worthless if the speaker and the hearers are spiritually asleep! Sleepers do not need high-sounding words about the Self: they need to awaken. So Ajatasatru shook him until he woke up. We need to be shaken up, to awaken and see with our real eyes and hear with our real ears. Otherwise nothing will really go on. The truth being spoken to us means nothing if we are not awake to hear it. Yoga is the great awakener. Other factors can disturb our sleep, get us to open our eyes a bit and then go back to sleep, and just mumble and turn over and sleep on. Yoga alone awakens. All the religion and piety mean absolutely nothing if we are not awake and clear in the mind. Ajatasatru now analyzes sleep, dream, and dreamless sleep.
The sleeper
“Ajatasatru said to Gargya: ‘This man, who is a conscious, intelligent being–where was he when he was thus asleep, and how did he thus wake up?’ Gargya was silent.
“When this man, who is a conscious, intelligent being, is thus in deep sleep, he enters into the ether within the lotus of the heart, having withdrawn into himself both his senses and his mind. When his senses and his mind are thus withdrawn, he is said to be absorbed in the [lower] self.
“In this state he knows nothing; he enters into the seventy-two thousand nerves [nadis] which go out from the lotus of the heart. Even as a young man, or an emperor, or the best of Brahmins, when he has experienced the ecstasy of love, straightway takes sweet repose, so does a man deep in sleep find rest.
“But when he sleeps, but also dreams, he lives in a world of his own. He may dream that he is a king, or that he is the best of Brahmins; he may dream that he is an angel, or that he is a beast. As an emperor, having obtained the objects of enjoyment, moves about at will in his dominions, so the sleeper, gathering up the impressions of sense, compounds them into dreams according to his desires.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:1:16-19)
In sleep we withdraw from the physical senses. In dream we are using the astral senses to create whatever our mind decides. In dreamless sleep we are centered in the causal body. We can even think in such a state without waking, though it is not common to do so. Yet, as Ajatasatru points out, we are always conscious, witnessing the dream and dreamless states just as we witness the waking state. Even more, when we awaken we often remember the dreams and even say: “I did not dream,” showing that we remember dreamlessness as vividly as we do dreaming and waking. That witnessing conscious is our Self, pure being itself.
The source
The “bottom line” is that the Self is the source of our waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep. It is the source of our entire life, determining every aspect. So Ajatasatru concludes with these words:
“As threads come out of the spider, as little sparks come out of the fire, so all the senses, all the worlds, all the gods, yea, all beings, issue forth from the Self. His secret name is Truth of the Truth.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:1:20)
The Self, and ultimately Brahman, is/are the origin and existence of all things. When we know that Self we know, possess, and control all. That and that alone is what it means to be a Master.
The Dearness of the Self
Now we come to the best-known dialogue of this upanishad: the conversation between the great sage Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi his wife. Maitreyi and Gargi (whom we will meet later in this upanishad) are evidence that in the time of the ancient sages women were among their number and were teachers of Brahman in their own right. True Hindu traditionalists such as the Arya Samajis make no distinction between male and female in the spiritual rituals (samskaras) received, all wearing the sacred thread (yajnopavita) and performing the Vedic rites. The most perfect and powerful fire sacrifice I have ever attended was that of the high school girls in the Arya Samaj girls’ school in Baroda. I have never seen better “brahmins” than those intelligent and skilled young women. I hope they have retained the glorious wisdom they learned at that true gurukula under the direction of the venerable sage Pandit Anandapriya of the Arya Samaj.
The vital question
“Yajnavalkya said to his wife: ‘Maitreyi, I am resolved to give up the world and begin the life of renunciation. I wish therefore to divide my property between you and my other wife, Katyayani.’
“Maitreyi said: ‘My lord, if this whole earth belonged to me, with all its wealth, should I through its possession attain immortality?’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘No. Your life would be like that of the rich. None can possibly hope to attain immortality through wealth.’
“Maitreyi said: ‘Then what need have I of wealth? Please, my lord, tell me what you know about the way to immortality.’
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘Dear to me have you always been, Maitreyi, and now you ask to learn of that truth which is nearest my heart. Come, sit by me. I will explain it to you. Meditate on what I say.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:4:1-4)
What a beautiful picture! I cannot count the number of enslaved “spiritual” men who have rhapsodized to me about how “special” their wives were, that turned out to really be materialistic, anti-spiritual, manipulative harpies. Women have better sense; they rarely extol the duds they are married to–though both sexes are quite willing to use their spouse as justification for neglecting or abandoning spiritual life. After all, they have taken “vows” and taken “obligations” on themselves! God, for another life, has to go to the end of the line and wait.
But that is not what we see here. We see a real spiritual marriage in action. Both seek Reality. In those days the life of a sannyasi was one of perpetual wandering, so there is no thought of Maitreyi accompanying Yajnavalkya in his new stage of life. But we can be assured that her sadhana was no less intense than his, for she has been honored for centuries as one of the great illuminati of India, no less than her husband.
Yajnavalkya calls Maitreyi priya, which mean dear, beloved, and pleasing. And he does not mean it in the small-minded egocentric way we are so inured to. And lest she think so, he now begins one of the most quoted passages of the upanishads.
For the sake of the Self
“It is not for the sake of the husband, my beloved, that the husband is dear, but for the sake of the Self.
“It is not for the sake of the wife, my beloved, that the wife is dear, but for the sake of the Self.
“It is not for the sake of the children, my beloved, that the children are dear, but for the sake of the Self.
“It is not for the sake of wealth, my beloved, that wealth is dear, but for the sake of the Self.
“It is not for the sake of the Brahmins, my beloved, that the Brahmins are held in reverence, but for the sake of the Self.
“It is not for the sake of the Kshatriyas, my beloved, that the Kshatriyas are held in honor, but for the sake of the Self.
“It is not for the sake of the higher worlds, my beloved, that the higher worlds are desired, but for the sake of the Self.
“It is not for the sake of the gods, my beloved, that the gods are worshipped, but for the sake of the Self.
“It is not for the sake of the creatures, my beloved, that the creatures are prized, but for the sake of the Self.
“It is not for the sake of itself, my beloved, that anything whatever is esteemed, but for the sake of the Self.
“The Self, Maitreyi, is to be known. Hear about it, reflect upon it, meditate upon it. By knowing the Self, my beloved, through hearing, reflection, and meditation, one comes to know all things.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:4:5)
The Self (Atman) is of the nature of bliss (ananda). When the things enumerated above are encountered a person feels a touch of the joy that is the Self. Actually, our response to them opens the barrier between us and the Self for a while, and like the light coming through the shutter of a camera we get a flash, a glimpse of the bliss of the Self. What we are really valuing is that touch of the Self, but in our ignorance we think those objects are the source. Therefore it really is because of–“for the sake of”–the Self that they are thought by us as dear.
The wise seek to know the Self through study, deep thought, and meditation upon the Self. And we are assured that “by knowing the Self through hearing, reflection, and meditation, one comes to know all things.”
All are the Self
To know the Self is to know everything. To not know the Self is to know nothing. So the sage continues:
“Let the Brahmin ignore him who thinks that the Brahmin is different from the Self. “Let the Kshatriya ignore him who thinks that the Kshatriya is different from the Self.
“Let the higher worlds ignore him who thinks that the higher worlds are different from the Self. “Let the gods ignore him who thinks that the gods are different from the Self.
“Let all creatures ignore him who thinks that the creatures are different from the Self. “Let all ignore him who thinks that anything whatever is different from the Self.
“The priest, the warrior, the higher worlds, the gods, the creatures, whatsoever things there be–these are the Self.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:4:6)
That is certainly clear. And so is this:
“As, when the drum is beaten, its various particular notes are not heard apart from the whole, but in the total sound all its notes are heard; as, when the conch shell is blown, its various particular notes are not heard apart from the whole, but in the total sound all its notes are heard; as, when the vina is played, its various particular notes are not heard apart from the whole, but in the total sound all its notes are heard–so, through the knowledge of the Self, Pure Intelligence, all things and beings are known. There is no existence apart from the Self.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:4:7-9)
The incredible spectacle of the endless creations of infinite elaboration springs only from Brahman and has no existence apart from Brahman. The same is true of our own continuing saga of lifetimes: it all emanates from the Self. The cosmic and individual dreams arise only from Consciousness. The dreams are illusion, yet wisdom (jnana) is inherent in them. So Yajnavalkya further says:
“As smoke and sparks arise from a lighted fire kindled with damp fuel, even so, Maitreyi, have been breathed forth from the Eternal all knowledge and all wisdom–what we know as the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, and the rest. They are the breath of the Eternal.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:4:10)
The all-pervading center
“As for water the one center is the ocean, as for touch the one center is the skin, as for smell the one center is the nose, as for taste the one center is the tongue, as for form the one center is the eyes, as for sound the one center is the ears, as for thought the one center is the mind, as for divine wisdom the one center is the heart–so for all beings the one center is the Self.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:4:11)
In the twenty-second chapter of Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda describes seeing with the “eye” of the Self: “Spiritual sight, x-raylike, penetrates into all matter; the divine eye is center everywhere, circumference nowhere. I realized anew, standing there in the sunny courtyard, that when man ceases to be a prodigal child of God, engrossed in a physical world indeed dream, baseless as a bubble, he reinherits his eternal realms. If ‘escapism’ be a need of man, cramped in his narrow personality, can any escape compare with the majesty of omnipresence?”
“As a lump of salt when thrown into water melts away and the lump cannot be taken out, but wherever we taste the water it is salty, even so, O Maitreyi, the individual self, dissolved, is the Eternal–pure consciousness, infinite and transcendent. Individuality arises by identification of the Self, through ignorance, with the elements; and with the disappearance of consciousness of the many, in divine illumination, it disappears. Where there is consciousness of the Self, [seeming] individual separation is no more. This it is, O my beloved, that I wanted to tell you.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:4:12)
A doubt
“Maitreyi said: ‘“Where there is consciousness of the Self, individual separation is no more.” This that you say, my lord, confuses me.’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘My beloved, let nothing I have said confuse you. But meditate well the truth that I have spoken.
“‘As long as there is duality, one sees the other, one hears the other, one smells the other, one speaks to the other, one thinks of the other, one knows the other; but when for the illumined soul the all is dissolved in the Self, who is there to be seen by whom, who is there to be smelt by whom, who is there to be heard by whom, who is there to be spoken to by whom, who is there to be thought of by whom, who is there to be known by whom? Ah, Maitreyi, my beloved, the Intelligence which reveals all–by what shall it be revealed? By whom shall the Knower be known? The Self is described as Not This, Not That. It is incomprehensible, for it cannot be comprehended; undecaying, for it never decays; unattached, for it never attaches itself; unbound, for it is never bound. By whom, O my beloved, shall the Knower be known?
“‘This it is that I teach you, O Maitreyi. This is the truth of immortality.’
“So saying, Yajnavalkya entered upon the path of renunciation.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:4:13,14)
Yajnavalkya is not saying that the enlightened go into a kind of non-dual coma in which nothing is perceived. Rather, he says that those who have known Brahman, even though they still hear and see names and forms, they know that they are not seeing something “other,” but are seeing only the Supreme Self. They do not just believe that, they SEE that to be so. Only the One remains, however many “things” might be seen in the cosmic dream.
Nothing “other” can reveal this Consciousness to us, for that is the Revealer, never the Revealed. For the vision of God takes place within, not without–though afterward we do see Divinity both within and without. The machine does not run the operator, the operator runs the machine.
Because of Its transcendent nature, Brahman is described as Neti Neti–Not This, Not That. We can only say what Brahman is not, and when we come to the end, having negated everything, what remains, though unspeakable and inconceivable, is Brahman.
“By whom, O my beloved, shall the Knower be known?” Only to Itself–to our Self.
Divine Sweetness
We have had a discourse on how it is the Self that makes all things dear or beloved to us. We often use the expression “sweet” to express our pleasure or delight in something, and so the upanishad speaks of how all things are “honey’ (madhu) because “Brahman is the soul in each; he indeed is the Self in all. He is all.” The nature of Brahman is bliss (ananda), and Brahman is the soul, the Self of all. Consequently all things are joy for the awakened and realized person.
To avoid tedium from the type of repetition that is found in many Sanskrit texts (and in many Pali sutras of Buddhism), I will just give the first “honey” verse and the simply list all of the subjects covered, since except for the keyword each verse is absolutely identical.
“This earth is honey for all beings, and all beings are honey for this earth. The intelligent, immortal being, the soul of this earth, and the intelligent, immortal being, the soul in the individual being–each is honey to the other. Brahman is the soul in each; he indeed is the Self in all. He is all.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:5:1)
Verses two to fourteen affirm the joyful nature of water, fire, air, the sun, space, the moon, lightning, thunder, ether, dharma, truth (satyam), humanity (manusham), and all things (sarvesham).
The upanishad them sums it all up with the following verses:
“This Self is the lord of all beings, the king of all beings. As the spokes are held together in the hub and in the felly of a wheel, just so all beings, all creatures, all gods, all worlds, all lives, are held together in the Self.
“He made bodies with two feet, he made bodies with four feet. He entered into all bodies, and because he dwells within the lotus of the heart, he is known as Purusha. There is nothing that is not surrounded by him, nothing that is not filled with him.
“He assumed all forms. He assumed all forms to reveal himself in all forms. He, the Lord, is revealed in an forms through his Maya. He is tens, he is thousands–he is numberless.
“This Brahman is without cause, without effect, without inside or outside. This Brahman is the Self.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2:5:15,18,19)
The Wisdom of the Wise
The next section of the upanishad is a marvel of wisdom that opens with some humor.
I want those cows!
“Janaka, King of Videha, on a certain occasion performed a sacrifice and in connection
therewith distributed costly gifts. Among those who attended the ceremony were the wise men of Kuru and of Panchala. King Janaka observed them and wanted to find out which was the wisest.
“Now it happened that the king kept a thousand cows enclosed in a pen, and between the horns of every one of them were fastened ten gold coins.
“‘Venerable Brahmins,’ said King Janaka, ‘let him who is the wisest among you take away these cows.’
“The Brahmins dared not stir, save Yajnavalkya alone.
“‘My learned son,’ said Yajnavalkya to his disciple, ‘drive home my cows.’ “‘Hurrah!” cried the lad, and made for them.
“The rest of the Brahmins were enraged. ‘How dare he call himself the wisest!’ they shouted. At last, Aswala, priest to King Janaka, accosted Yajnavalkya, saying:
“‘Yajnavalkya, are you quite sure you are the wisest among us?’
“‘I bow down,’ replied Yajnavalkya, ‘to the wisest. But I want those cows!’ “Then Aswala began to question him.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3:1:2)
As already mentioned, Janaka is considered the prime example of a “worldly” person who attained perfect knowledge. He is also considered the prime example of one who possessed great wealth. “Rich as Janaka” is the Indian equivalent of the West’s “rich as Midas.”
It was the custom for those who attended spiritual events to be given rich gifts, and it was obvious to all those at the sacrifice that the thousand cows and ten thousand gold coins strung between their horns were meant to be given to the one who could best expound philosophy and answer all challenging questions. (It may be that the ten thousand padas of gold mentioned in the text were not coins of one pada each, but covers with large gold knobs that were affixed to the cows’ horns.)
Those who attended the sacrifice were truly wise men, for they were also modest. When told that the cows and gold were for the wisest among them “they dared not stir.”
Yajnavalkya, on the other hand, was tactful. He told a student to take the cows to his home rather than claim he was the wisest, though he was–and knew he was. When challenged by Aswala he said: “I bow down to the wisest, but I want those cows!” In this way he masked his wisdom with humor that appeared to be simple greed. Saints often do this, pretending to be ignorant or unaware, hiding their true status from the truly ignorant and unaware (who, blinded by their ego, are always fooled by the ruse). Swami Sivananda often did this, as I witnessed myself. Only the wise dare to be thought a fool.
Now there follows the questioning of Yajnavalkya.
How to overcome death
“Aswala said: ‘Yajnavalkya, since everything connected with sacrificial rites is pervaded by death, and is subject to death, by what means can the worshiper overcome death?’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘By knowledge of the identity between the worshiper, the fire, and the ritual word. For the ritual word is indeed the worshiper, and the ritual word is the fire, and the fire, which is one with Brahman, is the worshiper. This knowledge leads to liberation; this knowledge leads one beyond death.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3:1:3)
All relative things begin and end, are born and die in a manner of speaking. Everything that is connected with the fire sacrifice is perishable, including the fire itself–all are pervaded by death and subject to death. Obviously, then the sacrifice cannot lead to immortality. So how can we overcome (“go beyond” is the literal wording) death? The answer is simple: by knowing the non-dual Brahman Which alone is immortal and immortality itself.
What “eats” death?
“Aswala held his peace. But Artabhaga asked: ‘Yajnavalkya, everything is the food of death. Is there any power for which death is food?’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘Indeed, yes. Fire devours everything, and fire, again, is the food of water. Similarly, there is a death to death. The knower of the truth of Brahman overcomes death.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3:2:10)
Those who know Brahman have “devoured” death just as the eater of food transmutes it into his own body and lives on it. So death itself is the gateway of immortality to the yogi.
The liberated at death
“Artabhaga said: ‘Yajnavalkya, when such an one gives up his body, do his perceptive faculties, along with his mind, go out of him, or do they not?’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘They do not. They merge in the final cause, the Self. The body lies lifeless, inflated, and swollen.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3:2:11)
In relative existence we possess five levels. Artabhaga is asking if all but the physical (material) levels or bodies go along with the liberated individual at the departure from the body. Yajnavalkya replies that the pranic (pranamaya) and sensory-mind (manomaya) bodies do not go along with the liberated person, but are resolved back into the universal energy from which they arose when he entered into relativity. We only take with us the buddhi (jnanamaya) and creative will (anandamaya) bodies which are causal in nature, the seats of intellect and intuition respectively. For the liberated are free forever of the physical and astral bodies, though they can take new ones on again if they elect to return to incarnation in the astral or physical worlds as avatar-saviors in those worlds.
The Atman-Self
“Artabhaga held his peace. Then Ushasta asked: ‘Yajnavalkya, what is the ultimate, the immediate Brahman, Brahman himself alone, directly realized as such, the Self which dwells within all?’ Yajnavalkya (pointing to his heart) said: ‘This, thy Self, which is within all.’ Ushasta said: ‘Which self, O Yajnavalkya, is within all?’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘That which breathes in is thy Self, which is within all. That which breathes down is thy Self, which is within all. That which diffuses breath is thy Self, which is within all. That which breathes out is thy Self, which is within all. Again I reply: This, thy Self, which is within all.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3:4:1)
Brahman is the Self within, the Self that enlivens and activates all through the functions of the five pranas. If we can trace back the pranas, especially through the breath, we will find the Self.
“Ushasta said: ‘As one might say, in distinguishing a cow from a horse, that the cow is the animal that walks, and the horse is the animal that runs, exactly so simple, so clear, O wise one, has been your teaching about Brahman! But tell me, I ask again, who is the ultimate, the immediate Brahman, Brahman himself alone, directly realized as such, the Self which dwells within all?’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘This, thy Self, which is within all.’ Ushasta said: ‘Which self, O Yajnavalkya, is within all?’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘Thou canst not see the seer of the sight, thou canst not hear the hearer of the sound, thou canst not think the thinker of the thought, thou canst not know the knower of the known. Again I reply: This, thy Self, which is within all. Anything that is not the Self perishes.’ Ushasta held his peace.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3:4:2)
There is only one Self: the Self that cannot be seen, heard, thought, or known by the limited mind. It, being inside everything, is not an object of perception. If we take away all “things” only the Self remains, knowing Itself by Itself. Naturally this is not easy to grasp intellectually, because the Self is far beyond the intellect. Nevertheless, these truths can be known by the yogi.
“Kahola asked: ‘Yajnavalkya, what is the ultimate, the immediate Brahman, Brahman himself alone, directly realized as such, the Self which dwells within all?’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘This, thy Self, which is within all.’ Kohala said: ‘Which self, O Yajnavalkya, is within all?’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘That which is beyond hunger, thirst, grief, delusion, decay, and death.
“‘Having realized this Self, the sages renounce the craving for progeny, wealth, and existence in the other worlds, and live the life of mendicants.
“‘The craving for progeny leads to the craving for wealth, and the craving for wealth to the craving for existence in the other worlds. Thus there are two cravings–craving for a life of enjoyment here, and craving for a life of greater enjoyment hereafter.
“‘Therefore should a sage, when he has fully attained the knowledge of the Self, desire to live with that knowledge as his only refuge. When he has fully attained that knowledge, and realized it as his only refuge, he should devote himself exclusively to contemplation of the Self.
“‘He alone is the true knower of Brahman who directs his mind towards the Self and shuns all other thoughts as distractions.
“‘How does such a knower of Brahman act and conduct himself? Whatever he may do or howsoever he may conduct himself, he is free from craving, and is forever established in the knowledge of Brahman. Anything that is not the Self perishes.’
“Kahola held his peace.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3:5:1)
Those who know the Self turn from the nonsense and ties of the world and lead the life of a bhikshu, a monk. (Although in modern times either “sannyasi” or “sadhu” is used to designate a monk, in earlier centuries “bhikshu”–one who lives on alms–was also quite common usage.) Those without ties, but with good sense, knowing this, lead that life from the beginning of their quest. Those that learn of the Self after have tied themselves to the world and yet are wise, begin right away moving toward the life of renunciation and loosening those ties, anticipating the day when they will walk away into freedom. It is not unknown for a realized person to continue living “at home” but in total separation from any obligations that it might entail for others, and certainly utterly out of the “game” of home life. Such a one was Yogiraj Sri Shyama Charan Lahiri, as a study of his life, especially in Autobiography of a Yogi, will reveal. However, those who do not live exactly as he did are deluding themselves if they think they are like him.
Those who are Knowers consider that knowledge their only refuge, the only stable thing in their life, and live ever in meditation on the Self.
A lot of ignoramuses and skallawags claim to be enlightened and able to teach others the way of enlightenment, but Yajnvaklya tells us: “He alone is the true knower of Brahman who directs his mind towards the Self and shuns all other thoughts as distractions.” And: “Whatever he may do or howsoever he may conduct himself, he is free from craving, and is forever established in the knowledge of Brahman.” It is a pity that unlike Kahola they do not hold their peace.
The Sutratman, the “Thread” Self
In the Bhagavad Gita we read: “Nothing higher than Me exists. On Me all this universe is strung like pearls on a thread.” (7:7) This concept is upanishadic:
“Uddalaka spoke: ‘Yajnavalkya, we lived as students in Madra, in the house of Kapya, whose wife was once possessed by a Gandharva, a celestial singer. We asked the Gandharva who he was. He replied that he was Kabandha, and proceeded to question Kapya thus: “Dost thou know that thread whereon this life, the next life, and all beings are strung together?” Kapya did not know. The Gandharva continued: “Dost thou know that Inner Ruler who controls, from within, this life, the next life, and all beings?” Kapya did not know. The Gandharva then said: “He who knows that thread and that Inner Ruler knows Brahman, knows the worlds, knows the gods, knows the Vedas, knows the creatures, knows the Self–knows all things.” I myself know these things that the Gandharva taught. Yajnavalkya, if thou, without knowing that thread and that Inner Ruler, take the cows that belong only to the wisest, accursed shalt thou be.’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘I know that thread and that Inner Ruler.’ Uddalaka said: ‘Anybody can say, “I know, I know.” Tell us what you know.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3:7:1)
This questioning contains a lot of facts regarding the Self:
It is the connecting foundation of all beings.
It is the cohesive force that impels all beings through a succession of lives for their evolution.
It is the absolute Ruler and Controller of all lives and beings as their inmost essential nature.
To know the Self is to know all things, both the Manifester and the manifested.
Now Yajnavalkya responds.
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘The subtle principle of life is that thread whereon this life and the next life and all beings are strung. Hence, when a man dies, they say his limbs are loosed, for while he lives they are held together by that principle of life.’ Uddalaka said: ‘That is true, Yajnavalkya. Now speak of the Inner Ruler.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3:7:2)
The Self is the principle of Life itself.
Present but separate
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘He who dwells on earth, but is separate from the earth, whom the earth does not know, whose body the earth is, and who controls the earth from within–he, the Self, is the Inner Ruler, the Immortal.
“‘He who dwells in water but is separate from water, whom water does not know, whose body water is, and who controls water from within–he, the Self, is the Inner Ruler, the Immortal.
“‘He who dwells in fire but is separate from fire, whom fire does not know, whose body fire is, and who controls fire from within–he, the Self, is the Inner Ruler, the Immortal.
““He who dwells in the sky, in the air, in heaven, in the four quarters, in the sun, in the moon, in the stars, in ether, in darkness, in light, but is separate from them, whom none of them knows, whose body they are, and who controls them from within–he, the Self, is the Inner Ruler, the Immortal.
“‘He who dwells in all beings but is separate from all beings, whom no being knows, whose body all beings are, and who controls all beings from within–he, the Self, is the inner Ruler, the Immortal.
“‘He who dwells in odor, speech, sight, hearing, and touch, but is separate from them, whom odor, speech, sight, hearing, and touch do not know, whose body is odor, speech, sight, hearing, and touch are, and who controls them all from within–he, the Self, is the Inner Ruler, the Immortal.
“‘He who dwells in the mind, but is separate from the mind, whom the mind does not know, whose body the mind is, and who controls the mind from within–he, the Self, is the Inner Ruler, the Immortal.
“‘He who dwells in the intellect, but is separate from the intellect, whom the intellect does not know, whose body the intellect is, and who controls the intellect from within–he, the Self, is the Inner Ruler, the Immortal.
“‘Unseen, but the seer; unheard but the hearer, unthinkable, but the thinker; unknown, but the knower–there is no seer but he, there is no hearer but he, there is no other but he, there is no knower but he. He, the Self, is the Inner Ruler, the Immortal.
“‘Anything that is not the Self perishes.’
“Uddalaka held his peace.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3:7:3-23)
If we have not figured this out already, nothing can be said that will give us the idea. But we do have the idea, and this is an affirmation intended to confirm us in our understanding.
Gargi and the Imperishable
Now we hear from the female sage, Gargi.
“Then arose Gargi, the daughter of Vachaknu, and addressed the sages: ‘Revered Brahmins, I shall ask Yajnavalkya two questions. If he is able to answer them, no one among you can ever defeat him. He will be the great expounder of the truth of Brahman.’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘Ask, O Gargi.’
“Gargi said: ‘Yajnavalkya, as the son of a warrior from Kashi or Videha might string his loosened bow and with two deadly arrows in his hand rise to give battle, even so have I risen to fight thee with two questions.’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘Ask, O Gargi.’
“Gargi said: ‘Yajnavalkya, that of which they say that it is above heaven and below the earth, which is between heaven and earth as well, and which was, is, and shall be–tell me, in what is it woven, warp and woof?’
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘That of which they say, O Gargi, that it is above heaven and below the earth, which is between heaven and earth as well, and which was, is, and shall be–that is woven, warp and woof, in the ether.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3:8:1-4)
Ether (Akasha) is the subtlest element, so subtle that it is often indistinguishable from Consciousness. Without it nothing can exist. Yet there is more, so Gargi persists.
“Gargi said: ‘Thou hast answered my first question. I bow to thee, O Yajnavalkya. Be ready now to answer my second question.’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘Ask, O Gargi.’
“Gargi said: ‘In whom is that ether woven, warp and woof?’
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘The seers, O Gargi, call him Akshara–the changeless Reality. He is neither gross nor fine, neither short nor long, neither hot nor cold, neither light nor dark, neither of the nature of air, nor of the nature of ether. He is without relations. He is without taste or smell, without eyes, ears, speech, mind, vigor, breath, mouth; he is without measure; he is without inside or outside. He enjoys nothing; nothing enjoys him.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3:8:5-8)
“Akshara” means imperishable, indestructible, and immutable. It is sometimes a synonym for the Chidakasha, the Ether of Consciousness in which the element of ether rests. As Yajnavalkya makes clear, the Imperishable Brahman and the imperishable Self are No Thing, having not attributes or form whatsoever; yet It is infinite and omnipresent. “He enjoys nothing” because there is no second, no separate object for Brahman to be involved with or relate to. And “nothing enjoys him” because no thing can perceive Brahman. “Things” do not really exist.
Brahman, on the other hand, is the sole Existence.
“‘At the command of that Akshara, O Gargi, sun and moon hold their courses. At the command of that Akshara, O Gargi, heaven and earth keep their positions. At the command of that Akshara, O Gargi, moments, hours, days and nights, fortnights and months, seasons and years–all follow their paths. At the command of that Akshara, O Gargi, rivers, issuing from the snowy mountains, flow on, some eastward, some westward, others in other directions.
“‘He, O Gargi, who in this world, without knowing this Akshara, offers oblations, performs sacrifices, practices austerities, even though for many thousands of years, gains little: his offerings and practices are perishable. He, O Gargi, who departs this life without knowing the Imperishable, is pitiable. But he, O Gargi, who departs this life knowing the Akshara, is wise.
“‘This Akshara, O Gargi, is unseen but is the seer, is unheard but is the hearer, is unthinkable but is the thinker, is unknown but is the knower. There is no seer but he, there is no hearer but he, there is no thinker but he, there is no knower but he. In Akshara, verily, O Gargi, the ether is woven, warp and woof.’
“Gargi said: ‘Revered Brahmins, well may you feel blest if you get off with bowing before him! No one will defeat Yajnavalkya, expounder of the truth of Brahman.’ Gargi held her peace.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3:8:9-12)
Is it any wonder that men and women throughout the ages have devoted their entire lives to the pursuit of the knowledge of Brahman? What else is there?
“Yajnavalkya addressed the sages: ‘Revered Brahmins, ask me questions if you will–any one of you in the assembly, or all of you. Or if any one of you so desires, I will question him. Or I will question all of you.’ But the Brahmins held their peace.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3:9:27)
Let us hope they returned home and doubled and tripled their efforts to realize Brahman. And so may we, for that is the purpose of this section.
Janaka and Yajnavalkya–1
We come now to the lengthiest dialogue in any of the upanishads. Swami Prabhavananda ended his translation of the upanishad at its conclusion, evidently feeling that anything following it would be of vastly inferior value.
Wealth or knowledge?
“On a certain occasion, Janaka, king of Videha, having seated himself to give audience, saw the sage Yajnavalkya among his visitors and accosted him. Janaka said: ‘Yajnavalkya, what brings you here? Do you come for cattle, or for philosophy?’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘For both, Your Majesty.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:1:1)
The great sages, whether past or present, always have a sense of humor. And they are not interested in how they “look” to others. I have seen both of these principles more than once in Swami Sivananda and other great yogis in India.
Humorous though it be, this verse has a real message: the intelligent yogi is interested in the total picture, both material and spiritual. It is ignorance that postulates an incompatibility between material and spiritual life. It is ignorance that creates the problem, not matter or spirit. After all, matter is a manifestation of spirit. Both Janaka and Yajnavalkya were rich in material possessions and in wisdom.
In America we have had two men that were equally successful in finance and spirituality: J. C. Penney, founder of “Penney’s” department store chain and James J. Lynn, whose many-branched multimillion dollar empire could not keep him from becoming one of this country’s greatest yogis and the successor of Paramhansa Yogananda as president of Self-Realization Fellowship. In India I met men of fabulous wealth whose whole mind and heart were centered in spirit-consciousness while working tirelessly for the welfare of the people.
As Sri Ramakrishna said: “If you can weigh salt, you can weigh sugar.”
Word-Brahman
“[Yajnavalkya said:] ‘I wish to hear what your teachers may have taught you.’ “Janaka said: ‘Jitwa taught me that the word [vak] is Brahman.’
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘As one who in childhood was instructed adequately, first by his mother and then by his father, and after that was initiated into the sacred mysteries by a sage–as such an one should teach, so has Jitwa taught you the truth when he said that the word is Brahman. For what could a person achieve without the word? But did he tell you about the abode and support of this Word-Brahman?‘
“Janaka said: ‘No, he did not.’
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘Then you have been only partly taught.’ “Janaka said: ‘Do you, then, teach me, O Yajnavalkya.’
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘The organ of speech is its abode, and ether, the primal cause of the universe, is its eternal support. Meditate upon the word as identical with knowledge.’ “Janaka said: ‘What is knowledge, Yajnavalkya?’
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘The word is knowledge, Your Majesty. For through the word a friend is known, and likewise all knowledge, spiritual or otherwise. Through the word is gained knowledge of this world and of the next. Through the word is obtained knowledge of all creatures. The word, Your Majesty, is the Supreme Brahman.’
“Janaka said: ‘I give you a thousand cows with a bull as big as an elephant for teaching me.
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘My father was of the opinion that one should not accept any reward from a disciple without fully instructing him.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:1:2)
The power of Word, both conceptualization and verbal expression of concepts, is the distinctive feature of the human being, although many other species on earth use sound for communication. There is great power is speech for many reasons, some intellectual and some esoteric. Yajnavalkya points out that it is not enough to appreciate the power of word, but we must know that which gives word it power, what is its “abode and support.” He then tells us that it is the faculty of speech, the innate capacity of the human being for speech, that is the abode of word, for without the faculty of speech there could be no word expressed. Yet that is not the ultimate basis of the word. “Ether, the primal cause of the universe, is its eternal support.” Here, again, the Chidakasha is meant. Sound arises out of the element of ether, and the consciousness behind intelligent sound is the Chidakasha, the Self of the nature of Consciousness. So it is this Consciousness that is the origin of the Word-Brahman, the Shabda Brahman, whose primary form is Om. That Word is to be meditated upon as Prajna (“knowledge”), the inmost consciousness.
“My father was of the opinion that one should not accept any reward from a disciple without fully instructing him.” This tells us two things: Yajnavalkya possessed a spiritual lineage, a tradition with roots. Also he considered that partial knowledge was of little value.
Breath-Brahman
“[Yajnavalkya said:] ‘I wish to know what anyone else may have taught you.’
“Janaka said: ‘Udanka taught me that breath [prana] is Brahman. He did not tell me about its abode and support.’
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘Prana is its abode and ether [akasha] its support. It should be meditated upon as dear. For life is indeed dear. The primal energy is Brahman.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:1:3)
When we breathe we live, and when we stop breathing, we die. That is why breath holds such a principal place in the practice of yoga. However, the breath is just the objectified physical manifestation of the inner movement of prana, the primal life energy within the human being. Prana is the force of life itself, but it, like the faculty of speech, has the Chidakasa as its origin and support. The prana is indeed dear, for it is the coin of life.
Sight-Brahman
Now we have another of the same-word passages:
“[Yajnavalkya said:] ‘Tell me what more you have been taught.’
“Janaka said: ‘Barku taught me that the eye [chakshu] is Brahman. But he did not teach me its abode and support.’
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘Sight [chakshu] is its abode and ether its support. It should be meditated upon as truth. For it is by sight that objects are known. Sight is Brahman. What more have you learned?’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:1:4)
The word chakshu means both the physical eye and the faculty of sight. The eye is meaningless if one lacks the faculty of sight. And that, too, is rooted in the Chidakasha. Thus we see that all our faculties are but rays of the sun that is the Chidakasha.
The next few verses are going to follow this pattern: the teachers of Janaka will have named the material sense organ, and Yajnavalkya will explain that it is the faculty–and ultimately the Chidakasha–that is the attribute/power of Brahman.
Hearing-Brahman
“Janaka said: ‘Gardabhivipati taught me that the ear [shrotra] is Brahman.’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘Hearing [shrotra] is its abode and ether its support. It should be meditated upon as limitless. For sound is carried by space, and space is limitless. Hearing is Brahman.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:1:5)
There is a yogic aspect to this, since sound in the form of subtle inner hearing is the quintessential element of meditation practice. This faculty is rooted in the ether element which is all-pervading and limitless. Thus through working with sound in meditation we can access the all-pervading and limitless Consciousness that is Brahman.
Mind-Brahman
“Janaka said: ‘Satyakama taught me that the mind [manas] is Brahman.’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘The mind [manas] is its abode and ether its support. It should be meditated upon as happiness. For by the mind alone is happiness experienced. Mind is Brahman.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:1:6)
Here the lower, sensory mind is being spoken of whose basis is the higher mind, the intellect (buddhi). The important principle is the fact that happiness is only in the intelligent mind.
Heart-Brahman
“Janaka said: ‘Vidagdha taught me that the heart [hridaya] is Brahman.’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘The heart [hridaya] is its abode and ether its support. It should be meditated upon as the resting-place. For all beings find rest in the heart. The heart is Brahman.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:1:7)
The “heart” is the faculty of consciousness in the human being, and that rests within the greater Consciousness of Brahman.
Further teaching
“Janaka (descending from his throne and humbly addressing the sage) said: ‘I bow down to you. Yajnavalkya, please teach me.’
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘Your Majesty, as a person wishing to make a long journey furnishes himself with a chariot or a boat, so have you equipped your mind with sacred wisdom. You are honorable and wealthy, and you have studied the Vedas and learned the Upanishads. Whither then shall you go when you leave this body?’
“Janaka said: ‘I do not know, revered sir.’ “Yajnavalkya said: ‘I will tell you where you will go.’ “Janaka said: ‘Tell me, please.’
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘Indha is the Self identified with the physical self. Viraj, the physical world is his wife, the object of his enjoyment. The space within the heart is their place of union in dream, when the Self is identified with the subtle body, or mind. The Self in dreamless sleep is identified with the vital force. Beyond this is the Supreme Self–he that has been described as Not This, Not That. He is incomprehensible, for he cannot be comprehended; he is undecaying, for he never decays; he is unattached, for he does not attach himself; he is unfettered, for nothing can fetter him. He is never hurt. You have attained him who is free from fear, O Janaka, and free from birth and death.’
Janaka said: ‘May that fearlessness come to you who teach us fearlessness. I bow down to you. Behold, this empire of Videha, and I myself, are at your service.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:2:1-4)
In reality, the liberated person does not “go” anywhere, but abides as the Self. Wherefore let us strive to know the Self and transcend all “coming” and “going.”
Janaka and Yajnavalkya–2
In this next conversation of Yajnavalkya and Janaka, the first seven verses are a complete unit, so to speak.
The light of human beings
“Once when Yajnavalkya came to the court of King Janaka, the King welcomed him with a question.
“Janaka said: ‘Yajnavalkya, what serves as the light for man?’
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘The light of the sun, Your Majesty; for by the light of the sun man sits, goes out, does his work, and returns home.’
“Janaka said: ‘True indeed, Yajnavalkya.’
“‘But when the sun has set, what serves then as his light?’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘The moon is then his light.’
“Janaka said: ‘When the sun has set, O Yajnavalkya, and the moon has set, what serves then as his light?’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘The fire is then his light.’
“Janaka said: ‘When the sun has set, O Yajnavalkya, and the moon has set, and the fire has gone out, what serves then as his light?’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘Sound is then his light; for with sound alone as his light, man sits, goes out, does his work, and returns home. Even though he cannot see his own hand, yet when he hears a sound he moves towards it.’ Janaka said: ‘True indeed, O Yajnavalkya.’
“‘When the sun has set, and the moon has set, and the fire has gone out, and no sound is heard, what serves then as his light?’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘The Self indeed is his light; for by the light of the Self man sits, moves about, does his work, and when his work is done, rests.’
“Janaka said: ‘Who is that Self?’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘The self-luminous being who dwells within the lotus of the heart, surrounded by the senses and sense organs, and who is the light of the intellect, is that Self. Becoming identified with the intellect, he moves to and fro, through birth and death, between this world and the next. Becoming identified with the intellect, the Self appears to be thinking, appears to be moving. While the mind is dreaming, the Self also appears to be dreaming, and to be beyond the next world as well as this.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:3:1-7)
This is all quite clear, but it is good note that it is identity with the intellect, the intelligence principle in our makeup that both enables and causes us to move between this world and another, for we think that we are engaging in the functions of the intellect, not realizing that it is but an instrument formed of the three gunas and is not us at all. So we say: “I slept; I woke up; I was dreaming,” and so forth. Another important point is implied here. Notice that Yajnavalkya does not speak of identifying with the body, senses, emotions, etc. This is because the upanishad is intended for the instruction of those who have evolved beyond that type of identity, whose center of awareness in in the intellect, in the highest level of their being. Is this “elitist”? Absolutely! As Jesus said, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” (Matthew 7:6)
A third point is that the Self is not “beyond the next world as well as this.” That is, It is not subject to coming and going, is neither within nor without any world. It transcends those kinds of designation.
The real “root of all evil”
“‘When man, the individual soul, is born, and assumes relationship with the body and sense organs, he becomes associated with the evils of the world. When at death he gives up the body, he leaves all evils behind.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:3:8)
Yajnavalkya does not say that false identity is the problem, rather that mere birth in a body creates unavoidable association with all the troubles and risks that every embodied being endures. We see this in the life of great avatars and masters: their lives were filled with troubles, and many of them died quite painfully. Why anyone would pray to them to remove troubles and disease is beyond comprehension. Why do the good suffer? Because they are in a body. This is a basic fact of life. That is why spiritually intelligent people understand that the real sacrifice made by masters of all ages was their incarnation–and everything went on from there. To endure the limitations and dangers of finite existence is a great, even a terrible, sacrifice they undergo at every moment. Being masters inwardly as well as outwardly, the sacrifice never overwhelms them, and they realized the implications of birth before they were even conceived. Since they are always in charge, they do not experience the mental anguish we do, but they go through the entire range of earthly miseries just like anyone else. With them everything is voluntary, for they have no karma to drag them into birth and through all that happens afterward. They walk through life, while we are pushed and pulled along. But for both them and us, to escape the body is to escape it all. And Atmajnana is the only true escape.
The human status
“‘There are two states for man–the state in this world, and the state in the next; there is also a third state, the state intermediate between these two, which can be likened to dream. While in the intermediate state, a man experiences both the other states, that in this world and that in the next; and the manner thereof is as follows: When he dies, he lives only in the subtle body, on which are left the impressions of his past deeds, and of these impressions he is aware, illumined as they are by the pure light of the Self. Thus it is that in the intermediate state he experiences the first state, or that of life in the world. Again, while in the intermediate state, he foresees both the evils and the blessings that will yet come to him, as these are determined by his conduct, good and bad, upon the earth, and by the character in which this conduct has resulted. Thus it is that in the intermediate state he experiences the second state, or that of life in the world to come.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:3:9)
We are either embodied in this world, or disembodied and living in the astral realm. But between the two is the dream state in which we experience both material and astral conditions. For example, we fall off a cliff and experience falling just as we would in the waking state. But when we hit the ground we do not die–it does not even hurt. That is how it is in the astral world. And that is why little children are so fearless and will go right into a life-threatening situation without hesitation–in the astral world it is not threatening at all. It may even be fun. One of Yogananda’s monastic disciples once explained to a group of people that they should not be impatient with the intense reactions of children to pain and frustration. For in the astral world they get anything they want just by wanting, and they can go anywhere and do anything without pain. So when the situation is different in this world they are terrified and angry. They are also miserable in realizing that they are now in a world in which uncertainty is the only certainty. A friend of mine was once found by her father sitting in the midst of the floor crying bitterly. (She was two years old at the time.) When he asked her what was wrong, she complained that she could not fly. Luckily, he was a metaphysician, so he explained to her that although she could fly in the world she had come from, in this world people could not fly. “Then it’s a dumb world!” she said. “I agree. So do your best not to come back,” was his counsel.
When we leave our bodies we gain a great deal of understanding. We comprehend the life that has just ended and realize its deeper meanings. We analyze it, actually, and learn from it. Sometimes we have helpers in doing this. So even though we underwent things on earth with complete non-comprehension, now then see clearly their roots and their purpose. Those who do not know this often ask what good it is for infants and children to reap negative karmas and die young, for they cannot understand. Indeed, in this world they cannot understand, but the moment they are freed from the body they can and do understand. Also, it was their karma to suffer uncomprehendingly. It all works out to perfection, however it seems at the present moment. A religion that does not teach these facts to its adherents is unworthy of anyone’s attention. And a religion that tells people that God wills it all–is doing it to them because He has “a plan”–is a barefaced liar that deserves only contempt. But of course, many people deserve a contemptible religion. That, too, is karma.
Dream
“‘In the intermediate state, there are no real chariots, nor horses, nor roads; but by the light of the Self he creates chariots and horses and roads. There are no real blessings, nor joys, nor pleasures; but he creates blessings and joys and pleasures. There are no real ponds, nor lakes, nor rivers; but he creates ponds and lakes and rivers. He is the creator of all these out of the impressions left by his past deeds.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:3:10)
Just see what an incredible power of creative intelligence we all have! Also, even dreams are a matter of karma. Paramhansa Yogananda said that we can work out karma in the dream state.
“‘Regarding the different states of consciousness, it is written: While one is in the state of dream, the golden, self-luminous being, the Self within, makes the body to sleep, though he himself remains forever awake and watches by his own light the impressions of deeds that have been left upon the mind. Thereafter, associating himself again with the consciousness of the organs of sense, the Self causes the body to awake.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:3:11)
In all states we are the self-luminous, untouched Witness. And all states are under our control.
“‘While one is in the state of dream, the golden, self-luminous being, the Self within, the Immortal One, keeps alive the house of flesh with the help of the vital force, but at the same time walks out of this house. The Eternal goes wherever he desires.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:3:12)
Here is clear teaching that in dream we sometimes leave the body and travel in either this world or the next. In that state:
“‘The self-luminous being assumes manifold forms, high and low, in the world of dreams. He seems to be enjoying the pleasure of love, or to be laughing with friends, or to be looking at terrifying spectacles.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:3:13)
This experience is common to all, from the least intelligent to the genius. Yet: “‘Everyone is aware of the experiences; no one sees the Experiencer.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:3:14) That is the riddle we must all solve.
“‘Some say that dreaming is but another form of waking, for what a man experiences while awake he experiences again in his dreams. Be that as it may, the Self, in dreams, shines by his own light.’ Janaka said: ‘Revered sir, I offer you a thousand cattle. Instruct me further for the sake of my liberation.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:3:15)
Free while bound
Even a tethered animal can move about as much as it likes within the bounds of the tether. It is the same with us. So we are never absolutely bound, but always experience a great deal of freedom, even if it is mostly psychological. A lot of what follows is obvious and even common knowledge, so no comment is needed.
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘The Self, having in dreams tasted enjoyment, gone hither and thither, experienced both good and evil, attains to the state of dreamless sleep; then again he comes back to dreams. ‘Whatever he may experience in dreams does not affect him, for the true nature of the Self remains forever unaffected.’
“Janaka said: ‘So it is indeed, Yajnavalkya. I offer you another thousand cattle, revered sir. Speak on for the sake of my liberation.’
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘The Self, having in dreams tasted enjoyment, gone hither and thither, experienced good and evil hastens back to the state of waking from which he started. Whatever he may experience in dreams does not affect him, for the true nature of the Self remains forever unaffected.’
“Janaka said: ‘So it is indeed, Yajnavalkya. Another thousand cattle shall be yours, revered sir. Speak on for the sake of my liberation.’
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘The Self, having in wakefulness enjoyed the pleasures of sense, gone hither and thither, experienced good and evil, hastens back again to his dreams.’
“‘As a large fish moves from one bank of a river to the other, so does the Self move between dreaming and waking.’
“‘As a hawk or a falcon flying in the sky becomes tired, and stretching its wings comes back to its nest, so does the Self hasten to that state where, deep in sleep, he desires no more desires, and dreams no more dreams.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:3:16-19)
The transcendent Self
There now follows one of the most thrilling and exalted passage of the upanishads.
“‘Indeed, the Self, in his true nature, is free from craving, free from evil, free from fear. As a man in the embrace of his loving wife knows nothing that is without, nothing that is within, so man in union with the Self knows nothing that is without, nothing that is within, for in that state all desires are satisfied. The Self is his only desire; he is free from craving, he goes beyond sorrow.’
“‘Then father is no father, mother is no mother; worlds disappear, gods disappear, scriptures disappear; the thief is no more, the murderer is no more, castes are no more; no more is there monk or hermit. The Self is then untouched either by good or by evil, and the sorrows of the heart are turned into joy.’
“‘He does not see, nor smell, nor taste, nor speak, nor hear, nor think, nor touch, nor know; for there is nothing separate from him, there is no second. Yet he can see, for sight and he are one; yet he can smell, for smelling and he are one; yet he can taste, for taste and he are one; yet he can speak, for speech and he are one; yet he can hear, for hearing and he are one; yet he can think, for thinking and he are one; yet he can touch, for touching and he are one; yet he can know, for knowing and he are one. Eternal is the light of consciousness; immortal is the Self.’
“‘When there is another, then one sees another, smells another, tastes another, speaks to another, hears another, thinks of another, touches and knows another.’
“‘Pure like crystal water is that Self, the only seer, the One without a second. He is the kingdom of Brahman–man’s highest goal, supreme treasure, greatest bliss. Creatures who live within the bonds of ignorance experience but a small portion of his infinite being.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:3:21-32)
For some reason Swami Prabhavananda omitted the next verse, perhaps because it had already appeared in the Taittiriya Upanishad in his translation. Here is Swami Madhavananda’s translation:
“‘He who is perfect of physique and prosperous among men, the ruler of others, and most lavishly supplied with all human enjoyments, represents greatest joy among men. This human joy multiplied a hundred times makes one unit of joy for the manes who have won that world of theirs. The joy of these manes who have won that world multiplied a hundred times makes one unit joy in the world of the celestial minstrels. This joy in the world of the celestial minstrels multiplied a hundred times makes one unit of joy for the gods by action–those who have attained their godhead by their actions. This joy of the gods by action multiplied a hundred times makes one unit of joy for the gods by birth, as also of one who is versed in the Vedas, sinless and free from desire. This joy of the gods by birth multiplied a hundred times makes one unit of joy in the world of Prajapati (Viraj), as well as one who is versed in the Vedas, sinless and free from desire. This joy in the world of Prajapati multiplied a hundred times makes one unit of joy in the world of Brahman (Hiranyagarbha), as well as of one who is versed in the Vedas, sinless and free from desire. This indeed is the supreme bliss. This is the state of Brahman, O Emperor,’ said Yajnavalkya.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:3:33)
KNOW THE SELF!
The Process of Reincarnation
The following verses alone in all the upanishads describe to some degree the process of reincarnation.
Dreaming and waking
“Janaka said: ‘You shall have still another thousand cattle. Speak on, revered sir, for the sake of my liberation.’
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘The Self, having in dreams enjoyed the pleasures of sense, gone hither and thither, experienced good and evil, hastens back to the state of waking from which he started.’
“‘As a man passes from dream to wakefulness, so does he pass at death from this life to the next. When a man is about to die, the subtle body, mounted by the intelligent Self, groans–as a heavily laden cart groans under its burden.’
“‘When his body becomes thin through old age or disease, the dying man separates himself from his limbs, even as a mango or a fig or a banyan fruit separates itself from its stalk, and by the same way that he came he hastens to his new abode, and there assumes another body, in which to begin a new life.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:3:33-36)
Passing from life to life is only a shifting in a dream. When the stored-up life force (a form of karma) for a life is running out, just as the charge in a battery is expended and fails, so do the physical and grosser pranic bodies. And, just as the ripe fruit falls from the tree, so the subtle body separates itself from the material body and begins its process toward another earthly birth in a new body. In between births, the individual spends time in the astral regions, sometimes just wandering and frittering his time away, and sometimes in learning and evolving so his next life will be markedly better–and wiser–than the previous one. This time spent in this intermediate state can be anything from a matter of hours to centuries and even thousands of years. This is precisely determined by karma.
(By the way, it is nonsense to say that unevolved people reincarnate quickly and evolved people only come back in thousands of years. Both ends of the spectrum are similar: very unevolved beings reincarnate very fast, and so do those that are highly evolved, for they are getting ready to graduate and are “cramming” for the final test.)
Leaving the body
“‘When his body grows weak and he becomes apparently unconscious, the dying man gathers his senses about him and completely withdrawing their powers descends into his heart. No more does he see form or color without.
“‘He neither sees, nor smells, nor tastes. He does not speak, he does not hear. He does not think, he does not know. For all the organs, detaching themselves from his physical body, unite with his subtle body. Then the point of his heart, where the nerves join, is lighted by the light of the Self, and by that light he departs either through the eye, or through the gate of the skull, or through some other aperture of the body. When he thus departs, life departs; and when life departs, all the functions of the vital principle depart. The Self remains conscious, and, conscious, the dying man goes to his abode. The deeds of this life, and the impressions they leave behind, follow him.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:1,2)
He becomes apparently unconscious. This is important. The person may cease to perceive anything, but that is not being unconscious. We are never unconscious at any time, but we mistakenly call total absence of sensory perception unconsciousness. There is a vital point I want to mention here. The very last sense to fail is the sense of hearing. Sometimes it never fails. A lot of people give up and die because they hear the doctor say there is no hope or that they will soon be dead. So if you are around a dying, “unconscious” person please remember this. You can speak to them and help them either revive or go to higher worlds. That is why both Hindus and Buddhists read scriptures to the dying or recite mantras or sing mantras. In Pure Land Buddhism people sit by the dying and sing the mantra of Amida Buddha, continuing to do so for several hours after the person appears to be dead, knowing that sometimes they may have trouble getting out of the body or may be disoriented when they do.
Yogananda spoke of this to his students, one of whom was the famous opera singer Amelita Galli-Curci. So when her brother was dying she talked to him and called him back to life. When he became “conscious” he told her that he had heard doctor saying he would soon be dead, so he accepted it and began drifting away. Then he heard her voice calling to him from far off, and telling him to return. So he did! At one point he even saw Yogananda, about whom he knew virtually nothing but he recognized Yogananda when his sister showed a picture to him.
It is sometimes possible to revive a person by intoning Om in their right ear. Yogananda also recommended this.
Then the point of his heart, where the nerves join, is lighted by the light of the Self, and by that light he departs either through the eye, or through the gate of the skull, or through some other aperture of the body. This is the Light that so many people tell about seeing who have returned from near-death. There are many gates by which a person may leave the body, and they are all determined by the level of consciousness (bhava) in which he has habitually lived during his lifetime. (This is one of the major teachings of the Bhagavad Gita.) To leave through a center in the head is the best, and will determine what highly evolved world he will enter. Those who leave through the center at the top of the head, the Brahmarandhra, will not return to rebirth. Those who leave at lower centers in the body or spine will go to lesser worlds, and some of the lowest centers are literally gates to negative worlds we call “hells.” Some even lead to rebirth in animal forms, though this is rare.
The Self remains conscious, and, conscious, the dying man goes to his abode. The deeds of this life, and the impressions they leave behind, follow him. Some of low evolution simply go to sleep and only wake a little before reincarnating, and some do not even awaken until they are born. But the people to which this upanishad is addressed will certainly depart in full consciousness and will review their life and be aware of the psychic changes their previous actions have produced. And they will be aware of exactly why and how they eventually find themselves in an astral or causal realm that corresponds to those karmas and samskaras. It is all a matter of learning.
Astral birth
“‘As a leech, having reached the end of a blade of grass, takes hold of another blade and draws itself to it, so the Self, having left this body behind it unconscious, takes hold of another body and draws himself to it.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:3)
Birth in the astral world is a conscious act. Only on earth or in the negative astral worlds do we mistakenly think that we are helpless and that we are not in charge. That is why the simile of a leech is used, and why the Sanskrit text literally says that we make another body for ourselves. And that happens in earthly rebirth, too. We choose where to whom we will be born, and we enter the womb of our chosen mother and, taking the material provided by both parents, make our next body-habitation in accordance with our karma and samskara–this is how powerful and intelligent we all are! Yogananda said in his Gita commentary that the individual consciously guides the growth of his body in the womb. (That was the first sentence of Yogananda’s teaching that I read, sitting in a public library in the fall of 1960.)
“‘As a goldsmith, taking an old gold ornament, molds it into another, newer and more beautiful, so the Self, having given up the body and left it unconscious, takes on a newer and better form, either that of the fathers, or that of the celestial singers, or that of the gods, or that of other beings, heavenly or earthly.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:4)
In the higher worlds, the individual creates a body that is appropriate to the world in which he shall be living until he takes rebirth–also voluntarily. This experience will train him for even more efficiently making his body when he returns to earth.
Sometimes in the subtle worlds an individual takes on a body that is higher than his present evolutionary status and practices living on that level. This prepares him for a higher level on earth, as well. This is mentioned as taking place even for animals in the forty-third chapter of Yogananda’s autobiography, “The Resurrection of Sri Yutkeswar.”
Misidentification
“‘The Self is verily Brahman. Through ignorance it identifies itself with what is alien to it, and appears to consist of intellect, understanding, life, sight, hearing, earth, water, air, ether, fire, desire and the absence of desire, anger and the absence of anger, righteousness and the absence of righteousness. It appears to be all things–now one, now another.
“‘As a man acts, so does he become. A man of good deeds becomes good, a man of evil deeds becomes evil. A man becomes pure through pure deeds, impure through impure deeds.
“‘As a man’s desire is, so is his destiny. For as his desire is, so is his will; as his will is, so is his deed; and as his deed is, so is his reward, whether good or bad.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:5)
Lest in all this we forget that it is really the dream-life of the individual spirit, Yajnavalkya reminds Janaka of this. For in all these changes, the Self is unchanging, in all these births and deaths the Self remains birthless and deathless. The fact that we so easily forget this truth is evidence of how good we are at fooling ourselves! We are always masters of the situation.
Desire
“‘A man acts according to the desires to which he clings. After death he goes to the next world bearing in his mind the subtle impressions of his deeds; and after reaping there the harvest of his deeds, he returns again to this world of action. Thus he who has desires continues subject to rebirth.
“‘But he in whom desire is stilled suffers no rebirth. After death, having attained to the highest, desiring only the Self, he goes to no other world. Realizing Brahman, he becomes Brahman.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:6)
It is ignorance that causes our mistaken identification, but the power behind rebirth is desire. Once we cut off desire, rebirth is finished. Desireless, we transcend all worlds and know ourselves as Eternal Brahman.
“‘When all the desires which once entered into his heart have been driven out by divine knowledge, the mortal, attaining to Brahman, becomes immortal.
““As the slough of a snake lies cast off on an anthill, so lies the body of a man at death; while he, freed from the body, becomes one with the immortal spirit, Brahman, the Light Eternal.’
“Janaka said: ‘Sir, again I give You a thousand cows. Speak on, that I may be liberated.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:7)
All glory to those that have freed themselves by knowing their Self!
The Path of Liberation
The path
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘The path of liberation is subtle, and hard, and long. I myself am walking in it; nay, I have reached the end. By this path alone the wise, the knowers of Brahman, attain him while living, and achieve final liberation at death.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:8)
Yajnavalkya was obviously no pop-yogi with a yoga studio filled with yoga babes in tank tops and leotards confident that yoga would firm up their buttocks, eliminate cellulite, and give them the kind of body they want (or that others will want). Nor was he a traveling sideshow yogi perpetually on tour convincing people that yoga (his kind, at least) was cheap, easy, fun, and sure to make life a breeze. I know this because of the following statements he has made:
The path of liberation is subtle. Without refinement of mind and the interior faculties of perception, yoga is not going on. Yoga is itself the purification of the mind and heart in order to allow the highest powers of the individual to come into play and transform his life and consciousness. Because this is so, Patanjali puts ten necessary elements for yoga at the top of his list of the eight limbs of yoga:
1. Ahimsa: non-violence, non-injury, harmlessness;
2. Satya: truthfulness, honesty;
3. Asteya: non-stealing, honesty, non-misappropriativeness;
4. Brahmacharya: sexual continence in thought, word and deed as well as control of all the senses;
5. Aparigraha: non-possessiveness, non-greed, non-selfishness, non-acquisitiveness;
6. Shaucha: purity, cleanliness;
7. Santosha: contentment, peacefulness;
8. Tapas: austerity, practical (i.e., result-producing) spiritual discipline;
9. Swadhyaya: introspective self-study, spiritual study;
10. Ishwarapranidhana: offering of one’s life to God.
This is a total overhaul of external and internal life–AND IT IS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF YOGA.
The path of liberation is hard. Yes, indeed. When confronted with Patanjali’s list there will be a lot of indignation, whining and general complaint. Why? Because the path of liberation is hard! Such reaction is proof of that. Only the hardy even really begin the journey, and only the toughest and strongest will end it successfully. This is not a path for the weak and whimsical, and it is definitely not a mere body-splash, a hobby, or a free-time diversion. It is the attainment of Brahman, for God’s sake (literally).
The path of liberation is long. It takes lifetimes–many if we dawdle, and not so many if we knuckle down and go for it. And believe me, those pathetic souls that boast of how they are “taking the jet-plane route to God” while looking and living more like a jet crash, do not have a clue. Yes, it is possible to realize God in one birth–the last birth. Everybody does. So we need to get busy. There can be no periods of coasting along, deluding ourselves that our liberation is assured and just around the next corner. (Real spiritual life goes in a straight line–there no bends or curves.) Buddha meditated and engaged in intense discipline right up to the moment of his leaving the body, even though he had attained enlightenment decades before. And so did Swami Sivananda. All real yogis do the same.
By this path alone…is Brahman attained. And that attainment is not some swell surprise after death. It takes place right here in this world which is no longer an obstacle to enlightenment. By changing himself the yogi changes the effect the world has on him. What hindered him before now helps him. The once-closed door is now open to him. Death is the final going through that door. For him there will be no return.
No more worlds
“‘Other worlds there are, joyless, enveloped in darkness. To these worlds, after death, go those who are unwise, who know not the Self.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:10, 11)
Any relative “world” is fundamentally joyless and enveloped in darkness–so the truly wise understand. No world is fit to live in, for they are all realms of death and constant change. There is no peace possible for those who live therein. But those who know the Self have ended that compulsion, for:
“‘When a man has realized the Self, the pure, the immortal, the blissful, what craving can be left in him that he should take to himself another body, full of suffering, to satisfy it?’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:12)
Desire being the root of rebirth, when it is eliminated rebirth vanishes along with it.
In the body
“‘He that has once known the glory of the Self within the ephemeral body–that stumbling-block to enlightenment–knows that the Self is one with Brahman, lord and creator of all.’
“‘Brahman may be realized while yet one dwells in the ephemeral body. To fail to realize him is to live in ignorance, and therefore to be subject to birth and death. The knowers of Brahman are immortal; others, knowing him not, continue in the bonds of grief.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:13,14)
The suffering may be very subtle, but it will be there, nonetheless.
Fearless in knowing
“‘He who with spiritual eye directly perceives the self-effulgent Being, the lord of all that was, is, and shall be–he indeed is without fear, and causes fear in none.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:15)
Even more, he removes fear from others. This is why we experience such great peace and ease in the presence of enlightened beings. Not only have I experienced this many times, I have seen people walk into the presence of a great master and immediately begin shedding tears of relief. In a moment their anxieties and fears were removed.
“‘He who knows Brahman to be the life of life, the eye of the eye, the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind–he indeed comprehends fully the cause of all causes. By the purified mind alone is Brahman perceived.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:18)
There are no mysteries or puzzles for the knower of Brahman. All is known to him who knows The All.
“‘In Brahman there is no diversity. He who sees diversity goes from death to death.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:19)
All our lives are but deaths. When we really enter into the Life that is Brahman then birth and death are finished for us.
“‘Brahman can be apprehended only as knowledge itself–knowledge that is one with reality, inseparable from it. For he is beyond all proof, beyond all instruments of thought. The eternal Brahman is pure, unborn, subtler than the subtlest, greater than the greatest.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:20)
Therefore:
“‘Let therefore the wise aspirant, knowing Brahman to be the supreme goal, so shape his life and his conduct that he may attain to him. Let him not seek to know him by arguments, for arguments are idle and vain.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:21)
We need only to reshape our life and go directly to God, not bothering with critics or nay-sayers. Just smile, wave, and go on to the Goal.
Know you the journey that I take?
Know you the voyage that I make?
The joy of it one’s heart could break.
No jot of time have I to spare,
Nor will to loiter anywhere,
So eager am I to be there.
For that the way is hard and long,
For that gray fears upon it throng,
I set my journey to a song,
And it grows wondrous happy so.
Singing I hurry on for oh!
It is to God, to God, I go.
Sister M. Madeleva, C.S.C.
Some Final Words
Since there are three short parts remaining to be considered, I am putting them in this one closing essay.
The Great Unborn
“‘Verily is Brahman the great unborn that dwells within the lotus of the heart, surrounded by the senses. He is the intellect of the intellect, protector of all, king of all, lord of all. Good works do not make him more, nor do evil works make him less. Lord, king, protector of all, he transcends the three worlds.
“‘Devotees seek to know him by study, by sacrifice, by continence, by austerity, by detachment. To know him is to become a seer. Desiring to know him, and him alone, monks renounce the world. Realizing the glory of the Self, the sages of old craved not sons nor daughters. “What have we to do with sons and daughters,” they asked, “we who have known the Self, we who have achieved the supreme goal of existence?” No longer desiring progeny, nor wealth, nor life in other worlds, they entered upon the path of complete renunciation.
“‘Craving for progeny leads to craving for wealth, and craving for wealth leads to craving for life in other worlds. Two cravings there are: the craving for a life of pleasure in this world, and the craving for a life of greater pleasure in other worlds.
“‘The Self is to be described as Not This, Not That. It is incomprehensible, for it cannot be comprehended; undecaying, for it never decays; unattached, for it never attaches itself; unfettered, for it is never bound. He who knows the Self is unaffected, whether by good or by evil. Never do such thoughts come to him as “I have done an evil thing” or “I have done a good thing.” Both good and evil he has transcended, and he is therefore troubled no more by what he may or may not have done.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:22)
Verily is Brahman the great unborn that dwells within the lotus of the heart, surrounded by the senses. The ultimate Self of all is Brahman that dwells in each sentient being. It can be said of each of them what Saint Paul said about Jesus: “In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9) The difference between Jesus (and any Master) and other sentient beings is that he knew the Indweller and they do not. The Self is surrounded by the senses like someone in a theater that has a 360-degree screen, or like someone seated surrounded by video monitors. All of us really are “in the picture,” and that is most of our problem.
He is the intellect of the intellect. Every faculty, every quality we possess, is derived from the Self and has its primal archetype in Brahman. This is because everything exists within Brahman as an eternal potential.
Protector of all, king of all, lord of all. This extremely important. The upanishads continually remind us that Brahman is transcendent and beyond all qualities or conception. Yet here we see that Brahman has an intimate relation with all creation, is in contact with all things, and controls all things. Brahman is also Ishwara, the Lord. So it is an error to try to push Brahman completely out of the picture and exile It to a void that is antithetical to all we presently know or are. Brahman is indeed both This and That. In a short while we will be examining a verse that sums this up quite well.
Good works do not make him more, nor do evil works make him less. Brahman never acts, as both the upanishads and the Gita insist. So what does this mean? It means that the actions of sentient beings in no way change the Self, nor do they increase or decrease the presence of the Self. However, good actions do help us to perceive the Self as present, and evil actions dim our mental vision and cause us to lose awareness of the Self. Because of that we may think that the Self is affected and drawn closer or pushed away, but we will be wrong. Reality is untouched and unaffected by our delusions and illusions.
The rest of the verse is quite clear, only needing a careful and reflective reading.
The Brahman-knower
“‘The eternal glory of the knower of Brahman, beginningless and endless, revealed by divine knowledge, is neither increased nor decreased by deeds. Let a man therefore seek to obtain it, since having obtained it he can never be touched by evil. Self-controlled is he who knows the Self, tranquil, poised, free from desire. Absorbed in meditating upon it, he sees it within his own soul, and he sees all beings in it. Evil touches him not, troubles him not, for in the fire of his divine knowledge all evil is burnt away. Freed from evil, freed from desire, freed from doubt, he becomes a knower of Brahman. This, O King, is the truth of Brahman. Do thou attain to it!’
“Janaka said: ‘Most revered sir, I offer you the empire of Videha–and myself with it–to be your servant.’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:23)
Our gratitude for this wisdom should be as boundless and all-encompassing as was Janaka’s. Who can calculate the lives we have passed, struggling to comprehend the truth of things, before at last these great truths have come into the sphere of our life and become known to us? May we now hasten to the realization of Yajnavalkya’s final summation:
“Yajnavalkya said: ‘The Self, the great unborn, the undecaying, the undying, the immortal, the fearless, is, in very truth, Brahman. He who knows Brahman is without fear. He who knows Brahman becomes Brahman!’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4:4:25)
That and This
The simultaneous immanent and transcendent nature of Brahman (and the Self) is not easy to grasp. But the first half of the following verse is very helpful.
“That is the Full, this is the Full. The Full has come out of the Full. If we take the Full from the Full Only the Full remains.
“Om is the ether-Brahman–the eternal ether. It is the Veda known by the knowers of Brahman. For through it one knows what is to be known.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 5:1:1)
The word translated “full” is purna, which means both “full” and “complete.” In this verse it means the totality of being: Brahman. So it tells us that the Transcendent (Nirguna Brahman) is the total Reality; but so is the Immanent (Saguna Brahman). The Unmanifest is all that is–and so is the Manifest. The Immanent is a emanation from the Transcendent. If we confine our awareness to the Immanent we will find it to be the Totality of Being. If we turn to the Transcendent and intellectually negate the Immanent, we will perceive that the Transcendent is All. How is this? Because they are one and the same. Further, Brahman cannot be labeled or described, so even the words immanent and transcendent cannot be applied to It.
The second verse is extremely significant, telling us that Om is Brahman vibrating eternally in the Ether. That for those who know Brahman, Om is the real Veda, for it reveals all that is to be known: Brahman Itself.
Da! Da! Da!
“Gods, men, and asuras–all three descendants of Prajapati–lived with him for a time as students.
“Then the gods said: ‘Teach us, sir!’ In reply Prajapati uttered one syllable: ‘Da.’ Then he said: ‘Have you understood?’ They answered, ‘Yes, we have understood. You said to us, ‘“Damayata–Be self-controlled.”’ ‘Yes,’ agreed Prajapati, ‘you have understood.’
“Then the men said: ‘Teach us, sir.’ Prajapati uttered the same syllable: ‘Da.’ Then he said: ‘Have you understood?’ They answered, ‘Yes, we have understood. You said to us, ‘“Datta–Be charitable.’” ‘Yes,’ agreed Prajapati, ‘you have understood.’
“Then the asuras said: ‘Teach us, sir.’ Prajapati uttered the same syllable: ‘Da.’ Then he said: ‘Have you understood?’ They said, ‘Yes, we have understood. You told us ‘“Dayadhwam–Be compassionate.”’ ‘Yes,’ agreed Prajapati, ‘you have understood.’
“The storm cloud thunders: ‘Da! Da! Da!–‘Be self-controlled! Be charitable! Be compassionate!’” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 5:2:1-3)
Gods, men, and asuras make up our present human nature. The gods are the parts of us that are superior to the normal human condition. They have arisen as we have begun to evolve to the point where we can take the next step up on the evolutionary ladder. Men are our human traits, and the asuras are the animal traits that we have brought along with us in our evolutionary journey. Consequently the advice to be self-controlled, charitable, and compassionate applies to us. And its following will ensure our continued evolution.
End of Brihadaranyaka Commentary:
Brahma Upanishad
Translated by Swami Madhavananda
Published by Advaita Ashram, Kolkatta
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1. Om ! Shaunaka, householder of fame, once asked Bhagavan Pippalada of Angira’s family: In this body, the divine city of Brahman, installed, how do they create ? Whose glory does this constitute ? Who is he who became all this glory ?
2. Unto him (Shaunaka) he (Pippalada) imparted the supreme Wisdom of Brahman: That is Prana, the Atman. He constitutes the glory of the Atman, the life of the Devas. He represents both the life and the death of the Devas. That Brahman who shines within the divine Brahmapura (or body) as the faultless One, devoid of manifested effects, self-effulgent, all-pervading, He (it is who) controls (the Jiva), like a spider controlling the king of bees. Just as spiders by means of one thread project and withdraw the web, so also the Prana, (who) retires drawing back his creation. Prana belongs to the Nadis or subtle nerve-chords as their Devata or indwelling deity. One in dreamless sleep goes through that state to one’s own Abode, like a falcon and the sky – just as a falcon goes (to its nest) borne on the sky. He states: -- Just as this Devadatta (in dreamless sleep) runs not away even when struck with a stick, even so he does not also attach himself to good or evil consequences of the life’s ordained activities; just as a child enjoys itself (spontaneously) without motive or desiring fruit, even so this Devadatta (the subject of dreamless sleep) enjoys happiness in that state. He knows being the Light Supreme. Desiring Light he enjoys the Light. So also he returns by the same way to the dream-state, like a leech: just as a leech carries itself on to the other points in front – (first) fixing upon the next point. And that state which he does not give up for a next one is called the waking state. (He carries all these states within himself) just as a (Vedic) deity bears the eight sacrificial cups simultaneously. It is from Him that the source of the Vedas and the Devas hang like breasts. In this waking state particularly good and evil obtain for the shining being (i.e. man’s Self) as ordained. This being or Self is fully self-extended (into world-forms), he is the indwelling controller of things and beings, he is the Bird, the Crab, the Lotus, he is the Purusha, the Prana, the destroyer, the cause and the effect, the Brahman and the Atman, he is the Devata making everything known. Whoever knows all this attains to the transcendent Brahman, the underlying support, the subjective principle.
3. Now this Purusha has four seats, the navel, the heart, the throat, and the head. In these shines forth the Brahman with four aspects: the state of wakefulness, of dream, of dreamless sleep, and the fourth or transcendental state. In the wakeful state, He is Brahma; in the dreaming state, He is Vishnu; in dreamless sleep He is Rudra; and the fourth state is the Supreme Indestructible One; and He again is the Sun, the Vishnu, the Ishwara, He is the Purusha, He the Prana, He the Jive or the animate being, He the Fire, The Ishwara, and the Resplendent; (yea) that Brahman which is transcendent shines within all these ! In Itself, It is devoid of mind, of ears, of hands and feet, of light. There neither are the worlds existing nor non-existing, neither are the Vedas or the Devas or the sacrifices existing nor non-existing, neither is the mother or father or daughter-in-law existing nor non-existing, neither is Chandala’s son or Pulkasa’s son existing nor non-existing, neither is the mendicant existing nor non-existing, so neither all the creatures or the ascetics; and thus only the One Highest Brahman shines there. Within the recess of the heart is that Akasa of consciousness – that with many openings, the aim of knowledge, within the space of the heart – in which all this (universe outside) evolves and moves about, in which all this is warped and woofed (as it were). (Who knows this), knows fully all creation. There the Devas, the Rishis, the Pitris have no control, for being fully awakened, one becomes the knower of all truth.
4. In the heart the Devas live, in the heart the Pranas are installed, in the heart exist the supreme Prana and Light as also the immanent Cause with threefold constituents and the Mahat principle.
5. It exists within this heart, that is, in the consciousness. “Put on the sacrificial thread which is supremely sacred, which became manifest of yore with Prajapati (the first created Being) Himself, which embodies longevity, eminence and purity, and may it be strength and puissance to you !”
6. The enlightened one should discard the external thread putting it off with the sacred tuft of hair on the head; the Supreme Brahman as the all-pervading one is the thread, and he should put this on.
7. The Sutra (or thread) is so called because of its having pierced through and started (the process of becoming). This Sutra verily constitutes the Supreme State. By whom this Sutra is known, he is the Vipra (sage), he has reached beyond the Vedas.
8. By It all this (universe) is transfixed, as a collection of gems is stringed together on a thread. The Yogi who is the knower of all Yogas and the seer of truth should put on this thread.
9. Established in the state of highest Yoga, the wise one should put off the external thread. One who is really self-conscious must put on the thread constituted by awareness of Brahman.
10. On account of wearing this Sutra or thread, they can neither become contaminated nor unclean, those (namely) who have this thread existing within them – those, with this sacrificial thread of knowledge.
11. They, among men, (really) know the Sutra, they (really) wear the sacrificial thread (on themselves), who are devoted to Jnana (the highest knowledge), who have this Jnana for their sacred hair-tuft, this Jnana for their sacred thread.
12. For them Jnana is the greatest purifier – Jnana, that is the best as such. Those who have this Jnana for their tufted hair are as non-different from it as is fire from its flame. This wise one is (really) said to be a Shikhi (or wearer of the tufted hair), while others are mere growers of hair (on the head).
13. But those belonging to the three castes (Brahmanas, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas) who have the right of performing Vedic works have to put on this (i.e. the common) sacred thread, as surely this thread is ordained to be part of such works.
14. One who has the Jnana for his tufted hair, and the same for his sacred thread, has everything about him characterised by Brahmanahood – so know the knowers of the Vedas !
15. This sacred thread (of Yajna, i.e. of the all-pervading Reality) is, again, the purification (itself) and that which is the end-all (of Vedic works); and the wearer of this thread is the wise one – is Yajna himself as well as the knower of Yajna.
16.The One Lord (self-effulgent) in all beings remaining hidden, all-pervading and the Self of all beings, controlling and watching over all works (good or bad), living in all creatures and the Witness (i.e. neither the doer of any acts nor the enjoyer), the Supreme Intelligence, the One without a second, having no attributes.
17. The one Intelligent (active) Being among the many inactive, He who makes the many from what is one – the wise men who find out this Self, theirs is the eternal peace, not of others.
18. Having made oneself the Arani, and the Pranava the upper Arani and rubbing them together through the practice of meditation, see the Lord in His hidden reality.
19. As in the oil in the sesamum seed, the butter in the curd, water in the flowing waves, and fire in the Shami wood, so is the Atman in one’s self to be discovered by one who searches for It through truth and austere practice.
20. As the spider weaves out the web and again withdraws it, so the Jiva comes out to and goes back again to the wakeful and dreaming states respectively.
21. The heart (i.e. the inner chamber of heart) resembles the calyx of a lotus, full of cavities and also with its face turned downwards. Know that to be the great habitat of the whole universe.
22. Know the wakeful state to have for its centre the eyes; the dreaming state should be assigned to the throat; the state of dreamless sleep is in the heart; and the transcendental state is in the crown of the head.
23. From the fact of an individual holding his self by means of Prajna or spiritual understanding in the Supreme Self, we have what is called Sandhya and Dhyana, as also the worshipping associated with Sandhya.
24. The Sandhya by meditation is devoid of any offering of liquids and so also of any exertion of body and speech; it is the unifying principle for all creatures, and this is really the Sandhya for Ekadandis.
26. From which without reaching It, the speech falls back with the mind, that is the transcendental Bliss of this embodied being, knowing which the wise one is released (from all bondage).
26. (And this Bliss is verily) the Self which pervades the whole universe, as the butter diffused within the milk.
This is the Brahmopanishad, or the supreme wisdom of Brahman, in the form of a unity of the Atman of all, founded on the spiritual discipline (Tapas) which is (nothing but) the Vidya or science of the Atman.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Brahmopanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Kaivalya Upanishad
Translated by Swami Madhavananda
Published by Advaita Ashram, Kolkatta
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1. Then Ashvalayana approached the Lord Paramesthi (Brahma) and said: Teach, O Lord, the knowledge of Brahman, the highest, always cultivated by the good, hidden and by which a wise man drives away instantly all the sins and reaches the Purusha higher than the high.
2. And to him, the Grandsire (Brahma) said, "Know (this) by means of faith, devotion and meditation. Not by work, nor by progeny, nor by wealth, but by renunciation, some attained immortality.
3. Higher than heaven, seated in the cave (Buddhi), that shines, (which) the self-controlled attain – the self-controlled, who being of pure minds have well ascertained the Reality, by the knowledge of Vedanta, and through Sannyasa or renunciation. In the sphere of Brahma, at the time of cosmic dissolution, they all get liberated from the highest (apparent) immortality of the manifested universe.
4-5. In a secluded place, sitting in an easy posture, pure, with a neck, head, and body erect, living in the last of the orders of religious life, having controlled all the sense, saluting his own preceptor with reverence, meditating within the lotus of the heart (on Brahman), untainted, pure, clear and griefless.
6. (Who is) unthinkable, unmanifest, of endless forms, the good, the peaceful, Immortal, the origin of the worlds, without beginning, middle, and end, the only one, all-pervading, Consciousness, and Bliss, the formless and the wonderful.
7. Meditating on the highest Lord, allied to Uma, powerful, three-eyed, blue-necked, and tranquil, the holy man reaches Him who is the source of all, the witness of all and is beyond darkness (i.e. Avidya).
8. He is Brahma, He is Shiva, He is Indra, He is the Immutable, the Supreme, the Self-luminous, He alone is Vishnu, He is Prana, He is Time and Fire, He is the Moon.
9. He alone is all that was, and all that will be, the Eternal; knowing Him, one transcends death; there is no other way to freedom.
10. Seeing the Atman in all beings, and all beings in the Atman, one attains the highest Brahman – not by any other means.
11. Making the Atman the (lower) Arani, and OM the upper Arani, by the repeated friction of knowledge, a wise man burns up the bond.
12. With his self thus deluded by Maya or ignorance, it is he who identifies himself with the body and does all sorts of things. In the waking state it is he (the Jiva) who attains satisfaction through the varied objects of enjoyment, such as women, food, drink, etc.
13. In the dream-state that Jiva feels pleasure and pain in a sphere of existence created by his own Maya or ignorance. During the state of profound sleep, when everything is dissolved (into their causal state), he is overpowered by Tams or non-manifestation and comes to exist in his form of Bliss.
14. Again, through his connection with deeds done in previous births, that very Jiva returns to the dream-state, or the waking state. The being who sports in the three cities (viz., the states of wakefulness, dream and profound sleep) – from Him has sprung up all diversity. He is the substratum, the bliss, the indivisible Consciousness, in whom the three cities dissolve themselves.
15. From This spring up Prana (Vitality), mind, all the organs, sky, air, fire, water and the earth that supports all.
16. That which is the Supreme Brahman, the soul of all, the great support of the universe, subtler than the subtle, and eternal – that is thyself, and thou art That.
17. "That which manifests the phenomena, such as the states of wakefulness, dream and profound sleep, I am that Brahman" – realising thus one is liberated from all bonds.
18. What constitute the enjoyable, the enjoyer, and the enjoyment, in the three abodes – different from them all am I, the Witness, the Pure Consciousness, the Eternal Good.
19. In me alone is everything born, in me does everything rest, and in me is everything dissolved. I am that Brahman, the secondless.
20. I am minuter than the minute, I am likewise the greatest of all, I am the manifold universe. I am the Ancient One, the Purusha and the Ruler, I am the Effulgent One, and the All-good.
21. Without arms and legs am I, of unthinkable power; I see without eyes, and I hear without ears. I know all, and am different from all. None can know me. I am always the Intelligence.
22. I alone am taught in the various Vedas, I am the revealer of the Vedanta or Upanishads, and I am also the Knower of the Vedas. For me there is neither merit nor demerit, I suffer no destruction, I have no birth, nor any self-identity with the body and the organs.
23-24. For me there is neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, nor ether. Thus realising the Paramatman, who lies in the cavity of the heart, who is without parts, and without a second, the Witness of all, beyond both existence and non-existence – one attains the Pure Paramatman Itself.
25. He who studies the Shatarudriya, is purified as by the Fires, is purified from the sin of drinking, purified from the sin of killing a Brahmana, from deeds done knowingly or unawares. Through this he has his refuge in Shiva, the Supreme Self. One who belongs to the highest order of life should repeat this always or once (a day).
26. By means of this, one attains the Knowledge that destroys the ocean of Samsara or repeated transmigration. Therefore, knowing thus one attains the fruit of Kaivalya or liberation, verily one attains liberation.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Kaivalyopanishad, included in the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Jabala Upanishad
Translated by Prof. A. A. Ramanathan
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I-1. Brihaspati (the preceptor of the gods) asked (the sage) Yajnavalkya: (Which is) the Kurukshetra, (the famous holy place that destroys sins and protects the good, (the place) where the gods perform sacrifices and which is the abode of Brahman in all beings ? (Yajnavalkya replied): Avimukta is the Kurukshetra, (the place) where the gods perform sacrifices to deities and which is the abode of Brahman in all beings (i.e. the middle of the eye-brows). Hence wherever one goes one shall think thus: This is the Kurukshetra, the place where the gods perform sacrifices to the deities and which is the abode of Brahman in all beings. This is the spot where, when the vital airs depart from the living person, Rudra imparts the mantra (Taraka Brahman) to him by which, becoming immortal, he attains liberation (final beatitude). Hence one shall resort to the Avimukta; shall not desert the Avimukta. (Brihaspati approved of the statement saying): ‘So it is, Yajnavalkya’, verily it is so, O, revered one ! ‘It is so Yajnavalkya’.
II-1. Thereafter the sage Atri (son of the creator Brahma) asked of Yajnavalkya: ‘How am I to realize the Self which is infinite and unmanifest ?’ (To this) Yajnavalkya replied: That Avimukta (Lord Siva as the redeemer) is to be worshipped; the Self which is infinite and unmanifest, is established in (i.e., is non-different from) the Avimukta (in Ishvara, possessed of attributes)’.
II-2. ‘Which is that (place) where Avimukta is established ?’ ‘He is established in between varana and nasi’. ‘What is (meant by) varana and what (by) nasi ?’ ‘The varana is so called as it wards off all the faults committed by the (ten) organs (of perception and action). The nasi is so named as it destroys all sins committed by the (ten) organs. (The place between the varana and the nasi is the meeting place of the upper part of the nose and the centre of the eye brows). ‘Which is the seat of that (Avimukta) ?’ ‘That, which is the (well known) juncture of the eye brows and the nose, is the juncture of heaven (in the form of the crown of the head) and this world (in the form at the end of the chin). The knowers of the Veda worship indeed this juncture (Samadhi) as Sandhya (in their daily worship). That Avimukta is to be worshipped. He who knows this thus (the true nature of the Avimukta), imparts the wisdom of the Avimukta (that the individual Self is no other than the attributeless Brahman, to his disciples).
III-1. Then the discipline students (Brahmacharins of Yajnavalkya) asked him: ‘Pray, tell us, what is that mantra by reciting which one attains immortality ?’ He replied: ‘By (reciting) Satarudriya’. These mantras are indeed the names of (Rudra to achieve) immortality. By (reciting) these (mantras) one becomes immortal.
IV-1. Then Janaka, the king of the Videhas (respectfully) approached Yajnavalkya and requested him: ‘Revered Sir, expound (to me) the (tenets of) renunciation (Sannyasa)’. He (Yajnavalkya) then replied: ‘After completing the period of disciplined studentship (brahmacharya) one may become a householder. After being a householder he may become a forest-dweller (i.e., become a Vanaprastha). Having become a Vanaprastha he may renounce the world (and thus become a mendicant monk). Or, alternately, he may embrace renunciation from brahmacharya itself, or from the (stage of a) householder, or from the forest(-life of a Vanaprastha). (It can also be that) a person may renounce worldly life that very day on which distaste for it dawns on him, whether he is one not observing the vows (before the stage of renunciation) or observe them, whether he has undergone the prescribed ablution on completing the disciplined studentship or not, whether he is one who has discontinued maintaining the sacred fire at the death of his wife (utsannagni) or is one who does not maintain (for other causes) the sacred fire (anagnika).
Iv-2. Some (law givers) prescribe the sacrifice called prajapatya (of which the god Brahma is the presiding deity, to a twice-born before he embraces renunciation). But (though thus laid down) he may not do so. He shall only perform the sacrifice in which Agni is the deity. For Agni is the vital breath (Prana). Thereby he does (strengthen) the vital breath. He shall then perform the traidhataviya sacrifice. For the three forms of Agni in him, namely, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas are (strengthened) by this sacrifice. (Having performed the sacrifice) he shall smell (the smoke of) the holy fire, reciting the following mantra:
IV-3. ‘O Fire, this (vital breath) is your source; as you are born from Sutratman (at the proper time) you shine forth. Knowing him (the Atman, your ultimate source) may you merge (in him). May you increase our wealth’ (here the transcendent knowledge). Verily, this is the source of fire, namely the vital air. So what is said by this mantra is: ‘May you go unto your source’. Svaha.
IV-4. Having procured the holy fire from (the house of a well-versed Vedic scholar in) the village he shall smell the holy dire as described previously. If he is unable to procure the holy fire he shall offer the oblations in water. For water is, verily, all the gods. Reciting ‘I offer the oblation to all the gods, Svaha’ he shall tender the oblation and picking up (a small portion of) the offered oblation which is mixed with ghee, he shall eat it, as this is beneficial. The mantra of liberation (namely ‘Om’) is (the essence of) the three Vedas; this he shall realize. It is Brahman and It is to be worshipped. Indeed, so it is, O revered Yajnavalkya (said Janaka).
V-1. Then the (sage) Atri asked Yajnavalkya: ‘May I ask you Yajnavalkya, how is one without the sacred thread a Brahmana ?’ Yajnavalkya replied: (‘The conviction I am the) Self alone is his sacred thread. He shall then sip water (ceremoniously thrice). This is the method enjoined on those who renounce worldly life’.
V-2. (In the case of Kshatriyas and others not entitled to renunciation, they may seek liberation) in the path of the brave (who court death in the battle field) or fast (unto death as a discipline), or enter into water (to rise no more) or enter fire (to be burnt to ashes) or undertake the great journey (in which they collapse by exhaustion).
V-3. Then (in the case of those entitled to renunciation) the mendicant monk wearing (ochre) coloured garment, with shaven head, accepting nothing (excepting food for bare sustenance), being pure, injuring none (in thought, word and deed), (austerity) living on alms, becomes fit for realizing Brahman. If sorely afflicted (by disease, etc.,) he may renounce the world by mental resolve, or by spoken words uttering mantras. This way (of renunciation) has been prescribed by Brahma (the creator, in the Vedanta); the ascetic (the Sannyasin who has renounced the world) following this path realizes Brahman. ‘Thus indeed it is, O, revered Yajnavalkya’ (appreciated Janaka).
VI-1. There are sages called Paramahamsas (as in the days of yore, the sages) Samvartaka, Aruni, Svetaketu, Durvasas, Ribhu, Nidagha, Jadabharata, Dattatreya, Raivataka and others, wearing no distinguishing marks, with conduct beyond the ken (of worldly people) and who behaved as though bereft of their senses though (perfectly) sane.
VI-2. Discarding all these, namely the threefold staff (of bamboo), the water pot, the sling (to carry personal effects), the (alms-)bowl, the cloth for purifying water (tied to the staff), tuft of hair and sacred thread in water (i.e. a reservoir) by reciting ‘Bhuh Svaha’, the Paramahamsa shall seek the Atman.
VI-3. Possessing a form as one just born (i.e. unclad), unaffected by the pairs (of opposites, such as heat and cold, pleasure and pain), accepting nothing (except bare sustenance), well established in the path of the truth of Brahman, of pure mind, receiving alms into the mouth (literally into the vessel of the belly) at the prescribed hour in order to sustain life, becoming equanimous at gain or loss (of alms), sheltering himself, without an abode (of his own), in an unoccupied house, a temple, a clump of (tall) grass (or a heap of straw), an anthill, the shade of a tree, a potter’s hut, a cottage where sacred fire is kept, sandy bank of a river, a mountain thicket or cavity, a hollow in a tree, the vicinity of a water fall or a piece of clean ground; making no efforts (in any kind of gainful activity), free from ‘mineness’ (i.e. a sense of possessiveness), ever meditating on Brahman, devoted to the Self, ever intent on eradication of the good and bad karman, (the sage) finally gives up his body in the state of renunciation – (such a sage) is indeed a Paramahamsa. Thus (ends) the Upanishad.
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Jabalopanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Svetasvatara Upanishad
Translated by Swami Tyagisananda
Published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai
Om! May Brahman protect us both together.
May He nourish us both together.
May we both work together, with great energy.
May our study be vigorous and effective.
May we not hate each other.
Om! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
I-1: Students of Brahman (i.e. the Vedas) discuss (among themselves): What is the cause ? (Is it) Brahman ? Whence are we born ? Why do we live ? Where is our final rest ? Under whose orders are we, who know the Brahman, subjected to the law of happiness and misery ?
I-2: Time, nature, law, chance, matter, energy, intelligence – neither these, nor combination of these, can bear examination because of their own birth, identity and the existence of the self. The self also is not a free agent, being under the sway of happiness and misery.
I-3: Practising the method of meditation, they realized that Being who is the God of religion, the Self of philosophy and the Energy of science; who exists as the self-luminous power in everyone; who is the source of the intellect, emotions and will; who is one without a second; who presides over all the causes enumerated above, beginning with time and ending with the individual soul; and who had been incomprehensible because of the limitations of their own intellect.
I-4: We think of Him as the universe resembling a wheel which has one felly with a triple tyre, sixteen extremities, fifty spokes, twenty counter-spokes and six sets of eight; which is driven along three different roads by means of a belt that is single yet manifold; and which each revolution gives rise to two.
I-5: We think of Him (in His manifestation as the universe) who is like a river that contains the waters of five streams; that has five big turnings due to five causes; that has the five Pranas for the waves, the mind – the basis of five-fold perception – for the source, and the five-fold misery for its rapids; and that has five whirlpools, five branches and innumerable aspects.
I-6: In this infinite wheel of Brahman, in which everything lives and rests, the pilgrim soul is whirled about. Knowing the individual soul, hitherto regarded as separate, to be itself the Moving Force, and blessed by Him, it attains immortality.
I-7: This is expressly declared to be the Supreme Brahman. In that is the triad. It is the firm support, and it is the imperishable. Knowing the inner essence of this, the knowers of Veda become devoted to Brahman, merge themselves in It, and are released from birth.
I-8: The Lord supports this universe, which consists of a combination of the perishable and the imperishable, the manifest and the unmanifest. As long as the self does not know the Lord, it gets attached to worldly pleasures, and is bound; but when it knows Him, all fetters fall away from it.
I-9: The conscious subject and the unconscious object, the master and the dependent, are both unborn. She, too, who is engaged in bringing about the relation of the enjoyer and the enjoyed (or between these two), is unborn. When all these three are realized as Brahman, the self becomes infinite, universal and free from the sense of agentship.
I-10: Matter is perishable, but God is imperishable and immortal. He, the only God, rules over the perishable matter and individual souls. By meditating on him, by uniting with Him, and by becoming one with Him, there is cessation of all illusion in the end.
I-11: With the knowledge of God, all fetters fall off. With the waning of ignorance, birth and death cease. Going beyond the consciousness of the body by meditating on Him, one reaches the third state, viz., the universal lordship. All his desires are satisfied, and he becomes one without a second.
I-12: This is to be known as eternally existing in one’s own self. Indeed, there is nothing to be known beyond this. As a result of meditation the enjoyer, the enjoyed and the power which brings about the enjoyment – all are declared to be the three aspects of Brahman.
I-3: Fire is not perceived in its source, the fire-stick, till it is ignited by percussion. The subtle essence of fire, nevertheless, is not absent in the stick; for fire can be obtained from the source, the fire-stick, by striking again. (The state of the Atman before and after realization). By meditating on the Pranava, the Atman is perceived manifestly in the body, (but it was there in a latent state even before realization).
I-4: Making one’s own body the lower piece of wood, and the Pranava the upper piece of wood, and practising churning in the form of meditation, one should realize God as one would find out something hidden.
I-15-16: As oil in sesame seeds, as butter in curds, as water in underground springs, as fire in wood, even so this Self is perceived in the self. He who, by means of truthfulness, self-control and concentration, looks again and again for this Self, which is all-pervading like butter contained in milk, and which is rooted in self-knowledge and meditation – he becomes that Supreme Brahman, the destroyer of ignorance.
II-1: First harnessing the mind and the senses with a view to realizing the Truth, and then having found out the light of the fire, the Evolving Soul brought itself out of the earth.
II-2: With our minds controlled so as to manifest the self-luminous Immanent Soul, we shall vigorously endeavour for the attainment of supreme bliss.
II-3: Controlling the heaven-aspiring senses with the help of the mind and the intellect, the Immanent Soul so regenerates them as to enable them to manifest the self-luminous Infinite Light.
II-4: Great is the glory of the Immanent Soul who is all-pervading, all-knowing, infinite and self-luminous. Only those rare few who know, undergo the necessary discipline and spiritual practices. The wise do, indeed, control the activities of the intellect, and practise meditation and concentration.
II-5: Following only in the footsteps of the wise, I merge you both in the ancient Brahman by continued meditation. May the Glorious One manifest Himself ! May the sons of Immortal Bliss hearken to me – even they who occupy celestial regions !
II-6: Where fire is churned out, where air is controlled, where Soma juice overflows – there the mind attains perfection.
II-7: Attaining whom thou destroyest the source and art no more troubled by the results of past actions– to that ancient Brahman be thou devoted through the Prime Cause, the Immanent Soul.
II-8: Placing the body in a straight posture, holding the chest, throat and head erect, and drawing the senses and the mind into the heart, the knowing one should cross over all the fearful currents by means of the raft of Brahman.
II-9: Controlling the senses with an effort, and regulating the activities in the body, one should breathe out through the nostrils when the vital activities become gentle. Then the knowing one, without being in the least distracted, should keep his hold on the mind as on the reins attached to restive horses.
II-10: One should perform one’s exercises in concentration, resorting to caves and such other pure places helpful to its practice – places where the ground is level without pebbles, and the scenery pleasing to the eyes; where there is no wind, dust, fire, dampness and disturbing noises.
II-11: Forms that appear like snow, smoke, sun, wind, fire, fire-fly, lightning, crystal and moon, precede the manifestation of Brahman in Yoga practice.
II-12: When the fivefold perception of Yoga, arising from (concentrating the mind on) earth, water, light, air and ether, have appeared to the Yogin, then he has become possessed of a body made of the fire of Yoga, and he will not be touched by disease, old age or death.
II-13: It is said that the first signs of entering Yoga are lightness of body, health, thirstlessness of mind, clearness of complexion, a beautiful voice, an agreeable odour and scantiness excretions.
II-14: Just as the same metal disc, which was stained by dust before, shines brilliantly when cleaned, so the embodied being, seeing the truth of Atman, realizes oneness, attains the goal and becomes sorrowless.
II-15: When the Yogin realizes the truth of Brahman, through the perception of the truth of Atman in this body as a self-luminous entity, then, knowing the Divinity as unborn, eternal and free from all the modifications of Prakriti, he is freed from all sins.
II-16: This Divinity pervades all directions in their entirety. He is the first-born (Hiranyagarbha). He has entered into the womb. He alone is born, and is to be born in future. He is inside all persons as the Indwelling Self, facing all directions.
II-17: Salutations to that Divinity who is in the fire, who is in the water, who is in the plants, who is in the trees, who has pervaded the whole universe.
III-1: It is the self-same One who exists alone at the time of creation and dissolution of the universe, that assumes manifold powers and appears as the Divine Lord by virtue of His inscrutable power of Maya. He it is that protects all the worlds and controls all the various forces working therein. Those who realize this Being becomes immortal.
III-2: He who protects and controls the worlds by His own powers, He – Rudra – is indeed one only. There is no one beside Him who can make Him the second. O men, He is present inside the hearts of all beings. After projecting and maintaining all the worlds, He finally withdraws them into Himself. III-3: Though God, the creator of heaven and earth, is one only, yet Heaven is the real owner of all the eyes, faces, hands and feet in this universe. It is Heaven who inspires them all to do their respective
duties in accordance with the knowledge, past actions and tendencies of the various beings (with whom they appear to be associated).
III-4: May Heaven, who created the gods and supports them; who is the origin also of the cosmic soul; who confers bliss and wisdom on the devotes, destroying their sins and sorrows, and punishing all breaches of law – may Heaven, the great seer and the lord of all, endow us with good thoughts.
III-5: O Lord, who blesses all creatures by revealing the Vedas, deign to make us happy by Thy calm and blissful self, which roots out terror as well as sin.
III-6: O revealer of the Vedic truths, deign to make propitious that arrow which Thou holdest in Thy hand for shooting at somebody. O protector of devotees, do not destroy that benign personal form of Thine which has manifested as the universe.
III-7: Higher than this Personal Brahman is the infinite Supreme Brahman, who is concealed in all
beings according to their bodies, and who, though remaining single, envelops the whole universe. Knowing him to be the Lord, one becomes immortal.
III-8: I have realized this Great Being who shines effulgent like the sun beyond all darkness. One passes beyond death only on realizing Him. There is no other way of escape from the circle of births and deaths.
III-9: There is naught higher than or different from Him; naught greater or more minute than Him. Rooted in His own glory He stands like a tree, one without a second and immovable. By that Being the whole universe is filled.
III-10: That Being is far beyond this world, is formless and free from misery. They who know this become immortal. But all others have indeed to suffer misery alone.
III-11: Therefore, that Divine Lord, being all-pervading, omnipresent and benevolent, dwells in the hearts of all beings, and makes use of all faces, heads and necks in this world.
III-12: This Self is indeed the mighty Lord. He is the imperishable (internal) light that controls everything. He guides the intellect of all beings so as to enable them to gain that extremely pure state (of Mukti).
III-13: Assuming a form of the size of a thumb, by virtue of intellect, emotion, imagination and will, the Infinite Being dwells in the hearts of creatures as their inner self. Those who realize this become immortal.
III-14: That Infinite Being has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes and a thousand feet enveloping the whole universe on all sides. He exists beyond ten fingers.
III-15: That which is, that which was, and that which is yet to be – all this is nothing but this Infinite Being. Though He grows beyond His own nature into the form of the objective universe, He still remains the lord of immortality.
III-16: With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere, That exists, pervading everything in the universe.
III-17: They realize Him as shining by the functions of all the senses yet without the senses as the lord of all, the ruler of all, the refuge of all and the friend of all.
III-18: It is He who resides in the body, the city of nine gates. He is the soul that sports in the outside world. He is the master of the whole world, animate and inanimate.
III-19: Without hands and feet He goes fast and grasps; without eyes He sees; without ears He hears. He knows whatever is to be known, yet there is none who knows Him. They say He is the foremost, the great Infinite Being.
III-20: Subtler than even the subtlest and greater than the greatest, the Atman is concealed in the heart of the creature. By the grace of the Creator, one becomes free from sorrows and desires, and then realizes Him as the great Lord.
III-21: I know this undecaying primeval Immanent Self of all, who is omnipresent because of His all-pervasiveness, and whom the expounders of Brahman declare to be eternally free from birth.
IV-1: May that Divine Being, who, though Himself colourless, gives rise to various colours in different ways with the help of His own power, for His own inscrutable purpose, and who dissolves the whole world in Himself in the end – may He endow us with good thoughts !
IV-2: That Itself is the fire, That is the sun, That is the air, That is the moon, That is also the starry firmament, That is the Brahman, That is the waters, That is Prajapati.
IV-3: Thou art the woman, Thou art the man, Thou art the youth and the maiden too. Thou art the old man who totters along, leaning on the staff. Thou art born with faces turned in all directions.
IV-4: Thou art the dark blue butterfly, and the green parrot with red eyes. Thou art the thunder-cloud, the seasons and the oceans. Thou art without beginning, and beyond all time and space. Thou art He from whom all the worlds are born.
IV-5: There is a single Female of red, white and black colours, who is unoriginated, and who produces numerous offsprings resembling herself. By her side lies one unborn Male out of attachment for her, while another Male, also unoriginated, forsakes her after having enjoyed her.
IV-6: Two birds of beautiful plumage, who are inseparable friends, reside on the self-same tree. Of these, one eats the fruits of the tree with relish while the other looks on without eating.
IV-7: Sitting on the same tree the individual soul gets entangled and feels miserable, being deluded on account of his forgetting his divine nature. When he sees the other, the Lord of all, whom all devotees worship, and realizes that all greatness is His, then he is relieved of his misery.
IV-8: Of what avail are the Vedas to him who does not know that indestructible, highest Ethereal Being, in whom the gods and the Vedas reside ? Only those who know That are satisfied.
IV-9: The Lord of Maya projects the Vedas, sacrifices, spiritual practices, past and future, religious observances, all that the Vedas declare, and the whole world including ourselves. The other, again, is bound by Maya in this.
IV-10: Know then that Nature is Maya, and that the great God is the Lord of Maya. The whole world is filled with beings who form His parts.
IV-11: One attains infinite peace on realizing that self-effulgent Adorable Lord, the bestower of blessings, who, though one, presides over all the various aspects of Prajapati, and in whom this universe dissolves, and in whom it appears in manifold forms.
IV-12: May He, who created the gods and supports them; who witnessed the birth of the cosmic soul; who confers bliss and wisdom on the devoted, destroying their sins and sorrows, and punishing all breaches of law – may He, the great seer and the lord of all, endow us with good thoughts !
IV-13: Let us offer our worship with oblations to that blissful Divine Being who is the lord of the Devas, who governs the bipeds and the quadrupeds and in whom the worlds rest.
IV-14: One attains infinite peace when one realizes that Blissful One who is subtler than the subtlest, who creates the world in the midst of chaos, who assumes various forms, and who is the only one that encompasses the universe.
IV-15: He alone is the protector of the world at the proper time. He is the lord of the universe hidden in all creatures. In Him the divine sages and the gods merge themselves. Realizing Him thus, one cuts asunder the fetters of death.
IV-16: One is released from all fetters on realizing the Blissful One who encompasses the world, and who hides Himself in all beings in an extremely subtle form as the essence finer than ghee.
IV-17: This Divinity, who created the universe and who pervades everything, always dwells in the hearts of creatures, being finitized by emotions, intellect, will and imagination. Those who realize this become immortal.
IV-18: When ignorance is dispelled, there is neither day nor night, neither being nor non-being. There is only that Auspicious One who is imperishable, and who is worthy of being adored by the creator.
From Him has proceeded the ancient wisdom.
IV-19: No one can grasp Him above, or across, or in the middle. There is none equal to Him whose name is great glory.
IV-20: His form does not stand within the range of the senses. No one perceives Him with the eye. Those who know Him through the faculty of intuition as thus seated in their heart, become immortal. IV-21: Some, being afraid, approach Thee, thinking that Thou art the unborn. O Rudra, deign to protect me with that benevolent face of Thine.
IV-22: Injure us not in respect of children, grand-children and life, nor in respect of cows and horses. Do not destroy our heroes in Thy anger, O Rudra. We invoke Thee always with offerings.
V-1: Ignorance leads to the perishable. Wisdom leads to immortality. Entirely different from these is he, the imperishable, infinite, secret, Supreme Brahman, in whom exists wisdom as well as ignorance, and who governs them both.
V-2: He alone presides over Nature in all aspect, and controls every form and every cause of production. He witnesses the birth of the first born seer of golden colour and nourishes him with wisdom.
V-3: Differentiating each genus into its species, and each species into its members, the Supreme Being withdraws them once more into their own ground. Again, bringing forth the agents of creation, the Great Self holds sway over them all.
V-4: Just as the sun shines lighting up all space above, below and across, even so does that one adorable God, the repository of all goodness and greatness, preside over everything that has the nature of a cause.
V-5: He who is the one source of the world brings out everything out of His own Nature, and leads creatures to perfection according to their deserts, and endows each being with its distinguishing characteristic. Thus he presides over the whole universe.
V-6: He lies hidden in the Upanishads, which form the essence of the Vedas. Him the Hiranyagarbha knows as the source of Himself and the Vedas. Those gods and seers who realized Him in former days became identified with Him, and verily became immortal.
V-7: Only he who gets attached to the pleasurable qualities of things does work for the sake of its fruits, and enjoys the fruits of his own deeds. Though really the master of the senses, he becomes bound by the three Gunas, and assuming various forms, wanders about through the three paths as a result of his own deeds.
V-8: Subtle as the point of a goad, and pure, effulgent and infinite like the sun, He alone is seen assuming as another the size of a thumb on account of the finiteness of the heart (in which He appears), and associating Himself with egoism and Sankalpa on account of the limitations of the intellect.
V-9:That individual soul is as subtle as a hairpoint divided and sub-divided hundreds of times. Yet he is potentially infinite. He has to be known.
V-10: He is neither female, nor male, nor neuter. Whatever body he assumes, he becomes identified with that.
V-11: By desire, contact, sight and delusion, the embodied soul assumes successively various forms in various places according to his deeds, just as the body grows nourished by showers of food and drink. V-12: The embodied self chooses many forms, gross and subtle, based on the qualities belonging to himself, to the actions, and to the mind. The cause of their combination is found to be still another.
V-13: Realizing Him who is without beginning or end, who creates the cosmos in the midst of chaos, who assumes many forms, and who alone envelops everything, one becomes free from all fetters.
V-14: That Supreme Divinity who created both Life and Matter, who is the source of all arts and sciences, who can be intuited by a pure and devoted mind – realizing Him, the blissful the incorporeal and the nameless, one is freed from further embodiment.
VI-1: Some deluded thinkers speak of Nature, and others of time, as the force that revolves this wheel of Brahman. But really all this is only the glory of God manifested in the world.
VI-2: It should be known that energy assumes various forms such as earth, water, light, air and ether at the command of Him who is the master of Gunas and the maker of time, who is omniscient, who is Pure consciousness itself, and by whom all this is ever enveloped.
VI-3: After setting the creation in motion and withdrawing Himself from it, He unites the principle of Spirit with the principle of Matter – with one, with two, with three and with eight – through the mere instrumentality of time and their own inherent properties.
VI-4: He gives the start to the creation associated with the three Gunas of Nature, and others all things. Again, in the absence of the Gunas, He destroys all created objects, and after destruction, remains aloof in His essence.
VI-5: By previously meditating as seated in one’s own heart, on that Adorable Being who appears as the universe, and who is the true source of all creatures, He can be perceived even though He is the primeval cause of the union (of Spirit with Matter), as well as the partless entity transcending the three divisions of time.
VI-6: Knowing Him who is the origin and dissolution of the universe – the source of all virtue, the destroyer of all sins, the master of all good qualities, the immortal, and the abode of the universe – as seated in one’s own self, He is perceived as different from, and transcending, the tree of Samsara as well as time and form.
VI-7: May we realize Him – the transcendent and adorable master of the universe – who is the supreme lord over all the lords, the supreme God above all the gods, and the supreme ruler over all the rulers.
VI-8: His has nothing to achieve for Himself, nor has He any organ of action. No one is seen equal or superior to Him. His great power alone is described in the Vedas to be of various kinds, and His knowledge, strength and action are described as inherent in Him.
VI-9: No one in the world is His master, nor has anybody any control over Him. There is no sign by which He can be inferred. He is the cause of all, and the ruler of individual souls. He has no parent, nor is there any one who is His lord.
VI-10: May the Supreme Being, who spontaneously covers Himself with the products of Nature, just as a spider does with the threads drawn from its own navel, grant us absorption in Brahman !
VI-11: God, who is one only, is hidden in all beings. He is all-pervading, and is the inner self of all creatures. He presides over all actions, and all beings reside in Him. He is the witness, and He is the Pure Consciousness free from the three Gunas of Nature.
VI-12: Those wise men, who ever feel in their own hearts the presence of Him who is the one ruler of the inactive many, and who makes the one seed manifold – to them belongs eternal happiness, and to none else.
VI-13: He is the eternal among the eternal and the intelligent among all that are intelligent. Though one, He grants the desires of the many. One is released from all fetters on realizing Him, the cause of all, who is comprehensible through philosophy and religious discipline.
VI-14: The sun does not shine there; neither the moon, nor the stars. There these lightnings shine not – how then this fire ? Because He shines, everything shines after Him. By His light all this shines.
VI-15: The one destroyer of ignorance in the midst of this universe, He alone is the fire which is stationed in water. Realizing Him alone one overcomes death. There is no other path for emancipation. VI-16: He is the creator of everything as well as the knower of everything. He is His own source, He is all-knowing, and He is the destroyer of time. He is the repository of all good qualities, and the master of all sciences. He is the controller of Matter and Spirit, and the lord of the Gunas. He is the cause of liberation from the cycle of birth and death, and of bondage which results in its continuance.
VI-17: He is the soul of the universe, He is immortal, and His is the rulership. He is the all knowing, the all-pervading, the protector of the universe, the eternal ruler. None else is there efficient to govern the world eternally.
VI-18-19: He who at the beginning of creation projected Brahma (Universal Consciousness), who delivered the Vedas unto him, who constitutes the supreme bridge of immortality, who is the partless, free from actions, tranquil, faultless, taintless and resembles the fire that has consumed its fuel – seeking liberation I go for refuge to that Effulgent One, whose light turns the understanding towards the Atman.
VI-20: Only when men shall roll up the sky like a skin, will there be an end of misery for them without realizing God.
VI-21: Himself realizing Brahman by the power of self-control and concentration of mind, as well as by the grace of God, the sage Svetasvatara expounded well to the highest order of Sannyasins, the truth of that supremely holy Brahman resorted to by all the seers.
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.
Om ! May Brahman protect us both together.
May He nourish us both together.
May we both work together, with great energy.
May our study be vigorous and effective.
May we not hate each other.
Om! Peace! Peace! Peace!
Here ends the Svetasvataropanishad, included in the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Hamsa Upanishad
Translated by K. Narayanasvami Aiyar
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1.Gautama addressed Sanatkumara thus: “O Lord, thou art the knower of all Dharmas and art well versed in all Shastras, pray tell me the means by which I may obtain a knowledge of Brahma-Vidya.
2.Sanatkumara replied thus: “Hear, O Gautama, that Tattva as expounded by Parvati after inquiring into all Dharmas and ascertaining Shiva’s opinion.
3.This treatise on the nature of Hamsa which gives the fruit of bliss and salvation and which is like a treasure to the Yogin, is (a) very mystic (science) and should not be revealed (to the public).
4.Now we shall explain the true nature of Hamsa and Paramahamsa for the benefit of a Brahmacharin (a seeker after Brahman or celibate), who has his desires under control, is devoted to his guru and always contemplates (as) Hamsa and realise thus: It (Hamsa) is permeating all bodies like fire (or heat) in all kinds of wood or oil in all kinds of gingelly seeds. Having known (It) thus, one does not meet with death.
Having contracted the anus (with the heels pressed against it), having raised the Vayu (breath) from (Mula) Adhara (Chakra), having made circuit thrice round Svadhisthana, having gone to Manipuraka, having crossed Anahata, having controlled Prana in Visuddhi and then having reached Ajna, one contemplates in Brahmarandhra (in the head) and having meditated there always ‘I am of three Matras’, cognises (his Self) and becomes formless. The Sisna (penis) has two sides (left and right from head to foot). This is that Paramahamsa (Supreme Hamsa or Higher Self) having the resplendence of Crores of suns and by whom all this world is pervaded.
If (this Hamsa which has Buddhi as vehicle) has eight-fold Vritti. (When it is) in the eastern petal, there is the inclination (in a person) to virtuous actions; in the south-eastern petal, there arise sleep, laziness, etc., in the southern, there is the inclination to cruelty; in the south-western, there is the inclination to sins; in the western, there is the inclination to sensual sport; in the north-western, there arise the desire of walking and others; in the northern, there arises the desire of lust; in the north-eastern, there arises the desire of amassing money; in the middle (or the inter-spaces between the petals), there is the indifference to material pleasures. In the filament (of the lotus), there arises the waking state; in the pericarp there arises the Svapna (dreaming state); in the Bija (seed of pericarp), there arises the Sushupti (dreamless sleeping state); when leaving the lotus, there is the Turya (fourth state). When Hamsa is absorbed in Nada (spiritual sound), the state beyond the fourth is reached. Nada (which is at the end of sound and beyond speech and mind) is like a pure crystal extending from (Mula) Adhara to Brahmarandhra. It is that which is spoken of as Brahma and Paramatman.
(Here is the performance of Ajapa Gayatri is given): Now Hamsa is the Rishi; the metre is Avyakta Gayatri; Paramahamsa is the Devata (or presiding deity) ‘Ham’ is the Bija; ‘Sa’ is the Sakti; So’ham is the Kilaka (wedge). Thus there are six. There are 21,600 Hamsas (or breaths) in a day and night. (Salutation to) Surya, Soma, Niranjana (the stainless) and Nirabhasa (the universeless). Ajapa mantra. (May) the bodiless and subtle one guide (or illuminate my understanding). Vaushat to Agni-Soma. Then Anganyasas and Karanyasas occur (or should be performed after the Mantras as they are performed before the Mantras) in the heart and other (seats). Having done so, one should contemplate upon Hamsa as the Atman in his heart. Agni and Soma are its wings (right and left sides); Omkara is its head; Ukara and Bindu are the three eyes and face respectively; Rudra and Rudrani (or Rudra’s wife) are the feet Kanthata (or the realisation of the oneness of Jivatma or Hamsa, the lower self with Paramatman or Paramahamsa, the Higher Self) is done in two ways (Samprajnata and Asamprajnata).
After that, Unmani is the end of the Ajapa (Mantra). Having thus reflected upon Manas by means of This (Hamsa), one hears Nada after the uttering of this Japa (Mantra) a crore of times. It (Nada) is (begun to be heard as) of ten kinds. The first is Chini (like the sound of that word); the second is Chini-Chini; the third is the sound of bell; the fourth is that of conch; the fifth is that of Tantiri (lute); the sixth is that sound of Tala (cymbals); the seventh is that of flute; the eighth is that of Bheri (drum); the ninth is that of Mridanga (double drum); and the tenth is that of clouds (viz., thunder). He may experience the tenth without the first nine sounds (through the initiation of a Guru). In the first stage, his body becomes Chini-Chini; in the second, there is the (Bhanjana) breaking (or affecting) in the body; in the third, there is the (Bhedana) piercing; in the fourth, the head shakes; in the fifth, the palate produces saliva; in the sixth, nectar is attained; in the seventh, the knowledge of the hidden (things in the world) arises; in the eighth, Para-Vak is heard; in the ninth, the body becomes invisible and the pure divine eye is developed; in the tenth, he attains Para-Brahman in the presence of (or with) Atman which is Brahman. After that, when Manas destroyed, when it which is the source of Sankalpa and Vikalpa disappears, owing to the destruction of these two, and when virtues and sins are burnt away, then he shines as Sadashiva of the nature of Sakti pervading everywhere, being effulgence in its very essence, the immaculate, the eternal, the stainless and the most quiescent Om. Thus is the teaching of the Vedas; and thus is the Upanishad.”
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Hamsa Upanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Aruni Upanishad
Translated by Swami Madhavananda
Published by Advaita Ashram, Kolkatta
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1.Om. Aruna’s son went to the sphere of Brahma, the Creator, and reaching there said, “Lord, in what way can I relinquish work altogether ?” Brahma said to him: You must give up your sons, brothers, friends, and the rest, your hair-tuft and the holy thread, your sacrifices and books regulating them, your scriptures; must give up the (seven upper) spheres entitled Bhur, Bhuvar, Svar, Mahar, Jana, Tapas, and Satya, and the (seven nether) spheres, viz., Atala, Patala, Vitala, Sutala, Rasatala, Talatala and Mahatala, together with the (whole) universe; and must take on the staff and the scanty clothing of the Sannyasin; you must renounce everything else, aye, everything else.
2.The householder, or the Brahmachari, or the Vanaprashta should commit the fires that lead to the different spheres to the fire that is in the stomach, and consign the sacred Mantra, Gayatri, to the fire that is in his own speech, should throw the holy thread on the ground or into water. The Kutichara living a Brahmachari’s life should give up his relatives, and discard his begging bowl, and the straining-cloth, should give up his triple staves, and the fires that lead to particular spheres. (So said Prajapati). Henceforward he should behave like one who has got no Mantra to repeat, should give up
the desire to go to the higher spheres, bathe at the beginning of the three meeting-points of the day, viz., morning, noon, and evening, should effect a union with his Atman through the highest concentration, and from amongst the (whole range of the) Vedas should repeat only the Aranyakas, only the Upanishads, aye, nothing but the Upanishads.
3.Verily I am Brahman, the Sutra; the Sutra is Brahman for It originates (the cosmos); I myself am the sutra because I am a man of realisation – the wise one who has realised this should give up his triple holy thread. “I have renounced, I have renounced, I have renounced” – uttering this thrice he should declare – “From me there is no fear (in word, thought, or deed) to any being, for from me everything has proceeded”. Uttering the Mantra – “That art my friend, so protect me (from cows, serpents, etc.), thou art strength and my friend, in all seen and unseen danger thou art the Thunder of the Lord of the Universe”, etc., he should hold up high the bamboo staff and put on the loin-cloth. He should take food as if it were medicine, aye, as if it were medicine. Carefully guard (oh, ye all who are concerned) your chastity (in thought, word and deed), non-injury, non-acceptance of (superfluous) gifts, non-thieving and truthfulness – guard them by all means, aye, do guard !
4.Now then the duties of the highest class of itinerant monks – the Paramahamsa Parivrajakas (are as follows): They must sit and lie down on the ground. Those having already taken the vow of chastity etc., should use an earthen bowl or one made of gourd, or a wooden bowl; they should give up lust anger, avarice, infatuation, ostentation, haughtiness, jealousy, attachment to objects, egotism, falsehood and the like. The Sannyasin should stay at one place during the four months of the rainy season and during the remaining eight months wander alone, or with a single companion, aye, a single companion.
5.Verily one who has realised the (true) import of the Vedas may give up those things (previously enumerated) after the investiture with the holy thread, or he may do so even before that ceremony – (give up) his father, son, his sacrificial fires, and the holy thread, his works, his wife and all else that he may possess. Sannyasins enter a village for begging purposes only, with their palms or their stomach as the receptacle for food. Uttering “Om” “Om” “Om”, they should mentally place this Mantra, the Upanishad, in the different parts of their body. He who realises the Truth in this manner is really the wise one. He who knows this (and is a Brahmachari taking on the monastic vow) should give up the staff made of the wood of the Palasha (Dhak), Bilva (Marmelos), or Audumbara (Fig) trees, his skin and girdle and the holy thread, etc., and thus be a hero. “That supreme state of the all-pervading Deity the sages realise for all time like the eye pervading from one end of the sky to the other.” “Sages purged of all impurities like anger etc., who have awakened from the sleep (of ignorance), kindle that Truth (in the minds of the enquirers), that supreme state of the all-pervading Deity.” Such indeed is the injunction of the scriptures leading to liberation – the injunction of the Vedas, aye, of the Vedas.
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Arunyupanishad, included in the Sama-Veda.
Garbha Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! May He protect us both together; may
He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
The body is fivefold in nature (the five elements), existing in the five, depending on the six (tastes of food), connected with the six qualities (kama etc.,), seven Dhatus, three impurities, three Yonis (of excretion) and four kinds of food.
Why say ‘Fivefold in nature ?’ The five elements Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Ether. In this body, whatever is hard is of Earth, liquid is water, warm is fire, whatever moves about is air and space-enclosed is ether. The function of the Earth is to support, water is to consolidate (digestion etc.,). Fire is to see, wind is for moving, Ether is to give space (for vital functions).
The eyes are used in seeing form, ears for sound, tongue for taste, the skin and nose for touch and smell respectively; genital for pleasure, Apana is for evacuation (of bowels). The person cognises through the intellect, wills with the mind and speaks with the tongue.
The six-fold support is the six tastes (of food): sweet, acid, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent. 1-7. Sadja, Risabha, Gandhara, Panchama, Madhyama, Dhaivata, Nisadha – these are the seven
agreeable and disagreeable sounds. White, Red, Black smoke-coloured, Yellow, Tawny and Pale-White – these are the colours of the seven Dhatus (primary Humours). Why ? For Devadatta (any person) there springs up in his mind desire for enjoyment of objects. From relish of food blood is born, from it is flesh, thence fat, bones, marrow, semen; by the combination of semen and blood the foetus is born. Vital warmth springs up in the womb and the belly. In the seat of the warmth bile, Prana flows – at the proper season ordained by the creator.
8.The embryo lying (in the womb) for (a day) and night is a confused mass; after seven days it becomes a bubble; after a fortnight, a mass and in a month, it hardens. In two months develops the region of the head; in three months, the feet; in the fourth, belly and hip; in the fifth, the backbone; in the sixth, nose, eyes and ears; in the seventh the embryo quickens with life and in the eighth month, it becomes complete.
9.By the dominance of the father’s semen, the child becomes male; the mother’s – female. When equal, a eunuch. If, at the time of impregnation, the parents are agitated, the child will be blind, crippled, hunch-backed or stunted in growth. If the couple have vital-air-trouble, the semen enters in two parts resulting in twins.
10.In the eighth month, in conjunction with the five vital airs the Jiva gets the capacity to know its past affairs (of past births), conceives of the imperishable Atman as Om, through perfect knowledge and meditation. Having known Om he sees in the body the eight Prakritis derived from it the five elements, mind, intellect and ego and the sixteen changes [see Prasnopanishad].
11.The body becomes complete in the ninth month and remembers the past birth. Actions done and not done flash to him and he recognises the good and bad nature of Karma.
12-17. ‘I have seen thousands of wombs, eaten several kinds of food and sucked many breasts; born and dead often, I am immersed in grief but see no remedy. If I can get out of this, I will resort to Sankhya-Yoga which destroys misery and yields liberation; or I resort to Maheshvara who destroys misery. Or I resort to Narayana, who destroys misery. If I did good and bad deeds for the sake of my dependants, I shall myself be burnt for the deeds – the others who enjoyed the fruits go away (unaffected).
18.The person being squeezed as it were by a machine is touched by all-pervading air and forgets previous births and deeds.
19.Why is the body so called ? It has three fires: the Kosthagni ripens all that is eaten; the Darsanagni helps one see colour etc., the Jnanagni is the mind which helps perform good and bad deeds.
20.The Daksinagni is in the heart; Garhapatya in the belly and Ahavaniya in the mouth; the intellect is the performer’s consort, contentment is Diksha, sense organs are the utensils, head is the jar, hair is the sacred grass, the mouth the interior of the altar etc.
21.The heart measures 8 Palas, tongue 12, bile is one Prastha, phlegm one Adhaka. Sukla is one Kudupa, fat two Prasthas, Urine and mala two Prasthas each, depending on what is taken in daily. The scripture of liberation expounded by Paippalada ends.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may
He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Garbhopanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Narayana Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Shanthi Pata [Prayer for peace]
Om Sahananavathu.
Saha nou bunakthu.
Saha veeryai kara vahai
Thejasvinaava dhithamasthu Maa vidwishavahai
Om Santhi santhi santhi.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may
He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Maaya thath karyamakhilam yad bodhadhaythya pahnavam.
Tripan narayanakhyam thath kalaye swathma mathratha.
I would tell you about that knowledge called “Narayana principle with three aspects" knowing which Maya (illusion) and all that which happens because of Maya will vanish entirely.
Om adha purusho ha vai Narayano akaamayath. Praja srujeyethi. Narayanath prano jayathe. Mana sarvendriyani cha kham vayur jyothirapa prithvi viswasya dharini. Narayanath brahma jayathe.
Narayanath Rudra jayathe. Narayanath Indro Jayathe. Narayanath prajapathi prajayathe. Narayanath Dwadasa aadhithya Rudra Vasava sarvaani Chandamsi Narayana deva Samudpadyanthe. Narayanath pravarthanthe. Narayane praleeyanthe. Eethath Rig veda siro adithe. 1
Om!
Narayana desired to create people. Because of this thought, Soul (prana) rose from him. Mind and all body parts, sky, air, light, water and the earth which can carry all these created beings took their form.
From Narayana, Brahma was born. From Narayana, Rudra was born. From Narayana, Indra was
born .From Narayana those people who rule these human beings were born. From Narayana, the twelve suns, eleven Rudras, Eight Vasus and all those meters (for writing) were born. All these function because of Narayana. All these end in Narayana. Thus is read, the Upanishads of Rig Veda.
[The twelve Adithyas (sons of Adithi) are Datha, Mithra, Aaryama, Rudra, Varuna, Surya , Bhaga, Vivaswan, Poosha, Savitha, Thwashta and Vishnu.
The eleven Rudras are Manyu, Manu, Mahinasan, Mahan, Shivan, Ruthudwajan, Ugra rethas, Bhavan, Kaman, Vamadevan and Druthavruthan.
The eight Vasus who are children of Vasu who is the daughter of Daksha are Dharan, Druvan, Soman, Ahass, Anilan, Analan Prathyushan and Prabhasan.]
Adha nithyo Narayana. Brahma Narayana. Shivascha Narayana. Shankrascha Narayana. Kaalascha Narayana. Disascha Narayana. Vidhisascha Narayana. Oordhwascha Narayana. Adhascha Narayana. Anthar bahischa Narayana. Narayana eevedam sarva yad bhootham yachcha bhavyam. Nish kalanko niranjano Nirvikalpo niraakhyatha shabho deva eka Narayano na dwitheyesthi kaschit. Ya evam veda sa vishnureva bhavathi sa Vishnureva bhavathi. Ethad Yajur veda siro adithe. 2
He is perennial. Narayana is Brahma. Narayana is Shiva. Narayana is Indra and Kaala (god of death). All directions are Narayana. All sides are Narayana. Inside and outside is Narayana. Narayana is what has happened, what is happening and what will happen. Narayana is the only God who is blemish less, stain less, order less, end less and who cannot be described and when Narayana is there, there is no other second. He who knows this, becomes himself Lord Vishnu. Thus is read, the Upanishads of Yajur Veda.
Om ithyagre vyaahareth nama ithi paschath. Narayanasa ethyuparishath. Om ithyekaksharam. Nama ithi dhwe akshare. Narayanayethi Panchaksharani. Ethadwai Narayanasyashtaksharam padam. Yoha vai Narayanasya ashtaksharam pada madhyethi. AAnapabroova sarva mayurethi. Vindathe Prajapathyam rayasposham gowpathyam thatho amruthathwamasruthe thatho amrutha masnutha ithi. Ethath Sama Veda siro adithe. 3
Tell “Om “ first and then tell “Nama” After this tell “Narayana”. There is one letter in “Om”. There are two letters in “Nama”. There are five letters in “Narayana.” Together is formed the eight lettered “Om Namo Narayana”. He, who tells these eight letters, attains full life without any blemish. He would attain salvation after becoming the lord of the people and be blessed with lots of wealth, lots of cows and all other forms of wealth. Thus is read the Upanishads of Sama Veda.
Prathyganandam” brahma purusham pranaswaroopam. Aakara. Uukara, makaro ithi. Thaa anekadha samabhavath thadho mithi yamukthwa muchyathe yogi janma samsara bandhaath. Om namo Narayanayethi manthropasako vaikuntabhuvanam gamishyathi. Thdidam pundareekam vignana danam thasmad thaddhabamathram. Brahmanyo devaki puthro brahmanyo madhu soodhana. Brahmanya pundarikaksho brahmanya Vishnurachyutha ithi. Sarva bhoothasthamekam vai narayanam karana purusha makaranam parabrahmom ethad adharva siro adithe. 4
That ever happy brahma purusha (soul) is of the form of pranava (“om”) which is made of joining “Aa”, Uu” and “Ma”. That pranava (Brahma Purusha) growing in several ways becomes “Om” and that yogi (student of yoga) who meditates on it attains salvation. That yogi who meditates on “Om Namo Narayanaya” reaches Vaikunta, the abode of Lord Vishnu. That Vaikunta is nothing but the Hrudaya Kamala (lotus like heart) which is full of eternal wisdom from which a streak of light similar to lightning emanates. The son of Devaki is Brahmam. The Madhu Sudhana (he who killed Madhu) is Brahmam. The lotus eyed one is Brahmam and also Lord Vishnu who is Achyutha. That Purusha which is the reason for existence of all beings is surely Narayana. He is also the causeless “Om”, which is Para Brahmam. Thus is read the Upanishads of Atharva Veda.
Pratharadhiyano rathri krutha papam nasyathi. Sayam adhiyanom divasa krutha papam naasyathi. Maadhyam dinam aadhithyaa abhimukho adhiyana pancha maha pathako upa pathakath pramuchyathe. Sarva Veda parayana punyam labhathe. Narayana sayujyamvaa prothi. Sriman Narayana Sayujyam mavapnothi cha evam Veda. 5
He who reads this in the morning destroys the sin he has committed at night. He who reads this in the evening destroys the sins he has committed during day time. He, who reads this at noon addressing the Sun, gets rid of the five great sins as well as subsidiary sins. He also gets the holy effect of reading all Vedas. He becomes one with Lord Narayana at the end. This is the knowledge of Veda.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may
He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Narayanopanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
[Publisher's Note: This Narayana Upanishad is listed as one of the 108 Upanishads in another version of Muktika Upanishad. The Upanishad "Narayana" listed in our version of Muktika Upanishad actually means Maha Narayana Upanishad.]
Paramahamsa Upanishad
Translated by Swami Madhavananda
Published by Advaita Ashram, Kolkatta
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
1.What is the path of the Paramahamsa Yogis, and what are their duties ?” – was the question Narada asked on approaching the Lord Brahma (the Creator). To him the Lord replied: The path of the Paramahamsas that you ask of is accessible with the greatest difficulty by people; they have not many exponents, and it is enough if there be one such. Verily, such a one rests in the ever-pure Brahman; he is verily the Brahman inculcated in the Vedas – this is what the knowers of Truth hold; he is the great one, for he rests his whole mind always in Me; and I, too, for that reason, reside in him. Having renounced his sons, friends, wife, and relations, etc., and having done away with the Shikha, the holy thread, the study of the Vedas, and all works, as well as this universe, he should use the Kaupina, the staff, and just enough clothes, etc., for the bare maintenance of his body, and for the good of all. And that is not final. If it is asked what this final is, it is as follows:
2.The Paramahamsa carries neither the staff, nor the hair-tuft, nor the holy thread nor any covering. He feels neither cold, nor heat, neither happiness nor misery, neither honour, nor contempt etc. It is meet that he should be beyond the reach of the six billows of this world-ocean. Having given up all thought of calumny, conceit, jealousy, ostentation, arrogance, attachment or antipathy to objects, joy and sorrow, lust, anger, covetousness, self-delusion, elation, envy, egoism, and the like, he regards his body as a corpse, as he has thoroughly destroyed the body-idea. Being eternally free from the cause of doubt, and of misconceived and false knowledge, realising the Eternal Brahman, he lives in that himself, with the consciousness “I myself am He, I am That which is ever calm, immutable, undivided, of the essence of knowledge-bliss, That alone is my real nature.” That (Jnana) alone is his Shikha. That (Jnana) alone is his holy thread. Through the knowledge of the unity of the Jivatman with the Paramatman, the distinction between them is wholly gone too. This (unification) is his Sandhya ceremony.
3.He who relinquishing all desires has his supreme rest in the One without a second, and who holds the staff of knowledge, is the true Ekadandi. He who carries a mere wooden staff, who takes to all sorts of sense-objects, and is devoid of Jnana, goes to horrible hells known as the Maharauravas. Knowing the distinction between these two, he becomes a Paramahamsa.
4.The quarters are his clothing, he prostrates himself before none, he offers no oblation to the Pitris (manes), blames none, praises none – the Sannyasin is ever of independent will. For him there is no invocation to God, no valedictory ceremony to him; no Mantra, no meditation, no worship; to him is neither the phenomenal world nor That which is unknowable; he sees neither duality nor does he perceive unity. He sees neither “I” nor ‘thou”, nor all this. The Sannyasin has no home. He should not accept anything made of gold or the like, he should not have a body of disciples, or accept wealth. If it be asked what harm there is in accepting them, (the reply is) yes, there is harm in doing so. Because if the Sannyasin looks at gold with longing, he makes himself a killer of Brahman; because if the Sannyasin touches gold with longing, he becomes degraded into a Chandala; because if he takes gold with longing, he makes himself a killer of the Atman. Therefore, the Sannyasin must neither look at, nor touch nor take gold, with longing. All desires of the mind cease to exist, (and consequently) he is not agitated by grief, and has no longing for happiness; renunciation of attachment to sense-pleasures comes, and he is everywhere unattached in good or evil, (consequently) he neither hates nor is elated. The outgoing tendency of all the sense-organs subsides in him who rests in the Atman alone. Realising “I am that Brahman who is the One Infinite Knowledge-Bliss” he reaches the end of his desires, verily he reaches the end of his desires.
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Paramahamsopanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Amrita Bindu Upanishad
Translated by Swami Madhavananda
Published by Advaita Ashram, Kolkatta
Om ! May He protect us both together; may
He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1.The mind is chiefly spoken of as of two kinds, pure and impure. The impure mind is that which is possessed of desire, and the pure is that which is devoid of desire.
2.It is indeed the mind that is the cause of men’s bondage and liberation. The mind that is attached to sense-objects leads to bondage, while dissociated from sense-objects it tends to lead to liberation. So they think.
3.Since liberation is predicated of the mind devoid of desire for sense-objects, therefore, the mind should always be made free of such desire, by the seeker after liberation.
4.When the mind, with its attachment for sense-objects annihilated, is fully controlled within the heart and thus realises its own essence, then that Supreme State (is gained).
5.The mind should be controlled to that extent in which it gets merged in the heart. This is Jnana (realisation) and this is Dhyana (meditation) also, all else is argumentation and verbiage.
6.(The Supreme State) is neither to be thought of (as being something external and pleasing to the mind), nor unworthy to be thought of (as something unpleasant to the mind); nor is It to be thought of (as being of the form of sense-pleasure), but to be thought of (as the essence of the ever-manifest, eternal, supreme Bliss Itself); that Brahman which is free from all partiality is attained in that state.
7.One should duly practise concentration on Om (first) through the means of its letters, then meditate on Om without regard to its letters. Finally on the realisation with this latter form of meditation on Om, the idea of the non-entity is attained as entity.
8.That alone is Brahman, without component parts, without doubt and without taint. Realising “I am that Brahman” one becomes the immutable Brahman.
9.(Brahman is) without doubt, endless, beyond reason and analogy, beyond all proofs and causeless knowing which the wise one becomes free.
10.The highest Truth is that (pure consciousness) which realises, “There is neither control of the mind, nor its coming into play”, “Neither am I bound, nor am I a worshipper, neither am I a seeker after liberation, nor one-who has attained liberation”.
11.Verily the Atman should be known as being the same in Its states of wakefulness, dreaming, and dreamless sleep. For him who has transcended the three states there is no more rebirth.
12.Being the one, the universal Soul is present in all beings. Though one, It is seen as many, like the moon in the water.
13.Just as it is the jar which being removed (from one place to another) changes places and not the Akasa enclosed in the jar – so is the Jiva which resembles the Akasa.
14.When various forms like the jar are broken again and again the Akasa does not know them to be broken, but He knows perfectly.
15.Being covered by Maya, which is a mere sound, It does not, through darkness, know the Akasa (the Blissful one). When ignorance is rent asunder, It being then Itself only sees the unity.
16.The Om as Word is (first looked upon as) the Supreme Brahman. After that (word-idea) has vanished, that imperishable Brahman (remains). The wise one should meditate on that imperishable Brahman, if he desires the peace of his soul.
17.Two kinds of Vidya ought to be known – the Word-Brahman and the Supreme Brahman. One having mastered the Word-Brahman attains to the Highest Brahman.
18.After studying the Vedas the intelligent one who is solely intent on acquiring knowledge and realisation, should discard the Vedas altogether, as the man who seeks to obtain rice discards the husk.
19.Of cows which are of diverse colours the milk is of the same colour. (the intelligent one) regards Jnana as the milk, and the many-branched Vedas as the cows.
20.Like the butter hidden in milk, the Pure Consciousness resides in every being. That ought to be constantly churned out by the churning rod of the mind.
21.Taking hold of the rope of knowledge, one should bring out, like fire, the Supreme Brahman. I am that Brahman indivisible, immutable, and calm, thus it is thought of.
22.In Whom reside all beings, and Who resides in all beings by virtue of His being the giver of grace to all – I am that Soul of the Universe, the Supreme Being, I am that Soul of the Universe, the Supreme Being.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may
He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Amritabindupanishad, as contained in the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Amrita-Nada Upanishad
Translated by K. Narayanasvami Aiyar
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1.The wise, having studied the Shastras and reflected on them again and again and having come to know Brahman, should abandon them all like a fire-brand.
2-3. Having ascended the car of Om with Vishnu (the Higher Self) as the charioteer, one wishing to go to the seat of Brahmaloka intent on the worship of Rudra, should go in the chariot so long as he can go. Then abandoning the car, he reaches the place of the Lord of the car.
4.Having given up Matra, Linga and Pada, he attains the subtle Pada (seat or word) without vowels or consonants by means of the letter ‘M’ without the Svara (accent).
5.That is called Pratyahara when one merely thinks of the five objects of sense, such as sound, etc., as also the very unsteady mind as the reins of Atman.
6.Pratyahara (subjugation of the senses), Dhyana (contemplation), Pranayama (control of breath), Dharana (concentration), Tarka and Samadhi are said to be the six parts of Yoga.
7.Just as the impurities of mountain-minerals are burnt by the blower, so the stains committed by the organs are burned by checking Prana.
8.Through Pranayamas should be burnt the stains; through Dharana, the sins; through Pratyahara, the (bad) associations; and through Dhyana, the godless qualities.
9.Having destroyed the sins, one should think of Ruchira (the shining).
10.Ruchira (cessation), expiration and inspiration – these three are Pranayama of (Rechaka, Puraka and Kumbhaka) expiration, inspiration and cessation of breath.
11.That is called (one) Pranayama when one repeats with a prolonged (or elongated) breath three times the Gayatri with its Vyahritis and Pranava (before it) along with the Siras (the head) joining after it.
12.Raising up the Vayu from the Akasa (region, viz., the heart) and making the body void (of Vayu) and empty and uniting (the soul) to the state of void, is called Rechaka (expiration).
13.That is called Puraka (inspiration) when one takes in Vayu, as a man would take water into his mouth through the lotus-stalk.
14.That is called Kumbhaka (cessation of breath) when there is no expiration or inspiration and the body is motionless, remaining still in one state.
15.Then he sees forms like the blind, hears sounds like the deaf and sees the body like wood. This is the characteristic of one that has attained much quiescence.
16.That is called Dharana when the wise man regards the mind as Sankalpa and merging Sankalpa into Atman, contemplates upon his Atman (alone).
17.That is called Tarka when one makes inference which does not conflict with the Vedas. That is called Samadhi in which one, on attaining it, thinks (all) equal.
18-20. Seating himself on the ground on a seat of Kusa grass which is pleasant and devoid of all evils, having protected himself mentally (from all evil influences), uttering Ratha-Mandala, assuming either Padma, Svastika, or Bhadra posture or any other which can be practised easily, facing the north and closing the nostril with the thumb, one should inspire through the other nostril and retain breath inside and preserve the Agni (fire). Then he should think of the sound (Om) alone.
21.Om, the one letter is Brahman; Om should not be breathed out. Through this divine mantra (Om), it should be done many times to rid himself of impurity.
22.Then as said before, the Mantra-knowing wise should regularly meditate, beginning with the navel upwards in the gross, the primary (or less) gross and subtle (states).
23.The greatly wise should give up all (sight) seeing across, up or down and should practise Yoga always being motionless and without tremor.
24.The union as stated (done) by remaining without tremor in the hallow stalk (viz., Susumna) alone is Dharana. The Yoga with the ordained duration of twelve Matras is called (Dharana).
25.That which never decays is Akshara (Om) which is without Ghosha (third, fourth and fifth letters from 'K’), consonant, vowel, palatal, guttural, nasal, letter ‘R’ and sibilants.
26.Prana travels through (or goes by) that path through which this Akshara (Om) goes. Therefore it should be practised daily, in order to pass along that (course).
27.It is through the opening (or hole) of the heart, through the opening of Vayu (probably navel), through the opening of the head and through the opening of Moksha. They call it Bila (cave), Sushira (hole), or Mandala (wheel).
28.(Then about the obstacles of Yoga): A Yogin should always avoid fear, anger, laziness, too much sleep or waking and too much food or fasting.
29.If the above rule be well and strictly practised each day, spiritual wisdom will arise of itself in three months without doubt.
30.In four months, he sees the Devas; in five months, he knows (or becomes) Brahma-Nishtha; and truly in six months he attains Kaivalya at will. There is no doubt.
31.That which is of the earth is of five Matras (or it takes five Matras to pronounce Parthiva-Pranava). That which is of water is of four Matras; of Agni, three Matras; of Vayu, two;
32.And of Akasa, one. But he should think of that which is with no Matras. Having united Atman with Manas, one should contemplate upon Atman by means of Atman.
33.Prana is thirty digits long. Such is the position (of range) of Pranas. That is called Prana which is the seat of the external Pranas.
34.The breaths by day and night are numbered as 1,13,180 [or 21,600 - ?].
35.(Of the Pranas) the first viz., Prana is pervading the heart; Apana, the anus; Samana, the navel; Udana, the throat;
36.And Vyana, all parts of the body. Then come the colours of the five Pranas in order.
37.Prana is said to be of the colour of a blood-red gem (or coral); Apana which is in the middle is of the colour of Indragopa (an insect of white or red colour);
38.Samana is between the colour of pure milk and crystal (or oily and shining), between both (Prana and Apana); Udana is Apandara (pale white); and Vyana resembles the colour of archis (or ray of light).
39.That man is never reborn wherever he may die, whose breath goes out of the head after piercing through this Mandala (of the pineal gland). That man is never reborn.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may
He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Amritanada Upanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Atharvasiras Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
[In the Atharvasiras Upanishad, the three syllable letter, which has meaning and also does not have meaning and which is perennial stands alone. It is told that it is the basis of everything and there is no basis for it.]
The devas with their upturned hands extended upwards pray to Rudra. 1
Om!
He who is Rudra, he alone is god.
He is Brahma and we salute him again and again.
He who is Rudra, he alone is god.
He is Vishnu and we salute him again and again.
He who is Rudra, he alone is God.
He is truth and we salute him again and again.
He who is Rudra, he alone is God.
He is everything and we salute him again and again.
Earth is your feet. The Bhuvar Loka (one of the seven worlds above earth) is your middle. And the Suvar Loka (another world above earth) is your head. You are of the form of the universe. You who are Brahma appear united also divided in to two, and divided in to three and appear as if you are beyond all relations (attachments). You are peace. You are vigour. You are that which is offered in fire and that which is not offered in fire. You are that which is given in charity and that which is not given. You are everything and also nothing. You are the entire universe and you are not. You are that which is done and that which is not done. You are that which is at the top and that which is at the bottom. And you are the home for all beings. 3-1
Deeply drinking the somapana (a holy drink) of your grace we have become deathless. We have reached the ultimate. We have seen the devas. Who can cause any harm to us? We humans do not have any shortage of that nectar (your grace). 3-2
You who are primeval are older than the sun and the moon. 3-3
For the sake of this world, this deathless primeval being, catches hold of this world which is created by Prajapathi and which is minute and peaceful, without touching it and attracts its shape of things by shape, peacefulness by peace, minuteness by minuteness and airy nature by its airy nature and swallows it. Salutations and salutations to that great swallower. 3-4
Those gods who reside in the heart reside in the soul of the heart. And you who live in that heart are beyond the triad nature. [The three letters Aa, Uu and ma or three states viz. wakefulness, sleep and state of dream.] 3-5
The head of “the sound of Om” is on your left side. Its feet are on your right side. That “Sound of Om” is the Pranava(primeval sound). That Pranava is spread everywhere. That which is everywhere is the greatest. That which is limitless, shines like a white star. That which is also called Shuklam (seminal fluid- the basic unit of life) is very very minute. That which is minute is like a lightning power. That which is like lightning power is the ultimate Brahman. That Brahman is one and only one. That one and only one is Rudra (loosely translated angry one), it is also Eeshana (the form of Lord Shiva with tuft and riding on a bull), it is also the ultimate God and it is also the lord of all things. 3-6
Rudra is called the personification of Pranva because he sends the souls towards heaven, at the time of death (dissolution).
He is called the “one who has the shape of Pranava “, because the Brahmins read and propagate the Rik, Yajur, Sama and Atharva Vedas only after reading “om”.
He is called “all pervading “ because like oil in gingili (Til), he peacefully pervades all over the world and its beings, from top to bottom and from right to left.
He is called “Anantha (endless)”, because his end is neither at the top nor bottom, nor right nor left.
He is called “thara (protector)” because he protects one from the fear of life which consists of the fear of staying in the womb, fear at time of birth, fear from diseases, fear from old age and fear from death.
He is called “Shukla (white/ seminal fluid) because by pronouncing his name we get rid of all pains.
He is called “sookshma (minute)”, because he pervades in a minute form all over the body without touching any of the organs.
He is called “vaidhyutha (electric)” because as soon as his name is pronounced , in the state of darkness where nothing is visible, the holy knowledge comes like a ray of lightning.
He is called “Para Brahmam (the ultimate reality)", because though he is inside every thing, he is in and out of everything, he is the refuge of every thing and bigger than the big, he is inside every thing.
He is called “Eka (single)” because he singly destroys everything and recreates everything.
He is called “theertha (sacred water)” because he is the ultimate mingling of all sacred waters which are sought after, in the east, south, north ad west.
He is “Eka (loner)” because he creates all beings and travels within them alone without any one realizing where he comes from and where he goes.
He is “Rudra” because he is fast moving form is not understood by all but only by great sages and devotees.
He is “Eeshana” because by his power for creation and upkeep and also because he rules over all devas (gods).
Like approaching a cow for getting milk, we come to you. You are “Eeshana’ because Veda points you out as one who shows the heaven and one who rules over other Gods.
You are also called “Maheswara (great lord)” because you bless your devotees by giving them knowledge, because you created words and brought out knowledge, and because you have forsaken everything and reached a highest state of existence through yoga and your grace.
This is the story of Rudra. 4
This god is the one who pervades in all directions. He is the one who came earlier than every thing. He is the one who is in the womb. He is the one who is in all the creatures which have come out till now and all those who are going to be created in future. He is also the one who sees the inside but the one who has a face which looks outside. 5.1
Rudra is one and only one. There is none second to him. He rules all worlds by his power. He pervades fully in all beings. He is the one who, at the time of deluge, absorbs all beings. He is the one who creates all beings and upkeeps them. 5.2
He alone exists, in all organs where birth takes place. He travels among all beings and is the reason for their existence. The seeker would get immeasurable peace by searching and surrendering to this god, who gives everything to the one who asks and who is praiseworthy. 5.3
He converts fire, air, water, earth, ether and everything that exists here in to ash. He who sees this and mentally realizes it and observes the “penance to Pasupathi (Lord of all beings)” and who coats ash all over his body with this ash attains the state of Brahman. By worshipping “Pasupathi (lord of all beings)” like this, the ties of bondage of all beings get cut and they attain salvation. 5.4
There is none greater than him, on whom all the worlds are strung like beads. Over ages, nothing so far where greater than him and nothing is going to be greater than him. He has thousands of legs but one and only one head. He pervades every where.
From “Akshara (letter/language/ the deathless being)” time is created. From “time (ages) the “all pervasiveness” is created. This “all pervasiveness" is Rudra. Rudra destroys beings even when he is sleeping. From his “breath” is produced the “power of Thamas (darkness)”. From Thamas is created water. Mixing this water with finger makes it cold. By mixing the coolness the “foam” is produced. From that foam, the galaxy is produced. From the galaxy, Brahmam is produced. From Brahmam, air is produced. From air, “the sound of Om” is produced. From “the sound of Om”, Savithri is produced.
From Savithri, Gayathri is produced and from Gayathri, all the worlds are produced. They who worship “penance” and “truth”, get permanent happiness. Worshipping that Brahmam, which is the mixture of light, water, essence and nectar, by chanting “om Bhoor bhuva swarom” is the greatest penance.
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Atharvasiras Upanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
Atharvasikha Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I meditate on that “ultimate truth”, which explains the meaning “of the sound of Om”, which shines as the fourth leg of Om, which is Thureeya of Thureeyas (A super divine state of oneness with God, which is beyond the three states of wakefulness, sleep and dream), which enjoys being in three legs (syllables) and which is one and only one.
Om!
The sages Pippalada, Aangiras and Sanath Kumara approached the great God like sage, Atharva Maharshi and asked him, “Oh, God like sage, what is the chief aspect of meditation? What is the mantra (holy syllable) on which to meditate? Who can meditate? Who is the God of meditation?” 1.1
The sage Atharva replied to them,” Mainly meditation has to be done on the single letter Om. It itself is the mantra for meditation. The four legs of that mantra are the four devas and the four Vedas. The letter has to be recognized as the Para Brahman (Ultimate reality) and meditated upon. 1.2
The first syllable Aa, indicates earth, the Rig Veda along with its holy chants, Brahma the creator, Ashta Vasus among devas, “Gayathry” among meters, and Garhapthya (the fire of the household) among fires. 1.3
The second syllable Uu denotes the ether, the Yajur Veda, Rudra who is the God of destruction, the eleven Rudras among devas, “Trishgup” among meters and dakshinagni (fire of the south - funeral pyre) among the fires. 1.4
The third syllable Ma indicates the heavens, Sama Veda with its musical sounds of Sama, Vishnu who looks after the worlds, the twelve Adithyas (suns) among devas, “jagathichanda” among meters and Ahavagni (the fire used in fire sacrifice) among the fires. 1.5
That half fourth syllable which is the hidden Ma, is the magical chants of Atharva Veda, Samvarthaka (the fire of exchange) fire among fires, marud Ganas among devas. It is the self glittering Brahman which shines alone and sees everything. 1.6
The first is the red Brahma (creative aspect) , the second the holy white Rudra (destructive aspect), the third the black Lord Vishnu (the administrative aspect) and the fourth which is like lightning is the multi coloured Purushothama (best among males). 1.7
This Omkara has four legs and four heads (fires). The fourth is the half syllable sound of “Ma” which is hidden. That is pronounced in a small short form, slightly extended form (pluthyaga) and much extended form. It is pronounced as Om with one mathra, Om in two mathras and Om in the extended three mathras (mathra is the unit of pronunciation). 1.8
The fourth peaceful half syllable is hidden in the long ended pronunciation. It is the incomparable glitter of the soul. It is that sound which was never there and which will be never there. If not pronounced earlier but pronounced for the first time it, takes one via the Sushumna Nadi to the lotus with thousand petals (Sahasrara). 1.9.
The pranava (the sound of Om) makes all the souls to bow before it. It is the one and only one which has to be meditated upon as the four Vedas and the birth place of all devas. One who meditates like that goes away from all sorrows and fears and gets the power to protect all others who approach him. It is because of this meditation only that Lord Vishnu who is spread every where, wins over all others. It is because Lord Brahma controlled all his organs and meditated upon it, he attained the position of the creator. Even Lord Vishnu , parks his mind in the sound (Om) of the place of Paramathma (ultimate soul) and meditates upon Eeshana, who is most proper to be worshipped. All this is only proper in case of Eeshana. 2.1
Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra and Indra are creating all beings, all organs and all karanas. They are also capable of controlling them. But Lord Shiva exists in between them like sky and is permanently stable. 2.2
It is advised that the five gods Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Ishwara and Shiva should be worshipped in the form of pranava [Aa+Uu+Ma+sound+Bindu(full stop)]. 2.3
Even if for one second, if one can stay and meditate on these, he gets more results than that of performing one hundred fire sacrifices. With the full understanding and knowledge, one should only meditate on paramashiva, which would give rise to all benefits. It is definite that, by sacrificing all other things, the twice born, should learn and understand this and he would get rid of the suffering of living in the womb and attain salvation. 2.4
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Atharvasikhopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
Maitrayani Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
PRAPATHAKA ONE
The King Brihadratha, setting up his eldest son as king, deeming the body to be impermanent, getting detachment, went to the forest. He performed great penance and stood looking at the sun, arms uplifted. At the end of a thousand years the sage Sakayana approached (him) like, fire without smoke, burning with his lustre and said ‘Oh King, arise and choose a boon’. He bowed and said, ‘Sir, I am ignorant of the self. You know it; please impart it’.
‘This has happened in the past, and is impossible, ask for other desires’. But the King touched his feet and said, ‘Sir, what is the use of enjoyment in this body which smells badly and is a mass of bones, skins, etc., attacked by lust, anger, etc., separation from near and dear people, hunger, thirst etc. We see that all this is decaying, like flies and mosquitoes which live and die.
Great kings Dudyumna, Bhuridyumna, Indradyumna, Kuvalayasva, Yauvanasva etc., of Suryavamsa, Marutta etc., of the Somavamsa, relinquished this world and went to the other, even as the relatives were watching. We also see how Gandharvas, Asuras, Yaksas and others are dead and gone. The oceans become dry, mountains fall, Dhruva star is shaken, trees and earth are uprooted.
There is only rebirth in this world after all the enjoyment. You should uplift me who am like a frog in a dark well. You are my refuge.
PRAPATHAKA TWO
The sage Sakayanya being pleased said, ‘O King, the flag (ornament) of the Ikshvaku dynasty, you know the self, have done your duty, famous as the son of king Marut. This indeed, is your self’. ‘Which, O Lord’ (he asked). He replied: ‘It cannot be described. This one, bound by external causes, going upward, suffering and yet not (really) suffering, dispels ignorance like the sun dispelling darkness. The tranquil one rising from this body and approaching the supreme, manifests itself in its own essence, immortal, fearless.
This Brahma-vidya has been imparted to us by Lord Maitreya. I shall teach you the same. The sinless, powerfully radiant and chaste Valakhilyas spoke to Prajapati, ‘Lord, this body is inert like a cart. Which subtle being has such greatness that the body is set up as a conscious thing ? Who is the driver of this body ?’
He told them ‘He who is beyond speech, is pure, holy, empty of delusion, placid, breathless, independent, endless, unchangeable, eternal, unborn, free, in his own glory. He is the driver.
They said, ‘How can this body be set up like this by one who is devoid of desire ?’ He replied ‘The self is subtle, non-object, invisible and called Purusha. In part he is consciously present here and awakens the sleeper. That conscious part of this Purusha is the knower of the body in every individual. His marks are imagination, determination and conceit – he is the Lord of creatures, the eye of all. By that conscious being is the body set up. He is the driver.
They asked, ‘Lord, how can such a being exist in part ?’
He told them, ‘This Prajapati was there in the beginning. Being alone he was not happy. He contemplated on himself and made numerous beings. They were unaware of him, breathless, inert like a post. He was not happy and thought, ‘To kindle their awareness, I shall enter into them’. Making himself like air, he entered, not as one but making himself five-fold Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana and Samana airs. The breath that moves upward is Prana, Apana moves down. Samana is that which causes the eaten food to settle and circulates it to every limb equally. Udana throws up and sends down the drink and food. That which pervades the nerves is Vyana. The Vaisvanara wind overpowers the Antaryami wind and vice versa. In between these two warmth is exuded – the warmth is the spirit – spirit is cosmic fire. Also this has been stated elsewhere. The fire within is the cosmic fire, the inner fire by which food is digested. The sound of digestion is heard with closed ears, not when one is about to die.
This supreme being dividing himself into five, established in the cave (heart) is all mental, his body is the vital breath. He has many forms, his imaginations are true. Standing in the core of the heart, he strives and thinks: Let me become all things. Uprisen, dividing things by the five rays, he experiences then. The sense organs are the rays, the motor organs are the horses; the body the chariot, mind is the driver, of the nature of Prakriti; driving with the whip, he makes the body revolve like a wheel. Due to him is the body a conscious entity.
This self is truly led to depend on the non-self by the fruit of actions, white and dark, is overwhelmed, as it were, by them and flits from body to body. Being unmanifest, subtle, invisible, non-object, unpossessive, free from states, non-agent, (but) abides like an agent.
He is truly pure, steadfast, immutable, untarnished, uneager, desireless, abiding as witness, experiences ‘fruits of actions’, is loved by a sheet (of Prakriti).
PRAPATHAKA THREE
They said, ‘O Lord, who then is the other self, overwhelmed by the white and dark fruits of actions and goes to wombs, good and bad, who goes down or up wandering, overcome by dualities ?’
He replied: There is indeed another self in elements, overwhelmed by actions white and dark. Elements means the five root-elements as well as the five concrete elements. Their complex is the body.
The self is like a drop of water in the lotus (leaf). This is overwhelmed by Prakriti. Being overcome he is in a state of delusion and does not see the Lord in himself making him act. Content with the mass of constituents and confused, unsteady, in eager pursuit, smitten by desire, yearning, conceited, thinking ‘I am that, this is mine’ he binds himself by himself as in a net, he roams about.
Elsewhere also it has been said. ‘The agent indeed is the Elemental self. The inner spirit causes actions by means of instruments just as iron pervaded by fire and beaten by workers is split into may, so, the elemental self pervaded by the inner spirit and pressed by Prakriti becomes many. The group of three aspects, assuming the forms of 84 Lakhs of living beings constitutes the mass of elemental beings. This is the form of plurality. The constituents are impelled by the spirit as a wheel by its driver. As the fire is not beaten (only the iron is), so the elemental self and not the spirit is over-powered.
It has been stated: this body without consciousness has been generated by the sex-act – it is hell – has via the urinary passage, sustained by bones, covered with flesh and skin, filled with faeces, urine etc., --it is a shattered sheath. It has been affirmed ‘Delusion, fear, depression, sleep, wound, old age etc., being full of these Tamasa and Rajasa traits (like desire), the elemental self is overwhelmed. Hence indeed, it inevitably assumes different forms.
PRAPATHAKA FOUR
It has been said: ‘As waves in great rivers, the past deeds are one’s safeguard – like the coast line for the ocean. Rebirth is unavoidable – bound by good and bad results (of actions), as a beast by ropes. Like a prisoner, one in the clutches of Death is not free; dwells in the midst of many fears. He who is maddened by worldly pleasures is like one intoxicated. He is in the grip of sin and roams, like one bitten by a snake is he in the jaws of danger, as in darkness one is blinded by passion. As caught in a magic show one is in the midst of Maya. He sees every thing wrongly as in a dream, essenceless like the pith of plantain – like an actor dressed up for a moment – falsely attractive like a painted wall. It has been stated ‘sense-objects’ like sound are there, sources of trouble. Attached to them, the self forgets the supreme place.
The remedy is the winning of knowledge – following one’s own Dharma, one’s law of life supports all like a tree-trunk. By this law does one go upwards; without it one tumbles down – this has been laid down in the Vedas. A transmission of the law cannot really be in the Ashrama (stage of life). One who is in the Ashrama is said to be a real ascetic.
It has also been said: ‘By penance is Sattva got and by Sattva is the (refined) mind; by mind is the spirit got and by the spirit attained, does (transmigration) stop.
The following verses are relevant:
Just as fire without fuel dies in its own source, so the mind by the dying of its modes, calms down in the source. The modes of mind, withdrawn, of the lover of Truth, not deceived by sense objects, are false. They follow laws of action - migrating life is mind indeed. Take pains to purge it well. What the mind dwells on, that fills one’s life. This is the everlasting mystery. With the purged mind, fixed on the self, one fears on endless bliss. If the mind attached to sense objects is fixed upon the supreme spirit, who will not be liberated ? Mind is of two kinds: the impure is filled with desires; the pure is without them. When a person makes his mind free from dissolution and restlessness, reaches the mindless state, it is the high place. The mind is to be restrained only so long as it is not dissolved in the heart. This is knowledge and release too – rest is mere details. The joy got by the mind which is purified by Samadhi and fixed upon the spirit, cannot be described by words but grasped only by the mind. Water mixed in water cannot be distinguished, so also fire in fire and sky in sky, so the mind spirit – man is freed. Mind is the only cause of bondage and liberation: attached to objects, it gives bondage – without them, liberation.
You are Bhahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Prajapati, Agni, Varuna, Vayu, Indra, Moon, Manu, Yama, Bhumi, Achyuta. In heaven you dwell in your own self in many ways. I bow to you, the lord of all, the soul of all, doer of allocations, protector of all; all illusion, all sport are you. The placid in nature, the most secret, beyond thought and knowledge without beginning and end.
It was all Tamas – then impelled by the Supreme, it became uneven – Rajas compelled, becomes uneven. This all came out of Sattva, the conscious being, in every person, indicated by thought, determination and conceit. Prajapati spoke about it. The first bodies are Brahma etc. He is the aspects of Tamas, Rudra of Sattva. Vishnu became three-fold, eight-fold etc., unlimited and moves among creatures – the support of all creatures and their lord, inside and outside them.
Om! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Maitrayani Upanishad, included in the Sama-Veda.
Kaushitaki Brahmana Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! May my speech be based on (i.e. accord with) the mind;
May my mind be based on speech.
O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me.
May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me.
May not all that I have heard depart from me.
I shall join together (i.e. obliterate the difference of) day
And night through this study.
I shall utter what is verbally true; I shall utter what is mentally true.
May that (Brahman) protect me;
May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me;
May that protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I-1. Chitra Gargyayani, seeking to perform a sacrifice, chose Aruni (as his priest). He (Aruni) sent his son Svetaketu (bidding him to) officiate (as priest). When he (came and) sat, Gargyayani asked him: ‘Son of Gautama ! Is (transmigration) terminated in the world in which you will place me, or is there any abode in the world where you will place me ?’ He replied: I know this not. Well, let me ask (my) teacher. He (Svetaketu) went back to his father and said: ‘He (as above); asked me, how shall I answer ?’ He (the father) said: ‘I also do not know this. Let us pursue our Vedic studies in his residence and get what (information) others offer. Let us both go’.
Then, with fuel, in hand he (Aruni) returned to Chitra Gargyayani and said, ‘Let me approach you as a disciple’. To him (Aruni) then, he said: ‘Worthy of sacred knowledge are you, Gautama, who approached me (as a pupil). Come, I shall make it known to you’.
I-2. He said : ‘Whoever depart from this world, all get to the moon. In the earlier half (of the lunar month) it (the moon) flourishes on their vital breaths; in the later half, it causes them to be reproduced.
The moon verily is the door of the heavenly world. Who so answers it (aright), him it sets free (to go further). (but) him who does not answer, having become rain, (it) rains down here. Here he becomes a worm or an insect or a fish, or a bird, or a lion, or a boar, or a snake or a tiger or a person or some other in this or that condition according to his deeds and knowledge. Him who has come thus, one asks: ‘Who are you ?’ He should reply:
‘O seasons, from the Resplendent (moon) the seed has been gathered as it was falling from the fifteen-fold (the half lunar month) from the home of the fathers. As such, put me in a man as an agent. With the man as an agent, in a mother infuse me.
‘I am born, being born forth as the twelfth or thirteenth succeeding month by means of twelve-fold or thirteen-fold father (the year). In the knowledge of that am I; for the knowledge of the opposite am I. So strive, O seasons, to make me immortal, by that truth, by that austerity, I am a season. I am of the season, Who are you ? ‘I am you’. He lets him go further.
I-3. ‘Having entered upon this Path of the gods, he comes to the world of Fore, (then) the world of Air, (then) the world of Varuna, (then) the world of Aditya, (then) the world of Indra; (then) the world of Prajapati, (then) the world of Brahma. This world of Brahma has a lake of Ara, the moments of Yeshtihas the river Vijara, the three Ilya, the city Salajja, the abode Aparajita, the door-keepers Indra and Prajapati, the hall Vibhu, the throne Vichakshana, the couch Amitaujas, the beloved Manasi and her counterpart Chaksusi, who taking flowers verily weave the worlds, the mothers, the nurses, the nymphs and the rivers. To it comes he who knows this. To him Brahma (says), ‘Run ye. With my glory verily he has reached the river Viraja, the ageless. He verily will not grow old.
I-4. ‘To him go five hundred Apsarases, hundred carrying garlands, hundred carrying ointments, hundred carrying aromatics, hundred with vestments, hundred with fruits. They adorn him with the ornaments of Brahma. Adorned with Brahma’s ornaments, a knower of Brahma goes unto Brahma. He comes to the lake Ara: he crosses it with his mind. On coming to it, those who know (only) the immediate (present) sink. He comes to the moments Yestihas these run away from him. He comes to the river Viraja. He crosses it with his mind alone. There he shakes off his good and evil deeds. His dear relations succeed to the good deeds, those not dear to the evil deeds. Then just as one driving a chariot looks at the wheel of the chariot, so he looks upon day and night; so upon good deeds and evil deeds and upon of pairs of opposites. Thus he, the knower of Brahman, devoid of good deeds, devoid of evil deeds, goes on to Brahman.
I-5. He comes to the tree Ilya and the fragrance of Brahma enters into him. He comes to the city Salajja; the flavour of Brahma enters into him. He comes to the abode Aparajita; the might of Brahma enters him. He comes to the door-keepers Indra and Prajapati; they run away from him. He comes to the hall Vibhu; the glory of Brahma enters into him. He comes to the throne Vichaksana; the Brihad and the Rathantara samans are its two fore-feet; the ‘Syaita and Naudhasa, the two hind-feet; the Vairupa and the Vaichaja the two lengthwise pieces; the Sakvara and Raivata the two cross ones. It is Intelligence; for by intelligence one discerns.
He comes to the couch Amitaujas (of unmeasured splendour); this is the vital breath. The past and the future are its two fore feet; prosperity and earth are the two hind-feet; the Bhadra and the Yajnayajniya (Samans) the two head-pieces. The Brihad and the Rathantara are the two lengthwise pieces. The verses and the chants and the cords are stretched lengthwise. The sacrificial formulas are the cross ones. Some stems are the spread; the Udgitha the bolster; prosperity the pillow. On it Brahma sits. He who knows thus ascends it with one foot only at first. Brahma asks him: Who are you ? To him he should answer: I am a season, of the seasons. From space as a womb I am produced as the semen for a wife, as the brilliance of the year, as the self of every single being. What you are that am I’. To him he says, ‘Who am I’.
I-6. Self as Truth; it is the Self of all and is Brahman. He should say, ‘The Real’. ‘What is that, viz., the Real ?’ What is other than the gods (sense-organs) and the vital breaths, that is the sat (what is) As for the gods and the vital breaths, they are the tvam (the you). This is expressed by the word satyam. It is as extensive as all this. You are this world-all. Thus then he speaks to him. This very thing has been expressed by a Rig verse:
Having Yajus as her belly, having the Saman as his head Having the Rik as his form imperishable.
Is Brahman – thus is he to be known. The great seen consists on the Vedas.
He says to him; ‘Wherewith does one acquire many masculine names ?’ He should answer: ‘With the vital breath’.
‘Wherewith does one acquire the feminine names?’ ‘With speech’. ‘Wherewith the neater ones ?’ With the mind’.
‘Wherewith the odours ?’ ‘With the smell’. ‘Wherewith the forms ?’ ‘With the eye’. ‘Wherewith the sounds ?’ ‘With the ears’. ‘Wherewith the taste of food ?’ ‘With the tongue’. ‘Wherewith actions ?’ ‘With two hands’. ‘Wherewith pleasure and pain ?’ ‘With the body’.
‘Wherewith bliss, delight and procreation ?’ ‘With the generative organ’. ‘Wherewith the going ?’ ‘With the two feet’.
‘Wherewith thoughts, what is to be understood and desires ?’ ‘With intelligence’, he should say. To him he says, ‘The waters, verily, indeed are my world. That is yours ? Whatever victory is Brahma’s, whatever attainment, that victory he wins, that attainment he attains, who knows this, who knows thus’.
II-1. ‘Prana (the vital Breath) is Brahma, thus indeed Kausitaki used to say. Of this same vital Breath which is Brahma, verily mind is the messenger; the eye the protector; the ear the announcer; speech the encloser. He who verily knows mind as the messenger of this Vital Breath that is Brahma becomes the messenger. He who knows eye as the protector becomes possessed of a protector; he who knows the ear as the announcer becomes possessed of an announcer: he who knows speech as the encloser becomes possessed of an encloser.
To this vital Breath as Brahma all these gods (i.e., mind, age, ear, speech) bring offerings unbegged. Likewise, indeed, to this vital Breath all beings bring offerings unbegged.
The secret doctrine of him who knows this: One should not beg. It is as if, having begged of a village and not having received (anything), one should sit down saying, ‘I shall not eat (anything) that is given from here’. Those very ones who previously refused now invite him. This is the law for one who begs not. But those who invite him are the givers of food (saying) ‘Let us give it to you’.
II-2. ‘The vital Breath is Brahma’. Thus indeed Paingya used to say. Of this vital Breath on Brahma behind the speech the eye is enclosed; behind the eye the ear is enclosed; behind the ear, the mind is enclosed; behind the mind the vital Breath is enclosed. To this same vital Breath as Brahma all these gods bring offering unbegged. Even so to this same vital Breath all beings living bring offering unbegged only. Of him who knows this the secret doctrine is: ‘One should not beg’. It is as if, having begged and not having received (anything), one should sit down saying ‘I shall not eat (anything) that is given from here’. Those very ones who previously refused now invite him. This is the law for one who begs not. But those who invite him are the givers of food (saying) ‘Let us give to you’.
II-3. Now, next, the procuring of the highest treasure.
If one should covet the highest treasure, either on the night of a full moon or on the night of a new moon or during the bright half of the moon under an auspicious constellation – at one of these periods – having built up a fire, having swept around, having shown the sacred grass, having sprinkled around, having bent the right knee, with a spoon or with a wooden bowl, or with a metal cup, he offers oblations of melted butter (with the words);
The divinity named speech is a procurer.
May it procure this thing for me from so and so. To it hail ! The divinity named vital Breath is a procurer.
May it procure this thing for me from so and so. To it hail !
The divinity named eye is a procurer. May it procure this thing for me from so and so. To it hail !
The divinity named ear is a procurer. May it procure this thing for me from so and so. To it hail !
The divinity named mind is a procurer. May it procure this thing for me from so and so. To it hail !
The divinity named intelligence is a procurer. May it procure this thing for me from so and so. To it hail!
Then having inhaled the smell of the smoke, having rubbed his limbs over with the ointment of melted butter, silently he should go forth, declare his object or send a messenger. He obtains here indeed.
II-4. Now next the longing to be realized with the divine powers.
If one should desire to become beloved of a man or of a woman or of men or of women, at one of these same points of time, having built up a fire, he offers in exactly the same manner, oblations of melted butter, saying I ‘Your speech I sacrifice in me, you so and so; Hail !
Your vital Breath I sacrifice in me, you so and so; Hail ! Your eye I sacrifice in me, you so and so; Hail !
Your ear I sacrifice in me, you so and so; Hail ! Your mind I sacrifice in me, you so and so; Hail !
Your intelligence I sacrifice in me, you so and so; Hail !
Then having inhaled the smell of the smoke, having rubbed his limbs over with a smearing of the melted butter, silently he should go forth and desire to approach and touch or he may simply stand and converse from windward. He becomes beloved indeed.
The longing for him indeed.
II-5. Now, next, self-restraint according to Pratardana or the Inner Agnihotra as they call it. Verily as long as a person is peaking, he is not able to breathe. Then he is sacrificing vital breath in speech. As long, verily, as a person is breathing, he is not able to speak. Then he is sacrificing speech in breath. These two are unending immortal oblations. Waking or sleeping, one is continuously, uninterruptedly making them. Now whatever other oblations there are, they have an end, for they consist of works.
Knowing this very thing, verily, the ancients did not offer the Agnihotra sacrifice.
II-6. Now, what is Brahman ! The Uktha (Recitation) is Brahman (sacred word) – Thus indeed was Sushkabhangara wont to say. One should meditate on it as the Rig (the hymn of praise); Unto him indeed all beings sing praise for his greatness. One should meditate on it as the Yajus (the sacrificial formula); Unto him indeed are all beings united for his greatness. One should meditate on it as the Saman (chant); Unto him indeed all beings bow down for his greatness. One should meditate on it as Sri (beauty). One should meditate on it as Yasas (glory); One should meditate on it as Tejas (splendour). As this (Uktha) is the most beautiful, the most glorious, the most splendid among the invocations of praise (Shastras), even so is he who knows this the most beautiful, the most glorious, the most splendid among all beings.
So the Adhvaryu priest prepares this self which is related to the sacrifice and which consists of work. In it he weaves what consists of the Yajus. In what consists of the Yajus, the Hotir priest weaves what consists of the Rig. In what consists of the Rig the Udgatir priest weaves what consists of the Saman.
This is the self of all the three-fold knowledge. And thus he who knows this becomes the self of Indra. II-7. The all-conquering Kausitaki indeed was wont to worship the rising sun, having performed the investiture with the sacred thread, having fetched water, having thrice sprinkled the water vessel saying, ‘ You are a deliverer; take my sin away’. In the same way he was (wont to worship the sun) when it was in the mind-heaven saying, ‘You are the high deliverer, take my sin away !’ In the same way he was (wont to worship the sun) when it was setting saying. ‘You are the full deliverer; take my sin fully away’. Whatever sin he committed by day or by night that it takes away.
Likewise also he who knows this worships the sun in the same manner. Whatever sin one commits by day or by night it takes away fully.
II-8. Now, month by month at the time of the new moon when it comes round one should, in the same way, worship the moon as it appears in the west or throw two blades of grass towards it saying:
That heart of mind, of fair outlines Which in the sky in moon doth rest, I think I am knower of that,
May I not weep for children’s ill.
Indeed his children do not pre-decease him. Thus is it with one to whom a son has been born.
Now in the case of one to whom a son has not been born. ‘Increase. May (vigour) enter thee. May milk and food gather in thee, may that which the Adityas gladden.’ Having muttered these three ‘me, verses, he says: Do not increase by our vital breath, by our offspring, by our cattle. He who hates us and him whom we hate, increase by his breath, by his offspring, by his cattle. I turn myself with Indra’s turn; I turn myself along with the turn of the sun’. Thus he turns himself towards the right arm.
II-9. Thus on the night of the full moon one should worship in the same way the moon as it appears in the east saying: ‘You are the far shining King Soma, the five-mouthed, the Lord of creation. The Brahmana is one mouth of you. With that mouth you eat the Kings. With that mouth make me an eater of food. The King is one mouth of you. With that mouth you eat the people. With that mouth make me an eater of food. The hawk is one mouth of you. With that mouth you eat birds. With that mouth make me an eater of food. Fire is one mouth of you. With that mouth you eat this world. With that mouth make me an eater of food. In you is a fifth mouth. With that mouth you eat all beings. With that mouth make me an eater of food.’
II-10. Waste not away with our vital breath, our offspring, or cattle. He who hates us and him whom we hate – waste away with his vital breath, his offspring, his cattle.
Thus I turn myself with the turn of the gods; I turn myself with the turn of the sun. Afterwards, he turns himself towards the right arm.
Now, when about to lie down with a wife one should touch her heart and say: That which in thy heart, O fair one, is placed-within Prajapati.
Therewith, O Queen of Immortality, may you not come on children’s ill. Her children do not then pre-decease her.
II-11. Now, when one has been away, on returning, he should kiss his son’s head and say: From every limb of mine are you born. ‘From my heart are you born; O son, you are indeed myself. May you live a hundred autumns long ! So and so, he takes his name. ‘Become a stone ! Become an axe. Become unconquerable gold. A brilliance, son, indeed you are, so live a hundred autumns long !’ So and so, he takes his name.
Then he embraces him saying, ‘Wherewith Prajapati embraced his creatures for their welfare, therewith I embrace you, so and so.
Then he mutters in his right ear: ‘Confer on him, O Maghavan, O Onrusher’ and in his left (ear), ‘O Indra, grant most excellent possessions. Do not cut off (the line of our race). Be not afraid; live a hundred autumns of life. Son I kiss your head with your name’. Thrice he should kiss his head. ‘I make a lowing over you with a lowing of cows’. Thrice he should make a lowing over his head.
II-12. Now, next, the dying around of the gods.
This Brahman verily shines when the fire blazes; likewise it dies when it blazes not. Its brilliance goes to the sun; its vital breath to the wind. This Brahman verily shines when the sun is seen; likewise it dies when it is not seen. Its brilliance goes to the moon; its vital breath to the wind. This Brahman verily shines forth when the lightning flashes; likewise it dies when it flashes not. Its brilliance goes to the regions of space; its vital breath to the wind. All these divinities, verily, having entered into the wind, perish not when they die in the wind. There from, indeed, they come forth again. Thus with reference to the divinities.
II-13. Now, with reference to the Self.
This Brahman, verily, shines forth when one speaks with speech; likewise this dies when one speaks not. Its brilliance goes to the eye; its vital breath to the vital breath. This Brahman verily shines when one sees with the eye; likewise this dies when one sees not. Its brilliance goes to the ear; its vital breath to the vital breath. This Brahman verily shines when one hears with the ear; likewise this dies when one hears not. Its brilliance goes to the mind; is vital breath to the vital breath. This Brahman, verily, shines when one thinks with the mind; likewise it dies wen one thinks not. Its brilliance goes to the vital breath; its vital breath to the vital breath. All these divinities, verily, have entered into the vital breath perish not when they did in the vital breath. Therefrom, indeed, they come forth again. So, verily, indeed, if upon one who knows this, both the mountains, the southern and the northern, should roll themselves forth seeking to crush him, they would not crush him. But those who hate him and those whom he himself hates – all these die around him.
II-14. Now, next, the assumption of superior excellence.
All these divinities, verily, disputing among themselves in regard to self-superiority went forth from this body. Not breathing, it lay dry like a piece of wood. Then speech entered into it. It just lay speaking with speech. Then the eye entered into it; it just lay speaking with speech, seeing with the eye. Then the ear entered into it; it just lay speaking with speech, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear. Then the mind entered into it; it just lay speaking with speech, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear, thinking with the mind. Then the vital breath entered into it and then, indeed, it at once arose. All these divinities, having verily recognised to superior excellence of the vital breath, having comprehended the vital breath alone as the self of intelligence, went forth from this body, all together. They having entered into the wind, having the nature of space went to the heavenly world. Likewise also indeed he who knows this, having recognised the superior excellence of the vital breath, having comprehended the vital breath alone as the self of intelligence, goes out of the body with all these. Having entered into the wind, having the nature of space, he goes to heaven. He goes there where these gods are. Having reached that, he who knows this becomes immortal as the gods are immortal.
II-15. Now, next, the father-and-son ceremony or the transmission, as they call it.
A father, about to depart, calls his son. Having strewn the house with new grass, having built up the fire, having placed near it a vessel of water with a jug, himself covered with a fresh garment the father remains lying. Having come, the son lies down on top touching organs with organs. Or (the father) may transmit to him seated face to face. Then he delivers over to him (thus):
Father: My speech in you I would place. Son: I take your speech in me.
Father: My breath in you I would place. Son: I take your breath in me.
Father: My eye in you I would place. Son: I take your eye in me.
Father: My ear in you I would place. Son: I take your ear in me.
Father: My tastes of food in you I would place. Son: I take your tastes of food in me.
Father: My deeds in you I would place. Son: I take your deeds in me.
Father: My pleasure and pain in you I would place. Son: I take your pleasure and pain in me.
Father: My bliss, delight, procreation in you I would place. Son: I take your bliss, delight and procreation in me.
Father: My movement in you I would place. Son: I take your movement in me.
Father: My mind in you I would place. Son: I take your mind in me.
Father: My intelligence in you I would place. Son: I take your intelligence in me.
If, however, he should be unable to speak much, let the father say summarily, ‘My vital breaths in you I would place’ and the son (reply) ‘You vital breaths I take in me’.
Then turning to the right he goes towards the east. The father calls out after him: ‘My glory, sacred lusture and fame delight in you’. Then the other looks over his left shoulder. Having hid (his face) with his hand or having covered (it) with the edge of his garment, he says: ‘May you obtain heavenly worlds and all desires’. If the father should become well he should dwell under the lordship of his son; or, he should wander (as a mendicant). If, however, he should die let them perform obsequies as they should be performed.
III-1. Pratardana, the son of Divodasa, by means of fighting and virility, verily reached the beloved abode of Indra. To him then Indra Said: Pratardana, choose a boon.
Then said Pratardana: Do you yourself choose that boon for me which you deem most beneficent for man. To him then Indra said: A superior verily chooses not for an inferior. Do you yourself choose. ‘No boon verily then is it to me’ said Pratardana. But Indra did not depart from the truth, for Indra is truth. To him then Indra said: ‘Understand me only. This indeed I deem most beneficent to man, namely that one should understand me. I slew the three-headed Tvastir; I delivered the Arunmukhas, the ascetics, to the wolves. Transgressing many compacts I killed the people of Prahlada in the sky, the Paulomas in the atmosphere, the Kalakanjas on the earth. Of me, such as I was then, not a single hair was injured.
So he knows me thus – by no deed whatever of his is his world injured, not by stealing, not by killing an embryo, not by the murder of his mother, not by the murder of his father. If he has done any evil, the dark colour departs not from his face.
III-2. Then he (Indra) said: I am the Spirit of the vital breath, the intelligent Self. As such, worship me as life, as immortality. Life is the vital breath: the vital breath is life. For as long as the vital breath remains in the body so long is there life. For indeed with the vital breath one obtains immortality in this world; with intelligence, true conception. So he who worships me as life, as immortality, reaches the full term of life in this world; he obtains immortality and indestructibility in the heavenly world.
Now, on this point some say: The vital breaths, verily, go into a unity: (otherwise) one would not be able at once to make known a name by speech, a form by the eye, a sound by ear, a thought by the mind. The vital breaths, as a unity, verily, cause to know all things here, one by one. All the vital breaths speak along with speech when it speaks. All the vital breaths see along with the eye when it sees. All the vital breaths hear along with the ear when it hears. All the vital breaths think along with the mind when it thinks. All the vital breaths breathe along with the breath when it breathes.
‘That is indeed so’, said Indra. There is however a superior excellence among the vital breaths. III-3. One lives with speech gone, for we see the dumb.
One lives with eye gone, for we see the blind. One lives with ear gone, for we see the deaf.
One lives with mind gone, for we see the childish.
One lives with arms cut off; One lives with legs cut off; for thus we see.
But now it is the vital breath, even the self of intelligence, that seizes hold of this body and raises it up. This, therefore, one should worship as the Uktha. This is the all-obtaining in the vital breath. As for the vital breath, verily, that is intelligence; as for the intelligence, verily that is vital breath. This is the view thereof, this is the understanding thereof.
When a person is so asleep that he sees no dream whatever, then he becomes one with that vital breath.
Then speech together with all names goes to it; the eye together with all forms goes to it; the ear together with all sounds goes to it; the mind together with all thoughts goes to it. When he awakes, as from a blazing fire sparks would fly in all directions, even so from this self the vital breaths proceed to their respective stations; from the vital breaths, the gods (the senses); from the gods, the worlds. This same vital breath, the self of intelligence, seizes hold of the body and raises it up. This therefore one should worship as the Uktha. This is the all-obtaining in the vital breath.
As for the vital breath, verily that is the Self as the intelligence; as for the intelligence, that is the vital breath. This is the proof of it, the understanding of it.
When a weak person is about to die, comes to such weakness that he falls into a stupor, they say of him, ‘His thoughts have departed; he hears not; he speaks not with speech; he thinks not’. Thus he becomes one with the vital breath alone. Then, speech together with all names goes to it; the eye together with all forms goes to it; the ear together with all sounds goes to it; the mind together with all thoughts goes to it.
When he departs from his body, he departs together with all these. When he awakens, as from a blazing fire sparks would fly in all directions, even so from this Self the vital breaths proceed to their respective stations; from the vital breaths the gods; from the gods the worlds.
III-4. When he departs from the body, speech pours all names into him; by speech he obtains all names. Vital breath pours all odours into him; with breath he obtains all odours. The eye pours all forms into him; with the eye he obtains all forms. The ear pours all sounds into him; with the ear he obtains all sounds. The mind pours all thoughts into him. With the mind he obtains all thoughts. This is the all-obtaining in the vital breath.
As for the vital breath, verily that is the intelligence. As for the intelligence, verily that is the vital breath; for, together, these two dwell in this body; together the two depart. Now, then, we will explain how all beings become one with this intelligence.
III-5. Speech is one portion taken out of it. Name is its externally correlated object element. Breath is one portion taken out of it. Odour is its externally correlated object element. The eye is one portion taken out of it. Form is its externally correlated object element. The ear is one portion taken out of it. Sound is its externally correlated object element. The tongue is one portion taken out of it. Taste of food is its externally correlated object element. The two hands are one portion taken out of it. Work is their externally correlated object element. The body is one portion taken out of it. Pleasure and pain is its externally correlated object element. The generative organ is one portion taken out of it. Bliss, delight and procreation are its externally correlated object element. The two feet are one portion taken out of it. Goings are their externally correlated object element. The mind is one portion taken out of it. Thoughts and desires are its externally correlated object element.
III-6. With speech, mounted on by intelligence, one obtains all names. With the vital breath, mounted on by intelligence, one obtains all odours. With the eye, mounted on by intelligence, one obtains all forms.
With the ear, mounted on by intelligence, one obtains all sounds. With the tongue, mounted on by intelligence, one obtains all tastes. With the hands, mounted on by intelligence, one obtains all works.
With the body, mounted on by intelligence, one obtains pleasure and pain.
With the generative organ, mounted on by intelligence, one obtains bliss, delight and procreation. With the feet, mounted on by intelligence, one obtains all goings.
With the mind, mounted on by intelligence, one obtains all thoughts, what is to be understood by thought and desire.
III-7. For verily without intelligence speech would not make any name whatsoever known. ‘My mind was elsewhere’ one says, ‘I did not cognise that name’.
For verily without intelligence breath would not make any odour whatsoever known. ‘My mind was elsewhere’ one says, ‘I did not cognise that odour’.
For verily without intelligence the eye would not make any form whatsoever known. ‘My mind was elsewhere’ one says, ‘I did not cognise that form’.
For verily without intelligence the ear would not make any sound whatsoever known. ‘My mind was elsewhere’ one says, ‘I did not cognise the sound’.
For verily without intelligence the tongue would not make any taste of food whatsoever known. ‘My mind was elsewhere’ one says, ‘I did not cognise that taste of food’.
For verily without intelligence the two hands would not make any action whatsoever known. ‘My mind was elsewhere’ one says, ‘I did not cognise that action’.
For verily without intelligence the body would not make known any pleasure or pain whatsoever. ‘My mind was elsewhere’ one says, ‘I did not cognise that pleasure and pain’.
For verily without intelligence the generative organ would not make known any bliss, delight and procreation whatsoever. ‘My mind was elsewhere’ one says, ‘I did not cognise that bliss, delight and procreation’.
For verily without intelligence the two feet would not make known any going whatsoever. ‘My mind was elsewhere’ one says, ‘I did not cognise that going’.
For verily without intelligence no thought whatever would be effected, nothing cognisable would be cognized.
III-8. One has to win the pure knowledge of the unity of Brahman and Atman. Speech is not what one should seek to know; one should know the speaker.
Smell is not what one should seek to know; one should know the smeller. Form is not what one should seek to know; one should know the seer.
Sound is not what one should seek to know; one should know the hearer.
Taste of food is not what one should seek to know; one should know the knower of the taste of food. Deed is not what one should seek to know; one should know the doer.
Pleasure and pain are not what one should seek to know; one should know the discerner of pleasure and pain.
Bliss, delight and procreation are not what one should seek to know; one should know the discerner of bliss, delight and procreation.
Going is not what one should seek to know; one should know the goer. Mind is not what one should seek to know; one should know the thinker.
These ten essential elements, verily, are with reference to intelligence. These ten intelligential elements are with reference to existence. Verily if there were no elements of existence, there would be no elements of intelligence. Verily if there were no elements of intelligence, there would be no elements of existence. Truly from either alone, no form whatever would be possible.
And this (the Self of intelligence) is not diverse. But as of a chariot, the felly is fixed on the spokes and the spokes are fixed on the hub, even so these elements of existence are fixed on the elements of intelligence; the elements of intelligence are fixed on the vital breath.
This vital breath, truly, is the Self of intelligence: (it is) bliss, ageless, immortal. He does not become greater with good action nor indeed lesser with bad action. This one truly indeed causes him whom he wishes to lead up from this world to perform good action. This one also indeed causes him whom he wishes to lead downwards to perform bad action. He is the protector of the world; he is the sovereign of the world; he is the Lord of all. ‘He is myself’ – this one should know. ‘He is my Self’ – This one should know.
IV-1. Now then verily there was Gargya Balaki, a famed Vedic scholar. He dwelt among the Ushinaras, the Satvans and the Matsyas, among the Kurus and the Panchalas, among the Kashis and the Videhas. Having come to Ajatasatru of Kashi, he said, ‘Let me declare Brahman to you’. To him then Ajatasatru said: ‘A thousand (cows) we give to you’. At such a word as this, verily indeed people would run together, crying ‘A Janaka ! A Janaka !’
IV-2. In the sun the great, in the moon the food, in the lightning truth, in thunder sound, in wind Indra Vaikuntha, in space the plenum, in fire the Vanquisher, in water brilliance – thus with reference to the divinities. Now, with reference to the self; in the mirror the reflection; in the shadow the double, in the echo life, in sound death, in sleep Yama (the Lord of Death), in the body Prajapati, in the right eye speech, in the left eye truth.
IV-3. Then said Balaki: Him who is this person in the sun, on him I indeed meditate. To him Ajatasatru said: Make me not to converse on him ! As the great, the white-robed, the Supreme, the head of all beings – thus verily do I meditate on him. He who meditates on him thus becomes indeed the supreme, the head of all beings.
IV-4. Then said Balaki: ‘him who is the person in the moon, on him indeed do I meditate’. To him then Ajatasatru said: Make me not to converse on him ! I meditate on him asking Soma, as the self of food. He who meditates on him thus becomes indeed the self of food.
IV-5. Then said Balaki: ‘I meditate on the person, indeed, who is the person in the lightning’. To him then Ajatasatru said: Make me not to converse on him ! I meditate on him as the self of truth. He who meditates on him thus becomes indeed the self of truth (of brilliance).
IV-6. Then said Balaki: I meditate on the person in the Thunder’. To him then Ajatasatru said: Make me not to converse on him ! I meditate on him as the self of sound. He who meditates on him thus becomes indeed the self of sound.
IV-7. Then said Balaki: I meditate on the person in wind’. To him then Ajatasatru said: Make me not to converse on him ! I meditate on him as Indra Vaikuntha or as the unconquered army. He who meditates on him thus becomes indeed the triumphant, the unconquerable, a conqueror of adversaries.
IV-8. Then said Balaki: I meditate on the person in space’. To him then Ajatasatru said: Make me not to converse on him ! I meditate on him as the full moon-active Brahman. He who meditates on him thus becomes filled with offspring, cattle, fame, the radiance of sanctity and the heavenly world, he reaches the full term of life.
IV-9. Then said Balaki: I meditate on the person in fire’. To him then Ajatasatru said: Make me not to converse on him ! I meditate on him as the Vanquisher. He who meditates on him thus become verily a vanquisher of others.
IV-10. Then said Balaki: I meditate on the person in water’. To him then Ajatasatru said: Make me not to converse on him ! I meditate on him as the Self of Brilliance of name. Thus with reference to the divinities..
IV-11. Now, with reference to self.
Then said Balaki: I meditate indeed on the person in the mirror’. To him Ajatasatru said: Make me not to converse on him ! I meditate on him as (the reflected) likeness. He, then, who meditates on him thus, a very likeness of him is born in his offspring, not an unlikeness.
IV-12. Then said Balaki: I meditate indeed on the person in the shadow’. To him Ajatasatru said: Make me not to converse on him ! I meditate on him as the inseparable Double. He, then, who meditates on him thus obtains from his second and becomes possessed of his double.
IV-13. Then said Balaki: I meditate indeed on the person in the echo’. To him Ajatasatru said: Make me not to converse on him ! I meditate on him as life. He, then, who meditates on him thus passes not into unconsciousness before his time.
IV-14. Then said Balaki: I meditate indeed on the person in sound’. To him Ajatasatru said: Make me not to converse on him ! I meditate on him as Death. He, then, who meditates on him thus does not die before his time.
IV-15. Then said Balaki: I meditate indeed on the person who, while asleep, moves about in dream’. To him Ajatasatru said: Make me not to converse on him ! I meditate on him as King Yama ! He, then, who meditates on him thus, to his supremacy everything here is subdued.
IV-16. Then said Balaki: I meditate on the person who is in this body’. To him Ajatasatru said: Make me not to converse on him ! I meditate on him as Prajapati. He then who meditates on him thus is augmented with offspring, cattle, fame, the lustre of sanctity, the heavenly world; he reaches the full term of life.
IV-17. Then said Balaki: I meditate on the person in the right eye’. To him Ajatasatru said: Make me not to converse on him ! I meditate on him as the self of speech, the self of fire, the self of light. He then who meditates on him thus becomes the self of all these.
IV-18. Then said Balaki: I meditate on the person in the left eye’. To him Ajatasatru said: Make me not to converse on him ! I meditate on him as the self of truth, the self of lightning, the self of brightness. He then who meditates on him thus becomes the self of all these.
IV-19. Thereupon Balaki was silent. To him then Ajatasatru said: So much only Balaki ? ‘So much only’ replied Balaki. To him, then, Ajatasatru said: In vain, indeed, did you make to converse saying ‘Let me declare Brahman to you’. He, indeed. Balaki, who is the maker of these persons, of whom verily this is the work, he alone is to be known.
Thereupon Balaki, fuel in hand, approached saying, ‘Receive me as a pupil’. To him then Ajatasatru said: ‘This I deem a form (of conduct) contrary to nature that a Kshatriya should receive a Brahmana as pupil. (But come). I shall make you understand’. Then taking him by the hand, he went forth. The two then came upon a person asleep. The Ajatasatru called him (saying) ‘O Great, White-robed King, Soma!’ But he just lay silent. Then he pushed him with a stick. He got up at once. To him then Ajatasatru said: Where in this case, O Balaki, has this person lain ? What has become of him here ? Whence has he returned here ?
Thereupon Balaki understood not. To him then Ajatasatru said: Where in this case, O Balaki has this person lain, what has become of him here, whence he has returned here as I asked is the arteries of a person (of the heart) called Hita (the beneficent). From the heart they spread forth to the pericardium. Now they are as minute as a hair divided a thousand-fold. They consist of a minute essence, reddish-brown, white, black, yellow and red. In these one remains while asleep; he sees no dream whatsoever. IV-20. Then he becomes unitary in this vital breath. Then speech together with all names goes to it; the eye together with all forms goes to it; the ear together with all sounds goes to it; the mind together with all thoughts goes to it.
When he awakes, as from a blazing fire sparks proceed in all directions, even so from this Self the vital breaths proceed to their respective stations; from the vital breaths, the gods (the sense faculties); from the sense faculties the worlds. This very vital breath, even this Self of intelligence, has entered this bodily self up to the hair and the fingernail. Just as a razor might be hidden in a razor-case or as fire in the fireplace, even so this self of intelligence has entered this bodily self upto the very hairs and nails. On that self these other selves depend as upon a chief his own (men) or as his own (men) are of service to a chief, even so these other selves are of service to that self of (intelligence). Verily as long as Indra did not understand this Self, so long the Asuras overcame him. When he understood this, striking down and conquering the Asuras, he attained pre-eminence among all gods and all beings, sovereignty and overlordship.
Likewise also he who knows this, striking off all evils, attains pre-eminence, sovereignty and overlordship over all beings – he who knows this, yea, he who knows this.
Om ! May my speech be based on (i.e. accord with) the mind;
May my mind be based on speech.
O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me.
May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me.
May not all that I have heard depart from me.
I shall join together (i.e. obliterate the difference of) day
And night through this study.
I shall utter what is verbally true;
I shall utter what is mentally true.
May that (Brahman) protect me;
May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me;
May that protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Kaushitaki-Brahmana Upanishad, as contained in the Rig-Veda.
Brihad Jabala Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
First Brahmana
Busunda approached Kalagni Rudra (the fire and death like Rudra) and asked him, “Please tell me about the greatness of Vibhoothi (Sacred ash - Vibhoothi is generally prepared by burning cow dung at auspicious times. The Vibhoothi of Pazhani temple is prepared by burning cactus plants). Kalagni Rudra replied, “What is there to tell?”. Then Busunda asked, “Please tell me the importance of wearing Vibhoothi and Rudraksha’. Kalagni Rudra replied, “This has already been related along with phala sruthi (resultant effect) by sage Paippalada. There is nothing more to be told more than what he has said”. Then Busunda asked, “Tell me about the route to salvation as told in the great Jabala (Brihat Jabala)”. Kalagni Rudra agreed and started teaching. 1
From the Sadhyojatha face of Lord Shiva (he has five faces), the earth was born. From it was born the Nivruthi. From that was born the golden coloured celestial cow called Nanda. From the dung of Nanda came Vibhoothi. 2
Water was produced from the face of Vama Deva. From that, the power called Prathishtaa was produced. From that the black cow called Bhadra was produced. From its dung was produced Bhasitha (another name for Vibhoothi). 3
Fire was produced from the face of Aghora. From that was produced the power of knowledge. From that was produced the red cow called Surabhi. From its dung was produced Bhasma (literally ash but another name for Vibhoothi). 4
Wind was produced from the face of Thath Purusha. From it was produced the power of peace. From it was produced the white cow called Susheela. From its dung was produced Kshara (again another name for ash). 5
Ether (sky) was produced from the face of Eeshana. From it was produced the power of Sandhyatheetha (one who is beyond dawn and dusk). From it was produced the multi coloured cow called Sumana. From its dung was produced Raksha (literally meaning shield). 6
Vibhoothi, Bhasitham, Bhasmam, Ksharam and Raksha are five different names of the holy ash. All these are causal names. Vibhoothi - because it gives rise to plenty of wealth, Bhasmam - because it eats away all sins, Bhasitha - because it makes materials glitter (the potash is a cleaning agent of all metals), Kshara - because it protects from dangers and Raksha - because it acts like a shield in case of fears of ghosts, devils, Pisacha, Brahma Rakshas, epilepsy and diseases which are in-born. 7
Second Brahmana
Then Busunda approached Kalagni Rudra and asked him about the Bhasmam (ash) snana (bathing) procedure which involves the fire and the moon. ”Similar to the fact that 'fire' takes several forms depending on the form of the object, 'ash' which is like the soul for all objects, assumes the form according to the shape of the being and also beyond it. Fire is told as becoming the world of fire and moon. Fire is very hot and is terrible. It is cruel. The power of moon is nectar like. Even though it has the basis in nectar, it also is the hot aspect of knowledge. Among the big and tiny things, it is the only one which is nectar like in taste and light and also very hot”, he told. 1
“The shining aspect of strength is of two types - the sun aspect and the fire aspect. Similarly the nectar like strength also is full of light and heat”, he told. 2
Light resides in aspects like lightning. Sweetness pervades in tastes of extracts. And the average world works within light and taste. 3
Nectar is a part of fire. Due to nectar, the fire grows. That is why, the world which is of the form of fire and moon, is like the fire made with the fire-offering (havis-offering). 4
The moon power is above .The fire power is down below. It is because that they join together that this world is functioning continuously. 5
[Mantras 6-8 are not available.]
That Shakthi (power, strong effect, the female principle) which rises above is Shiva. That Shiva which rises above is Shakthi. There is nothing in this world which is not affected by Shiva and Shakthi. 9
The world which has been burnt several times by fire, becomes pervasive with ash (Bhasma). This is the strength of the fire. In that strength, ash becomes an integral part. 10
Thus he who understands the strength of ash and does the ash bathing ritual using mantras, “agnireethi etc”, burns all his sins and attains salvation. 11
[Mantras 12 & 13 are not available.]
For winning over death , the bath of nectar is recommended. Where is the question of death for one who has been touched by nectar of Shiva and Shakthi? 14
The one who knows this holy secret method, would purify moon and fire and will not take birth again. 15
The one whose body is burnt by the fire of Shiva and made wet by the nectar of moon and entering the path of yoga would become eligible for deathless state. 16
Third Brahmana
Now the four fold method of preparing Bhasma (holy ash) is being narrated. First is Anukalpam, second Upakalpam, third upopakalpam and fourth is Akalpam.
Anukalpam is made by use of Viraja homa manthras in Agnihothra (collecting ash from the pit of fire sacrifice). Collecting dried cow dung lying in the forest and preparing it as per the method suggested in Kalpam is upakalpam. Collecting the dried cow dung, powdering it, making it in to balls after mixing it in cow’s urine and preparing it as per method suggested in kalpam is upopakalpam. What one gets in temples of Shiva is akalpam. This is equivalent to one hundred kalpams. All Basma prepared by any of these four methods leads one to salvation, said Bhagawan Kalagni Rudra.
Fourth Brahmana
Afterwards Busunda enquired with Bhagawan Kalagni Rudra about wearing Vibhuthi in three lines. What he said was:
On the forehead, you have to apply with the mantra, “Brahmane Namah! (Salutations to Brahma)”.
On the chest, you have to apply with the mantra, “Havyavahanaya Namah! (Salutations to he who rides the horse)”.
On the stomach, you have to apply with the mantra, “Skandaya Namah! (Salutations to Subrahmanya)”.
On the neck, you have to apply with the mantra, “Vishnave Namaj! (Salutations to Lord Vishnu)”.
In the middle, you have to apply with the mantra, “Prapanchanaya Namah! (Salutations to him who pervades in the entire world)”.
On the wrists, you have to apply with the mantra, “Vasubhyo Namah! (salutations to him who is like nectar)”.
On the back, you have to apply with the mantra, “Haraye Namah! (Salutations to Lord Hari)”.
On the top, you have to apply with the mantra, “Shambhave Namag! (Salutations to Lord Shiva)”.
On the head, you have to apply with the mantra, “Paramathmane Namah! (Salutations to the great soul which is in all beings)”.
In each of these places, you have to apply in a set of three lines. When we are wearing Vibhuthi on the forehead, meditate on the great Lord who has three eyes, who is the basis of three qualities and who makes everything visible in sets as “Namah Shivaya!”. Apply Vibhuthi chanting “Pithrubhyo Namah!” below the forearm. Above that apply chanting “Eeshanabhyo Namah!” and on sides chanting “Eeshabhya Namah!” and on the forearms chanting “Swachabhyam Namah!” and on back sides chanting “Bheemaya Namah!”. On both flanks of the belly put Vibhuthi chanting “Shivaya Namah!” and on the head chanting “Neela kantaya Sarvathmane Namah!”. This would remove the effects of sins done in the previous births.
Fifth Brahmana
Those who dishonor the three rows of Vibhuthi dishonor Lord Shiva himself. Those who wear it with devotion, wear Lord Shiva himself. Similar to a village without Lord Shiva’s temple is like a desert, those who do not wear Vibhuthi on their forehead, have a deserted forehead. A life without worship of Lord Shiva is a deserted life. An education where Lord Shiva is not involved is a useless education. The greatest strength of the fire of Rudra is the holy ash. So anyone wearing the holy ash always is forever strong. The holy ash which is born out of fire, burns off the sins of all Bhasma nishtas. Bhasma nishta is one who wears holy ash and possesses clean habits.
Sixth Brahmana
During the marriage of Maharishi Gauthama, all devas became passionate in their minds on seeing Ahalya. Because of that, they lost their knowledge and approached Sage Durvasa and asked him about it. He promised them that he would help them get rid of the sin committed by them because of this and told them, “Once upon a time by giving the holy ash after chanting the Rudra mantra one hundred times, even sins like Brahma hathi (sin got by killing a brahmana) have been washed off”. After this he gave them the very blessed holy ash. He also told them, “because you have heard my words, you would become more splendorous than before”.
It is said that this holy ash can give rise to all sorts of wealth. In front of it are Vasus, on its right are Rudras, on its back are Adhithyas (suns), on its left are Viswa Devas, in the centre are Brahma, Vishnu anid Shiva, and on its sides are the Sun and the Moon. The Rig Veda mantra tells about it (holy ash) as follows,” What is the use of Vedas to a person who does not understand that thing, in whose ether like perennial form lives all devas and the worlds? Any one who understands that great matter are the people who have attained that which should be attained.”
Seventh Brahmana
The king of Videha approached the sage Yagnavalkya and asked, ”Oh, God like sage, please explain to me the way of wearing the holy ash”. Yagnavalkya replied, ”Take Vibhuthi using the five brahma mantras starting with “sathyojatham”, chant “agnirithio Basma (ash is fire)” apply using the mantra starting with “manasthoke”. Mix it with water using mantra “triyayusham” and then apply it on head, forehead, chest, and shoulders chanting the mantra “trayambakam”. If this is followed one becomes pure and suitable for getting salvation. He would get the same effect as chanting Rudra, one hundred times. This is called Bhasma Jyothi.”
He continued, “the great sages like Samvarthaka, Aarooni, Swethakethu, Durvasa, Rupu, Nidhaga, Bharatha, Dathathreya, Raivathaka, Busunda etc got freed by wearing Vibhuthi.”
Sanathkumara approached Bhagawan Kalagni Rudra and asked him, “Bhagawan, kindly explain me the method of wearing Rudraksha.” What he told him was, “Rudraksha became famous by that name because initially, it was produced from the eyes of Rudra. During the time of destruction and after the act of destruction, when Rudra closed his eye of destruction, Rudraksha was produced from that eye.
That is the Rudraksha property of Rudraksha. Just by touching and wearing this Rudraksha, one gets the same effect of giving in charity one thousand cows.”
Eighth Brahmana
He who reads this Brihat Jabala Upanishad daily, would attain the purity blessed by Agni (fire God), Vayu (wind god), Surya (sun), Chandra (moon), Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra. The ones who chant Brihat Jabala Upanishad would attain that world where the Sun does not dry, where wind does not blow, where moon does not shine, where stars do not twinkle, where fire does not burn, where Yama (God of death) does not enter, where there are no sorrows, which is full of peace and pure and unalloyed happiness, which is praised by Gods like Brahma, which is meditated upon by great Yogis and from where great Yogis do not return after reaching it. This Upanishad ends with the blessing ”Om Sathya!”(long live the truth).
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Brihad-Jabalopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
Nrisimha Poorva Tapaniya Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
The First Upanishad
Bhagawan Narasimha who is partly human and partly lion shines as Parabrahma with Rutha (discipline of the visible world) and Sathya (basic truth). He appears with two colours viz. black and golden red.
His nature is to go up and he has a very terrible and fearsome stare but he is a “Sankara” doing good to people. He is called “Neela Lohitha (He who is red and black)” because his neck is black and the top of it is red. In another of his aspects he is Umapathi (husband of Uma) and Pasupathi (Lord of all beings). He holds the bow called “Pinaka” and has great luster. He is the god of all knowledge. He is god of all beings. He is the Lord of all Vedas. He is the boss of Brahma and He is praised by Yajur Veda. One should know the praise of Sama Veda of him. Those who know that will attain the deathless state.
The Second Upanishad
Devas were afraid of death, sins and family life. They approached Praja Pathi. He told them about the Narasimha Mantra which was “the King of all Mantras” written in Anushtup meter. Because of this, they won victory over death. They won over all sins and also destroyed the problems of family life. So any of those who are afraid of death, sins and family life, should get themselves taught the “Narasimha Mantra” which is called “the King of Mantras” and which is written in anushtup meter. They all would win over death and win over sin as well problems due to family life.
The King of Mantras:
[The following is a simple translation of the King of Mantras of Lord Narasimha and what follows is an explanation and justification of each description.)
My salutations to That Nrusimha,
Who is fierce,
Who is heroic,
Who is Maha Vishnu,
Who is burning,
Who has faces every where,
Who is half Lion and half Man,
Who is fearful,
Who is safe,
Who is death and deathlessness.
He is called “Ugra [fierce]” because by his power He creates, looks after, destroys and elevates without break and also attracts all devas, all beings, all bhoothas Hey Lord Narasimha, you who is being praised by me, please give me perennial happiness even when I am in this body which is not permanent. Let your soldiers kill all my enemies who are different from me. 1
He is called “Veera [heroic]” because by his power He makes all worlds, all devas, all beings and all boothas play, and allow them to take rest and also creates, helps them grow and attracts without any break these worlds, devas, beings and boothas. He is behind every action, very capable, mountain like and one who fulfills the desires of devas. 2
He is “Maha Vishnu”, because he pervades in all the worlds and makes all the world pervade, similar to the fatty gum that spreads in all meat, from this side to that and also from other side to this side. There is nothing in the world that is not him. He is pervading in all things in the world. He is the leader of all souls. Worship of souls is His worship. He exists in all the three shining things viz. Moon, Sun and fire. 3
He is called “Jwalantham [burning]”, because he makes the entire world which includes all devas, all beings and all Bhoothas shine because of his luster and also shines in them and makes them release flames. He is the one who created the world and makes it rapidly multiply. He is the one who shines because of his own luster and also makes others shine. He spreads heat throughout the world and makes the world swelter. He spreads his rays everywhere and makes them release rays. He has a personality which causes only good. He gives only that which is good and he is good. 4
He is called “Sarvatho Mukham [having faces everywhere]” because he sees everywhere without having any organs, he is able to hear every thing, he is able to go every where, he is able to attract everything, and also because he is spread everywhere and exists every where. In the beginning he was alone and he has become all these things now. Those who rule over the world came from him. In the end everything goes back and merges in him. I salute him who has faces every where. 5
Among all animals the most fear some and also most special is the lion. That is why God of the Universe took birth as Narasimha. That deathless form became one which does good to the entire world. That is why he is called “Narasimham [half man and half lion]”. That Maha Vishnu who has this fearsome form does not cause fear among his devotees. He is being worshipped and praised by them.
He is the one who travels all over earth and also one who lives on the mountain top. In his form of Trivikrama, he measured all the worlds in three steps. 6
He is called "Bheeshanam [fear full]” because all the crowds of devas, men and Bhoothas and all the worlds run away fearing Him; but he is not afraid of anything. The wind blows because it is afraid of Him. The Sun rises above because he is afraid of Him. It is because of fear for Him, that the God of fire, Indra and the God of death do their work. 7
He is called “Bhadram [safe]’ because he is good things personified, because he forever shines giving good things, because he makes others shine, because he is superior and because he does very good things. Hey Devas, we have to hear with our ears about this “Bhadram”. Hey, those of you who are fit to be worshipped, we have to see with our eyes that “Bhadram”. Let us live as much as the Gods live with healthy organs and healthy bodies praising and singing Him. 8
He is called “Mruthyu-Mruthyum [death and deathlessness]” because just by mere thought of His devotees, he destroys death and untimely death to them. He is one who gives the knowledge of the soul and also one who gives strength. All devas bow before Him and praise Him. Let us satisfy Him by offering Him “Havis-food” through the fire sacrifice because even his shadow is nectar and he is the death which destroys death. 9
He is worshipped by the chanting of “Namami [I salute him]”, because he is being worshipped by all devas, all those who have forsaken his world and all those who swear by Brahmam and also because the lord of the Vedas worship him telling these words. Indra, Mithra (Sun), Aryama and all other devas exist in him. 10
I was born before this world which is pretty and orderly. I existed even before the devas. I am the central power of that which never dies. He who gives me (in my form as food for people) in charity, becomes the one who protects the soul. If given without understanding this, I who am food, eat the one who eats. I am the one who becomes all the world and destroys it. My light is like that of a sun, who standing alone gives light to all the world. This Upanishad says that one who understands this attains salvation. 11
The Third Upanishad
The devas requested Brahma to teach them the power of Anushtup Mantra Raja (The king of Chants set to anushtup meter) and also its root. Brahma told them:
This illusion (Maya) which is the power of Narasimha (which is EEm) is the one which creates everything, protects them and destroys them. Therefore you have to realize that this illusion is the power. The one who understands the power of this illusion, he crosses all sins and also attains deathlessness. He enjoys the wealth with fame. The experts in Brahmam argue among themselves whether this is short, long or extra long (Pronunciation?). One who pronounces this with short ending, will burn away all sins and would attain deathlessness. He who pronounces this in long ending, would get wealth with fame and also attain deathlessness. He who pronounces it with extra long ending would attain ethereal knowledge and also deathlessness. What follows is the explanation given by sages:
“Oh power behind EEm who is the personification of the power of illusion, please protect us. Please bless us so that we are able to cross easily in a straight forward manner this sea of birth and death.
People who know you, call you also as Sreedevi, Lakshmi, Parvathy, Bhoodevi (The Goddess of Earth), Sashti Devi, Sree Vidhya and Indra Sena. Requesting you to give me long life, I submit myself to you who is the mother of all Vedas.
All the beings and things in the world were produced from the sky (Ether). All living things were made from the sky. They live in the sky. They go towards the sky and enter and disappear there. So we have to understand that the sky is the root (The root word for the sky is Ham).”
The explanation given by sages are as follows:
“That root “Ham” is the Sun God traveling in the pure sky, in “Air” in the atmosphere, in “Fire” in fire sacrifices, and exists as “Guests” in homes. That is the only one thing which is with devas and also with men. It is the truth. It is that thing which is born out of sky, water, earth, sacrificial fire and mountains. This is the great truth. The Upanishad says that “only the one who knows this knows the secret implication of the mantra”.
Fourth Upanishad
The devas approached Brahma and asked him to teach them about the branch (part) mantras of the Narasimha Mantra Raja. Brahma told them that they should know that the Pranava, Savithri, Yajur Lakshmi and Narasimha Gayathri are the four parts (Branches) of Narasimha Mantra and also that any one who knows this attains deathlessness.
1.Pranavam is nothing but “Om”
2.The Savithri Mantra which protects those who chant it is told in Yajur Veda. It has spread throughout the world. The Savithri Ashtakshara (Eight letters) consists of the two letters “Gruni”, the three letters, “Soorya” and the three letters “Aadhithya”. This is a chant which increases your stature and your wealth. Great wealth will come in search of one who knows this.
3.The Yajur Mahalakshmi Mantra is “Om Bhoor Lakshmi, Bhuvar Lakshmi, Suva Kala Karni, Thanno Lakshmi Prachodayath”. This has 24 letters. All this universe is in the form of this Gayathri. So the one who knows this Yajur Maha Lakshmi Mantra, would enjoy great wealth with lot of fame.
4.The Narasimha Gayathri is, “Om Nrusimhaya Vidhmahe Vajra Nakhaya Deemahi. Thannah Simha Prachodayath”. This is the mantra in which all the Vedas and Devas reside. The one who knows this would be the one with whom the Devas and Vedas will live forever.
The devas approached Brahma and asked him, “By chanting which Mantra, God will take great mercy on us and give us a sight of His form. Please tell us about that.” Then Brahma told them as follows: “Om, Um, Om. Yo Vai Nirusimho Devo Bhagawan Yascha Brahma Thasmai Vo Namo Namah. Om Kram Om. Yo Vai Nrusimho Devo Bhagwan Yascha Vishnu Thasmai Vai Namo Nama. Om Veem Om. Yo Vai Nrusimho Devo Bhagwan Yascha Maheswara Thasmai Vai Namo Nama.”
[The 32 gods to whom similar mantra has to be prayed with Um-kram-Veem-Ram are Brahma, Vishnu, Maheswara Purusha, Eashwara, Saraswathi, Sree Gowri, Prakuthi, Vidhya, Omkara, Ardha mathra, Vedhaa, Panchakhya, Saptha Vyahrudaya, Loka Pala, Vasava, Rudra, Aadhithya, Ashtou Gruha, Maha Bhootha, Kaala, Manu, Mruthyu, Yama, Kandhaka, Paraana, Soorya, Soma, Virat Purusha, and Jeeva and in the end chant “Om Ham, Om, Yo Vai Nrusimho Devo Bhagawan Yascha Sarvam Tasmai Vai Namo Nama.”)
Brahma told, “If One who prays God daily using these 32 mantras, God will become greatly pleased and would appear personally. So to any one who prays Bhagawan Narasimha using these mantras, He would appear to him personally. That devotee would also see everything and attain deathlessness .Thus tells the great Upanishad.”
Fifth Upanishad
Devas approached Brahma and requested him, “Bhagawan, please tell us about the famous Chakra called Maha Chakra. The sages tell that ”It is supposed to fulfill all the wishes and is the gateway to salvation”.
Lord Brahma told them:
“Sudharshana (the holy wheel of Lord Vishnu) is that great Chakra. On its middle is written, the Taraka mantra (OM) and also the single letter of Narasimha (Kshroum), on its six petals of the Sudarshana six letters (Sahasrara Hum Phat) are written, on its eight petals the eight letters (Om Namo Narayanaya) are written, on its twelve petals is written the twelve holy letters (Om Namo Vasudevaya), on its sixteen petals, the mathruka (model) sixteen letters with their roots (Am Aam, Em, EEm…. Aha) is written and on its 32 petals are written the letters of the “Narasimha Anushtup Mantra Raja.” This is the Sudarshana Chakra, This fulfills all ones wishes and is the gateway of salvation. It is a form of Yajur Veda, Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Brahmam and Amrutha (nectar).
The one who daily chants this “Narasimha Anushtup Mantra Raja“ would be able to control fire, control wind, control Sun, control moon, control water, control all devas, control all planets and control poison.
Rig Veda tells us about this, “The devotees who practice this would be able to see Lord Vishnu in the ethereal sky, like an ordinary man is able to see the sun in the sky. The devotees who are Brahmins would be able to praise the lighted Vishnu’s form. The Upanishads tell that, this would be attained only by one who worships without any desire.”
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Nrisimha Poorva Tapaniyopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
[Publisher's Note: Nrisimha Tapaniya Upanishad, listed as one of the 108 Upanishads in our version of Muktika Upanishad, has been shown as two Upanishads (Nrisimha Poorva Tapaniya Upanishad and Nrisimha Uttara Tapaniya Upanishad) in another version of Muktika Upanishad. Hence their translations are being provided here separately.]
Nrisimha Uttara Tapaniya Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
First Chapter
Devas approached Lord Brahma and requested him, “Please teach us about the soul which is more minute than the atom and also about the letter “Om”. He said, “So be it” and what he said was:
“All this is the letter “Om”. What is past, what is present and what will be in future are its interpretations. All these are Om. All these are Brahmam. This soul also is Brahmam. Joining this Atma (soul) with the Brahmam called Om and joining together the Brahmam and the soul, and realizing that the birthless, deathless, nectar drenched and fearless Brahmam is nothing but the Om, and then putting together the three types of bodies and all these in to it and then making it our own so as to become one with that and then destroy it. Continue to meditate that Om which is the soul with the three types of bodies and also the Parabrahmam with three types of bodies. This soul which is gross and enjoys mega pleasures, which is also very minute and enjoys even the minutest pleasures and which becomes united and enjoys the pleasures of happiness, has four legs (branches).
When it is awake its feelings are gross. It enjoys gross feelings with its seven organs and 19 faces (ten sense organs, five pranas, mind, brain, sensibility and ego). Its name is,Chaturathma Viswan (on the whole) and Vaisvanaran (partly). This is its first leg.
In the state of dream, its feelings are very minute. It will enjoy this minute sense with its seven organs and nineteen faces. Its name is Chaturathma Thaijasan (on the whole) and also Hiranygarbhan (partly). This is its second leg.
Where there is no desire and also where there are no dreams, that state is called Sushupthi. In that state, one is single, personification of knowledge, having an endless form, one who enjoys happiness and steadfastly concentrates only on knowledge. His name is Chaturathma Pragnan (knower). This is the third leg (aspect). He alone is Lord of all beings, one who knows everything, one who resides in everything, one who is the root cause of everything and one where all beings which were born meet their end. These three involving Sushupthi and Swapna are only illusions. Soul is the only form which is real.
The fourth feet (aspect) of this four fold soul is Thureeya. It is something which make all others act, something which is within everything and it is the active essence beyond Jagrat (awakening), Sushupthi (sleep) and Swapna(dream). Something about it is as follows: It is without macro consciousness. It is without micro consciousness. It is without medium consciousness. It is the personification of consciousness. It is not something immobile and it is not immobile consciousness. It cannot be seen. It cannot be described. It cannot be understood. It is something without any identification. It is something which is unimaginable. It is something which cannot be pointed out. It is something which can be perceived only with the firm belief that there is only one soul. It is that aspect of Pancha Boothas (Five elements viz earth, air, fire, water and ether), where the entire universe is crashed in. It is considered as the fourth state after Shiva (peace), Santha (inner peace without any negative activity), and Advaita (the concept of non dualism). It is the soul. It is that thing which has to be understood. It is that aspect of God, which is the knowledge beyond all knowledge and is called Thuriya Thuriyam.
Second Chapter
The four branches of Brahmam, which is Shining well, is full of same essence of happiness, is never aging, is never dying, is full of nectar and which is providing protection, should be matched with the four letters (branches) of Om. The one who knows, that the Chaturathma Viswan (on the whole) and Vaiswanaran (partly) who are awake and have similarity to the four formed Aakara (letter Aa), are spread inside everything in the form of Sthoola (macro), Sookshma (micro), Bheeja (root) and Sakshi (witness) and are the first of everything, would realize all his wishes. He would be the first among every one.
The Chaturathma Thaijasan (on the whole) and Hiranya Garbhan (partly) who exist in the state of dreams are similar to the four formed letter Uu. This Uu has the form of gross, micro, root and witness. Because of its greatness and because of its double relation, the one who knows this through gross, micro, root and witness aspects would increase the tide of knowledge. He would possess equanimity along with pleasure and pain.
The Chaturathma Pragnan (on the whole) and Easwaran (partly), who are in the state of sleep, are similar to the four formed letter Ma. This letter Ma also has the forms of gross, micro, root and witness. The one who knows this in its aspect of its measurability and its capacity to hide it in itself by macro, micro, root and witness properties, would be able to measure the entire world by his wisdom and would be able to hide everything within himself.
Like this we have to pray on the stages of wakefulness, sleep and dream by the Aa, Uu, and Ma letters of Om. The fourth letter is the one which has within itself the Easwara. It is that which can rule by itself, it is itself Easwara and it has a self glitter. This soul which is the fourth, exists as known and unknown among all beings. Its light is like the Kalagni Surya (sun who is like a fire causing death) at the time of the final deluge. It gives to all, itself as soul and would make everything in to itself. Like the Sun which swallows darkness, this soul which is the unified power, exists like fire which remains detached after burning the fuel, beyond word and mind and has a holy divine form and is the Thuriya.
This is the Om. It is within everything which has a name and form, and is the knowledge and the knower. Because it exists as Thuriya and has a divine form and is within everything as knowledge and the knower and is detached and formless, there are no differences within it. And so the teaching regarding this is as follows:
Because it is without syllable, it is peace (Shiva), it is the place where universe meets the end, it is indescribable, it has a non dualistic form and is placed in the fourth position, and it is “Om” itself. The soul, who understands this in this manner, would attain the soul himself.
This valorous hero would understand Thuriya using the Narsaimha Anushtup Mantra Raja. This would make the soul shine. He should deeply meditate on Brahmam as something which would destroy everything, which cannot be conquered by any one, which is everywhere, which shines for ever, which is devoid of ignorance, which is able to cut off his own bondage, which is non dual, which is personification of happiness, which is the basis for everything, which exists for ever and which is one without ignorance, passion and base qualities.
Third Chapter
Meditate deeply on Pranava (Om) in the form of Chidagni (The fire within) which is in Agni Mandala (Orbit of fire) of the Mooladhara, in the Maha Peeta (consisting of 4, 7 and 32 petal lotus) with its family of four worlds (Earth, atmosphere, heavens and moon world) and seven souls (Loka-Veda-Devatha-Gana-Chanda-Agni-Vyahruthi). Then meditate on letter Aa which is the Chaturathma (4 souls) and the Sapthathma (seven souls) as Brahma in the belly (Mani Pooraka), on letter Uu as Vishnu in the heart (Aanahatha), on letter Ma as Rudra in the middle of eyelids (Aagna), on the dot which is the happy nectar form of the soul of Omkara (Sound of Om) in Dwadasantha (just above the eyes) and the soul (Athma) in the form of sound in Shodasantha. Thus after worshipping with nectar (Ananda Amrutha) the four fold Brahmas (Devatha, Teacher, Mantra and the soul), Vishnu, Rudra separately and then together in the form of Linga with offerings and then unifying the linga forms in the Atma Jyothi (Light of the soul) and filling up the macro, micro and causal bodies with this light, we have to unify Atma Jyothi which is their basis with macro, micro, root and witness properties. Afterwards adjust the very gross Virat form in the very micro Hiranyagarbha form, and this micro form in the great causal Iswara form and after arranging the mantras similarly, and meditating on “Otha-Anuj-Jnathru-Anugna-Avikalpa” stages, and merging all this in to the Omkara (sound of Om) in Thuriya, we have to reach the Nirvikalpa Paramathma (formless great truth).
Fourth Chapter
Thus the soul should be meditated upon nine times as the Omkara form of Para Brahma with thuriya pranava sound. Using anushtup mantra as the ever happy full Atma starting with the chants “Om Ugram, Sachidananda Poorna-Prathyag-Sadathmanam, Nrusimham Pramathmanam Param Brahma Chinthayami” and ending with “Om Mruthyum Mruthyum….”. Then the same prayer nine times with Chidathmanam instead of Sadathmanam. Then the same prayer 9 times with Anandathmanam instead of Sadathmanam. Then the same prayer 9 times with Poornathmanam instead of Sadathmanam and again the same prayer with Pratyagathmanam instead of Sadathmanam. Meditating well on the five forms of Sath, Chit, Ananda, Poorna and Atma and pray with the Navathmaka mantras and then meditate on the soul using “Aham (self)”, then salute and then unite yourself with Brahmam. [Example for mantras of Namaskara (saluting) “Om Ugram Sachidananda Poorna Prathyag Sadathmanam (substitute Chidathmanam etc) Nrusimham Paramathmanam Param Brahma Aham Namami.”]
The other alternative is to pray Lord Narasimha using the Anushtup Mantra. He (Narasimha) who is God exists as a human being and also as soul of every one for all times and every where, and also as one who destroys attachments and also as God of the universe. He is the soul of Thuriya. Believing he is yourself, the one who practices yoga should meditate on the Omkara Brahmam.
He is the great sage who serves God, who establishes the lion with its fame, after mutually attracting Viswa, Thaijasa and Pragna who are like the sons of Atma with Pranava which has been pointed out as the bull of Vedas, after making them without separate identity and finishing them in Sakshi Chaithanya and afterwards kill the darkness of ignorance using the fame of the lion.
That devotee who after saluting Virat, Hiranya Garbha and Easwara who have been joined in the horns of Pranava and uniting them in the same Paramatma principle and then saluting Narasimha as described above and make him personally present by methods like Ugra (Very angry) and Veera (great hero), would exist in the form similar to Narasimha.
Fifth Chapter
That type of practitioner would not have any desire towards worldly things, would have all his earlier desires fulfilled and would have desire only on Atma (soul). His Pranas (soul spirits) do not start and go any where and would attain their ultimate here itself in Brahmam. He exists as Brahmam and attains Brahmam. He who worships the exalted Atma in Omkara (the letter Om), attains Brahmam in the form of Narasimham.
He who meditates and venerates the ultimate God in the form of Aa, Uu and Ma, which is incomparable, which is the holy spirit, which sees every thing, which is the witness of everything, which swallows everything, which is the darling of every body, which is prior to everything and which makes everything else shine, would understand and know Para Brahma. One who knows like that would shine as God Para Brahma Narasimha.
Sixth Chapter
Devas wanted to understand this Atma (soul). The Asura qualities caught hold of them. To get rid of that effect, they worshipped Narasimha who is the Thuriya soul which is in the summit of Omkara using the Anushtup Mantra. Then the sin like Asura qualities itself became the great light of wisdom which is the prime happiness (like poison becoming medicine). Those devas became mentally calm, having their sensory organs under control, became those who were not attracted by worldly desires, became those having patience, became those whose conduct became stable, became those who were attracted by the Atma, became those who were having playfulness, unity and happiness, and became those who realized that “Om” is “light of Atma which is Para Brahmam”, and felt that all other places are empty and merged in to the “Om”. So the practitioner should do penance like devas, stabilize his mind in the Omkara Para Brahmam, and would make other people see his Atma as Para Brahmam.
There is a holy stanza about this viz. “After meditating on the horns which are the different parts of Pranava and further meditating on the Thuriya Paramatma which is a horn but not a part, add the Nrusimha Raja Mantra to the different parts of Pranava." The three types of Devas(Sathvika, Rajasa and Thamasa) serve the pranava in which, the first two letters (Aa and Uu) are merged and fixed in the third letter Ma and make themselves exalted.
Seventh Chapter
Adding the first half of the Uu with the letter Aa, and making it as the form of Lord Narasimha, and then using the second half of letter Uu on Narasimha Brahma because it is macro, because it is shining, because it is famous, because it is Mahadeva (great God), because he is Maheswara (Greatest God), because it is the best Sathva (sathvic quality), because it is the greatest wisdom, because it is the greatest happiness, and because it is the greatest lord, then unite it with soul which is the meaning of the letter Ma. One who knows this, would be without a body, without sensory organs, without soul, without ignorance, with the form of Sat Chit Ananda (ever lasting bliss) and would become as one who attained salvation (one who attains Swarajya).
Therefore one has to meditate on Para Brahma with the letter Aa, cross the mind with letter Ma and search for that state where one is the witness of the mind. When one pushes out everything, then everything enters in and when he attains awakening of wisdom, then everything rises from him. Thus if one meditates, catch it, set fire and swallow, he would become Narasimha who is of the form of Atma and would establish himself in his own power. There is a holy stanza about this. Its meaning is like this: Join Aa the first letter of Pranava, with the first part of its second letter Uu, and join these together with letter Ma and merge it with Thuriya Brahma which is the meaning of Pranava and is a witness beyond the states of waking sleep and dream.
Eighth Chapter
His soul is woven completely from side to side with thuriya. This with its Narasimha form, and in which every thing pervades and which is the soul of everything, contains everything. This is the secret and is without form or seed. This soul is non dualistic and without form or seed. The word “Om” is non dualistic and is full of wisdom. (Narasimha, the soul of thuriya and the meaning of Omkara are all the same. They swallow everything). This is the unique body of Parameshwara (lord of every thing). This is without form or seed. This which does not have any form or seed, does not have differences within. The one who thinks that there is difference between them, breaks into hundred pieces and breaks in to thousand pieces and attains death from death. This is without a two, self resplendent and great joy. That soul is the ultimate support. It is Brahmam. Brahmam is the ultimate support. The one who knows this becomes Brahmam which is the ultimate support.
Ninth Chapter
Devas approached Prajapathi and requested him, “Oh God, please tell us about the Omkaratma (the letter Om which is the soul). He agreed and told them:
Atma stands behind and observes and is with you as a witness. It is lion, a form beyond thought, a form without feelings and something which can be attained from every where. There is nothing second to it, which is separate from that. It is the Atma which is ready everywhere. Due to the illusion this Atma appears as something different. From Pragna, due to the cover of ignorance, the world is produced. For the living being, Atma is the resplendent Paramatma. Because the sensory organs are not able to feel it, it is not known, even when it is known.
Prajapathi told devas, “see that Atma which is resplendent and without second, which is before you, as, “I am it and it is me”. Has it been seen?”
Devas replied, “Yes, it has been seen. It is beyond things which are known and things which are not known. Where has illusion gone now? How did illusion disappear?”
Prajapathi told them, “It is not surprising that the illusion has disappeared. Because you are all people with a wonderful form. There is nothing surprising even in that. That form of the soul is natural to you all. Understand that is the form of “Om”. You now tell me what you have understood.”
They said, “it appears as if we have understood it and also appears as if that we have not understood it.
It also appears as if it is beyond all description”.
Prajapathi told them, “You have now got the knowledge about the soul”.
They told him, “Oh, God, we are seeing it but we are not seeing it, like we see other things. We do not have capacity to describe it. Oh, God salutations to you. Please shower your grace on us.”
Prajapathi told them, “If you want to know any thing more, please ask me. Ask without fear.” They told, “This knowledge about the soul is a great blessing. Our salutations to you.”
Thus Prajapathi taught them. There is a stanza about it: “Understand that Atma which is spread everywhere by the practice of Om. Understand that, the Atma which does not have any thing which is different and which is in you as the knower, is very much within you. After understanding that stabilize there, as a witness who advises".
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Nrisimha Uttara Tapaniyopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
[Publisher's Note: Nrisimha Tapaniya Upanishad, listed as one of the 108 Upanishads in our version of Muktika Upanishad, has been shown as two Upanishads (Nrisimha Poorva Tapaniya Upanishad and Nrisimha Uttara Tapaniya Upanishad) in another version of Muktika Upanishad. Hence their translations are being provided here separately.]
Kalagni Rudra Upanishad
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
OM! May Brahman protect us (the Guru and Sishya) both! May he give us both (enough) to enjoy! Efficiency may we both attain! Effective may our study prove! May we not hate (each other) at all! Om Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!
Once it happened that Sanat Kumara asked the exalted Kalagnirudra: “Teach me O exalted Sir! the truth in respect to the rule of the Tripundram (a sect mark consisting of three streaks) and what material, which place, how much, of what extent and which streaks, which divinity, which formula, which powers and which reward there are?”
The exalted one said to him “The material should be the ash of fires. One should grasp it with the five Brahman-formulas (Sathyojatam, Vamadevam, Agoram, Rudram, Eesanam). Consecrate it with the formula “Agnir iti bhasma” etc., Take out with the formula “ma nas toke tanayae” and (after consecrating) with the formula “Trayambakam Yajamahe” should apply it as three lines across on the head, forehead, breast and shoulders under the tryayusa formulas, trayambaka formulas and trisakti formulas.
This is the Sambhu-vow, which is taught in all the Vedas by those versed in the Veda. Therefore one desirous of liberation should practise it, so that he is not born again. And this O! Sanat kumara, is its (of the mark) extent; it stretches threefold from the forehead down to the eyes and goes from the center of one eye-brow to the other.
Its first line is the Grahapatya fire, the a-sound (of AUM), the Rajas (forceful characteristic), the terrestrial world, the external atman, the acting power, the Rig Veda, the morning pressing (of the Soma Juice), and Maheswara is its divinity.
Its second line is the Dakshina fire, the u-sound, the Sattvam (peaceful characteristic), the atmosphere, the inner Atman, the willing power, the Yajur Veda, the midday pressing of the Soma and Sadasiva is its divinity.
Its third line is the Ahavaniya fire, the m-sound, the Tamas (lazy characteristic), the heaven, the highest Atman, the perceiving power, the SamaVeda, the evening pressing of the Soma and Siva is its divinity. Therefore he makes the Tripundram from the ashes. He who knows this, whether he be a Brahman-student, a house holder, a forest-resident or an ascetic, he is thereby purified of all the major sins and minor sins. Thereby all the gods are meditated upon by him, he is known by all the gods, becomes one who has bathed in all the holy bathing places, one who has all the time muttered the Rudra prayer. And after enjoying all the pleasures he enters, giving up the body, into union with Siva and does not return – and does not return.
Thus spoke the exalted Kalagni Rudra. One who recites it here, he also attains to a similar state. Om Satyam. – Thus reads the Upanishad.
OM! May Brahman protect us (the Guru and Sishya) both! May he give us both (enough) to enjoy! Efficiency may we both attain! Effective may our study prove! May we not hate (each other) at all!
Om Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Kalagni-Rudropanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Maitreya Upanishad
Translated by Prof. A. A. Ramanathan
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I-1. The King, Brihadratha by name, had his eldest son installed on the throne and considering the body to be impermanent and feeling disgusted (with worldly life) went to a (penance) forest. There he performed the highest kind of penance and facing the sun remained with his arm uplifted. At the end of a thousand years the sun-god (taking the form of the sage Sakayanya) approached the sage. Like fire (blazing) without smoke and burning all as it were with his effulgence the sage Sakayanya, the knower of the Self, said to the king: ‘Rise up, rise up, choose a boon’. Bowing to him the king said: ‘Revered Sir, I know not the Atman. But we hear that you are a knower of the truth. Expound to me that’. ‘This request of yours is impossible on the very face of it. Do not ask me this question. Oh descendant of Ikshvaku, choose (the fulfilment of) other desires’. Reverently touching the feet of the sage Sakayanya the king gave utterance to the following religious text (Gatha).
I-2. Now then why speak of other things ? (There is) the drying up of great seas, the downfall of mountains, the movement of the polestar or of trees, the submerging of the earth and the loss of position by the gods. In this worldly life which is of the nature of (distinction between) ‘he’ and ‘I’, what is the use of enjoying desires as, resorting to them, there is seen the repeated return (to the phenomenal world) ? Hence it behoves on your part to uplift me. I am like a frog in a well in this worldly life. Revered Sir, you are my refuge’. Thus (the king said).
I-3. Revered Sir, this body is born of sexual union alone, is devoid of consciousness and is verily hell as it has emerged through the urinal path, full of bones, daubed with flesh and encased in skin; it is fully filled with faeces, urine, wind, bile, phlegm, marrow, fat, fatty exudations and many other filthy things. Remaining in a body of this kind, revered Sir, you are my refuge. Thus (he implored).
I-4. Then the revered sage Sakayanya greatly pleased, said to the king: ‘Great king Brihadratha, you are prominent in the family of the Ikshvakus, a knower of the Atman, one who has done his duty well and you are well known by the name of Marut. Such is your Self. Revered Sir, who is to be described ? And he said to the king:
I-5. The objects such as those denoted by sound and touch are apparently (a source of) danger; for the individual self (encased in the five elements) may not remember the highest goal when attached to them.
I-6. Through penance one gets to know the inborn disposition (Sattva); from Sattva one gets (stability of) the mind; through the mind one realizes the Atman; by realizing the Self (worldly life is) prevented. I-7. Just as fire, when fuel is exhausted, calms down in itself, so the mind, when its activity is exhausted, becomes quiescent in its source (i.e. in the Self).
I-8. When the mind is calmed down into its source and goes in the true path, the results dependent on activities are unreal as the objects of the senses are confounded (i.e. actions performed do not affect him as he is without attachment).
I-9. It is the mind that constitutes worldly life; this should be purified. As the mind, so the things appear coloured by it; this is the eternal secret.
I-10. By the purity of the mind one destroys (the effect of) good and bad actions. When with a pure mind one remains in the Self one enjoys inexhaustible bliss.
I-11. If a person’s mind, which is well attached to the region of the sense-objects, were turned towards Brahman, who will not be released from bondage ?
I-12-14. One should feel the supreme Lord to be present in the midst of the lotus of one’s heart as the spectator of the dance of the intellect, as the abode of supreme love, as beyond the range of mind and speech, as he rescue ship scattering all worry (of those sinking in the sea of worldly life), as of the nature of effulgent Existence alone, as beyond thought, as the indispensable, as incapable of being grasped by the (active) mind, possessing uncommon attributes, the immobile, steady and deep, neither light nor darkness, free from all doubts and semblance, and is consciousness consisting of the final beatitude.
I-15. That which is the eternal, the pure, the ever vigilant, free from the nature (of delusions), the true, the subtle, the supremely powerful, the one without a second, the ocean of bliss and transcendent, that I am, the innermost essence (of all); there is no doubt about it.
I-16. How can the danger (of duality) approach me, resorting as I do to the inner bliss of the Self, who despise the female goblin of desires, who view the phenomenal world as in illusion and who am unattached to it ?
I-17. Those ignorant people who stick to castes and orders of life obtain the (worthless) fruit of their respective actions. Those who discard the ways of caste, etc., and are happy with the bliss of the Self become merged in Brahman (lit. Purushas).
I-18. The body consisting of various limbs and observing the (rules of) castes and orders has a beginning and an end and is only a great trouble. Free of attachment to one’s children, etc., and the body, one should live in the endless supreme happiness.
II-1. Then the revered sage Maitreya went to Kailasa. Approaching him (the Lord) he said: ‘Lord, expound to me the secret of the supreme Truth’. The great god said to him:
II-2. The body is said to be the temple; the individual Self (Jiva) is Shiva alone. One should discard the faded flowers in the form of spiritual ignorance and worship God (with the conviction) ‘He and I are one’.
II-3. True knowledge consists of seeing non-different (in all); deep meditation consists of the mind freed from thinking on sensory objects; bathing is the removal of impurity in the mind and cleansing consists of controlling the senses.
II-4. He should imbibe the nectar, Brahman, go about for alms to preserve the body, and becoming devoted to the one (Brahman) live in the solitary place of oneness free from duality. Thus should a wise man spend his life; he alone will attain liberation.
II-5. This body is born and it has death; it has originated from the impure secretions of the mother and father; it is the abode of joy and sorrow and it is impure. Bathing in the form of discarding attachment to it is ordained when one touches it with the idea that it belongs to one.
II-6. It is built up of primary fluids, subject to grievous maladies, abode of sinful actions, transitory and diffused with agitated feelings. Touching this body, bathing (as aforesaid) is ordained.
II-7. It always naturally exudes at the appropriate time impure secretions through the nine apertures (eyes, ears, etc.,). Having impure matter it smells foul. Touching this, bathing (as aforesaid) is ordained. II-8. It is associated with the mother in impurity at birth and is born with the impurity caused by child-birth; as it is born associated with death (in due course) and the impurity caused by child birth, touching this body, bathing (as aforesaid) is ordained.
II-9. Viewing the body as ‘I’ and mine is smearing oneself with faeces and urine in the place of cosmetics. Thus pure cleansing has been spoken of (in the verses above). Cleansing (the body) with mud and water is (the external one) practised in the world.
II-10. Cleansing which purifies the mind consists of the destruction of the three inborn tendencies (loka-vasana, shastra-vasana and deha-vasana); (real) cleansing is said to be by washing with mud and water in the form of (true) knowledge and dispassion (Jnana and Vairagya).
II-11. Feeling of non-duality is the alms (which is consumed) and the feeling of duality is the thing unfit for consumption. The receiving of alms by the mendicant monk is ordained in accordance with the directions of the Guru and the scripture.
II-12. After embracing renunciation of his own accord the wise man shall move away from his native place and live far away, like a thief who has been released from prison.
II-13. No sooner has (the ascetic) moved away from the son of ego, the brother of wealth, the home of delusion and the wife of desires than he is liberated (from worldly bondage); there is no doubt about it. II-14-15. How shall I perform the twilight worship (Sandhya, i.e., there is no need for it) when the mother of delusion is (just) dead and the son of true awakening is born, causing two-fold impurity ?
How can I perform twilight worship when the bright sun of consciousness ever shines in the sky of the heart and it never sets or rises ? (i.e. there is no twilight at all and hence there is no scope for worship). II-16. The conviction, which is present from the words of the Guru that there is only one (reality) without a second, alone is the solitude (necessary for meditation) and not a monastery nor the interior of a forest.
II-17. There is liberation for those who are free from doubts; there is no emancipation even at the end of repeated births for those whose minds are invaded by doubts (about the non-duality of the Atman). Hence one should have faith.
II-18. There is no (true) renunciation by discarding action, nor by reciting the mantras of Praisa (at the formal ceremony of renunciation). Renunciation has been declared to be the oneness of the individual self (Jiva) and the universal Self (Atman).
II-19. One, to whom all primary desires, etc., (such as for wife, wealth and progeny) appear like vomit and who has discarded pride in his body, is entitled to renunciation.
II-20. A wise man should embrace renunciation only when there has risen in his mind dispassion for all worldly things; otherwise he is fallen.
II-21. He who renounces worldly life for amassing wealth (contributed by rich disciples) or for the sake of (assured) boarding and clothing or for a stable position (as the head of a monastery) is doubly fallen (i.e. he has neither the full pleasures of worldly life nor liberation); he does not deserve final beatitude. II-22. The wisest take to contemplation on the reality (of Brahman); the middling ones contemplate on the scripture; low people think of the mantras; the lowest are deluded by (the efficacy) of holy places. II-23. A fool in vain takes (theoretical) delight in Brahman without practically experiencing it (as I am Brahman), like the joy of tasting fruits found in the branch of a tree reflected (in a lake).
II-24. If a sage does not give up – the inward (conviction of non-duality in) the collecting of alms from various houses as a bee does honey from flowers, the father in the form of dispassion, the wife of faith and the son of true knowledge, he is liberated.
II-25. People rich in wealth, old in age and similarly those mature in knowledge – all these are (but) servants, (nay) the servants of the disciples of those who are mature in wisdom.
II-26. Even learned people have their minds deluded by the illusion created by me and without realizing me, the Atman, who am omnipresent, they but wander like cows to fill the wretched belly !
II-27. To one desiring liberation worship of idols made of stone, metal, gem and clay results only in the experience of rebirth; hence the sage should perform the worship of his heart alone (i.e. contemplate on Brahman enshrined in his heart, non-different from the Self). To prevent rebirth he shall avoid external worship (of idols).
II-28. He who is full inwardly and outwardly is like a jar filled in the sea; he who is empty inwardly and empty outwardly is like a jar empty in the sky.
II-29. Do not become one enjoying objects (of the senses), do not also become one believing in the senses. Rejecting all ideations, become that which remains.
II-30. Discarding (ideas of) seer, seeing and what is seen along with inward tendencies, may you resort only to the Atman who is the prime source of all phenomena.
II-31. That state of remaining like a stone with all ideations quiescent and freed from the states of waking and sleeping is the supreme state of the Self (in the disembodied state).
Thus (ends the instruction given by Lord Shiva and the second chapter).
III-1. I am I, I am the other (the supreme one), I am Brahman, I am the source (of all), I am also the Guru of all the worlds, I am all the worlds, That I am.
III-2. I alone am, I have attained perfection, I am pure, I am the supreme, I remain always, I am He, I am eternal, I am pure.
III-3. I am the true knowledge (Vijnana), I am the special one, I am Soma, I am the all. I am the auspicious one, I am free from sorrow, I am consciousness, I am the impartial one.
III-4. I am devoid of honour and dishonour, I am without attributes, I am Shiva, I am free from duality and non-duality, I am free from the pairs (of opposites), I am He.
III-5. I am devoid of being and non-being, I am beyond speech, I am effulgence, I am the power of the void and the non-void and I am the auspicious and the inauspicious (i.e. beyond both of them).
III-6. I am devoid of the equal and the unequal, eternal, pure, ever auspicious; I am free of all and the non-all, I am the righteous and I ever remain.
III-7. I am beyond the number one and I am beyond the number two as well. I am above the distinction of good and bad and I am devoid of ideation.
III-8. I am free from the distinction of many souls, being of the form of unalloyed bliss. I am not (existent as an entity), I am not another, I am devoid of the body etc.,
III-9. I am free from the concept of substratum and that of the object resting on it; I am devoid of a prop. I am above captivity and liberation, I am the pure Brahman, I am He.
III-10. I am devoid of all things such as the mind, I am the supreme, greater than the great. I am always of the form of investigation, I am free from investigation. I am He.
III-11. I am of the form of the letter ‘a’ and ‘u’ and I am the letter ‘m’ which (as Om) is eternal. I am free from meditation and being a meditator, I am beyond the object of meditation, I am He.
III-12. I am of the form which fills everything, possessing the characteristics of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss. I am of the form of all holy places, I am the supreme Atman, I am Shiva.
III-13. I am devoid of aim and non-aim and I am the bliss 9rasa0 which has no extinction. I am beyond measurer and measure and the thing measured; I am Shiva.
III-14. I am not the world, I witness all and I am devoid of eyes, etc., I am immense, I am awake, I am serene and I am Hara (Shiva).
III-15. I am devoid of all the senses and I do all actions. I am the (object of) satisfaction to all the Upanishads, I am always easily accessible (to the devoted).
III-16. I am joy (to the devoted) and sorrow (to the careless), I am the friend of all silence. I am always of the form of consciousness and I am always of the form of Existence and Consciousness.
III-17. I am not devoid of even the least, nor am I a little. I am without the knot of the heart (i.e. partiality due to affection) and I abode in the midst of the lotus of the heart.
III-18. I am devoid of the six changes (of birth, etc.,), I am without the six sheaths (the gross material body, etc.,); I am free from the group of six (internal) enemies (passions, etc.,) and I am the witness, being the supreme God.
III-19. I am free of space and time, I am the bliss of the principal unclad sages, I am beyond ‘there is’ and ‘there is not’ and I am devoid of all negation (i.e. I am pure Existence without a counterpart).
III-20. I am of the form of unbroken ether and I am of omnipresent form. I am the mind (chitta) free from the phenomenal world and I am devoid of the phenomenal world.
III-21. I am of the form of all effulgence, I am the effulgence of pure consciousness. I am beyond the three durations (past, present and future) and I am free from passion, etc.
III-22. I am above the body and its dweller and I am unique, devoid of attributes. I am beyond liberation, I am liberated and I am always devoid of final emancipation.
III-23. I am above truth and untruth, I am always nothing other than pure Existence. I am not obliged to go to any place, being free of movement, etc.
III-24. I am always equanimous, I am quiescence, the greatest being (Purushottama); one who has his own experience thus is without doubt myself. He who listens to this (experience) even once (with supreme faith) becomes himself (i.e. becomes merged into) Brahman. Thus (ends) the Upanishad.
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Maitreyopanishad, included in the Sama-Veda.
Subala Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
LESSON ONE: THE SUBSISTENCE AND DISSOLUTION OF THE UNIVERSE
1-3. The Unqualified Brahman: They say – ‘What existed ?’ He replied ‘Neither the existent nor the non-existent. From that Tamas was born; from Tamas was born Bhitadi (Prakriti – Matter), from it space, from space air, from air fire, from fire water and from water earth.
This became the Egg; which existing for just a year became two-fold – earth below and sky above. Between was Divine Man with a thousand heads, eyes, feet and arms (Virat-purusha).
4-6. He at first created the death of all creatures, having three eyes, heads and feet, armed with an axe. Brahma was afraid – he entered Brahma himself, he created seven mental sons – they created seven Virats, the pro-creators.
His face was Brahmana, arms were made into Kshatriya, thighs became the Vaishya, Sudra was born from the feet, air and vital air (Prana) from his ear, all this is from his heart.
Thus the First Section
1. From the Apana were created Nisadas, Yakshas etc., from the bones mountains, from the hair plants and trees, from the forehead Rudra (of anger).
2. The breath of this great being became Rik and other Vedas, phonetics, kalpa (the manual of ritual), grammar, etymology, metre, logic, astronomy, exegetic, law, comments, glosses etc.
3. The golden light in which dwell the self, all worlds made itself into two – woman and man. Becoming Deva created Devas, becoming Rishi created Rishis, also Yakshas etc., as well as wild as wild and domestic animals, bull and cow, horse and mare, male and female donkey, earth and the boar.
4. At the end, becoming Vaisvanara (fire), he burned (destroyed) all creatures – earth was absorbed in water, water in fire, fire in air, air in ether, ether in sense organs, they in subtle elements, they in Prakriti, Prakriti in Mahat, Mahat in Avyakta, Avyakta in Akshara, Akshara in Tamas, it in God. Then there is neither existent nor non-existent. This is the doctrine of dissolution (as given in) Vedas.
Thus the Second Section
LESSON TWO: THE FOURTH PRINCIPLE
1. In the beginning, this was non-existent. The man of wisdom does grow, meditating upon the Atman which has no birth, no rising, nor setting, unestablished, having no sound, touch, form, taste, smell, decay nor any thing bigger.
2. Without vital breath, face, ears, speech, mind, radiance, eyes, name, lineage, head, hands or feet, smoothness, blood, measurability, neither long, short nor gross, nor atomic, shoreless, beyond description, not open, nor illuminable, nor closed, without inside or outside; it neither eats nor is eaten.
3. One can achieve (realize) this only by means of truth, charity, undying austerity, celibacy, detachment with six parts. He shall observe the three, self control, munificence and compassion. His vital airs do not depart but merge here in Brahman.
Thus the Third Section
1. In the midst of the heart, is a mass of red flesh in which is the Dahara of Lotus (in shape), blossoming in many ways like lily – there are ten holes in the heart where the vital airs are established.
2. When the (Jiva) is connected with Prana, then he sees rivers and cities of many kinds; when with Vyana, he sees Devas and Rishis; with Apana, Yakshas etc.; with Udana, the celestial worlds, gods, Skanda and Jayanta; with Samana, wealth also; with Vairambha (Prana) sees what is seen, heard, eaten and not eaten, visible and invisible.
3. Then these Nadis become hundred; from these, branch out seventy two thousand Nadis, in which the self sleeps and makes noises, in the second sheath he sleeps and sees this world and the other, hears all sounds – this they call clarity. Prana defends the body. The Nadis are filled with green, blue, yellow, red and white blood.
4. This Dahara lotus is blooming in many ways like a lily and like hair, so also the Nadis are placed in the heart. The divine self sleeps in the great sheath when there are no desires, no sleep even, there are no Devas or their worlds, Yagas, Mother, Father, kinsmen, no thieves or Brahmana-killer. All this is water – Again by the same path, he returns to wakefulness, this Samraj.
Thus the Fourth Section
1. The supreme being assigns places to their owners – the Nadi is their link. The eye is the owner in the body amidst the elements – what is seen in the divinity – the artery is the link. He that is in the eye, in the sun, artery, vital air, knowledge, bliss, heart’s sky – he that moves inside all these is the self. Meditate on that self that is ageless, deathless, fearless, endless.
2. The ear is the owner in the body amidst the elements, (the guardians of) the quarters the deity, the artery is the link. He that is in the ear, audible objects, in the quarters etc., -- he that moves inside all this is the self. Meditate on that self who is ageless, deathless, fearless, painless, endless.
3. The nose is the owner in the body, the smellable is the elemental. The earth is the deity, the artery is the link. He that is in the nose etc., -- meditate on him.
4. The tongue is the owner of the body, the savourable is the elemental. Varuna is the deity; the artery is the link. He that is in the tongue etc., -- meditate on him.
5. The skin is the owner of the body, the touchable is the elemental, Vayu is the deity, the artery is the link. He that is in the skin etc., -- meditate on him.
6. The mind is the owner, the thinkable things are the elemental, the moon is the deity, the artery is the link. He that is in the mind etc., -- meditate on him.
7. Intellect is the owner, the cognizable is the elemental. Brahma the deity etc. He that is in the intellect etc., -- meditate on him.
8. Ego is the owner – object of the ‘I’ concept is the elemental, Rudra the deity – He that is the ego – meditate on him.
9. Speech the owner, utterable the elemental, fire the deity – He that is – meditate on him.
10. The mind stuff is the owner, the apprehensible is the elemental, the Jiva is the deity – meditate on him.
11. The hands are the owners, what is grasped is the elemental, Indra the deity – He that is in the hands etc., -- meditate on him.
12. The feet are the owners, the destination is the elemental, Vishnu the deity – He that is in the feet etc., -- meditate on him.
13. The male organ is the owner, the delectable is the elemental, Prajapati is the deity – He that is in the male organ etc., -- meditate on him.
14. He is the omniscient, almighty, inner ruler, source of all, waited on by all bliss but does not wait on bliss; waited on by Vedas and Shastras, but not waiting on them; whose food all this is but who is never food; agent and governor of all leadings, made of food-soul of elements, made of Prana – soul of sense-organs, made of mind; soul of thought, made of knowledge – soul of time, made of bliss – soul of dissolution.
15. There is oneness – how can there be duality – No mortality – how immortality ? Not cognisant inwardly or outwardly, or both ways – not a mass of knowledge, neither knowing nor not knowing. Thus the Fifth Section
LESSON THREE
1. In The beginning there was nothing here – These creatures are born sans root and support.
2-3. Narayana is the eye as well as the visible, ear as well as the audible, nose and the scentable, tongue and the tastable, skin and the tactile, mind and the thinkable, intellect and its contents, ego and its field, speech and its contents, hands, feet, their fields, anus and genital – all are Narayana. Supporter, ordainer, transformer – all is He.
4. Adityas, Rudras, Maruts, Vasus, Asvins, Rik, Yajus, Sama, Mantras, Agni, oblation – all are Narayana, so also mothers, fathers etc.
5. Viraja, Sudarsana, Jita, Saumya, Amogha, Kumara, Amrita, Satya, Madhyama, Nasira, Sisura, Asura, Surya, Bhasvati are the names.
6. Roars, sings, blows, rains – Varuna, Aryama, Chandra, kala, kavi, Dhata, Brahma, Indra, Days and Half-days, moments as well as ages – all are He.
7. All this is Purusha only – the past and the future – that high place of Vishnu – the Suris (sages) look upon this always like the eye spread in the sky. The sages without mental conflict enhance its glory. This is the doctrine of liberation according to the Vedas.
Thus the Sixth Section
LESSON FOUR: THE NATURE OF THE INNER CONTROLLER
1. The unborn, sole, immortal being inside the body, whose body is the Earth and who moves inside the body unknown to the Earth, who moves inside water, as the body unknown to it, who moves inside fire unknown to it, who moves inside air unknown to it, so also inside Mind, Intellect, Ego, Chitta (mind-stuff), Avyakta (unmanifest), Akshara (imperishable), Death – He is the inner, sinless, self, divine Narayana.
2. This he (Adibrahma) imported to Apantaratamas (Vishnu), Vishnu to Brahma, he to Ghorangiras who gave it to Raikva who gave it to Rama. He gave it to all living beings. Such is the doctrine of Nirvana according to Vedas.
Thus the Seventh Section
LESSON FIVE: THE SELF IN THE BODY
In this body of fat, flesh, moisture is placed this pure self of all, within the cave. The wise behold the immortal, luminous bliss, bodiless and imponderable, enshrined in this cave, the master of all, formless, massed splendour, pure, detached, divinely shining, the self that exceeds and whose form is imponderable. They behold it by sublation in this body that is as fickle as bubbles in water, empty like the plantain pith, a city in the sky, a painted wall, very much conditioned.
Thus the Eighth Section
1-14. Then Raikva asked, ‘Sir, into what do all things set ?’ He answered ‘The visible disappears in the eye, it is resolved (in the self) in the eye. The visible disappears in the sun, it is resolved in the sun.
What disappears in the Virat (cosmic Man) is resolved in the self in the Virat. What disappears in the Prana is resolved in the Prana. What disappears in Vijnana (cognition) is resolved (in the self) in the Vijnana. What disappears in Ananda is resolved in Ananda (Bliss). What disappears in the Turiya is resolved in Turiya. That self is immortal, fearless, painless, infinite seedless. (All things are) resolved in that self’ – so said he.
15. He who knows this seedless (Brahman) himself becomes seedless. He does not get birth and death, is not deluded, nor pierced or burned; does not tremble or get angry – they say he is the self – the burner of all.
16. This self is not got by hundreds of expositions, not by great learning, nor by reliance on intellectual knowledge, nor through power of memory, Vedas, sacrifices, austerities, Sankhya or Yoga, Ashramas, elucidation, laudation and exercises. The Vedic scholars achieve it, having become calm, restrained, withdrawn, tolerant and concentrating.
Thus the Nineth Section
Then Raikva asked, ‘Sir, in what are all these established, He replied ‘In the Rasatalas’. He asked ‘In what are the Rasatalas woven, warp and woof ?’ ‘In the Bhu regions’.
‘In what are Bhu woven ?’ ‘In Suvar’. ‘In what are Suvar woven ?’ ‘In Mahar’. ‘In what are Mahar woven ?’ ‘In Janas’. ‘In what are Janas woven ?’ ‘In Tapas’.
‘In what are Tapas woven ?’ ‘In Prajapati’s region’. ‘In what are these woven ?’ ‘In Brahma’s region’.
All the worlds are extended, warp and woof, in the Brahman, like gems in a string – Thus he spoke. Whoever knows these worlds as extended in the self, indeed, becomes the self. This is the doctrine of Nirvana of the Vedas.
Thus the Tenth Section
LESSON SIX: THE UPWARD PATH
Then Raikva asked him, ‘Sir, this mass of knowledge moving upwards, what place does he leave when departing upwards ?’ He replied ‘In the centre of the heart is a red mass of flesh – in it a small white lotus, blooming like a lily in many ways. In its centre is a sea with a shining space in the middle. Four arteries are these – Rama, Arama, Iccha, Apunarbhava (pleasing, not pleasing, desire and not born again). Of these Rama leads to the world of merit through merit, Arama to the world of demerit through demerit. By Iccha, one reaches what one thinks of. By Apunarbhava he breaks through the sheath (Kosa) then the cranium, earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, elements, Mahat, Avyakta, akshara, Mrityu. This Mrityu becomes one with the supreme deity. Beyond that there is neither being nor non-being, nor their combination. This is the doctrine of Nirvana of the Vedas.
Thus the Eleventh Section
LESSON SEVEN: SAMADHI
From Narayana, arose raw food (Ignorance of Atman) (at the beginning of Brahma’s day); at the end of the day (the deluges) is cooked in Aditya. Flesh etc., are again cooked in the gastric fire. Eat only what is fresh, not meant for another – do not beg for it.
Thus the Twelfth Section
1. The sage should desire to be with child-like nature, which is unattached, faultless. Through silence, learning, free from obligation is got aloneness. Prajapati said, ‘Knowing the great place, one should live at the base of a tree, ill-clad, friendless, alone in Samadhi desiring the self alone, having won all desired objects, desireless, desires eroded. He is not afraid of elephants, lions, flies, mongoose, snakes etc., knowing as forms of death. One should remain like a tree; he shall not become angry even when cut down, or tremble, like stone, like sky, he shall remain with truth.
2. The heart of all smells is Earth, of tastes water, of forms fire, of touchless air, of sounds ether. Avyakta is the heart of all movements, Mrityu of all Sattvas (living beings). Death indeed becomes one with the supreme Deity. Beyond it there is neither being nor non-being nor their combination – this is the doctrine of Nirvana of the Vedas.
Thus the Thirteenth Section
LESSON EIGHT
The earth is indeed the food, water is the eater; water is the food, fire the eater; fire is the food, air is the eater; air is the food, ether the eater; mind the food, intellect the eater; intellect the food, Avyakta the eater; Avyakta the food, Akshara (imperishable) is the eater, Akshara the food, Death is the eater – it becomes one in the supreme deity beyond which there is neither existence nor non-existence – this is the Vedic doctrines of liberation.
Thus the Fourteenth Section
LESSON NINE: BURNING THE PRINCIPLES (BASES)
The Raikva asked, ‘Sir, this mass of knowledge, the spirit – when he departs, which does he burn ?’ The reply, ‘He burns Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana, Samana, Vairambha, Mukhya, Antaryama, Prabhanja, Kumara, Syena, Sveta, Krishna, Naga, also Prithvi etc., from Jagarita upto Turiya; Lokaloka, dharma and adharma; regions without the sun, without limits and light – Mrityu becomes one with the supreme deity – this is the Vedic lecture of liberation’.
Thus the Fifteenth Section
LESSON TEN: IMPARTING BRAHMAVIDYA
The secret doctrine of Subala, should not be taught to one who is not tranquil, one who is not son or disciple, one who stays for less than a year, whose family and character are unknown.
To one supremely devoted to god and so to the preceptor, these ideas reveal themselves, to the great soul !
This is the doctrine of liberation according to Vedas. Thus the Sixteenth Section
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite. The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe), It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Subalopanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Kshurika Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Kshurika means knife. This Upanishad shows us the way to cut the attachment with this world using the knife called wisdom and shows us the way to salvation. It is called “Kshurikopanishad.”
I am relating to you the Kshurikopanishad. Using which we can attain awakening through Yoga and reach the birthless state. 1
(Slokas 2-9 are not available.)
Using the mind with very sharp wisdom as knife, you have to meditate on the secret place called “prabhada” which is above the feet and cut it and go above. 10
Using the path of a sharp mind you have to practice yoga relentlessly and have to reach out the secret place called “Indra Vajram” which is in a place above the knees and separate it out using meditation and Yoga. 11
Then you have to release the life power which is in between the union of thighs. Practicing skilful yoga you should separate it out and go upward. 12
Then you have to attain the group of nadis (nerves) near the neck and realize the 101 Nadis there and
identify the best three Nadis. You have to identify the Ida Nadi which is the protector on the left side, the pingala Nadi on the right side and understand the proper position of Sushumna Nadi. The one who identifies this is the only one who understand the secrets of Vedas. 13-14
Sushumna Nadi is the one which makes you merge with the ultimate reality (Brahman) and is one without any deficiencies and is of the form of Brahmam. In each of the 72000 Nadis, there is a material which is like oil. This is taken out of it by meditation. Only in case of Sushumna Nadi, it is not possible to separate this oily material out of it. 15
Similar to the fact that oil gets the fragrance of jasmine flower when it joins with it, this Nadi gets the smell of the good or bad deed done by a person. So you have to meditate on this Nadi. 16
Then this person who has won over his mental senses should sit in a place without any sound and become detached, realize the philosophy of yoga, become one with no desires and should withdraw within himself like the lamps getting off one by one when they are lit together. 17-21
The one who realizes yoga through intense practice of pranayama and meditation on Om cuts off the bonds of family life using the very sharp mind which has been sharpened using an efficient sharpener of renunciation and gets freedom from all bondage. 22
The one who gets freedom from desires reaches the deathless state. The one who gets freedom from all desires by cutting off all desires and affection becomes devoid of all bonds. 23
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Kshurikopanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
[Publisher's Note: Kshurika Upanishad has been listed as one of the Krishna-Yajur-Veda Upanishads in our version of the Muktika Upanishad. But it has been shown as one of the Atharva Veda Upanishads in another Publication of Upanishads.]
Mantrika Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1. The eight-footed immaculate Swan, bound with three cords, subtle and imperishable, to whom three ways lead, I see not though I see it everywhere.
2. At the time all living beings are confounded (in the darkness of nescience) when (however) the pileless darkness is shattered (by the sun of saving knowledge). The sages established in Sattva behold the Absolute beyond Gunaa (right) in the sphere of gunas.
3 (a). Contemplated by sages like Kumara, etc.; the Absolute is not otherwise capable of being perceived (at all).
3(b)-4. The agent of superimposition the Unborn (Maya), the nescient eight-fold inveterate mother of modifications; thus it is extended and again prodded. The world under such power and guidance gives rise to the values of man.
5. The Lord’s mighty Maya, having both a beginning and end, the creatrix, brings beings into existence; white, black and red (She) fulfils all desires.
6. (The ignorant) experiences this non-objective Maya (whose real nature is) unknown (even) to sages like Kumara. The Lord alone freely following (Her) enjoys Maya (as Her Lord and Companion).
7. He enjoys (Her) through both contemplation and action. He, the omnipresent one, sustains (Her) who is common to one and all, the yielder (of desired objects) and is enjoyed by the sacrificers.
8. The magnanimous (sages) behold in (the sphere of) Maya the bird eating the fruits (of Karmas). The priests who have completed their Vedic training have declared the Other to be detached.
9. The masters of the Rig-Veda, well-versed in the Shastras repeat what the Yajur-Vedins have declared. The adepts in Sama-Veda singing Brhatsama and Rathantara also (reaffirm this truth).
10. (Vedic) sages like Bhrigu and the Bhargavas – these followers of the Atharva-Veda, practising the Veda, the mantras and the secret doctrines, in the sequence on Words, (all set forth the same doctrine). 11-13. The faithful co-disciple, firm and accomplished, the red Bull, the sacrificial Remainder – as all these, in regard to Its immensity; and as Time, Life, the divine wrath, the Destroyer, the great Lord, the Becoming, Rudra, the Protector of Jivas, the Rewarder of the virtuous, the Lord of living beings, the Virat, the sustainer and the Waters (of life), is the all-Pervader lauded by beings magnified in the mantras and well-known to the Atharva-Veda.
14. Some aver Him (the great Lord) as the twenty sixth (Principle); others as the twenty seventh; the masters of the Atharva-Veda and the Atharva Upanishads know the Spirits beyond qualities, as set forth in the Sankhya.
15. The manifest and the unmanifest have been counted (together) as twenty four. (Some) declare Him non-dual; as dual; as three-fold; and similarly as five-fold.
16. Those who see with the eye of wisdom, the twice-born, perceive Him as comprising everything from Brahma to sticks, as one only, pure through and through, all pervading.
17. That in which this might manifold, moving and unmoving, is woven – in that very thing it also merges as the rivers do in the sea.
18. In That in which the objects are dissolved, and, having been dissolved, become unmanifest, once more they attain manifestation; they are again born like bubbles.
19. They come into being by virtue of causes supervised by individual selves that know ‘the field’. Such is the blessed Lord, so others repeatedly, declare.
20. Those Brahmanas who (just) know Brahman – here only they are dissolved; and being dissolved they exist in the Avyakta. Having been dissolved they exist in the Avyakta – this is the secret doctrine.
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Mantrikopanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Sarva Sara Upanishad
Translated by Swami Madhavananda
Published by Advaita Ashram, Kolkatta
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1. Om. What is Bandha (bondage of the Soul) ? What is Moksha (liberation) ? What is Avidya (nescience) ? What is Vidya (knowledge) ? What are the states of Jagrat (waking), Svapna (dreaming) , Sushupti (Dreamless sleep), and the fourth, Turiya (Absolute) ? What are the Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya, Vijnanamaya and Anandamaya Koshas (vestures or sheaths of the soul) ? What is the Karta (agent), what the Jiva (individual self), the Kshetrajna (knower of the body), the Sakshi (Witness), the Kutastha, the Antaryamin (Internal Ruler) ? What is the Pratyagatman (Inner Self), what the Paramatman (Supreme Self), the Atman, and also Maya ? -- the master of Self looks upon the body and such like things other than the Self as Itself: this egoism is the bondage of the soul. The cessation of that (egoism) is Moksha, liberation. That which causes that egoism is Avidya, nescience. That by which this egoism is completely turned back is Vidya, knowledge. When the self, by means of its four and ten organs of sense beginning with the mind and benignly influenced by the sun and the rest which appear outside, perceives gross objects such as sound etc., then it is the Atman’s Jagrat (wakeful) state. When, even in the absence of sound etc., (the self) not divested of desire for them, experiences, by means of the four organs, sound and the rest in the form of desires – then it is the Atman’s state of Svapna (dream). When the four and ten organs cease from activity, and there is the absence of differentiated knowledge, then is the Atman’s state of Sushupti (dreamless sleep).
2. When the essence of consciousness which manifests itself as the three states, is a witness of the states, (but is) itself devoid of states, positive or negative, and remains in the state of non-separation and oneness, then it is spoken of as the Turiya, the fourth. The aggregate of the six sheaths, which are the products of food, is called the Annamaya-kosha, alimentary sheath. When the fourteen kinds of Vayus beginning with the Prana, are in the alimentary sheath, then it is spoken of as the Pranamaya-kosha, vesture of the vital airs. When the Atman united with these two sheaths performs, by means of the four organs beginning with the mind, the functions of desire, etc., which have for their objects sound and the rest, then it (this state) is called the Manomaya-kosha, mental sheath. When the soul shines being united with these three sheaths, and cognisant of the differences and non-differences thereof then it is called the Vijnanamaya-kosha, sheath of intelligence. When these four sheaths remain in their own cause which is Knowledge (Brahman), in the same way as the latent Banyan tree remains in the Banyan seed, then it is spoken of as the Anandamaya-kosha, causal frame of the Soul. When it dwells in the body, as the seat of the idea of pleasure and pain, then it is the Karta, agent. The idea of pleasure is that which pertains to wished-for objects, and the idea of pain is that which pertains to undesirable objects. Sound, touch, sight, taste, and smell are the causes of pleasure and pain. When the soul, conforming itself to good and bad actions, has made a link of the present body (with its past body), and is seen to be effecting a union, a connection as it were, with the body not yet received, then it is called the Jiva, individual soul, on account of its being limited by Upadhis. The five groups are those beginning with the mind, those beginning with the Prana, those beginning with the Sattva, those beginning with the will, and those beginning with merit. The ego possessing the attributes of these five groups, does not die out without the knowledge of the ever-attained Self. That which, owing to its proximity to the Self, appears as imperishable and is attributed to Atman, is called the Linga-sharira (subtle body), and the “heart’s knot”. The Consciousness which manifests itself therein is called the Kshetrajna, Knower of the Kshetra (body).
3. He who is the cogniser of the manifestation and disappearance of the knower, knowledge, and the knowable, but is himself devoid of such manifestation and disappearance, and is self-luminous, is called the Sakshi, Witness. When being perceived in an undifferentiated manner in the intelligence of all beings, from Brahma (the Creator) down to an ant, it resides in the intelligence of all beings, then it is called the Kutastha. When, standing as the means of realising the real nature of the Kutastha and others, which are differentiations by virtue of possessing limiting adjuncts, the Atman manifests itself as inter-woven in all bodies, like the thread through a string of jewels, then it is called the Antaryamin, Internal Ruler. When the Atman shines forth - absolutely free from all limiting adjuncts, brilliant, as a homogeneous mass of consciousness in its nature of pure Intelligence, independent – then, it is spoken of as the Entity of “Thou” (Tvam), and as the Pratyagatman, Inner-Self. (That which is) Satya (the Reality), Jnana (Knowledge), Ananta (the Infinite), Ananda (Bliss), is Brahman. The Reality is the indestructible; That which, when name, space, time, substance, and causation are destroyed, dies not, is the indestructible; and that is called Satya, the Reality. And Jnana – that essence of Intelligence which has no beginning and no end, spoken of as Jnana.
4. And Ananta, the Infinite, (remaining in the same manner) as (does) clay in modifications of clay, as gold in modifications of gold, as thread in fabrics of thread, the antecedent, all-pervading Consciousness, that is in all phenomena of creation beginning with the Unmanifested, is called the Infinite. And Ananda, Bliss – the essence of the consciousness of happiness, the ocean of measureless bliss, and the state of undifferentiated happiness is called Bliss. That, of which the above fourfold nature is an indication, and which is permanent in all space, time, substance, and causation, is called the Entity of “That” (Tat) Paramatman, Supreme Self, and Para-Brahman, or the Highest Brahman. Distinguished from the Entity of “Thou” (when it appears to be) possessed of attributes, as well as from the Entity of “That” (when it appears to be) possessed of attributes, that which is all-pervading like the sky, subtle, whole by itself, pure Existence, the Entity of “Art” (Asi). Self-luminous, is spoken of as the Atman; the Entity of “not-That”, also is spoken of as Atman. That which is beginningless, fruitful, open to both proof and disproof, neither real nor unreal, nor real-unreal – non-existent, when, because of the immutability of its own substratum, the cause of change is ascertained; -- existent when it is not so ascertained – (thus that) which is undefinable, is called Maya.
5. I am neither the body nor the ten senses, Buddhi, Mind, Ego. Without Prana and mind, pure, I am always the witness, pure consciousness, surely. I am neither the doer nor the enjoyer, only a witness to Prakriti. By my presence body etc., function as alive, still, eternal, ever joy, pure. I am Brahman to be known from all Vedanta, yet unknowable like sky and air. I am neither form nor action, only Brahman.
6. I am not body; birth, death do not come to me. I am not Prana – have no hunger and thirst; I am not mind – have no grief or delusion. I am not the doer – have no bondage or release.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Sarva-Sara Upanishad, as contained in the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Niralamba Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1. I shall raise and answer (questions covering) all that must be known for liquidating the misfortunes of living beings plunged in ignorance.
2. (1) What is Brahman?
(2) Who is God?
(3) Who is living being?
(4) What is Prakriti?
(5) Who is the Supreme Self?
(6) Who is Brahma ?
(7) Who is Vishnu ?
(8) Who is Rudra ?
(9) Who is Indra ?
(10) Who is (the god of) Death ?
(11) Who is the Sun ?
(12) Who is the Moon ?
(13) Who are the Gods ?
(14) Who are the demons ?
(15) Who are the evil spirits ?
(16) Who are men ?
(17) Who are women ?
(18) Who are animals and so forth ?
(19) What is the immobile ?
(20) Who are the Brahmanas, etc., ?
(21) What is a caste ?
(22) What is deed ?
(23) What is a non-deed ?
(24) What is knowledge ?
(25) What is ignorance ?
(26) What is pleasure ?
(27) What is pain ?
(28) What is heaven ?
(29) What is hell ?
(30) What is bondage ?
(31) What is liberation ?
(32) What is to be adored ?
(33) Who is the disciple ?
(34) Who is the sage ?
(35) Who is the deluded ?
(36) What is the demoniac ?
(37) What is austerity ?
(38) Which is the supreme abode ?
(39) What is to be sought after ?
(40) What is to be rejected ?
(41) Who is the renouncer (Sannyasin) ?
3. (1) Brahman is the ineffable Spirit. It appears as the Mahat (the Sankhyan Great), the ego, (the elements) earth, water, fire, air and ether – the macrocosm and as actions, knowledge and ends. It is non-dual and free from all adjuncts. It is big with all powers and is without beginning and end. It may be spoken of as pure, good, quiescent, unqualified.
4. (2) God is the veritable Brahman that, depending on Its power called Prakriti creates the worlds and enters (into them) as the inner Controller of Brahma, etc., (He) is Ishvara, as He controls the intellect and the sense-organs.
5. (3) The living being (Jiva) is he who, through false superimposition, affirms ‘I am gross’ due to ‘the name and form’ of Brahma, Vishnu, Isana, Indra, etc. (Jiva thinks): Though I am one, due to the differences of the causes that originate the body, the Jivas are many.
6. (4) Prakriti is but the power of Brahman; it is intellectual in nature and competent to create the variegated and marvellous world from (the matrix) of Brahman.
7. (5) The supreme Self is Brahman alone being altogether different from body, etc.
8-9. (6-20) Brahma, Vishnu, Indra, (the god of) Death, the Sun, the Moon, the gods, the demons, men, women, animals, etc.; the immobile the Brahmanas, etc.; are that very Spirit.
10. (21) Neither skin nor blood nor flesh nor bone has caste; To self is caste ascribed through mere usage.
11. (22) ‘I do the deeds that are done through sense-organs’ – the deed thus done as centred in the Self alone is the deed (in question).
12. (23) The deed done with conceit as agent and enjoyer, causing birth, etc., binds; The non-deed is the obligatory and occasional action – sacrifice, holy vow, austerity, gifts, etc., done without desire for their fruit.
13. (24) Knowledge is the immediate realization, due to the disciplining of body and sense-organs, service rendered to the Teacher, hearing, thinking and meditation, that there is nothing but Spirit, the essence of both subjects and objects, which is immutable among the mutables like pots and clothes, the same in all, their innermost (essence).
14. (25) Ignorance is the illusory knowledge – like that of the snake in the rope – of Brahman that is All in all, all-pervasive and non-dual. (This illusory knowledge) is associated with a plurality of selves based on the plurality of the adjuncts of bondage and liberation, viz.; stations in life, castes, men, women, the immobiles, mankind, (lower) animals and gods.
15. (26) Pleasure is the blissful state that succeeds the knowledge of the essence of Being, Intelligence and Bliss. (27) It (Dukha - pain) is the mere Sankalpa (or the thinking) of the objects of mundane existence (or of not-Self).
16. (28) Heaven is the association with the holy.
17. (29) Association with the worldly folk who are unholy alone is hell.
18. (30) Bondage consists in imagining due to the beginningless latent impressions of nescience, ‘I am born, etc.’
19. Bondage consists in imagining a plunge into the flux of existence with its possessive claims on fields, gardens, houses, children, wives, brothers, mothers and fathers.
20. Bondage is the conceit of egoistic agency in regard to actions, etc.
21. Bondage is the imagination prompted by the desire for the eight powers, anima, etc.
22. Bondage is the imagination prompted by the yearning for adoring gods, men, etc.
23. Bondage is the imagination (leading to) the practice of Yoga with its eight limbs, Yama, etc.
24. Bondage is the planning of action and duties bound up with castes and stations of life.
25. Bondage is to imagine that Atman has qualities like doubts, fear, etc.
26. Bondage is to plan (to acquire) knowledge, to perform sacrifices, vows, austerity and (make) gifts.
27. Bondage is to plan to devote oneself exclusively to moksha.
28. Bondage is what springs exclusively from imagination.
29. (31) Liberation is the attenuation, through discrimination between the eternal and the ephemeral, of the sense of ownership in regard to objects that generate fleeting pleasures and pains in the transmigratory life.
30. (32) Adorable is the teacher who leads one to Brahman, the Spirit dwelling in all bodies.
31. (33) The disciple is Brahman indeed that remains altogether immersed in the knowledge of the world as obliterated by the awareness (of its ground, viz., Brahman).
32. (34) The sage is the knower of the essence of Self-awareness present in all as their innermost (part).
33. (35) The deluded is he who is sustained by the conceit of egoism as regards agency, etc.
34. (36) Demoniac is the austerity, rooted in entrenched attachment, aversion, destructive violence, hypocrisy, etc.; that torments oneself by performing ‘repetition of holy names’ and Agnihotra while fasting and that is prompted by the desire to secure the power of gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Indra and Isana.
35. (37) Austerity is the burning, in the fire of immediate realization of the world’s falsity, of the seed of imagination fashioned by the desire to secure the power of Brahma, etc.
36. (38) The supreme abode is Brahman’s status, one of eternal freedom, comprising Being, Intelligence, and Bliss, beyond the qualities of the inner organ and the sense-organs and the vital breaths.
37. (39) To be sought after is the essence of the pure Spirit undetermined by space, time and objects.
38. (40) To be rejected is the thought that true is the world other than one’s own Self that is perceived by the false sense organs and the intellect.
39. (41) The Sannyasin (mendicant monk) is the wandering independent ascetic who has known for certain, in the indeterminate concentration (Nirvikalpa-Samadhi), ‘I am Brahman’. He is led upto it through the experiential knowledge of the contents of Major texts like: ‘There is no plurality here’; ‘All this is Brahman’; 'That Thou Art', etc.; after renouncing all duties, sense of possession and the ego, and taking refuge in the beloved Brahman. That ascetic is liberated; he is adorable; he is the Yogin; he is the Immense; he is the Brahmana.
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Niralambopanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Suka Rahasya Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1-19. Now we expound the Rahasya Upanishad: the divine sages, worshipping Brahma, asked: Lord, tell us the Rahasya Upanishad. He said, ‘In the past Vyasa, the treasure of all Vedas and penance asked Shiva: O Lord of great wisdom, who has vowed firmly to break the bondage (of life). The time has come to give initiation to my son Suka into the sacrament of Veda’. Shiva said, ‘When the sole Brahman is imparted by me, your son will depart by himself having got detachment’.
Vyasa said: Be it as it may; in the Upanayana, when Brahman is imparted, may my son become omniscient very quickly and get the four kinds of Moksha.
Then Shiva, hearing this sat in a divine seat to give instruction. Suka, the fortunate, came there with devotion and getting the Pranava, spoke again to Shiva.
Suka aid, ‘First among gods, all-knowing, be pleased. The supreme Brahman, inherent in Om, has been imparted; the special sense 'That Thou Art' etc., with the six limbs, I desire to hear’.
Shiva said, ‘Well said, O treasure of knowledge, you have asked for the desirable, the mystery of the Vedic texts, named Rahasyopanishad with the six parts, knowing which one shall be directly released. The texts without the six parts one should not teach. Just as Upanishads are the crown of the Vedas, so is the Rahasya of Upanishads. For the wise man who meditates upon Brahman, holy spots, Vedic rites and mantras are useless. One wins a hundred years of life, meditating the sense of major texts. The same is won, uttering this once.
20. Om, for this mantra, Hamsa is the Rishi, unmanifest Gayatri is the metre, deity is Paramahamsa, Hamsa is the seed, Sama-Veda is the power. ‘I am That’ is the pin. Its application is in the context of uttering the major text to secure the grace of the Paramahamsa. ‘Truth, knowledge, infinity is Brahman. Bow to the thumbs, ‘Eternal joy is Brahman’ – Svaha to the index fingers. ‘Brahman is eternal joy, mostly’ – Vasat to the middle fingers. ‘That which is plenitude’ – Hum to the ring fingers. ‘The lord of plenitude’ – Vasat to the little fingers. ‘One and non-dual is Brahman. Phat’ to the inside and outside of the palms. ‘Truth, knowledge, infinity is Brahman’ – Phat to the inside and outside of the palm. ‘Truth, knowledge, infinity is Brahman – bow to the heart’.
‘Eternal bliss is Brahman’ – Svaha to the head – Vasat to the braid of hair. ‘That which is plenitude’ – Hum to armour – Vausat to the three eyes. ‘One and non-dual Brahman’ – Phat to the missile. The earth, old region, heaven, Om, this is the link of space.
21-22. Meditation: I bow to the noble teacher, beyond becoming and the three Gunas, one, eternal, holy, witness of all knowledge, giver of bliss, beyond the world, sky-like, purpose of major texts. The four major passages:
(1) Consciousness is Brahman
(2) I am Brahman
(3) That Thou Art and
(4) This self is Brahman.
Those who recite the statement of identity become liberated in Sayujya (identity).
23-24. Of the great incantation ‘Tat’, the seer is Hamsa, un-manifest Gayatri is the metre. Paramahamsa the deity; Hamsa the seed; Sama-Veda, power; So’ham is the pin; application is the meditation for my liberation. Bow to the thumbs, to that aspirant Svaha to Isana, the index fingers, Vasat to Aghora the middle fingers, to Sadyojata, the ring fingers, hum; to Vamadeva, the little fingers Vausat; to that spirit, Isana, Aghora etc. Phat.
Meditation: Meditate on that shining light as knowledge and its objects and what is beyond them both, taintless, awake, free and imperishable.
25-26. Of the chant of ‘Tvam’ Vishnu is the seer, Gayatri is the metre, supreme self the deity, ‘aim’ the seed, ‘klim’ the power, ‘sauh’ the pin, application is to the repetition for my liberation.
Bow to Vasudeva, to the thumbs: Svaha to Samkarsana, the index-fingers; Vasat to Pradyumna, the middle fingers; Hum to Aniruddha, the ring fingers; Vausat to Vasudeva, the little finger; Phat to Vasudeva and others.
Meditation: I adore the word ‘Thou’ the Jiva state, in all living things, everywhere, impartite form, controller of mind and egoism.
27. For ‘Asi’, the seer is Manah, metre Gayatri, deity Ardhanarishvara, seed is Avyaktadi, power is Nrisimha, pin is supreme Self. Application is repetition for identification of Jiva and Brahman. I bow to the thumbs, the dyad of Earth; Svaha to the index finger, the dyad of water. Vasat to the middle fingers, the dyad of fire; Hum to the ring fingers, the dyad of Air; Vausat for the little fingers, the dyad of Ether; Phat for the front and back of the hand, the dyad of Earth etc. So too the consecration of the heart. Bhuh, Bhuvah, Svah, Om. Thus the directions are enclosed.
28-29. Meditation: ‘Meditate ever on Asi, thou art. Aiming at the merger of Jiva in that, as long as the mind dwells on the purport’. Thus have been stated the six limbs of the major texts.
30-38. Now according to the classification of the mystic teachings are set forth the verses on the purport.
Prajnana is that whereby one sees, hears, smells and makes clear all objects here, pleasant and unpleasant, by which one knows. In the four-faced Brahman, Indra and Devas, men, horses, cows, etc., spirit is one Brahman – so, in me too Prajnana is Brahman. In this body being remains witness to the intellect and is called I. The Being full in itself is described as Brahman, referred to with Asmi. So, I am Brahman. The being, one without a second, without name and form before creation and even now is called That. The being called Thou here beyond the senses understood as one. Let this unity be experienced. The inner self, from ego to the body, is called this (ayam) because it is self-luminous and realizes intimately. The truth of the universe is stated of all that is seen by the word Brahman.
39. I was in the state of dream of ‘I’ and “Mine’ because of the absence of the vision of the spirit. But I was awakened when the sun of my own nature arose by means of the major texts spoken clearly by the perception.
40-42. Senses has two ways: expressed and implied. In ‘Tattvam Asi’ the expressed meaning is the senses etc., which are elemental and the implied is, ‘He’ in ‘you’ (Tvam), in the word Tat the expressed sense is lordship etc., the implied is the supreme being which is Sat, Chit and Ananda. ‘Asi’ identifies these two. Tvam and Tad mean effect and cause respectively when this is the adjunct; otherwise both are the same Sat, Chit and Ananda – separating the space and time faites the identity is got, just as in the world, in the expression, ‘This is that Devadatta’.
The Jiva is having the effect-adjunct, Isa has cause-adjunct – when both are removed, only the full knowledge remains.
43-45. First hearing from the Guru, then thought about it and meditation – this is the cause of full knowledge. Other knowledge will surely perish, while the knowledge of Brahman leads to Brahman. The Guru should instruct the words of the Upanishad with the limbs, not merely the words – These are Brahma’s words.
46-53. Ishvara said, ‘O Suka, thus being instructed by me as requested by Vyasa, you will become Jivanmukta’.
The Svara which is uttered at the start of Veda is Parameshvara. Suka being thus instructed by Shiva became one with the universe; rose, bowed to Shiva and giving up all possessions, went away as if swimming in the ocean of the supreme spirit.
Vyasa, seeing him go away as a recluse, went after him calling, affected by separation. All the world echoed him. Hearing this Vyasa was over joyed along with his son.
He who learns this through the Guru’s grace will become released from all sin and enjoy Moksha. Thus the Upanishad.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Sukarahasyopanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Vajrasuchika Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I Shall set for Vajrasuchi (the diamond needle) which pierces ignorance, rebukes the ignorant and ornaments those who have wisdom as eye.
The Smritis affirm, following the Vedas that the Brahmana is the most important of the four castes. It must be asked, ‘Who is a Brahmana’ – the self, body, class, knowledge, action or virtue ?
The soul is not a Brahmana because the soul is the same in all bodies past and future. The same person takes many bodies according to karma, nor is the body Brahmana – the body is the same from the Chandala (to the highest caste) being made of the five elements and is seen to have old age, death etc., alike. There is no fixity (of colour) such as Brahmana is white, Kshatriya is red, Vaishya is yellow and Sudra is black; also when the father’s body is cremated, the son etc., may be guilty of killing a Brahmana.
Nor is the class a Brahmana. Then there would be many classes within the classes. Many are the great sages: Rishyasringa born of a deer, Kausika of reed, Jambuka of a jackal, Valmiki of an ant-hill, Vyasa of a fisher-girl, Gautama of a hare’s back, Vasistha of Urvasi, Agastya of a pot according to tradition. These are not Brahmanas by birth but by their knowledge.
Nor is knowledge Brahmana: Kshatriyas and others also have knowledge. Nor is karma: all creatures
are seen to have similar karma of Prarabdha etc., and all creatures act being impelled by karma. Nor is a man of virtue: There are many givers of gold – Kshatriyas etc.
One who has directly realized, like the berry in the palm, the Atman without a second, devoid of class, quality and action and of defects like the six waves (like hunger), the states (like birth and death), of the nature of truth, knowledge and bliss, free from adjuncts, the basis of all thoughts, immanent in all creatures, present inside and outside like space. Bliss impartite, beyond (ordinary) knowledge, to be realized by experience alone – and having become successful, free from lust etc., rich in mental control, without greed etc., mind untouched by hypocrisy etc.
This is the intention of Veda etc. Otherwise the nature of Brahmana cannot be achieved. One should contemplate one’s self as the spirit without a second, truth, knowledge and bliss. This is the Upanishad.
Om! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Vajrasuchika Upanishad, included in the Sama-Veda.
Tejo-Bindu Upanishad
Translated by K. Narayanasvami Aiyar
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
CHAPTER - I
1. PARAM-DHYANA (the supreme meditation) should be upon Tejo-bindu (the seed or source of spiritual light), which is the Atma of the universe, which is seated in the heart, which is of the size of an atom, which pertains to Shiva, which is quiescent and which is gross and subtle, as also above these qualities.
2. That alone should be the Dhyana of the Munis as well as of men, which is full of pains, which is difficult to meditate on, which is difficult to perceive, which is the emancipated one, which is decayless and which is difficult to attain.
3. One whose food is moderate, whose anger has been controlled, who has given up all love for society, who has subdued his passions, who has overcome all pairs (heat and cold etc.), who has given up his egoism, who does not bless anyone nor take anything from others;
4. And also who goes where they naturally ought not to go and naturally would not go where they like to go – such persons also obtain three in the face. Hamsa is said to have three seats.
5. Therefore know it is the greatest of mysteries, without sleep and without support. It is very subtle, of the form of Soma and is the supreme seat of Vishnu.
6. That seat has three faces, three gunas and three Dhatus and is formless, motionless, changeless, sizeless and supportless.
7. That seat is without Upadhi and is above the reach of speech and mind. It is Svabhava (Self or nature) reachable only by Bhava (being).
8. The indestructible seat is associateless, without bliss, beyond mind, difficult to perceive, emancipated and changeless. It should be meditated upon as the liberated, the eternal, the permanent and the indestructible.
9. It is Brahman, is Adhyatma (or the deity presiding as Atma) and is the highest seat of Vishnu. It is inconceivable, of the nature of Chidatma and above the Akasa.
10. It is void and non-void and beyond the void and is abiding in the heart. There is (in It) neither meditation nor meditator, nor the meditated, nor the non-meditated.
11. It is not the universe. It is the highest space; it is neither supreme nor above the supreme. It is inconceivable, unknowable, non-truth and not the highest.
12. It is realised by the Munis, but the Devas do not know the supreme One. Avarice, delusion, fear, pride, passion, anger, sin;
13. Heat, cold, hunger, thirst, thought and fancy – (all these do not exist in It). (In It) there is no pride of (belonging to) the Brahmana caste, nor is there the collection of the knot of salvation.
14. (In It) there is no fear, no happiness, no pains, neither fame nor disgrace. That which is without these states is the supreme Brahman.
15. Yama (forbearance), Niyama (religious observance), Tyaga (renunciation), Mouna (silence) according to time and place, Asana (posture), Mulabandha, seeing all bodies as equal, the position of the eye;
16. Prana-samyamana (control of breath), Pratyahara (subjugation of the senses), Dharana, Atma-Dhyana and Samadhi – these are spoken of as the parts (of Yoga) in order.
17. That is called Yama in which one controls all his organs (of sense and actions) through the Vijnana that all is Brahman; this should be practised often and often.
18. Niyama, in which there is the supreme bliss enjoyed through the flowing (or inclination) of the mind towards things of the same (spiritual) kind, (viz., Brahman) and the abandoning of things differing from one another is practised by the sages as a rule.
19. In Tyaga (renunciation), one abandons the manifestation (or objects) of the universe through the cognition of Atman that is Sat and Chit. This is practised by the great and is the giver of immediate salvation.
20. Mouna (the silence), in which, without reaching That, speech returns along with mind, is fit to be attained by the Yogins and should be ever worshipped by the ignorant (even).
21. How is it possible to speak of ‘That’, from which speech returns ? How should it be described as the universe as there is no word to describe it ?
22. It is ‘That’ which is (really) called silence and which is naturally understood (as such). There is silence in children, but with words (latent); whereas the knowers of Brahman have it (silence) but without words.
23. That should be known as ‘the lonely seat’ in which there is no man in the beginning, middle, or end and through which all this (universe) is fully pervaded.
24-25. The illusion of Brahma and all other beings takes place within one twinkling (of His eye). That should be known as Asana (posture), in which one has with ease and without fatigue (uninterrupted) meditation of Brahman; that is described by the word Kala (time), that is endless bliss and that is secondless. Everything else is the destroyer of happiness.
26. That is called Siddhasana (Siddha-posture) in which the Siddhas (psychical personages) have succeeded in realising the endless One as the support of the universe containing all the elements, etc.
27. That is called the Mulabandha, which is the Mula (root) of all worlds and through which the root Chitta is (Bandha) bound. It should be always practised by the Rajayogins.
28. One after having known the equality of the Angas (or parts of Yoga) point to one and the same Brahman, should be absorbed in that equal (or uniform) Brahman; if not, there is not that equality (attained). Then like a dry tree, there is straightness (or uniformity throughout).
29. Making one’s vision full of spiritual wisdom, one should look upon the world as full of Brahman. That vision is very noble. It is (generally) aimed at the tip of the nose;
30. But it should be directed towards that seat (of Brahman) wherein the cessation of seer, the seen and sight will take place and not towards the tip of the nose.
31. That is called Pranayama (the control of breath), in which there is the control of the modifications (of mind) through the cognition of Brahman in all the states of Chitta and others.
32. The checking of (the conception of the reality of) the universe, is said to be expiration. The conception of ‘I am Brahman’ is inspiration.
33. The holding on (long) to this conception without agitation is cessation of breath. Such is the practice of the enlightened.
34. The ignorant close their nose. That should be known as Pratyahara, through which one sees Atman (even) in the objects of sense and pleases Chitta through Manas. It should be practised often and often.
35. Through seeing Brahman wherever the mind goes, the Dharana is meant that state where one indulges in the good thought:
36. ‘I am Brahman alone’, and is without any support. This Dhyana is the giver of supreme bliss.
37. Being first in a state of changelessness and then thoroughly forgetting (even) that state owing to the cognition of the (true) nature of Brahman – this is called Samadhi.
38. This kind of bliss should be practised (or enjoyed) by a wise person till his cognition itself united in a moment with the state of Pratyag (Atman).
39. Then this King of Yogins becomes a Siddha and is without any aid (outside himself). Then he will attain a state, inexpressible and unthinkable.
40. When Samadhi is practised, the following obstacles arise with great force – absence of right inquiry, laziness, inclination to enjoyment;
41. Absorption (in material object), Tamas, distraction, impatience, sweat and absent-mindedness. All these obstacles should be overcome by inquirers into Brahman.
42. Through Bhava-Vrittis (worldly thoughts), one gets into them. Through Sunya-Vrittis (void or empty thoughts), one gets into them. But through the Vrittis of Brahman, one gets fullness.
43. Therefore one should develop fullness through this means (of Brahman). He who abandons this Vritti of Brahman, which is very purifying and supreme – that man lives in vain like a beast.
44. But he who understands this Vritti (of Brahman) and having understood it makes advances in it, becomes a good and blessed person, deserving to be worshipped by the three worlds.
45. Those who are greatly developed through the ripening (of their past Karmas) attain the state of Brahman; others are simply reciters of words.
46. Those who are clever in arguments about Brahman, but are without the action pertaining to Brahman and who are greatly attached to the world – those certainly are born again and again (in this world) through their Ajnana;
47. (The former) never remain, even for half a moment – without the Vritti of Brahman, like Brahma and others, Sanaka, etc., Suka and others.
48. When a cause is subject to changes, it (as an effect) must also have its cause. When the cause ceases to exist in truth, the effect perishes through right discrimination. Then that substance (or principle) which is beyond the scope of words, remains pure.
49. After that, Vritti Jnana arises in their purified mind; through meditation with transcendental energy, there arises a firm certitude.
50. After reducing the visible into the invisible state, one should see everything as Brahman. The wise should ever stay in bliss with their understanding full of the essence of Chit.
Thus ends the first chapter.
CHAPTER - II
Then the Kumara asked Shiva: “Please explain to me the nature of Chinmatra, that is the partless non-dual essence”. The great Shiva replied:
1-23. “The partless non-dual essence is the visible. It is the world, it is the existence, it is the Self, it is mantra, it is action, it is spiritual wisdom, it is water. It is the earth, it is Akasa, it is the books, it is the three Vedas, it is the Brahman, it is the religious vow, it is Jiva, it is Aja (the unborn), it is Brahma, it is Vishnu, it is Rudra; it is I, it is Atman, it is the Guru. It is the aim, it is sacrifice, it is the body, it is Manas, it is Chitta, it is happiness, it is Vidya; it is the undifferentiated, it is the eternal, it is the supreme, it is everything. O six-faced one, different from It there is nothing. None, none but It; It is I. It is gross, it is subtle, it is knowable, it is thou; it is the mysterious; it is the knower; it is existence, it is mother, it is father, it is brother, it is husband, It is Sutra (Atman), it is Virat. It is the body, it is the head, it is the internal, it is the eternal, it is full, it is nectar, it is Gotra (clan), it is Griha (the house), it is the preservable, it is the moon, it is the stars, it is the sun, it is the holy seat. It is forgiveness, it is patience, it is the gunas, it is the witness. It is a friend, it is a relative, it is an ally, it is the king, town, kingdom and subjects. It is Om, Japa, meditation, the seat, the one worthy to be taken (in), the heart, the Jyotis, Swarga (heaven) and Self”.
24. “All the partless and non-dual essence should be regarded as Chinmatra. Chinmatra alone is the Absolute Consciousness; and this partless non-dual essence alone is the (real) essence.
25. All having consciousness alone except those having changes, are Chinmatra. All this is Chinmatra.
26. He is Chinmaya; the state of Atman is known as Chinmatra and the partless non-dual essence. The whole world is Chinmatra. Your state and my state are Chinmatra.
27. Akasa, earth, water, Vayu, Agni, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and all else that exist or do not, are Chinmatra.
28. That which is the partless non-dual essence is Chinmatra. All the past, present and future are Chinmatra.
29. Substance and time are Chinmatra. Knowledge and the knowable are Chinmatra. The knower is Chinmatra. Everything is Chinmatra.
30. Every speech is Chinmatra. Whatever else is Chinmatra. Asat and Sat are Chinmatra.
31. The beginning and end are Chinmatra; that which is in the beginning and end is Chinmatra ever. The Guru and the disciple are Chinmatra. If the seer and the seen are Chinmatra, then they are always Chinmaya.
32. All things wondrous are Chinmatra. The (gross) body is Chinmatra, as also subtle and causal bodies. There is nothing beyond Chinmatra.
33. I and thou are Chinmatra. Form and non-form are Chinmatra. Virtue and vice are Chinmatra. The body is a symbol of Chinmatra.
34. Sankalpa, knowing, Mantra and others, the gods invoked in Mantras;
35. The gods presiding over the eight quarters the phenomenal and the supreme Brahman are nothing but Chinmatra. There is nothing without Chinmatra.
36-38. Maya is nothing without Chinmatra. Puja (worship) is nothing without Chinmatra. Meditation, truth, sheaths and others, the (eight) Vasus, silence, non-silence and indifference to objects – are nothing without Chinmatra. Everything is from Chinmatra. Whatever is seen and however seen – it is Chinmatra so far.
39-41. Whatever exists and however distant is Chinmatra. Whatever elements exist, whatever is perceived and whatever is Vedanta – all these are Chinmatra. Without Chinmatra, there is no motion, no Moksha and no goal aimed at. Everything is Chinmatra. Brahman that is the partless non-dual essence is known to be nothing but Chinmatra.
42. Thou, O Lord, art the partless non-dual essence (stated) in the books, in me, in Thee and in the ruler. He who thus perceives ‘I’ as of one homogeneity (pervading everywhere) will at once be emancipated through this spiritual wisdom. He is his own Guru with this profound spiritual wisdom. Thus ends the second chapter.
CHAPTER - III
The Kumara addressed his father (again): “Please explain to me the realisation of Atman”. To which the great Shiva said:
1-3. “I am of the nature of the Parabrahman. I am the supreme bliss. I am solely of the nature of divine wisdom. I am the sole supreme, the sole quiescence, the sole Chinmaya, the sole unconditioned, the sole permanent and the sole Sattva. I am the ‘I’ that has given up ‘I’. I am one that is without anything. I am full of Chidakasha.
4. I am the sole fourth one. I am the sole one above the fourth (state of Turya). I am of the nature of (pure) consciousness. I am ever of the nature of the bliss-consciousness.
5-7. I am of the nature of the non-dual. I am ever of a pure nature, solely of the nature of divine wisdom, of the nature of happiness, without fancies, desires or diseases of the nature of bliss, without changes or differentiations and of the nature of the eternal one essence and Chinmatra.
8. My real nature is indescribable, of endless bliss, the bliss above Sat and Chit and the interior of the interior. I am beyond reach of Manas and speech.
9. I am of the nature of Atmic bliss, true bliss and one who plays with (my) Atman; I am Atman and Sadashiva.
10. My nature is Atmic spiritual effulgence. I am the essence of the Jyotis of Atman. I am without beginning, middle, or end. I am like the sky.
11. I am solely Sat, Ananda and Chit which is unconditioned and pure. I am the Sachchidananda that is eternal, enlightened and pure.
12. I am ever of the nature of the eternal Sesha (serpent-time). I am ever beyond all. My nature is beyond form. My form is supreme Akasa.
13. My nature is of the bliss of earth. I am ever without speech. My nature is the all-seat (foundation of all).
14-15. I am ever replete with consciousness, without the attachment of body, without thought, without the modifications of Chitta, the sole essence of Chidatma, beyond the visibility of all and of the form of vision. My nature is ever full.
16. I am ever fully contented, the all, and Brahman, and the very consciousness; I am ‘I’. My nature is of the earth.
17-21. I am the great Atman and the supreme of the supreme; I appear sometimes as different from myself; sometimes as possessing a body, sometimes as a pupil and sometimes as the basis of the worlds. I am beyond the three periods of time, am worshipped by the Vedas, am determined by the sciences and am fixed in the Chitta. There is nothing left out by me, neither the earth nor any other objects here. Know that there is nothing which is out of myself. I am Brahma, a Siddha, the eternally pure, non-dual one. Brahman, without old age or death.
22-25. I shine by myself; I am my own Atman, my own goal, enjoy myself, play in myself, have my own spiritual effulgence, am my own greatness and am used to play in my own Atman, look on my own Atman, and am in myself happily seated. I have my own Atman as the residue, stay in my own consciousness, and play happily in the kingdom of my own Atman. Sitting on the real throne of my own Atman, I think of nothing else but my own Atman.
26-32. I am Chidrupa alone, Brahman alone, Sachchidananda, the secondless, the one replete with bliss and the sole Brahman and ever without anything, have the bliss of my own Atman, the unconditioned bliss, and am always Atma-Akasa. I alone am in the heart like Chid-aditya (the consciousness-sun). I am content in my own Atman, have no form, or no decay, am without, the number one, have the nature of an unconditioned and emancipated one, and I am subtler than Akasa; I am without the existence of beginning or end, of the nature of the all-illuminating, the bliss greater than the great, of the sole nature of Sat, of the nature of pure Moksha, of the nature of truth and bliss, full of spiritual wisdom and bliss, of the nature of wisdom alone and of the nature of Sachchidananda. All this is Brahman alone. There is none other than Brahman and that is ‘I’. I am Brahman that is Sat and bliss and the ancient.
33. The word ‘thou’ and the word ‘that’ are not different from me. I am of the nature of consciousness. I am alone the great Shiva.
34. I am beyond the nature of existence. I am of the nature of happiness. As there is nothing that can witness me, I am without the state of witness.
35. Being purely of the nature of Brahman, I am the eternal Atman. I alone am the Adisesha (the primeval Sesha). I alone am the Sesha.
36. I am without name and form, of the nature of bliss, of the nature of being unperceivable by the senses and of the nature of all beings;
37-39. I have neither bondage nor salvation. I am of the form of eternal bliss. I am the primeval consciousness alone, the partless and non-dual essence, beyond reach of speech and mind, of the nature of bliss everywhere, of the nature of fullness everywhere, of the nature of earthly bliss, of the nature of contentment everywhere, the supreme nectary essence and the one and secondless Sat, (viz.,) Brahman. There is no doubt of it.
40-43. I am of the nature of all-void. I am the one that is given out by the Vedas. I am of the nature of the emancipated and emancipation, of Nirvanic bliss, of truth and wisdom, of Sat alone and bliss, of the one beyond the fourth, of one without fancy and ever of the nature of Aja (the unborn). I am without passion or faults. I am the pure, the enlightened, the eternal, the all-pervading and of the nature of the significance of Om, of the spotless and of Chit. I am neither existing nor non-existing.
44-45. I am not of the nature of anything. I am of the nature of the actionless. I am without parts. I have no semblance, no manas, no sense, no Buddhi, no change, none of the three bodies, neither the waking, dreaming, or dreamless sleeping states.
46. I am neither of the nature of the three pains nor of the three desires. I have neither Sravana nor Manana in Chidatma in order to attain salvation.
47. There is nothing like me or unlike me. There is nothing within me. I have none of the three bodies.
48. The nature of Manas is unreal, the nature of Buddhi is unreal, the nature of Aham (the ‘I’) is unreal; but I am the unconditioned, the permanent and the unborn.
49. The three bodies are unreal, the three periods of time are unreal, the three Gunas are unreal, but I am of the nature of the Real and the pure.
50. That which is heard is unreal, all the Vedas are unreal, the Shastras are unreal, but I am the Real and of the nature of Chit.
51. The Murtis (Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra having limitation) are unreal, all the creation is unreal, all the Tattvas are unreal, but know that I am the great Sadashiva.
52. The master and the disciple are unreal, the mantra of the Guru is unreal, that which is seen is unreal, but know me to be the Real.
53. Whatever is thought of is unreal, whatever is lawful is unreal, whatever is beneficial is unreal, but know me to be the Real.
54. Know the Purusha (ego) to be unreal, know the enjoyments to be unreal, know things seen and heard are unreal as also the one woven warp-wise and woof-wise, viz., this universe;
55-56. Cause and non-cause are unreal, things lost or obtained are unreal. Pains and happiness are unreal, all and non-all are unreal, gain and loss are unreal, victory and defeat are unreal.
57-59. All the sound, all the touch, all the forms, all the taste, all the smell and all Ajnana are unreal. Everything is always unreal – the mundane existence is unreal – all the Gunas are unreal. I am of the nature of Sat. One should cognise his own Atman alone. One should always practise the mantra of his Atman.
60-69. The mantra (Aham Brahmashmi) ‘I am Brahman’ removes all the sins of sight, destroys all other mantras, destroys all the sins of body and birth, the noose of Yama, the pains of duality, the thought of difference, the pains of thought, the disease of Buddhi, the bondage of Chitta, all diseases, all grieves and passions instantaneously, the power of anger, the modifications of Chitta, Sankalpa, Crores of sins, all actions and the Ajnana of Atman.
70-71. The mantra ‘I am Brahman’ gives indescribable bliss, gives the state of Ajada (the non inertness or the undecaying) and kills the demon of non-Atman. The thunderbolt ‘I am Brahman’ clears all the hill of not-Atman.
72. The wheel ‘I am Brahman’ destroys the Asuras of not-Atman. The Mantra ‘I am Brahman’ will relieve all (persons).
73. The Mantra ‘I am Brahman’ gives spiritual wisdom and bliss. There are seven Crores of great Mantras and there are Vratas (vows) of (or yielding) hundred Crores of births.
74. Having given up all other Mantras, one should ever practise this Mantra. He obtains at once salvation and there is not even a particle of doubt about it.
Thus ends the third chapter.
CHAPTER - IV
The Kumara asked the great Lord: “Please explain to me the nature of Jivanmukti (embodied salvation) and Videhamukti (disembodied salvation).” To which the great Shiva replied:
1. “I am Chidatma. I am Para-Atma. I am the Nirguna, greater than the great. One who will simply stay in Atman is called a Jivanmukta.
2. He who realises: ‘I am beyond the three bodies, I am the pure consciousness and I am Brahman’, is said to be a Jivanmukta.
3. He is said to be a Jivanmukta, who realises: ‘I am of the nature of the blissful and of the supreme bliss, and I have neither body nor any other thing except the certitude ‘I am Brahman’ only.
4-6. He is said to be a Jivanmukta who has not at all got the ‘I’ in myself, but who stays in Chinmatra (absolute consciousness) alone, whose interior is consciousness alone, who is only of the nature of Chinmatra, whose Atman is of the nature of the all-full, who has Atman left over in all, who is devoted to bliss, who is undifferentiated, who is all-full of the nature of consciousness, whose Atman is of the nature of pure consciousness, who has given up all affinities (for objects), who has unconditioned bliss, whose Atman is tranquil, who has got no other thought (than Itself) and who is devoid of the thought of the existence of anything.
7-11(a). He is said to be a Jivanmukta who realises: ‘I have no Chitta, no Buddhi, no Ahamkara, no sense, no body at any time, no Pranas, no Maya, no passion and no anger, I am the great, I have nothing of these objects or of the world and I have no sin, no characteristics, no eye, no Manas, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no hand, no waking, no dreaming, or causal state in the least or the fourth state.’
11(b)-30(a). He is said to be a Jivanmukta, who realises: ‘All this is not mind, I have no time, no space, no object, no thought, no Snana (bathing), no Sandhyas( junction-period ceremonies), no deity, no place, no sacred places, no worship, no spiritual wisdom, no seat, no relative, no birth, no speech, no wealth, no virtue, no vice, no duty, no auspiciousness, no Jiva, not even the three worlds, no salvation, no duality, no Vedas, no mandatory rules, no proximity, no distance, no knowledge, no secrecy, no Guru, no disciple, no diminution, no excess, no Brahma, no Vishnu, no Rudra, no moon, no earth, no water, no Vayu, no Akasa, no Agni, no clan, no Lakshya (object aimed at), no mundane existence, no meditator, no object of meditation, no Mans, no cold, no heat, no thirst, no hunger, no friend, no foe, no illusion, no victory, no past, present, or future, no quarters, nothing to be said or heard in the least, nothing to be gone to (or attained), nothing to be contemplated, enjoyed or remembered, no enjoyment, no desire, no Yoga, no absorption, no garrulity, no quietude, no bondage, no love, no joy, no instant joy, no hugeness, no smallness, neither length nor shortness, neither increase nor decrease, neither Adhyaropa (illusory attribution) nor Apavada (withdrawal of that conception) , no oneness, no manyness, no blindness, no dullness, no skill, no flesh, no blood, no lymph, no skin, no marrow, no bone, no skin, none of the seven Dhatus, no whiteness, no redness, no blueness, no heat, no gain, neither importance nor non-importance, no delusion, no perseverance, no mystery, no race, nothing to be abandoned or received, nothing to be laughed at, no policy, no religious vow, no fault, no bewailments, no happiness, neither knower nor knowledge nor the knowable, no Self, nothing belonging to you or to me, neither you nor I, and neither old age nor youth nor manhood; but I am certainly Brahman. ‘I am certainly Brahman. I am Chit, I am Chit’.
30(b)-31. He is said to be a Jivanmukta who cognises: ‘I am Brahman alone, I am Chit alone, I am the supreme’. No doubt need be entertained about this; ‘I am Hamsa itself, I remain of my own will, I can see myself through myself, I reign happy in the kingdom of Atman and enjoy in myself the bliss of my own Atman’.
32. He is a Jivanmukta who is himself, the foremost and the one undaunted person who is himself the lord and rests in his own Self.
33. He is a Videhamukta who has become Brahman, whose Atman has attained quiescence, who is of the nature of Brahmic bliss, who is happy, who is of a pure nature and who is a great Mouni (observer of silence).
34-37. He is a Videhamukta who remains in Chinmatra alone without (even) thinking thus: ‘I am all Atman, the Atman that is equal (or the same) in all, the pure, without one, the non-dual, the all, the self only, the birthless and the deathless – I am myself the undecaying Atman that is the object aimed at, the sporting, the silent, the blissful, the beloved and the bondless salvation – I am Brahman alone – I am Chit alone’.
38. He is a Videhamukta who having abandoned the thought: ‘I alone am the Brahman’ is filled with bliss.
39-47(a). He is a Videhamukta who having given up the certainty of the existence or non-existence of all objects is pure Chidananda (the consciousness-bliss), who having abandoned (the thought): ‘I am Brahman’ (or) ‘I am not Brahman’ does not mingle his Atman with anything, anywhere or at any time, who is ever silent with the silence of Satya, who does nothing, who has gone beyond Gunas, whose Atman has become the All, the great and the purifier of the elements, who does not cognise the change of time, matter, place, himself or other differences, who does not see (the difference of) ‘I’, ‘thou’, ‘this’, or ‘that’, who being of the nature of time is yet without it, whose Atman is void, subtle and universal, but yet without (them), whose Atman is divine and yet without Devas, whose Atman is measurable and yet without measure, whose Atman is without inertness and within every one, whose Atman is devoid of any Sankalpa, who thinks always: ‘I am Chinmatra, I am simply Paramatman, I am only of the nature of spiritual wisdom, I am only of the nature of Sat, I am afraid of nothing in this world’, and who is without the conception of Devas, Vedas and sciences, ‘All this is consciousness, etc.,’ and regards all as void.
47(b)-48. He is a Videhamukta who has realised himself to be Chaitanya alone, who is remaining at ease in the pleasure-garden of his own Atman, whose Atman is of an illimitable nature, who is without conception of the small and the great and who is the fourth of the fourth state and the supreme bliss.
49-53(a). He is a Videhamukta whose Atman is nameless and formless, who is the great spiritual wisdom of the nature of bliss and of the nature of the state beyond Turya, who is neither auspicious nor inauspicious, who has Yoga as his Atman, whose Atman is associated with Yoga, who is free from bondage or freedom, without Guna or non-Guna, without space, time, etc., without the witnessable and the witness, without the small or the great and without the cognition of the universe or even the cognition of the nature of Brahman, but who finds his spiritual effulgence in his own nature, who finds bliss in himself, whose bliss is beyond the scope of words and mind and whose thought is beyond the beyond.
53(b)-54. He is said to be a Videhamukta who has gone beyond (or mastered quite) the modifications of Chitta, who illumines such modifications and whose Atman is without any modifications at all. In that case, he is neither embodied nor disembodied. If such a thought is entertained (even), for a moment, then he is surrounded (in thought) by all.
55-62. He is a Videhamukta whose external Atman invisible to others is the supreme bliss aiming at the highest Vedanta, who drinks of the juice of the nectar of Brahman, who has the nectar of Brahman as medicine, who is devoted to the juice of the nectar of Brahman, who is immersed in that juice, who has the beneficent worship of the Brahmic bliss, who is not satiated with the juice of the nectar of Brahman, who realises Brahmic bliss, who cognises the Shiva bliss in Brahmic bliss, who has the effulgence of the essence of Brahmic bliss, who has become one with it, who lives in the household of Brahmic bliss, has mounted the car of Brahmic bliss, who has an imponderable Chit being one with it, who is supporting (all), being full of it, who associates with me having it, who stays in Atman having that bliss and who thinks: ‘All this is of the nature of Atman, there is nothing else beside Atman, all is Atman, I am Atman, the great Atman, the supreme Atman and Atman of the form of bliss’.
63-68(a). He who thinks: ‘My nature is full, I am the great Atman, I am the all-contented and the permanent Atman. I am the Atman pervading the heart of all, which is not stained by anything, but which has no Atman; I am the Atman whose nature is changeless, I am the quiescent Atman; and I am the many Atman’. He who does not think this is Jivatma and that is Paramatma, whose Atman is of the nature of the emancipated and the non-emancipated, but without emancipation or bondage, whose Atman is of the nature of the dual and the non-dual one, but without duality and non-duality; whose Atman is of the nature of the All and the non-All, but without them; whose Atman is of the nature of the happiness arising from objects obtained and enjoyed, but without it; and who is devoid of any Sankalpa – such a man is a Videhamukta.
68(b)-79. He whose Atman is partless, stainless, enlightened, Purusha, without bliss, etc., of the nature of the nectar, of the nature of the three periods of time, but without them; whose Atman is entire and non-measurable, being subject to proof though without proof; whose Atman is the eternal and the witness, but without eternality and witness; whose Atman is of the nature of the secondless, who is the self-shining one without a second, whose Atman cannot be measured by Vidya and Avidya but without them; whose Atman is without conditionedness or unconditionedness, who is without this or the higher worlds, whose Atman is without the six things beginning with Sama, who is without the qualifications of the aspirant after salvation, whose Atman is without gross, subtle, causal and the fourth bodies and without the Anna, Prana, Manas and Vijnana sheaths; whose Atman is of the nature of Ananda (bliss) sheath, but without five sheaths; whose Atman is of the nature of Nirvikalpa, is devoid of Sankalpa, without the characteristics of the visible or the audible and of the nature of void, owing to unceasing Samadhi, who is without beginning, middle, or end; whose Atman is devoid of the word Prajnana, who is without the idea ‘I am Brahman’, whose Atman is devoid (of the thought) of ‘thou art’, who is without the thought ‘this is Atman’, whose Atman is devoid of that which is described by Om, who is above the reach of any speech or the three states and is the indestructible and the Chidatma, whose Atman is not the one which can be known by Atman and whose Atman has neither light nor darkness. Such a personage is a Videhamukta.
80-81. Look only upon Atman; know It as your own. Enjoy your Atman yourself and stay in peace. O six-faced one, be content in your own Atman, be wandering in your own Atman and be enjoying your own Atman. Then you will attain Videhamukti”.
Thus ends the fourth chapter.
CHAPTER - V
The sage named Nidagha addressed the venerable Ribhu: “O Lord please explain to me the discrimination of Atman from non-Atman”. The Sage replied thus:
1-4(a). “The furthest limit of all Vak (speech) is Brahman; the furthest limit to all thoughts is the Guru. That which is of the nature of all causes and effects but yet without them, that which is without Sankalpa, of the nature of all bliss and the auspicious, that which is the great one of the nature of bliss, that which illuminates all luminaries and that which is full of the bliss of Nada (spiritual sound), without any enjoyment and contemplation and beyond Nadas and Kalas (parts) – that is Atman, that is ‘I’, the indestructible.
4(b)-5(a). Being devoid of all the difference of Atman and non-Atman, of heterogeneity and homogeneity and of quiescence and non-quiescence – that is the one Jyotis at the end of Nada.
5(b)-6. Being remote from the conception of Maha-Vakyartha (i.e., the meaning of Maha Vakyas) as well of ‘I am Brahman’, being devoid of or without the conception of the word and the meaning and being devoid of the conception of the destructible and indestructible – that is the one Jyotis at the end
of Nada.
7. Being without the conception ‘I am the partless non-dual essence’ or ‘I am the blissful’, and being of the nature of the one beyond all – ‘that is one‘ Jyotis at the end of Nada.
8. He who is devoid of the significance of Atman (viz., motion) and devoid of Sachchidananda – he is alone Atman, the eternal.
9. He who is undefinable and unreachable by the words of the Vedas, who has neither externals nor internals and whose symbol is either the universe or Brahman – he is undoubtedly Atman.
10-12(a). He who has no body, nor is a Jiva made up of the elements and their compounds, who has neither form nor name, neither the enjoyable nor the enjoyer, neither Sat nor Asat, neither preservation nor regeneration, neither Guna nor non-Guna – that is undoubtedly my Atman.
12(b)-15(a). He who has neither the described nor description, neither Sravana nor Manana, neither Guru nor disciple, neither the world of the Devas nor the Devas nor the Asuras, neither duty nor non-duty, neither the immaculate nor non-immaculate, neither time nor non-time, neither certainty nor doubt, neither Mantra nor non-Mantra, neither science nor non-science, neither the seer nor the sight which is subtle, nor the nectar of time – that is Atman.
15(b)-16(a). Rest assured that not-Atman is a misnomer. There is no Manas as not-Atman. There is no world as not-Atman.
16(b)-17(a). Owing to the absence of all Sankalpas and to the giving up of all actions, Brahman alone remains and there is no not-Atman.
17(b)-21. Being devoid of the three bodies, the three periods of time, the three Gunas of Jiva, the three pains and the three worlds and following the saying ‘All is Brahman’, know that there is nothing to be known through the absence of Chitta; there is no old age through the absence of body; no motion through the absence of legs; no action through the absence of hands; no death through the absence of creatures; no happiness through the absence of Buddhi; no virtue, no purity, no fear, no repetition of Mantras, no Guru nor disciple. There is no second in the absence of one. Where there is not the second, there is not the first.
22. Where there is truth alone, there is no non-truth possible; where there is non-truth alone, there is no truth possible.
23. If you regard a thing auspicious as inauspicious, then auspiciousness is desired (as separate) from inauspiciousness. If you regard fear as non-fear, then fear will arise out of non-fear.
24. If bondage should become emancipation, then in the absence of bondage will be no emancipation. If birth should imply death, then in the absence of birth, there is no death.
25. If ‘thou’ should imply ‘I’, then in the absence of ‘thou’ there is no ‘I’. If ‘this’ should be ‘that’, ‘this’ does not exist in the absence of ‘that’.
26. If being should imply non-being, then non-being will imply being. If an effect implies a cause, then in the absence of effect, there is no cause.
27. If duality implies non-duality, then in the absence of duality, there is no non-duality. If there should be the seen, then there is the eye (or sight); in the absence of the seen, there is no eye.
28. In the absence of the interior, there is no exterior. If there should be fullness, then non-fullness is possible. Therefore (all) this exists nowhere.
29. Neither you nor I, nor this nor these exist. There exists no (object of) comparison in the true one.
30. There is no simile in the unborn. There is (in it) no mind to think. I am the supreme Brahman. This world is Brahman only. Thou and I are Brahman only.
31. I am Chinmatra simply and there is no not-Atman. Rest assured of it. This universe is not (really at all). This universe is not (really) at all. It was nowhere produced and stays nowhere.
32. Some say that Chitta is the universe. Not at all. It exists not. Neither the universe nor Chitta nor Ahankara nor Jiva exists (really).
33-34. Neither the creation of Maya nor Maya itself exists (really). Fear does not (really) exist. Actor, action, hearing, thinking, the two Samadhis, the measurer, the measure, Ajnana and Aviveka – none of these exists (truly) anywhere.
35-38. Therefore the four moving considerations and the three kinds of relationship exist not. There is no Ganga, no Gaya, no Setu (bridge), no elements or anything else, no earth, water, fire, Vayu and Akasa anywhere, no Devas, no guardians of the four quarters, no Vedas, no Guru, no distance, no proximity, no time, no middle, no non-duality, no truth, no untruth, no bondage, no emancipation, no Sat, no Asat, no happiness, etc., no class, no motion, no caste and no worldly business.
39. All is Brahman only and nothing else – all is Brahman only and nothing else. There exists then nothing (or Statement) as that ‘consciousness alone is’; there is (then) no saying such as ‘Chit is I’. 40-41. The statement ‘I am Brahman’ does not exist (then); nor does exist (then) the statement: ‘I am the eternally pure’. Whatever is uttered by the mouth, whatever is thought by Manas, whatever is determined by Buddhi, whatever is cognised by Chitta – all these do not exist. There is no Yogin or Yoga then. All are and are not.
42. Neither day nor night, neither bathing nor contemplating, neither delusion nor non-delusion – all these do not exist then. Know that is no not-Atman.
43. The Vedas, Sciences, Puranas, effect and cause, Ishvara and the world and the elements and mankind – all these are unreal. There is no doubt of it.
44. Bondage, salvation, happiness, relatives, meditation, Chitta, the Devas, the demons, the secondary and the primary, the high and the low – all these are unreal. There is no doubt of it.
45. Whatever is uttered by the mouth, whatever is willed by Sankalpa, whatever is thought by Manas – all these are unreal. There is no doubt of it.
46-47. Whatever is determined by the Buddhi, whatever is cognised by Chitta, whatever is discussed by the religious books, whatever is seen by the eye and heard by the ears and whatever exists as Sat, as also the ear, the eye and the limbs – all these are unreal.
48-51(a). Whatever is described as such and such, whatever is thought as so-and-so, all the existing thoughts such as ‘thou art I’, ‘that is this’, and ‘He is I’, and whatever happens in Moksha, as also all Sankalpas, delusion, illusory attribution, mysteries and all the diversities of enjoyment and sin – all these do not exist. So is also not-Atman. Mine and thine, my and thy, for me and for thee, by me and by thee – all these are unreal.
51(b)-52(a). (The statement) that Vishnu is the preserver, Brahma is the creator, Rudra is the destroyer – know that these undoubtedly are false.
52(b)-54(a). Bathing, utterings of Mantras, Japas (religious austerities) Homa (sacrifice), study of the Vedas, worship of the Devas, Mantra, Tantra, association with the good, the unfolding of the faults of Gunas, the working of the internal organ, the result of Avidya and the many Crores of mundane eggs – all these are unreal.
54(b)-55. Whatever is spoken of as true according to the verdict of all teachers, whatever is seen in this world and whatever exists – all these are unreal.
56-58(a). Whatever is uttered by words, whatever is ascertained, spoken, enjoyed, given or done by anyone, whatever action is done, good or bad, whatever is done as truth – know all these to be unreal. 58(b)-59. Thou alone art the transcendental Atman and the supreme Guru of the form of Akasa, which is devoid of fitness (for it) and of the nature of all creatures. Thou art Brahman; there is no doubt of it.
60. Thou art time; and thou art Brahman, that is ever and imponderable. Thou art everywhere, of all forms and full of consciousness.
61. Thou art the truth. Thou art one that has mastered the Siddhis and thou art the ancient, the emancipated, emancipation, the nectar of bliss, the God, the quiescent, the diseaseless, Brahman the full and greater than the great.
62-64. Thou art impartial, Sat and the ancient knowledge, recognised by the words ‘Truth, etc.’. Thou art devoid of all parts. Thou art the ever-existing – thou appearest as Brahma, Rudra, Indra, etc., -- thou art above the illusion of the universe – thou shinest in all elements – thou art without Sankalpa in all – thou art known by means of the underlying meaning of an scriptures; thou art ever content and ever happily seated (in thyself); thou art without motion, etc., In all things, thou art without any characteristics; in all things thou art contemplated by Vishnu and other Devas at all times.
65-69. Thou hast the nature of Chit, thou art Chinmatra unchecked, thou stayest in Atman itself, thou art void of everything and without Gunas, thou art bliss, the great, the one secondless, the state of Sat and Asat, the knower, the known, the seer, the nature of Sachchidananda, the lord of Devas, the all-pervading, the deathless, the moving, the motionless, the all and the non-all with quiescence and non-quiescence, Sat alone, Sat commonly (found in all), of the form of Nitya-Siddha (the unconditioned developed one) and yet devoid of all Siddhis.
70-73. There is not an atom which thou dost not penetrate; but yet thou art without it. Thou art devoid of existence and non-existence as also the aim and object aimed at. Thou art changeless, decayless, beyond all Nadas, without Kala or Kashta (divisions of time) and without Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Thou lookest into the nature of each and art above the nature of each. Thou art immersed in the bliss of Self. Thou art the monarch of the kingdom of Self and yet without the conception of Self. Thou art of the nature of fullness and incompleteness.
74. There is nothing that thou seest which is not in thyself. Thou dost not stir out of thy nature. Thou actest according to the nature of each. Thou art nothing but the nature of each. Have no doubt ‘thou art I’.
75. This universe and everything in it, whether the seer or the seen, resembles the horns of a hare (or an illusory).
76-89(a). Earth, water, Agni, Vayu, Akasa, Manas, Buddhi, Ahankara, Tejas, the worlds and the sphere of the universe, destruction, birth, truth, virtue, vice, gain, desires, passion, anger, greed, the object of meditation, wisdom, guru, disciple, limitation, the beginning and end, auspiciousness, the past, present and future, the aim and the object of aim, mental restraint, inquiry, contentment, enjoyer, enjoyment, etc., the eight parts of Yoga, Yama, etc., the going and coming (of life), the beginning, middle and end, that which can be taken and rejected, Hari, Shiva, the organs, Manas, the three states, the twenty-four Tattvas, the four means, one of the same class or different classes, Bhuh and other worlds, all the castes and orders of life with the rules laid down for each, Mantras and Tantras, science and nescience, all the Vedas, the inert and the non-inert, bondage and salvation, spiritual wisdom and non-wisdom, the enlightened and the non-enlightened, duality and non-duality, the conclusion of all Vedantas and Shastras, the theory of the existence of all souls and that of one soul only, whatever is thought by Chitta, whatever is willed by Sankalpa, whatever is determined by Buddhi, whatever one hears and sees, whatever the guru instructs, whatever is sensed by all the organs, whatever is discussed in Mimamsa, whatever is ascertained by Nyaya (philosophy) and by the great ones who have reached the other side of the Vedas, the saying ‘Shiva destroys the world, Vishnu protects it and Brahma creates it’, whatever is found in the Puranas, whatever is ascertained by the Vedas and is the signification of all the Vedas – all these resemble the horns of a hare.
89(b). The conception ‘I am the body’ is spoken of as the internal organ.
90. The conception ‘I am the body’ is spoken of as the great mundane existence; the conception ‘I am the body’ constitutes the whole universe.
91-96. The conception ‘I am the body’ is spoken of as the knot of the heart, as non-wisdom, as the state of Asat, as nescience, as the dual, as the true Jiva and as with parts, is certainly the great sin and is the disease generated by the fault of thirst after desires.
97. That which is Sankalpa, the three pains, passion, anger, bondage, all the miseries, all the faults and the various forms of time – know these to be the result of Manas.
98-104. Manas alone is the whole world, the ever-deluding, the mundane existence, the three worlds, the great pains, the old age and others, death and the great sin, the Sankalpa, the Jiva, the Chitta, the Ahankara, the bondage, the internal organ and earth, water, Agni, Vayu and Akasa. Sound,, touch, form, taste and odour, the five sheaths, the waking, the dreaming and dreamless sleeping states, the guardians of the eight quarters, Vasus, Rudras, Adityas, the seen, the inert, the pairs and non-wisdom – all these are the products of Manas.
105. Rest assured that there is no reality in all that is Sankalpa. The whole world, the guru, disciple, etc., do not exist, yea, do not exist.
Thus ends the fifth chapter.
CHAPTER - VI
1-9(a). Ribhu continued again: “Know everything as Sachchinmaya (full of sat and consciousness). It pervades everything. Sachchidananda is non-dual, decayless, alone and other than all. It is ‘I’. It alone is Akasa and ‘thou’. It is I. There is (in it) no Manas, no Buddhi, no Ahankara, no Chitta, or the collection of these – neither ‘thou’ nor I, nor anything else nor everything. Brahman alone is. Sentence, words, Vedas, letters, beginning, middle or end, truth, law, pleasure, pain, existence, Maya, Prakriti, body, face, nose, tongue, palate, teeth, lip, forehead, expiration and inspiration, sweat, bone, blood, urine, distance, proximity, limb, belly, crown, the movement of hands and feet, Shastras, command, the knower, the known and the knowledge, the waking, dreaming and dreamless sleeping and the fourth state – all these do not belong to me. Everything is Sachchinmaya interwoven.
9(b)-29. No attributes pertaining to body, elements and spirit, no root, no vision, no taijasa, no Prajna, no Virat, no Sutratma, no Ishvara and no going or coming, neither gain nor loss, neither the acceptable nor the rejectable, nor the censurable, neither the pure nor the impure, neither the stout nor the lean, no sorrow, time, space, speech, all, fear, duality, tree, grass or mountain, no meditation, no Siddhi of Yoga, no Brahmana, Kshatriya or Vaishya, no bird or beast, or limb, no greed, delusion, pride, malice, passion, anger or others, no woman, Sudra, castes or others, nothing that is eatable or enjoyable, no increase or decrease, no belief in the Vedas, no speech, no worldliness or unworldliness, no transaction, no folly, no measure or measured, no enjoyment or enjoyed, no friends, son, etc., father, mother, or sister, no birth or death, no growth, body or ‘I’, no emptiness or fullness, no internal organs or mundane existence, no night, no day, no Brahma, Vishnu, or Shiva, no week, fortnight, month, or year, no unsteadiness, no Brahmaloka, Vaikuntha, Kailasa and others, no Swarga, Indra, Agniloka, Agni, Yamaloka, Yama, Vayuloka, guardians of the world, three worlds – Bhuh, Bhuvah, Svah, Patala or surface of earth, no science, nescience, Maya, Prakriti, inertness, permanency, transience, destruction, movement, running, object of meditation, bathing, Mantra or object, no adorable object, anointment or sipping with water, no flower, fruit, sandal, light waved before god, praise, prostrations or circumambulation, no entreaty conception of separateness even, oblation of food, offered food, sacrifice, actions, abuse, praise, Gayatri and Sandhi (period of junction, such as twilight, etc.,), no mental state, calamity, evil desire, bad soul, Chandala (low caste person), Pulkasa, unbearableness, unspeakableness, Kirata (hunter), Kaitava (demon), partiality, partisanship, ornament, chief, or pride, no manyness, no oneness, durability, triad, tetrad, greatness, smallness, fullness, or delusion, no Kaitava, Benares, Tapas, clan, family, Sutra, greatness, poverty, girl, old woman or widow, no pollution, birth, introvision or illusion, no sacred sentences, identity, or the Siddhis, Anima, etc.
30. Everything being consciousness alone, there is no fault in anything. Everything being of the nature of Sat alone, is Sachchidananda only.
31. Brahman alone is everything and there is nothing else. So ‘That’ is ‘I’, ‘That’ is ‘I’, ‘That’ alone is ‘I’. ‘That’ alone is ‘I’. ‘That‘ alone is ‘I’. The eternal Brahman alone is ‘I’.
32-33. I am Brahman alone without being subject to mundane existence. I am Brahman alone without any Manas, any Buddhi, organs or body. I am Brahman alone not perceivable. I am Brahman alone and not Jiva. I am Brahman alone and not liable to change.
34. I am Brahman alone and not inert. I am Brahman alone and have no death. I am Brahman alone and have no Pranas. I am Brahman alone and greater than the great.
35. This is Brahman. Great is Brahman. Truth is Brahman. It is all-pervading. Time is Brahman. Kala is Brahman. Happiness is Brahman. It is self-shining.
36. One is Brahman. Two is Brahman. Delusion is Brahman. Sama and others are Brahman. Badness is Brahman. Goodness is Brahman. It is of the form of restraint, quiescence, the all-pervading and the all-powerful.
37. The Loka (world) is Brahman. Guru is Brahman. Disciple is Brahman. It is Sadashiva. (That which) is before is Brahman. (That which will be) hereafter is Brahman. Purity is Brahman. Auspiciousness and inauspiciousness are Brahman.
38. Jiva always is Brahman. I am Sachchidananda. All are of the nature of Brahman. The universe is said to be of the nature of Brahman.
39. Brahman is Itself (Svayam). There is no doubt of it. There is nothing out of itself. The letter Om of the form of consciousness is Brahman alone. Everything is itself.
40-45. I alone am the whole universe and the highest seat, have crossed the Gunas and am greater than the great, the supreme Brahman, Guru of Gurus, the support of all and the bliss of bliss. There is no universe besides Atman. The universe is of the nature of Atman.
46-52(a). There is nowhere (or no place) without Atman. There is not even grass different from Atman. There is not husk different from Brahman. The whole universe is of the nature of Atman. All this is of the nature of Brahman. Asat is not of the nature of Brahman. There is not a grass different from Brahman. There is not a seat different from Brahman; there is not a Guru different from Brahman; there is nor a body different from Brahman. There is nothing different from Brahman like I-ness or you-ness. 52(b)-57. Whatever is seen in this world, whatever is spoken of by the people, whatever is enjoyed everywhere – all these are Asat (unreal) only. The differences arising from the actor, action, qualities, likes, taste and gender – all these arise from Asat and are (but) pleasurable. The differences arising from time, objects, actions, success or defeat and whatever else – all these are simply Asat. The internal organ is Asat. The organs are Asat. All the Pranas, the collections of all these, the five sheaths, the five deities, the six changes, the six enemies, the six seasons and the six tastes are Asat.
58. I am Sachchidananda. The universe is rootless. I am Atman alone, Chit and Ananda. The scenes of mundane existence are not different.
59. I am the Truth of the nature of Ananda and the nature of the imponderable Chit.
60. All this is of the nature of Jnana. I am the secondless, having Jnana and bliss. I am of the nature of an illuminator of all things. I am of the nature of all non-being.
61-63. I alone shine always. Therefore how can I with such a nature become Asat ? That which is called ‘thou’ is the great Brahman of the nature of the bliss of consciousness and of the nature of Chit having Chidakasha and Chit alone as the great bliss. Atman alone is ‘I’. Asat is not ‘I’. I am Kutastha, the great guru and Sachchidananda alone. I am this born universe. No time, no universe, no Maya, no Prakriti (in me).
64. I alone am the Hari. Personally, I alone am the Sadashiva. I am of the nature of pure consciousness. I am the enjoyer of pure Sattva.
65-71. I am the only essence full of Chit. Everything is Brahman and Brahman alone. Everything is Brahman and is Chit alone. I am of the nature of the all-latent and the all-witness. I am the supreme Atman, the supreme Jyotis, the supreme wealth, the supreme goal, the essence of all Vedantas, the subject discussed in all the Shastras the nature of Yogic bliss, the ocean of the chief bliss, the brightness of all wisdom, of the nature of chief wisdom, the brightness of the fourth state and the non-fourth but devoid of them, the indestructible Chit, truth, Vasudeva, the birthless and the deathless Brahma, Chidakasha, the unconditioned, the stainless, the immaculate, the emancipated, the utterly emancipated, the soulless, the formless and of the nature of the non-created universe. The universe which is assumed as truth and non-truth does not really exist.
72. Brahman is of the nature of eternal bliss and is even by itself. It is endless, decayless, quiescent and of one nature only.
73-75. If anything is other than myself, then it is as unreal as the mirage in an oasis. If one should be afraid of the son of a barren woman, or if a powerful elephant be killed by means of the horns of a hare, then the world (really is). If one (person) can quench his thirst by drinking the waters of the mirage, or if one should be killed by the horns of a man, then the universe really is. The universe exists always in the true Gandharva city (merely unreal).
76-98. When the blueness of the sky really exists in it, then the universe really is. When the silver in mother-of pearl can be used in making an ornament, when a man is bitten by (the conception of) a snake in a rope, when the flaming fire is quenched by means of a golden arrow, when milky food is obtained in the (barren) forest of Vindhya (mountains), when cooking can take place by means of the fuel of (wet) plantain trees, when a female (baby) just born begins to cook, when curds resume the state of milk, or when the milk (milked) goes back through the teats of a cow, then will the universe really be. When the dust of the earth shall be produced in the ocean, when the maddened elephant is tied by means of the hair of a tortoise, when (mountain) Meru is shaken by the thread in the stalk of a lotus, when the ocean is bound by its rows of tides, when the fire flames downwards, when flame shall become (really) cold, when the lotus shall grow out of flaming fire, when Indranila (sapphire) arises in the great mountains, when Meru comes and sits in the lotus-eye, when a mountain can become the offspring of a black bee, when Meru shall shake, when a lion is killed by goat, when the three worlds can be found in the space of the hollow of an atom, when the fire which burns a straw shall last for a long time, when the objects seen in a dream shall come in the waking state, when the current of a river shall stand still (of itself), when the delivery of a barren woman shall be fruitful, when the crow shall walk like a swan, when the mule shall fight with a lion, when a great ass shall walk like an elephant, when the full moon shall become a sun, when Rahu (one of the nodes) shall abandon the sun and the moon, when a good crop shall arise out of the waste (burnt) seeds, when the poor shall enjoy the happiness of the rich, when the lions shall be conquered by the bravery of dogs, when the heart of Jnanis is known by fools, when the ocean is drunk by the dogs without any remainder, when the pure Akasa shall fall upon men, when heaven shall fall on the earth, when the flower in the sky shall emit fragrance, when a forest appearing in pure Akasa shall move and when reflection shall arise in a glass simply (without mercury or anything else in its back), then the world really is.
99. There is no universe in the womb of Aja (the unborn Brahman) – there is no universe in the womb of Atman. Duality and non-duality, which are but the results of differentiation, are really not.
100. All this is the result of Maya. Therefore, there should be Brahma-Bhavana. If misery should arise from the conception of ‘I am the body’, then it is certain ‘I am Brahman’.
101. The knot of the heart is the wheel of Brahman, which cuts asunder the knot of existence. When doubt arises in one, he should have faith in Brahman.
102. That non-dual Brahman, which is eternal and of the form of unconditioned bliss, is the guard of Atman against the chief of the form of not-Atman.
103. Through instances like the above is established the nature of Brahman. Brahman alone is the all-abode. Abandon the name even of the universe.
104. Knowing for certain ‘I am Brahman’, give up the ‘I’. Everything disappears as the flower from the hands of a sleeping person.
105. There is neither body nor Karma. Everything is Brahman alone. There are neither objects, nor actions, nor the four states.
106. Everything which has the three characteristics of Vijnana is Brahman alone. Abandoning all action, contemplate:
107. ‘I am Brahman’, ‘I am Brahman’. There is no doubt of this. I am Brahman of the nature of Chit. I am of the nature of Sachchidananda.
108. This great science of Shankara should never be explained to any ordinary person, to an atheist or to a faithless, ill-behaved or evil-minded person.
109. It should be, after due examination, given to the high-souled ones whose minds are purified with devotion to their gurus. It should be taught for a year and a half.
110. Leaving off thoroughly and entirely the practice recommended by the (other) Upanishads, one should study the Tejobindu Upanishad always with delight.
111. By once studying it, he becomes one with Brahman. Thus ends the sixth chapter.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Tejobindu Upanishad, as contained in the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Nada Bindu Upanishad
Translated by K. Narayanasvami Aiyar
Om ! May my speech be based on (i.e. accord with) the mind;
May my mind be based on speech.
O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me.
May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me.
May not all that I have heard depart from me.
I shall join together (i.e. obliterate the difference of) day
And night through this study.
I shall utter what is verbally true; I shall utter what is mentally true.
May that (Brahman) protect me;
May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me;
May that protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1. The syllable ‘A’ is considered to be its (the bird Om’s) right wing, ‘Upanishad’, its left; ‘M’, its tail; and the Ardha-Matra (half-metre) is said to be its head.
2. The (Rajasic and Tamasic) qualities, its feet upwards (to the loins); Sattva, its (main) body; Dharma is considered to be its right eye, and Adharma, its left.
3. The Bhur-Loka is situated in its feet; the Bhuvar-Loka, in its knees; the Suvar-Loka, in its loins; and the Mahar-Loka, in its navel.
4. In its heart is situate the Janoloka; Tapoloka in its throat and the Satya-Loka in the centre of the forehead between the eyebrows.
5(a). Then the Matra (or Mantra) beyond the Sahasrara (thousand-rayed) is explained (viz.,) should be explained.
5(b)-6(a). An adept in Yoga who bestrides the Hamsa (bird) thus (viz., contemplates on Om) is not affected by Karmic influences or by tens of Crores of sins.
6(b)-7. The first Matra has Agni as its Devata (presiding deity); the second, Vayu as its Devata; the next Matra is resplendent like the sphere of the sun and the last, Ardha-Matra the wise know as belonging to Varuna (the presiding deity of water).
8. Each of these Matras has indeed three Kalas (parts). This is called Omkara. Know it by means of the Dharanas, viz., concentration on each of the twelve Kalas (or the variations of the Matras produced by the difference of Svaras or intonation).
9-11. The first Matra is called Ghoshini; the second, Vidyunmali (or Vidyunmatra); the third, Patangini; the fourth, Vayuvegini; the fifth, Namadheya; the sixth, Aindri; the seventh, Vaishnavi; the eighth, Sankari; the ninth, Mahati; the tenth, Dhriti (Dhruva); the eleventh, Nari (Mauni); and the twelfth, Brahmi.
12. If a person happens to die in the first Matra (while contemplating on it), he is born again as a great emperor in Bharatavarsha.
13. If in the second Matra, he becomes an illustrious Yaksha; if in the third Matra, a Vidyadhara; if in the fourth, a Gandharva (these three being the celestial hosts).
14. If he happens to die in the fifth, viz., Ardha-Matra, he lives in the world of the moon, with the rank of a Deva greatly glorified there.
15. If in the sixth, he merges, into Indra; if in the seventh, he reaches the seat of Vishnu; if in the eighth, Rudra, the Lord of all creatures.
16. If in the ninth, in Mahar-Loka; if in the tenth, in Janoloka (Dhruva-Loka -- ?); if in the eleventh, Tapoloka, and if in the twelfth, he attains the eternal state of Brahma.
17. That which is beyond these, (viz.,) Para-Brahman which is beyond (the above Matras), the pure, the all-pervading, beyond Kalas, the ever resplendent and the source of all Jyotis (light) should be known.
18. When the mind goes beyond the organs and the Gunas and is absorbed, having no separate existence and no mental action, then (the Guru) should instruct him (as to his further course of development).
19. That person always engaged in its contemplation and always absorbed in it should gradually leave off his body (or family) following the course of Yoga and avoiding all intercourse with society.
20. Then he, being freed from the bonds of karma and the existence as a Jiva and being pure, enjoys the supreme bliss by his attaining of the state of Brahma.
21. O intelligent man, spend your life always in the knowing of the supreme bliss, enjoying the whole of your Prarabdha (that portion of past Karma now being enjoyed) without making any complaint (of it).
22-23(a). Even after Atma-Jnana (knowledge of Atman or Self) has awakened (in one), Prarabdha does not leave (him); but he does not feel Prarabdha after the dawning of Tattva-Jnana (knowledge of Tattva or truth) because the body and other things are Asat (unreal), like the things seen in a dream to one on awaking from it.
23(b)-24. That (portion of the) Karma which is done in former births and called Prarabdha does not at all affect the person (Tattva-Jnani), as there is no rebirth to him. As the body that exists in the dreaming state is untrue, so is this body.
25(a). Where then is rebirth to a thing that is illusory ? How can a thing have any existence, when there is no birth (to it) ?
25(b)-26(a). As the clay is the material cause of the pot so one learns from Vedanta that Ajnana is the material cause of the universe and when Ajnana ceases to exist, where then is the cosmos ?
26(b)-27. As a person through illusion mistakes a rope for a serpent, so the fool not knowing Satya (the eternal truth) sees the world (to be true). When he knows it to be a piece of rope, the illusory idea of a serpent vanishes.
28-29(a). So when he knows the eternal substratum of everything and all the universe becomes (therefore) void (to him), where then is Prarabdha to him, the body being a part of the world ? Therefore the word Prarabdha is accepted to enlighten the ignorant (only).
29(b)-30. Then as Prarabdha has, in course of time, worn out, he who is the sound resulting from the union of Pranava with Brahman who is the absolute effulgence itself, and who is the bestower of all good, shines himself like the sun at the dispersion of the clouds.
31. The Yogin being in the Siddhasana (posture) and practising the Vaishnavi-Mudra, should always hear the internal sound through the right ear.
32. The sound which he thus practises makes him deaf to all external sounds. Having overcome all obstacles, he enters the Turya state within fifteen days.
33. In the beginning of his practice, he hears many loud sounds. They gradually increase in pitch and are heard more and more subtly.
34. At first, the sounds are like those proceeding from the ocean, clouds, kettle-drum and cataracts; in the middle (stage) those proceeding from Mardala (a musical instrument), bell and horn.
35. At the last stage, those proceeding from tinkling bells, flute, Vina (a musical instrument) and bees. Thus he hears many such sounds more and more subtle.
36. When he comes to that stage when the sound of the great kettle-drum is being heard, he should try to distinguish only sounds more and more subtle.
37. He may change his concentration from the gross sound to the subtle, or from the subtle to the gross, but he should not allow his mind to be diverted from them towards others.
38. The mind having at first concentrated itself on any one sound fixes firmly to that and is absorbed in it.
39. It (the mind) becoming insensible to the external impressions, becomes one with the sound as milk with water and then becomes rapidly absorbed in Chidakasa (the Akasa where Chit prevails).
40. Being indifferent towards all objects, the Yogin having controlled his passions, should by continual practice concentrate his attention upon the sound which destroys the mind.
41. Having abandoned all thoughts and being freed from all actions, he should always concentrate his attention on the sound and (then) his Chitta becomes absorbed in it.
42-43(a). Just as the bee drinking the honey (alone) does not care for the odour, so the Chitta which is always absorbed in sound, does not long for sensual objects, as it is bound by the sweet smell of Nada and has abandoned its flitting nature.
43(b)-44(a). The serpent Chitta through listening to the Nada is entirely absorbed in it and becoming unconscious of everything concentrates itself on the sound.
44(b)-45(a). The sound serves the purpose of a sharp goad to control the maddened elephant – Chitta which roves in the pleasure-garden of the sensual objects.
45(b)-46(a). It serves the purpose of a snare for binding the deer – Chitta. It also serves the purpose of a shore to the ocean waves of Chitta.
46(b)-47(a). The sound proceeding from Pranava which is Brahman is of the nature of effulgence; the mind becomes absorbed in it; that is the supreme seat of Vishnu.
47(b)-48(a). The sound exists till there is the Akasic conception (Akasa-Sankalpa). Beyond this, is the (Asabda) soundless Para-Brahman which is Paramatman.
48(b). The mind exists so long as there is sound, but with its (sound’s cessation) there is the state called Unmani of Manas (viz., the state of being above the mind).
49(a). This sound is absorbed in the Akshara (indestructible) and the soundless state is the supreme seat.
49(b)-50(a). The mind which along with Prana (Vayu) has (its) Karmic affinities destroyed by the constant concentration upon Nada is absorbed in the unstained One. There is no doubt of it.
50(b)-51(a). Many myriads of Nadas and many more of Bindus – (all) become absorbed in the Brahma-Pranava sound.
51(b)-52(a). Being freed from all states and all thoughts whatever, the Yogin remains like one dead. He is a Mukta. There is no doubt about this.
52(b). After that, he does not at any time hear the sounds of conch or Dundubhi (large kettle drum).
53. The body in the state of Unmani is certainly like a log and does not feel heat or cold, joy or sorrow.
54. The Yogin’s Chitta having given up fame or disgrace is in Samadhi above the three states.
55. Being freed from the waking and the sleeping states, he attains to his true state.
56. When the (spiritual) sight becomes fixed without any object to be seen, when the Vayu (Prana) becomes still without any effort, and when the Chitta becomes firm without any support, he becomes of the form of the internal sound of Brahma-Pranava.
Such is the Upanishad.
Om ! May my speech be based on (i.e. accord with) the mind;
May my mind be based on speech.
O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me.
May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me.
May not all that I have heard depart from me.
I shall join together (i.e. obliterate the difference of) day
And night through this study.
I shall utter what is verbally true; I shall utter what is mentally true.
May that (Brahman) protect me;
May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me;
May that protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Nadabindu Upanishad, as contained in the Rig-Veda.
Dhyana-Bindu Upanishad
Translated by K. Narayanasvami Aiyar
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1. Even if sin should accumulate to a mountain extending over many Yojanas (distance), it is destroyed by Dhyana-Yoga. At no time has been found a destroyer of sins like this.
2. Bijakshara (seed-letter) is the supreme Bindu. Nada (spiritual sound) is above it. When that Nada ceases along with letter, then the Nada-less is supreme state.
3. The Yogin who considers as the highest that which is above Nada, which is Anahata, has all his doubts destroyed.
4. If the point of a hair be divided into one hundred thousand parts, this (Nada) is one-half of that still further divided; and when (even) this is absorbed, the Yogin attains to the stainless Brahman.
5-6. One who is of a firm mind and without the delusion (of sensual pleasures) and ever resting in Brahman, should see like the string (in a rosary of beads) all creatures (as existing) in Atman like odour in flowers, ghee in milk, oil in gingelly seeds and gold in quartz.
7. Again just as the oil depends for its manifestation upon gingelly seeds and odour upon flowers, so does the Purusha depend for its existence upon the body, both external and internal.
8. The tree is with parts and its shadow is without parts but with and without parts, Atman exists everywhere.
9(a). The one Akshara (letter OM) should be contemplated upon as Brahman by all who aspire for emancipation.
9(b)-10(a). Prithvi, Agni, Rig-Veda, Bhuh and Brahma -- all these (are absorbed) when Akara (A), the first Amsa (part) of Pranava (OM) becomes absorbed.
10(b)-11(a). Antariksha, Yajur-Veda, Vayu, Bhuvah and Vishnu, the Janardana – all these (are absorbed) when Ukara (U), the second Amsa of Pranava becomes absorbed.
11(b)-12(a). Dyur, sun, Sama-Veda, Suvah and Maheshvara – all these (are absorbed) when Makara (M), the third Amsa of Pranava becomes absorbed.
12(b)-13(a). Akara is of (Pita) yellow colour and is said to be of Rajo-Guna; Ukara is of white colour and of Sattva-Guna; Makara is of dark colour and of Tamo-Guna.
13(b)-14(a). He who does not know Omkara as having eight Angas (parts), four Padas (feet), three Sthanas (seats) and five Devatas (presiding deities) is not a Brahmana.
14(b)-15. Pranava is the bow. Atman is the arrow and Brahman is said to be the aim. One should aim at it with great care and then he, like the arrow, becomes one with It. When that Highest is cognised, all Karmas return (from him, viz., do not affect him).
16. The Vedas have Omkara as their cause. The Swaras (sounds) have Omkara as their cause. The three worlds with (all) the locomotive and the fixed (ones in them) have Omkara as their cause.
17. The short (accent of OM) burns all sins, the long one is decayless and the bestower of prosperity. United with Ardha-Matra (half-metre of OM), the Pranava becomes the bestower of salvation.
18. That man is the knower of the Vedas who knows that the end (viz., Ardha-Matra) of Pranava should be worshipped (or recited) as uninterrupted as the flow of oil and (resounding) as long as the sound of a bell.
19. One should contemplate upon Omkara as Ishvara resembling an unshaken light, as of the size of a thumb and as motionless in the middle of the pericarp of the lotus of the heart.
20. Taking in Vayu through the left nostril and filling the stomach with it, one should contemplate upon Omkara as being in the middle of the body and as surrounded by circling flames.
21. Brahma is said to be inspiration, Vishnu is said to be cessation (of breath) and Rudra is said to be expiration. These are the Devatas of Pranayama.
22. Having made Atman as the (lower) Arani (sacrificial wood) and Pranava as the upper Arani, one should see the God in secret through the practice of churning which is Dhyana.
23. One should practise restraint of breath as much as it lies in his power along with (the uttering of) Omkara sound, until it ceases completely.
24. Those who look upon OM as of the form of Hamsa staying in all, shining like Crores of suns, being alone, staying in Gamagama (ever going and coming) and being devoid of motion – at last such persons are freed from sin.
25. That Manas which is the author of the actions (viz.,) creation, preservation and destruction of the three worlds, is (then) absorbed (in the supreme One). That is the highest state of Vishnu.
26. The lotus of the heart has eight petals and thirty-two filaments. The sun is in its midst; the moon is in the middle of the sun.
27. Agni is in the middle of the moon; the Prabha (spiritual light) is in the middle of Agni. Pitha (seat or centre) is in the midst of Prabha, being set in diverse gems.
28-29. One should meditate upon the stainless Lord Vasudeva as being (seated) upon the centre of Pitha, as having Srivatsa (black mark) and Kaustubha (garland of gems) on his chest and as adorned with gems and pearls resembling pure crystal in lustre and as resembling Crores of moons in brightness. He should meditate upon Maha-Vishnu as above or in the following manner.
30-31. (That is) he should meditate with inspiration (of breath) upon Maha-Vishnu as resembling the Atasi flower and as staying in the seat of navel with four hands; then with restraint of breath, he should meditate in the heart upon Brahma, the Grandfather as being on the lotus with the Gaura (pale-red) colour of gems and having four faces;
32-34(a). Then through expiration, he should meditate upon the three-eyed Shiva between the two eyebrows shining like the pure crystal, being stainless, destroying all sins, being in that which is like the lotus facing down with its flower (or face) below and the stalk above or like the flower of a plantain tree, being of the form of all Vedas, containing one hundred petals and one hundred leaves and having the pericarp full-expanded.
34(b)-35. There he should meditate upon the sun, the moon and the Agni, one above another. Passing above through the lotus which has the brightness of the sun, moon and Agni and taking its Hrim Bija (letter), one leads his Atman firmly.
36. He is the knower of Vedas who knows the three seats, the three Matras, the three Brahmas, the three Aksharas (letters) and the three Matras associated with the Ardha-Matra.
37. He who knows that which is above Bindu, Nada and Kala as uninterrupted as the flow of oil and (resounding) as long as the sound of a bell – that man is a knower of the Vedas.
38. Just as a man would draw up (with his mouth) the water through the (pores of the) lotus-stalk, so the Yogin treading the path of Yoga should draw up the breath.
39. Having made the lotus-sheath of the form of Ardha-Matra, one should draw up the breath through the stalk (of the Nadis Susumna, Ida and Pingala) and absorb it in the middle of the eyebrows.
40. He should know that the middle of the eyebrows in the forehead which is also the root of the nose is the seat of nectar. That is the great place of Brahman.
41. Postures, restraint of breath, subjugation of the senses, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi are the six parts of Yoga.
42. There are as many postures as there are living creatures; and Maheshvara (the great Lord) knows their distinguishing features.
43. Siddha, Bhadra, Simha and Padma are the four (chief) postures. Muladhara is the first Chakra. Svadhisthana is the second.
44. Between these two is said to be the seat of Yoni (perineum), having the form of Kama (God of love). In the Adhara of the anus, there is the lotus of four petals.
45-46. In its midst is said to be the Yoni called Kama and worshipped by the Siddhas. In the midst of the Yoni is the Linga facing the west and split at its head like the gem. He who knows this, is a knower of the Vedas.
47. A four-sided figure is situated above Agni and below the genital organ, of the form of molten gold and shining like streaks of lightning. Prana is with its Sva (own) sound, having Svadhisthana as its Adhisthana (seat), (or since Sva or Prana arises from it).
48. The Chakra Svadhisthana is spoken of as the genital organ itself. The Chakra in the sphere of the navel is called Manipuraka, since the body is pierced through by Vayu like Manis (gems) by string. 49-50(a). The Jiva (ego) urged to actions by its past virtuous and sinful Karmas whirls about in this great Chakra of twelve spokes, so long as it does not grasp the truth.
50(b). Above the genital organ and below the navel is Kanda of the shape of a bird’s egg.
51. There arise (from it) Nadis seventy-two thousand in number. Of these seventy-two are generally known.
52-53. Of these, the chief ones are ten and carry the Pranas. Ida, Pingala, Susumna, Gandhari, Hastijihva, Pusha, Yasasvini, Alambusa, Kuhuh and Sankhini are said to be the ten.
54-55(a). This Chakra of the Nadis should ever be known by the Yogins. The three Nadis Ida, Pingala and Susumna are said to carry Prana always and have as their Devatas, moon, sun and Agni.
55(b)-56(a). Ida is on the left side and Pingala on the right side, while the Susumna is in the middle. These three are known to be the paths of Prana.
56(b)-57. Prana, Apana, Samana, Udana and Vyana; Naga, Kurma, Krikara, Devadatta and Dhananjaya; of these, the first five are called Pranas, etc., and last five Naga, etc., are called Vayus (or sub-Pranas).
58. All these are situated (or run along) the one thousand Nadis, (being) in the form of (or producing) life. Jiva which is under the influence of Prana and Apana goes up and down.
59-60(a). Jiva on account of its ever moving by the left and right paths is not visible. Just as a ball struck down (on the earth) with the bat of the hand springs up, so Jiva ever tossed by Prana and Apana is never at rest.
60(b)-61(a). He is knower of Yoga who knows that Prana always draws itself from Apana and Apana draws itself from Prana, like a bird (drawing itself from and yet not freeing itself) from the string (to which it is tied).
61(b)-63. The Jiva comes out with the letter ‘Ha’ and gets in again with the letter ‘Sa’. Thus Jiva always utters the Mantra ‘Hamsa’, ‘Hamsa’. The Jiva always utters the Mantra twenty-one thousand and six hundred times in one day and night. This is called Ajapa Gayatri and is ever the bestower of Nirvana to the Yogins.
64-66(a). Through its very thought, man is freed from sins. Neither in the past nor in the future is there a science equal to this, a Japa equal to this or a meritorious action equal to this. Parameshvari (viz., Kundalini Sakti) sleeps shutting with her mouth that door which leads to the decayless Brahma-hole. 66(b)-68. Being aroused by the contact of Agni with Manas and Prana, she takes the form of a needle and pierces up through Susumna. The Yogin should open with great effort this door which is shut. Then he will pierce the door to salvation by means of Kundalini.
69. Folding firmly the fingers of the hands, assuming firmly the Padma posture, placing the chin firmly on the breast and fixing the mind in Dhyana, one should frequently raise up the Apana, fill up with air and then leave the Prana. Then the wise man gets matchless wisdom through (this) Sakti.
70. That Yogin who assuming Padma posture worships (i.e., controls) Vayu at the door of the Nadis and then performs restraint of breath is released without doubt.
71-72. Rubbing off the limbs the sweat arising from fatigue, abandoning all acid, bitter and saltish (food), taking delight in the drinking of milk and Rasa, practising celibacy, being moderate in eating and ever bent on Yoga, the Yogin becomes a Siddha in little more than a year. No inquiry need be made concerning the result.
73. Kundalini Sakti, when it is up in the throat, makes the Yogi get Siddhi. The union of Prana and Apana has the extinction of urine and faeces.
74-75(a). One becomes young even when old through performing Mula-Bandha always. Pressing the Yoni by means of the heels and contracting the anus and drawing up the Apana – this is called Mula-Bandha.
75(b)-76. Uddiyana Bandha is so called because it is (like) a great bird that flies up always without rest. One should bring the western part of the stomach above the navel.
77. This Uddiyana Bandha is a lion to the elephant of death, since it binds the water (or nectar) of the Akasa which arises in the head and flows down.
78-79(a). The Jalandhara Bandha is the destroyer of all the pains of the throat. When this Jalandhara Bandha which is destroyer of the pains of the throat is performed, then nectar does not fall on Agni nor does the Vayu move.
79(b)-80(a). When the tongue enters backwards into the hole of the skull, then there is the Mudra of vision latent in the eyebrow called Khechari.
80(b)-81(a). He who knows the Mudra Khechari has not disease, death, sleep, hunger, thirst, or swoon. 81(b)-83(a). He who practises this Mudra is not affected by illness or Karma; nor is he bound by the limitations of time. Since Chitta moves in the Kha (Akasa) and since the tongue has entered (in the Mudra) Kha (viz., the hole in the mouth). Therefore the Mudra is called Khechari and worshipped by the Siddhas.
83(b)-84. He whose hole (or passage) above the Uvula is closed (with the tongue backwards) by means of Khechari-Mudra never loses his virility, even when embraced by a lovely woman. Where is the fear of death, so long as the Bindu (virility) stays in the body.
85-86(a). Bindu does not go out of the body, so long as the Khechari-Mudra is practised. (Even) when Bindu comes down to the sphere of the perineum, it goes up, being prevented and forced up by violent effort through Yoni-Mudra.
86(b)-87. This Bindu is twofold, white and red. The white one is called Sukla and the red one is said to contain much Rajas. The Rajas which stays in Yoni is like the colour of a coral.
88. The Bindu stays in the seat of the genital organs. The union of these two is very rare. Bindu is Shiva and Rajas is Sakti. Bindu is the moon and Rajas is the sun.
89-90(a). Through the union of these two is attained the highest body; when Rajas is roused up by agitating the Sakti through Vayu which unites with the sun, thence is produced the divine form.
90(b)-92. Sukla being united with the moon and Rajas with the sun, he is a knower of Yoga who knows the proper mixture of these two. The cleansing of the accumulated refuse, the unification of the sun and the moon and the complete drying of the Rasas (essences), this is called Maha-Mudra.
93. Placing the chin on the breast, pressing the anus by means of the left heel and seizing (the toe of) the extended right leg by the two hands, one should fill his belly (with air) and should slowly exhale. This is called Maha-Mudra, the destroyer of the sins of men.
94. Now I shall give a description of Atman. In the seat of the heart is a lotus of eight petals. In its centre is Jivatma of the form of Jyotis and atomic in size, moving in a circular line. In it is located everything. In knows everything. It does everything. It does all these actions attributing everything to its own power, (thinking) I do, I enjoy, I am happy, I am miserable, I am blind, I am lame, I am deaf, I am mute, I am lean, I am stout, etc. When it rests on the eastern petal which is of Sveta (white) colour, then it has a mind (or is inclined) to Dharma with Bhakti (devotion). When it rests on the south-eastern petal, which is of Rakta (blood colour), then it is inclined to sleep and laziness. When it rests on the southern petal, which is of Krishna (black) colour, then it is inclined to hate and anger. When it rests on the south-western petal which is of Nila (blue) colour, then it gets desire for sinful or harmful actions. When it rests on the western petal which is of crystal colour, then it is inclined to flirt and amuse. When it rests on the north-western petal which is of ruby colour, then it has a mind to walk, rove and have Vairagya (or be indifferent). When it rests on the northern petal which is Pita (yellow) colour, then it is inclined to be happy and to be loving. When it rests on the north-eastern petal which is of Vaidurya (Lapis Lazuli) colour, then it is inclined to amassing money, charity and passion. When it stays in the inter-space between any two petals, then it gets the wrath arising from diseases generated through (the disturbance of the equilibrium of) Vayu, bile and phlegm (in the body). When it stays in the middle, then it knows everything, sings, dances, speaks and is blissful. When the eye is pained (after a day’s work), then in order to remove (its) pain, it makes first a circular line and sinks in the middle. The first line is of the colour of Bandhuka flower (Bassia). Then is the state of sleep. In the middle of the state of sleep is the state of dream. In the middle of the state of dream, it experiences the ideas of perception, Vedas, inference, possibility, (sacred) words, etc. Then there arises much fatigue. In order to remove this fatigue, it circles the second line and sinks in the middle. The second is of the colour of (the insect) Indragopa (of red or white colour). Then comes the state of dreamless sleep.
During the dreamless sleep, it has only the thought connected with Parameshvara (the highest Lord) alone. This state is of the nature of eternal wisdom. Afterwards it attains the nature of the highest Lord (Parameshvara). Then it makes a round of the third circle and sinks in the middle. The third circle is of the colour of Padmaraga (ruby). Then comes the state of Turya (the fourth). In Turya, there is only the connection of Paramatman. It attains the nature of eternal wisdom. Then one should gradually attain the quiescence of Buddhi with self-control. Placing the Manas in Atman, one should think of nothing else. Then causing the union of Prana and Apana, he concentrates his aim upon the whole universe being of the nature of Atman. Then comes the state of Turiyatita (viz., that state beyond the fourth). Then everything appears as bliss. He is beyond the pairs (of happiness and pains, etc.,). He stays here as long as he should wear his body. Then he attains the nature of Paramatman and attains emancipation through this means. This alone is the means of knowing Atman.
When Vayu (breath) which enters the great hole associated with a hall where four roads meet gets into the half of the well-placed triangle, then is Achyuta (the indestructible) seen.
95. Above the aforesaid triangle, one should meditate on the five Bija (seed) letters of (the elements) Prithvi, etc., as also on the five Pranas, the colour of the Bijas and their position. The letter ‘Ya’ is the Bija of Prana and resembles the blue cloud. The letter ‘Ra’ is the Bija of Agni, is of Apana and resembles the sun.
96. The letter ‘La’ is the Bija of Prithvi, is of Vyana and resembles Bandhuka flower. The letter ‘Va’ is the Bija of Jiva (or Vayu), is of Udana and is of the colour of the conch.
97-99(a). The letter ‘Ha’ is the Bija of Akasa, is of Samana and is of the colour of crystal. Prana stays in the heart, navel, nose, ear, foot, finger and other places, travels through the seventy-two thousand Nadis, stays in the twenty-eight Crores of hair-pores and is yet the same everywhere. It is that which is called Jiva.
99(b)-101(a). One should perform the three, expiration, etc., with a firm will and great control; and drawing in everything (with the breath) in slow degrees, he should bind Prana and Apana in the cave of the lotus of the heart and utter Pranava, having contracted his throat and the genital organ.
101(b)-102. From the Muladhara (to the head) is the Susumna resembling the shining thread of the lotus. The Nada is located in the Vinadanda (spinal column); that sound from its middle resembles (that of) the conch, etc.
103-104(a). When it goes to the hole of Akasa, it resembles that of the peacock. In the middle of the cave of the skull between the four doors shines Atman, like the sun in the sky.
104(b)-105. Between the two bows in the Brahma-hole, one should see Purusha with Sakti as his own Atman. Then his Manas is absorbed there. That man attains Kaivalya who understands the gems, moonlight, Nada, Bindu and the seat of Maheshvara (the great Lord).
Thus is the Upanishad.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Dhyanabindu Upanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Brahma Vidya Upanishad
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I proclaim the Brahman-lore, which is omniscience, which is the highest. It shows as origination and end - Brahman, Vishnu, Mahesvara.
Vishnu, working with his miraculous power becomes, at intervals, a human being through compassion. His secret, as the OM fire, lies in the Brahman lore.
The syllable OM is the Brahman. Thus, verily, teach the Brahman–knowers; Body, location, time and dying away of this syllable, I will proclaim.
I– The body or sariram of the sound OM:
There are three gods and three worlds, three Vedas and three fires. Three moras and the half mora. In that trisyllabic, blissful one.
The Rig Veda, Grahapatya. The earth and Brahman as God, that is the body of the “a” sound, as expounded by the Brahman-knowers.
The Yajur Veda and the mid-region, and the fire Dakshina, and the holy god Vishnu, this is the “u” sound proclaimed to us.
The Sama Veda and heaven, the Ahavaniya fire also, and Ishvara, the highest (or supreme) god. Thus is the “m” sound proclaimed to us.
II– The location or sthanam of the sound OM:
In the midst of the brain-conch, like the sun-shine glitters the “a”. Within it is situated, the “u” sound of moon-like splendor.
The “m” sound too, like the fire, smokeless, resembling a lightning flash. Thus shine the three moras, like the Moon, the Sun and the fire.
There upon a pointed flame, like a torch light exists. Know it as the half mora, which one writes above the syllable.
III– The terminus or kala of the sound OM:
Yet one, like a pointed flame subtle, like lotus-fiber, shines the Sun-like cerebral artery – (passing through it) penetrates (the OM).
Through the Sun and seventy two thousand arteries, breaks through the head and remains as bringer of blessings to all – pervading the whole Universe.
IV– The vanishing, fading away or laya of the sound OM:
And just as the sound of a metal utensil – or of a gong dies in silence – so he, who seeks the All lets the OM sound fade away in silence.
For that wherein the sound fades away is the Brahman, the higher. Yea, the whole sound is Brahman and conduces to immortality.
Om Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Brahma-Vidyopanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Yoga Tattva Upanishad
Translated by K. Narayanasvami Aiyar
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1. I shall now describe Yoga-Tattva (Yoga-Truth) for the benefit of Yogins who are freed from all sins through the hearing and the studying of it.
2. The supreme Purusha called Vishnu, who is the great Yogin, the great being and the great Tapasvin, is seen as a lamp in the path of the truth.
3. The Grandfather (Brahma) having saluted the Lord of the universe (Vishnu) and having paid Him due respects, asked Him (thus): “Pray, explain to us the truth of Yoga which includes in it the eight subservients.”
4. To which Hrisikesha (the Lord of the senses or Vishnu) replied thus: “Listen. I shall explain its truth. All souls are immersed in happiness and sorrow through the snare of Maya.
5-6. Kaivalya, the supreme seat, is the path which gives them emancipation, which rends asunder the snare of Maya, which is the destroyer of birth, old age and disease and which enables one to overcome death. There are no other paths to salvation. Those who go round the net of Shastras are deluded by that knowledge.
7. It is impossible even for the Devas to describe that indescribable state. How can that which is self-shining be illuminated by the Shastras ?
8. That only which is without parts and stains and which is quiescent beyond all and free from decay becomes the Jiva (self) on account of the results of past virtues and sins.
9. How did that which is the seat of Paramatman, is eternal and above the state of all existing things and is of the form of wisdom and without stains attain the state of Jiva ?
10. A bubble arose in it as in water and in this (bubble) arose Ahankara. To it arose a ball (of body) made of the five (elements) and bound by Dhatus.
11. Know that to be Jiva which is associated with happiness and misery and hence is the term Jiva applied to Paramatman which is pure.
12-13. That Jiva is considered to be the Kevala (alone) which is freed from the stains of passion, anger, fear, delusion, greed, pride, lust, birth, death, miserliness, swoon, giddiness, hunger, thirst, ambition, shame, fright, heart-burning, grief and gladness.
14. So I shall tell you the means of destroying (these) sins. How could Jnana capable of giving Moksha arise certainly without Yoga ?
15. And even Yoga becomes powerless in (securing) Moksha when it is devoid of Jnana. So the aspirant after emancipation should practise (firmly) both Yoga and Jnana.
16. The cycle of births and deaths comes only through Jnana and perishes only through Jnana. Jnana alone was originally. It should be known as the only means (of salvation).
17-18(a). That is Jnana through which one cognises (in himself) the real nature of Kaivalya as the supreme seat, the stainless, the partless and of the nature of Sachchidananda without birth, existence and death and without motion and Jnana.
18(b)-19. Now I shall proceed to describe Yoga to you: Yoga is divided into many kinds on account of its actions: (viz.,) Mantra-Yoga, Laya-Yoga, Hatha-Yoga and Raja-Yoga.
20. There are four states common to all these: (viz.,) Arambha, Ghata, Parichaya and Nishpatti.
21. O Brahma, I shall describe these to you. Listen attentively. One should practise the Mantra along with its Matrikas (proper intonations of the sounds) and others for a period of twelve years;
22. Then he gradually obtains wisdom along with the Siddhis, (such as) Anima, etc. Persons of weak intellect who are the least qualified for Yoga practise this.
23-24(a). The (second) Laya-Yoga tends towards the absorption of the Chitta and is described in myriads of ways; (one of which is) – one should contemplate upon the Lord who is without parts (even) while walking, sitting, sleeping, or eating. This is called Laya-Yoga.
24(b)-25. Now hear (the description of) Hatha-Yoga. This Yoga is said to possess (the following) eight subservients, Yama (forbearance), Niyama (religious observance), Asana (posture), Pranayama (suppression of breath), Pratyahara (subjugation of the senses), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana, the contemplation on Hari in the middle of the eyebrows and Samadhi that is the state of equality.
26-27. Maha-Mudra, Maha-Bandha and Khechari, Jalandhara, Uddiyana and Mula-Bandha, uttering without intermission Pranava (OM) for a long time and hearing the exposition of the supreme truths, Vajroli, Amaroli and Sahajoli, which form a triad – all these separately I shall give a true description of. 28-29(a). O four-faced one (Brahma), among (the duties of) Yama moderate eating – and not others – forms the principal factor; and non-injury is most important in Niyama.
29(b). (The chief postures are) four (viz.,) Siddha, Padma, Simha and Bhadra.
30-31. During the early stages of practice the following obstacles take place, O four-faced one, (viz.,) laziness, idle talk, association with bad characters, acquisition of Mantras, etc., playing with metals (alchemy) and woman, etc., and mirage. A wise man having found out these should abandon them by the force of his virtues.
32. Then assuming Padma posture, he should practise Pranayama. He should erect a beautiful monastery with a very small opening and with no crevices.
33. It should be well pasted with cow-dung or with white cement. It should be carefully freed from bugs, mosquitoes and lice.
34. It should be swept well every day with a broom. It should be perfumed with good odours; and fragrant resins should burn in it.
35-36(a). Having taken his seat neither too high nor too low on a cloth, deer-skin and Kusa grass spread, one over the other, the wise man should assume the Padma posture and keeping his body erect and his hands folded in respect, should salute his tutelary deity.
36(b)-40. Then closing the right nostril with his right thumb, he should gradually draw in the air through the left nostril. Having restrained it as long as possible, he should again expel it through the right nostril slowly and not very fast. Then filling the stomach through the right nostril, he should retain it as long as he can and then expel it through the left nostril. Drawing the air through that nostril by which he expels, he should continue this in uninterrupted succession. The time taken in making a round of the knee with the palm of the hand, neither very slowly nor vary rapidly and snapping the fingers once is called a Matra.
41-44. Drawing the air through the left nostril for about sixteen Matras and having retained it (within) for about sixty-four Matras, one should expel it again through the right nostril for about thirty-two Matras. Again fill the right nostril as before (and continue the rest). Practise cessation of breath four times daily (viz.,) at sunrise, noon, sunset and midnight, till eighty (times are reached). By a continual practice for about three months, the purification of the Nadis takes place. When the Nadis have become purified, certain external signs appear on the body of the Yogin.
45-46(a). I shall proceed to describe them. (They are) lightness of the body, brilliancy of complexion, increase of the gastric fire, leanness of the body and along with these, absence of restlessness in the body.
46(b)-49. The proficient in Yoga should abandon the food detrimental to the practice of Yoga. He should give up salt, mustard; things sour, hot, pungent, or bitter vegetables; asafoetida, etc., worship of fire, women, walking, bathing at sunrise, emaciation of the body by fasts, etc. During the early stages of practice, food of milk and ghee is ordained; also food consisting of wheat, green pulse and red rice are said to favour the progress. Then he will be able to retain his breath as long as he likes.
50-53. By thus retaining the breath as long as he likes, Kevala Kumbhaka (cessation of breath without inspiration and expiration) is attained. When Kevala Kumbhaka is attained by one and thus expiration and inspiration are dispensed with, there is nothing unattainable in the three worlds to him. In the commencement (of his practice), sweat is given out; he should wipe it off. Even after that, owing to the retaining of the breath, the person practising it gets phlegm. Then by an increased practice of Dharana, sweat arises.
54. As a frog moves by leaps, so the Yogin sitting in the Padma posture moves on the earth. With a (further) increased practice, he is able to rise from the ground.
55. He, while seated in Padma posture, levitates. There arises to him the power to perform extraordinary feats.
56. He does (or should) not disclose to others his feats of great powers (in the path). Any pain small or great, does not affect the Yogin.
57. Then excretions and sleep are diminished; tears, rheum in the eye, salivary flow, sweat and bad smell in the mouth do not arise in him.
58-60. With a still further practice, he acquires great strength by which he attains Bhuchara Siddhi, which enables him to bring under his control all the creatures that tread this earth; tigers, Sarabhas (an animal with eight legs), elephants, with bulls or lions die on being struck by the palm of the Yogin. He becomes as beautiful as the god of love himself.
61-62. All females being taken up with the beauty of his person will desire to have intercourse with him. If he so keeps connection, his virility will be lost; so abandoning all copulation with women, he should continue his practice with great assiduity. By the preservation of the semen, a good odour pervades the body of the Yogin.
63. Then sitting in a secluded place, he should repeat Pranava (OM) with three Pluta-Matras (or prolonged intonation) for the destruction of his former sins.
64. The Mantra, Pranava (OM) destroys all obstacles and all sins. By practising thus he attains the Arambha (beginning or first) state.
65-66. Then follows the Ghata (second State) – one which is acquired by constantly practising suppression of breath. When a perfect union takes place between Prana and Apana, Manas and Buddhi, or Jivatma and Paramatman without opposition, it is called the Ghata state. I shall describe its signs.
67. He may now practise only for about one-fourth of the period prescribed for practice before. By day and evening, let him practise only for a Yama (3 hours).
68-69(a). Let him practise Kevala Kumbhaka once a day. Drawing away completely the organs from the objects of sense during cessation of breath is called Pratyahara.
69(b). Whatever he sees with his eyes, let him consider as Atman.
70. Whatever he hears with his ears, let him consider as Atman. Whatever he smells with his nose, let him consider as Atman.
71. Whatever he tastes with his tongue, let him consider as Atman. Whatever the Yogin touches with his skin, let him consider as Atman.
72. The Yogin should thus unwearied gratify his organs of sense for a period of one Yama every day with great effort.
73-74. Then various wonderful powers are attained by the Yogin, such as clairvoyance, clair-audience, ability to transport himself to great distances within a moment, great power of speech, ability to take any form, ability to become invisible and the transmutation of iron into gold when the former is smeared over with his excretion.
75-76. That Yogin who is constantly practising Yoga attains the power to levitate. Then should the wise Yogin think that these powers are great obstacles to the attainment of Yoga and so he should never take delight in them. The king of Yogins should not exercise his powers before any person whatsoever.
77. He should live in the world as a fool, an idiot, or a deaf man, in order to keep his powers concealed. 78-79. His disciples would, without doubt, request him to show his powers for the gratification of their own desires. One who is actively engaged in one’s duties forgets to practise (Yoga); so he should practise day and night Yoga without forgetting the words of the Guru. Thus passes the Ghata state to one who is constantly engaged in Yoga practice.
80. To one nothing is gained by useless company, since thereby he does not practise Yoga. So one should with great effort practise Yoga.
81-83(a). Then by this constant practice is gained the Parichaya state (the third state). Vayu (or breath) through arduous practice pierces along with Agni the Kundalini through thought and enters the Susumna uninterrupted. When one’s Chitta enters Susumna along with Prana, it reaches the high seat (of the head probably) along with Prana.
83(b). There are the five elements: Prithvi, Apas, Agni, Vayu and Akasa.
84-87(a). To the body of the five elements, there is the fivefold Dharana. From the feet to the knees is said to be the region of Prithvi, is four-sided in shape, is yellow in colour and has the Varna (or letter) ‘La’. Carrying the breath with the letter ‘La’ along the region of earth (viz., from the foot to the knees) and contemplating upon Brahma with four faces and four mouths and of a golden colour, one should perform Dharana there for a period of two hours. He then attains mastery over the earth. Death does not trouble him, since he has obtained mastery over the earth element.
87(b)-90. The region of Apas is said to extend from the knees to the anus. Apas is semi-lunar in shape and white in colour and has ‘Va’ for its Bija (seed) letter. Carrying up the breath with the letter ‘Va’ along the regions of Apas, he should contemplate on the God Narayana having four arms and a crowned head, as being of the colour of pure crystal, as dressed in orange clothes and as decayless; and practising Dharana there for a period of two hours, he is freed from all sins. Then there is no fear for him from water and he does not meet his death in water.
91. From the anus to the heart is said to be the region of Agni. Agni is triangular in shape, of red colour and has the letter ‘Ra’ for its (Bija) seed.
92-93(a). Raising the breath made resplendent through the letter ‘Ra’ along the region of fire, he should contemplate on Rudra, who has three eyes, who grants all wishes, who is of the colour of the midday sun, who is daubed all over with holy ashes and who is of a pleased countenance.
93(b)-94(a). Practising Dharana there for a period of two hours, he is not burnt by fire even though his body enters the fire-pit.
94(b)-96. From the heart to the middle of the eyebrows is said to the region of Vayu. Vayu is hexangular in shape, black in colour and shines with the letter 'Ya’. Carrying the breath along the region of Vayu, he should contemplate on Ishvara, the Omniscient, as possessing faces on all sides; and practising Dharana there for two hours, he enters Vayu and then Akasa.
97-98(a). The Yogin does not meet his death through the fear of Vayu. From the centre of the eyebrows to the top of the head is said to be the region of Akasa, is circular in the shape, smoky in colour and shining with letter ‘Ha’.
98(b)-101(a). Raising the breath along the region of Akasa, he should contemplate on Sadashiva in the following manner, as producing happiness, as of the shape of Bindu, as the great Deva, as having the shape of Akasa, as shining like pure crystal, as wearing the rising crescent of moon on his head, as having five faces, ten hands and three eyes, as being of a pleased countenance, as armed with all weapons, as adorned with all ornaments, as having Uma (the goddess) in one-half of his body, as ready to grant favours and as the cause of all the causes.
101(b). By practising Dharana in the region of Akasa, he obtains certainly the power of levitating in the Akasa (ether).
102. Wherever he stays, he enjoys supreme bliss. The proficient in Yoga should practise these five Dharanas.
103. Then his body becomes strong and he does not know death. That great-minded man does not die even during the deluge of Brahma.
104-105. Then he should practise Dharana for a period of six Ghatikas (2 hours, 24 minutes). Restraining the breath in (the region of) Akasa and contemplating on the deity who grants his wishes – this is said to be Saguna Dhyana capable of giving (the Siddhis) Anima, etc. One who is engaged in Nirguna Dhyana attains the stage of Samadhi.
106. Within twelve days at least, he attains the stage of Samadhi. Restraining his breath, the wise one becomes an emancipated person.
107. Samadhi is that state in which the Jivatman (lower self) and the Paramatman (higher Self) are differenceless (or of equal state). If he desires to lay aside his body, he can do so.
108-109(a). He will become absorbed in Parabrahman and does not require Utkranti (going out or up). But if he does not so desire and if his body is dear to him, he lives in all the worlds possessing the Siddhis of Anima, etc.
109(b)-110. Sometimes he becomes a Deva and lives honoured in Svarga; or he becomes a man or an Yaksha through his will. He can also take the form of a lion, tiger, elephant, or horse through his own will.
111. The Yogin becoming the great Lord can live as long as he likes. There is difference only in the modes of procedure but the result is the same.
112-115(a). Place the left heel pressed on the Anus, stretch the right leg and hold it firmly with both hands. Place the head on the breast and inhale the air slowly. Restrain the breath as long as you can and then slowly breathe out. After practising it with the left foot, practise it with the right. Place the foot that was stretched before on the thigh. This is Maha-Bandha and should be practised on both sides.
115(b)-117(a). The Yogin sitting in Maha-Bandha and having inhaled the air with intent mind, should stop the course of Vayu (inside) by means of the throat Mudra and occupying the two sides (of the throat) with speed. This is called Mahavedha and is frequently practised by the Siddhas.
117(b)-118(a). With the tongue thrust into the interior cavity of the head (or throat) and with the eyes intent on the spot between the eyebrows, this is called Khechari-Mudra.
118(b)-119(a). Contracting the muscles of the neck and placing the head with a firm will on the breast, this is called the Jalandhara (Bandha); and is a lion to the elephant of death.
119(b)-120(a). That Bandha by which Prana flies through Susumna is called Uddiyana Bandha by the Yogins.
120(b)-121(a). Pressing the heal firmly against the anus, contracting the anus and drawing up the Apana, this is said to be Yoni-Bandha.
121(b)-122(a). Through Mula-Bandha, Prana and Apana as well as nada and Bindu are united and gives success in Yoga; there is no doubt about this.
122(b)-124(a). The one practising in a reversed manner (or on both sides) which destroys all diseases, the gastric fire is increased. Therefore a practitioner should collect a large quantity of provisions, (for) if he takes a small quantity of food, the fire (within) will consume his body in a moment.
124(b)-125. On the first day, he should stand on his head with the feet raised up for a moment. He should increase this period gradually every day. Wrinkles and greyness of hair will disappear within three months.
126. He who practises only for a period of a Yama (twenty-four minutes) every day conquers time. He who practises Vajroli becomes a Yogin and the repository of all Siddhis.
127-128. If the Yoga Siddhis are ever to be attained, he only has them within his reach. He knows the past and the future and certainly moves in the air. He who drinks of the nectar thus is rendered immortal day by day. He should daily practise Vajroli. Then it is called Amaroli.
129-131(a). Then he obtains the Raja-Yoga and certainly he does not meet with obstacles. When a Yogin fulfils his action by Raja-Yoga, then he certainly obtains discrimination and indifference to objects. Vishnu, the great Yogin, the grand one of great austerities and the most excellent Purusha is seen as a lamp in the path of truth.
131(b)-134(a). That breast from which one suckled before (in his previous birth) he now presses (in love) and obtains pleasure. He enjoys the same genital organ from which he was born before. She who was once his mother will now be wife and she who is now wife is (or will be) verily mother. He who is now father will be again son and he who is now son will be again father. Thus are the egos of this world wandering in the womb of birth and death like a bucket in the wheel of a well and enjoying the worlds.
134(b)-136(a). There are the three worlds, three Vedas, three Sandhyas (morning, noon and evening), three Svaras (sounds), three Agnis and Gunas, and all these are placed in the three letters (OM). He who understands that which is indestructible and is the meaning of the three (OM) – by him are all these worlds strung. This is the Truth, the supreme seat.
136(b)-138(a). As the smell in the flower, as the ghee in the milk, as the oil in the gingelly seed and as the gold in the quartz, so is the lotus situated in the heart. Its face is downwards and its stem upwards. Its Bindu is downwards and in its centre is situated Manas.
138(b)-139(a). By the letter ‘A’, the lotus becomes expanded; by the letter ‘U’, it becomes split (or opened). By the letter ‘M’, it obtains Nada; and the Ardha-Matra (half-metre) is silence.
139(b)-140(a). The person engaged in Yoga obtains the supreme seat, which is like a pure crystal, which is without parts and which destroys all sins.
140(b)-141. As a tortoise draws its hands and head within itself, so drawing in air thus and expelling it through the nine holes of the body, he breathes upwards and forwards.
142. Like a lamp in an air-tight jar which is motionless, so that which is seen motionless through the process of Yoga in the heart and which is free from turmoil, after having been drawn from the nine holes, is said to be Atman alone.”
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Yogatattva Upanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Atma-Bodha Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! May my speech be based on (i.e. accord with) the mind;
May my mind be based on speech.
O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me.
May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me.
May not all that I have heard depart from me.
I shall join together (i.e. obliterate the difference of) day
And night through this study.
I shall utter what is verbally true; I shall utter what is mentally true.
May that (Brahman) protect me;
May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me;
May that protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I-1. The innermost Brahman is A, U, M – saying this a Yogi becomes free from the cycle of birth. Om, I bow to Narayana, having Sankha, Chakra and Gada. The upasaka will go to Vaikuntha.
I-2-4. The Brahmapura is a lotus, shining like lightning and lamp. The son of Devaki is Brahmanya (a Brahmana with 44 sacraments); so are Madhusudana, Pundarikaksha, Vishnu and Achyuta. Narayana is the one, existing in all creatures, the causal person without a cause.
I-5. One does not suffer meditating upon Vishnu without misery and illusion – there is no fear; one who sees many here goes from death to death.
I-6-8. In the middle of the heart-lotus It (Brahman) exists with knowledge as the eye; the world, knowledge are established in Brahman. He, the seeker, departs from this world with this knowledge, getting all desires in the other world becomes immortal. Where there is always light and value, there the person attains immortality – Om Namah.
II-1-10. The Maya has gone away from me, I am the pure vision; my ego has gone down, so has the difference between world, god and soul. I am the inner-self, without positive and negative rules; I am the expansive Bliss; I am the witness, independent, exerting in my greatness; without old age and decay, opposing sides, pure knowledge, the ocean of liberation; I am subtle without any attributes.
I am without three qualities, all worlds exists in my belly; the changeless consciousness, beyond reason and action, I have no parts, unborn, pure reality.
I am endless knowledge, auspicious, indivisible, faultless, reality unbounded. I am to be known by Agamas, attractive to all the worlds. I am pure joy; purity, sole, ever shining, beginningless; I have ascertained the highest Truth.
I know myself without a second, with discrimination. Even then Bondage and Liberation are experienced. The world has gone away that appears to be real like serpent and rope; only Brahman exists as the basis of the world; therefore the world does not exist; like sugar pervaded by the taste of the sugarcane, I am pervaded by Bliss. All the three worlds, from Brahma to the smallest worm are imagined in me.
In the ocean there are many things, from the bubble to the wave; but the ocean does not desire these – So also, I have no desire for things of the world; I am like a rich-man not desiring poverty. A wise person abandons poison favouring Amrita. The sun which makes the pot shine is not destroyed along with the pot; so also the spirit is not destroyed with the body.
I have no bondage nor liberation, no Shastra, no Guru. I have gone beyond Maya – let life go away or let the mind be attacked – I have no misery as I am filled with joy, I know myself; Ignorance has run away somewhere – I have no doership nor duty, kula and gotra. These belong to the gross body, not to me different from it. Hunger, thirst, blindness, etc., belong to the Linga-deha only. Dullness, desire etc., belong only to the Karana-deha.
Just as to an owl the sun is dark, so also for an ignorant person there is darkness in Brahman . When vision is blocked by clouds he thinks there is no sun. Just as Amrita, different from poison is not affected by its defects, I do not touch the defects of Inertia. Even a small lamp can remove big darkness; so even a little knowledge destroys big ignorance.
Just as there is no serpent in the rope at any time, there is no world in me.
Even practising this for a muhurta (a short time) one does not return (to this world).
Om! May my speech be based on (i.e. accord with) the mind;
May my mind be based on speech.
O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me.
May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me.
May not all that I have heard depart from me.
I shall join together (i.e. obliterate the difference of) day
And night through this study.
I shall utter what is verbally true; I shall utter what is mentally true.
May that (Brahman) protect me;
May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me;
May that protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Atmabodhopanishad, as contained in the Rig-Veda.
Narada Parivrajaka Upanishad
Translated by Prof. A. A. Ramanathan
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I-1. Now once Narada, a jewel among ascetics, taking his (usual) rounds over all the (three) worlds, sanctifying (all the more) new sacred places and holy places of pilgrimage by his observation, (himself) attaining purity of mind, (remaining) free from enmity, tranquil, self-controlled, getting despondent from every quarter (seeing people’s misery), closely investigating into his own Self, seeing the holy place, the Naimisha (sacred) forest, noted for its joy of self-imposed religious observances and crowded with saintly personages, he alighted there (from his aerial journey), fascinating groups of men, animals, horse-faced demigods, gods, Kimnara demigods and nymphs with his songs on the exploits of Lord Vishnu, called Sthavara and Jangama, which specially induce devotion to the Lord, set in musical notes sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, dha and ni, which arouse dispassion (to worldly attachments) and which are averse to the ways of the world. On his approach, Saunaka and other great sages who had arrived there to participate in a sacrifice lasting twelve years, rich in Vedic lore, all wise (in sacerdotal functions), well addicted to stable penance and endowed with wisdom and dispassion, rose to greet him; and paying homage, seated him (in a place of honour), after offering him a befitting welcome.
Then, though they were (already) well instructed (in matters spiritual, yet for the benefit of the world) they (said to Narada): ‘Revered Sir, son of the god Brahma, what is the means of liberation (from worldly bondage) ? Please tell us.’
I-2. Thus requested, that (sage) Narada said to them: ‘A (twice-born) of good family, invested with the sacred thread and initiated into Vedic study, having undergone the forty sacred rites (beginning with consummation of marriage of his parents and ending with Aptoryama sacrifice), completing the course on all branches of learning as a disciplined celibate student for twelve years, doing personal service to the preceptor all along; the period of twenty-five years as a householder; (another) twenty-five years in the stage of a forest dweller (Vanaprastha), all (the three stages) in due order in the prescribed manner; having studied well the duties of four kinds of Brahmacharya, six kinds of householders, four kinds of Vanaprastha; having completed all the appropriate duties pertaining to them; equipped with the four disciplines (for the study of Brahmavidya); free from desire in thought, word and deed as well as in latent desires (vasanas) and solicitations (eshana), devoid of enmity and is peaceful and self-controlled; when such an ascetic, meditating on his Self without interruption in the highest stage of renunciation (as Paramahamsa), gives up the body, he becomes liberated (from rebirth), he becomes liberated. Thus (ends the first Upadesha of) the Upanishad.
II-1. Then all (sages) Saunaka and others, requested the venerable Narada: ‘Revered Sir, expound to us the mode of renunciation’. Observing them Narada said: ‘It is but proper to know all about its nature from the mouth of the grandfather (the god Brahma)’. After the completion of the sacrifice he went, accompanied by them, to the world of the god Brahma (Satyaloka) and made obeisance in the prescribed manner to him (Paramesthin) and eulogised him. Bidden by him he seated himself along with them properly and said to the grandfather (of all): ‘You are the preceptor, you are the Father, you are omniscient, knowing the secret of all lores. Hence be pleased to expound one secret (lore) of my choice. Barring you, who is competent to speak on the secret (lore) dear to me ? It is to wit the stages in the order of mendicant monks. Please tell us’. Requested thus by Narada the god Brahma seeing them all on all sides, remained steady in deep meditation (Samadhi) for a short time. Coming to the conclusion that they were in search of a remedy against the ills of worldly life and turning to Narada the grandfather said: ‘My son, I shall now clearly expound the secret which was formerly taught by the supreme Being (Viratpurusha) assuming the matchless form of the Purusha-sukta hymn and the secret doctrine of the Upanishads. May you listen to this due order (of asceticism), very secret, with all your attention’.
II.2. ‘O Narada, one born in a good family, being uninitiated at first, getting initiated into Vedic lore (after being invested with sacred thread), obedient to his mother and father, approaches (after the preliminary instructions by his father) a good preceptor, who maintains the noble tradition, has faith (in the Vedic lore), is born of a good family, is well versed in the Vedas, has love for the Shastras, is virtuous and free from devious ways. Bowing to him and rendering personal service appropriate for the occasion, he shall inform him of his heart’s desire (to study under him). Having undergone the course of study in all branches of learning for twelve years, doing personal service all the while, he shall marry an agreeable damsel worthy of his family with his (preceptor’s) consent. After this residence in the preceptor’s house he leads, with the approval of the teacher, the life appropriate to a householder for twenty-five years. Free from the evils of a bad Brahmana, getting a son with desire to perpetuate his family and completing twenty-five years befitting the stage of a householder, he shall lead the life of a lone forest-dweller (Vanaprastha) till (another) twenty five years are passed; bathing thrice a day after touching with water the various parts of the body, eating one meal a day at the fourth watch (of day time, i.e., in the afternoon), giving up journey to town and village as practised in former days, performing appropriate rituals without using cultivated grains (such as wheat and rice, but using wild grains alone), free from desire for enjoyments that are seen or heard of (i.e. pleasures in this world and the next), being purified by the forty sacraments, free of attachments to all things, getting purity of mind, having burnt away envy, jealousy and egotism and being rich in the fourfold discipline – such a person deserves to embrace (the life of) renunciation’. Thus (ends the second Upadesha of) the Upanishad.
III-1. Then Narada asked the grandfather (Brahma): ‘Lord, what is renunciation (Sannyasa) and who is entitled to renounce worldly life ?’ ‘I shall first deal with the (kind of) person entitled to renunciation and thereafter the mode of renunciation. Listen attentively:
‘These (the following persons) do not deserve to renounce worldly life. A eunuch, one fallen (from right conduct), deformed person, women, the deaf, a child, the dumb, the heretic, an emperor, a religious student, a Vaikhanasa anchorite and a Haradvija (Kapalika?), a hired teacher, a man without prepuce and one who does not maintain the sacred fire, even though all these are possessed of dispassion. Even if they adopt (the life of) renunciation they have no right to receive (instruction in) the great Vedic texts ('Thou art That' etc.,). One who is already an ascetic has the right to become the highest kind of ascetic (Paramahamsa).
III-2. ‘He who brings about protection from fear to others from him, as he gets himself (that protection from fear) from others, is declared in law books as a mendicant monk.
III-3-4. ‘A eunuch, deformed person, the blind, a boy, one guilty of crime, one fallen from right conduct, one (always) at the gate of another (seeking help), the Vaikhanasa anchorite and the Haradvija, an emperor, a religious student, a heretic, one without prepuce, one who does not maintain the sacred fire, one who has twice or thrice renounced worldly life (previously), and a hired teacher – these persons do not deserve to embrace renunciation, excepting the afflicted in emergency (just before death).’
III-5. How is (renunciation at) the time of dire affliction approved by the esteemed (Aryas) ? ‘The time just prior to the departure of the vital breath from the body is called the sorely afflicted
(time) and not any other; this occasion of emergency leads to the path of liberation (by recourse to renunciation with the prescribed praisamantras).
III-6. Even in renunciation by the sorely afflicted (atura-sannyasa), a wise man shall renounce the world only in the prescribed manner by uttering the mantras laid down for it and having repeated the mantras.
III-7. Even in the kind (of renunciation adopted) by the greatly afflicted, there is nowhere any difference in the Praisa (mantras). There is no mantra (uttered) without a religious activity; (and) a religious activity has an eye on a mantra.
III-8. (An act) without a mantra is no religious act (i.e. it is different); hence one shall not give up the mantra. A religious act done without mantra is like oblation offered in ashes.
III-9. Renunciation by the sorely afflicted is declared to be by abridging the ritual prescribed therefor; hence in atura-sannyasa, there is the mode of repeating mantras (without ritual), O sage’.
III-10. If an ahitagni-householder gets disillusioned with the world while away in another province, he shall complete the Prapatya sacrifice in (a reservoir of) waters and then renounce worldly life.
III-11. A wise man shall renounce the world after completing (the prerequisite recital of Praisa mantras) either mentally, or by repeating the mantras in the prescribed manner (during the Prajapatya sacrifice) or (offer oblation) in waters or by performing rituals in the manner prescribed in the Veda; otherwise he will be heading to a fall (degradation).
III-12. When desirelessness arises in the mind towards all objects, then (authorities) sanction renunciation (by such person); contrariwise he shall fall (from virtue).
III-13. A wise man, when disillusioned with the world, may become a mendicant monk; when a person has attachments he shall reside in his house. That degraded Brahmana who turns ascetic when he has attachments indeed goes to hell.
III-14. That Brahmana, in the stage of a disciplined celibate student, may take to renunciation, without getting married whose tongue, genitals, stomach and hands are well guarded (i.e. they are under perfect control).
III-15. Seeing worldly life as completely devoid of substance and with a desire to realize the essence (of all), they renounce the world without getting married, being imbued with great dispassion.
III-16. (All non-spiritual) activity is characterised by the play of an active part in worldly affairs; true knowledge is the characteristic of renunciation. Hence placing in front (i.e. preferring) wisdom, an intelligent man will renounce the world.
III-17. When a person realizes that the supreme reality is the eternal Brahman (alone) he shall, taking up the single emblematic staff, give up the tuft of hair along with the sacred thread.
III-18. He who is attached to the supreme Self (Paramatman), is detached from things other than that (Paramatman); freed from all desires it behoves on his part to eat food given as alms.
III-19. When a person, who becomes very pleased when he is honoured and respectfully saluted, becomes similarly (very pleased) when he is being beaten, then he is a (true) mendicant monk (subsisting on alms).
III-20. ‘I am the indestructible non-dual Brahman alone, called Vasudeva (Lord Vishnu)’ – he whose firm attitude is thus (established) becomes a (true) mendicant monk.
III-21. He is in the stage (leading to) final beatitude in whom are found peace, quiescence, purity, truth, contentment, straightforwardness, absence of any possession and false airs.
III-22. When a person has no evil propensity towards all beings in deed, thought and speech he becomes a (true) mendicant monk.
III-23. Attentively discharging his duties characterised by the ten (virtues) and studying in the prescribed manner the Upanishads (Vedanta), a twice-born (dvija), having discharged the three debts, may renounce worldly life.
III-24. The ten virtues characterising right conduct (dharma) are: Contentment, forgiveness, self-control, non-stealing, purity, control of the senses, humility, (scriptural) learning, truth, and an even temper.
III-25. He abides in the stage (leading to) final emancipation who remembers not (with longing) past pleasures, as also those not yet experienced; nor does he exult in those that have arrived.
III-26. He who is always able to keep the inward faculties of senses within and the outward objects of sense outside (without any reaction) resides in the stage (leading to) final beatitude.
III-27. Just as, when the vital breath has departed, the body no longer experiences pleasure and pain, he (the sage) is such even when he is alive (lit. when he is united with the vital breath); then he stays in the stage (leading to) final emancipation (Kaivalya).
III-28. A pair of loin cloth, a patched garment (against the cold of winter), and a single emblematic staff constitute the accoutrements of the highest class of ascetics (Paramahamsa); no more is allowed by (scriptural) law;
III-29. If he were to possess more accoutrements for comfort he will go to the dreadful hell (Raurava) and be (renunciation-)born in the species of animals.
III-30. He may wear outwardly a patched garment strung out of pieces of discarded but clean cloth after dyeing it with ochre.
III-31. Wearing a single garment or unclad, his vision on one alone (i.e. liberation) and without longing (for pleasures) (the Paramahamsa) shall always be on the move alone; in the rainy season (alone) he may stay in one place.
III-32. Giving up his house-hold (kinsmen), children and wife, all branches of the Veda, sacrificial rites and the sacred thread, the ascetic shall journey alone (without attracting attention to him).
III-33. Abandoning faults such as passion; anger, pride, greed and delusion the mendicant monk shall remain free from ‘mine-ness’ (nirmamah).
III-34. Ridding himself of love and hatred, (viewing) equally on clod, stone and gold and desisting from injuring (all) beings, the ascetic shall remain free from all desires.
III-35. An ascetic will attain liberation when he is freed of pride and egotism, devoid of hurting and wickedness, and possessed of the virtues of self-knowledge.
III-36. By attachment to (the pleasures of) the senses one undoubtedly comes to harm; restraining them alone well one attains final beatitude.
III-37-38. Desires do not subside by giving scope for their enjoyment; like fire fed by oblation, they only increase all the more. That person is to be known as one who has conquered his senses, who neither rejoices in nor dislikes (the objects) having heard, touched, eaten, seen or smelt them.
III-39. He reaps all the fruits promised by the Vedanta (Upanishads) whose speech and mind are ever pure and always well guarded.
III-40. A Brahmana (in quest of liberation) should always recoil from honours as from poison; he should always welcome disregard as (he would) nectar.
III-41. A person illused (forgetting it) sleeps soundly, wakes up in good humour and goes about (his work) in the world happily; (but) the insulter comes to grief.
III-42. One should bear patiently with abusive language and never insult another; nor should he in this embodied state, create enmity with anyone.
III-43. One shall not return anger for anger; when abused he shall speak gently for the welfare (of all); one should never speak an untrue word which feeds (worldly desires of) the seven gates (of the body). III-44. Taking delight in the supreme light (manifested in the individual Self), remaining quiescent, free from desires and blessings, seeking (supreme) bliss, he (the ascetic) should move about (as a mendicant monk) with the Self alone as his companion.
III-45-47. He becomes fit for immortality by subduing the senses, enervating (feelings of) love and hatred and by non-injury to living beings. (This body) pillared by bones, bound together by tendons, plastered with flesh and blood, covered by skin, foul smelling, filled with urine and faeces, subject to old age and affliction, an abode of diseases, liable to injury, full of passion, impermanent and the abode of the elements (i.e. the body) one may abandon (without regret).
III-48. If one were to take delight in the body which is a conglomerate of flesh, blood, pus, faeces, urine, tendons, marrow and bones, that fool will be (delighted) in hell as well.
III-49. The attitude ‘I am the body’ is (the same as) the path leading to the hell (called) Kalasutra, the trap for Mahavichi hell and a series of forest(-hells) where the trees have leaves as sharp as swords. III-50. Even if total ruin faces one, this (identifying the body with the Self) should be abandoned by every effort; it should not be touched (accepted) by a nobly-born person just as a (low born) tribal woman carrying dog’s meat.
III-51. Abandoning (both) virtuous acts towards one’s dear ones and evil deeds towards unfriendly people, (a person) attains the eternal Brahman by the practice of deep meditation (Dhyana-yoga).
III-52. By this method, abandoning all attachments gradually, and freed from (the influence of) all the pairs (of opposites, such as pleasure and pain) one gets established in Brahman alone.
III-53. (The ascetic) shall journey alone without any helper for attaining final beatitude; for, seeing the perfection of the one (Brahman) he neither abandons it nor is he abandoned (by it).
III-54. A skull (for an alms bowl), (shelter under) the shade of trees, ragged garments, solitude and equanimity in all (things) - such is the characteristic of the liberated.
III-55. Benign to all beings, calm, wearing three-fold (emblematic) staff, (carrying) a water-pot, delighting in the one (Brahman) – having become a mendicant monk (thus) he may enter a village for alms.
III-56. The mendicant monk shall be alone as stated before; two together are declared to be a pair (having attachment to each other); three together are said to constitute a village (with their bickerings); more than these (three) become a city (of bustle and confusion).
III-57. The city (of ascetics) should not be created, nor the village nor the pair; an ascetic doing (forming part of) these three falls off his rightful duty.
III-58. Due to their close association there will doubtless be talks on royal personages, etc., mutual luck in alms, and (also) affection, tale-bearing and rivalry among them.
III-59. He shall remain alone and without desires; he shall not converse with any one. He shall utter ‘Narayana’ alone as the reply always (to other’s statements).
III-60. In solitude he shall contemplate on Brahman (whole heartedly) in thought, word and deed. He shall not by any means either welcome death or (rejoice in) life.
III-61. He shall only mark time (when practising asceticism) till the allotted span of life is completed; he shall neither welcome death nor rejoice in living. He shall await the time (of death) alone as an employee awaits orders.
III-62. A mendicant monk gets liberation when he possesses the following six characteristics: he is tongueless (in relishing food and speech), a eunuch (in sex), lame (in push), blind (in seeing sense objects), deaf (in hearing praise or curse) and innocent (like a child). There is no doubt about it.
III-63. That ascetic is said to be tongueless who, while eating food is not conscious of its being savoury or otherwise and who speaks words beneficial and truthful in moderation.
III-64. He is a eunuch who is unaffected on seeing a female whether newly born, sixteen year old or one of a hundred years.
III-65. When an ascetic goes about (only) for alms and answering calls of nature and does not exceed (a distance of) thirteen or fourteen kilometres (in a day) he is by all means a lame person.
III-66. That mendicant monk is said to be blind whose eyes, (being modestly lowered) while standing still or walking, do not see far excepting sixteen cubits of ground (before him).
III-67. Hearing words beneficial or otherwise, pleasing to the mind or causing grief, he seems not to hear them (i.e. remains equanimous); such a sage is said to be deaf.
III-68. That mendicant monk is said to be childlike who always remains as if asleep in the presence of objects of sensory pleasures, (though) his senses are efficient and unimpaired.
III-69. Show by dancers, etc., gambling, lady friend (of former days), eatables (heaped temptingly), (other) enjoyable things and a woman in her courses – these an ascetic shall always avoid.
III-70. An ascetic shall never even think of in his mind these six – love, hatred, intoxication, bamboozling, hurting and deluding others.
III-71. A bedstead, white clothes, talk on women, unsteadiness, daytime sleep and a carriage – these six cause the fall of ascetics.
III-72. One who thinks on the Self shall painstakingly avoid long journeys. The ascetic shall always be practising the lore of the Upanishads which is the means for liberation.
III-73. The ascetic shall not always be resorting to a place of pilgrimage nor be undergoing fasts frequently; he shall not be studying the scripture all the time nor be expounding them exclusively.
III-74. He shall always conduct himself without (committing) sin, deceit and devious acts, restraining his senses in every way as a tortoise does its limbs.
III-75-76. He will be released (from worldly bondage) when the functioning of his senses and the mind has become quiescent; is free of hopes (of gain) and possessions; is indifferent to the pairs (of opposites, pleasure and pain, etc.,), reverential salutation and the exercise of his will (nihsvadhakara); is free from ‘mine-ness’, egotism, expectations and blessings; and sticks to solitude. There is no doubt about it. Thus (are the duties of ascetics).
III-77. A disciplined celibate student, a householder or a forest-dweller (Vanaprastha) may renounce worldly life when he is ever vigilant in leading a righteous life, possesses (proficiency in) action, has devotion and wisdom, and comes to possess dispassion of his own accord. If he is chiefly interested (in the particular stage of his life) he shall complete the stage of studentship and become a householder; from (the stage of a householder) becoming a forest-dweller, he shall (thereafter) renounce the world. Or otherwise he may renounce worldly life from the stage of a student or householder or forest dweller. But then a person may renounce, that very day on which he gets disillusioned with the world, whether he is one who observes not vows (before the stage of renunciation) or observes them, whether he has undergone the prescribed ablution on completing the disciplined studentship or not, whether he is one who has discontinued maintaining the ritual fire at the death of his wife (utsannagni) or is one who does not maintain (for other causes) the ritual fire (anagnika). Some (law-givers) prescribe the sacrifice called Prajapatya (of which god Brahma is the presiding deity, to a twice-born before he embraces renunciation). But (though thus said) he may not do so. He shall only perform the Agneyi sacrifice (whose presiding deity is Agni, the god of fire). For Agni is the vital breath (Prana). Thereby he does (strengthen) the vital breath. (Then) he shall perform the Traidhataviya sacrifice (whose presiding deity is the god Indra). By this (sacrifice) the three vital fluids (become strong like fire), namely the Sattva (semen), rajas (blood) and Tamas (the dark one).
III-78. (Having performed the sacrifice in the prescribed manner he shall smell the holy fire, reciting the following mantra): ‘Oh Fire, this (vital breath) is your source; as you are born at the proper time (of the year) you put on effulgence. Knowing him (the Atman, your ultimate source) may you merge (with the Prana, your source). May you increase our wealth (of transcendent knowledge)’. Thus reciting the mantra he shall smell the fire. This is the source of fire, this vital air. May you go unto Prana, may you go unto your source. Svaha. Thus alone this (mantra) says. Having secured the ritual fire from the Ahavaniya (sacred fire) he shall smell it as before. If he is unable to procure the ritual fire he shall offer the oblation in the waters. For water is (presided over by) all the gods. Reciting (the mantra) ‘I offer the oblation to all the gods, Svaha, he shall tender the oblation, and picking up (a small portion left over of) the offered oblation which is mixed with ghee, he shall eat it (mixed) with water. The oblation mixed with ghee is beneficial and gives (leads to) liberation. Thus (it has been declared). Only after discarding the tuft of hair, sacred thread, parents, son, wife, (normal) work, study, mantras (other than those prescribed for ascetics), a wise man (knower of spiritual knowledge) renounces worldly life. By the mantras of liberation pertaining to the Traidhataviya sacrifice he shall attain (final beatitude). That is Brahman; that should reverently be resorted to. Thus alone is this (liberation attained). Thus.
III-79. Narada again asked of the grandfather (Brahma): ‘How is he, (being now) without the sacred thread, a Brahmana ?’ The god Brahma said to him (as follows).
III-80. Taking a shave with the (removal of the) tuft, a wise man shall discard the external (sacred) thread. He shall wear as the thread (i.e. he shall always be conscious of) the transcendent Brahman which is indestructible.
III-81. The sutra is so called as it indicates (Brahman). The sutra is indeed the supreme state. That Brahmana (alone) has completely mastered the Vedas who has realized that sutra.
III-82. The Yogin, the knower of yoga and the perceiver of the truth, shall possess that sutra (Brahman) by which everything is held together (sustained), as a group of gems by a thread.
III-83. Established in the highest yoga a wise man shall abandon the external (Sacred) thread. He is wise who possesses the sutra, the state of Brahman. Possessing that sutra he becomes neither unholy or impure.
III-84. Those who have the sutra inwardly and possess the sacred thread of wisdom, are indeed the knowers of the sutra; they wear the (true) sacred thread.
III-85. Those who wear a tuft of hair in the form of wisdom (Jnana), whose fundamental condition is wisdom, who possess the sacred thread of wisdom, to whom wisdom alone is supreme, have, it is said, pure knowledge.
III-86. That wise man whose tuft consists of wisdom, like the flame in the case of fire, and no other, is said to be the possessor of sikha (tuft; pre-eminence); not others who (merely) bear a lock of hair on the crown of the head.
III-87. The Brahmana and such others who are engaged in Vedic rites are to wear this (sacred) thread; for it is declared to be part of the ceremony.
III-88. He whose tuft consists of wisdom as also his sacred thread (of that wisdom), has all the requisites of a Brahmana; so understand the knowers of the Veda. Thus.
III-89. Knowing thus (the duties of ascetics), a Brahmana, having renounced worldly life, becomes a mendicant monk, wearing a single garment and shaven-headed, he receives no gifts (other than simple food for bare sustenance), if he is unable to bear bodily privation (of an unclad, unsoliciting Avadhuta ascetic). Or, according to prescribed rules, becoming unclad (lit. possessing a form as when newly born), renouncing his children, friends, wife, close kinsmen, etc., his Vedic study and rituals, abandoning the entire world, his loin cloth, emblematic staff and (warm) garment; being capable of putting up with the pairs (of opposites, pleasure and pain, etc.) and unmindful of cold and heat, pleasure and pain, sleep, honour and dishonour, and the six human infirmities (hunger, etc.); leaving off censuring, egotism, rivalry, pride, false airs, jealousy, envy, desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, love, anger, covetousness, delusion, etc.; remembering his body as a corpse; not conscious of anything other than the Self both inwardly and outwardly; not bowing to anyone, having neither the utterance of Svaha (in worshipping the gods) nor the utterance of Svadha (in honour of the manes); indulging neither in praise nor blame; he thus becomes independent of extraneous influences.
Contented with (food alone) that comes unsolicited, he shall not accept (gifts of) gold, etc. He does neither the invocation of deities nor utter mantras to send them back; he has not mantra or non-mantra, meditation or worship, aim or non-aim, separation or union; and being of firm mind (in regard to residence) has no home (to sleep in at night) other than a deserted house, the shade of a tree, a temple, a clump of (tall) grass, a potter’s shed, a hut where ritual fire is kept, the Southeast quarter, the sandy bank of a river, a cellar, cave or grounds near water falls or in a forest. He may have no distinctive emblem of an ascetic (like the great sages of yore) such as Svetaketu, Ribhu, Nidagha, Rishabha, Durvasas, Samvartaka, Dattatreya and Raivataka. His conduct is incomprehensible (to ordinary people) like the conduct of children, mad men and ghosts. Though (perfectly) sane he behaves like an insane person. Muttering Svaha he shall discard all these in the waters – the threefold (emblematic) staff, sling (to carry his effects), (alms) bowl, (water) vessel, waist band and loin-cloth.
III-90. He shall journey (as a mendicant monk) unclad, leaving in the waters all these – the waistband, loin-cloth, the (emblematic) staff, garment and water vessel.
III-91. He shall seek the (realization of the) Self. Remaining unclad, free from (the influence of) the pairs (of opposites), receiving no gifts, well established in the path of the reality of Brahman, with his mind pure, eating food to sustain life at the prescribed hour with his hand or otherwise (placed in the mouth) without begging, equanimous in gain or denial (of food), without ‘mine-ness’, deeply interested in meditating on the pure effulgence (i.e. Brahman), devoted to the supreme spirit (manifested as the individual Self), deeply engaged in rooting out the effect of good and bad actions, he shall renounce (all other than the Self); having only one thought, namely of supreme bliss, ever recollecting Brahman in the form of Pranava (Om) and that he is Brahman alone, he shall give up the threefold body according to the maxim of the wasp (to become one with Brahman) and abandon the body by renunciation alone. He becomes one who has fulfilled himself (i.e. he attains liberation in the disembodied state). Thus (ends the third Upadesha of) the Upanishad.
IV-1. He who abandons the (three) worlds, the Vedas, objects of senses, the (influence of the) sense and remains (established) in the Atman alone, attains the highest goal.
IV-2. A good ascetic shall never answer the inquiry on his name, lineage, etc., his native place, duration (of his stay there), study of the scripture, family, age, conduct, and the vows observed by him.
IV-3. He shall neither converse with any woman nor remember one seen before; he shall avoid all talks on them and never look at one even in a picture.
IV-4. The mind of an ascetic will necessarily get disturbed on his doing the four things regarding women (mentioned above); due to this agitation of the mind he is lost.
IV-5-6. An ascetic comes down (from his high position) if he has greed, anger, untruth, bamboozling, covetousness, delusion, likes and dislikes, (love of) fine art, explaining tendency, desire, passion, accepting (gifts), egotism, ‘mine-ness’, practising medicine, enforcing right conduct (in others), expiatory acts, journeying abroad (into unholy places), and (the practice of) mantras, herbs, poisons and blessing (others) which are prohibited.
IV-7. A sage intent on liberation shall not speak (words such as) ‘come, go, stop, welcome, friends and honouring’.
IV-8. A mendicant monk shall neither accept gifts nor induce others to offer donation nor prompt (others to give or take gifts) at any time even in a dream.
IV-9. Hearing or seeing good or bad of his (former) wife, brother, children, etc., and kinsmen, he shall not get agitated; he shall give up sorrow and delusion.
IV-10-12. Abstaining from injury, (having) truthfulness, non-stealing, continence, non-acquiring, humility, absence of depression, serenity, stability, straight-forwardness, freedom from affection, serving respectable elders, faith, forgiveness, calmness, non-alignment, fortitude, amiability, endurance, compassion, modesty, knowledge and wisdom, contemplation of the supreme Spirit (Yoga), very moderate diet and contentment – these are well known as the essential requisites of self-controlled ascetics.
IV-13. Free from (the influence of) the pairs (of opposites), ever established in goodness, equanimous in everything, the sage in the fourth stage (of asceticism), the Paramahamsa, is the visible god Narayana.
IV-14. Except in the rainy season, he may stay one night in a village and five nights in a city; during the rains he may stay four months (in a village or town).
IV-15. The mendicant monk shall not stay two nights in a village; if he stays, affection, etc., may find scope (to deflect him); thereby he will go to hell.
IV-16. In the outskirts of a village, in a secluded spot he may pitch his camp and go about (for alms) like a worm (crawling) on the ground; during the rains he shall stay in one place.
IV-17. Clad in a single garment or unclad, with his vision fixed in the one (Brahman), free from desires, undeflected from the path of the good and deeply meditating he shall walk the earth.
IV-18. Practising his essential duties in a pure place always a mendicant monk shall ever be on the move, his eye fixed on the ground.
IV-19. He shall never journey at night, midday or during the two twilights; neither in a deserted place nor an impassable region nor a place causing harm to creatures.
IV-20. A mendicant monk may stay one night in a village, two nights in a small town, three nights in a big town and five nights in a city. During the rains he may camp in one place which has plenty of pure water.
IV-21. Seeing all beings as like unto himself a mendicant monk shall walk the earth, like a person blind, dull-witted, deaf, mad and dumb.
IV-22. A Bahudaka mendicant monk and a forest-dweller, it is declared, are to have a bath at the three periods (junctures) of the day, the Hamsa ascetic but once a day and a Paramahamsa ascetic has none (prescribed).
IV-23. The ascetic carrying a single emblematic staff shall observe these seven things - silence, Yoga posture, deep meditation, endurance, solitude, desirelessness and equanimity.
IV-24. One at the stage of a Paramahamsa, due to the absence of prescribed rules in regard to bath, etc., shall merely give up all the activities of the mind.
IV-25. What difference is there between worms (revelling in putrid waters) and men who take delight in (the body consisting of) skin, flesh, blood, tendons, marrow, fat, bones, faeces, urine and pus ?
IV-26. Where (on the one hand) is the body, a great conglomerate of all (foul things) such as phlegm and others and where (on the other hand) are merits such as bodily splendour, auspiciousness and personal charm ?
IV-27. If a fool takes delight in his body which is a conglomerate of flesh, blood, pus, faeces, urine, tendons, marrow and bones, he will be (delighted) in hell as well.
IV-28. Though there is no difference between the unmentionable region of women and a purified ulcer, people are generally deceived by the difference in outlook.
IV-29. A piece of skin split in twain and perfumed by the Apana-wind – a bow to those who take delight in it ! What is greater rashness than this ?
IV-30-31. The wise ascetic has no (worldly) work to do nor has he any emblem. The sage free from ‘mine-ness’ and fear, calm, uninfluenced by the pairs (of opposites), taking food without caste-distinction, clad in loin cloth or unclad, shall remain deeply engaged in meditation. Thus the Yogin, solely devoted to wisdom is fit for identity with Brahman.
IV-32. Even though he may carry an emblem (such as the staff), the (real) cause of his liberation is his spiritual knowledge alone. To the people here (in the matter of attaining final beatitude) an assemblage of emblems is meaningless.
IV-33. He is a Brahmana (knower of Brahman) who knows not (the difference between) one who is good or bad, unlearned or highly learned (in scripture), of good or bad character.
IV-34. Therefore a wise (ascetic) shall move about unobtrusively without any emblem, knowing right conduct, devoted to the vow of (realizing) Brahman, and resorting to the secret doctrine (i.e. the Upanishads)).
IV-35. He shall journey over the earth, a mystery to all people, devoid of class or stage of life, as (though he were) blind, dull-witted and dumb.
IV-36. Seeing him calm in mind the gods desire to be like him. As he observes no distinction he attains the (distinctionless) final beatitude. Thus the teaching of the god Brahma. Thus (it ends).
IV-37. Then Narada asked of Brahma (the grandfather): ‘Pray expound to us the method of renunciation’. The god Brahma agreeing to it saying ‘Be it so’ declared: For embracing the fourth stage of life (i.e. renunciation) whether one is in a state of emergency or in the regular sequence, one shall perform the eight commemorative religious ceremonies (astasraddha) after having first undergone the penance to expiate all sins (kricchraprayaschitta), the eight ceremonies being (the propitiation of) the gods, sages (of yore), (other) divine beings, men, (the five) primary elements, manes, father, mother and (one’s) Self. First (he shall propitiate) the group of deities named Satya, Vasu, etc.; in the commemorative ceremony for the gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshvara (Siva); in the Sraddha ceremony for the sages, divine sages (like Narada), royal sages (like Janaka) and men-sages (like Yajnavalkya); in the Sraddha for divine beings, the (eight) Vasus, the (eleven) Rudras and the (twelve) Adityas (suns); in the Sraddha for men, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatkumara and Sanatsujata (son of the god Brahma); in the Sraddha for the Elements, the five primary elements Earth, etc., the sensory organs such as the eye, and the four groups of living beings; in the Sraddha for the manes, father, paternal grandfather and paternal great grandfather; in the Sraddha for the female ancestors, mother, paternal grandmother and paternal great grandmother; in the Sraddha for one’s Self, one self, father and paternal grandfather; if his father is alive, leaving off the father, himself, paternal grandfather and paternal great grandfather.
In all cases he shall honour the Brahmanas, arranging that two of them are present each time. Having honoured the Brahmanas in the manner prescribed for the ceremony of the daily offerings to deceased ancestors (pitryajna) during the eight Sraddhas performed in eight days or in a day with the mantras pertaining to his own branch of the Veda, following the option of a single ceremony a day or eight ceremonies on the same day; having completed (the rituals) according to rules till they are fed; having performed the offering of rice-balls to the manes and bidding farewell to the Brahmanas, pleased with the presents and betel rolls; having saved seven hairs for the success of the remaining ritual acts; the twice born, having had seven or eight hairs shaved together along with the (remaining) hairs and beard, and the nails cut for the success of the remaining ritual acts; bathing after the shave in which hairs in the arm pits and the public hairs are exempted and preserving the (above said) seven hairs; completing the evening twilight worship; muttering the Gayatri mantra a thousand times; performing the (daily) teaching and study of the Vedas; getting ready his own ritual fire; completing (the recital of) his branch of the Veda; offering the oblation of ghee in the fire as stated in it (his Vedic branch) till Agni and Soma have been propitiated; completing the act of offering oblations; (ceremoniously) eating the barley meal three times (invoking) himself, etc., keeping alive the fire after having ceremoniously sipped water (achamana); seating himself in a skin of the black antelope at the north of the fire, keeping awake listening to the recital of Puranas; bathing at the end of the fourth watch (of the night), boiling the oblation in that fire, offering the rice-oblation sixteen times reciting the Purusha-sukta; performing the Viraja ritual (so as to be free from all sins); sipping water ceremoniously and gifting clothes, gold, vessel and cow along with a cash present, completing (the preceding rituals), bidding farewell to the god Brahma who had been invoked, invoking the fire to be (symbolically) present on his person (reciting the mantras) –
‘May the Maruts bring together (the scattered vital energy), may Indra (do so), may Brihaspati (do so), may this fire (do so granting) along with (long) life, wealth and strength; may he make me long lived’. Thus.
‘Oh Agni, come with your body which is fit for sacrifice. (You) being my Self, may you climb into my body, bringing before me great wealth suitable for men. Assuming the form of sacrifice, may you rest in my body, your source. Oh, Fire, being born of the earth, may you come with your abode; meditating on Fire, bidding farewell to him after having circumambulated and prostrated in reverence before him; worshipping the morning twilight; paying obeisance to the Sun reciting the Gayatri mantra a thousand times, seated in the waters which reach up to his navel; bidding farewell to Gayatri having made respectful offerings to the eight guardian-deities of the quarters; mingling the Gayatri with the Vyahritis (bhur, bhuvas, suvas) and reciting in a low, middling or high tone or mentally (the mantras), ‘I am the stimulator of the tree (of the phenomenal world). Fame (of my knowledge) is lofty like the peak of a mountain. High and holy, I am the immortal being as (the immortal Self) in the sun. (I am) the wealth (of the Self) endowed with effulgence. Possessing true knowledge I am immersed in my immortal nature. Thus the words of self-realization (based on the Veda) of Trisanku (a realized soul)’.
‘He (the Om) who is the most exalted of the Vedas and omnipresent and who has sprung from the ambrosial scripture – may that (Om), the (supreme) lord endow me with (true) intelligence. May I, Oh Lord, become the possessor of (wisdom leading to) immortality; my body very active (in the higher life); my tongue (speech) possessed of sweetness to the highest degree. May I with my ears, listen to the wealth (of Vedantic learning). You are the sheath of Brahman, concealed by worldly intelligence (while please rent asunder). Pray protect my wisdom (born) of the study of the scripture’; ‘I am (now) risen above the desire for wife, desire for wealth and desire for worldly glory’. ‘Om Bhuh, I have renounced (the world)’. ‘Om Bhuvah, I have renounced’. ‘Om Suvah, I have renounced’. Sipping water (ceremoniously, reciting the mantra) ‘Freedom from fear to all beings; everything emanates from memory, Svaha’; offering (water) to the East with the palms fully folded and uprooting the sikha (of seven hairs) reciting Om Svaha; snapping the sacred thread (reciting the mantras) – ‘The sacred thread is highly sanctifying; it has been natural to the god Brahma (Prajapati) in the first place; foremost in promoting long life, put on thus. May the bright (fresh) sacred thread be the strength and effulgence (unto me);
‘Let not the sacred thread reside externally; may you, entering inside into the middle (of the heart) ever grant (me) the highly sanctifying fame, strength, wisdom and dispassion, and (true) intelligence’.
Offering water with cupped palms, he shall offer (the sacred thread) as oblation to the waters, (reciting the mantra) ‘Om Bhuh, (pray) reach the sea, Svaha’. Repeating thrice, ‘Om Bhuh, I have renounced, Om Bhuvah, I have renounced, Om Suvah, I have renounced’, he shall ceremoniously sip water and discard in the waters his garment and waist band, reciting ‘Om Bhuh Svaha’. Reminding himself that he had ceased from all (worldly) activities and becoming unclad he shall start for the north with his hand raised and thinking of his Self.
IV-38. If, as stated before, he is an enlightened recluse, he shall receive instruction from his Guru on the Pranava (Om) and the great scriptural texts (such as 'Thou art That'), journeying (as a mendicant monk) in easy stages, (convinced) that no one exists other than his Self and subsisting on fruits, (edible) leaves and water and thus move about on hills, forests and temples. Then unclad, giving up journeying all (over the earth), his heart solely filled with the experience of bliss always, profited by the complete severance of (worldly) activities, sustaining life by means of fruits, juicy barks, leaves, bulbous roots and water only for attaining liberation, he shall discard his body in some mountain cave remembering the emancipating mantra (Om).
IV-39. If he is a recluse desiring further study (Vividisha Sannyasin) he shall proceed along with learned Brahmanas like his preceptor, etc., and receiving a staff, waistband, loin cloth, garment and water vessel (offered) by his preceptors reciting, ‘Pray wait, wait, blessed one, take the staff, (ochre) garment and water vessel’, he shall go to the spiritual guide’s presence to receive instruction in the Pranava (Om) and the great scriptural texts (Mahavakyas). He shall then receive the (emblematic) bamboo staff, which is free from cuts from the tip of the top, evenly shaped, smooth, free from black colour and is auspicious looking, having first sipped water ceremoniously and (repeating the mantra), ‘You are my friend. Protect my strength. You, my friend, are Indra’s (weapon) Vajra, the destroyer of (the demon) Vritra. May you bring protection to me. Prevent that which is a sin’. He shall then receive the water-vessel reciting the Pranava first (and then the mantra) ‘You are the life of the world, you are the container of water, you who are always cool’. (Receiving) the waist-band, loin cloth and the (ochre) garment (reciting the mantra in the due order), ‘the waist-band, the supporter of the loin cloth, Om; the cover for the privities, the loincloth, Om; the garment, which is the protection against cold, wind, and heat, Om;’ and invested with the yoga cloth (cloth used for meditation) preceded by the ceremonial sipping of water, he shall zealously follow the rules of his stage of life (i.e. asceticism) considering that he has fulfilled himself (in the quest for liberation). Thus (ends the fourth Upadesha of the Upanishad.
V-1. Then Narada asked of the god Brahma: ‘Lord, you have said that renunciation entails ceasing from all activity. Again you have said that one shall be zealous in the conduct of one’s stage of life’.
Then the god Brahma replied: ‘To the embodied being there are the four stages of waking, dreaming, sleeping and the fourth stage (Turiya). Under their influence people who engage themselves in action, knowledge and dispassion, conform to them in their conduct’. ‘If this is so, Lord, how many kinds of renunciation are there ? What are the differences in their practice ? Pray expound to us completely’.
Agreeing to this saying ‘Be it so’ the god Brahma (said to) him (as follows).
V-2. If the question is raised, ‘How does conduct differ in the varieties of renunciation ? (the answer is) that renunciation is really one only, that it becomes threefold due to imperfection of knowledge (vidvat-sannyasa), incapacity (vividisha-sannyasa) and failure in action (atura-sannyasa) and it attains the four stages of renunciation due to dispassion, renunciation due to wisdom, renunciation due to wisdom and dispassion and renunciation of action.
V-3. This is how it is. Due to the absence of wicked passion, by indifference to objects of pleasure and by the influence of good actions done before, one who renounces the world is (called) the renouncer due to dispassion.
V-4. Due to the knowledge of the scripture (shastras), withdrawing from the phenomenal world by listening to sinful and auspicious experiences of the world; desisting from all the world composed of anger, jealousy, intolerance, egotism and pride; discarding bodily inclinations such as desire for wife, desire for wealth and desire for worldly glory, (excessive) regard for the shastras and public esteem; considering all these common things to be eschewed as vomit; endowed with the four disciplines (such as discrimination or permanent and transitory things) – he who renounces thus alone is a renouncer due to wisdom.
V-5. Having studied all (scripture) in due order and experienced all (worldly life) one who, influenced by wisdom cum dispassion and deep meditation on the Self, becomes an unclad (ascetic), is the renouncer due to wisdom cum dispassion.
V-6. Having completed the course of disciplined student-ship in celibacy, becoming a householder, reaching the stage of a forest-dweller, he who (thereafter) renounces the world in accordance with the order of the stages of life even in the absence of dispassion, is a renouncer of (worldly) activities.
V-7. Renouncing the world in celibacy and becoming unclad in renunciation – such is the renouncer due to dispassion. The renouncer due to (scriptural) learning is the renouncer due to wisdom. The renouncer due to imperfect knowledge is the renouncer of (worldly) activity.
V-8. Renunciation of activity is of two kinds: renunciation due to (some) cause and renunciation without (an adventitious) cause. The one with cause is the afflicted (and is at the point of death); the causeless is renunciation in the regular order.
The afflicted skips over all preliminary ritual acts; it is renunciation at the point of the departure of the vital breath; this is renunciation due to (some) cause. Hale in body (but convinced) that created things are transient and hence all things such as the body are fit to be abandoned:
V-9. ‘The individual soul, non-different from Brahman, pervading pure ether, the sun (Vasu), remaining in the sky, the Fire that rests in the altar (of the universe), the Guest, residing in the house (of the sacrifice), residing in men, dwelling in the superior (gods), resting in truth, residing in the sky (as the sun), born in the waters, born on earth (as grain, etc.,) born as (sacrificial) truth, born in mountains (as rivers), this truth (Brahman) is (truly) great.
V-10. Convinced that everything other than Brahman is transcient and as a result he renounces, that renunciation is renunciation without (an adventitious) cause.
V-11. Renunciation is of six kinds – Kutichaka, Bahudaka, Hamsa, Paramahamsa, Turiyatita and Avadhuta.
V-12. The Kutichaka ascetic wears tuft and sacred thread, carries an (emblematic) staff and water vessel, puts on a loin cloth and patched garment, is devoted to the service of father, mother and preceptor, has recourse to the assistance of using mantras for the vessel (pithara), spade (khanitra) and sling (sikya), is addicted to eating food in one place, puts on the forehead a perpendicular sign of white sandal and has a three-fold (emblematic) staff.
V-13. The Bahudaka ascetic wears tuft, etc., and patched garment, puts on the forehead a mark consisting of three horizontal lines of holy ashes, looks on all equally like the Kutichaka and subsists on eight mouthfuls of food gathered from (different) places like a bee.
V-14. The Hamsa ascetic wears matted hair, puts on the forehead a horizontal mark of holy ashes or a perpendicular mark of sandal, subsists on food gathered without pre-determination like a bee and wears loincloth and khandatunda (a piece of cloth covering the mouth).
V-15. The Paramahamsa ascetic wears no tuft or sacred thread, subsists only on food taken at night and gathered from five houses, has his hand serving as (alms-)bowl, wears a single loincloth and a single garment, (carries) one bamboo staff or wears a single garment, smears holy ashes (all over the body) and renounces everything.
V-16. The Turiyatita ascetic is ‘cow-faced’ (eats food at random without using hands), eats fruits (only) or if he takes cooked food, gets it from three houses (i.e. three mouthfuls), has his body just alive, is unclad and has his body as though it were a corpse (due to insensibility by nirvikalpa-samadhi).
V-17. The Avadhuta ascetic follows no rules, subsists on food that comes to him, as is the practice of a python, from all classes of people excepting those who are accused or fallen, and is solely devoted to the realization of his Self.
V-18. If one lives in (great) affliction (of bodily infirmities), he shall renounce the world in the due order (by getting instruction in Pranava and the Mahavakyas from his Guru).
V-19. To the Kutichaka, Bahudaka and Hamsa ascetics, the method of renunciation of the Kutichakas applies just as (renunciation is embraced after completing) the stages of brahmacharya, etc., (ending with) the fourth stage (namely, renunciation).
V-20. The rule is that the triad of the Paramahamsa, etc., has no waist band, loincloth, garment, water vessel or staff; their soliciting alms shall be from all classes of people and they shall be unclad. Even in the stage of renunciation they may study (the scripture) till they feel fully satisfied and thereafter discard in the waters the waistband, loincloth, staff, garment and water-vessel. Then if unclad there shall not be any vestige of patched garment. They shall neither study nor expound (the scripture). There is nothing whatsoever for them worth hearing. Other than the Pranava (Om) they shall not cultivate any science of logic, not even the Verbal authority (i.e. the Veda). He shall not speak much in expounding (sacred texts), he shall not stultify by his words the words of the great, (he shall not) communicate by making signs with his hands, etc.,, nor shall he use other special means of communication. He shall not speak to the low class of people, women, the fallen and (specially to) women in their courses. To the ascetic there is no worship of the gods, nor seeing (the deities) during festivals nor any journey on pilgrimage.
V-21. Again (on) the different kinds of ascetics. (In the rule relating) to the Kutichaka the receiving of alms is from one house; to the Bahudaka it is at random as in the case of a bee gathering honey; to the Hamsa it is eight mouthfuls (collected) from eight houses, to the Paramahamsa (five mouthfuls collected) from five houses, the hand being the (alms-)bowl; to the Turiyatita the food consists of fruits put into his mouth (gomukha); to the Avadhuta (the food comes to him) as in the case of a python, from all classes of people. The ascetic shall not stay many nights (in the same place). He shall not bow to any one. To the Turiyatita and Avadhuta none is superior. He who knows not the Self, though the eldest, is yet the youngest (in wisdom). He shall not swim across a river, nor climb a tree, nor travel in a carriage. He shall not indulge in buying and selling, nor barter even the least. He shall not put on airs nor speak an untruth. There is no duty enjoined on an ascetic. If there is, then he will have to mix with people practising religious observances (which is undesirable). Hence ascetics have the right (only) to meditation, etc.
V-22. The renouncer in an emergency and the Kutichaka ascetic attain the worlds of Bhur and Bhuvar respectively. The Bahudaka ascetic attains heaven (Svarga). The Hamsa sage attains the (highest heaven of) Tapoloka. The Paramahamsa reaches the abode of Brahma and of Truth (Satyaloka). The Turiyatita and the Avadhuta attain final beatitude in the (individual) Self by deeply meditating on the Self according to the maxim of the wasp and the worm.
V-23. ‘Whatever the state one remembers When discarding the body at death,
The same he attains (after death).
The teaching of the scripture is never false’.
V-24. Thus having known (the procedure), barring investigation into the nature of the Self, (the ascetic) shall not devote himself to any other practice. As a result of such practice there is the attainment of the respective worlds (such as heaven, etc.,). By one endowed with wisdom and dispassion liberation is (attained) in himself; hence there is no adherence to any other practice. Adherence to (any other) practice (will be useless for attaining final beatitude). To the embodied (self) (there are the three states of) waking, dreaming and deep sleep; in the waking state (it has) the faculty to perceive individuality (vishva); in the dreaming state, the subtle essence of light (taijasa); in the state of deep sleep, intelligence dependent on individuality (prajna). Due to the difference in the state, there is the difference in the conditioned Lord (Ishvara). For the difference in effect, there is the difference in the cause. In these (three states) the material cause for (such differences) is the external and internal activity of the fourteen sensory organs. The mental states are four, the mind (manas), intelligence (buddhi), ego (ahamkara) and the heart (chitta). There is clear difference in practices due to the difference in the activity of the mental states.
V-25. ‘Know (the individual Self) to be awake When it remains in the eye; when in the throat It enters the dreaming (state); it is in the heart In deep sleep; but remaining in the head
It is the fourth state (Turiya)’.
V-26. Knowing the Turiya to be the indestructible (Brahman) he who remains as though unconscious of all (happenings) such as whatever is heard or seen, remains as one in the state of deep sleep, though he is in the waking state. In him even in the dreaming state such condition (of non-consciousness) prevails. (The Shastras) say that he is one who is ‘liberated while living’. The exposition of the meaning of all scriptures is that such a person alone attains liberation. A mendicant monk does not hanker after this world or the next (i.e. Svarga, the heaven of varying enjoyments with a time-limit). If he has (such) expectation he becomes one in accordance with that. By (ritual) practices of the scripture other than investigation into the Self, he does a useless thing, like the burden borne by a camel of a load of saffron flowers. (for him) there is no practice of the science of Yoga, no pursuit of the lore of the Sankhya, nor application of the mantras and rituals. If an ascetic practises lores other than (Self-realization) it is like adorning a corpse. As a cobbler is far away from the performance of Vedic rituals, so is he from the (practice of Brahma-)vidya (by his rituals). He is not to devote himself to repeat the Pranava. Whatever activity he does he has to reap the fruit there of. Hence discarding all (ritual acts) like the foam in castor oil, and seeing the unclad ascetic engaged in it (Self-realization) with complete control over the mind and using the hand as the (alms-)bowl, the mendicant monk shall (truly) renounce (all worldly attachments). Like the child, mad man or a goblin the mendicant monk shall not desire either for death or life, but shall merely mark time according to the maxim of a servant awaiting orders.
V-27. If an ascetic merely lives on the alms devoid of the qualities of forbearance, wisdom, dispassion, tranquillity, etc., he is a bane of the conduct of ascetics.
V-28. Not by bearing an (emblematic) staff, not by a shaven head, not by (special) dress, not by hypocritical airs (of sage-hood) does liberation (come to one).
V-29. He who bears the staff of wisdom is said to be ‘single staffed’. The ascetic who carries a wooden stick, eats all sorts of food and is devoid of wisdom goes to terrible hells called Maharaurava.
V-30. A stable position (in a monastery) is said by great sages to be similar to the excreta of a sow; hence, leaving it aside, the ascetic shall move about like an (assiduous) worm.
V-31. The Turiyatita ascetic shall have food and clothing without solicitation and just as they happen to occur, by others will. He shall be unclad and have a bath at others’ will.
V-32. The ascetic whose behaviour is well in harmony even with the dreaming state as with the waking state, is considered the best; he is the most excellent among those that follow the Vedanta.
V-33. In non-acquirement (of alms) he shall not grieve; in its acquisition he shall not feel joy. Avoiding attachment to material things he shall simply keep himself alive (for a higher purpose).
V-34. He shall in all cases shrink from being honoured (by admiring disciples); the ascetic who welcomes such honour gets bound (with worldly ties) though liberated.
V-35. For the sake of bare subsistence an ascetic may go about for alms to the houses of approved classes of people (i.e. the ‘twice borns’) at the proper time when they have dined after the fire-ritual.
V-36. Using his hand as a vessel (for receiving food) the ascetic shall not solicit alms more than once a day; he may eat the food standing, he may eat the food walking. There is no ceremonial sipping of water in between.
V-37. (The ascetics) with pure thoughts keep within the limits (of good behaviour) like the sea; these great men do not abandon the prescribed course (of conduct) like the sun.
V-38. When the ascetic seeks food with his mouth alone like a cow, he shall then be equanimous in all beings; he is (then) fit for immortality.
V-39. Going to a house which is not forbidden (for alms), he shall avoid a house which is prohibited. He shall enter the house when the door is open; he shall never go towards the house when it is closed. V-40. He shall shelter (for the night) in a deserted house covered with dust, or he may shelter under a tree, giving up all likes and dislikes.
V-41. The ascetic shall go to sleep where he is when the sun sets and be free of (ritual) fire and (fixed) abode. He shall live on what comes at random, self-possessed and senses subdued.
V-42. Departing (from human habitations) and resorting to a forest, possessing true knowledge and senses subdued, moving about awaiting the time (of death), (the ascetic) becomes fit for absorption into Brahman.
V-43. The sage who moves about, desisting from causing fear to all beings has nowhere fear from any being.
V-44. Free from pride and egotism, unaffected by the pairs (of opposites), with all doubts dispelled, (the ascetic) never gets angry nor hates (any one) and does not utter a false word.
V-45. Moving in holy places, causing no injury to living beings and receiving alms at the proper time, (the sage) is fit for absorption into Brahman.
V-46. He shall at no time associate himself with the forest-dwellers (Vanaprasthas) and the householders. He shall desire to move about unobtrusively. Joy (of any kind) shall not enter him. His path indicated by the sun he shall walk the earth (unhurriedly) like a worm.
V-47. Actions entailing blessing and those connected with injury as well as those intended for the welfare of the world, these (the ascetic) shall neither perform nor cause others to do.
V-48. He shall not be attached to heterodox doctrines nor pursue a means of living. He shall not indulge in assertive arguments nor lean to either side in a debate.
V-49. He shall not have a following of disciples nor study many books. He shall not utilise a commentary nor initiate inaugural functions anywhere.
V-50. Without displaying any distinctive emblem or motive the ascetic shall show himself to the people as a mad man or a child or a dumb person though he is (all) wise.
V-51. He shall neither do nor speak on anything. He shall have no thoughts good or bad. Delighting in the Self, the sage shall move about, leading this way of life.
V-52. He shall move about the country alone, free from attachment, his senses subdued, playing with and rejoicing in the Self, self-possessed, equanimous.
V-53. Wise (but) playful like a child, well versed but appearing dull-witted, (the ascetic) shall journey. Learned, he may speak like a mad man. Seeking food like a cow he shall walk in the path of the Upanishads.
V-54-55. Disregarded, insulted, deceived, envied, beaten, obstructed or made to suffer by denial of food by wicked people or when faeces and urine are thrown at him by the ignorant and shaken in various ways, (the ascetic) desiring welfare but fallen into difficulties shall raise himself by the (power of the) Self.
V-56-57. Honour received by the ascetic brings about great loss to the wealth of his penance (Yoga), but when he is disregarded by ignorant people he attains success in the practice of Yoga (as he becomes free of ego by the ordeal). Without transgressing right conduct of the good the Yogin may so move about, that (ordinary) people may disregard him; but they shall never associate with him.
V-58. They Yogin (absorbed in meditation) shall do no harm by word, thought or physical action to beings such as the womb-born, the egg-born and others. He shall avoid all associations.
V-59. Abandoning all defects, such as passion and anger as well as pride, greed, delusion, etc., the mendicant monk shall remain free from fear.
V-60. Eaten food given as alms, observing silence, penance, meditation specially, (possessing) correct knowledge and dispassion – these are considered to be the duties of a mendicant monk.
V-61. Wearing ochre garment, ever devoted to the Yoga of meditation, he may take shelter (for the night) at the outskirts of a village, the shade of a tree or even in a temple. He shall always live on alms and nowhere eat food obtained from one house alone.
V-62. A wise man (before embracing renunciation) shall always be on the move till he attains purity of mind; there the pure-minded shall renounce worldly life and move about here and there.
V-63. Visualising God (the Lord Vishnu) everything, both outwardly and inwardly, he shall move about at all times, silent and free from impurity like the breeze.
V-64. Equanimous in joy and sorrow, patient and forgiving, eating what comes to his hand and seeing without enmity equally on the ‘twice-born’, the cow, the horse and the deer, etc., (he shall journey).
V-65. Meditating on Vishnu (who is) the supreme Self and the Lord (Ishana), contemplating on the Supreme bliss and remembering that he is Brahman alone (he shall spend the time).
V-66. Thus having become wise and possessing complete control over the mind, turning away from desires, unclad (by becoming an Avadhuta), always discarding all worldly affairs by thought, word and deed and turning his face away from the illusory phenomenal world, (the sage) becomes liberated (from worldly bondage) by deep meditation on his Self according to the maxim of the wasp and the worm.
Thus (ends the fifth chapter of) the Upanishad.
VI-1. Then Narada asked of the grandfather (Brahma): ‘Lord, (the sage attains liberation) by that practice, according to the maxim of the wasp and the worm. How is that practice (accomplished) ?’ The god Brahma said to him: ‘True in speech he shall lead the life, with his body remaining distinctive by the (power of) wisdom and dispassion.’
VI-2. Wisdom is the (wise man’s) body; know that dispassion is his life; tranquillity and self restraint his eyes; the mind his face; intelligence his digit (kala) (consisting of sixteen parts beginning with Prana and ending with naman); the twenty-five elements his limbs, the (aggregate of the) states (of waking, etc.,) his five primary elements (of earth, water, etc.,); action, devotion, wisdom and dispassion are the branches (i.e. hands in the form of his) waking, dreaming, deep sleep and the fourth state (turiya); the fourteen organs are of the form of (unstable) pillars (fixed) in slime. None the less, as a pilot guides a boat even from a muddy place (to safety), as a mahout an (intractable) elephant, the man of dispassion shall bring them (organs) under his control by his discernment; and considering everything other than the ‘I’ (i.e. the Self) to be false and transitory, he shall always speak of himself as Brahman. There is nothing else for him to know other than his Self. Being thus ‘liberated while living’ (jivanmukta) he lives as one who has fulfilled himself. He shall never say, ‘I am not Brahman’, but (feel) incessantly ‘Brahman I am’ in the states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep; (then) reaching the turiya state he shall be merged in the state of turiyatita (of disembodied final beatitude).
VI-3. (In the fourth state of turiya) the day is the waking state, the night is the dreaming state and mid-night is the state of deep sleep. In one state there are the four states. Among the fourteen organs, each of which has a single function under its control, the functions of the eye, etc., (will now be described). By the eye there is the comprehension of form, by the ears that of sound, by the tongue that of taste, by the nose that of smell, by speech that of articulate expression, by the hand that of seizure, by the feet that of movement, by the anus that of evacuation, by the genitals that of (sexual) pleasure and by the skin that of touch. Intelligence which comprehends objects is dependent on these (described above). (It) comprehends by intelligence. It becomes conscious by the mind (chitta). It becomes conceited by the ego. Having specially created these the individual Self (Jiva) becomes as such due to the conscious possession of the body. The Jiva pervades the body as a householder moves in his house conscious of its possession. Having understood (the nature) of the face (of consciousness) (in the lotus of the heart) namely, that it experiences goodness in the eastern petal, sleep and sloth in the south-eastern, cruelty in the southern, sinfulness in the south-western, sportiveness in the western, inclination to move about in the north-western, tranquillity in the northern, wisdom in the north-eastern, dispassion in the pericarp, and thought of the Self in the filaments (the sage is left with the consciousness of the turiyatita Brahman alone simultaneously with the dawn of that wisdom).
VI-4. There is in the state (of the awareness) of life, the first of the waking state, the second of dreaming, the third of deep sleep, the fourth of the turiya state; and the ‘state beyond the fourth’ (turiyatita) when the four states are absent. The Self is one only (spoken of as) having the different states of vishva, taijasa, prajna and tatastha (the passive state). There is (only) one luminous Being, the witness, the one free of all attributes; the sage shall speak (i.e. feel) that he is Brahman (alone).
Otherwise there are the four states of waking, etc., in the waking state, the four states of dreaming, etc., in the dreaming state, the four states of deep sleep, etc., in the state of deep sleep and the four states of turiya, etc., in the turiya state. Not so in the state of turiyatita which is devoid of attributes. As vishva, taijasa, prajna and Ishvara in the states of the gross, subtle and causal bodies, the witness remains as one alone in all the states. Is the passive one (tatastha) the witness ? The tatastha is the not the witness. Due to being a witness, he is not the witness alone. The Jiva is affected by his states of doing, enjoying and egotism, etc. The one other than the Jiva is unaffected (by the various states). If argued that the Jiva too is unaffected, it is not so. There is the conscious feeling of the body due to the consciousness of being the Jiva and of being a Jiva due to the possession of the body. There is an intervention in the state of the Jiva as between the ether in the pot and the all pervading ether. It is due to this intervention alone that the Jiva, pretending inhalation and exhalation investigates (into the supreme witness) by the mantra, ‘The Hamsa (Brahman), that I am”. Thus realizing (that there is really no difference between the Jiva and the supreme witness) one shall abandon conscious feeling of the body; thus one becomes free of the consciousness of the body. Such a one alone is said to be Brahman.
VI-5. Giving up attachment, conquering anger, taking a very moderate diet, subduing the senses and blocking the gates (of the body) by his intelligence, (the ascetic) shall direct his mind towards deep meditation.
VI-6. In solitary places alone, in caves and forests, the Yogin, ever in harmony, shall always begin well his meditation (on the Self).
VI-7. In receptions, ceremonies performed in honour of the manes (Sraddhas) and sacrifices, in religious processions and festivities and in the assemblies of people the knower of Yoga desiring final emancipation shall never be present.
VI-8. The Yogin absorbed in meditation shall so move about that the people disregard and insult him; but he shall never swerve from the path of the good.
VI-9. The three disciplines are restraint in speech, restraint in action and perfect control of the mind; he who practises these three restraints is ‘the observer of the three disciplines’ (tridandin) and is a great sage.
VI-10. That ascetic is considered as the foremost of all, who goes to receive alms from different houses of very learned Brahmanas, as a bee does for honey, when the ritual fire emits no smoke and has burnt itself out.
VI-11. He is a despicable ascetic who goes for alms continuously (without any restraint), remains in that order (of ascetics) without an inward urge and has no dispassion.
VI-12. He is considered an ascetic and no other, who, knowing that alms are specially attainable in a particular house, does not go there again.
VI-13-14. That ascetic is considered as one beyond the castes and orders (ativarnashramin) who realizes the supreme truth which is free of the body, senses, etc., which is the all-witness, the spiritual wisdom, the self of bliss and the self-radiant. Castes and orders, etc., pertaining to the body are invented by the bamboozling illusion.
VI-15. They (the castes and orders) are never part of my Self which is of the form of pure consciousness. He who realizes thus by the (teachings of the) Upanishads shall be deemed as one beyond the castes and orders.
VI-16. He whose conduct conforming to castes and orders has dropped out on visualising his Self, goes beyond all (restrictions of) castes and orders and remains in the (bliss of his) Self.
VI-17. The knowers of the truth of all the Vedas declare that man to be beyond the castes and orders who is established in his Self, having reached the stage beyond his order (ashrama) an his caste (varna). VI-18. Therefore, Oh Narada, even the castes and the orders of other people have all been superimposed on the Self by delusion (of the ordinary people); this is not done by the knower of the Self.
VI-19. There is no (Vedic) injunction, no prohibition, no rule of exclusion or inclusion to those who have realized Brahman; nor is there anything else (restricting their conduct), Oh Narada.
VI-20-21. Unattached to all beings and even to the (attainment of the) position of the god Brahma and uprooting tenderness towards everything, even to his children, wealth, etc., (the novice), full of faith in the path leading to liberation and desiring to acquire the wisdom of the Upanishads, should approach a Guru who has realized Brahman, with a present in his hand.
VI-22. Pleasing him by rendering personal service attentively for a long time, he shall always listen with great attention to (his exposition of) the truths of the Upanishads.
VI-23. Free from ‘mine-ness’ and egotism, bereft of all attachment and always possessing tranquillity, etc., he visualises the Atman in his Self.
VI-24. Dispassion always dawns (on one) only when one sees the defects of worldly life. To one discontented with the life in the world renunciation will come. There is no doubt about it.
VI-25. One (truly) desiring liberation is called a Paramahamsa. (Before reaching this state) the ascetic shall practise (in his life) the wisdom of the scripture which is evidently the one means of liberation, by listening to the exposition of the Upanishads, etc.
VI-26. In order to attain the wisdom of the scripture (that results in self-realization) the sage called the Paramahamsa should be equipped with all the means such as tranquillity, self-restraint, etc.
VI-27-29. Deeply intent on the practice of the (wisdom of the) Upanishads, tranquil, self restrained, conquering the senses, fearless, free always from ‘mine-ness’, unaffected by the pairs (of opposites), without dependants or other belongings (the ascetic) shall be clad in a tattered loincloth and be with shaven head; or he may be unclad. Wise, proficient in the Vedanta, practising yoga, free from ‘mine-ness’ and egotism, equanimous towards friends, etc., friendly to all beings, alone, the man of wisdom and the self-controlled – (such an ascetic) crosses (the ocean of worldly misery) and not any other.
VI-30. (As novice) he shall be devoted to the welfare of his elders and reside a year there (in the abode of the Guru). He shall always be vigilant in the observance of the lesser vows (niyamas) as well as the great moral duties (yamas).
VI-31. Then at the end (of the year) having attained the excellent Yoga of wisdom he shall move about the country in conformity with (lit. without antagonizing) right conduct.
VI-32. Thereafter at the end of another year he shall give up (even) the excellent wisdom of the Yajnavalkya and the triad of orders (of Kutichaka, etc.,) and reach the state of the Paramahamsa. VI-33. And bidding farewell to the Gurus (elders and preceptors) he shall indeed move about the country, giving up all attachment, subduing anger, being very moderate in diet, and conquering the senses.
VI-34. These two (people) do not fare well due to incompatibility in their action; the householder not engaging himself in productive work and the mendicant monk busying himself with work.
VI-35. On seeing a young handsome woman (he) becomes inflamed with passion, and drinking liquor he becomes intoxicated. Therefore he shall avoid from afar a woman who is poison to the eye.
VI-36. Conversing with women, as well as chatting with and sending them on errands, their dance, music and laughter and scandals about them – these (the ascetic) shall avoid.
VI-37. Neither (ceremonial) ablution nor muttering prayers, nor worship (of the gods), nor offering oblation to gods, nor means of accomplishing anything, nor fire-ritual, etc., is to be practised by him here, Oh Narada.
VI-38. He has not (to do) the worshipping (of gods), offering oblation to the manes, going on pilgrimage and the observing of vows; he has neither righteous conduct (dharma) nor unrighteous conduct (adharma); nor has he any rule (of conduct) nor worldly action.
VI-39-41. The Yogin shall give up all (worldly) duties and those conforming to popular practices in every way. The wise ascetic, the Yogin, his mind dwelling on the highest truth, shall not destroy insects, worms, moths, as well as trees. With your attention always turned inward, pure, composed in mind, your mind filled with the Self, discarding inward contact (with outward objects), may you, Oh Narada, move freely in the world. Journeying alone the ascetic shall not move about in an anarchical country.
VI-42. Praising none, bowing to no one, not uttering Svadha (as he worships no manes), residing in unstable (deserted houses) and hills the ascetic shall move about without any restraint. Thus (ends the sixth chapter of) the Upanishad.
VII-1. Then asked about the restrictions to (the conduct of) the ascetic, the god Brahma said to them in front of Narada. (The ascetic) being dispassionate shall reside in a fixed abode during the rains and move about for eight months alone; he shall not (then) reside in one place (continuously). The mendicant monk shall not stay in one place like a deer out of fright. He shall not accept (any proposal to prolong his stay) which militates against his departure. He shall not cross a river (swimming) with his hands. Neither shall he climb a tree (for fruits). He shall not witness the festival in honour of any god. He shall not subsist on food from one place (alone). He shall not perform external worship of gods. Discarding everything other than the Self and subsisting on food secured as alms from a number of houses as a bee (gathers honey), becoming lean, not increasing fat (in the body), he shall discard (the fattening) ghee like blood. (He shall consider) getting food in one house alone as (taking) meat, anointing himself with fragrant unguent as smearing with an impure thing, treacle as an outcaste, garment as a plate with leavings of another, oil-bath as attachment to women, delighting with friends as urine, desire as beef, the place previously known to him as the hut of an outcaste, women as snakes, gold as deadly poison, an assembly hall as a cemetery, the capital city as dreadful hell (Kumbhipaka), and food in one house as lumps of flesh of a corpse.
Discarding the sight of others as different from himself and also the ways of the world, leaving his native place, avoiding the places previously known to him, recollecting the bliss of the Self like the joy of regaining a forgotten object and forgetting the pride in his body and native place, admitting that his body is fit to be discarded like a corpse, he shall remain far away leaving the place of his children and close relatives as a thief does when released from prison. Subsisting on food secured without effort, devoting himself to meditation on Brahman and the Pranava and freed of all (worldly) activities, having burnt passion, anger, greed, delusion, pride, envy, etc., and unaffected by the three gunas (Sattva etc.,), free of the six human infirmities (hunger, thirst, etc.,), devoid of change due to the six states (of beings namely origin, existence, etc.,), true in speech, pure, not hating any one, (residing) one night in a village, five nights in a city, five nights in sacred spots, five nights in holy places on the banks of sacred rivers, without a fixed abode, with a steady mind, never uttering a falsehood, he may reside in mountain-caves; he shall journey alone, (but intent on the four months of rest during the rains, chaturmashya) he may journey in the company of another towards a village, and as three or four towards a city.
(The rule is) that a mendicant monk shall journey alone. He shall not allow free play to the fourteen organs there. Enjoying the wealth of dispassion brought on by the full knowledge (of the transient nature of worldly life), (firmly) resolved in himself that there is no one other than his Self and there is no other different from him, seeing everywhere his own form and (thus) attaining liberation while living (jivanmukti), and conscious of his fourfold Self (as Otir, etc.,) till the end of the sway of prarabdha-karman, (the ascetic) shall live meditating on his Self till his body falls.
VII-2. (These are) bathing at the three periods (sandhyas) of the day by the Kutichaka ascetic, twice by the Bahudaka, once by the Hamsa, mental bath by the Paramahamsa, bath (i.e. smearing) of holy ashes by the Turiyatita, and air-bath by the Avadhuta.
VII-3. The Kutichaka should put on the perpendicular mark of sandal on the forehead (urdhvapundra), the Bahudaka the three horizontal lines of holy ashes (tripundra), the Hamsa (either) the urdhvapundra or the tripundra, the Paramahamsa the smearing of holy ashes, the Turiyatita the mark of sandal (tilakapundra), the Avadhuta none at all (or) the Turiyatita and the Avadhuta (have none at all).
VII-4. The Kutichaka shall have a shave (in each of the six) seasons, the Bahudaka a shave (at the end of) two seasons, the Paramahamsa no shave or if there is, a shave in six months (at the time of the solstice, ayana), and no shave to the Turiyatita and the Avadhuta.
VII-5. The Kutichaka takes food in one house, the Bahudaka collects alms from door to door as a bee does honey, the Hamsa and the Paramahamsa use the hand as the vessel (i.e. begging bowl), the Turiyatita is cow-mouthed (i.e. food is placed in his mouth) and the Avadhuta takes food at random (as does a python).
VII-6. The Kutichaka (wears) two garments, the Bahudaka one garment, the Hamsa a piece (of cloth), the Paramahamsa is either unclad or wears a single loin-cloth, the Turiyatita and the Avadhuta are unclad (lit. they remain as at the time of birth). The Hamsa and the Paramahamsa wear a (deer-)skin, not the others.
VII-7. The Kutichaka and the Bahudaka (practise) worship of gods, the Hamsa and the Paramahamsa worship mentally, the Turiyatita and the Avadhuta feel, ‘That I am’ (i.e. they identify the individual soul with the supreme spirit)
VII-8. The Kutichaka and the Bahudaka have the right to recite mantras, the Hamsa and the Paramahamsa to meditate (on them), the Turiyatita and the Avadhuta have no right for either of the two (practices), (but) the Turiyatita and the Avadhuta have the right to give instruction on the great Vedantic texts; so also the Paramahamsa. The Kutichaka, the Bahudaka and the Hamsa have no right to give instruction to others.
VII-9. The Kutichaka and the Bahudaka (are to meditate on) the Pranava of men (the external Pranava consisting of four mantras), the Hamsa and the Paramahamsa on the antarapranava (consisting of eight mantras), the Turiyatita and the Avadhuta on brahmapranava (consisting of sixteen matras).
VII-10. The Kutichaka and the Bahudaka shall listen (to the exposition of the Vedanta), the Hamsa and the Paramahamsa reflect on them, the Turiyatita and the Avadhuta have profound and repeated meditation on them. The rule is that all these (ascetics) shall meditate on the Self.
VII-11. Thus the aspirant after liberation always remembering the liberating mantra (Om) which enables him to cross (the ocean of) worldly life, shall live ‘liberated while living’; the ascetic shall seek the means to attain final beatitude (Kaivalya) according to the rules of the special order (of the ascetic in which he finds himself). Thus (ends the seventh chapter of) the Upanishad.
VIII-1. Then Narada asked the god Brahma: ‘Be pleased to expound the saviour mantra for ending the course of worldly life’. Agreeing to it the god Brahma commenced to expound it. The Om (is) Brahman in the mode of viewing it as made up of many separate bodies (vyashti) and as made up of parts each of which is cosubstantially the same with the whole (samashti). Which is the vyashti ? Which is the samashti ? The samhara Pranava and srishti Pranava are of three kinds: the inner Pranava (Antah-
Pranava), the outer Pranava (Bahya-Pranava) and the combined inner and outer Pranava (Ubhayatmaka-Pranava). The (one) Brahma-Pranava is (sometimes) the inner Pranava (consisting of eight matras) and the practical Pranava (Vyaharika-Pranava). The outer Pranava and the Pranava of the sages (Arsha-Pranava). The combined inner and outer Pranava is the Virat-Pranava. The Samhara-Pranava, the Brahma-Pranava and the Ardhamatra-Pranava. (Thus the Brahma-Pranava is of eight kinds: Samhara-Pranava, Srishti-Pranava, Antah-Pranava, Bahya-Pranava, Vyavaharika-Pranava, Arsa-Pranava, Virat-Pranava and Ardhamatra-Pranava).
VIII-2. The Om is Brahman. Know that the Om consisting of one syllable is the Antah-Pranava. It is divided into eight (matras) – the vowel ‘a’, the vowel ‘u’, the consonant ‘m’, the half-syllable (ardha-matra) the nada, the bindu, the kala and the shakti. Hence it is not four (as its chief matras have been said to be). The vowel ‘a’ consists of ten thousand parts, the vowel ‘u’ is of a thousand parts, the letter ‘m’ of a hundred parts and the Ardhamatra-Pranava consists of an endless number of parts. The Virat-Pranava is possessed of attributes (Saguna) and the Samhara-Pranava is free of attributes (Nirguna), the Utpatti-Pranava consists of both (Saguna and Nirguna). The Virat-Pranava is prolated (pluta). The Samhara-Pranava is pluta-pluta.
VIII-3. The Virat-Pranava consists of sixteen matras and is beyond the thirty-six primary substances. How has it sixteen matras. They are enumerated: the vowel ‘a’ is the first, the vowel ‘u’ is the second, the letter ‘m’ is the third, the ardhamatra is the fourth, the bindu is the fifth, the nada the sixth, the kala the seventh, the kalatita the eighth, shanti the ninth, the santyatita the tenth, the unmani the eleventh, the manonmani the twelfth, the puri the thirteenth, the madhyama the fourteenth, the pashyanti the fifteenth, and the para the sixteenth. Again the Brahma-Pranava though only one attains the state of possessing or not possessing attributes (Saguna and Nirguna), having attained the state of possessing 128 matras, due to the twofold character of Prakriti and Purusha, when it has sixty-four matras each.
VIII-4. This (Brahma-Pranava) is the prop of all, the supreme effulgence and the lord of all –thus (the sages with true vision) look upon it. It consists of all gods and the prop of all universe (the Lord) is in it.
VIII-5. It consists of all the syllables; it is the Time; it is composed of all the scripture and is the auspicious one (Shiva). It is the most excellent of all the Vedas and consists of (the essence) of all the Upanishads; this (Om, the Atman) should be sought.
VIII-6. Past, present and future constitute the three periods – the indestructible syllable Om (pervades and transcends) these; know that it is the beginning (of everything) and the bestower of final beatitude. VIII-7. The same (Om) which is the Atman has been described by the word Brahman. Similarly experiencing it as the one (without a second), the ageless, the immortal, the Om and super-imposing the Om along with the body (on Brahman) it becomes one with it. Know it for certain then that the triple-bodied Atman is the supreme Brahman.
VIII-8. One should deeply meditate on the supreme Brahman in the due order of Vishva, etc., (the Vishva, the Viraj, the Otir and the Turya).
VIII-9-11. This Atman is fourfold – as experiencing the gross aspect (as the Vishva) when it is an individual in the gross aspect, as enjoying (the world) in the dreaming state in a subtle form when it has assumed the subtle form (of the Taijasa), as (enjoying bliss) in the state of identity (of the Prajna and the Ishvara), and as enjoying bliss (in the Turya state). The Atman is of four padas (quarters). The Vishva consisting of four stages (Vishva-Vishva, Vishva-Taijasa, Vishva-Prajna and Vishva-Turya) is the Purusha Vaishvanara. It functions in the waking state. It perceives gross forms (of the phenomenal world) and experiences them. It possesses nineteen faces (the five organs of perception, the five organs of action, the five vital airs and the four inner senses of manas, buddhi, ahamkara and chitta), has eight limbs (the sky as the head, the sun and the moon the two eyes, the directions the ears, the sea the lower part of the abdomen, the earth the feet), moves everywhere and is the master (Prabhu).
VIII-12-13. This Vishva (jit) is the first pada (of the Atman).
[The Vishva (the Vishvapada of the Atman) has four aspects in the four states of waking, dreaming, deep sleep and the Turya. In the waking state it functions through the senses and experiences the sight, etc., of objects. This is the waking within the waking state (jagrat-jagrana). Its experiencer in the individual aspect is the Vishva-Vishva (the Vishva subdivision of the Vishvapada of the Atman); it is Virat-Viraj in the collective aspect. It is Otir-Otir in the individual and collective aspects. When the mind grasps objects without the functioning of the senses it is dreaming within the waking state (jagrat-svapna); its experiencer is Vishva-Taijasa (the Taijasa subdivision of the Vishva). When one is not conscious of anything but remains as if unconscious then it is sleep within the waking state (jagrat-susupti); its experiencer is the Vishva-Prajna (the Prajna subdivision of the Vishva). When one is in equanimity due to the grace of the Guru or the fruition of one’s good deeds (punya), as if one were in Samadhi, and behaves like an onlooker (sakshin) it is the Turya in the waking state (jagrat-turya). Its experiencer is the Vishva-Turya (the Turya subdivision of the Vishva)].
The second pada (of the Atman the Taijasa, too, has four aspects (the Taijasa-Vishva, the Taijasa-Taijasa, the Taijasa-Prajna and the Taijasa-Turya) and is the lord of beings, the Hiranyagarbha. It functions as the master in the dreaming state. It perceives subtle forms (of the phenomenal world) and experiences them. Though possessing eight limbs it is one and not different, Oh Narada (lit. the tormentor of foes).
VIII-14-16. [When in the dreaming state the Atman experiences the sight, etc., of objects with dream-eyes, etc., without the active functioning of the mind then there is the waking within the dreaming state (svapna-jagarana) and its experiencer is the Taijasa-Vishva (the Vishva subdivision of the Taijasa). Its experiencer is the Sutra-Viraj in the collective aspect of the experiences of the svapna-jagarana state; it is the Otir subdivision of the Anujnatir in the individual and collective aspects. When in the dreaming state the Atman enjoys the objects by the mind alone without the functioning of the dream-eyes, etc., and the svapna-jagarana state, it is the state of svapna-svapna (dreaming within the dreaming state). Its experiencer is the Taijasa-taijasa (the Taijasa subdivision of the Taijasa pada of the Atman). When there is no experience of the svapna-jagarana and the svapna-svapna states and there is no perception either by the dream-eyes, etc., or by the mind and there is a total forgetfulness of external objects and of oneself, that state of insensibility is the svapna-susupti (the state of deep sleep within the dreaming state). The Atman who experiences this state is the Taijasa-Prajna (the Prajna subdivision of the Taijasa pada of the Atman). When due to the fruition of one’s good deeds there are no perceptions of the three previous states of the dreaming state and the Atman remains in the Turya state of the dreaming state, when there shines a neutral state (the state of a witness) of generic and particular experiences of the external world and of the inner senses, that state is svapna-turya (the Turya subdivision of dreaming state) and the Atman who experiences this is the Taijasa-Turya (the Turya subdivision of the Taijasa pada of the fourfold Atman].
When one is asleep and neither hankers after desire nor sees any dream, that is clearly deep sleep. In this state functions the four-fold Prajna (as Prajna-Vishva, Prajna-Taijasa, Prajna-Prajna and Prajna-Turya), which is termed the third pada of the Atman. This Atman is one, remains in the state of deep sleep, possesses the fullness of wisdom, enjoys happiness, consists of everlasting bliss and remains in the heart of all beings; yet he enjoys bliss, has the mind for his face, is omnipresent and indestructible and is the Ishvara.
VIII-17. He is the lord of all, omniscient and subtle in conception. He permeates all beings; he is the prime source, the origin and the destruction of all.
VIII-18. All these three stages (of waking, dreaming and deep sleep) are a hindrance to the annihilation of all activities to beings (i.e. for self-realization); hence they are akin to the state of deep sleep; it is really dream-stuff and has been said to be an illusion alone. [In the state of deep sleep when the person remaining in either of the two states of waking or dreaming desires to move to the state of deep sleep and experiences the false notion of form, etc., of objects with the eyes, etc., then it is the state of waking within deep sleep (susupti-jagrat); its experiencer in the individual aspect is the Vishva subdivision of the Prajna; in its collective aspect it is the Viraj subdivision of the Bijatman; in the combined individual and collective aspect it is the Anujnaikarasotir. In the state of deep sleep when the Atman is free of the false notion of form, etc., of external objects and occupying a position in either of the waking or dreaming states experiences the false notions of form, etc., of objects, it is the state of dreaming with in deep sleep (svapna-svapna). The experiencing Atman then is the Prajna-Taijasa (the Taijasa subdivision of the Prajna). Again in deep sleep when the Atman, though experiencing the false notion of form, etc., of objects with the false activities (of seeing, etc.), which pervade one’s consciousness (Chaitanya), is yet not experiencing them as if stagnant, then it is the state of deep sleep within deep sleep. The experiencing Atman then is the Prajna-Prajna (the Prajna subdivision immanent in the Prajna). Again in the state of deep sleep when the Atman enjoys bliss, remaining as the witness of the experiences of the three previous stages in deep sleep, then it is the Turya state of deep sleep and the experiencing Atman is the Prajna-Turya (the Turya subdivision of the Prajna)].
VIII-19-20. The fourth (pada, the Turya) though fourfold (as Turya-Vishva, Turya-Taijasa, Turya-Prajna and Turya-Turya) is indeed the one essence of pure consciousness, for the reason that each one of these (Vishva, etc.,) culminates in the Turya state. (The Turya state) forms the basis for the differentiation (of the Atman) as Otir, Anujnatir and Anujnana (i.e. Anujnanaikarasa). These three different states are (really) susupta (as they merely constitute a veil of the Turya-Turya which is supreme bliss) and consists of an inward dream-stuff. Knowing that (anything other than the Turya-Turya) is mere illusion, there remains the next moment the one essence of pure consciousness.
VIII-21. [As the Turya-Turya, being the one state of bliss, is incapable of subdivisions in the individual, collective, and partly individual and partly collective aspects, the Turya by itself is not of a fourfold nature, but only three (excluding the Turya-Turya). This threefold nature of the Turya may be explained thus: As there are distinctions in external objects, the knower of Brahman perceives them with his senses, but without distinction; this state is the turya-jagarana; the Atman who experiences this state individually is the Turya-Vishva, collectively it is the Turya-Viraj, partly individual partly collective it is the Avikalpa-Otir. When the knower of Brahman, with all sense-activities abated, perceives the oneness of the Self with Brahman by his mind alone it is the state of turya-svapna; the Atman who experiences this is the Turya-Taijasa. When the person is in distinctionless deep meditation
(Nirvikalpa-samadhi) and remains as if in a state of suspended animation, it is the state of turya-susupti
and the experiencing Atman is the Turya-Prajna.]
Here is the distinct precept that the Turya-Turya is not at any time gross wisdom, (as it is not the Otrotir which is the same as Vishva-Vishva and the Viraj-Viraj, experiencing the jagrat-jagarana state), nor indeed the subtle sentience (as it is different from the Taijasa, Sutra and Anujnatir of the Svapna-jagarana state), nor pure consciousness (Prajna), (as it is different from the Otir-Avikalpa, the same as the Vishva, the Viraj and the Turya of the form of consciousness disclosing the presence or absence of the jagrat-jagarana and other states), nor anywhere else, Oh sage.
VIII-22. It is not non-consciousness (Aprajna) (as it is far away from the Anujnatir-Otir, identical with the Taijasa-Vishva and the Sutra-Viraj that are without outward perception in the svapna-jagarana state), nor of both gross and subtle consciousness (as it is outside the scope of Otir-Anujnaikarasa, identified with the Vishva-Prajna and the Viraj-Bija of the jagrat-svapna state which is outside the province of true knowledge), nor exclusive intelligence (as it is not within the scope of Anujnatir-Anujnaikarasa, identified with the Taijasa-Prajna and the Sutra-Bija of the form of exclusive intelligence functioning in the svapna-svapna state) and is never perceptible (as it is beyond the range of the Anujnatir-Anujnatir, identified with the taijasa-Taijasa and the Sutra-Sutra deluded by the vision created by the mind in the svapna-svapna state).
VIII-23. It cannot be defined (as it is different from the Anujnaikarasa-Anujnatir, identified with the Prajna-Taijasa and the Bija-Sutra which can be known only through the ignorance of the Atman in the svapna-svapna state), cannot be grasped (as it is different from the Anujnaikarasa-Otir, identified with the Prajna-Vishva and the Bija-Viraj, which can be grasped through the ignorance of the Atman in the svapna-jagarana state), is incapable of being expressed (as it is different from the Anujnatir-Avikalpa, identified with the Taijasa-Sutra-Turiya, which manifests the presence or absence of the svapna-jagarana and other states in the svapna-turya state), is beyond thought (as it is outside the Anujnaikarasa-Anujnaikarasa, identified with the Prajna-Prajna and the Bija-Bija in the svapa-svapa state, having only the recollection, ‘I know not anything of that state’), is incapable of being given a name (as it is untouched by the perception of the Anujnaikarasa-Avikalpa, identified with the Prajna-Bija-Turya, that could be named as the witness of the presence or absence of the svapna-jagarana and similar states in the svapna-turya state), is also the essence of the conviction in the one Atman (as it is different from the perceptions of the Avikalpa-Otir, identified with the Turya-Vishva-Viraj, experiencing the turya-jagarana state), is the annihilation of worldly life (as it cannot bear even the smell of the Avikalpa-Anujnatir, identified with the Turya-Taijasa-Sutra which in some cases does not put an end to worldly life and which experiences the turya-svapna state), is quiescent (as it differs from the experience of the Avikalpa-Anujnaikarasa, identified with the Turya-Prajna-Bija experiencing the turya-svapna state), is the auspicious one (as it is the same as final beatitude – Kaivalya – in the disembodied state) and is the non-dual one (as it is of the form of the supreme non-dual state without a counter-part) – this (the knowers of Brahman) consider as the fourth (the turya-turya); it is the (same as the) Brahma-Pranava. This should be realized and not any other (called) turya. This (turya-turya) is the prop to the seekers after liberation as the sun (to the phenomenal world); it is self-effulgent (as it is the source of lustre to the sun, etc.,); it is the ether of Brahman (as it is without a counter-part); it always shines as it is the transcendent Brahman. Thus (ends the eighth chapter of) the Upanishad.
IX-1. Then Narada inquired: ‘How is the real form of Brahman ?’ The god Brahma answered (expounding) the real form of Brahman. Those who consider that He (the transcendent Brahman) is one and himself (the individual self) as another are beasts, though not beasts in their (true) nature. The wise (sage) having realized thus (that the individual Self and Brahman are identical) is released from the jaws of death (i.e. belief in duality results in death and renunciation-birth; that in non-duality, in immortality). There is no other path known to reach the goal (of final beatitude).
IX-2. Time (is the root-cause of worldly life, say some philosophers), Nature (say the Mimamsakas), chance (say the atheists), the (five) elements (say the Jainas who believe in the eternality of the world), Matter (Prakriti) (say the Saktas), the Purusha (Hiranyagarbha) (say the Yogins) – thus the speculation (on the cause of worldly life). The combination of these is not (the cause) on account of the existence of the Self. The Self too is incapable (of being the cause) on account of its being subject to happiness and misery.
IX-3. They (the knowers of Brahman) resorting to the Yoga of deep meditation perceived the power (Maya) of the self-luminous Atman, well hidden by its own attributes (of Sattva, etc.,), who, alone, governs all these causes including Time and the individual Self.
IX-4. (Maya, under the guidance of the Saguna-Brahman – Ishvara – created the universe. Brahman itself does not perform any action as it is nishkriya). (They perceived) that (world resembling the wheel of a chariot) in one felly (Maya), covered with three (the gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, possessing the power of creation, sustenance and withdrawal of the world, due to the association with the three gunas), possessing sixteen powers (kalas), having fifty spokes with twenty nails (in the form of the senses and their objects), having six groups of eight (astakas) with one fetter (desire) of many forms, with three kinds of paths, and having delusion which is the cause of the two (goodness and sin, based on love and hatred).
IX-5. We think of that (river) the water of which flows in five ways (currents), which has five fierce mouths due to five causes, the waves of which are the five vital airs, whose source is (the ego) which controls the five senses of perception, which has five whirlpools, whose speed of flow consists of the five miseries, which has fifty divisions and which has five junctures.
IX-6. In this wheel of Brahman which is (the cause of) the life of all, (the substratum of) the dissolution of all and extensive (far vaster than the sky), the Hamsa (the Paramatman in the form of the individual Self) is revolved. Having considered himself as separate (as the individual Self, as the ether in the pot with reference to the all-pervading ether), and Brahman as the controlling Self (he is revolved in the wheel of worldly life); and then becoming beloved by Him (on realizing the truth in 'Thou art That', and ‘I am Brahman’) (the individual soul) attains immortality.
IX-7. This (described before as different from the Saguna Brahman, or Ishvara) has indeed been sung (in the Upanishads) as the supreme Brahman; on Him (the essence of the Pranava) the triad (is super-imposed) and it is the support (of the phenomenal world) which is in itself; it is imperishable. Knowers of the Veda realizing the difference (between the Self and Brahman to be false) and being completely devoted to Him are absorbed in the transcendent Brahman.
IX-8. The Lord sustains the universe unified (by cause and effect), the perishable (phenomenal world) and the imperishable (Maya), the manifested (Nature) and the unmanifested (cause, Maya). The individual Atman is considered to be powerless due to its nature of being an experiencer (of pleasure and pain); having realized the self-effulgent Being, he becomes free of all bonds.
IX-9. The omniscient and the ignorant are the two uncreated beings; the (former) is the Lord and (the other) the powerless (anisha); there is indeed the one uncreated (Prakriti) which is intended for the things of experience and the experiencer The (transcendent) Atman is unlimited and omnipresent and is not an agent (of actions). When (one) realizes these three (Ishvara, the individual Self and Prakriti) to be Brahman (one becomes Brahman).
IX-10. Prakriti (Pradhana) is perishable; the Lord (Hara, who dispels ignorance) is immortal and imperishable. The one self-effulgent Being rules over the perishable (Prakriti) and the individual Atman. By repeated deep meditation on Him and concentration of the mind (in Yoga, ‘I am He’) and by the realization of true reality, (there shall be) the disappearance of the universal illusion (Maya) at the end (of one’s ignorance).
IX-11. Having realized the self-effulgent Lord (as identical with the Self) one is released from all bonds; with all miseries destroyed there will be an end to births and deaths. By deeply meditating on that (that he is no other than that reality) and when the difference between the body (and the Self has disappeared) (the sage) realizes the third supreme state (of the Parameshvara) and (therein) final beatitude (kevala), and (thus) has fulfilled himself.
IX-12. This (Brahman) should be realized (as oneself), it is everlasting and present as the individual Atman; for there is nothing other than that that is worthy of realization. Having considered (with illusory vision) the experiencer (individual Atman), the objective world (of experience) and the Ishvara (ruler) (as different), (know) that all this triad has been well declared (by the knowers of the Vedanta) to be Brahman (alone).
IX-13. The means of realizing this Brahman is the Brahma-Vidya (the teaching of the Upanishads) and penance (i.e. deep meditation); it is solely dependent on the Upanishads (for its realization).
IX-14. To one who thus understands and meditates on one’s Self alone, ‘What delusion is there, what sorrow, to one who beholds oneness ?’ Hence (the separateness of) Viraj, the past, the present and the future (disappears and they) become of the form of the indestructible (Brahman).
IX-15. Subtler than the atom, greater than the great, the Self is situated in the heart of this (every) creature. One sees this transcendent Lord who is free from passions by the grace of the creator and (thus) becomes freed from sorrow.
IX-16. Having no hands and feet, (the Lord) moves fast and grasps (objects); without eyes He sees; without ears He hears. He knows things to be known (without a mind, as he is omniscient); no one knows Him. (knowers of the Vedanta) speak of Him as the foremost transcendental Purusha (the supreme Consciousness).
IX-17. The wise (Yogin) does not feel sorrow, having realized the Atman who is bodiless, transcendent and all pervading and who is present in (all) bodies which are impermanent.
IX-18. This transcendent (Being) the prop of all (as Vishnu), whose powers are beyond (the reach of) thought, who is to be realized by the esoteric meaning of all the Upanishads, and who is greater than the (indestructible) great, ought to be realized; at the end of everything (phenomenal) the emancipator (lit. the harbinger of death to avidya) ought to be known.
IX-19. The (all-)wise, the (most) ancient, the most exalted of sentient beings, the Lord of all, the one adored by all gods, and devoid of beginning, middle and end, the infinite, the indestructible and the prop (lit. the mountain) to (the gods) Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma (should be realized).
IX-20. All this Universe made up of the five elements and remaining in the five, which becomes endless in variety by their quintuplication is pervaded by him (the Atman as Antaryamin, etc.,); but it is unencompassable by the parts (thus) quintuplicated; (for) it is the highest of the high and greater than the great, and eternal auspiciousness by the effulgence of its own form. (Thus the seeker after liberation should realize the Self as Brahman).
IX-21. Neither one who has not refrained from bad conduct, nor one who is not peaceful, nor one without concentrated meditation, nor one whose mind is not quiescent can realize him (Brahman) by (mere) knowledge (of the scripture). (By the one gaining true knowledge (Prajnana) by refraining from the evils described above realizes Brahman).
IX-22. The Self (remaining in oneself) reveals itself neither to one (who considers it) as inwardly wise, nor as outwardly wise, nor as gross, nor as subtle, nor as knowledge, nor as ignorance, nor as knowledge of both (external and internal), nor as conceivable, nor as directly connected with worldly activities. He who realizes it thus becomes liberated; he becomes liberated. Thus said the god Brahma. IX-23. The mendicant monk is a knower of the real nature of the Self. The mendicant monk journeys alone (as duality is foreign to him even in a crowd). Like a deer timid through fear, he remains (without mixing with company). He does not stand in the way (of others’ progress). Discarding everything other than his (bare) body, sustaining his life in the manner of a bee (by collecting food from different places) and deeply meditating on his Self and without seeing any difference in all things from his own Self, he becomes liberated. This mendicant monk abstaining from being the agent of all (worldly) actions, freed from (duties of) the preceptor, disciple, scripture, etc., and discarding all bands of the phenomenal world, is untouched by delusions. How can the mendicant monk devoid of wealth be happy ? He is rich (as he has the wealth of Brahman), beyond both knowledge and ignorance, beyond pleasure and pain, illumined by self-effulgence, celebrated among all (people), omniscient, the giver of all great powers, the lord of all – thus he considers himself. That is the highest place of Lord Vishnu where the Yogins, having reached it never return (therefrom). The sun shines not there, nor does the moon. He never again returns (to worldly life), he never returns. That is final beatitude (Kaivalya). Thus (ends) the Upanishad. End of the ninth chapter (and the Upanishad).
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Narada-Parivrajakopanishad, included in the Atharva-Veda.
Trisikhi Brahmana Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
A Brahmin called ‘Trishiki Brahmana’ went to the land of Sun God and asked him, “Oh God, What is body? What is soul? What is the cause and what is Athma?” 1
The Sun God replied:
You have to realize that all this is Shiva. Because only Shiva is ever clean, who is devoid of any blemishes, and who is everywhere and for whom there is no second. He is the only one who creates everything by his light and similar to the fire appearing in different forms on different pieces of steel, he appears in different forms. If you ask, to what he gives light, the answer would be, Brahmam which is denoted by the word, “Sath”, and which is merged with ignorance and illusion. That Brhamam gave rise to, “that which is not clear”. “That which is not clear” gave rise to, “Mahat (great)”. “Mahat” gave rise to egoism. Egoism gave rise to “Five Thanmathras”. That “Five Thanmathras” gave rise to “Five Bhoothas” viz earth, water, fire air and ether.
1. Ether is consciousness viz mind, wisdom, self will, and egoism
2. Air is Samana, Udhana, Vyana, Apana and Prana which are the airs in the body.
3. Fire is ears, skin, eyes, tongue and nose.
4. The concept of water is feelings of sound, touch, view, taste and smell.
5. Earth is words, hands, legs and other physical organs.
6. Ether which is the concept of wisdom is decision, behavior and self esteem.
7. The actions related to air are uniting, changing of places, taking, hearing and breathing.
8. The actions related to fire are the feeling of touch, sight, taste, view and sound. These also depend on water.
9. The actions related to earth are talking, giving, taking, going and coming.
10. The actions of the Prana Thanmathra (Symbolic soul) are the organs for doing work and organs for earning wisdom.
11. Egoism is limited to mind, brain and the will to do.
12. The micro aspects of the symbolic soul (Prana Thanmathra) are giving place, scattering, seeing, uniting and being firm.
These twelve are the aspects of philosophy, early concept of godliness and early concept of physical existence. Chandra, Brahma, directions, air, sun, Varuna, Aswini devas (divine doctors), Fire, Indra (king of devas), Upendra, Prajapathi and Yama (God of death) are the Gods of the organs and senses who travel like soul in these twelve aspects. 1
[Slokas 2 & 3 are not available.]
From there, Earth came in to existence, embracing one thing with the other, pervading by criss-cross connections, step by step as the result of Pancha Boothas (Five aspects of earth, air, water, fire and ether) gained life. 4
In that earth, plants, climbers, food and four types of pindas (body centers) arose. The root sections of the body are taste, blood, flesh, fat, bones, nerves and semen. 5
Some Pindas arose because of their own interaction and some Pindas arose because of the interaction of Pancha Boothas. In this that Pinda called “Anna Mayam (area of food)” is in the area of the belly. 6
In the middle of this body is the heart which is like the lotus flower with its stalk. The Gods for management, egoism and action are in there. 7
The seed for this is the thamo guna (baser qualities) pinda which is passion oriented and solidified (does not move or change). This is the world with its varied nature and is situated in the neck. 8
The inside looking happy Athma (soul) is on the summit of the head and is situated in the Parama Patha place. This is in its earth like form and shines with great strength. 9
The state of awakening is every where. The state of dream is also is there in the state of wakefulness.
The state of sleep and the state of higher knowledge (Thuriya) is not there in other states. 10 Similar to the tastes pervading in all parts of a good fruit, Shiva Shakthi pervades every where. 11
Similarly all kosas (area of the body) are within Annamaya Kosa. Similar to the kosam is the soul. Similar to the soul is Shiva. 12
The living being is one with feelings. Shiva is one without feelings. The kosas are the places of feelings of living being. And they give rise to states of existence. 13
Similar to the fact that churning of water produces ripples and foam, by churning of mind several painful thoughts are produced. 14
By performing duties, the living being, becomes the slave to those duties. By forsaking them, he attains peace. He becomes one, who sees the world in southern path. 15
The living being with egoism and self esteem is indeed Sadashiva. The living being attains that type of illusion because of his company with the ignorant soul. 16
He attains hundreds of yonis (female reproductive organ) and stays there because of familiarity. Like a fish traveling in between the banks of a river, he keeps on traveling till he attains salvation. 17
Over passage of time due to the wisdom of the knowledge of the soul, he turns on the northern path and step by step goes up. 18
When he is able to send his soul power to his head and does permanent practice of Yoga, he gets wisdom. Because of wisdom, his yoga acts. 19
Once Yoga and wisdom become stable in him, he becomes a yogi. He will never be destroyed. He would see Lord Shiva in his deficiencies and will not see deficiencies in Lord Shiva. 20
To get results of yoga, it has to be done without any other thought. Without practice you will not succeed in Yoga or wisdom. The yogi will not get the results out of these also. 21
So by practice of yoga, mind and soul should be controlled. The Yogi should cut off the problems in yoga similar to the cutting of material with a sharp knife. 22
[Slokas 23 to 145 are not available.]
With pure knowledge of Athma (soul) the sensory organs should be controlled. We should always meditate on Para Vasudeva who is the greatest soul. 146
Kaivalya (salvation) is attained by the selected and sorted form of meditation on shape and form. If a yogi is able to meditate at least for a small time on Vasudeva while he is in the Kumbhaka stage of Pranayama, the sins that he has done in seven births will be destroyed. You have to understand that the portion from belly to the heart is the wakeful action. In the neck, there exists the action of the dream. In between the Jaws exists the sleep. Thuriya exists in between the eyelids. That action of synthesis with Parabrahmam which is much above thuriya exists in the skull top middle called Brahmarandra. There in the foremost thuriya corner of thuriya , the soul is called Vishnu. When one meditates in the very pure Paramakasa (great ether), he should meditate on that Adhokshaja who shines for ever with the light of crores of Suns, as sitting in the lotus of his own heart. Otherwise he has to meditate on that Viswa Roopi(One who is of the form of universe), who has several forms, several faces, several planks with several armaments, several eyes which shine like crores of suns, several colours and who is peaceful and also very angry. All the mental preoccupations of a Yogi who meditates in such a manner will be completely calmed down. That Yogi who meditates on that indestructible matter which shines like God’s grace in the center of the heart, on that ultimate truth which is beyond Thuriya, on that Sun who is the form of wisdom which is immeasurable and unending, on that being who is like a shining lamp in a windless place and on that being who is like the shine of unprocessed gems, would have salvation in his grip. 147-157
To that Yogi who is able to see and experience the shine of that deva with the universal macro or micro form or atleast a small portion of him in his lotus like heart, all the occult powers like Anima would be very much within his reach. 158-159
One has to understand that the realization of the universal truth of the unity of Jeevathma (Soul) and Paramathma (God) which is that “I am Brhamam and Brahmam is me" is he real state of Samadhi (an enlightened state of meditation where all the thought process are unified with God). That man becomes Brahmam and he does not take another birth. 160-161
The one who examines such principles with detachment becomes like a fire without wood and becomes one with himself. 162
Since his mind and soul does not have anything to catch hold of (get attached), he becomes stable in the form of wisdom, and his soul melts like a piece of salt and he merges in to the sea of pure consciousness. 163
He sees the word which is a thing of passion and magic like a dream. In the natural state that Yogi stands without changing as him to himself and attains the nude form in his sleep and attains salvation. 164
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Trisikhi-Brahmanopanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Sita Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! Gods ! With ears let us hear what is good; Adorable ones !
With eyes let us see what is good. With steady limbs, with bodies, praising,
Let us enjoy the life allotted by the gods.
May Indra, of wide renown, grant us well-being;
May Pusan, and all-gods, grant us well-being.
May Tarksya, of unhampered movement, grant us well-being.
May Brihaspati grant us well-being.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
1. The gods, indeed, said to Prajapati: who is Sita ? What is Her form ? Then Prajapati replied: She is Sita:
2. Being the first cause Sita is known as Prakriti; of Pranava, too, She is cause And so is named Prakriti.
3. Maya in very essence,
Is Sita, of three letters formed. Called Vishnu, the world-seed, And Maya, too, is the letter i.
4. The letter sa denotes truth immortal; Achievement; Siva with his consort. Ta denotes the Queen of Speech United with Brahman, the Deliverer.
5. The Goddess who is the great Illusion, whose form is unmanifest, and who is denoted by ‘i’ becomes manifest, beauteous as the moon, faultless of limb, decked with ornamental garlands, pearls and other adornments.
6. At first, at the time of Vedic studies, She is essentially the clear Vedic speech. Secondly, on earth, at the tip of the plough She springs up, who, as the bliss of Brahman-realization, is ever present. Thirdly, as denoted by ‘i’ She becomes unmanifest. So is She Sita. Thus they explain in the text of the Saunakas.
7. By Srirama’s (light of total liberation) presence enabled
The universe She sustains;
All embodied beings
She brings forth, sustains and withdraws.
8. Sita must be known;
She is the first cause;
As Om is She that cause,
Declare the Brahman-knowers.
9. Now, therefore, inquiry into Brahman.
10. She here is all the Vedas; all the gods; all the worlds; all renown; all virtue; all ground, effect and cause; the great Beauty of the Lord of gods. She has a form which is different and yet the same. She is the essence of the intelligent and the inert. She is all, from Brahma to stocks and stones. She is embodied, owing to distinctions of attributes and activities. She assumes the forms of gods, sages, men and Gandharvas; of demons, fiends, spirits, ghosts, goblins, etc.; and of the elements, sense-organs, mind and the vital breaths.
11. That divine Being is threefold through Her power, namely the power of desire, the power of action, and the power of knowledge.
12. The power of desire is threefold: Sri, Bhumi and Nila. Auspiciousness is the form (of Sri); the power (of holiness) is the form (of Bhumi); the sun, the moon, and the fire are the forms (of Nila).
13. As the moon (She) is the mistress of the herbs; She is the tree of plenty, flowers, fruits, creepers and bowers; the mistress of medicinal plants and physicians; She is the divine draught of immortality, yielding the fruit of massive splendour. She satisfies the gods with ambrosia and the animals with grass on which, respectively, the gods and the animals live.
14. She illumines all worlds, day and night, in the garb of the sun, etc. As determinations of time, such as the smallest moment, hour, day with its eight divisions, day of the week, and night, as also the fortnight, month, season, six months, and year and as the prescriber of the term of human life as a hundred years, She manifests herself and is known as Delay and Speed. Thus wheel-like, She revolves as the wheel of Time, the wheel of Universe, etc.; comprising (all dimensions of time) from the moment up to fifty years of Brahma’s life. All the luminous temporal divisions are the specific determinations of this very Time, the container of all.
15. As fire is the food and drink of living beings, their hunger and thirst. As regards the gods, She has the form of sacrifice. As regards the herbs in the forest, She is the coolness and the warmth. Both inside and outside the fuel She dwells, eternal and fleeting.
16. The Goddess Sri assumes a threefold form in conformity with the Lord’s will for the protection of the world. That She is styled Sri and Lakshmi is known.
17. The Goddess Bhu is the Earth comprising the seven islands and the seas; the container and the contents of the fourteen worlds such as bhu, etc.; and her essence is Pranava.
18. Nila is festooned with lightnings. To nourish all herbs and living beings, She assumes all forms.
19. At the root of all the worlds, She assumes the form of Water, being known as ‘consisting of frogs’ and supporting the worlds.
20. The real form of the power of action (is as follows): From Hari’s mouth (proceeds) sound; from this sound ‘the drop’; thence, the syllable Om; from this syllable, distinctively proceeds the mount Rama, the abode of the Vaikhanasas. On that mount flourish manifold branches representing action and knowledge.
21. The primal science of Vedas three, reveals all sense;
They are the ‘three’, comprising Ric, Yajus and Saman.
22. Based on a fact, fourfold, they are called The Ric, Yajus, Saman, Atharvan.
23. The ‘three’ are so famed as they Concern the four priests, form texts Of triple sense, lingas, and much else. The Atharvan is, in essence,
Ric, Yajus and Saman, too.
24. Yet separated it is, being In the main, of magic sense. The Rig-Veda does flourish In branches twenty-one.
25. The Yajus is well known
In nine and hundred various schools. Saman has a thousand branches; The Atharvan but forty.
26. The Vaikhanasa philosophy With intuition is concerned; With Vaikhanasa it is that Sages ever engage themselves.
27. Rituals, Grammar, Phonetics, Etymology, Astronomy and Metre are the six limbs.
28. The minor limbs are Vedanta And Mimamsa, the treatise on Nyaya and Puranas upheld
By the knowers of the Law; so also Of meditation (upasana) the chapters;
29. Ethics, of the Vedic lore all branches, Tradition, Law upheld by Rishis great; History and legend – these the Upangas.
30. The five minor Vedas are Architecture and Archery,
Music, Medicine and Occult Thought (daivika).
31. The Discipline, the Rites, the Gloss, the Lore, Conquest supreme of breath – these twenty-one Are renowned as self-evident.
32. The word of Vishnu at first sprang forth From Vaikhanasa as the Vedas three.
33. As of old from sage Vaikhanasa The ‘three’ sprang forth –
Hear all from me.
The eternal Brahmic form is power to act.
34. The manifest power is but the memory of the Lord; its essence is manifestation and evolution, restriction and promotion, subsidence and upflaring. It is the cause of the patent and the latent, possessing all feet, limbs, faces, colours. It is at once different and non-different (from the Lord); the unfailing consort of the Lord, perpetually dependent on Him. She becomes patent and latent, and is called the manifest power because She is competent to bring about, through the (mere) closing and opening (of Her eye) creation, sustentation and retraction, suppression and promotion.
35. The power of desire is threefold. At the time of retraction, for the sake of rest, when She rests on the right side of the Lord’s chest, in the shape of Srivatsa, She is the power of Yoga.
36. The form of the Power of enjoyment is enjoyment. Associated with the Tree of Plenty, the wish-granting Cow, the wish-fulfilling Gem, and the nine Treasures such as the (precious) Conch and Lotus, She is impelled by the devotion of the worshipper, whether sought or unsought (to yield enjoyments) as a result of rites, compulsory or optional, like the Agnihotra; or as a result of (the eight ‘limbs’ of Yoga practice, namely) restraint, discipline, posture, control of breath, withdrawal, attention, meditation and contemplation; or as a result of worship of the Lord’s image in pinnacled temples; or as a result of ceremonial baths, etc.; or of the worship of manes, etc.; or as a result of giving food, drink, etc., for pleasing the Lord. (All this) is done (through the Power of enjoyment).
37. Now the Power of heroism, four-armed, (is described). She indicates by her gestures fearlessness and (the granting of) boons; She bears the lotus; crowned and bedecked, She is surrounded by all the gods; is bathed, at the foot of the Tree of Plenty, by four elephants, in ambrosial waters from jewelled pots. All divinities, Brahma and others, render obeisance to Her. She is vested with the eight miraculous powers such as becoming atomic in proportion; She is lauded by the wish-granting cow who is before Her; she is extolled by the Vedas, the Shastras, etc. Celestial nymphs like Jaya wait upon Her. The luminaries – the sun and the moon – shed splendour on Her. Tumburu, Narada and others sing of Her glory. The full moon and new moon days hold an umbrella over Her; two delightful beings hold the whisks. Svaha and Svadha fan Her. Bhrigu and other supernatural beings adore Her. The Goddess Lakshmi is seated on a divine Lion-Throne in the lotus posture, effectuating all causes and effects. The steady (image of) the Lord’s idea of differentiation, She beautifies. With tranquil eyes, adored by all the gods, She is known as the Beauty of Heroism. This is the Secret.
Om ! Gods ! With ears let us hear what is good; Adorable ones !
With eyes let us see what is good. With steady limbs, with bodies, praising,
Let us enjoy the life allotted by the gods.
May Indra, of wide renown, grant us well-being;
May Pusan, and all-gods, grant us well-being.
May Tarksya, of unhampered movement, grant us well-being.
May Brihaspati grant us well-being.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Sita Upanishad, included in the Atharva-Veda.
Yoga Chudamani Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I would tell Yoga Chudamani Upanishad with a view to do good to yogis. This is being appreciated by those elders who know Yoga well. This is secret and is capable of giving the post of salvation. 1
[Slokas 2-29 are not available.]
The Jeevatma (the soul of the physical individual) is under the control of prana which goes up and down as well as apana. Apana pulls Prana. Prana pulls Apana. He who knows and realizes this mutual pull which is pulling to the top and bottom, understands yoga. 30
It goes outside with the sound “ha” and goes again inside with the sound “sa”. The beings keeping on chanting this mantra as “Hamsa”, “Hamsa”. 31
The beings always keep on chanting this mantra day and night twenty one thousand and one hundred times. 32
This mantra which is called “Ajapa Gayatri” would give salvation to all yogis. Just a thought of this mantra, would help one get rid of all sins. 33
There are no practices as holy as this, no chanting which is equivalent to this, and no wisdom equivalent to this and in future also this is not likely to be there. 34
This Ajapa Gayatri which rises from the Kundalani supports the soul. This is the greatest among the sciences of the soul. He who knows this will know the Vedas. 35
The Kundalani power which is above the mooladhara, in its eight studded form would always be covering the mouth of Sushumna which is the gate of Brahman. 36
The Kudalani Parameshwari (goddess of the universe) who should go through the disease less gate of Brahma, closes this gate with her mouth and sleeps. 37
Because of the heat generated by the practice of yoga, because of the speed of wind, and because of her mental power, she stands up and using her needle shaped body, she would go up through the Sushumna Nadi. 38
Similar to opening the doors of the house by using the key, the yogi should open the gate to salvation using Kundalini. 39
[Slokas 40-71 are not available.]
Para Brahman is Om, is that which exists, which is clean, which is full of wisdom, which does not have any draw backs, which is without stains, which cannot be described, which does not have beginning or end, which is one and only one, which is thuriya, which exists in things of past, present and future and which will never get divided at any time. From that Para Brahman emerges Para Shakthi (the female aspect). That is the soul which is self resplendent. From that soul arose the ether. From ether arose wind. From wind arose fire. From fire arose water and from water arose the earth. These five elements are ruled by the five Godheads viz. Sadasiva, Easwara, Rudra, Vishnu and Brahma. Among them Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra would do the job of creation, upkeep and destruction. Brahma is Rajasic, Vishnu Sathvic and Rudra Thamasic. They are thus with three different properties. 72.1
Among devas Brahma arose first. Among those who arose first, Brahma became the creator, Vishnu the one who upkeeps and Lord Rudra, the destroyer. Among them from Brahma arose worlds, devas, men and those in between them. From him arose those things which do not move. In case of men, the body is the unified form of Pancha Boothas (five elements). The organs of wisdom, (jnanendriyas), the organs of action (karmendriyas), those activities related to wisdom, the five body airs (prana, apana etc) are taught by the macro portion of mind, intellect, decision making power and the feeling of self and are called macro body (Sthoola sareeram). The organs of wisdom, the organs of action, things related to wisdom, the five body airs and the micro aspect of mind and intellect are called Linga sareera. The body has three types of properties. Thus all people have three bodies. There are four states of the body viz wakeful state, dream, sleep and Thuriya (exalted spiritual state). Those purushas who reside in our body and control these states are Viswa, Thaijasa, Pragna and Atma. Viswa will always have macro experiences. Different from that is Thaijasa who has micro experiences. Pragna has pleasant experiences. Athma is a witness to all these. 72
The Atma which is of the form of “Om”, will be in all beings and at the time of passion, downward looking. At all other times it would be pretty and downward face. 73
In the three letters Aa, Uu and Ma, three Vedas, three worlds, three characteristics, three letters and three sounds shine. Thus Pranava shines. When you are awake, the letter Aa exists in the eyes of all beings, when you are dreaming the letter Uu exists in the neck of all beings and the letter Ma exists in the heart of all beings when they are asleep. 74
The letter Aa exists in the egg state as Viswa and Pinda state as Virat Purusha. The Letter Uu exists as Thaijasa and Hiranya Garbha in the micro state. The letter Ma exists as the causal state and as Pragna. The letter Aa has Rajasa qualities is red and its form is that of Lord Brahma. The letter Uu has Sathvika qualities and its form is that of white Vishnu. The letter Ma has Thamasic qualities and its form is that of black Rudra. Brahma took birth from Pranava. Vishnu also came out of it. Rudra also came out of it. Pranava is the Para Brahma (ultimate god). Brahma merges with the letter Aa. Vishnu merges with letter Uu and Rudra merges with the letter Ma. In people with wisdom, Pranava would be upward looking and among ignorant people Pranava would be looking downward. 75-78
Pranava exists like this. The one who knows this knows the Vedas. In the anahatha sound form, it grows upwards in case of wise people. 79
The sound Pranava is continuous like the flow of oil, and like the long sound of the bell. Its peak is Brahman. 80
That peak would be lit so brilliantly, that it cannot be described by words. The great savants find it out using their sharp intellect. The one who knows that, is considered as one who knows Vedas. 81
The “Hamsa (swan) mantra”, shines in the middle of the two eyes. The letter Sa is known as Kechari which means “that which travels in the sky”. It has been decided that it is the word “Twam (you)” in the famous Vedic saying, “Tat Tvam Asi (You are That)”. 82
It has been decided that the letter “Ha” which is the Lord of all universe is the word “Tat (that)” in the above Vedic saying. We have to meditate that the letter “Sa” as the soul traveling between birth and death and the letter “Ha” as the stable God. 83
The living being is tied up by his organs but Paramatma is not so tied. The living being is egoistic and the soul is not tied by egoism and is independent. 84
The ethereal light which is “om” is that Athma in whose aspects stand the three worlds Bhu, Bhuva and Suva and also the place where three gods moon, Sun and fire reside. 85
The ethereal light which is “Om”, is that Atma in whose aspects stand “work” which is the power of Brahma,“desire” which is the power of Rudra and “wisdom” which is the power of Vishnu. 86
Because Om is the ethereal light, it has to be pronounced by words, practiced by the body and meditated upon by the mind. 87
The one who goes on chanting Pranava whether he is clean or unclean will not be attached to the sins he does, similar to the lotus leaf which never gets wet. 88
[Slokas 89-102 are not available.]
Twelve repetitions of “Om” which is called is a pooraka followed by sixteen repetitions of “Om” which is called is the Kumbhaka and then ten repetitions of “Om” which is called Rechaka, is called Pranayama. 103
The basic rule for chanting Pranayama is at least 12 times and is termed as poor, twice that amount (24) is medium and thrice that (36) is Uthama (best). 104
In the lowest, there would be sweating, in the medium there would be trembling and in Uthama there is attainment of the objective. After that control the breath. 105
The Yogi should first salute his teacher and Lord Shiva and sit in the lotus posture, concentrate his sight on the edge of the nose and practice pranayama alone. 106
[Slokas 107-108 are not available.]
By posture one avoids diseases, by pranayama one avoids sins and by Pratyahara (see 120 below for explanation) he controls his mental activity. 109
By beliefs, the mind becomes strong and Samadhi gives the being wonderful knowledge and he attains salvation after destroying sinful and holy actions. 110
[Slokas 111-112 are not available.]
After seeing the Param Jyothi which is spread everywhere, in Samadhi duties and action neither come nor goes. 113
[Slokas 114-115 are not available.]
If we stand together with Pranayama, all diseases would be destroyed. All diseases appear only to those who are not able to do Pranayama. 116
[Slokas 117-119 are not available.]
Pratyahara is the state where sensory organs like the eye do not concern themselves with things outside but turn themselves inwards. 120
Similar to the Sun taking his rays inwards at the third period of dusk, the yogi who is in the third stage would control his mind. 121
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Yoga-Chudamani Upanishad, included in the Sama-Veda.
Nirvana Upanishad
Translated by Prof. A. A. Ramanathan
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! May my speech be based on (i.e. accord with) the mind;
May my mind be based on speech.
O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me.
May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me.
May not all that I have heard depart from me.
I shall join together (i.e. obliterate the difference of) day
And night through this study.
I shall utter what is verbally true;
I shall utter what is mentally true.
May that (Brahman) protect me;
May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me;
May that protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1. Now we shall expound the Nirvanopanishad.
2. The Paramahamsa: I am He.
3. The mendicant monks who wear marks of renunciation inwardly. [They are the ascetics entitled to study this Upanishad.]
4. (They are) the protectors of the field in which I-ness (indicative of the separateness of the Self) is destroyed.
5. Their settled conclusion is partless like ether.
6. (Their heart) is the river of immortal waves.
7. (Their heart) is imperishable and unconditioned.
8. (Their preceptor) is the (realized) sage free from doubts.
9. The divine being (they adore is) final beatitude.
10. Their activity is free of family (and other) ties.
11. Their knowledge is not isolated.
12. (They study and/or teach) the higher scripture.
13. (They constitute) the propless monastic centre.
14. Their dedication (is to reveal Brahman) to a group (of worthy disciples).
15. The instruction is the non-existence (of things other than Brahman).
16. This dedication brings joy and purification (to the disciples).
17. Their sight is (like) seeing the twelve suns.
18. Discrimination (of the real from the unreal) is (their) protection.
19. Their compassion aloe is the sport.
20. (They wear) the garland of bliss.
21. In the cave of one seat (is) their audience of happiness, free from restrictions of yoga-postures.
22. (They) subsist on food not prepared (specially for them).
23. Their conduct is in consonance with the realization of the oneness of the Self and Brahman (Hamsa).
24. They demonstrate to disciples (by their conduct) that Brahman is present in all beings.
25. True conviction is their patched garment. Non-alignment is their loin-cloth. Reflection (of the truths of the Vedanta) is their (emblematic-)staff. The vision of Brahman (as non-different from the Self) is their yoga-cloth. Sandals (consist in avoiding contact with worldly) wealth. Activity (for bare living) at the behest of others. Their bondage (is only in the desire to direct) the Kundalini (into the Susumna). Liberated while alive, as they are freed from denial of the highest (Brahman). The oneness with Siva is their sleep. True knowledge (by denying joy in Avidya) or the Khechari-mudra is their supreme bliss.
26. The (bliss of) Brahman is free from the (three) qualities (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas).
27. (Brahman) is realized by discrimination (of the real from the unreal) (and) it is beyond the reach of the mind and speech.
28. The phenomenal world is impermanent as it is produced (from Brahman which alone is real); it is similar to a world seen in a dream and an elephant in the sky (i.e. illusory): similarly the cluster of things such as the body is perceived by a network of a multitude of delusions and it is fancied to exist as a serpent in a rope (due to imperfect knowledge).
29. The (worship of) gods named Vishnu, Brahma and a hundred others culminates (in Brahman).
30. The goad is the path.
31. (The path) is not void, only conventional.
32. The strength of the supreme Lord (is the support to the aerial path).
33. The Yoga accomplished by truth is the monastery.
34. The position (heaven) of gods does not constitute its real nature.
35. The prime source Brahman is self-realization.
36. (The ascetic) shall meditate on the absence of distinction, based on the Gayatri through the Ajapa Mantra.
37. Restraint on the mind is the patched garment.
38. By Yoga (there is) the vision (experience) of the nature of everlasting bliss.
39. Bliss is the alms that he enjoys.
40. Residence even in the great cemetery is as in a pleasure garden.
41. A solitary place is the monastery.
42. Complete quiescence of the mind is the practice of Brahmavidya.
43. His movement is to unmani state.
44. His pure body is the propless seat of dignity.
45. His activity is the bliss of the waves of immortality.
46. The ether of consciousness is the great established conclusion.
47. Instruction in the emancipating mantra results in efficiency of bodily limbs and mind for possessing divine power in practising tranquillity, self-restraint, etc., and in the realization of the oneness of the (so-called) higher and lower Self.
48. The presiding deity (of the Taraka) is the everlasting bliss of non-duality.
49. The voluntary religious observance is the restraint of the inner senses.
50. Renouncing (tyaga) is the giving up of fear, delusion, sorrow and anger.
51. (Renouncing results is) the enjoyment of bliss in the identity of the higher and lower (self).
52. Unrestrainedness is pure power.
53. When the reality of Brahman shines in the self there is the annihilation of the phenomenal world which is enveloped by the power of Shiva (Maya); similarly the burning of the existence or non-existence of the aggregate of the causal, subtle and gross bodies.
54. He realizes Brahman as the prop of the ether.
55. The auspicious fourth state is the sacred thread; the tuft (too) consists of that.
56. (To him) the created world consists of consciousness; (so also) the immovable and the group of various beings.
57. Uprooting (the effect of) karman is (mere) talk; in the cemetery (Self-Brahman), illusion, ‘mine-ness’ and ego have been burnt.
58. (The realized Parivrajaka) has his body intact.
59. Meditation on the true form which is beyond the three attributes (of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas); (even this) condition (of distinction ‘I am Brahman’) is a delusion which shall be annihilated The burning of the attitude of passion, etc., (ought to be done). The loin cloth ought to be rough and tight (so that the vital energy moves upward in perpetual celibacy). Deer-skin garment for long (and later to be unclad). The unstruck mantra (the Om in the fourth state turiya) is practised by refraining from (worldly) action. Conducting himself freely (as he has reached a stage which is beyond good and bad, he realizes) his true nature which is liberation.
60. His conduct (of serving a primary Avadhuta) as a ship (to cross the ocean of worldly life and) reach the transcendent Brahman; practising celibacy till tranquillity is attained; getting instruction in the stage of a celibate student, or learning (the truth) in the stage of a dweller in the forest (Vanaprastha) he (embraces) renunciation wherein all (true) knowledge is established; at the end he becomes of the form of the indivisible Brahman, the eternal, the annihilator of all doubts.
61. This Nirvanopanishad (the secret doctrine leading to final beatitude) shall not be imparted to one other than a disciple or a son. Thus (ends) the Upanishad.
Om ! May my speech be based on (i.e. accord with) the mind;
May my mind be based on speech.
O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me.
May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me.
May not all that I have heard depart from me.
I shall join together (i.e. obliterate the difference of) day
And night through this study.
I shall utter what is verbally true; I shall utter what is mentally true.
May that (Brahman) protect me;
May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me;
May that protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Nirvanopanishad, as contained in the Rig-Veda.
Mandala Brahmana Upanishad
Translated by K. Narayanasvami Aiyar
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
BRAHMANA - I
1. OM. The great Muni Yajnavalkya went to Aditya-Loka (the sun’s world) and saluting him (the Purusha of the Sun) said: “O Revered Sir, describe to me the Atman-Tattva (the Tattva or Truth of Atman).” (To which) Narayana (viz., the Purusha of the sun) replied: “I shall describe the eight-fold Yoga together with Jnana. The conquering of cold and heat as well as hunger and sleep, the preserving of (sweet) patience and unruffledness ever and the restraining of the organs (from sensual objects) – all these come under (or are) Yama. Devotion to one’s Guru, love of the true path, enjoyment of objects producing happiness, internal satisfaction, freedom from association, living in a retired place, the controlling of the Manas and the not longing after the fruits of actions and a state of Vairagya – all these constitute Niyama. The sitting in any posture pleasant to one and clothed in tatters (or bark) is prescribed for Asana (posture). Inspiration, restraint of breath and expiration, which have respectively 16, 64 and 32 (Matras) constitute Pranayama (restraint of breath). The restraining of the mind from the objects of senses is Pratyahara (subjugation of the senses). The contemplation of the oneness of consciousness in all objects is Dhyana. The mind having been drawn away from the objects of the senses, the fixing of the Chaitanya (consciousness) (on one alone) is Dharana. The forgetting of oneself in Dhyana is Samadhi. He who thus knows the eight subtle parts of Yoga attains salvation.
2. The body has five stains (viz.,) passion, anger, out-breathing, fear and sleep. The removal of these can be affected respectively by absence of Sankalpa, forgiveness, moderate food, carefulness and a spiritual sight of Tattvas. In order to cross the ocean of Samsara where sleep and fear are the serpents, injury, etc., are the waves, Trishna (thirst) is the whirlpool and wife is the mire, one should adhere to
the subtle path and overstepping Tattva and other Gunas should look out for Taraka. Taraka is Brahman which being in the middle of the two eyebrows, is of the nature of the spiritual effulgence of Sachchidananda. The (spiritual) seeing through the three Lakshyas (or the three kinds of introvision) is the means to It (Brahman). Susumna which is from the Muladhara to Brahmarandhra has the radiance of the sun. In the centre of it, is Kundalini shining like Crores of lightning and subtle as the thread in the lotus-stalk. Tamas is destroyed there. Through seeing it, all sins are destroyed. When the two ears are closed by the tips of the forefingers, a Phutkara (or booming) sound is heard. When the mind is fixed on it, it sees a blue light between the eyes as also in the heart. (This is Antar-Lakshya or internal introvision). In the Bahir-Lakshya (or external introvision) one sees in order before his nose at distance of 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 digits, the space of blue colour, then a colour resembling Shyama (indigo-black) and then shining as Rakta (red) wave and then with the two Pita (yellow and orange red) colours. Then he is a Yogin. When one looks at the external space, moving the eyes and sees streaks of light at the corners of his eyes, then his vision can be made steady. When one sees Jyotis (spiritual light) above his head 12 digits in length, then he attains the state of nectar. In the Madhya-Lakshya (or the middle one), one sees the variegated colours of the morning as if the sun, the moon and the fire had joined together in the Akasa that is without them. Then he comes to have their nature (of light). Through practice, he becomes one with Akasa, devoid of all Gunas and peculiarities. At first Akasa with its shining stars becomes to him Para-Akasa as dark as Tamas itself and he becomes one with Para-Akasa shining with stars and deep as Tamas. (Then) he becomes one with Maha-Akasa resplendent (as) with the fire of the deluge. Then he becomes one with Tattva-Akasa, lighted with the brightness which is the highest and the best of all. Then he becomes one with Surya-Akasa (Sun-Akasa) brightened by a Crore of suns. By practising thus, he becomes one with them. He who knows them becomes thus.
3. Know that Yoga is twofold through its division into the Purva (earlier) and the Uttara (later). The earlier is Taraka and the later is Amanaska (the mindless). Taraka is divided into Murti (with limitation) and Amurti (without limitation). That is Murti Taraka which goes to the end of the senses (or exist till the senses are conquered). That is Amurti Taraka which goes beyond the two eyebrows (above the senses). Both these should be performed through Manas. Antar-Drishti (internal vision) associated with manas comes to aid Taraka. Tejas (spiritual light) appears in the hole between the two eyebrows. This Taraka is the earlier one. The later is Amanaska. The great Jyotis (light) is above the root of the palate. By seeing it, one gets the Siddhis Anima, etc. Sambhavi-Mudra occurs when the Lakshya (spiritual vision) is internal while the (physical) eyes are seeing externally without winking. This is the great science which is concealed in all the Tantras. When this is known, one does not stay in Samsara. Its worship (or practice) gives salvation. Antar-Lakshya is of the nature of Jala-Jyotis (or water-Jyotis). It is known by the great Rishis and is invisible both to the internal and external senses.
4. Sahasrara (viz., the thousand-petalled lotus of the pineal gland) Jala-Jyotis is the Antar-Lakshya. Some say the form of Purusha in the cave of Buddhi beautiful in all its parts is Antar-Lakshya. Some again say that the all-quiescent Nilakantha accompanied by Uma (his wife) and having five months and latent in the midst of the sphere in the brain is Antar-Lakshya. Whilst others say that the Purusha of the dimension of a thumb is Antar-Lakshya. A few again say Antar-Lakshya is the One Self made supreme through introvision in the state of a Jivanmukta. All the different statements above made pertain to Atman alone. He alone is a Brahma-Nishtha who sees that the above Lakshya is the pure Atman. The Jiva which is the twenty-fifth Tattva, having abandoned the twenty-four Tattvas, becomes a Jivanmukta through the conviction that the twenty-sixth Tattva (viz.,) Paramatman is ‘I’ alone. Becoming one with Antar-Lakshya (Brahman) in the emancipated state by means of Antar-Lakshya (introvision), Jiva becomes one with the partless sphere of Param-Akasa.
Thus ends the first Brahmana.
BRAHMANA - II
1. Then Yajnavalkya asked the Purusha in the sphere of the sun: “O Lord, Antar-Lakshya has been described many times, but it has never been understood by me (clearly). Pray describe it to me”. He replied: “It is the source of the five elements, has the lustre of many (streaks of) lightning and has four seats having (or rising from) ‘That’ (Brahman). In its midst, there arises the manifestation of Tattva. It is very hidden and Unmanifested. It can be known (only) by one who has got into the boat of Jnana. It is the object of both Bahir and Antar (external and internal) Lakshyas. In its midst is absorbed the whole world. It is the vast partless universe beyond Nada, Bindu and Kala. Above it (viz., the sphere of Agni) is the sphere of the sun; in its midst is the sphere of the nectary moon; in its midst is the sphere of the partless Brahma-Tejas (or the spiritual effulgence of Brahman). It has the brightness of Sukla (white light) like the ray of lightning. It alone has the characteristic of Sambhavi. In seeing this there are three kinds of Drishti (sight), viz., Ama (the new moon), Pratipat (the first day of lunar fortnight) and Purnima (the full moon). The sight of Ama is the one (seen) with closed eyes. That with half opened eyes is Pratipat; while that with fully opened eyes is Purnima. Of these, the practice of Purnima should be resorted to. Its Lakshya (or aim) is the tip of the nose. Then is seen a deep darkness at the root of the palate. By practising thus, a Jyotis (light) of the form of an endless sphere is seen. This alone is Brahman, the Sachchidananda. When the mind is absorbed in bliss thus naturally produced, then does Sambhavi takes place. She (Sambhavi) alone is called Khechari. By practising it (viz., the Mudra), a man obtains firmness of mind. Through it, he obtains firmness of Vayu. The following are the signs: first it is seen like a star; then a reflecting (or dazzling) diamond; then the sphere of full moon; then the sphere of the brightness of nine gems; then the sphere of the midday sun; then the sphere of the flame of Agni (fire); all these are seen in order.
2. (Thus much for the light in Purva or first stage.) Then there is the light in the western direction (in the Uttara or second stage). Then the lustres of crystal, smoke, Bindu, Nada, Kala, star, firefly, lamp, eye, gold and nine gems, etc., are seen. This alone is the form of Pranava. Having united Prana and Apana and holding the breath in Kumbhaka, one should fix his concentration at the tip of his nose and making Shanmukhi with the fingers of both his hands, one hears the sound of Pranava (Om) in which Manas becomes absorbed. Such a man has not even the touch of Karma. The karma of (Sandhya-Vandana or the daily prayers) is verily performed at the rising or setting of the sun. As there is no rising or setting (but only the ever shining) of the sun of Chit (the higher consciousness) in the heart of a man who knows thus, he has no Karma to perform. Rising above (the conception of) day and night through the annihilation of sound and time, he becomes one with Brahman through the all-full Jnana and the attaining of the state of Unmani (the state above Manas). Through the state of Unmani, he becomes Amanaska (or without Manas).
Not being troubled by any thoughts (of the world) then constitutes the Dhyana. The abandoning of all Karmas constitutes Avahana (invocation of god). Being firm in the unshaken (spiritual) wisdom constitutes Asana (posture). Being in the state of Unmani constitutes the Padya (offering of water for washing the feet of god). Preserving the state of Amanaska (when Manas is offered as sacrifice) constitutes the Arghya (offering of water as oblation generally). Being in state of eternal brightness and shoreless nectar constitutes Snana (bathing). The contemplation of Atman as present in all constitutes (the application to the idol of) Sandal. The remaining in the real state of the Drik (spiritual eye) is (the worshipping with) Akshata (non-broken rice). The attaining of Chit (consciousness) is (the worshipping with) flower. The real state of Agni (fire) of Chit is the Dhupa (burning of incense). The state of the sun of Chit is the Dipa (light waved before the image). The union of one-self with the nectar of full moon is the Naivedya (offering of food, etc.,). The immobility in that state (of the ego being one with all) is Pradakshina (going round the image). The conception of ‘I am He’ is Namaskara (prostration). The silence (then) is the Sruti (praise). The all-contentment (or serenity then) is the Visatjana (giving leave to god or finishing worship). (This is the worship of Atman by all raja-Yogins). He who knows this knows all.
3. When the Triputi are thus dispelled, he becomes the Kaivalya Jyotis without Bhava (existence) or Abhava (non-existence), full and motionless, like the ocean without the tides or like the lamp without the wind. He becomes a Brahmavit (knower of Brahman) by cognising the end of the sleeping state even while in the waking state. Though the (same) mind is absorbed in Sushupti as also in Samadhi, there is much difference between them. (in the former case) as the mind is absorbed in Tamas, it does not become the means of salvation, (but) in Samadhi as the modifications of Tamas in him are rooted away, the mind raises itself to the nature of the Partless. All that is no other than Sakshi-Chaitanya (wisdom-consciousness or the Higher Self) into which the absorption of the whole universe takes place, in as much as the universe is but a delusion (or creation) of the mind and is therefore not different from it. Though the universe appears perhaps as outside of the mind, still it is unreal. He who knows Brahman and who is the sole enjoyer of Brahmic bliss which is eternal and has dawned once (for all in him) – that man becomes one with Brahman. He in whom Sankalpa perishes has got Mukti in his hand. Therefore one becomes an emancipated person through the contemplation of Paramatman. Having given up both Bhava and Abhava, one becomes a Jivanmukta by leaving off again and again in all states Jnana (wisdom) and Jneya (object of wisdom), Dhyana (meditation) and Dhyeya (object of meditation), Lakshya (the aim) and Alakshya (non-aim), Drishya (the visible) and Adrishya (the non-visible) and Uha (reasoning) and Apoha (negative reasoning). He who knows this knows all.
4. There are five Avasthas (states): Jagrat (waking), Swapna (dreaming), Sushupti (dreamless sleeping), the Turya (fourth) and Turyatita (that beyond the fourth). The Jiva (ego) that is engaged in the waking state becomes attached to the Pravritti (worldly) path and is the particular of Naraka (hell) as the fruit of sins. He desires Svarga (heaven) as the fruit of his virtuous actions. This very same person becomes (afterwards) indifferent to all these saying, ‘Enough of the births tending to actions, the fruits of which tend to bondage till the end of this mundane existence’. Then he pursues the Nivritti (return) path with a view to attain emancipation. And this person then takes refuge in a spiritual instructor in order to cross this mundane existence. Giving up passion and others, he does only those he is asked to do. Then having acquired the four Sadhanas (means to salvation) he attains, in the middle of the lotus of his heart, the Reality of Antar-Lakshya that is but the Sat of Lord and begins to recognise (or recollect) the bliss of Brahman which he had left (or enjoyed) in his Sushupti state. At last he attains this state of discrimination (thus): ‘I think I am the non-dual One only. I was in Ajnana for some time (in the waking state and called therefore Vishva). I became somehow (or involuntarily) a Taijasa (in the dreaming state) through the reflection (in that state) of the affinities of the forgotten waking state; and now I am a Prajna through the disappearance of those two states. Therefore I am one only. I (appear) as more than one through the differences of state and place. And there is nothing of differentiation of class besides me’. Having expelled even the smack of the difference (of conception) between ‘I’ and ‘That’ through the thought ‘I am the pure and the secondless Brahman’ and having attained the path of salvation which is of the nature of Para-Brahman, after having become one with It through the Dhyana of the sun’s sphere as shining with himself, he becomes fully ripened for getting salvation. Sankalpa and others are the causes of the bondage of the mind; and the mind devoid of these becomes fit for salvation. Possessing such a mind free from all (Sankalpa, etc.,) and withdrawing himself from the outer world of sight and others and so keeping himself out of the odour of the universe, he looks upon all the world as Atman, abandons the conception of ‘I’, thinks ‘I am Brahman’ and considers all these as Atman. Through these, he becomes one who has done his duty.
5. The Yogin is one that has realised Brahman that is all-full beyond Turya. They (the people) extol him as Brahman; and becoming the object of the praise of the whole world, he wanders over different countries. Placing the Bindu in the Akasa of Paramatman and pursuing the path of the partless bliss produced by the pure, secondless, stainless and innate Yoga sleep of Amanaska, he becomes an emancipated person. Then the Yogin becomes immersed in the ocean of bliss. When compared to it, the bliss of Indra and others is very little. He who gets this bliss is the supreme Yogin.
Thus ends the second Brahmana. BRAHMANA - III
1. The great sage Yajnavalkya then asked the Purusha in the sphere (of the sun): “O Lord, though the nature of Amanaska has been defined (by you), yet I forget it (or do not understand it clearly). Therefore pray explain it again to me.” Accordingly the Purusha said: “This Amanaska is a great secret. By knowing this, one becomes a person who had done his duty. One should look upon it as Paramatman, associated with Sambhavi-Mudra and should know also all those that can be known through a (thorough) cognition of them. Then seeing Para-Brahman in his own Atman as the Lord of all, the immeasurable, the birthless, the auspicious, the supreme Akasa, the supportless, the secondless the only goal of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra and the cause of all and assuring himself that he who plays in the cave (of the heart) is such a one, he should raise himself above the dualities of existence and non-existence; and knowing the experience of the Unmani of his Mans, he then attains the state of Para-Brahman which is motionless as a lamp in a windless place, having reached the ocean of Brahmic bliss by means of the river of Amanaska-Yoga through the destruction of all his senses. Then he resembles a dry tree. Having lost all (idea of) the universe through the disappearance of growth, sleep, disease, expiration and inspiration, his body being always steady, he comes to have a supreme quiescence, being devoid of the movements of his Manas and becomes absorbed in Paramatman. The destruction of mans takes place after the destruction of the collective senses, like the cow’s udder (that shrivels up) after the milk has been drawn. It is this that is Amanaska. By following this, one becomes always pure and becomes one that has done his duty, having been filled with the partless bliss by means of the path of Taraka-Yoga through the initiation into the sacred sentences ‘I am pa’, 'That Thou Art', ‘I am thou alone’, ‘Thou art I alone’, etc.
2. When his Mans is immersed in the Akasa and he becomes all-full and when he attains the Unmani state, having abandoned all his collective senses, he conquers all sorrows and impurities through the partless bliss, having attained the fruits of Kaivalya, ripened through the collective merits gathered in all his previous lives and thinking always ‘I am Brahman’, becomes one that has done his duty. ‘I am Thou alone. There is no difference between thee and me owing to the fullness of Paramatman’.” Saying thus, he (the Purusha of the sun) embraced his pupil and made him understand it.
Thus ends the third Brahmana.
BRAHMANA - IV
Then Yajnavalkya addressed the Purusha in the sphere (of the sun) thus: “Pray explain to me in detail the nature of the five-fold division of Akasa”. He replied: “There are five: Akasa, Parakasa, Mahakasa, Suryakasa and Paramakasa. That which is of the nature of darkness, both in and out is the first Akasa. That which has the fire of deluge, both in and out is truly Mahakasa. That which has the brightness of the sun, both in and out is Suryakasa. That brightness which is indestructible, all-pervading and of the nature of unrivalled bliss is Paramakasa. By cognising these according to this description, one becomes of their nature.
He is a Yogin only in name, who does not cognise well the nine Chakras, the six Adharas, the three Lakshyas and the five Akasa.
Thus ends the fourth Brahmana.
BRAHMANA - V
“The Manas influenced by worldly objects is liable to bondage; and that (Mans) which is not so influenced by these is fit for salvation. Hence all the world becomes an object of Chitta; whereas the same Chitta when it is supportless and well-ripe in the state of Unmani, becomes worthy of Laya (absorption in Brahman). This absorption you should learn from me who am the all-full. I alone am the cause of the absorption of Manas.
The Mans is within the Jyotis (spiritual light) which again is latent in the spiritual sound which pertains to the Anahata (heart) sound.
That Manas which is the agent of creation, preservation and destruction of the three worlds – that same Manas becomes absorbed in that which is the highest seat of Vishnu;
Through such an absorption, one gets the pure and secondless state, owing to the absence of difference then. This alone is the highest truth. He who knows this, will wander in the world like a lad or an idiot or a demon or simpleton. By practising this Amanaska, one is ever contented, his urine and faeces become diminished, his food becomes lessened; he becomes strong in body and his limbs are free from disease and sleep. Then his breath and eyes being motionless, he realises Brahman and attains the nature of bliss. That ascetic who is intent on drinking the nectar of Brahman produced by the long practice of this kind of Samadhi, becomes a Paramahamsa (ascetic) or an Avadhuta (naked ascetic). By seeing him, all the world becomes pure and even an illiterate person who serves him is freed from bondage. He (the ascetic) enables the members of his family for one hundred and one generations to cross the ocean of Samsara; and his mother, father, wife and children – all these are similarly freed.
Thus is the Upanishad.”
Thus ends the fifth Brahmana.
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Mandalabrahmana Upanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Dakshinamurti Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Om. In Brahma Vartha (Land of Brahma), under a banyan tree called Maha Bandira, many sages including Sounaka had assembled to perform a Sathra fire sacrifice. They approached sage Markandeya wearing samiths (dried twigs of banyan tree) as gloves and asked him, “How do you manage to be a Chiram Jeevi (One who does not have death) and how are you always in the happy state?" 1
He replied, “This is because of the knowledge of the most secret philosophy of Shiva. This very secret Shiva philosophy by which Shiva who is the Dakshinamurthy, becomes some thing which is not visible to others. He is that God who at the time of final deluge, who keeps every thing else within himself and shines because of the pleasure of his own spirit. The secret mantras about him are as follows: Brahma is the sage, the meter is Gayathri and the god is Dakshinamurhy for this mantra.
First Mantra of 24 letters: After telling “om”, tell “Namo” and then “Bhagavathe Dakshinamurthaye”, then the fourth form of “asmad” viz “Mahyam”, then “medham Pragnam”, then the root of wind “ya”, added with “chcha”, followed by the name of wife of fire God “swaha”. This is the mantra with 24 letters. That is “Om Namo Bhagwathe Dakshinamurthaye Mahyam, Medham Pragnam Prayacha Swaha!” 2
Then Dhyanam (thinking abut the form in the mind, when mantra is chanted). I salute him who is white like a crystal, who holds in his hands, a chain of pearl beads, the pot of nectar which is the form of knowledge, and the mudhra (symbol) of wisdom, who ties himself with a snake, who wears the moon on his head and who wears different type of ornaments. 3
Second Mantra of nine letters: First Say “Om”, then the first vowel with the visarga and in the end ell Panchakshari with visarga in the end, and this gives the Navakshari mantra (nine letters mantra). That is “Om Aam Aa Sivaya Nama Om!” 4
Then Dhyanam. Let the three eyed god who does only good, who has in his three hands, the sign of protection, deer and axe in three hands and fourth hand kept on his knee, who has tied a snake on his body, who shines white like milk, who sits below a banyan tree and who is surrounded by sages like Shuka, gives us pure thoughts. 5
[Slokas 6 is not available.]
Third Mantra: Add Broom Nama, Maya Bheeja, Vagbhava Bheeja, Dakshinamurthaye and Jnanam dehi Swaha to Om. The mantra would be “Om Broom, Namo Hreem Im Dakshinamurthaye Jnanam Dehi Swaha!” 7
Then Dhyanam: Let the God Dakshinamurthy, who has a white body due to application of holy ash, who wears the crescent moon on his head, who holds in his hands, Jnana mudra (symbol of wisdom), beaded chain, Veena and books, who wears all ornaments, who wears the elephant hide, who resembles the meditating Rama, who sits on the throne of explanation and who is being served by great sages protect us always. 8
We have to see that lamp of wisdom, which burns with renunciation as oil, devotion as wick and which shines in the full vessel of wake up state. 9
In the beginning of creation, Lord Brahma prayed this Dakshinamurthy, and obtained the capacity of creating beings and became very happy. He became blessed after getting what he desired. That Brahma therefore has become a devotee as well as somebody who deserves our devotion. 10
The one who reads this philosophy of Shiva with understanding, would get rid of all his sins. The ones who know this truly will attain salvation. 11
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Dakshinamurti Upanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Sarabha Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I am saluting that primeval God who is the Lord, who is the best, who is the father of the world, who is the greatest among gods, who has created Brahma, who gave all Vedas to Brahma in the beginning, who is the father of Vishnu and other devas, who merits praise, and who at the time of deluge destroys the world. He is the only one who is greater than every body, who is the best and who rules over others. 1-2
That very strong Maheswara took the horrifying form of Sarabha and killed Narasimha who was destroying the world. (Sarabha is the avatar of Shiva which is a combination of eagle, lion and man.) 3
That god with his sharp claws tore, Vishnu who took the form of Narasimha. He who was wearing the hide became Veerabhadra. 4
For every one desiring to get all occult powers, he is the one who should be meditated. Salutations to that Rudra who tore away the fifth head of Brahma. 5
Salutations to that Rudra who kicked Kala the God of death and made him fall and also him who drank the burning Halahala poison. 6
Salutations to that Rudra whose feet were worshipped by the flower of Vishnu’s eyes and who being pleased gave him the holy wheel (Chakra). 7
The one, who has crossed sorrows, sees that God, who is atom within an atom, gross among the gross, who as Atma hidden in the heart of beings and who is beyond physical action, clearly because of these reasons. 8
Salutations to that Rudra who is the greatest god, who holds the Soola (spear) in his hand, who has a big swallowing mouth, who is the Maheswara and whose blessing has good effects. 9
“Chara”, indicates beings which move and because Brahmam shines in the half of their body as Hari, it is called Sarabham. Hey great sage, that can grant salvation directly. 10
Any twice born who reads this, which is called “the great Sastra of Paippalada” or makes others read it, would get rid of births and deaths and attain salvation. The Upanishad tells that he will become similar to Brahma.
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Sarabhopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
Skanda Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1-5. (Skanda says): Great god ! Owing to an iota of your compassion I am the lapseless being (not lapsing from the identity). I am a mass of knowledge ! I am also the Good – what more (can I need) ? Owing to the waxing of the Internal organ, what is not spiritual appears as such; by its warning, this is nothing but pure knowledge or Hari. I am knowledge alone, unborn – what more ? All that is other (than) It is inert and perishes like a dream.
He who discerns the consciousness as distinct from the inert is the unswerving mass of knowledge. Only he is Shiva, Hari, luminary of luminaries, the supreme god, the Brahman – I am that Brahman surely.
6-7. Jiva is Shiva and Shiva is Jiva; when bound by husk it is paddy, unbound of is rice. Thus the bound one is Jiva, released from karma he is eternal Shiva. Bound by ropes, he is Jiva, unbound, Shiva.
8-9. (I bow) to Shiva of the form of Vishnu and Vishnu who is Shiva; Vishnu is Shiva’s heart and Shiva, Vishnu’s. Just as Vishnu is full of Shiva, so is Shiva full of Vishnu. As I see no difference, I am well all my life.
10-15. The body is said to be the temple, the deity Shiva is Jiva; one should throw away the flowers after worship and worship with the sense of identity. Perception of non-difference is knowledge, meditation the objectless mind. The bath is removal of mental impurity; cleanliness is control of the senses. One should drink the nectar of Brahma, take alms for sustenance, live by oneself devoid of duality. Such a person of wisdom will get liberation.
I bow to the supreme, sacred seat of power, to secure well-being and long life. They know themselves to be Brahman, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, beyond thought, unmanifest, endless, undecaying, by your grace, Nrisimha.
That high place of Vishnu the wise ones always behold like an eye extended in heaven. The sages, praising and awake exalt that supreme status of Vishnu.
This is the doctrine of liberation according to the Vedas.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Skandopanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Tripadvibhuti Mahanarayana Upanishad
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
OM! May Brahman protect us (the Guru and Sishya) both! May he give us both (enough) to enjoy! Efficiency may we both attain! Effective may our study prove! May we not hate (each other) at all! Om Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!
I am now going to explain the principles behind the “tripat-narayana” philosophy, which, if understood and grasped fully, can cull out and weed all forms of illusory material that surrounds all living in this materialistic world.
“OM! The Supreme Being, known as Narayana, desired to create living beings. And out of such desire (or vow), the living force of breath called “prana” stems out from the Supreme Being; the mind (manas) and all other sense organs come into being. Also created along with are the Sky, the Air, the Light, the Water and the Earth, which bears all the beings. Out of Narayana arises the Brahma, the deity who is the creator of all beings; and also the Indra, who is the ruler of all Devas. Out of Him comes Prajapati, the deity who originates and controls the people, as well as the twelve Adityas, eleven Rudras and eight Vasus (various controlling forces mentioned in the Vedas – each concerning a distinct and different force of nature). It is only out of the same Narayana that all Vedas came into existence. Thus, all forces come out of Narayana and also finally merge into Him.” – Thus proclaims one of the Upanishads in the Rig Veda.
“Narayanan is ever-present and eternal; He is omnipotent and omnipresent; Brahma, Siva, Indra, all (these deities) are (various forms of) Narayana himself. He indeed, is all forms of time, space and direction. All directions of up, down, sides, in and out are His shadow-cast. All that is existing and the ones to come into existence are Narayana Himself. The Single Supreme Being, devoid of any form of impurity, which cannot be expressed in words, and which is the purest of all pure, is Narayanan. There is nothing above Him and no second power than His. That one who understands this as such becomes (merges with) the Narayana Himself; he becomes (merges with) the Narayana Himself (repeated stress).” – Thus asserts one of the Upanishads in the Yajur Veda.
“First utter the syllable “OM”; then utter the words “Namah” and “Narayanaya”. These words respectively are made of one, two and five syllables (as in Sanskrit); thus the entire phrase is made of eight syllables or called as “ashta-aksharam” (ashta-eight; aksharam-syllable). That one who chants this eight-syallable mantra of Narayana, lives long without any disrepute or notoriety; he is blessed with rulership, wealth, cattle and servants and ultimately attains the moksha (or the point of no return) also called as salvation; he attains the moksha (repeated with stress).” – Thus states one of the Upanishads in the Sama Veda.
“That blissful Supreme Being (Brahman) which resides within, is of the form of OM or Pranava. The Pranava (OM) is made of A, U and M. That grew in multiples. The blessed one, who recites and chants the syllable OM, he gets rid of all the bindings and bonds of this material world. The one who chants the words “Om Namo Narayanaya” ultimately attains the Vaikunda, the abode of Sri Narayana (or the Heaven – the Home of Salvation). The Vaikunda is not (to be found) anywhere else but in a pure blessed heart, filled with knowledge (spiritual). From there rises an offshoot of light, as bright as a ray of lightning. That ray of light is representative of the various forms of Narayana – called by names such as son of Devaki, the one sweeter than Honey, the one in the form of Brahma, the one with lotus-like eyes, Vishnu (or the savior of all). He resides within all beings, and controls all their activities. He is the form of non-materialistic syllable OM, the Supreme Being.” – Thus states one of the Upanishads in the Atharva Veda.
(Having thus known what each of the four Vedas say about Narayana, now let us understand the fruits of chanting His mantra). That one who chants this (mantra) in the morning, destroys all (his) sins committed during the (previous) night. The one who chants this in the evening destroys all sins committed during the day. That one who chants this during mid-day, looking at the Sun, destroys all the five kinds of major and minor sins described as the worst in the Scriptures. He gets all the benefits of having chanted all the Vedas. Ultimately, he merges into and becomes one with the Supreme Being Narayana.
OM! May Brahman protect us (the Guru and Sishya) both! May he give us both (enough) to enjoy! Efficiency may we both attain! Effective may our study prove! May we not hate (each other) at all! Om Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Tripadvibhuti-Mahanarayanopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
Advaya Taraka Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
That which helps you cross from the fear of birth, aging and death is called Tharakam (Tharayathi means Crosses). Understanding the appearance of the living being and God as separate entities is due to illusion and then examining and understanding the differences which exist in the world by the method of, “It is not this”, “It is not this” and at last what remains at last is the Adhvaya Brahman (which does not have two forms). To get it we have to practice three aims. 1
In the middle of body there exists the Sushumna Nadi which is as bright as the sun and as cool as the moon. It starts from Mooladhara and goes up to Brahmarandra which is in the top middle of the skull. It is well known that in the middle of it there exists Kundalani which is as bright as crores of suns and as thin as the lotus thread. The man who sees that with his mind’s eye attains salvation by getting rid of all sins. 2
One who sees constant light in the top portion of his, in the middle of his forehead has attained mastery of yoga. 3
Wherever it is, if there is light above the head of a one, he is a yogi. 4
The yoga within is of two types viz Poorva (pre) and Uthara (post). The pre yoga is tharaka and the post yoga is amanaska (beyond mind). 5
That which can be realized by sensory organs is one which has a form. That which is in between the eye lids is without form. Always for understanding the things within, practice with deep application of mind is necessary. In Tharaka yoga, the concepts like Daharakasa are understood only by the mind’s eye. The Uthara (post) yoga is without form. It is beyond the mind. 6
Without batting the eye lids to see inside and outside, what we are aiming to see is called Sambhavi Mudra. The place where an expert in that type of mudra lives becomes very holy. 7
By the help of a great teacher one tries to find the Thuriya state hidden in either the sahasrara (thousand petal lotus) or the cave of the heart or end of the 12 Nadis. Ability to see it is only through the help of a great teacher. 8
If the teacher, who is a scholar in Vedas, who is a devotee of Lord Vishnu, who does not have jealousy in his mind, who is a great expert in yoga, who practices Yoga and who is the personification of Yoga blesses us, all the ties imposed by birth will vanish. At that moment all the sins committed in all the births will be destroyed. The Upanishad tells that he will achieve all the Purusharthas. 9
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Advaya-Tarakopanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Rama Rahasya Upanishad
Translated by Dr. Sunder Hattangadi and P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
[This great Upanishad is in Atharvana Veda and is the authoritative source of Lord Rama's worship methods.]
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I salute that Lord Rama, who is the personification of salvation, who is a great king, who is a great man and who destroys all his enemies.
First Chapter
1-2. Great sages like Mudgala, Sandilya, Paingala, Bikshu, Sanaka and Prahlada approached Lord Hanuman, who was a great devotee of Vishnu and asked him,
3-4. “Which is the greatest principle among the four Veda-s, 18 purana-s, 18 Smriti-s, Sastra-s, all knowledge and among the great powers ruled by the Sun and moon?”
5-6. He replied, “Hey, great sages and devotees of Lord Vishnu! Please hear my words which cut of all attachments, the greatest principle among these is the principle of Brahma Taraka (OM). Rama is Para-Brahma and supreme austerity, and Rama is the Supreme Essence and Brahma Taraka.”
7. They all again asked, Lord Hanuman,”Please tell us the angas (aspects) of Lord Rama.”
Lord Hanuman told, “Please understand that Lord Ganesha, Goddess Saraswati, Goddess Durga, all the Kshetra Palaka-s, Sun, Moon, Lord Narayana, Lord Narasimha, Lord Vasudeva, Lord Varaha, Lord Lakshmana, Shatrughna, Bharata, Vibheeshana, Sugreeva, Angada, Jambavanta and Pranava are the angas of Lord Rama. Without these angas, Lord Rama will not remove all roadblocks. They again asked, “How will Brahmins and householders get the capacity to recite Pranava?” He said, “All People (even if they are not eligible to chant “Om”,) who chant the six letter mantra would get the capacity to meditate on Pranava. Those who chant silently the mantra of Rama would get the same effect as repeating the letter “Om”. After the name of Rishi, Devata and meter, japa of the Rama mantra would give the same effect as repetition of Pranava and further he explained that Rama Himself has said that pranava is a part of Rama mantra.
8. On another occasion answering Vibheeshana’s question “How can your angas be made easy to worship? Please tell me an easy way.”
Rama replied, “The japa of my name “Rama” removes all sins. Suppose some one is meditating on my six lettered mantra or reads my Gita or thinks of me with devotional fervor, he would get the same effect. He would get rid of the five great sins, viz. killing of father, killing of mother, killing of brothers, killing of teachers, killing of husband or even other well-known great sins, if one repeats my six lettered mantra ten million times. He also would get the immortal and ever lasting bliss.
Vibheeshana again asked him, “What would be the way for people who are not capable of doing It.?”
Rama replied “they can either read my Gita, my thousand names or meditate on my Viswa Roopa or my 108 names, or repeat my name 100 times, or read the king of stotras written by sage Narada, or read the great prayer called mantra raja stavam written by Hanuman, or read the prayer to Sita or daily pray to me by reciting my name; they will doubtless attain Me.”
Here ends the First Chapter.
Second Chapter
The great sages led by Sanaka asked Hanuman again, “Please tell us the mantra for meditating (or worshipping) the Taraka Brahma Rama.”
Hanuman replied:
1. That king of mantra-s is the Ekakshara (one-syllabled) which is the store house of fire, which is Lord Vishnu who is lying down and which is Lord Shiva who adorned with the crescent moon.
2. Its sage is Brahma, meter is Gayatri, Deity is Lord Rama, its anga is waxing half-Moon and its mind is the soul of fire,
3. Its root is the Beeja Shakti and it has to be chanted for fulfillment of desires. [The prayer (dhyana sloka) for the mantra is:-]
He who sits on the lotus flower on the shores of river Sarayu,
4. He who is black, seated on the throne of heroes, who shines in the Jnana-Mudra that he shows, whose left side is adorned by Sita and Lakshmana,
5. He who shines as their soul to those souls, who pray to him, who is like the clear crystal, who is the only source to those who wish for salvation,
6. He who is the Paramatma to those thinkers, who shines like the millions of Suns, who is like Narayana residing in the nadi-s, who is digestive fire.
7. The king of mantras with two syllables (Rama) would lead to fulfillment of all desires, and along with the suffix of one letter, it becomes six different mantras, [they are Om, Hrim, Srim, Klim, Aim and Ram.]
8. These king of mantras consisting of three syllables also will fulfill all desires.
9. The two four lettered mantras are Ramachandra and Ramabhadra.
10. These can be chanted with the rishi and others as told before; Viswamithra is its Rishi, the meter is pankti, Devatha is Ramabhadra, The Bheeja is Shakthi.
11. This mantra should be invoked mentally in the middle of the eye brows, head, navel, thighs and feet.
12. One should go to the middle of the forest and sit under the Kalpa-Vriksha (wish-fulfilling or eternal tree) and assume the posture of “Pushpalata” (flowering creeper plant), do the anga nyasa and chant the mantras,
13. With Lakshmana having arranged properly the arrow and the Lord being fanned by Sita.
14. Dhyana mantra:- I salute that Rama, who has lustrous matted hair, who is bluish in colour, who is surrounded by sages, who is being fanned by Janaki, who is protected by Lakshmana holding an umbrella,
15. The one who killed Ravana, who is extremely peaceful, and before whom stand Sugreeva and Vibeeshana. For achieving victory one should chant this sloka ten million times.
16. The five lettered mantra-s are formed by adding the root letters for Manmatha, Durga, Saraswati and Lakshmi at the beginning of the four lettered mantra, [adding OM to make it six-syllabled] and lead to the realization of the four Purushartha-s.
17. When each of the fifty mystic syllables of the Sanskrit alphabet (nasalized), as well as the root letters of Lakshmi, Saraswati, Manmatha and OM are added as the first syllable several varieties of six lettered mantras are formed.
18. Chanting the four letter mantras by adding the root letters of Sri, Maya and Manmatha as prefix and suffix of the four and six letter mantras grants all ones wishes.
19. Adding svaha, or hum phat or namah at the end, in various combinations, make up the 18-lettered mantra-s.
20. In these mantra-s, Brahma as sammohana shakti, Dakshinamurty, Agastya, and Shiva are said to be the ascetics, in that order.
21. The meter (chanda) is Gayatri, and the Deity is Shri Rama. Or, Kama-bija at the beginning and Vishvamitra the Rishi.
22. The meter Gayatri of different deities and Ramabhadra the ‘devata’. The shakti-bija is invoked as before as with the 6-lettered mantra.
23. Touching on the top of the head, in the middle between the eye-brows, heart, thighs, and feet, the mantras are recited with bija-s and anga-nyasa.
24. Dhyana:
I worship Sri Rama,
Whose body shines with various ornaments, Who is as brilliant as lightning,
Who assumes the Virasana posture, Who shows jnana Mudra by one hand, Who keeps the other hand on his thigh, And who wears the crown.
25. Then one should, with prostrations, recite “Ramachandraya and Ramabhadraya Namah”, and the king of seven lettered mantras and the fulfiller of all wishes.
26. Eight lettered mantra: Adding OM at the beginning to the two seven lettered mantras gives rise to two eight lettered mantras. OM added to the four lettered “Ramaya” and “Hum Phat svaha” is another 8 lettered mantra.
27. The Rishis and other adjuncts for the 8-lettered mantra are the same as for the 6-lettered ones. Again, the 8-lettered mantra also has Rama as the Rishi.
28. The meter is Gayatri, the Deity is Rama, OM, the pair of Shri bija-s, and Shakti bija and others are also (added).
29. Thereafter one recites the mantra-s with the 6-limbed nyasa, and recites Ramaya Namah with OM and a pair of Shri-bija-s.
30. Shiva Rama Mantra: Glaum OM, Maya-bija (heart-abiding) Ramaya Namah is recited again. Shiva, Om, Rama mantra is the giver of all excellence.
31. Sadashiva is spoken of as the Rishi, Gayatri as the meter, and Shiva-OM-Ramachandra as the Deity.
Dhyanam:
I worship that Rama,
Who has three eyes,
Who wears the crescent,
Who holds the trident,
Who is anointed all over by ash,
And who is with matted hair.
32. I worship the three eyed one,
Who is Abhirama, the pinnacle of beauty,
Who wears the crescent as ear ring,
And who holds the noose, the goad, the bow and the arrow,
34. Thus meditating, devoted wholly to recitation and oblations one shall chant mantra-s one-hundred thousand times, offering bilva leaves, fruits, flowers, gingili seeds, and lotuses.
35. Rama Brahma Gayatri: Even the treasures and powers, wished for by the celestials, come by themselves, when the 8-lettered Raghava brahma-gayatri (is chanted).
36. The Rishis knowing Shri-bija as my Shakti, chant the mantra-s with the limbs, as viniyoga for its adoration.
37. Dhyanam:
I worship that blue complexioned Rama,
Who wears the bracelet on upper arm and bangle,
Which are studded with shining gems,
Who has the royal umbrella held over his head,
Who shines like millions of waxing moons,
Who sits in the hall of one thousand sixteen golden pillars,
And who is surrounded by Bharata and others.
38. Rama Sharana Mantra: The chanting of “Ramam sharanam mama” (i.e. Rama is my refuge) achieves much more than many other mantras which lead with difficulty to mere ephemeral gains and productive of the misery of samsara due to the greed for the transient fruits. This mantra gives the fruits of all of them without the taint of greed and other defects. There is also the 8-lettered mantra which is well-known in seven-fold ways. It is Om added to the seven lettered mantra.
39. Other mantras with more letters: The 8-syllabled mantra is (chanted) seven-fold ways. OM is added at the beginning and end of the seven lettered (mantra).
40. Nine lettered mantra: This 9-lettered mantra is offered like the 6-lettered one, to Sita in the beginning and to the consort of Janaki at the end.
41. Ten lettered mantra: The 10-lettered mantra gives all that is desirable wished-for fruits. The great Vasishtha is the Rishi of this 10-lettered mantra; the meter is Virat,
42. The Deity is Rama holding Sita’s hand; The beginning bija Visarga is the shakti. With the anga-nyasa for the wishes,
43. The 10 lettered mantra is offered mentally to the head, forehead, middle of the eye-brows, palate, ears, heart, navel, thighs, knees, and feet.
44. Dhyanam:
I think of that Rama,
Who is in the city of Ayodhya,
Who is decorated by various gems,
Who sits under a golden canopy,
Whose doorways are decorated by mandara flowers,
45. Who is seated on a throne, Surrounded by celestial vehicles,
46. Who is praised by sages with reverence,
Who is adorned on the left by Sita,
Who is being served by Lakshmana,
47. Who is blue complexioned,
Who has a tranquil face,
And who is adorned by ornaments.
This mantra should be recited a hundred-thousand times with exclusive devotion.
48. The form of Rama holding the bow in his hands and Sita within. Brahma is the Rishi of the 10-lettered mantra. The meter is Virat,
49. The Deity is Rama, the slayer of demons. Rest of the worship is similar to the previous one. One should remember Rama holding the bow and arrow.
50. Eleven lettered mantra: With the six-fold addition of OM-Maya-Rama-Kama-Vac-sva- bija-s, and recite the 10-lettered mantra for Rudra.
51. The remainder (ritual) is the same as for the 6-lettered mantra, as regards nyasa and dhyana, according to the wise. Of the 12-lettered mantra Sri Rama is the Rishi;
52. The meter is jagati and Sri Rama the Deity; the pranava is said to be the bija, kliim is Shakti, and hrim is kilaka.
53. Reciting the mantra-s with the anga-nyasa, the rest is performed as previously. Also to be added are OM, kiim and also Bharatagraja.
54. Twelve lettered mantra: This 12-lettered mantra ends with Rama, kliim and svaha. OM Hrridbhagavate Ramachandrabhadraya;
55. As before, the Rishi and dhyana, and [arna meter (12-feet) or the 12 suryas??]; Jagati meter, and the mantra-s with anga-nyasa.
56. Reciting the name Sri Rama and Jayarama thereafter, the wise one says jaya jaya twice, Rama who sheds joy on the mind.
57. Thirteen lettered mantra: The 13-lettered mantra has the same Rishi and other adjuncts as before, the fulfiller of all wishes. Repeating the phrase twice with the anga-s and dhyana as before.
58. Fourteen lettered mantra: When Om is added, the mantra is 14-lettered. After chanting the 13-lettered, one adds (the name) Rama;
59. Fifteen lettered mantra: This is the 15-lettered wish-fulfilling tree (kalpa - bhuruhah). Add namah to Sitapataye Ramaya hana hana;
60. Sixteen lettered mantra: Thereafter, the 16-lettered ends with the kavacha and asthra. Of this, Agastya is the Rishi, Brihati is the meter, and Rama is the Deity.
61. Ram is the bija, astra is shakti, and hum the kilaka. The 10-15 lettered mantra-a are offered in sequence with the anga-nyasa-s.
62. Seventeen lettered mantra: Adding OM, the mantra is 17-lettered. OM namo bhagavata Ram at the end there-after.
63. Eighteen lettered mantra: Adding purushaya at the end gives the 18-lettered mantra, with Vishvamitra as the Rishi and gayatri meter and the Deity as Rama.
64. Nineteen lettered mantra: With the Kama bija, the mantra is 19-lettered. OM namo bhagavate Ramaya is to be recited.
65. Twenty lettered mantra: After uttering all the mantra-s one asks for all auspiciousness. When svaha is added the mantra is 20-lettered.
66. OM namo bhagavate Ramaya is to be recited. Then svaha for protection from dangers.
67. Twenty one lettered mantra: The 21-lettered mantra fulfills all one’s wishes. OM Rama svabijaa Dasharathaya thereafter.
68. Twenty two lettered mantra: Then one chants the all-auspicious sitavallabhaya (to Sita’s consort). Then this 22-lettered mantra.
69. Twenty three lettered mantra: OM namo bhagavate viraramaya is chanted. Then softly, hana hana svaha is recited.
70. The 23-lettered mantra is the slayer of all enemies. Vishvamitra is the Rishi and Gayatri is the meter.
71. The Deity is Vira Rama, bija-s and other (adjuncts) are as before. The wise one after doing the anga-nyasa of the mula-mantra in parts,
72. silently meditates on Rama, who has put the arrow on the bow and facing Ravana, is holding the thunderbolt in his hand and has ascended the chariot.
73. One recites OM namo bhagavate Shri Ramaya and having said OM brahmane adds the words mam taraya (protect me).
74. Twenty four lettered mantra: With nama OM added, the mantra is 24-lettered. The bija-s and other adjuncts are as before.
75. Kliim, OM, and namah and bhagavate Ramachandraya thereafter, one says the word ‘all’.
76. Twenty five lettered mantra: janavashyakaraya (conquering people) svaha and kiim are to be recited mentally. The 25-lettered mantra is to include sarvavashyakara (conquering all).
77. Twenty six and twenty seven lettered mantra: With OM added at the beginning, the mantra has 26 letters. Adding OM at the end makes it 27-lettered.
78. OM namo bhagavate rakshoghnavishadaya (obeisance to Bhagavan, slayer of demons), sarvavighat nivaraya (protect from all obstacle), to be repeated twice;
79. Twenty eight and twenty nine lettered mantra: Adding svaha at the end makes this king of mantra-s 28-lettered. When joined with OM, it becomes 29-lettered.
80. Thirty and Thirty-one lettered mantra: Beginning with sva-bija, is the 30-lettered. With OM at the end, it has 31 letters.
81. O Ramabhadra the great archer! O Raghuvira the best of kings, and slayer of Ravana! Grant me wealth!
82. The Rishi is Rama, meter is anushtubh, Ram bija, yam shakti, are recited for the Ishta deity.
83. Nyasa of the mantra is done in the heart, on the head, with the 5-lettered on the shikha, and of the 3-lettered kavacha.
84. For the eyes with the 5-lettered mantra, called the astra. Holding the bow and arrow, blue-complexioned, accompanied by Sugriva and Vibhishana.
85. After slaying Ravana, coming for the protection of the three worlds; meditating on Rama in the heart, one chants (the mantra) mentally a million times;
86. Then one utters the rama gayatri given by ‘dashrathaya vidmahe’, followed by ‘sita-vallabhaya dhimahi,
87. tanno Ramah prachodayat’. [May we know the son of Dasharatha; we meditate on Sita’s consort; may Rama enlighten our intellect.]
88. For enchanting the earth and attain expertise in love add “madana” (cupid) to the “Sri Rama“ along with the Bhija of Maya.
89. With 15-lettered and 12-lettered (mantra-s) and also for the 16-lettered mantra one has to perform anga-nyasa.
90. While chanting the bija-s, meditation, etc. for these, the same sequence as for the 6-lettered mantra has to be adhered. OM namo bhagavate raghunandanaya.
91. Likewise, thereafter one recites ‘to rakshoghnavishad’, and ‘madhura’ (sweet); ‘prasannavadanam’ (tranquil-faced), ‘amita-tejaseo (to one of immeasurable brightness).
92. Thereafter, say namah (obeisance) to Balarama and Vishnu, and recite mentally the 47 letters.
93. Rishi is Brahma, meter is anushtubh, and deity is Raghava. Seven time 17, with 6 Rudra-s, and the 6 limbs;
94. While Meditating on the 10-lettered mantra , one chants it 100,000 times. It starts with “Shriyam Sita”, followed by the six lettered mantra and ending with “Swaha”.
95. The Rishi of this mantra is Janaka, meter is Gayatri, deity is Sita Bhagavati, shrim is bija, and namah is the shakti.
96. Sita is kilaka, viniyoga is done for the Ishta. Reciting with prolonged accents at the beginning, the 6-limb nyasa is done.
97. One should meditate on Rama at the center of the hexagon (yantra), thinking in the mind him with his body shining like gold, holding a lotus,and then look at Rama as the final refuge.
98. For the Lakshmana mantra utter the sound lam and bow to Lakshmana. For this (mantra) Agastya is the Rishi, meter is Gayatri,
99. Deity is Lakshmana, lam is the bija and shakti is namah; the 4 purushartha-s are the viniyoga.
100. Long ending sound with Ram as the bija is recited with the 6-limbed nyasa. (Rama) with 2 arms, personifying his body as of golden hue, and resembling a lotus,
101. For the Bharata mantra, he holding the bow and arrow, wholly devoted to Rama as the Supreme, one should utter the sound bha and bow to Bharata.
102. Rishi is Agastya, rest is done as before, to Bharata the blue-hued one who is tranquil and serving Rama whole-heartedly.
103. For the mantra of Shatrughna, recite “I worship Kaikeyi’s brave son, holding the bow and arrow”; utter the bija “sham” and ending with ‘shatrughnaya namah’, the Rishi-s and other adjuncts as before and the viniyoga for the control over enemies.
104. Two-armed, golden-bright, devoted to the service of Rama, slayer of Lavanasura, I worship the son of Sumitra.
105. The mantra of Hanuman, “hrum hanumate” is the king of mantra-s, of which Ramachandra is the Rishi, and the other rituals to be done as previously.
106. One should meditate on the two-armed one who is shining like gold, who is devoted to Rama’s service, wearing the girdle of munja-grass and is the servant of Rama.
Thus ends Second Chapter of Rama-rahasya Upanishad.
Third Chapter
Sanaka and other ascetics asked Hanuman:
“O mighty son of Anjana! Tell us about the altar (yantra) for the worship by the aforesaid mantra-s.”
Hanuman replied:
“To begin with, the altar is six-sided (hexagonal) and in the center is written the seed-letter (bijakshara) of Rama (Ram), with shrim.
Below that in the second corner is the Sadhya (food offering). Above it on the sixth corner is the Sadhakam (Constant devotion). On the surrounding sides are the seed letters of Jiva-Prana-Shakti. Encircling all these is OM.
In the South-East, North-East, North-West, & South-West, on the front corners, are kept the cooked rice.
Then sequentially the Heart mantra-s viz Ram, rim, rum, raim, raum, rah bija-akshara-,s the heart ‘astra mantras’ are to be recited.
Behind the corners are the bija-akshara of Rama and Maya, on the corners varaham hum; over this is the Kama-bija (Ram) and surrounding it, is the Vac (kiim).
Thereafter are three circles of eight leaves. On the leaves, garlands of syllables in eight groups of six-lettered mantras are inscribed.
Ending with five-lettered mantra.
On the face of each leaf the eight-lettered (mantras).
Again, the 8-petalled lotus.
On the petals, the 8-lettered Narayana mantra. OM namo Narayanaya
On the face of each petal shri bija.
Then the first round.
Then the 12-petalled.
On them, the 12-lettered Vasudeva mantra. (OM namo bhagavate vasudevaya) As well as on their fronts, in all directions. In a circular manner.
On the petals hum phat with the 12-lettered Rama mantra – (OM namo bhagavate ramachandraya .)
On the front of the petal, Maya bija (kiiM).
On the front of each in two circles – hram, sram, bhram, bram, bhramam, shrum, jram. Then in a circle.
Thereafter, the 32-petalled.
On them, the king of mantra-s – Nrisimha anushtubh.
On front of these, the 8 vasu-s, 11 rudra-s, 12 aditya mantra-s, along with OM and namo, in sequence, in dative case.
Outside and surrounding is vashat.
Then the Bhupura of three lines.
In 12 directions, adorned with the rashi-s (Zodiac signs).
Abiding there the 8 naga-s (serpents).
In the 4 directions, the Narasimha bija.
In the intermediate directions, the Varaha bija.
This all-encompassing yantra fulfills all wishes and grants liberation.
Beginning with the 1–lettered and ending with the 9-lettered (mantra-s), this is the yantra and the tenth becomes the avarana (covering for it).
One should worship Raghava, with ‘anga-nyasa’, in the center of the hexagon. In the first round, the anga-nyasa is done at all the corners.
At the root of the 8 petals, the initial cover of oneself.
Then the covering by Vasudeva and others.
At the base of the second 8-petals, the ‘cow covering’.
Then covers of Hanuman and other.
For the 12-petalled, Vasishtha covering.
For the 16-petalled, the blue lotus covering.
For the 32-petalled, Dhruva covering.
In the Bhupura, Indra covering.
Outside this is the vajra covering.
Offering thus, one should silently chant.
Now, the altar is described for the mantras starting with 10 syllables and ending with 32 syllables.
First the hexagon.
In its center the name of the ‘ishta’.
Thus surrounded by Kama bija.
The remaining nine surround this.
At the six corners, the 6-fold anga-nyasa, in the front and back of the intermediate directions (S-E, N-E, N-W, S-W).
On the face, the Shri-Maya (bija)
In the corners, krodha.
Then the first round.
Then the 8-petals; on the petals, garlands of syllables, in multiples of 6. In a circular manner. Surrounding this, in all directions.
Outside this the Bhupura, with 8 spear-points.
In all directions, Narasimha and Varaha.
This is the Great Yantra.
Adhara-shakti (basic power) is the seat of Vishnu’s worship.
The first round is of anga-nyasa.
In the center, Rama.
On the left, Sita.
In their front, the bow and the arrow.
At the base of the 8 petals, two avarana-s of Hanuman.
The third avarana of cow.
Fourth of Indra. Fifth of Vajra.
Thus worshipping the yantra with devotion, one should recite the 10-lettered and other mantra-s.
Thus ends the Third Chapter of Rama-Rahasya Upanishad.
Fourth Chapter
Sanaka and other ascetics asked Hanuman: ”Describe the ritual for recitation of Rama mantras.“ Hanuman replied, “The one who intends to recite this mantra should follow the following procedures:
1. He should bathe thrice a day.
2. He should take only sathvic foods like milk, roots, fruits or naivedya (rice pudding offered to the God)
3. He should follow the prescribed Karmas of the stage of his life (Brahmachari, Grahastha, Vanaprastha or Sanyasi)
4. He should give up the six negative emotions like anger, jealousy etc.
5. He should observe purity and practice dispassionate speech.
6. He should also observe dispassionate action and show respect to all women.
7. He should observe celibacy and sleep on the bare ground.
8. He should not have any desires.
9. He should be devoted to his teacher.
10. He should scrupulously observe bath, worship, recitation, meditation and oblation to the fire.
11. He should meditate with utmost concentration on Rama as instructed by his teacher.
12. He should invoke the sun, moon, Teacher, lamp, cow, Brahmin, etc.
13. The ascetic doing this japa should sit on a tiger skin and adopt postures prescribed like the Swasthikasana in rotating sequence.
14. He should seat himself below plants like Thulasi or trees like Parijata, Bilwa etc.
15. He should count using a rosary whose beads are either made of thulasi plant or use rudraksha.
16. The counting should be done mentally using the beads and should be one hundred thousand times at the altar of Maha Vishnu.
17. Tharpana should be offered after every ten total count. After ten counts offer rice pudding, pour over it clarified butter made from cow’s milk and eat what remains after the next tenth portion.
18. After this along with chanting flowers have to be offered along with the chanting of moola mantra,. The ascetic who does this japa becomes liberated in life and the supernatural powers follow him like a bride follows her groom.
This Rama-mantra is not only a means to liberation, but if you remember me who am Rama’s servant, it will ensure success in these worldly affairs too.
To the one who for ever remembers Rama with total devotion as the final refuge of the mind, I am empowered to fulfill all their chosen wishes.
Towards the task of fulfillment of the wishes of the devotees of Rama, I – as an expert in carrying out Rama’s commands - am always wholly alert.
Thus ends the Fourth Chapter of Rama-rahasya Upanishad.
Fifth Chapter [Conclusion]
Sanaka and other ascetics asked Hanuman: “ Tell us the meaning of Sri Rama mantra”.
Hanuman replied: “Among the Rama mantras the 6-lettered is the king among them all; though as mentioned earlier they exist as one-, or two-, or three, or four, or five syllables or even as
six-, or seven-, or eight, or even as many more syllables. Lord Shiva knows in essence the glory of the six-syllables (mantra);
[ shri Ramah sharanam mama! ].
The true meaning of the king among the Rama mantras, as well as of the eight-lettered Narayana and five-lettered Shiva mantras, is spoken of as thus:
Where yogi-s revel in the 2 syllable mantra viz. ‘Ra ma’ where the ra syllable denotes fire wherein abides illumination.
Its nature as Existence-Consciousness-Bliss is regarded as the supreme meaning, the consonant denoting the unchanging Brahman, and the syllable the energy of manifestation.
Know that Consonants joined to Syllables are used in breathing; the sound ‘r’, of the nature of light, is therefore used in action.
The sound ‘ma’, is known as ‘maya’ indicating prosperity; being itself the seed-letter (bijakshara) is also equal to Brahman itself.
With the ‘bindu’ (anusvara), the Purusha takes on the form of Shiva-Sun-Moon, the flame as the crest, and the sound as the Prakriti.
Both Purusha and Prakriti jointly are considered as Brahman; the bindu, sound and the indwelling seed-letter as Fire and digits of the Moon.
Fire and OM by their very nature abide in the seed-syllables of Rama, just as the great tree in the mundane life is contained in its seed.
Similarly, in the seed-syllables Rama, is contained this whole moving and unmoving world. The name Rama is thus regarded as the seed with both these meanings.
When freed of the Maya-seed (kiim), the Supreme Spirit is said to exist (alone). This grants liberation to aspirants, and the ‘ma’ sound is regarded as the liberator.
Formless ‘ma’ in Rama is the grantor of enjoyment and liberation.The first letter ‘ra’ stands for the term ‘tat’ (That), and ‘ma’ stands for the term ‘tvam’ (You).
The wise knower of Truth declare that the confluence of the above two terms end in the meaning ‘asi’ (Are). The word ‘namah’ has the meaning of tvam (you) and tat is denoted by the word Rama.
When used in the dative case (Ramaya), the meaning asi (are) is indicated in the mantra. Wherefore, the sentence ‘tattvamasi’ grants the unitive salvation.
Therefore, this (mantra) giver of enjoyment and liberation surpasses the afore-said sentence (tattvamasi). All embodied human beings are qualified for this mantra.
For those desiring liberation, the dispassionate ones, as well as house-holders and in all stages of life, constant meditation of OM, and especially for ascetics, is enjoined; for the knower of the meaning of Rama-mantra doubtless become liberated while alive.
One who studies this Upanishad becomes sanctified by fire, purified by air, is freed from the sin of consuming intoxicants or of theft of gold or of the slaying of a Brahmin.
One who recites the Rama-mantra repeatedly merges in Ramachandra himself.
Therefore, this sacred hymn: Those whoever say “I am Rama in essence”, will not feel any want in this life, and without a doubt is Rama Himself”.
This is the Truth. This is the Upanishad.
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Rama-Rahasyopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
Rama Tapaniya Upanishad*
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I. Rama Poorva Tapaniya Upanishad
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being!
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
The Tatva (principle/philosophy) of Rama exists in this world, with his life showing the way to live, with his name showing the way of ethereal knowledge, and also blessing all those who meditate or worship it with wealth and renunciation.
The word ‘Rama’ on which yogis devote themselves is immeasurable and forever joyful and indicates Para Brahman itself.
The body has been ascribed to Para Brahman which is holy, without any second, which does not have any blemishes and which is bodiless, so that the worshippers are shown the path. 1
Similar to the whole banyan tree existing in the seed of the banyan tree, the entire world exists in the seed “Rama”. 2
Rama when incarnated shone along with Sita, who is nature herself, like the moon shining with its moonlight. He who was born to Mother Kousalya, was black in colour, wore yellow silk, had his hair made up, wore ear studs and chains of precious stones, had in his hand the bow, had two hands, had a very pleasant smiling face and was heroic and blessed with victory and ruled with the help of eight ministers lead by Drishti. He was keeping the Parameshwari who was the mother of the world, who was nature, who had two hands, who was well made up and was holding lotus flower in her hand, on his lap and lightly embracing her. 3
He with Sita formed a triangle with Lakshmana who was holding a bow in his hand and was golden in colour. The devas approached him who was sitting below “the wish giving tree” in the form of a triangle and prayed, “Our salutations to you, who is personification of passion and illusion and also a god primeval to Vedas. Our salutations to the Raghu Veera, who killed Ravana, who is drowned in joy by keeping Goddess Lakshmi on his chest, who is the personification of all souls, who is an ornament to the body of Janaki (daughter of Janaka), who killed Rakshasas, who is very handsome and who is personification of all that is good.” 4
The devas further told “Hey, the killer of Ravana, please give us your protection and your grace.” Then they were with him and became very happy. 5
On his left with Satrugna, on his right with Bharata and on his front Hanuman who was listening to his advices, there was another triangle. Below Bharata was Sugreeva and below him was Vibheeshana.
Behind him Lakshmana was holding an umbrella and below him Vibheeshana and Sugreeva were holding fans made of palm leaves. This was another inverted triangle. So the long armed Lord Rama who was shining was meditating in between this figure with six vertices. This is the first row surrounding him. The second is surrounded by Vasudeva and others (Santhi, Sankarshana, Sree Pradyumna, Saraswathi, Anirudha and Rathi) as well as fire and others in different directions.
Third is surrounded by Hanuman, Sugreeva, Bharata, Vibheeshana, Lakshmana, Angada, Jambhavan, Satrugna as well as Drushti, Jayantha, Vijaya, Surashtra, Rashtra Vardhana, Ashoka, Darmapala and Sumandra.
Fourth is surrounded by the 10 dig-balakas (protectors of directions) viz., Indra, Agni (fire God), Yama (god of death), Nirruthi, Varuna, Chandra, Isana, Brahma and Anantha.
Fifth is beyond the Dig-balakas and consists of their principal arms viz., Vajra, Shakthi, Danda, Vara, Pasa, Angusa, Gada, Soola, Madma and chakra; these should be worshipped.
Sixth: After the arms, Neela and other monkeys. Vasishta, Vamadeva and other sages worship him. He should be meditated and worshipped. 6
Thus worship Sri Rama who has the form which is the foundation of this world and who is forever joyful. All people who worship him as the one carrying mace, sword, conch and lotus and who is known as the one who removes births and deaths will attain salvation.
Thus ends the Sri Rama Poorva Tapaniya Upanishad.
II. Rama Uttara Tapaniya Upanishad
Om ! May my speech be based on (i.e. accord with) the mind;
May my mind be based on speech.
O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me.
May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me.
May not all that I have heard depart from me.
I shall join together (i.e. obliterate the difference of) day
And night through this study.
I shall utter what is verbally true; I shall utter what is mentally true.
May that (Brahman) protect me;
May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me;
May that protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
In Varanasi Lord Shiva did Japa (chanted) of the Rama Mantra. Pleased because of this, Sri Rama told Lord Sankara as follows:
In this temple (city) whoever worships me with devotion, I would help him get rid of sins like Brahma Hathi (killing of a Brahmin). Those of them who get the six letter mantra (Ram Ramaya NamaH) either from you or Brahma or his disciple line, would live with mastery over the mantra or attain salvation. At the time of death, if you tell this mantra in their ears, they would get salvation. 1
Brahma then thought in his mind about that Maha Vishnu, who is the foundation of this world, who is that Narayana, who does not have any deficiencies and who is that Parameshwara, who is of the form of Para Brahman and who is full of complete joy and then worshipped him as follows: 2
Om! He who is Ramachandra is verily the God. He is the ‘non-dual soul of great happiness’. I salute him again and again in earth, bhuvar loka and Suvar loka. 3.1
This is followed by the repetition of the mantra 47 times with modification of the words with in quotes viz. “non-dual soul of great happiness’.
Only this portion is being translated below. This should be appropriately replaced in the mantra. 3.1 Far-flung and wide soul of the senses; 3.2
Nectar of happiness of Brahma; 3.3
One who makes us cross the birth and death; 3.4
One who is the soul of Gods like Vishnu and Indra; 3.5
One who is all Vedas, all Shakhas (branches), all Sankhyas and all Puranas (epics); 3.6 One who is the soul of all beings; 3.7
One who is the inner soul of all beings; 3.8
One who is the perception of Devas, Asuras and Human beings; 3.9 One who has taken the ten incarnations like fish, tortoise etc; 3.10 One who is the soul; 3.11
One who is soul of the inner consciousness; 3.12 One who is God of death; 3.13
One who is the destroyer; 3.14 One who is the death; 3.15 One who is the nectar; 3.16
One who is the five great elements; 3.17
One who is the soul of moving and unmoving; 3.18 One who is the five fires; 3.19
One who is the seven Vyahruthis; 3.20 One who is learning; 3.21
One who is Goddess Saraswati; 3.22 One who is Goddess Lakshmi; 3.23 One who is Goddess Parvati; 3.24
One who is the daughter of Janaka; 3.25 One who is the three worlds; 3.26
One who is the Sun; 3.27 One who is the moon; 3.28 One who is the stars; 3.29
One who is the nine planets; 3.30
One who is the eight protectors of directions; 3.31 One who is the eight Vasus; 3.32
One who is the eleven Rudras; 3.33 One who is the twelve suns; 3.34 One who is the past and future; 3.35
One who is the Supreme Being beyond the Brahmanda (universe); 3.36 One who is Hiranyagarbha; 3.37
One who is nature; 3.38
One who is the letter Om; 3.39
One who is half portion of Pranava; 3.40 One who is the greatest Purusha (man); 3.41 One who is the great God; 3.42
One who is a great deva; 3.43 One who is Lord Vishnu; 3.44 One who is the Paramatma; 3.45
One who is the scientific soul; 3.46
One who is the soul which is forever in eternal bliss. 3.47
The great God would be pleased with the one who worships the Lord of Lords daily by these 47 mantras .The one who worships the Lord of Lords with this mantra will see him in person. He would attain a deathless state. He will attain the deathless state.
Thus ends the Sri Rama Uttara Tapaniya Upanishad.
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship ! May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady ! May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us ! May Brihaspati grant us well-being!
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Rama-Tapaniyopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
* This Upanishad is of two parts viz., Poorva Tapaniya and Uttara Tapaniya.
Vasudeva Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Om. The God like sage Narada saluted Lord Vasudeva and requested him, “Oh God, please teach me the rules of Urdhva Pundra (the religious mark of Vaishnavas which is vertical and points upward)”. 1
God Vasudeva addressing him told as follows:
The Brahmachari (unmarried student of Vedas) and Grahastha (householder) after reciting the following prayer: “Oh God who holds the wheel, mace and conch, Oh Achyutha who is staying in Dwaraka, Oh Govinda, Oh Lotus eyed one,
please protect me, who has surrendered to you.” should apply Urdhva Pundra in his forehead and other 12 places with his pure finger (finger next to the little finger) reciting either the Vishnu Gayathri or the 12 names of the Lord viz., Kesava, Narayana, Madhava, Govinda, Vishnu, Madhusudana, Trivikrama, Vamana, Sreedhara, Hrishikesa, Padmanabha and Damodhara. 2
The Sanyasi should wear the Urdhva Pundra with his fourth finger on the head, forehead and chest chanting the Pranava (Om). 3
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are three in number: Sthoola (macro), Sookshma (micro) and Karana (cause); are three worlds above: Bhoo, Bhuva and Suva; are three Vedas: Rig, Yajur and Sama; are three states: waking up, dream and sleep. The Urdhva Pundras are three viz., Aa, Uu and Ma. These Urdhva Pundras are full of Pranava and full of the letter Om. That one pranava has only become any. The Lord of the ‘Om’ takes you above. So you have to wear Urdhva Pundra. 4
That sage who wears four things upward viz., stick, bravery, yoga and Urdhva Pundra would reach the high status of salvation. This stable knowledge would reach me naturally through devotion. 5
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Vasudevopanishad, included in the Sama-Veda.
Mudgala Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! May my speech be based on (i.e. accord with) the mind;
May my mind be based on speech.
O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me.
May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me.
May not all that I have heard depart from me.
I shall join together (i.e. obliterate the difference of) day
And night through this study.
I shall utter what is verbally true;
I shall utter what is mentally true.
May that (Brahman) protect me;
May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me;
May that protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I. A SUMMARY OF PURUSHASUKTA
We shall explain the Purusha-sukta: In ‘a thousand-headed’ thousand means countless; the word ‘ten fingers’, means infinite distance, by the first stanza Vishnu’s pervasion in space is stated, by the second the pervasion in time; the third speaks of his giving liberation. The glory of Vishnu is given in ‘Etavan’ (so much is his greatness). The same stanza states his four-fold nature. ‘Tripad’ etc., speaks of the glory of Aniruddha. In ‘from that Virat was born’ has been shown the origin of Prakriti and Purusha from a quarter of Hari. By ‘Yat Purushena’ the sacrifice of creation is stated as well as Moksha. In ‘Tasmad’ world creations are stated. ‘Vedaham’ speaks of Hari’s glory. By ‘Yajnena’ is stated the end of creation and liberation. One who knows it becomes liberated.
II. THE SUPREME MYSTERY
In Mudgalopanishad the greatness of Purusha-sukta has been stated in detail. Vasudeva instructed the knowledge of Bhagavan to Indra; again imparted to the humble Indra the great mystery with two sections of the Purusha-sukta. These two are: The Purusha described above gave up the object which was beyond the scope of name and form, hard for worldly people to understand and took a form with a thousand parts and capable of giving Moksha on sight, for uplifting the suffering Devas and others. In that form, pervading the world he was beyond it by an infinite distance. This Narayana was the Past, Present and the Future. And was the giver of Moksha to all. He is greater than the greatest – none is greater than He.
He made himself into four parts and with three of them exists in the heaven. By the fourth, the Aniruddha (for of) Narayana, all worlds have come to be. This (part of) Narayana created Prakriti (Matter) for making the worlds (Prakriti stands for the four-faced Brahma). In full form the latter did not know the work of creation – this Aniruddha-Narayana told him.
Brahman ! Meditate upon your organs as the sacrifice, the firm body of the sheaths as the oblation, me as Agni, the spring season as ghee, summer as fuel, autumn as the six tastes of food and make the offering in Agni and touch the body – this will make the body (strong like) Vajra (diamond). Thence will appear the products like animals. From the, the world of moving and unmoving things. It must be understood that the manner of liberation is stated by the combination of Jiva and Paramatman.
Whoever knows this Creation and Liberation lives a full life.
III
The single God becoming many; unborn, is born as many. The Adhvaryus worship him as Agni. This as Yajus unites everything. The Samavedins worship as Saman. All is established in him. The serpents meditate on his as poison. The knowers of snake-lore as snake, gods as energy, men as wealth, Demons as Magic, the manes as sustenance. The knowers of the superhuman as superhuman. Gandharvas as beauty, Apsarases as perfume. He becomes whatever he is worshipped as; so, one should think ‘I am the supreme being’ and will become that (who knows this).
IV. ONLY BRAHMAN WITH THE THREEFOLD MISSING IS JIVA
Beyond the threefold misery, free from layers devoid of the six waves, other than the five sheaths, unaffected by the six transformations is the Brahman. The three miseries are Adhyatmika (body disease), Adhibhautika (robbers, wild animals etc.,) and Adhidaivika (rains etc.,). They relate to agents, action and effect; knower, knowledge and the known; experiencer, experience and the experienced. The six layers are skin, flesh, blood, bones, tendons and morrow. The six enemies are lust etc. The five sheaths are those of food, vital airs, mind cognition and bliss. The six transformations are: being, birth, growth, change, decline and destruction. The six waves are hunger, thirst, sorrow, delusion, old age and death. The six delusions are about family, lineage, class, caste, stations (ashrama) and forms. Through contact with the supreme spirit becomes the Jiva – he is none other.
He who studies this is purified in fire, wind and sun; has health and wealth, becomes rich in children and grandchildren, a scholar, purified from great sin, drink, improper contact with mother, daughter and daughter-in-law, stealing gold, forgetting Vedic learning, failure to serve elders, sacrificing for the unfit, eating what should not be, wrong gifts, contact with another’s wife, unaffected by lust etc., becomes the pristine Brahman in this birth. Therefore one should not impart to an uninitiated person this Purusha-sukta which is a secret, nor to one who does not know the Vedas, a non-sacrificer, a non-Vaishnava, non-Yogin, a talkative person, a harsh talker, one who takes more than a year to learn, the discontented. The Guru shall impart this in a pure place, on a sacred star, after regulating the vital airs to the humble disciple, in the right ear. It should not be done too often – it would become stale but as often as needed, in the ear.
Thus both the teacher and the taught will become Purusha in this birth. This is the Upanishad.
Om! May my speech be based on (i.e. accord with) the mind;
May my mind be based on speech.
O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me.
May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me.
May not all that I have heard depart from me.
I shall join together (i.e. obliterate the difference of) day
And night through this study.
I shall utter what is verbally true;
I shall utter what is mentally true. May that (Brahman) protect me;
May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me;
May that protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Mudgalopanishad, as contained in the Rig-Veda.
Sandilya Upanishad
Translated by K. Narayanasvami Aiyar
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
CHAPTER - I
1. Sandilya questioned Atharvan thus: "Please tell me about the eight Angas (parts) of Yoga which is the means of attaining to Atman".
Atharvan replied: "The eight Angas of Yoga are Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. Of these, Yama is of ten kinds; and so is Niyama. There are eight Asanas. Pranayama is of three kinds; Pratyahara is of five kinds; so also is Dharana. Dhyana is of two kinds and Samadhi is of one kind only. Under Yama (forbearance) are ten: Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya, Daya, Arjava, Kshama, Dhriti, Mitahara and Saucha. Of these, Ahimsa is the not causing of any pain to any living being at any time through the actions of one’s mind, speech, or body. Satya is the speaking of the truth that conduces to the well-being of creatures, through the actions of one’s mind, speech, or body. Asteya is not coveting of another’s property through the actions of one’s mind, speech, or body. Brahmacharya is the refraining from sexual inter-course in all places and in all states in mind, speech or body. Daya is kindliness towards all creatures in all places. Arjava is the preserving of equanimity of mind, speech, or body in the performance or non-performance of the actions ordained or forbidden to be done. Kshama is the bearing patiently of all pleasant or unpleasant things, such as praise or blow. Dhriti is the preserving of firmness of mind during the period of gain or loss of wealth or relatives. Mitahara is the taking of oily and sweet food, leaving one-fourth of the stomach empty. Saucha is of two kinds, external and internal. Of these, the external is the cleansing of the body by earth and water; the internal is the cleansing of the mind. This (the latter) is to be obtained by means of the Adhyatma-Vidya (Science of Self).
2. Under Niyama (religious observances), are ten, viz., Tapas, Santosha Astikya, Dana, Ishvarapujana, Siddhanta-Sravana, Hrih, Mati, Japa and Vrata. Of these Tapas, is the emancipation of the body through the observances of such penances as Krichchhra, Chandrayana, etc., according to rules. Santosha is being satisfied with whatever comes to us of its own accord. Astikya is the belief in the merits or demerits of actions as stated in the Vedas. Dana is the giving with faith to deserving persons, money, grains, etc., earned lawfully. Ishvarapujana is the worshipping of Vishnu, Rudra, etc., with pure mind according to one’s power. Siddhanta-Sravana is the inquiry into the significance of Vedanta. Hrih is the shame felt in the performance of things contrary to the rules of the Vedas and of Society. Mati is the faith in the paths laid down by the Vedas. Japa is the practising of the Mantras into which one is duly initiated by his spiritual instructor and which is not against (the rules of) the Vedas. It is of two kinds – the spoken and the mental. The mental is associated with contemplation by the mind. The spoken is of two kinds – the loud and the low. The loud pronunciation gives the reward as stated (in the Vedas): (while) the low one (gives) a reward thousand times (that). The mental (gives) a reward a Crore (of times that). Vrata is the regular observance of or the refraining from the actions enjoined or prohibited by the Vedas.
3. Asanas (the postures) are (chiefly) eight, viz., Svastika, Gomukha, Padma, Vira, Simha, Bhadra, Mukta and Mayura. Svastika is the sitting at ease with the body erect, placing each foot between the thighs and knees of the other.
4. Gomukha is (the sitting at ease with the body erect) placing the hollow of the left foot under the side of the right posteriors and the hollow of the right foot under the side of the left posteriors, resembling Gomukha (cow’s face).
5. Padma is (the sitting at ease with the body erect) placing the back of each foot in the thigh of the other, the right hand grasping the right toe and the left hand to left toe. This, O Sandilya, is praised by all.
6. Vira is the sitting at ease (with the body erect), placing one foot on the thigh of the other and the other foot underneath the corresponding (opposite thigh).
7-8. Simha is (the sitting at ease with the body erect) pressing the right side (of the thigh) with the hollow of left heel and vice versa. Rest your hands on the knees, spread out the fingers, open your mouth and carefully fix your gaze on the tip of your nose. This is always praised by the Yogins.
9. Siddha is (the sitting at ease with the body erect) pressing the perineum with the left heel and placing the heel of the right foot above the genital organ, concentrating the mind between the two eyebrows.
10. Bhadra is (the sitting at ease with the body erect) pressing the two ankles of the two feet firmly together against the Sivini (viz., lower part of the seed) and binding the knees firmly with the hands. This is the Bhadra which destroys all diseases and poisons.
11. Mukta is (the sitting at ease with the body erect) pressing with the left heel the right side of the tender part of the Sivini and with the right heel the lest side of the tender part of the Sivini.
12-13. Mayura (lit., peacock): Rest your body upon the ground with both palms and place your elbows on the sides of the navel, lift up the head and feet and remain like a stick in the air, (like the plant balance in gymnastics). This is the Mayura posture which destroys all sins.
14. By these, all the diseases within the body are destroyed; all the poisons are digested. Let the person who is unable to practise all these postures betake himself to any one (of these) which he may find easy and pleasant. He who conquers (or gets mastery over) the postures - he conquers the three worlds. A person who has the practice of Yama and Niyama should practise Pranayama; by that the Nadis become purified."
15. Then Sandilya questioned Atharvan thus: "By what means are the Nadis purified ? How many are they in number ? How do they arise ? What Vayus (vital airs) are located in them ? What are their seats? What are their functions? Whatever is worthy of being known in the body, please tell me". To that Atharvan replied (thus): "This body is ninety-six digits in length. Prana extends twelve digits beyond the body. He who through the practice of Yoga reduces his Prana within his body to make it equal to or not less than the fire in it becomes the greatest of the Yogins. In men, the region of fire which is triangular in form and brilliant as the molten gold is situated in the middle of the body. In four-footed animals, it (fire) is quadrangular. In birds, it is round. In its (the region of life’s) centre, the purifying, beneficial and subtle flame is situate. Two digits above the anus and two digits below the sexual organ is the centre of the body for men. For four-footed animals, it is the middle of the heart. For birds, it is the middle of the body. Nine digits from (or above) the centre of the body and four digits in length and breadth is situated an oval form. In its midst is the navel. In it, is situated the Chakra (viz., wheel) with twelve spokes. In the middle of the Chakra, the Jiva (Atman) wanders, driven by its good and bad deeds. As a spider flies to and fro within a web of fine threads, so Prana moves about here. In this body, the Jiva rides upon Prana. Lying in the middle of the navel and above it, is the seat of Kundalini. The Kundalini Sakti is of the form of eight Prakritis (matter) and coils itself eight ways or (times). The movement of Vayus (vital airs) checks duly the food and drink all round by the side of Skandha. It closes by its head (the opening of) the Brahmarandhra and during the time of (the practice of) Yoga is awakened by the fire (in the Apana); then it shines with great brilliancy in the Akasa of the heart in the shape of wisdom. Depending upon Kundalini which is situated in the centre, there are fourteen principal Nadis (viz.,) Ida, Pingala, Susumna, Sarasvati, Varuni, Pusha, Hastijihva, Yasasvini, Visvodhari, Kuhuh, Sankhini, Payasvini, Alambusa and Gandhari. Of them, Susumna is said to be the sustainer of the universe and the path of salvation. Situated at the back of the anus, it is attached to the spinal column and extends to the Brahmarandhra of the head and is invisible and subtle and is Vaishnavi (or has the Sakti force of Vishnu). On the left of Susumna is situated Ida and on the right is Pingala. The moon moves in Ida and the sun in Pingala. The moon is of the nature of Tamas and the sun of Rajas. The poison share is of the sun and the nectar of the moon. They both direct (or indicate) time and Susumna is the enjoyer (or consumer) of time. To the back and on the side of Susumna are situate Sarasvati and Kuhuh respectively. Between Yasasvini and Kuhuh stands Varuni. Between Pusha and Sarasvati lies Payasvini. Between Gandhari and Sarasvati is situated Yasasvini. In the centre of the navel is Alambusa. In front of Susumna there is Kuhuh, which proceeds as far as the genital organ. Above and below Kundalini is situated Varuni, which proceeds everywhere. Yasasvini which is beautiful (or belonging to the moon), proceeds to the great toes. Pingala goes upwards to the right nostril. Payasvini goes to right ear. Sarasvati goes to the upper part or the tongue and Sankhini to the left ear, (while) Gandhari goes from the back of Ida to the left eye. Alambusa goes upwards and downwards from the root of the anus. From these fourteen Nadis, other (minor) Nadis spring; from them springing others and from them springing others; so it should be known. As the leaf of the Asvattha tree (ficus religiosa) etc., is covered with minute fibres so also is this body permeated with Nadis.
"Prana, Apana, Samana, Udana, Vyana, Naga, Kurma, Krikara, Devadatta and Dhananjaya these ten Vayus (vital airs) move in all the Nadis. Prana moves in the nostrils, the throat, the navel, the two great toes and the lower and the upper parts of Kundalini. Vyana moves in the ear, the eye, the loins, the ankles, the nose, the throat and the buttocks. Apana moves in the anus, the genitals, the thighs, the knees, the stomach, the seeds, the lions, the calves, the navel and the seat of the anus of fire. Udana lives in all the joints and also in the hands and legs. Samana lives, permeating in all parts of the body. Along with the fire in the body, it causes the food and drink taken in, to spread in the body. It moves in the seventy-two thousand Nadis and pervades all over the body along with the fire. The fire Vayus beginning with Naga go towards the skin, the bones, etc. The Prana which is in the navel separates the food and drink which is there and brings about the Rasas (juices) and others. Placing the water above the fire and the food above (or in) the water, it goes to the Apana and along with it, fans up the fire in the centre of the body. The fire thus fanned up by the Apana gradually increases in brightness in the middle of the body. Then it causes through its flames the water which is brought in the bowels by the Prana to grow hot. The fire with the water causes the food and conditions, which are placed above, to be boiled to a proper degree. Then Prana separates these into sweat, urine, water, blood, semen, the faeces and the like. And along with the Samana, it takes the juice (or essence) to all the Nadis and moves in the body in the shape of breath. The Vayus excrete the urine, the faeces, etc., through the nine openings in the body which are connected with the outside air. The functions of Prana are inspiration, expiration and cough. Those of Apana are the excretion of the faeces and the urine. Those of Vyana are (such actions as) giving and taking. Those of Udana are keeping the body straight, etc. Those of Samana are nourishing the body. Those of Naga are vomiting, etc.; of Kurma, the movement of the eyelids; of Krikara, the causing of hunger, etc., of Devadatta, idleness, etc., and Dhananjaya phlegm.
Having thus acquired a thorough knowledge of the seat of the Nadis and of the Vayus with their functions, one should begin with the purification of the Nadis.
16. A person possessed of Yama and Niyama, avoiding all company, having finished his course of study, delighting in truth and virtue, having conquered (his) anger, being engaged in the service of his spiritual instructor and having been obedient to his parents and well instructed in all the religious practices and the knowledge of his order of life, should go to a sacred grove abounding in fruits, roots and water. There he should select a pleasant spot always resounding with the chanting of the Vedas, frequented by the knowers of Brahman that persevere in the duties of their orders of life and filled with fruits, roots, flowers and water. (Else) either in a temple or on the banks of a river or in a village or in a town, he should build a beautiful monastery. It should be neither too long nor too high, should have a small door, should be besmeared well with cow-dung and should have every sort of protection. There listening to the exposition of Vedanta, he should begin to practise Yoga. In the beginning having worshipped Vinayaka (Ganesha), he should salute his Ishta-Devata (tutelary deity) and sitting in any of the above-mentioned postures on a soft seat, facing either the east or the north and having conquered them, the learned man keeping his head and neck erect and fixing his gaze on the tip of his nose, should see the sphere of the moon between his eyebrows and drink the nectar (flowing therefrom through his eyes). Inhaling the air through Ida for the space of twelve matras, he should contemplate on the sphere of fire situated in the belly as surrounded with flames and having as its seed ‘ra’; then he should exhale it through Pingala. Again inhaling it through Pingala and retaining it (within), he should exhale it through Ida. For the period of twenty-eight months, he should practise six times at every sitting through the three Sandhyas (morning, noon and evening) and during the intervals. By this, the Nadis becomes purified. Then the body becomes light and bright, the (gastric) fire is increased (within) and there is the manifestation of Nada (internal sound).
17. Pranayama is said to be the union of Prana and Apana. It is of three kinds - expiration, inspiration and cessation. They are associated with the letters of the (Sanskrit) alphabet (for the right performance of Pranayama). Therefore Pranava (OM) only is said to be Pranayama. Sitting in the Padma posture, the person should meditate that there is at the tip of his nose Gayatri, a girl of red complexion surrounded by the numberless rays of the image of the moon and mounted on a Hamsa (swan) and having a mace in her hand. She is the visible symbol of the letter ‘A’. The letter ‘U’ has as its visible symbol Savitri, a young woman of white colour having a disk in her hand and riding on a Garuda (eagle). The letter ‘M’ has as its visible symbol Sarasvati, an aged woman of black colour riding on a bull, having a trident in her hand. He should meditate that the single letter – the supreme light – the Pranava (OM) – is the origin or source of these three letters ‘A’, ‘U’ and ‘M’. Drawing up the air through Ida for the space of sixteen matras, he should meditate on the letter ‘A’ during that time; retaining the inspired air for the space of sixty-four matras, he should meditate on the letter ‘U’ during the time; he should then exhale the inspired air for the space of thirty-two matras, meditating on the letter ‘M’ during that time. He should practise this in the above order over and over again.
18. Then having become firm in the posture and preserved perfect self-control, the Yogin should, in order to clear away the impurities of the Susumna, sit in the Padmasana (Padma posture) and having inhaled the air through the left nostril, should retain it as long as he can and should exhale it through the right. Then drawing it again through the right and having retained it, he should exhale it through the left in the order that he should draw it through the same nostril by which he exhaled it before and retained it. In this context, occur (to memory) the following verses:
"In the beginning having inhaled the breath (Prana) through the left nostril, according to the rule, he should exhale it through the other; then having inhaled the air through the right nostril should retain it and exhale it through the other. To those who practise according to these rules through the right and left nostrils, the nadis become purified within three months.
19. He should practise cessation of breath at sunrise, in the midday, at sunset and at midnight slowly till eighty (times a day) for four weeks.
20. In the early stages, perspiration is produced; in the middle stage the tremor of the body and in the last stage levitation in the air. These (results) ensure out of the repression of the breath, while sitting in the Padma posture.
21. When perspiration arises with effort, he should rub his body well. By this, the body becomes firm and light.
22. In the early course of his practice, food with milk and ghee is excellent. One sticking to this rule becomes firm in his practice and gets no Tapa (or burning sensation in the body).
23. As lions, elephants and tigers are gradually tamed, so also the breath when rightly managed (comes under control); else it kills the practitioner.
24. He should (as far as is consistent with his health and safety) properly exhale it, properly inhale it or retain it properly. Thus (only) will he attain success.
25. By thus retaining the breath in an approved manner and by the purification of the Nadis, the brightening of the (gastric) fire, the hearing distinctly of (spiritual) sounds and (good) health result.
26-30. When the nervous centres have become purified through the regular practice of Pranayama, the air easily forces its way up through the mouth of the Susumna which is in the middle. By the contraction of the muscles of the neck and by the contraction of the one below (viz.,) Apana, the Prana (breath) goes into the Susumna which is in the middle from the west Nadi. Drawing up the Apana and forcing down the Prana from the throat, the Yogin free from old age becomes a youth of sixteen.
31. Seated in a pleasant posture and drawing up the air through the right nostril and retaining it inside from the top of the hair to the toe nails, he should exhale it through the same nostril. Through it, the brain becomes purified and the diseases in the air Nadis are destroyed. Drawing up the air through the nostrils with noise (so as to fill the space) from the heart to the neck and having retained it (within) as long as possible, he should exhale it through the nose. Through this hunger, thirst, idleness and sleep do not arise. Taking in the air through the mouth (wide open) and having retained it as long as possible, he should expel it through the nose. Through this, (such diseases as) Gulma; Pleeha (both being splenetic diseases), bile and fever as also hunger, etc., are destroyed. Now we shall proceed to Kumbhaka (restraint of breath). It is of two kinds - Sahita and Kevala. That which is coupled with expiration and inspiration is called Sahita. That which is devoid of these is called Kevala (alone). Until you become perfect in Kevala, practise Sahita. To one who has mastered Kevala, there is nothing unattainable in the three worlds. By Kevala-restraint of breath, the knowledge of Kundalini arises. Then he becomes lean in body, serene in face and clear eyed, hears the (spiritual) sounds distinctly, becomes free from all diseases and conquers his (Bindu) seminal fluid, his gastric fire being increased. Centring one’s mind on an inward object whilst his eyes are looking outside without shutting and opening of his eyelids, has been called Vaishnavi-mudra. This is kept hidden in all the Tantric works.
32. With his mind and breath absorbed in an internal object, the Yogin, though he does not really see the objects outside and under him, still (appears to) see them with eyes in which the pupils are motionless. This is called Khechari-mudra. It has as its sphere of extension one object and is very beneficial. (Then) the real seat of Vishnu, which is void and non-void, dawns on him.
33. With eyes half closed and with a firm mind, fixing his eyes on the tip of his nose and becoming absorbed in the sun and moon, he after remaining thus unshaken (becomes conscious of) the thing which is resplendent, which is the supreme truth and which is beyond. O Sandilya, know this to be Tat (That).
34. Merging the sound in the light and elevating the brows a little, this is of the way of (or is a part of) the former practice. This brings about the state of Unmani which causes the destruction of the mind.
35. Therefore he should practise the Khechari-mudra. Then he attains to the state of Unmani and falls into the Yoga sleep (trance). To one who obtains this Yoga sleep, time does not exist. Placing the mind in the midst of Sakti and Sakti in the midst of the mind and looking on the mind with the mind, O Sandilya be happy.
36. Place the Atman in the midst of Akasa and Akasa in the midst of Atman and having reduced everything to Akasa, do not think of anything else.
37. You should not (then) entertain thoughts, either external or internal. Abandoning all thoughts, become abstract thought itself.
38. As camphor in fire and salt in water become absorbed, so also the mind becomes absorbed in the Tattva (Truth).
39. What is termed Manas (mind) is the knowledge of everything that is known and its clear apprehension. When the knowledge and the object cognised are lost alike, there is no second path (or that is the only path).
40. By its giving up all cognition of objects, it (the mind) is absorbed and when the mind is absorbed, Kaivalya (isolation) alone remains.
41. For the destruction of the Chitta, there are two ways - Yoga and Jnana. O prince of sages, Yoga is the (forcible) repression of the modifications of the mind and Jnana is the thorough inquiry into them.
42-45. When the modifications of the mind are repressed, it (the mind) verily obtains peace. Just as the actions of the people cease with the stopping of the fluctuations of the sun (viz., with sunset), so when the fluctuations of the mind cease, this cycle of births and deaths comes to an end. (Then) the fluctuations of Prana are prevented, when one has no longing for this mundane existence or when he has gratified his desires therein - through the study of religious books, the company of good men, indifference (to enjoyments), practice and Yoga or long contemplation with intentness on any desired (higher) object or through practising one truth firmly.
46. By the repression of the breath through inhalation, etc., by continual practice therein which does not cause fatigue and by meditating in a secluded place, the fluctuations of the mind are arrested. Through the right realisation of the true nature of the sound which is at the extreme end of the pronunciation of the syllable OM (viz., Ardhamatra) and when Sushupti (dreamless sleeping state) is rightly cognised through consciousness, the fluctuations of Prana are repressed.
47. When the passage at the root of the palate which is like the bell, viz., Uvula, is closed by the tongue with effort and when the breath goes up through (the upper hole), then the fluctuations of Prana are stopped.
48-50. When the consciousness (Samvit) is merged in Prana and when through practice the Prana goes through the upper hole into the Dvadasanta (the twelfth centre) above the palate, then the fluctuations of Prana are stopped. When the eye of consciousness (viz., the spiritual or third eye) becomes calm and clear so as to be able to distinctly see in the transparent Akasa at a distance of twelve digits from the tip of his nose, then the fluctuations of Prana are stopped. When the thoughts arising in the mind are bound up in the calm contemplation of the world of Taraka (star or eye) between one’s eyebrows and are (thus) destroyed, then the fluctuations cease.
51. When the knowledge which is of the form of the knowable, which is beneficent and which is untouched by any modifications arises in one and is known as OM only and no other, then the fluctuations of Prana cease.
52. By the contemplation for a long time of the Akasa which is in the heart and by the contemplation of the mind free from Vasanas, then the fluctuations of Prana cease.
53. By these methods and various others suggested by (one’s) thought and by means of the contact of the many (spiritual) guides, the fluctuations cease.
54. Having by contraction opened the door of Kundalini, one should force open the door of Moksha. Closing with her mouth the door through which one ought to go, the Kundalini sleeps spiral in form and coiled up like a serpent. He who causes this Kundalini to move - he is an emancipated person. If this Kundalini were to sleep in the upper part of the neck of any Yogin, it goes towards his emancipation. (If it were to sleep) in the lower part (of the body), it is for the bondage of the ignorant. Leaving the two Nadis, Ida and the other (Paingala), it (Prana) should move in the Susumna. That is the supreme seat of Vishnu. One should practise control of breath with the concentration of the mind. The mind should not be allowed by a clever man to rest on any other thing.
55. One should not worship Vishnu during the day alone. One should not worship Vishnu during the night alone; but should always worship Him and should not worship Him merely during day and night.
56. The wisdom-producing opening (near Uvula) has five passages. O Sandilya, this is the Khechari-mudra; practise it.
57. With one who sits in the Khechari-mudra, the Vayu which was flowing before through the left and right Nadis now flows through the middle one (Susumna. There is no doubt about it.
58. You should swallow the air through the void (Susumna) between Ida and Pingala. In that place is Khechari-mudra situated and that is the seat of Truth.
59. Again that is Khechari-mudra which is situated in the Akasa-Chakra (in the head) in the Niralamba (supportless) seat between the sun and moon (viz., Ida and Pingala).
60-61. When the tongue has been lengthened to the length of a Kala (digit) by the incision (of the fraenum lingum) and by rubbing and milking it (viz., the tongue), fix the gaze between the two eyebrows and close the hole in the skull with the tongue reversed. This is Khechari-mudra. With the tongue and the Chitta (mind) both move in the Akasa (Khechari), then the person with his tongue raised up becomes immortal. Firmly pressing the Yoni (perineum) by the left heel, stretching out the right leg, grasping the feet with both hands and inhaling the air through the nostrils, practise Kantha-Bandha, retaining the air upwards. By that, all afflictions are destroyed; then poison is digested as if it were nectar. Asthma, splenetic disease, the turning up of the anus and the numbness of the skin are removed. This is the means of conquering Prana and destroying death. Pressing the Yoni by the left heel, place the other foot over the left thigh: inhale the air, rest the chin on the chest, contract the Yoni and contemplate, (as far as possible), your Atman as situated within your mind. Thus is the direct perception (of truth) attained. Inhaling the Prana from outside and filling the stomach with it, centre the Prana with the mind in the middle of the navel at the tip of the nose and at the toes during the Sandhyas (sunset and sunrise) or at all times. (Thus) the Yogin is freed from all diseases and fatigue.
62. By centring his Prana at the tip of his nose, he obtains mastery over the element of air; by centring it at the middle of his navel, all diseases are destroyed; by centring it at the toes, his body becomes light. He who drinks the air (drawn) through the tongue destroys fatigue, thirst and diseases.
63. He who drinks the air with his mouth during the two Sandhyas and the last two hours of the night, within three months the auspicious Sarasvati (goddess of speech) is present in his Vak (speech) (viz., he becomes eloquent and learned in his speech).
64. In six months, he is free from all diseases. Drawing the air by the tongue, retain the air at the root of the tongue. The wise man thus drinking nectar enjoys all prosperity.
65. Fixing the Atman in the Atman itself in the middle of the eyebrows, (having inhaled) through Ida and breaking through that (centre) thirty times, even a sick man is freed from disease.
66. He who draws the air through the Nadis and retains it for twenty-four minutes in the navel and in the sides of the stomach becomes freed from disease.
67-69(a). He who for the space of a month during the three Sandhyas (sunset, sunrise and midnight or noon) draws the air through the tongue, pierces thirty times and retains his breath in the middle of his navel, becomes freed from all fevers and poisons. He who retains the Prana together with the mind at the tip of his nose even for the space of a Muhurta (forty-eight minutes), destroys all sins that were committed by him during one hundred births.
69(b). Through the Samyama of Tara (Om), he knows all things. By retaining the mind at the tip of his nose, he acquires a knowledge of Indra-world; below that, he acquires a knowledge of Agni (fire) world. Through the Samyama of Chitta in the eye, he gets a knowledge of all worlds; in the ear, a knowledge of Yama (the god of death) world); in the sides of the ear, a knowledge of Nrriti-world; in the back of it (the ear), a knowledge of Varuna-world; in the left ear, a knowledge of Vayu-world; in the throat, a knowledge of Soma (moon) world; in the left eye, a knowledge of Shiva-world; in the head, a knowledge of Atala world; in the feet, a knowledge of Vitala world; in the ankles, a knowledge of Nitala (rather Sutala) world; in the calves, a knowledge of Sutala (rather Talatala) world; in the knees, a knowledge of Mahatala world; in the thighs, a knowledge of Rasatala world; in the loins, a knowledge of Talatala (rather Patala) world; in the navel, a knowledge of Bhur (earth) world; in the stomach, a knowledge of Bhuvar world; in the heart, a knowledge of Suvar world; in the place above the heart, a knowledge of Mahar world; in the throat, a knowledge of Jana world; in the middle of the brows, a knowledge of Tapa world; in the head, a knowledge of Satya world. By conquering Dharma and Adharma, one knows the past and the future. By centring it on the sound of every creature, a knowledge of the cry (or language) of the animal is produced. By centring it on the Sanchita-Karma (past Karma yet to be enjoyed), a knowledge of one’s previous births arises in him. By centring it on the mind of another, a knowledge of the mind (or thoughts) of others is induced. By centring it on the Kaya-Rupa (or form of the body), other forms are seen. By fixing it on the Bala (strength). The strength of persons like Hanuman is obtained. By fixing it on the sun, a knowledge of the worlds arises. By fixing it on the moon, a knowledge of the constellation is produced. By fixing it on the Dhruva (Polar star) a perception of its motion is induced. By fixing it on his own (Self), one acquires the knowledge of Purusha; on the navel, he attains a knowledge of the Kaya-Vyuha (mystical arrangement of all the particles of the body so as to enable a person to wear out his whole Karma in one life); on the well of the throat, freedom from hunger and thirst arises; on the Kurma Nadi (which is situated in the well of the throat), a firmness (of concentration) takes place. By fixing it on the Tara (pupil of the eye), he obtains the sight of the Siddhas (spiritual personages). By conquering the Akasa in the body, he is able to soar in the Akasa; (in short) by centring the mind in any place, he conquers the Siddhis appertaining to that place. Then comes Pratyahara, which is of five kinds. It is the drawing away of the organs from attaching themselves to the objects of senses. Contemplating upon everything that one sees as Atman is Pratyahara. Renouncing the fruits of one’s daily actions is Pratyahara. Turning away from all objects of sense is Pratyahara. Dharana in the eighteen important places (mentioned below) is Pratyahara, (viz.,) the feet, the toes, the ankles, the calves, the knees, the thighs, the anus, the penis, the navel, the heart, the well of the throat, the palate, the nose, the eyes, the middle of the brows, the forehead and the head in ascending and descending orders.
70. Then (comes) Dharana. It is of three kinds, (viz.,) fixing the mind in the Atman, bringing the external Akasa into the Akasa of the heart and contemplating the five Murtis (forms of Devatas) in the five elements - earth, Apas, fire, Vayu and Akasa.
71. Then comes Dhyana. It is of two kinds, Saguna (with Gunas or quality) and Nirguna (without quality). Saguna is the meditation of a Murti. Nirguna is on the reality of Self.
72. Samadhi is the union of the Jivatma (individual self) and the Paramatman (higher Self) without the threefold state (viz., the knower, the known and the knowledge). It is of the nature of extreme bliss and pure consciousness.
Thus ends the first chapter.
CHAPTER - II
Then the Brahma-Rishi Sandilya not obtaining the knowledge of Brahman in the four Vedas, approached the Lord Atharvan and asked him: "What is it? Teach me the science of Brahman by which I shall obtain that which is most excellent."
Atharvan replied: "O Sandilya, Brahman is Satya, Vijnana and Ananta in which all this (world) is interwoven, warp-wise and woof-wise, from which all originated and into which all are absorbed and which being known makes everything else known. It is without hands and feet, without eyes and ears, without tongue or without body and is unreachable and undefinable. From which, Vak (speech) and mind return, being unable to obtain (or reach) It. It is to be cognised by Jnana and Yoga. From which, Prajna of old sprang. That which is one and non-dual, that which pervades everything like Akasa, which is extremely subtle, without a blemish, actionless, Sat (be-ness) only, the essence, of the bliss of consciousness, beneficent, calm and immortal and which is beyond. That is Brahman. Thou art That. Know That by wisdom. He who is the one, the shining, the giver of the power of Atman, the omniscient, the Lord of all and the inner Soul of all beings, who lives in all beings, who is hidden in all beings and the source of all beings, who is reachable only through Yoga and who creates, supports and destroys everything - He is Atman. Know the several worlds in the Atman. Do not grieve, O knower of Atman, thou shalt reach the end of pains."
Thus ends the second chapter.
CHAPTER - III
Then Sandilya questioned Atharvan thus: "From the Brahman that is OM, imperishable, actionless, beneficial, Sat (be-ness) only and supreme, how dissolution this universe arise ? How does it exist in It ? And how is it absorbed in It ? Please solve me this doubt."
Atharvan replied: "The Supreme Brahman, the Truth, is the imperishable and the actionless. Then from the formless Brahman, three forms (or aspects) arose, (viz.,) Nishkala (partless), Sakala (with parts) and Sakala-Nishkala (with and without parts). That which is Satya, Vijnana and Ananda; That which is actionless, without any impurity, omnipresent, extremely subtle, having faces in every direction, undefinable and immortal - that is His Nishkala aspect. Maheshvara (the great Lord) who is black and yellow rules with Avidya, Mula-Prakriti or Maya that is red, white and black and that is co-existent with him. This is his Sakala-Nishkala aspect. Then the Lord desired (or willed) by his spiritual wisdom (thus): May I become many ? May I bring forth ? Then from this Person who was contemplating and whose desires are fulfilled, three letters sprang up. Three Vyahritis, the three-footed Gayatri, the three Vedas, the three Devas, the three Varnas (colours or castes) and the three fires sprang. That Supreme Lord who is endowed with all kinds of wealth, who is all pervading, who is situated in the hearts of all beings, who is the Lord of Maya and whose form is Maya; He is Brahma; He is Vishnu; He is Rudra; He is Indra; He is all the Devas; He is all the Bhutas (elements or beings); He only is before; He only is behind; He only is on our left; He only is on our right; He only is below; He only is above; He only is the all. That form of him as Dattatreya, who sports with his Sakti, who is kind to his devotees, who is brilliant as fire, resembling the petals or a red lotus and is of four hands, who is mild and shines sinlessly - this is His Sakala form."
Then Sandilya questioned Atharvan, "O Lord, that which is Sat only and the essence of the bliss of consciousness - why is He called Parabrahman?"
Atharvan replied: "Because He increases Brihati and causes to increase everything (Brimhayati); so he is called Parabrahman.
Why is He called Atman ?
Since He obtains (Apnoti) everything, since He takes back everything and since He is everything, so he is called Atman.
Who is He called Maheshvara (the great Lord)?
Since by the sound of the words Mahat-Isha (the great Lord) and by His own power, the great Lord governs everything.
Why is He called Dattatreya?
Because the Lord being extremely pleased with Atri (Rishi) who was performing a most difficult penance and who had expressed his desire to see Him who is light itself, offered Himself (Datta) as their son and because the woman Anasuya was his mother and Atri was his father.
Therefore he who knows the (secret) meaning knows everything. He who always contemplates on the supreme that It is himself becomes a knower of Brahman. Here these Shlokas (stanzas) occur (to memory): 1-4: He who contemplates always the Lord of Lords and the ancient thus - as Dattatreya, the beneficent, the calm, of the colour of sapphire, one who delights in his own Maya and the Lord who has shaken off everything, as naked and as one whose whole body is besmeared with the holy ashes, who has matted hair, who is the Lord of all, who has four arms, who is bliss in appearance, whose eyes are like full-blown lotus, who is the store of Jnana and Yoga, who is the spiritual instructor of all the worlds and who is dear to all the Yogins and one who is merciful towards His devotees, who is the witness of all and who is worshipped by all the Siddhas is freed from all sins and will attain (the Spirit)."
Om Satyam (Truth).
Thus ends the third chapter.
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Sandilya Upanishad, included in the Atharva-Veda.
Paingala Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I-1. Then indeed Paingala approached Yajnavalkya as a disciple, and, having served him for twelve years, said: Instruct me in regard to the supreme mystery of Aloneness.
I-2. The eminent Yajnavalkya replied: Dear one, in the beginning this indeed existed. It was the eternally free, immutable, everlastingly one, secondless Brahman, full of Truth, Knowledge and Bliss.
I-3. In it existed the primordial and indefinable Prakriti, consisting of Gunas in a state of equipoise, red, white and dark, resembling (the existence of) water, silver, a man and outlines (respectively) in the mirage oyster-shell, a stump and a mirror; what was reflected in it was the Witness Consciousness.
I-4. Having been modified, with the preponderance of Sattva, and named Avyakta (the Unmanifest), it (Prakriti) became the power of concealment. What was reflected in it became God Consciousness. He has Maya under His control, is omniscient, is the initial cause of creation, sustenance and dissolution (of the world) and has the form of the sprouting world. He manifests the entire world dissolved in Him. Due to the power of the Karmas of living beings is the (world) spread out like this cloth and due to their exhaustion again is (the world) concealed. In Him alone does the entire world exist as a folded cloth.
I-5.From the power of concealment controlled by God arose the Power of Projection called Mahat. What is reflected in it is the consciousness of Hiranyagarbha. He has the conceit of ownership as regards Mahat and has a body partly manifest and partly unmanifest.
I-6. From the projective power controlled by Hiranyagarbha arose the gross power called the ego, with the preponderance of Tamas. What was reflected in it was the consciousness of Virat. That Virat who has conceit in the Ego, a manifest body, and is the Chief Person, Vishnu is the protector of all gross things. From that Self (Virat) arose ether; from the ether, air; from air, fire; from fire, water; from water, earth. These five root-elements are composed of the three Gunas.
I-7. Desiring to create, that world-Cause (God), controlling the quality of Tamas, sought to render the subtle root-elements gross. He bifurcated each of the extremely limited elements and again made (the halves) four-fold and added each of the five halves to one-eighths of the other four. With those quintuplicated elements he created endless Crores of macrocosms and for each of these fourteen appropriate worlds and globular gross bodies fit for each planes of them all.
I-8. Having divided into four the Rajas part of the five elements he made Prana with its five fold activity from three parts of it. From the fourth part (of rajas) he fashioned the organ of action.
I-9. Having divided into four their Sattva part, out of the combination of three of them, he made the inner organ with its five-fold activity. From the fourth, he made the organs of Cognition.
I-10. From the combination of Sattva he made the guardians of sense-organs. He cast them, having created them into the macrocosm. Due to his command, conjured with the ego, the Virat protected the gross elements (of the cosmos). Commanded by him, Hiranyagarbha protected the subtle ones.
I-11. In the cosmos they could not, without God, pulsate or act. He desired to vivify them. Splitting open the macrocosm, the channels of Brahman, and the crowns of individuals, he entered into them. Though they were inert, like sentient (beings) they performed each its own functions.
I-12. The omniscient Lord, conjoined with a streak of Maya, on entering the individual bodies, and deluded by it, became the Jiva; due to self-identification with the three bodies (he) became both agent and reaper (of action’s fruits). Possessing the attributes of wakefulness, dream, deep sleep, swoon and death, like a chain of buckets (attached to a water wheel) he becomes troubled and as it were is born and dies, revolving like a potter’s wheel.
II-1. Now Paingala asked Yajnavalkya: How did the omnipotent Lord of all worlds, the author of their manifestation, sustenance and dissolution become Jiva ?
II-2. Yajnavalkya replied: I shall speak distinguishing between the forms of the Jiva and of God, following the generation of the gross, subtle and causal bodies. Listen with exclusive attention. Employing parts of quintuplicated gross elements, the Lord made individual and collective gross, bodies, respectively. Earthy are the skull, skin, intestines, bones, flesh and nails. Watery are the blood, urine, saliva, perspiration and so forth. Fiery are hunger, thirst, heat, lassitude, sexual union, etc. Airy are the movements, the transporting, breathing, etc. Ethereal are lust, anger, etc. The gross body with skin, etc.; is a combination of all this, fashioned through deeds; (it is) the basis of states like childhood, etc., conceit and numerous failings.
II-3. Then he (God) manifested Prana (the Principle of life) from the non-quintuplicated aggregate of the three Rajas parts of the gross elements. The modification of the life principle are the Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana and Samana. The subordinate functions of Prana are named Naga, Kurma, Krikara, Devadatta and Dhananjaya. Their bases are the heart, the anus, navel, throat and all the limbs. With the fourth part of the Rajas of Akasa, he manifested the organ of action. Its functions are (performed by) the tongue, the hands, the feet, the anus and the generative organ. The objects of these are speech, grasping, movement, excretion and (sex) enjoyment. Similarly from the aggregate of the three Sattva parts of the elements, he manifested the inner organ. Its functions are the mind, the intellect, thought and the ego. The objects of these are imagination, determination, memory, conceit and investigation.
Their bases are the throat, the mouth, the navel, the heart and the junction of the eye-brows. With the fourth part of the Sattva of the elements, he manifested the sense of Cognition. Its functions are the ears, the skin, the eyes, the tongue and the nose. Their objects are sound, touch, form, taste and smell. The overlords of the organs (of perception and action) are the directions, the wind, the sun, Prachetas, Asvins, Fire, Indra, Upendra, Death, the moon, Vishnu, Brahma and Sambhu.
II-4. Now, there are five sheaths, that of food, of vital breaths, of mind, of knowledge and of bliss. The sheath of food comes into being from the essence of food alone, develops by it, and is dissolved in the earth that is predominantly of the nature of food. That alone is the gross body. The five breaths, Prana, etc.; together with the five organs of actions constitute the sheath of vital breaths. The sheath of mind is the mind together with the organs of cognition. The sheath of knowledge is the intellect together with the organs of cognition. These three sheaths constitute the subtle body. The sheath of bliss is the knowledge of one’s essence. This is the causal body.
II-5. The eight-fold city (the total subtle body) consists of the five organs of cognition, the five organs of action, the five breaths, the five elements like ether, etc., the five-fold inner organ, desire, action and Tamas.
II-6. Vishva (is) the self of knowledge, a reflection of sat, the empirical (being), having conceit in the gross body of the waking state. The field of actions (or born of actions) is also a name of Vishva.
II-7. By God’s command, the Sutratman (Hiranyagarbha) entered the subtle body of the individual and supervising the mind became the Taijasa. Taijasa is the appearance. Dream fashioned is a name of Taijasa.
II-8. By God’s command (the Self) with the adjunct of Maya together with the Unmanifest, entering the individual causal body became Prajna. The Prajna is undifferentiated, real, ‘Having conceit-in-deep-sleep’ is the name of Prajna.
II-9. Texts like Tattvamasi declare the identity with Brahman of the real Jiva concealed by ignorance and part of the unmanifest; not of the other two, the empirical and the illusory Jivas (in the waking and dream-state).
II-10. The Consciousness reflected in the inner organ participated in the three states. Merged in the states of wakefulness, dream and deep sleep, like a chain of buckets attached to the water wheel, and afflicted, he (the Jiva) is as it were born and dead.
II-11. Now there are five states – Wakefulness, dream, deep sleep, swoon and death. The wakeful state consists in the cognition of objects like sound, etc.; by means of the organs of cognition like ears, etc.; when aided by the respective (guardian) deities. The Jiva stationed at the junction of the eye-brows and pervading the whole (body) from the foot to the head becomes the agent of all kinds of activities like tilling and heaving. Also the reaper of their respective fruits. Migrating to the other world(s) alone he reaps the fruit of (his) activities. Tired due to activities, like an emperor, he takes to the way leading to the inner chamber (a new body).
II-12. When the instruments of (cognition and action) cease to operate, the dream state comes into being in which there is knowledge of objects and their cognition due to the half-awakened impressions of the waking state. There, Vishva himself, due to the cessation of empirical activities, moving in the system of nerves and becoming Taijasa, enjoys freely the rarity of the world consisting of latent impressions which he illumines with his light.
II-13. The instrument of deep sleep is mind alone. Just as a bird, exhausted by random flights, folds its wings and moves towards its nest, so the Jiva, too, sporting in the spheres of wakefulness and dream and exhausted, plunges into ignorance and enjoys its own bliss.
II-14. The (state of) swoon is like that of death with the sense organs stirring due to fear and unconsciousness when struck with a club, stick, etc., accidentally.
II-15. Different from the states of wakefulness, dream, deep sleep and swoon and occasioning fear to all Jivas from Brahma down to a clump (of grass, etc.,) and resulting in the fall of the body is the state of death.
II-16. Withdrawing the organs of action and cognition and the vital breaths corresponding to varied objects, and attended by desires and actions, and enveloped in ignorance and (the subtle) elements, the Jiva goes to another world. Due to the ripening of the fruits of prior actions, like a worm caught up in a whirl pool (the Jiva) now wins rest.
II-17. As a result of past good deeds, at the end of many lives, men seek liberation. Then resorting to a teacher of Self-realization and (faithfully) serving him long one inquiries into bondage and liberation.
II-18. Bondage results from lack of inquiry; liberation results from inquiry. Therefore investigate at all times. One’s own nature may be determined through superimposition and its repudiation. Therefore always inquire (into the nature of) the individual Self and the supreme Self. When the state of Jiva and that of the world are sublated, Brahman alone, non-different from the inner Self, remains.
III-1-2. Then Paingala said to Yajnavalkya: Set forth the explanation of the major text(s) [Maha-vakyas]. Yajnavalkya replied: Thou art That; Thou That art; Thou Brahman art; I am Brahman – One should meditate thus.
III-3. The expressed sense of the word ‘tat’ is the world-cause, marked by ‘other-ness’ (mediacy), having Being, Consciousness and Bliss as his characteristics, Maya as his adjunct and omniscience, etc., as his features. The very same with awareness mixed up with the inner sense, the object of the I-notion, is the expressed meaning of ‘tvam’. Rejecting the adjuncts of the supreme (God) and the Jiva, viz.: Maya and avidya, the indicated sense of tat and tvam is Brahman, non-different from the inner Self.
III-4. ‘Hearing’ is investigation into the import of propositions like ‘That Thou art’ and ‘I am Brahman’. Reflection is the exclusive dwelling on the content of what has been heard. Meditation is the fixing of the mind one-pointedly on the reality, made doubtless through investigation and reflection.
Concentration, resembling a flame in a windless spot, is the thought (chitta) whose content is solely the object meditated, exclusive of the agent, and the act, of meditation.
III-5. Then (mind’s) modifications referring to the Self, though shooting up, remain uncognised; they are only inferred from memory. By this (Samadhi) alone are dissolved Crores of deeds accumulated in the course of beginningless transmigratory existence. Through skilful practice, thence, then, flow, in a thousand ways, streams of nectar. Therefore, the best knowers of Yoga call (this) Concentration dharmamegha, cloud of virtues. When the meshes of latent impressions are entirely obliterated by virtue of it and the accumulation of deeds, good and evil, pulled up by their roots, the proposition (whose content was) earlier mediated on generates unimpeded and immediate realization (resembling, in its certitude) the gooseberry in the palm (of one’s hand). Then one becomes liberated in life.
III-6. God desired the non-quintuplication of the quintuplicated elements. Leading the effected macrocosm and the worlds included in it to their causal state, unifying the subtle organs of action, vital breaths, organs of cognition and the four-fold inner sense, reducing all elemental (effects) to the five-fold cause, (he) dissolves in (due) order the earth in water, water in fire, fire in air, air in ether, ether in the ego, the ego in the Mahat, the Mahat in the unmanifest and the unmanifest in the Spirit (Purusha). Due to the dissolution of the adjuncts, Virat, Hiranyagarbha and God are dissolved in the supreme Self. III-7. Having become non-quintuplicated through the attenuation of (the accumulated) deeds and the ripening of good deeds, and one with the subtle (body), returning to the cause and its cause, the gross body generated by deeds done through the quintuplicated gross elements becomes non-quintuplicated and gets dissolved in the immutable inner Self. Vishva, taijasa and Prajna dissolve in the same due to the dissolution of their adjuncts.
III-8. The microcosm consumed in the fire of knowledge together with (its) causes is dissolved in the supreme Self. Therefore the Brahmana should concentratedly dwell on the identity (of the contents) of the terms tat and tvam. Thence, when the clouds are dispelled as the sun (shines forth), the Self is manifested.
III-9-10. Meditating on the Self, of the size of a thumb, in the centre (of the heart ?) like a smokeless flame, meditate on the illumining Self in the centre, immutable and immortal. The silent sage Liberated-in-life, sits meditating till sleep, till death; he is the blessed one who has performed his duty. III-11. Giving up the status of Liberation-in-life, when one’s body is consumed by time, he reaches the status of disembodied liberation like the wind becoming stirless.
III-12. That immortal and certain (one), devoid of sound, touch, form, taste or smell, without beginning and end, beyond the Mahat, alone remains without impurity and suffering.
IV-1. Then Paingala asked Yajnavalkya: How does a knower (Jnanin) act ? How does he stay in repose ?
IV-2. Yajnavalkya replied: One seeking liberation, having acquired freedom from egotism, etc.; takes 21 generations (of his ancestors and descendants) across the (sea of samsara). The knower of Brahman by himself alone does so 101 generations.
IV-3. Know the Self to be the rider in the chariot; the body verily to be the chariot; the intellect to be the charioteer and the mind to be the reins.
IV-4. The senses, the wise say, are the horses; the objects are what they range over; the hearts are the moving many-storeyed mansions.
IV-5. The great sages aver that the Self combined with sense-organs and mind is the experiencer. Therefore in the heart, immediately, is Narayana well-established.
IV-6. Upto (the exhaustion of) the operative deeds, the homeless liberated Self, behaves like the Slough of a snake, like the moon (in the sky).
IV-7. Shedding the body in a holy spot or (may be) in the home of an eater of dog’s flesh, (the liberated one) attains Isolation.
IV-8. Afterwards, make an offering of his body to the cardinal points or bury (his body). Mendicancy is prescribed for the male, never for the other.
IV-9. No observance of (the period of) pollution, no burning (of the corpse), no offering of rice balls or of water, no fortnightly rites (are laid down) for a mendicant who has become Brahman.
IV-10. There is no burning of what is (already) consumed, just as there is no cooking of what is (already) cooked. For one whose body is consumed in the fire of knowledge there is neither ceremonial rice offering nor any (other) rite (of obsequies).
IV-11. As long as the adjuncts (body, etc.,) persist, let one wait upon the teacher. Let him treat the wife of the teacher and his children as he does the teacher himself.
IV-12. When with the knowledge, ‘I am That !’ ‘I am That’ -- I, whose mind is pure essence, is pure Spirit, is long-suffering – wisdom is won, when the object of knowledge, the supreme Self, is established in the heart; when the body is dissolved in the state of achieved Peace, then one becomes destitute of the luminous mind and intellect.
IV-13. Of what use is water to one who has had his fill of ambrosia ? Similarly, (for one) who has known his Self, of what use are the Vedas ? No duty remains for the Yogin who has had his fill of the ambrosia of knowledge. If duty be there, he is no knower of Truth. Though stationed at a distance, he is not distant; though embodied, he is disembodied; he is the omnipresent inner self.
IV-14. Making the heart pure, contemplating the well-being (of all), one must experience supreme joy in the thought, ‘I am the supreme, the All’.
IV-15. As there is non-difference when water is poured in water, milk in milk and ghee in ghee, so is the case with the individual Self and the supreme Self.
IV-16. When the body is burned by knowledge and knowledge becomes infinite in form, then the knower consumes the bondage of Karma in the fire of Brahman-Knowledge.
IV-17. Thence (follows the state of) the holy non-dual(Reality), named the Supreme Lord, like unto the stainless sky. Self’s nature, abiding without adjuncts, is as (that of) water mixed with water.
IV-18. Like the ether the Self in the subtle body. The inner Self like air is not perceived. That stirless inner Self perceives the external (manifold) with the torch of (objective) knowledge.
IV-19. The knower, dead, no matter due to whatever (form of) death, is dissolved (in Brahman that is) like the all-pervasive sky.
IV-20. This dissolution he knows in truth as of the pot-space (in the infinite space). He attains (the status of) the self-sustained light of all-pervasive knowledge.
IV-21. Standing on one foot, let man do austerities for a 1000 years; but (that austerity) is less than one sixteenth of this Yoga of meditation.
IV-22. This is knowledge; this is to be known; one wishes to know all that. Were he to live (even) for a 1000 years, he would not reach the end of the Shastras.
IV-23. What should be known is just the Imperishable; (but) life is fleeting. Avoiding the labyrinths of Shastras, meditate on the Truth (alone).
IV-24. Action are endless – purification, mutterings, (of holy names), sacrifices, pilgrimage to holy places. These (are valid) only till Truth is won.
IV-25. As regards the great-souled ones, the sure cause of liberation is (the knowledge) ‘I am Brahman’. The two words determining bondage and liberation are ‘mine’ and ‘not mine’.
IV-26. The import of ‘mine’ binds the living being; he is liberated by that of ‘not mine’. When the mind is dementalised, no longer is duality cognised.
IV-27. When dementalisation is achieved, That becomes the supreme status. Wherever, then, the mind goes, there, verily, is the supreme status.
IV-28. Thus, there, everywhere, is Brahman well-established. For one who holds ‘I am not Brahman’ no liberation is possible; (it is as futile) as striking the sky with clenched fists or a hungry man’s chewing the chaff.
IV-29. Whoso studies the Upanishad as a rule (every day) is purified by fire (as it were); by air; by the sun; by Vishnu; by Rudra. He has bathed in all sacred waters. He is versed in all the Vedas; has performed all the sacred rites taught by all the Vedas. He has ritually muttered Lacs of Itihasas and Puranas and one Lac times Rudra’s (tantras). He has muttered a million times the sacred syllable, OM. He redeems ten generations of his line, past and future. He purifies the rows of diners of which he is a number. He becomes great. He is purged of the sins of Brahmin-slaughter, drink, stealth, adultery with (even a) teacher’s spouse and of association with those who are guilty of these.
IV-30. That supreme Status of Vishnu spread out, like an eye, in the sky, the enlightened ones always behold.
IV-31. The wise, ever vigilant and diligent in praise richly glorify That supreme Status of Vishnu. IV-32. OM-Truth – This is the secret teaching.
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Paingalopanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Bhikshuka Upanishad
Translated by Prof. A. A. Ramanathan
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1. Mendicant monks desiring liberation are of four kinds: the Kutichaka, Bahudaka, Hamsa and Paramahamsa.
2. The Kutichakas (hut-dwelling ascetics) such as (the sages of yore like) Gautama, Bharadvaja, Yajnavalkya and Vasistha, subsist on eight mouthfuls of food and seek liberation alone by the path of yoga.
3. Next the Bahudaka ascetics (remaining mainly in a holy place of sacred waters) who carry a three-fold emblematic staff (tridanda) and water vessel and wear tuft, sacred thread and ochre coloured garment. Avoiding wine and meat, they subsist on eight mouthfuls of food secured as alms from the houses of Brahmana sages and seek liberation alone in the path of Yoga.
4. Then come the Hamsa ascetics who shelter for one night in a village, five nights in a town and seven nights or more in a holy place. Subsisting on cow’s urine and other products from the cow and always addicted to the chandrayana vow, they seek liberation alone in the path of Yoga.
5. Then there are the Paramahamsa ascetics (such as the sages of yore like) Samvartaka, Aruni, Svetaketu, Jadabharata, Dattatreya, Suka, Vamadeva and Harita, who live on eight mouthfuls of food and seek liberation alone in the path of Yoga. They take shelter under the shade of trees, in deserted houses or in a cemetery. They may wear a dress or be unclad. They observe neither Dharma nor Adharma (i.e. they are above the laws of the land). They are not conscious of profit and loss of anything. They discard the doctrines of Visishtadvaita (propounded by Ramanuja), the Suddha Dvaita (of Madhvacharya) and the Asuddha Dvaita. Considering equally a pebble, stone and gold they receive alms from (person of) all castes and see the Atman alone everywhere. Unclad, unaffected by pairs (of opposites, heat and cold, etc.,) receiving no gifts, solely adhering to pure meditation, established in the Atman alone, receiving alms at the prescribed time for sustaining life, (taking shelter during nights) in a deserted house, temple, hay stack, ant-hill, shade of a tree, potter’s hut, a place where ritual fire is kept, sandy bank of a river, a mountain thicket or cavity, a hollow in a tree, the vicinity of a water fall, or a piece of clean ground, they are well on the way to realize Brahman; with pure mind, they give up their bodies in the state of renunciation as a Paramahamsa. They are indeed the Paramahamsas (as they become absorbed in Brahman). Thus (ends) the Upanishad.
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Bhikshukopanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Maha Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I-1-4. Then we shall expound the Mahopanishad. They say Narayana was alone. There were not Brahma, Shiva, Waters, Fire and Soma, Heaven and Earth, Stars, Sun and Moon. He could not be happy.
From the (desire of) the Paramatman, the Yajnastoma (hymn known as Avyakta) is said to have arisen. I-5-6. In it arose fourteen Purushas (Brahman, Vishnu, Rudra, Isana, Sadashiva and nine Prajapatis like Daksha), one maiden (Mula-Prakriti), the ten organs (five of perception and five of action), Mind as the eleventh, bright intellect as the 12th, ego as the 13th, Prana as 14th, Atma as 15th, Buddhi, Kama, Karma and Tamas, five Tanmatras, along with gross elements and the Being was the 25th (Sutratman). Employing him in creation, the supreme Being remained detached. From him do all things come into being.
I-7. Again, Narayana, desiring something else, thought. From his forehead a person arose with three eyes and a trident, having glory, fame, truth, celibacy, austerity, detachment, mind, lordship, seven Vyahritis (Bhur etc.,) along with Pranava, Rik and other Vedas, all metres is his body – so, he is the great Lord.
I-8-9. Then again, desiring something else, he thought – From his forehead, sweat fell and became the wide waters: from it a bright golden egg – in it was born the four-headed Brahma facing east. Narayana became the Vyahriti, Bhur, the chandas Gayatri, the Rig-Veda and the deity, Agni. Facing west he became Bhuvar, the chandas Tristubh, the Yajur-Veda and deity, Vayu. Facing north, he became Vyahriti Suvar, Jagati-chandas, Sama-Veda and the deity Surya. Facing south he became Mahar, chandas Anustubh, Atharva-Veda and Soma.
I-10-13. (Meditate upon) the god of a thousand heads and eyes, source of cosmic well-being, beyond all, eternal Narayana – the universe subsists in Him. Like a lotus calyx, the human heart hangs down, dripping drops of cold water for sustaining life. In its midst is a great flame, facing everywhere, subtle and facing upwards; the great being is present – He is Brahma, Shiva, Indra, undying and self-shining. II-1-11. Suka, of great lustre, devoted to Natural Bliss, the prince of sages, realised Truth even at birth (without instruction). So also a person may get certain knowledge of the self by himself by long self-analysis. (This is because) the self is beyond description, un-realisable (by worldly means) by the mind and the sense organs; Pure Bliss, atomic, subtler then even ether. The millions of particles undergo generation, subsistence and dissolution inside the supreme Being by rotation of the power.
The supreme being is Ether because there is nothing outside it and yet not the ether, because it is all pure consciousness – it is nothing which can be pointed out (specified such and such) as a thing, reality etc.
He is conscious, being lustrous, yet like rock, because he cannot be (normally) known; causing the picture-like awakening (existence) of the world in himself, the pure ether.
This cosmos is only the manifestation of that being; there is nothing other than that; the differences in the universe are also his manifestation.
Present everywhere, connected with every thing, yet He does not move as there is nowhere to go; He does not exist as there is nowhere (substratum) to exist, yet exists because he is Existence by nature. Brahman is knowledge, Bliss and the resort (source) of the giver of Jivanmukti. Giving up of all mental desires is the way (to that knowledge). The wise say that the understanding of that Being is the absence of worldly conceptions. The dissolution and creation of the universe are due to the contraction and expansion, respectively, of the Power.
The basis of Vedantic statements, yet beyond words, It is ‘I Reality, knowledge, bliss and nothing else’. II-12-13. Suka knew all this by his own subtle intellect; then remained with his mind ceaselessly rapt in it.
He did not have the conception that the Atman is real; his mind simply turned away from worldly temptations, the many (material) worldly enjoyments which break very much, like the satisfied Chataka bird from torrent water.
II-14-37. (He knew all but out of respect for tradition, passed at this stage).
Once Suka of pure knowledge asked with devotion, of his father Vyasa, the seer seated alone at Meru mountain, ‘O Seer, how did this elaborate (pomp of) worldly life arise, how does this become dissolved, how much and when ?’
Being thus asked, Vyasa instructed everything to his son.
Having already known all this, Suka did not value the verbal statement.
Sage Vyasa, knowing the son’s thought said, ‘I do not know the truth; you can know all from Janaka, the king of Mithila who knows it correctly. Being told this, Suka went from there, to the earth and the city of Videha, ruled by Janaka.
He was announced to Janaka by the ushers ‘O King, Suka, the son of Vyasa, waits at the entrance’. Desiring of knowing Suka, Janaka said ‘Let him wait’ and tarried for seven days. Then he permitted him into the court and Janaka regaled Suka with women and other luxuries. They did not attract Suka, just as gentle breeze cannot shake a mountain. He simply remained pure, like the full moon, equable, silent and composed. Janaka looked at him and bowed knowing his nature. He said ‘You have (adjured) all worldly actions and for all your desires, what (more) do you desire ? Suka replied ‘this grandiose world – how did this arise and how dissolved ? Janaka narrated all correctly – the same as was spoken by father Vyasa.
‘I myself knew this already; the same was told to me by my father; also by you, most eloquent speaker; this is also the matter seen in the Shastras. The mass of mental fancies dies away by the death of the fancies; worldly life is also buried away – this is certain. So great-armed Janaka, pray tell me the truth, firmly – the world gets peace for the reeling mind from you’.
(Janaka) replied): ‘O Suka, listen to what I speak, the details of knowledge, the essence of wisdom, by knowing which one can get the status of Liberation in life’.
II-38-41. When there is generated a wiping away of visible phenomena by the mind realizing that there is no (real) visible object, then arises the great joy of Nirvana (Extinction – Liberation).
The best, total adjuration of mental impressions (tendencies) is said by the good (people) to be liberation – it is a pure procedure (whereas) those people whose tendencies are (not given up but) purified, not subject to the danger of re-birth – these wise ones are said to be the enlightened, Liberated-in-life. Strong (intense) brooding over objects is said to be bondage; its thinning out is, Oh Brahman, liberation.
II-42-62. He is said to be ‘Liberated while living’ who has lost taste for enjoyment by means of penance etc., and no other cause.
Who does not rejoice, nor languish, being detached when joy and grief befall (him) according to time (destiny);
Who is untouched in the mind, by exaltation, anger, fear, lust and meanness;
Who gives up (as if) playfully, the egotist tendency and remains giving up brooding; Who is free from desire and non-desire as he is introvert and behaves as in deep sleep;
Who is seated delighting in the spirit, replete, pure in mind having got excellent repose and desires nothing in the material world and lives without unction;
Who is un-smeared in the region of the heart with (objects of) knowledge and whose consciousness is not inert;
Who performs without expectation, likes and dislikes (actions) (acts of) joy and grief, virtue and vice, success and failure;
Who is silent, egoless, prideless, avoiding jealousy and does actions without agitation;
Who exists like a detached onlooker and functions without attachment and desire everywhere; Who has given up internally all of Dharma and Adharma, thought and desire;
Who has given up fully the (worldly) view;
Who eats with equal detachment what is bitter, sour, salty, astringent, seasoned and unseasoned; Who has given up Dharma and Adharma, joy and grief, death and birth;
Who, free from tension and joy, does not get depressed or elated, with a pure intellect; Who has given up all desires, all doubts, all conation, all rigid thoughts;
Who is equal towards birth, existence and death, rise and fall.
Who does not dislike or hanker after anything and enjoys incidental pleasure.
Whose thought of worldly life has quietened down, who has aspects and yet is aspect-less, having mind – yet mindless.
Who is active towards all objects, yet is desireless as if they are alien objects, is full in spirit.
II-63-69. He gives up the state of Jivanmukta when this body is consigned to time (death) and enters the state of Adehamukta (liberated without body), like wind which does not move.
Such a person does not rise or set, is neither real nor unreal, nor is he far away, nor ‘I’ nor ‘another’. Other, than him, there is no lustres nor darkness which is steady and profound, ineffable and unmanifest. Not empty vacuum, not having form, neither visible nor vision; nor a mass of creations but existing infinitely.
Undesignated in nature, fuller than the fullest, neither real nor unreal, neither being nor coming into being, pure consciousness; not the Chaitya (world created by mind), endless, ageless, auspicious, having no beginning, middle or end, having no ailment in mind or body. That which is considered as
the vision amidst the seer, seeing and object of seeing. O sage, there is surely nothing beyond this.
II-70-73. It is known by yourself as well as heard from a preceptor: – one is bound by one’s own fancy and released by being rid of it – detachment towards enjoyment of all visible (external) objects has arisen (in you); all that is to be got has been got by you with a perfect mind; you feel (erred) in regard to your own nature but now being liberated, give up error; you see that you are Brahman itself beyond what is external and internal – you see but you do not see; you are the sole and perfect onlooker (un-involved).
II-74-77. Suka, reposed silently (passively) in the Supreme Being in the own normal state, devoid of grief, fear and strain. Then he went to the peak of Meru mountain, unimpeded, for trance. There, for thousands of years he remained in ‘unqualified trance’ and attained rest in himself, like a flame without oil.
Purified of the blemish of manifold thought, in the pristine and pure condition, he became one, with all (worldly) tendencies melting away like water-drop in the ocean.
III-1-15. A lad, Nidagha, prince of seers and enlightened, permitted by his father to go on a pilgrimage, had ablution in three and a half Crores of sacred places, then told Ribhu about himself. ‘After bathing in so many places an enquiry (question) has arisen there in my mind:
The world is born only to die and dies only to be reborn – all the actions of the moving and unmoving things are ephemeral; Things such are sources of splendour are sinful and give place to all calamities; unconnected with each other, like iron-stakes, they come together, only by mental fancy. I have lost taste in various things, like a traveller in deserts my mind is tormented as to how this suffering will die down; riches please me not but give only cycles of worries just as houses with children and women cause danger.
This (material) glory in the world is delicate, cause only delusion, does not give happiness. Life is unsteady like a drop of water hanging on to the top of a tender leaf; like an insane person it goes away, leaving the body suddenly. Life causes strain to those whose mind is shattered by contact with the poison from the snake of worldly objects and who lack mature discrimination of the self.
It is (possible) reasonable to envelop wind and to cut into (empty) space, to string together watery waves but not give up attachment to (worldly) life.
(In contrast) by attaining Brahman, what is to be got is got, which causes no grief; it is the place of highest joy.
Even trees live, so do animals and birds – only he (really) lives, whose mind is sustained by contemplation; the others who have no (spiritual) rebirth are only old donkeys.
Shastra is a burden to one who lacks (spiritual) discrimination, knowledge is a burden to one attached (to life); mind is a burden to one without security, body is a burden to one ignorant of the self.
II-16-26. From ego does danger arise, so do bad mental ailments and desire – there is no enemy more dangerous than Ego; whatever in the moving and unmoving world was enjoyed by Ego – all that is unreal; only freedom from Ego is real. The mind runs hither and tither, in vain and with zeal, like a dog in the village. O Brahman, I have been made inert by the pursuit of thirst and eaten by my mind as by a dog.
Containment of the mind is impossible even by drinking up the ocean uprooting Meru and eating fire. Mind is the cause of objects; when it exists, the three worlds exist; when it does not, so do they, so it should be cured with effort.
Whatever wealth of merit I acquire, that Thirst cuts down, like a mouse cutting a string. Thirst is a fickle monkey – it sets foot in impassable places, hankers after fruits even when filled with them; never rests long in a place.
Throat is a bee in the lotus-heart. One moment, it goes to Patala; another, the sky; and another, it hovers in the bush of space; of all the griefs of worldly life, only thirst gives the longest grief; a person (well-guarded) in the harem it involves in great trouble.
Abandonment of brooding is the (preventive) chant for the cholera of Thirst.
II-27-38. There is nothing as pitiable as the body, low and meritless; it exults over a little and suffers over a little. The body is the great abode of the house-holder i.e. the Ego. Let it roll about or be steady – what is it to me, O Preceptor !
This body pleases me not – the senses (animals) are bound by six ropes (vices) – in its yard, Ego leaps about, it is crowded with the servants – the mind. It is frightening with the entrance held by the monkey (tongue) – in it are seen the (bared) teeth and bones. Tell me, what is attractive in the body which is made of blood and flesh, in and out, and which is only to perish – let him trust the body, who sees steadiness in lightnings, autumn clouds, and cities in the sky (illusions). Childhood is the abode of fear from the teacher, mother, father, other people and older children.
One is overwhelmed by the goblin of lust which exists in the cave of one’s mind and causes many delusions. Slaves, sons, women, relatives and friends laugh at a man shaken by old age as at a mad man. Desire is full of the defect of helplessness, grows long in old age, the sole friend of all danger and confuse foment is the heart.
The attribution of happiness to worldly life – even this is cut by time like grass by a rat. Time tries to possess selfishly (every thing from) grass and dust (to) Indra and gold, which is the dust of Meru – destroys all and all the three worlds are occupied by it.
III-39-48. What is auspicious about woman – a puppet of flesh – moved by a machine in the cage of the body – having nerves, bones and knots ?
Why are you deluded; separate the skin, flesh, blood and tears and then look at the body. Is it attractive ?
The pearl necklace on the breast is like the current of Ganga on Meru (fleeting and ephemeral) – the same breast is eaten by dogs at the due time like a lump of food, in the cemetery and corners of the directions.
Women are the flame of sin, have the soot of hair, pleasing to the eye but not to be touched; they burn man like grass.
Women are the fuel lovely, yet harmful, of the fires of all blazing at a distance whether they have taste (attachment) or not.
Women are the traps to catch the birds – men, spread by the hunter, Manmatha, the lump of bait, the string of wickedness to men who are the fish in the pond of birth (life) and moving in the mud of mind. I will have none of this woman who is the basket of all defects – gems – the chain of misery. Only he with a woman has desire for enjoyment; where is enjoyment for one who has no woman ? Giving up women means giving up the world; by this one shall be happy.
III-49-54. Even the Quarters (like North) are not seen, regions give other (wrong) instruction; even the oceans and the stars dry up, even the permanent becomes impermanent, even Yogins (Siddhas) perish, demons and others decay; Brahma is reduced (to nothing), the unborn Vishnu too; Shiva becomes non-existent, the lords of the quarters decay. Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra and all classes of creatures run towards destruction, like water-streams towards the marine fire. Dangers come for a moment, so does wealth; birth and death are only for a moment – everything dies. The brave ones are killed by those not brave – a hundred are killed by one. Poison changes its scope (effect) – poison is not poison !
III-55-57. Objects (of the world) destroy (only) one more birth, poison destroys life only once; it is time my mind is burnt in the forest fire of defects. Desires for enjoyment do not flash even in the illusory fatamorgana; so, oh preceptor, waken me quickly with the knowledge of truth. If you do not, I shall take to silence, without pride and jealousy, contemplating Vishnu with the mind like one turned into a painting.
IV-1-24. Nidagha, there is nothing else to be known by you, you are the best of the of the enlightened – you know by your intellect, with God’s grace – I shall wipe away the error caused by the impurity of the mind:
Control of inner and outer senses, enquiry, contentment and the fourth, contact with good people – resort to one at least of these giving up everything, with all effort – when one is achieved, the others also are achieved.
One shall develop wisdom only at first; first liberation from worldly life, by means of scripture, contact with good people, penance and self-control. One’s own experience (of the self), Shastra and the preceptor form one statement (they yield a single purpose) by practising (the teachings of) which the self is ever looked at (realized).
If you do (achieve) every moment, the avoidance of the sustained fancy and desire, then you will have reached the sacred, mindless state. Samadhi is said to be the freedom of the mind from agency (activity). That itself is oneness, that is the highest and auspicious joy.
You should remain, like a dumb, blind and deaf person, giving up with your mind, the thought of all things as the self.
The vision got through words of (Vedanta) that you are composed, unborn, beginningless and endless, shining, taste (bliss) alone, devoid of symptoms of mind – all this is for the (lower) knowledge and wasteful – only Om is real.
All the visible things in the world are nothing more than the consciousness without vibration – contemplate this.
Or, with mind ever enlightened and performing worldly functions, you remain knowing the oneness of the self, like the calm ocean.
Only the knowledge of Truth is the fire to the grass of mental impressions – this is said to be Samadhi, not mere silence.
Just as the world is active when the much desired sun has arisen (Mani – gem of the day, the sun), so also do the creatures of the world, when the supreme reality is present. So, oh sage, the agentship and non-agentship in the self arise: -- the spirit is a non-agent when there is no desire – an agent by his mere presence.
These two exist in the Supreme Being – agency and non-agency – Resort to it firmly which is the (ultimate) cause of the two. So, by the thoughts, well kindled, that I am always a non-agent, the remains only the state of equality called the supreme immortality.
Listen, O Nidagha, there are born in the world, men of noble qualities in the Nirvikalpa Samadhi, ever in the ascendant and happy like (autumnal) moons in the sky; not depressed during danger, like a gold lotus at night, nor aspiring beyond what is destined, delighting in the path of the good people. They shine through this firm (personality) with merits in the friendship; even-minded and reconciled, pleasing, ever good in conduct. They are within limits like the ocean, placid in mind, do not give up discipline, like the sun.
A wise person should enquire fully ‘What am I ? How did this blemish of Samsara develop ?’ One should not take to wrong deeds nor live with a low person. Death, the killer of all, should not be looked up in mockery. One should look only at the pure consciousness, avoiding the body, the bone, flesh and blood which are inauspicious, the consciousness being the string that holds together all the creatures like a necklace. Pursuing what is acceptable and avoiding totally what is not – this is the (proper) nature (attitude) of the mind. The seer shall be rid of grief knowing that he is Brahman with his own realization by the path prescribed by the preceptor.
IV-25. Enlightenment arises in the state of detachment wherein the fall of a hundred sharp swords is borne like strokes with lilies, burning with fire like drenching with snow, charcoal like sandalwood, endless fall of arrows like a fall of cool water to relieve summer heat, cutting one’s own head like happy sleep, the deprivation of speech like silence, deafness like a blessing.
IV-26-27. The self as always observed by the practice of realization which arises from the instruction of the preceptor. Just as the directions once again as before the delusion, so the world – delusion goes away destroyed by knowledge – consider this.
IV-28. Riches do not help, nor friends nor kinsmen, nor the strain of the body, nor resorting to sacred
waters and temples, but only through the conquest of the mind is that condition reached.
IV-29-38. All the miseries, hankerings, unbearable mental pain are lost in people with a calm mind, like darkness in the sun. All creatures subside (attain calmness) in a serene person like children mischievous or soft, in their mother.
Not by drinking elixirs, nor by the embrace of wealth does a person get so much joy as by inner peace. He is said to be a serene person, who does not exult or feel depressed on hearing, touching, eating, seeing and knowing the good or the bad.
· Whose mind is not agitated, clear like the moon’s disc, in death, festival as well as in battle. Only the serene person shines among ascetics, knowers, sacrificers, kings, men of strength and of virtue.
The calm persons are great who have attained contentment with the drink of Amrita and delight in the self.
He is the contented one who gives up (longing for) what is not got and is even towards what is got, not seeing (i.e. ignoring) grief and joy, who does not admire what is not got, enjoys according to desire what is (actually) got and is benign in his conduct.
Liberation while alive arises when the thought delights in what is got, like a good woman in a harem and this gives the joy of the spirit’s own nature.
IV-39-43. The wise person should reflect about the path to liberation, every moment, in the manner of the Shastras, according to the place, convenience and contact with good people, until he achieves repose in the spirit. A person having repose in the fourth state (liberation) and released from the ocean of worldly life, whether he lives or not, be he house-holder or recluse, has no purpose (meaning) in what is done or not done, nor by the delusion of Veda and Smriti; he remains in his pristine condition like the ocean without being churned by the mountain (he is in a transcendental state).
When there arises the pure realization of all as the spirit, then shines the ‘body’ in the form of the consciousness, beyond origin, space and time.
IV-44-49. The visible cosmos of un-moving and moving things melts away like dream in a (dreamless) sleep. The wise people have attributed, for empirical purposes, names for the supreme Being, such as, Rita Atma, Para Brahma, Truth etc. Just as armlets etc., are only words and meanings, not different from gold, so also is the magical illusion of the cosmos extended by the supreme being.
The perceived being inside the visible world is called bondage, in the absence (dissolution) of the visible, he is realized. What is called the visible is the projection like, ‘The universe is you, and I’. The illusion of the world is spread only by the mind – as long as it happens, this is no liberation.
IV-50-57. The cosmos is spread (generated) through the mind by the self-born supreme being. So the visible cosmos is mental in nature. There is no real mind; it is only the flash of things. Know the mind to be only ideation. Understand that where there is ideation there is Mind. Mind and ideation are never different – when the mass of ideations slips away only the (pristine) nature remains.
When the excitement of the visible, viz., ‘I and you are the cosmos’ dies down, only the sole condition (pristineness) remains. At the achievement of the great dissolution, when all the visible creation etc., become (i.e. known to be) non-existent, only tranquillity remains. There exists the unborn, divine un-ailing, shining being, the unsetting sun, forever, the maker of all, declared to be the supreme self. From whom words turn away (un-reaching), who is realized (only) by the liberated person, whose names like (individual) selves are assumed, not natural.
IV-58-63. O great sage, of the three kinds of ether (space) namely the mental, spiritual and gross, know the spiritual one to be (emptier) subtler than the other two. When the perception passes from one place to another, the interval is to be known as the spiritual region in a moment when you reach the stage where all ideations are rejected, then surely you will reach the state of All Quiet.
That condition (state) is Samadhi which excludes bliss and contains the essence of detachment of Nobility and Beauty – when joy arises strongly by the realization of the falseness of the visible world and like and dislike thin away.
This realization is indeed the knowledge and its object, spiritual in nature – only that is the sole state – all else is false.
IV-64-69. Nidagha, know the world to be an illusion, Airavata in rut is confined to a corner of a mustard, a mosquito fights with groups of lions inside an atom, Meru put inside a lotus is pat out by a bee.
Only the mind made impure by involvement etc., is worldly life. The same mind is said to be the end of (worldly) existence when freed from them. An embodied being attained that condition being brooded over by the mind – freed from bodily tendencies, it (he) is not smeared (affected) by the body’s attributes.
I am that (the mind) which turns an aeon into a moment and vice versa. One cannot attain (realize) (truth) without desisting from bad conduct, without calmness and concentration but only through Enlightenment.
IV-70-72. One fears never (and from nothing) on knowing the nature of the self as Bliss unequalled, attributeless and one mass of truth and consciousness. That is beyond all that is beyond, greater than the greatest, lustrous and eternal in nature, wise, ancient Being, worshipped by all gods. As a rule ‘I (am) Brahman’ these two words are for the liberation of the great. Whereas ‘Not Mine’ and ‘Mine’ give liberation and bondage (respectively).
IV-73-75. The creation (of the world) is assumed (projected) by God starting from the vision and ending with Entry (from Generation to Dissolution) in the form of Jiva, Ishvara etc. The nature of the animate and the inanimate worldly life from waking to liberation is projected by Jiva.
Schools from the Trinachiketa to the Yoga depend on Ishvara’s illusion (on the still lower level); from the Lokayata to Sankhya the schools depend on Jiva’s illusion. Hence, the aspirants to liberation should not consider these schools (being illusory) but the (essential) truth about Brahman is to be considered with steadiness.
IV-76-82. Only one who looks upon everything in relation to consciousness is the knower proper, Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. Without a good preceptor’s grace it is hard to give up objects, to see truth and (to realize) the pristine state. The pristine state is naturally realized by a Yogin who has power generated in him and has given up all (worldly) activity.
When a man perceives even a little difference (between these) then, there will be fear for him, doubtless. A person with wisdom as the eye sees the supreme as present everywhere – one without wisdom does not, like a blind man, the sun.
The supreme being is knowledge alone – so a mortal becomes immortal only by vision of Brahman. When the Great beyond is seen, the knot of the heart snaps, all doubts are smashed and all (worldly) actions die away.
Iv-83-87. Be devoted to Samvid, with single attention, giving up the non-spiritual attitude and unaffected by the condition of the world. In a desert all the water (in mirages) is an illusion – only the desert is real; (similarly) on reflection all the three worlds are nothing more than chit.
He who remains giving up what is implied and expressed is Shiva himself, the best of the Brahman-Knowers. That un-decaying being is the substratum (of all), without comparison beyond words and mind, eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent and subtle.
The mind and the world are (only) the blooming of the supreme being; worldly life is reduced by the restraint (of the mind) and non-restraint (of the spirit).
IV-88-106. I shall tell you the means of curing mental ills – giving up whatever object is attractive, one attains liberation. Pity that worm of a man who cannot do this giving up which is absolutely good and dependent on oneself.
The auspicious path cannot be got without subduing the mind which is giving up desires and which can be achieved by one’s own effort. When the mind is cut by the weapon of non-projection, then is achieved (realized) the Brahman, omnipresent and tranquil. Hold yourself, un-excited, released from thought of worldly existence, having great wisdom – the swallowed (controlled) mind is the place of knowledge.
Resorting to great effort, making the mind non-mind, meditating in the heart, with the edge of the wheel of consciousness. Kill the mind without hesitation; your (internal) enemies will not bind you.
‘I am he, this is mine’, the mind is only so much – this is cut down by the knife of non-projection. The mind is blown away only by the wind of non-projection, like the bank of clouds in the autumn sky. Let the winds of deluge blow, let the oceans become one (to destroy the world), let all the twelve suns blaze; the mind is not affected.
You remain intent upon that state of the empire of truth which can only be non-projection and which gives all success.
Nowhere is the mind seen to be without fickleness – it is the nature of mind, just as heat is that of fire. This power of pulsation existing as mind – know this to be the power which is the ostentatious world. The mind without wavering is said to be Amrita. The same is said to be liberation in the Shastraic doctrine.
This wavering which is another name for ignorance – destroy this with reflection. Sinless one, be free from projections (vikalpas) attaining that position with which the mind becomes united by means of human effort.
Hence, resorting to (human) effort, possessing (i.e. Controlling) the mind with the mind, be form and free from anxiety, in the place without grief. Only the mind can control the mind firmly – who can control a king except another king ?
For those grasped by the crocodile of desire and fallen into the ocean of worldly life and carried away (tossed about) by the whirlpools, only the mind is the life-boat. Break the mind, with the mind, the rope, uplift yourself from worldly life – which cannot be crossed by another.
IV-117-115. Whatever propensity called the mind arises from previous (other) impulses, these a wise one is to avoid and from this there will be reduction of ignorance. Give up the tendency to differentiate; giving up the instinct for (worldly) enjoyment – then giving up both positive and negative (tendencies), be blissful without mental projection.
The avoidance of desire towards whatever is seen is the destruction of the mind, of ignorance. Freedom from desire is extinction (liberation), acceptance of desire is misery.
In the un-enlightened people ignorance is seen to exist. How can it exist in a person of sound wisdom, being accepted only in name. Ignorance swings a person on the steep rocks of samsara, having the thorny bushes of misery, not when ignorance dies away leading to the desire for perception of the self, reducing delusions. When everything is seen, this desire too melts away.
This ignorance is only desire, its destruction is said to be liberation – this results by the destruction of projections. The intense darkness, ignorance, is reduced when, in the sky of the mind, the night of propensities fades away, by the sight of the sun of consciousness.
Iv-116-121. The supreme lord is the ineffable conscious principle present every where and devoid of mental misery. All this (cosmos) is Brahman, eternally conscious, undecaying. The other thing namely mental projections, does not really exist.
Nothing is really born, dies in this triad of worlds, nor is there any reality in various stages of things; only Pure Consciousness is real, which is aloof, shining by itself common to all and free from mental torment.
When this is ever realized as pure, untroubled, serene, calm and unchanging, this mind realizes through reflection – the mind is called so because of reflection.
IV-122-125. So, this thought caused by force, is destroyed by resolution. The mind is bound strongly by the resolution ‘I am not Brahman’; it is released by the resolve ‘I am Brahman’; it is bound by the concept in keeping with the thought ‘I am, lean, bound by misery; I have hands, feet etc.’ Whereas, it is released by the conviction following the thought ‘I am not miserable, I have no body, the soul is not bound’. One is liberated when ignorance dies away, by the internal conviction. ‘I am not the flesh, the bones; I am beyond the body’.
IV-126-131. ‘This ignorance is due to imagination, by conceiving the non-spirit as spirit. Resorting to great effort, with supreme resolve, and abandoning desire at a distance, be blissful without fancy.
My son, my wealth, he is mine – such propensity leaps about by the tangle of senses. Do not be ignorant, be wise; give up involvement is samsara – why do you wail like an ignorant person by such attachment ? What is this body of yours, dull, dumb, impure lump of flesh, for which you are overpowered by worldly pleasure and pain ?
It is strange that the true Brahman is forgotten by people ! May you not be smeared by attachment when you are active.
Strange also that mountains are bound by lotus fibre ! This universe is perturbed by the ignorance which is non-existent ! Mere grass has become adamant !
V-1-7. Then I shall speak truly of the seven steps of ignorance, seven of wisdom. The stages between are countless and produced otherwise.
Liberation is existence in natural (spiritual) condition; lapse from it is the concept of ‘I’ – attributes like desire and hate, born of ignorance, are not for those who do not swerve from their nature as a result of the realization of pure consciousness.
The fall from spiritual nature, the drowning of consciousness in mental matters; there is no other delusion, now or in future, than this.
The existence in spiritual nature is said to be the destruction of mental activity, being in the middle (unaffected), when the mind goes from object to object. The existence-supreme in nature is remaining like stone, all ideation dying out, free from waking and sleep.
That is one’s own (spiritual) nature which is not inert, the non-pulsating (placid) mind, when the ego-aspect is dead.
V-8-20. Waking in seed state, (simple) waking, great waking, etc., the seven-fold delusion -when these combine among themselves, they become manifold; hear of its nature.
The first stage is the consciousness undesirable, pure condition, taking the name of mind, Jiva etc., which will come into existence. Waking existing as seed (potential) is said to be waking-in-seed – this is the new or first condition of consciousness.
The waking state (second): after the new stage, the (subtle) concept ‘I’, ‘Mine’ arising purely – this is waking, non-existent earlier.
The great waking: the broad (gross) concept arising in a previous birth as ‘I’ and ‘Mine’.
The Waking-Dream: The ‘kingdom’ of the mind, which has developed or not, as identifying one’s self with these.
The dream state: it is of many kinds arising from the waking state, in the form of two-moons, shell-silver, mirage etc. The reflection by the awakened person ‘this was seen only a short time, it will not arise – Because of not seeing for long, it is like the working state.’
The dream-waking state: the inert condition of Jiva, giving up the six conditions.
The deep sleep is filled with the future misery – in which condition the world is merged in darkness. The seven stages have been spoken by me of ignorance – each of these has hundreds of varieties with various splendours.
V-21-35. By knowing the seven stages of knowledge, one will not be sub-merged in the mire of illusions. Many schools speak variously of the stages of Yoga but only the following are acceptable to me: liberation follows after the seven stages.
The first stage of knowledge – is auspicious desire, the second is reflection, the third is thinning of the mind, the fourth is attainment of Sattva, then detachment, the sixth is reflection on objects and the seventh is of the Turiya.
Their explanation: The wise say that the auspicious desire is the desire following detachment – meditation ‘why do I remain like a fool, being looked upon by good people ?’
Reflection is good activity (tendency) after the practice of detachment and contact with scriptures and good people.
Thinning of the Mind is the condition where the attachment to sense-objects is reduced by means of auspicious desire and reflection.
Sattvapatti is the mind in the pure Sattva condition by the practice of the above three stages.
The Asamsakti stage is the developed condition, without even a trace of involvement, by means of the practice of the four stages.
Padarthabhavana is the sixth stage resulting from the five stages, delighting in the spirit firmly by the non-contemplation of objects internal and external.
The ‘Fourth’ (Transcendental) condition (here the seventh) is concentration on one’s nature, seeing no real difference, by the long practice of the six stages – this is the stage of Jivanmukti.
The stage ‘Beyond the Fourth’ is the stage of liberation without the body.
V-36-40. Nidagha, those who have reached the seventh stage, delight in the spirit – they do not drown in pleasure and pain. They do (or not do) whatever is only relevant and minimal. They perform actions following the past, awakened (impelled) by those nearby, like one waking from sleep.
These seven stages can be known only by the enlightened – reaching which condition, even animals, barbarians etc., are liberated with or without the body surely.
Wisdom indeed is the breaking of the knot and the liberation – the dying of the illusion of mirage. V-41. But those who have crossed the ocean of illusion – they have reached the high position.
V-42-43. The means of calming the mind is said to be Yoga. This is to be known as having seven stages which lead to the status of Brahman.
V-44. There, there is no feeling of ‘you’ and ‘I’, one’s own and another, nor the perception of existence or non-existence.
V-45. All is calm (needing) no support, existing in the ether (of the heart), eternal, auspicious, devoid of ailment and illusion, name and cause.
V-46. Neither existent nor-existent, nor in between, nor the negation of all; beyond the grasp of mind and words, fuller than the fullest, more joyful than joy.
V-47. Beyond (worldly) perception, the limit of one’s hope (horizon) extensive, there is no existence of any thing other than pure cognition.
V-48. The body exists only when there is the relationship of the perceiver, the perceived and the vision connecting them, whereas this position (of liberation) is devoid of such relation (of the distinct) Perceiver, Perception and object.
V-49. ‘In between the movement of the mind from object to object there is the unqualified essence of intelligence. This is immaterial perception, reflection; always identify yourself with That.
V-50. ‘Your eternal essence (is), devoid of states like wakefulness, dream and deep sleep or Equalities like intelligence and inertness; always identify yourself with that.
V-51. ‘Excluding that heart of stone, inertness, always identify yourself with that which is beyond the mind. Discarding the mind in the far distance (you see) you are that which is; be established as That. V-52. ‘First the mind was formed from the principle of the supreme Self; by the mind has this world, with its multitudinous details, been spread out. Wise men ! The nihil, alluringly named, shines forth from the nihil as the blue does from the sky.
V-53. ‘When the mind is dissolved, through the attenuation of mental constructions, the mist of cosmic fancies will stand dissolved. The one, infinite, unborn, pristine and pure Spirit shines forth within as the cloudless sky in autumn.
V-54. ‘In the sky has sprung up a picture without a painter or a basis (i.e. canvas). It has no perceiver; (it is) one’s own experience without the medium of sleep or dream.
V-55. ‘In the conscious Self that is the witness, common, transparent and indisputable, as a mirror, are reflected all the worlds without willing (of any kind).
V-56. ‘For curing the mind of its fickleness, deliberately reflect that the one Brahman is the Sky of the Spirit, the impartite Self of the cosmos.
V-57. ‘As an immense rock, covered with main lines and sub-lines, learn to regard the one Brahman with the three worlds superposed on It.
V-58. ‘Now it has been known that this problem world is not produced, as there is no second entity to serve as a cause. This alluring (world) may be looked upon as a marvel.
V-59. ‘Long agitated (as I have been, now) I am at rest; there is nothing other than pure Spirit. Laying aside all doubts, discarding all sense of wonder, behold !
V-60(a). ‘Repudiating all mental constructions, the principle of mindlessness (may be seen to be) the highest status.
V-60(b). ‘(The sages), having liquidated their sins, have attained infinitude --
V-61(a). ‘Those (sages) whose intellects are great and tranquil and who have risen above the mind.
V-61(b)-62. ‘One who has reasoned out (the nature of things according to the Vedanta), the modifications of whose mind (objectively induced) have ceased, who has given up all reasoning (vis-à-vis objects), who has dismissed the objective realm, empty of values but has seized on what alone has eternal value, has a mind that conforms to the eternal Reality.
V-63-66. ‘When the net of deep-seated impressions of empirical life is split as a fowler’s net by a rat, when, due to dispassion’s power, the knots of the heart are loosened, one’s nature as Brahman becomes crystal clear owing to the experiential Knowledge (of Brahman) even as muddy water treated with the Kataka-powder. Now one experiences the eternal Witness; no longer one beholds the inert (non-Seen). While (yet) living one is awakened to the supreme Truth that alone is to be realized. One is totally oblivious of the ways of the world, shrouded in the thick gloom of delusion; and due to an eminent degree of mature dispassion, one ceases to have any relish for even the so-called delectables that are (in fact) dry and tasteless.
V-67. ‘Like a bird from its cage, from delusions flies forth the mind devoid of attachments, frailties, dualities and props.
V-68. ‘The mind filled with (Truth) shines like the full-moon vanquishing all meanness born of perplexities and dismissing all dilemmas due to (idle) curiosities.
V-69. ‘Neither I nor aught else exists here; I am but Brahman that is Peace’ – thus perceives he who beholds the link between the existent and the non-existent.
V-70. ‘As the mind indifferently contacts objects of the senses of sight, etc.; when encountered by chance, so does the man of steadfast intellect regard (courses of) action (in his daily life).
V-71. ‘Experience lived through Knowledgeably alone proves satisfactory. The thief recognised and befriended is no longer a thief but turns out to be a friend.
V-72. ‘As an unplanned journey to a village, when accomplished, is treated (without) elation) by the travellers, so is the splendour of enjoyment (that may fall to their lot) deemed by those who know.
V-73. ‘Even a little diversion of the well-controlled mind is reckoned quite ample; no elaboration of it is sought as such (elaboration) is a source of (future) afflictions.
V-74. A King liberated from detention is glad to eat (but) a morsel. One unattacked and undetained hardly cares for his (entire) kingdom.
V-75. ‘Locking one arm in the other, setting one row of teeth on the other and putting some limbs against others, conquer the mind.
V-76. ‘From this sea of empirical life there is no way out except victory over the mind. In this vast empire of hell, hard to subdue are one’s and adversaries – the sense-organs – who ride on the unruly elephants, the sins, and are armed with the long arrows of cravings.
V-77. ‘In the case of one whose egoistic vigour has been attenuated and who has vanquished his foes, the sense-organs, latent impressions, intent on enjoyments, wear off as lotuses do in winter.
V-78. ‘Like no eternal spirits; latent impressions cut capers only as long as the mind remains unvanquished for lack of intense cultivation of the non-dual truth.
V-79. ‘Of the men of discrimination, the mind, I deem, is a servant as it accomplishes what is sought; a minister as it proves the cause of all gains; and a loyal chieftain as it regulates the assailing sense-organs.
V-80. ‘The mind of the wise, I deem, is a loving spouse as it pleases; a protective parent as it guards and a friend as it marshals the best (arguments)
V-81. ‘The paternal mind, well studied with the eye of the Shastras and realized in (the light of) one’s own reason; abolishes itself in yielding supreme perfection.
V-82. ‘Extremely perverse and inveterate (in itself), (once) well-awakened and controlled and purged, the delightful mind-gem shines (in one’s heart) powered by its own virtues.
V-83. ‘O Brahmin ! To win perfection be luminous after washing clean, in the waters of discrimination, the mind-gem steeped in the mire of many flaws.
V-84. ‘By wholly overcoming the inimical senses, resorting to sovereign discrimination, and beholding the Truth with the intellect, cross the sea of empirical existence.
V-85. ‘The wise know that concern, as such, is the abode of endless pains; they also know that un-concern is the home of joys, both here and hereafter.
V-86. ‘Bound by the cords of latent impressions this world revolves (constituting empirical life). In manifestation, they agonise; when obliterated they make for well-being.
V-87. ‘Though intellectual, though extremely and variously learned, though high-born and eminent, one is bound by cravings as a lion is with a chain.
V-88. ‘resorting to supreme personal endeavour and perseverance and conforming to Shastraic conduct unwaveringly, who may not win perfection ?
V-89. ‘I am this entire cosmos; I am the supreme Self that lapses not. Nothing other than me is – this vision is the supreme assertion of the Self as ‘I’ (or, the first level of self-assertion).
V-90. ‘I transcend all; I am subtler than a hair’s tip’ – such, O Brahmin, is the second and beneficent mode of self -assertion.
V-91. ‘This (mode) promotes liberation and not bondage. (Witness) the case of the Liberated in-life. V-92. ‘The conviction that I am no more than a bundle of parts like hands, feet, etc.; is the third mode of self-assertion – it is empirical and petty.
V-93. ‘This root of the evil tree of empirical life is wicked and must be renounced. Smitten by this, the worldly man rapidly falls ever lower.
V-94. ‘Discarding this wicked mode of self-assertion from one’s life, in due course, by virtue of the beneficent mode, one achieves liberation in peace.
V-95. ‘Resorting to the first two non-worldly modes of self-assertion, the third worldly mode that occasions pain must be renounced.
V-96. ‘Next discarding even the first two, one becomes free from all modes of self-assertion and thus ascends to the transcendent status (of freedom).
V-97. ‘Bondage is nothing but craving for objective enjoyment; its renunciation is said to be liberation. Mind’s affirmation is perilous; its negation is great good fortune. The mind of the Knower tends to negation; the mind of the ignorant is the chain (of bondage).
V-98. ‘The (timeless) mind of the Knower is either blissful nor blissless; neither fickle nor stirless. It neither is nor is not. Nor does it occupy a mind position among all these – so maintain the wise.
V-99. ‘Just as, due to subtlety ether, illumined by the Spirit, is not (objectively) perceived, so the impartite Spirit, though all perceiving, is not observed.
V-100. ‘The imperishable Spirit, free from all imaginings and beyond nomenclature, has been assigned designations like one’s Self, etc.
V-101-102. ‘Transparent like a hundredth part of ether, partless as manifested in those who know, ever aware of the sole Self of all that is pure in empirical life, this Spirit neither sets nor rises; neither rises up nor lies (low); neither goes nor returns; it is neither present nor absent here.
V-103. ‘This Spirit has a flawless mode (of its own), indubitable and propless.
V-104. ‘At the very outset, purify the disciple through excellence such as mind’s tranquillity, restraint of sense-organs, etc. Next impart to him the teaching that all this (world) is Brahman, viz., the purified Thou.
V-105. ‘One who teaches an ignoramus or half-awakened (disciple) that ‘all this is Brahman’ will (in effect) plunge him in an endless series of hells.
V-106. ‘But a disciple whose intellect has been well-awakened, whose craving for objective enjoyments has been extinguished, and who is free from all ‘expectations’ is rid of all impurities born of nescience; the wise teacher may instruct him.
V-107. ‘Like its effulgence where there is light, like the day where there is the sun, like the fragrance where there is a flower, so is there a world where there is the Spirit.
V-108. ‘When the view-point of Knowledge is purged, when (the dawn of) awakening spreads vastly, this very world will cease to appear as real.
V-109. ‘Established in yourself, you will realize aright the strength and weakness of the flood of my words (of instruction) – (you will realize it) by the highest mode of nescience that spurs the effort to wipe out the sphere of the petty Self.
V-100. ‘By it (the highest mode of nescience) is won the knowledge that consumes all errors, O Brahmin ! One missile puts another out of action; one flaw destroys its opposite.
V-111. ‘One poison may be neutralised by another; an enemy may destroy another. Such is the wonderful riddle of elements that pleases through self-destruction !
V-112. ‘The real nature of this riddle is not perceived. As it is observed, it perishes – observed with the flaming imagination whose content is: ‘in Truth it exists not at all’.
V-113. ‘He who cherishes with the (creative) and liberating imagination (the thought that) all this is spirit, that the perception of difference is nescience, should renounce this (nescience) in all possible ways.
V-114. ‘sage ! That ultimate Status which is said to be imperishable is (in truth) not won. Twice-born sage ! Speculate not as to whence this (nescience) has arisen.
V-115. ‘Speculate rather on: ‘how shall I destroy it ? Once it is dissipated and dispelled you will (renunciation-)cognise that status.
V-116. ‘That integral status (includes the knowledge) ‘Whence this Maya has come and how it has perished. Therefore try to treat (with remedies) this abode of diseases (i.e. Maya).
V-117-118(a). ‘So that she may not subject you again to the sufferings of birth (etc.,). ‘The sea of the Spirit shines forth in one’s Self with its splendid inner vibrations. With certitude meditate inwardly that is homogeneous and infinite.
V-118(b). ‘The power of the Spirit in the sea of the Spirit is a slightly agitated state of the latter.
V-119. Like a wave in the sea, that pure Power shines forth there, just as the wind automatically blows in the sky.
V-120. ‘In the same way, the Self in itself, by its own power, becomes mobile. That omnipotent Deity flashes forth for a moment.
V-121. ‘Whose potencies of space, time and action are not enhanced (by any means); who is pre-eminently established in her infinitude, being fully conscious of her own essential nature.
V-122. Un-comprehended, She brings into being a finite form. When that supremely enchanting Deity brings forth that (finite) form.
V-123-124(a). Other ideas (views), names, number, etc.; follow her. The individual self (‘Knower of the field’) is the designation of this form of the Spirit, O Brahmin; it is the basis of space, time and activity, and its forms are rooted in manifold (mental) constructions.
V-124(b). ‘He (‘the Knower of the field’) generating latent impressions, again, assumes the form of egoism.
V-125. ‘The tainted egoism, as determiner, is called intellect, which, imagining forms, becomes the base for cogitation (or mind).
V-126. ‘With its profuse imaginings the mind slowly is (transmuted into) sense-organs. The wise deem the body with its hands and feet (nothing but) the senses.
V-127. ‘Thus, indeed, in stages descends the Jiva, bound by the cords of imaginings and impressions, and encompassed by a multitude of sufferings.
V-128. ‘The potent Spirit, thus degenerating into dense egoism, passes voluntarily into bondage as a silk-worm in its cocoon.
V-129. ‘And, like a lion in chains, becomes totally dependent finding itself within a net of its own imaginings and nothing more.
V-130. ‘Sometimes (it operates as) mind, sometimes as intellect; sometimes as cognition; sometimes as (pure) action. Sometimes it is egoism and sometimes it is held to be what is thought.
V-131. ‘Sometimes it is called Prakriti and sometimes it is held to be Maya. Sometimes it is designated a ‘flaw’ and sometimes referred to as ‘action’.
V-132. ‘Sometimes it is proclaimed as bondage and sometimes accounted the ‘eight-fold case’. Sometimes it is said to be avidya and sometimes it is identified with ‘desire’.
V-133. ‘Bearing within itself, as its seeds the fig-tree, this entire empirical sphere that fashions the cords of cravings, the Jiva is verily a tree sans fruits.
V-134-135(a). O Brahmin ! Like an elephant stuck in the morass, is the mind consumed in the flames of worries, crushed by the python of rage, attached to the waves of the sea of lust, and oblivious of its own grand progenitor (the Spirit): -- rescue it.
V-135(b)-136. ‘Thus are the Jivas (living beings) phases of the Spirit and established through bringing the empirical sphere into being. Their forms, in lakhs and Crores, have been assigned by Brahma.
Numberless (Jivas) were born in the past and even now are being brought forth on all sides.
V-137. ‘Others also will be born like multitudes of water-drops from a water-fall. Some of them are in their first birth; others have (already) had more than a hundred births.
V-138. ‘Yet others have (already) had countless births. Some will have two or more births, besides. Some are born as sub-human and super-human beings, gifted with music and Knowledge; some as mighty reptiles.
V-139. ‘Some of (these living beings) are (to be identified with) the sun, the moon and the lord of waters; others with Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. Some divided themselves as Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Sudras.
V-140. ‘Others with grass, herbs, trees, with their fruits, roots and winged insects. Jivas are (also to be identified with) trees like the Kadamba, the Jambira, the Sama, Tala and Tamala.
V-141. ‘And with mounts like Mahendra, Malaya, Sahya, Mandara and Meru; and with the seas of salt water, milk, ghee and sugarcane-juice.
V-142. ‘And with the vast quarters, and fast-running rivers; some of these sport high above (the earth); some descend and again fly upwards.
V-143-144(a). ‘Hit ceaselessly by death, as though they are balls hit by the hands, these Jivas are ceaselessly struck down by death as balls are by the hand. Having undergone thousands of births, again, some unwise ones despite (a degree of) discrimination, fall into the turmoils of worldly life.
V-144(b)-145. ‘The principle of the Self, undetermined by space, time, etc.; by virtue of Its power, just sportively assumes a body spatial and temporal. Possessed of innate tendencies (to manifest) various orders of living beings, Itself is the supreme (Lord and Creator) that becomes the mind, that is unstable and inclined to construction and dissolution.
V-146-148(a). ‘In the beginning in a moment, the Constructive Power of the Mind fashions the transparent (image of) space inclined to own, as its essence, the seed of sound. Then, becoming dense, by the process of gross vibrations, that mind brings forth the vibrations of air inclined to own the seed of touch.
V-148(b)-149(a). ‘Of these two space and air, the bases of sound and touch, by intense repetitive frictions, is generated the fire.
V-149(b)-150. ‘Then the mind enriched by these three including rudimentary form proceeds to the notion of pure liquidity and, instantaneously, becomes aware of the coolness of water followed by the perception of water.
V-151. ‘The mind thus enriched by such attributes meditates all at once on rudimentary smell; thence arises the perception of the earth-element.
V-152. ‘Next this body encompassed by the rudimentary elements discards its subtleness beholding in the sky a flash like a spark of fire.
V-153. ‘Conjoined to the element of egoism and the seed of the intellect, this bee in the lotus of the elemental heart is (now) styled the Puryashtaka.
V-154. ‘Due to intensity of yearning in it, by meditating on a resplendent embodiment, the mind grows grosser as a Bilva-fruit does through the process of ripening.
V-155. ‘That effulgence in the sky, shining like liquid gold in a crucible, assumes a form with definite contours by virtue of its inherent nature.
V-156. ‘Upwards is the round head; downwards the feet. Of the two sides are the hands and in the middle what functions as the belly.
V-157(a). ‘In course of time the body (indwelt by the mind) gets fully developed and becomes flawless. V-157(b)-158(a). ‘That same divine Brahma, the grandfather of the entire world, gets established in intelligence, purity, strength, energy, forms of knowledge and lordship.
V-158(b)-160(a). ‘Beholding his own attractive and pre-eminent body, the blessed Lord, the range of whose perception embraces all the three divisions of time, wondered what first would make its appearance in this supreme space whose essence is pure Spirit and whose limits are nowhere.
V-160(b). ‘Thus wondered Brahma whose vision was as flawless as that of Shiva.
V-161. ‘In large groups he behold bygone orders of (cosmic) manifestation. Next he recollected them all in the due order of all their attributes.
V-162. ‘(Then) sportively he fashioned, by (sheer) imagination, variegated living beings with their unique patterns of behaviour – the whole constituting, as it were, a city in the sky.
V-163. ‘For securing their happy state as well as liberation, for attaining righteousness, love and wealth, he set up Shastras endless and varied.
V-164. ‘As the existence of the world has been set up by mind in the form of Brahma, it lasts only as long as Brahma; with his destruction, the world too perishes.
V-165. ‘O best of Brahmins, in reality nothing anywhere, at any time, is born or is destroyed. All that is seen is unreal (neither is nor is not).
V-166. ‘Give up the idle show of empirical life, a very pit of the serpents of cravings. Knowing this to be unreal, reduce them all to the status of their ground.
V-167. Vis-à-vis ‘the city in the sky’, whether adorned or not, or the parts of its constitutive case (the nescience), progeny etc., what rationale is there for pleasures and pains ?
V-168. ‘Sorrow – and not a sense of gratification – is in order as regards wealth and spouse in their nourishing state. Who can have a sense of reassurance here as the nescience of delusion gets more and more entrenched ?
V-169. ‘Those very (empirical) experiences which, in their abundance, cause a fool to get attached (to this world) are the source, in the case of a wise man, of his dispassion.
V-170. ‘Therefore, Nidagha, with your awareness of Truth, cultivate indifference to whatever has perished among the activities of empirical life and accept whatever offers itself.
V-171. ‘The marks of a man of discrimination are spontaneous indifference to experiences that do not come of their own accord and hearty acceptance of those that do.
V-172. ‘Knowing and resorting to the untarnished middle status between the real and the unreal, neither cling to nor fly from the objective realm, external or internal.
V-173. ‘The intelligence of a wise and active man, free from attachment and aversion, remains untarnished like a lotus leaf unmoistened by water.
V-174. ‘O twice-born (sage), if the glamour of objects charms not your heart, then, having grasped what ought to be known (achieved true wisdom), you have crossed the sea of empirical life.
V-175. ‘In order to win the pre-eminent Status separate, by means of supreme wisdom, the functioning mind from (all) latent impressions as one does a strong scent from the flower.
V-176. ‘The superior men of discrimination who board the Ship of Wisdom cross this sea of empirical life full of the waters of latent impressions.
V-177. ‘Those men who know this world as well as what is beyond conform to all things. They neither shun nor seek the ways of the world.
V-178. ‘The sprouting of mental construction consists in Spirits’ proneness to objects (‘knowables’) – the Spirit that is infinite, that is the Truth of the Self, and that is Universal Being.
V-179. ‘That very sprouting having lightly come into being gradually fills out, developing into the mind; then it promotes inertness like a cloud.
V-180. ‘Imagining objects as other than the Self, as it were, the Spirit is transformed into a constructive process, as it were; just as a seed is into a sprout.
V-181. (Mental) construction is indeed the process of putting together (of constituents); it comes automatically into being and waxes fast unto pain, never unto delight.
V-182. ‘Indulge not in mental construction; in a state of stability, dwell not on positive existence. Persevere in stopping mental construction. Thus one never again pursues the trail of construction. V-183. ‘By the mere absence of imagination, (the process of) mental construction dwindles automatically. (One act of) construction leads to another. Mind battens on itself, O sage !
V-184. ‘Getting (off construction) abide in the Self. Once this is done, what can prove difficult ? Just as this sky is empty, so is the entire cosmos.
V-185. ‘Wise Brahmin ! Just as a paddy husk or the black coating on copper, through effort, is destroyed so also may the mental impurities of man.
V-186. ‘As a grain of paddy, the innate impurity of a Jiva, too, can be destroyed in ample measure. There is no doubt in that. Therefore, strive’.
VI-1. ‘Giving up the deeply felt and seductive glamour, consisting in imagination, of empirical life, you remain what you (really) are; O sinless one ! Sportively roam the world.
VI-2. ‘By means of the trenchant and creative thought, "I am a non-agent in all contexts", there remains but the (perception of) sameness, called, "supreme immortality".
VI-3. ‘In regard to all elaborations of pain due solely to one’s sense of agency, (finally) there remains but sameness when one’s mental constructions dwindle away.
VI-4. ‘This sameness, amidst all emotional moods, is the status grounded in Truth. Anchored in it the mind is no more reborn.
VI-5. ‘O, sage ! Renouncing all forms of agency and non-agency and abolishing the mind, you remain what you (really) are; be steadfast.
VI-6-7. ‘Stead-fast in the final stability, give up the very tendency to renunciation. Giving up everything together with its cause – the dichotomy between Spirit and mind, light and darkness, etc.; the latent impressions and what generates them – as well as the vibrations of vital breath, (be you) sky-like with a stilled intellect.
VI-8. ‘Having totally wiped out from the heart the massed rows of latent impression, one who remains free from all anxiety is the liberated, is the supreme Deity.
VI-9. ‘I have seen all that is worth seeing; through delusion have I wandered in all the ten directions of space. For the ignorant who roams, through reasoning, (the regions of) empirical existence, the latter shrinks into the dimensions of a cow’s hoof.
VI-10. ‘In the body with its ins and outs, up and down, in the regions between, here and there, there is the Self; there is no world that is not the Self through and through.
VI-11. ‘There is nothing in which I am not; there is nothing which is not That, through and through. What more do I want ? All things are essentially Being and Spirit, pervaded by That.
VI-12. ‘All this is indeed Brahman; all this extended reality is the Self. I am one and this is another –
give up this delusion, O sinless one !
VI-13. ‘The superimposed (objects) cannot possibly be in the eternal, extended and undivided Brahman. There is neither sorrow, delusion, old age nor birth.
VI-14. ‘What (in reality) is here only That exists. Always be calm, experiencing things as they occur and entertaining no desire whatsoever.
VI-15(a). Neither shunning nor grasping, be always calm.
VI-15(b)-16. ‘Magnanimous one ! Flawless cognitions swiftly fly to him who finds himself in his last birth, just as pure pearls lodge themselves in the best bamboo. This example has been offered to suit best those who develop dispassion.
VI-17. ‘The certitude of the joy of cognition (results from) intimate contact of the perceiver and the object. We duly meditate on that stable Self, manifest in the truth of one’s self (the source of the joy of cognition).
VI-18. ‘Giving up the seer’s perception and the object together with latent impressions, we duly meditate on the Self that manifests Itself first as perception.
VI-19. ‘We duly meditate on the eternal Self, the illumination of all lights, that occupies the middle ground between the "is" and the "is not".
VI-20. ‘Discarding the Lord who reigns in the heart, those who run after (some other) God are in fact seeking a gem after casting away the Kaustubha already in their possession.
VI-21. ‘As Indra smites mountain peaks with his thunder-bolt, so should one strike, with the rod of discrimination, these adversaries in the form of sense-organs, both active and passive.
VI-22. ‘In the evil dream (seen) in the night of empirical life – in this empty illusion of the body – everything experienced (as the extended) delusion of empirical) life is impure.
VI-23. ‘In childhood one is stupefied by ignorance; in youth one in vanquished by woman. In the period that remains one is worried by one’s wife. What can one – the meanest of men – accomplish ? VI-24. ‘(But wail as follows): Unreality rides on the top of existence; ugliness on the top of things lovely; pains ride on the top of pleasures. What single entity may I resort to ?
VI-25. ‘Even those men pass away on the closing and opening of whose eyes depends world’s disaster or prosperity. Of what account are folk like my (humble) self ?
VI-26. ‘Empirical life is said to be the very limit of sufferings. When (one’s) body has slipped into its depths, how can pleasure be won ?
VI-27. ‘I am awake ! I am awake ! ! Here is the wicked thief (who has been pestering me, viz.,) the mind. I shall destroy him; I have long been under his assault.
VI-28. ‘Don’t be depressed. Seek not to seize what is fit only to be eschewed. Giving up (ideas of both) rejection and seizure, remain rooted in what is neither to be rejected nor seized; be wholly firm.
VI-29-30. ‘The Knower rid of things to be rejected or seized has, without latent impressions, qualities (such as): freedom from desire and fear, conation and action; eternity, equality, wisdom, gentleness, certitude, steadfastness, amiability, contentment, charity and soft-spokenness.
VI-31-32. ‘With the sharp needle of (penetrating) intelligence, tear up the nest cast by the fisher-woman of Craving in the waters of transmigratory life – a net made of the cords of (variegated) thoughts, even as a strong wind scatters (the vast) net of clouds. Then abide in the vast status (as immutable Brahman).
VI-33. ‘Cleaving the mind with the mind itself as one does a tree with an axe, and attaining the holy status, at once, be steadfast.
VI-34. ‘Standing or moving, sleeping or walking, dwelling in a place, flying aloft or falling down, inwardly sure that (all) this is but unreal, eschew (all) clinging.
VI-35. ‘If you depend on this objective (world), you have a mind and are in bondage. If you reject the objective (world), you have no mind; you are liberated.
VI-36. ‘"Neither am I nor is this real" – so thinking remain absolutely immovable, in the intervals of subjective and objective awareness.
VI-37. Rid of what enjoys and what is enjoyed, set in the middle ground between the object and its enjoyer, be ever given to the contemplation of your Self as (pure) awareness.
VI-38. ‘Dwelling on "the taste", be filled with the supreme Self; resorting to the propless, steady yourself off and on.
VI-39. ‘Those who are bound by ropes are released: (but) none in the grip of craving may be released by anyone. Therefore, Nidagha, shed craving by renouncing all mental constructions.
VI-40. ‘Cutting through this innate and sinful craving whose essence is egoism with the needle of self-abnegation, be stationed in the border land of the future and the present, entirely quelling all fear whatsoever.
VI-41-43. ‘Rejecting the inveterate idea. "I am (the very) life of these objects and these objects are my (very) life !" "without these I am nothing and they are nothing without me" and reflecting, "I do not belong to (any) object and no object belongs to me", the intellect becomes tranquillised and the actions are performed in a sporting spirit. Latent impression (of such an agent) stand renounced. This renunciation, O Brahmin, is extolled as worthy of profound meditation !
VI-44. ‘Due to the equilibrium of the intellect, total obliteration of latent impressions is acquired. That (indeed) should be deemed the obliteration of latent impressions, having won which one gives up (even) the body as one is free from all sense of possessions.
VI-45. ‘He is called the Jivanmukta (Liberated-in-life) who lives after giving up all conceivable objects; for he has recreatively given up all latent egoistic impressions.
VI-46. ‘Having given up all baseless (mental) constructions and the latent impressions, he who has won tranquillity is the best among the Knowers of Brahman; he is the liberated. His renunciation may only be deduced.
VI-47-48. ‘These two fearless ones, unconcerned about pleasures and pains that occur in the due course of time, have achieved the status as Brahman – the (passive) renouncer and (the active) Yogin, both of whom are self-disciplined and tranquillised. O Lord of sages ! For they neither strive for nor reject anything amidst the inner, mental modifications.
VI-49-50(a). ‘He is called the Jivanmukta who lives as one in dreamless sleep, who is neither lifted up nor depressed by the emotions of joy, intolerance, fear, anger, lust and helplessness and who is free from all objective pre-occupations.
VI-50(b). ‘the craving born of latent impressions, oriented towards external objects, is said to be bound. VI-51-52(a). ‘The same freed from latent impressions bound up with objects, as such, is said to be liberated. Know that the desire culminating in the prayerful thought, "let this be mind", to be a strong chain that spawns suffering, birth and fear.
VI-52(b)-53(a). ‘The magnanimous man renounces (this enchaining desire) vis-à-vis objects both real and unreal and wins the status that is sublime.
VI-53(b)-54(a). ‘Then outgrowing the attachment both to bondage and liberation and the states of pain and pleasure – attachment both to the real and unreal – remains unshaken like the unagitated ocean.
VI-54(b). ‘Good Sir, man may have a four-fold certitude.
VI-55. ‘Engendered by (my) mother and father, I am (the body) from the foot to the head. This particular certitude, O Brahmin, results from the observation of the worries of bondage !
VI-56. ‘Good men have second kind of certitude that promotes liberation – viz.: "I am beyond all objects and beings; I am subtler than the tip of a hair".
VI-57. ‘Best of Brahmins, a third kind of certitude has been affirmed promotive of liberation alone (consisting in the thought) " All this objective world, the entire indestructible universe, is but myself". VI-58. ‘Also there is a fourth certitude, yielding liberation (that consists of the assertion) "I and the entire world are empty and sky-like at all times".
VI-59. ‘Of these the first is said (to result from) the craving that earns bondage. Those having the last three are sportive, extremely pure and are liberated in this (very) life. Their cravings have been (wholly) purified.
VI-60. ‘Great-souled (sage), the mind seized with the certitude "I am everything" is never born again to taste of sorrow !
VI-61. ‘that Brahman has been (identified with) emptiness, Prakriti, Maya and also consciousness. It has also been said to be "Shiva, pure Spirit, the Lord, the eternal and the self".
VI-62. ‘There flourishes but the non-dual Power that is the supreme Self through and through; it sportively builds up the universe with (factors) born of (both) duality and non-duality.
VI-63. ‘He who resorts to the status beyond all objects, who is through and through the Spirit that is perfect, who is neither agitated, nor complacent, never suffers in this empirical life.
VI-64. ‘Who performs the actions that fall to his lot, ever viewing foe and friend alike, who is liberated from both likes and dislikes is neither sad nor hopeful.
VI-65. ‘Who utters what pleases all; speaks pleasantly when asked; and who is conversant with the thoughts of all beings never suffers in this empirical life.
VI-66. ‘Resorting to the primeval vision (of Reality) marked by the renunciation of all objects and Self-established, fearlessly roam the world, as a (veritable) Jivanmukta.
VI-67. ‘Inwardly shedding all cravings, free from attachment, rid of a(all) latent impressions, (but) externally conforming to established patterns of conduct, fearlessly roam the world.
VI-68. ‘Externally simulating enthusiastic activity, but, at heart, free from it all, apparently an agent (but) really a non-agent, roam the world with a purified understanding.
VI-69. ‘Renouncing egoism, with an apparent reason, shining like the sky, untarnished, roam the world with a purified understanding.
VI-70. ‘Elevated, clean of conduct, conforming to established norms of conduct, free from all inner clinging, leading, as it were, an empirical life.
VI-71. ‘Resorting to the inner Spirit of renunciation, apparently he acts to achieve (some) aim (or other). Only small men discriminate saying: One is a relative; the other is a stranger.
VI-72-73(a). ‘For those who live magnanimously the entire world constitutes but a family. Resort to the status free from all considerations of empirical life, beyond old age and death, who are all mental constructions are extinguished and where no attachments finds lodgement.
VI-73(b). ‘This is the status of Brahman, absolutely pure, beyond all cravings and sufferings. VI-74(a). ‘Equipped thus and roaming (the earth), one is not vanquished by crisis.
VI-74(b)-75. ‘By the prop of detachment and excellences like magnanimity, lift up your mind yourself perseveringly in order to enjoy the fruit of Brahmic freedom.
Through detachment, it achieves perfection along the path of negation (of the object).
VI-76-77(a). ‘(The mind, then) is emptied of all cravings as the pure lake is (of water) in the season of autumn.
Why is not an intelligent man ashamed of clinging to the same dry routine of insipid actions, day after day ?
VI-77(b). ‘Bondage is fashioned by consciousness (as subject) and its objects; once free from these, liberation follows.
VI-78. ‘"Consciousness (Spirit) is never an object; all is Self" – this is the essence of all Vedantic doctrines. Resorting to this sure doctrine, behold (the world), intellectually and freely.
VI-79. ‘You will independently achieve the Self, the status of bliss (holding): I am Spirit, these worlds are Spirit, the directions (in Space) are Spirit; these manifested beings are Spirit.
VI-80-81. ‘"I am the glory (mahas), devoid of objects and perceptions, wholly pure of form, eternally manifest, rid of all appearances, seer, witness, spirit, free from all objects, the full-orbed light in essence, for which no knowables exist, Knowledge pure and simple".
VI-82. "King of sages ! With all mental constructions wiped out, all yearnings abolished, resort to the status of certitude and be self-established in the Self.
VI-83. The Brahmin seeker after Truth who dwells upon the Mahopanishad becomes a well versed Vedic scholar. (If) uninitiated, he becomes initiated; he becomes purified by fire, by air, by the sun, by the moon, by Truth, by all agents of purification. He becomes known to all gods; is cleaned (as if he has dipped) in all sacred waters. He dwells in the thoughts of all gods. He has (as it were) performed all sacrifices. To him accrue the fruits of having repeated the Gayatri sixty thousand times; of having repeated Itihasa and Puranas and Srirudra a Lac of times; of having repeated Omkara ten thousand times. He hollows the rows (of living beings) as far as the eye reaches; and seven generations both in the past and in the future. So declares Hiranyagarbha. ‘Through repetition of sacred utterances one wins immortality’ – this is the Mahopanishad.
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Mahopanishad, included in the Sama-Veda.
Sariraka Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Then, the body is a combination of the five elements like earth. What is hard is earth, what is liquid is water, what is hot is fire, what moves is air, what is porous is space.
The organs of sense are ear etc.: the ear is in the sky (space), the sense of touch (skin) is in the air, the eye in the fire, tongue in water, smell in earth. Thus for the senses sound etc., are the objects.
The organs of action are: tongue, hands, feet, arms and genitals. Their objects are: speech, catching, walking, voiding and joy. These have arisen from earth etc., respectively.
Mind, Intellect, Egoism and Self-conscious mind are the four inner senses. Their scopes are volition and doubt, determination, affection, decision. The mind is at the tip of the neck, intellect at the face, egoism at the heart, self-conscious mind at the navel.
Bone, skin, nerves, hair, flesh are parts of earth; urine, phlegm, blood, semen are of water; hunger, thirst, laziness, delusion and sex of fire; circulation, bursting, movement of the eye etc., of air; lust, anger, greed, delusion and fear are of ether.
Earth’s attributes are Sound, Touch, Form, Taste and Smell; of water: sound, touch, form and taste; of fire are: sound, touch and form; of air: sound and touch; of ether: sound only.
Non-violence, truth, non-theft, continence and non-possession, absence of anger, service to elders, cleanliness, contentment and honesty, non-conceit, candour, faith and non-injury – are the qualities (effects) of Sattva.
I am the doer, enjoyer, speaker, am conceited – these are of Rajas. Sleep, laziness, delusion, attachment, sex and theft – these are of Tamas. The person of Sattva is above, of Rajas is in the middle and of Tamas, low. Right knowledge is Sattvika; of rituals, Rajasa; blindness, Tamasa.
First the waking state rests on the five organs of sense, the five of action and the four inner senses (being active). Dream depends on the four inner senses only; dreamless sleep has only mind as active instrument; the fourth state has only the soul (active).
The knower is the empirical self, other than the supreme, stationed between awareness (of object) and indifference (to them).
The five organs of sense and action with the five vital airs, the mind and intellect, go to make the Lingasarira. Mind, intellect, self-conscious principle, earth etc., are the eight Prakritis. There are sixteen others; the transformations of ear, skin, eyes, tongue, and nose; arms, genitals, hands, feet, vocal organ; sound, touch, form, taste and smell. The twenty-three are the Tattvas (eternal verities) relating to Prakriti.
The twenty-fourth is the Avyakta, the chief (Tattva). That which completes the group as the twenty-fifth is the Purusha (Self).
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Sariraka Upanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Yoga Sikha Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
First Chapter
“All the living beings are surrounded by the net of illusion, Oh God, Parameshwara, Oh God of Gods, How will they attain salvation? Be kind enough to tell.” Asked Lord Brahma to Lord Parameshwara and he replied as follows: 1.1
Some people say that the only way out is Jnana (knowledge). To attain occult powers, that alone will not suffice. How can Jnana without Yoga lead to salvation? It is also true that Yoga alone without Jnana will not lead to salvation. So the one who aims at salvation, should learn Jnana and Yoga together. 1.2
Like a rope ties a bird, the minds of all living beings are tied. Enquiries and researches do not affect the tie of this mind. So the only way to win over this mind is through victory over Prana. There is no other option to get victory over Prana except Yoga and there are no methods except those shown by Siddhas. 1.3
So I am teaching you this Yoga Shika (head of all yogas). It is greater than all Jnanas. After sitting in either Padmasana (lotus position) or any other Asana, and after concentrating the sight to the tip of the nose and after controlling both the hands and legs, meditate on the letter ‘Om’ with a concentrated mind. If one continuously meditates on Parameshwara, he would become an expert in yoga and the
Parameshwara would appear before him. 1.4
If we sit in an asana and continuously practice, the bindu will cease from going down. Without Pooraka and Rechaka, the Prana would stand in Kumbhaka for a very long time. You would hear different types of sound. The nectar will start flowing from the place of the moon. Hunger and thirst will cease. Mind would get concentrated on the ever flowing bliss. The four steps for this are Mantra Yoga, Laya Yoga, Hatha Yoga and Raja Yoga. The great Maha Yoga, which is one, has been divided in to four and named as above. The prana goes out with sound “ham” and goes in with the word “sa”, and all beings naturally chant the mantra “Hamsa, Hamsa” (while exhaling and inhaling). This is chanted in the Sushumna after being taught by the Guru in an inverted manner (Hamsa inverted is soham). This chanting of the mantra “Soham, Soham (I am it)" is called Mantra Yoga. Sun is the letter “Ha” and moon is the letter “Tha”. The joining of sun and the moon is the Hatha Yoga. Due to Hatha Yoga, the idiocy which is the cause of all doshas (draw backs) is swallowed. When the merging of Jeevatma and Paramatma takes place, mind melts and vanishes. And only air of Prana remains. This is called Laya Yoga. Because of Laya Yoga that heavenly Swathmananda Sowkhya (the well being of the joy of ones own soul) is attained. In the great temple of the middle of yoni (the female organ) the principle of the Devi, which is red like Hibiscus flower lives as Rajas in all beings. The merger of this rajas with the male principle is called Raja Yoga. As a result of Raja Yoga, the Yogi gets all the occult powers like Anima. You have to understand that all these four types of Yogas are nothing but the merger of Prana, Apana and Samana. 1.5
For all those who have a body, their body is the temple of Shiva. It can give them occult powers. The triangular part in between the anus and penis is called the mooladhara. This is the place where Shiva lives as a life giving force. There the Parashakthi called Kundalani lives. From there wind is produced. The fire is also produced from there. From there only the sound ‘Hamsa’ and the mind are also produced. This place which would give whatever is asked for is called Kamakhya peetam (the seat of passion). In the edge of the anus is the Swadishtana Chakra with six petals. Near the belly is the Mani Poora Chakra with its ten petals. In the place near the heart the Anahatha Chakra with its 12 petals exists. And, Hey Lord Brahma, this is called the Poorna Giri Peeta. In the depression in the throat, Vishudhi Chakra with its 16 petals exists. Hey lord of Lords, that is the Jalandara Chakra. In between the eyelids is the Agna Chakra with its two petals. Over that is the Maha Peeta called Udayana. 1.6
Second Chapter
This world functions because of the unclear foundation power which is described as Maha Maya, Maha Lakshmi, Maha Devi and Maha Saraswathi. That power shines in a micro form as a Bindu (dot) on the Peeta (seat). That Bindu breaks the Peeta and emerges from there in the form of Nadha (sound). That Nadha Brahma assumes three shapes viz., Macro, Micro and external. The macro form is the big shape which is pervaded by the five Brahmans. The micro form which arises from the Nadha with its three Bheejas (roots) is the form of Hiranya Garbha. Para is the ever true property of Satchitananda. By continuously chanting the Atma mantra, the glitter will occur in Para Thathwa (the philosophy of the external). For the Yogi who has stopped his mind, this appears in the micro form similar to the flame of the lamp, moon’s crescent, like a fire fly, like a streak of lightning and like the glitter of stars. There are no greater mantras than Nadha (sound), no Gods greater than Atma, no greater worship than the meditation and no pleasure greater than satisfaction. My devotee who understands this would remain stable in his happiness. To that great man who has great devotion to God as well as similar great devotion to his teacher, all this would be understood automatically.
Third Chapter
That great ever living Nadha (sound) is called Sabhda Brahman. It is the strength residing in the Mooladhara. Para is the foundation for its own self and is of the form of Bindhu. That Nadha coming out of Parashakthi (similar to the germ coming out of the seed) is called Pasyanthi (we see). The Yogis who are able to see using the Pasyanthi Shakthi, understand that it is the whole world. That power produces sound like a rain starting from the heart. Hey Lord of Lords, there it is called Madhyama. It is called Vaikari when it merges in the sound form with Prana and exists in the throat and jaw. It produces all the alphabets from Aa to Ksha. From alphabet words arise and from words rise the sentences and from them all the Vedas and Mantras. This Goddess Saraswathi lives in the cave of intelligence in all beings. In meditation when will power melts, you can reach this Para Thathwa.
Fourth Chapter
Because the divine power is single, there are no differences there. You have to understand that the thought process of living beings is like seeing a snake in a rope. When you do not know, it is a rope and then for a small time the rope appears as a snake. The ordinary intelligence is similar to this. We see everything as the world that we see. There is no reason or basis for this world to be different from this Brahman. So the World is only Brahman and not anything different. If you understand the Para Thathwa like this, where is the cause for differentiation. 4.1
In Taittiriya Upanishad fear has been told as belonging to that foolish person who finds difference between Jeevatma(soul) and Paramatma (God). Though this world has been told as some thing to be experienced, in the next moment it vanishes like a dream. There is no state of waking up in a dream. There is no dream in the state of waking up. Both of them are not there in Laya. Laya is not in both of them. All these three are illusions created by the three characters. The one who sees this would be above characteristics and would be forever. 4.2
The Chaithanya (activity) starts in the form of the world. All these are Brahman. It is useless to differentiate it as Atma and Anatma when dealing with wise people. The foolish man thinks that body is attached to the soul. The belief that pot is mixed with the mud and the water is mixed with mirage and similarly the belief that body is mixed up with the soul is because of taking recourse to ignorance. 4.3
Fifth Chapter
That Yogi who has mastered yoga and who has complete control over his senses would attain whatever he imagines. The Teacher (guru) is the Brahma, He is Vishnu and He is the Lord of Lords Sadashiva and there is nobody greater than the teacher in all the three worlds. We should worship with devotion that Parameshwara, who is the great Soul who has taught us the divine knowledge. The one who worships like that would get the result of Jnana fully. Do not keep your aim because of the wavering mind on occult powers. The one who knows this principle well, is the one who has attained salvation. There is no doubt about it.
Sixth Chapter
That great light in which the Bhoo Loka, Bhuvar Loka and Suvar Loka [Worlds] and the Sun, Moon and Fire Gods, are but a small part in the letter “Om”. When mind wavers, the worldly life and when it is firm, the salvation will result. So Lord Brahma, using great intelligence we have to keep the mind not to waver. For desire to posses wealth, the mind is the reason. When that is destroyed, the world would be destroyed. One should with lot of effort start the treatment for that. When a man looks after his mind using his mind and realizes that it has stopped running, he would see the Parabrahman, which is very difficult to see. The Yogi is able to get salvation by seeing his mind with his mind. We have to see the mind with the mind and hanker for that mad state. We have to see the mind with the mind and be stable in Yoga. 6.1
In any place where the wind moves, the mind also wavers. Mind is called moon, sun, wind, sight and fire. The Bindu(dot), Nadha (sound) and the Kala (crescent) are the Gods Vishnu, Brahma and Ishwara. By constant practice of Nadha, the bad influences will vanish. That which is Nadha becomes the Bindu and then becomes the mind. One has to clearly aim at the unification of Nadha, Bindu and Chintha.
Mind itself is the Bindu and that is the reason for the state of creation of the world. Similar to milk being produced by the cow, Bindu is produced by the mind. 6.2
The one who realizes well the six wheels (Agna chakras) enters the world of pleasure. One has to enter it by controlling the airs in the body. One has to send the air (Vayu) upwards. One has to practice Vayu, Bindu Chakra and Chintha. Once the Yogi realizes Samadhi by one of them, he feels that everything is nectar like. Similar to the fact that the fire inside the wood cannot be brought out without churning it by another wood, without practice, the lamp of wisdom can not be lit. Adopting his teacher as the one who pilots the ship and by adopting his teachings as the stable ship, with the power of constant practice, one crosses the sea of this birth. Thus tells this Upanishad.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Yoga-Sikhopanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Turiyatita Avadhuta Upanishad
Translated by Prof. A. A. Ramanathan
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1. Now the grandfather of all people (the god Brahma) respectfully approaching his father, Adinarayana (Lord Vishnu) said, ‘What is the path of the Avadhutas after the Turiyatita stage, and what is their standing ?’ To him replied the Lord Narayana: Wise sages consider that one who remains in the path of the Avadhuta is very rare in the world and (such sages) are not many; if one becomes (an Avadhuta) he is ever pure, he is indeed the embodiment of dispassion; he is indeed the visible form of wisdom and he is indeed the personification of the Veda (Vedapurusha). He is a (truly) great man, as his mind abides in me alone. Indeed I too abide in him. In due order, having been first a hut-dwelling ascetic (Kutichaka), he reaches the stage of a mendicant monk (Bahudaka); the mendicant monk attains to the stage of a Hamsa ascetic; the Hamsa ascetic (then) becomes the highest kind of ascetic (Paramahamsa). (In this stage) by introspection he realizes the entire world (as non-different from his Self); renouncing all personal possessions in (a reservoir of) waters, (such things as) his emblematic staff, water pot, waist band, loincloth that covers (his privities) and all ritualistic duties enjoined on him (in a previous stage); becoming unclad (lit. clothed by the points of the compass); abandoning even the acceptance of a discoloured, worn out bark garment or (deer) skin; behaving thereafter (after the stage of the Paramahamsa) as one subject to no mantras (i.e. performing no rituals) and gives up shaving, oil bath, the perpendicular mark of sandal paste on the forehead, etc.
2. He is one terminating all religious and secular duties; free of religious merit or otherwise in all situations; giving up both knowledge and ignorance; conquering (the influence of) cold and heat, happiness and misery, honour and dishonour; having burnt up in advance, with the latent influence (vasana) of the body, etc., censure, praise, pride, rivalry, ostentation, haughtiness, desire, hatred, love, anger, covetousness, delusion, (gloating) joy, intolerance, envy, clinging to life, etc.; viewing his body as a corpse, as it were; becoming equanimous effortlessly and unrestrainedly in gain or loss; sustaining his life (with food placed in the mouth) like a cow; (satisfied) with (food) as it comes without ardently longing for it; reducing to ashes the host of learning and scholarship; guarding his conduct (without vaunting his noble way of life); disowning the superiority or inferiority (of any one); (firmly) established in non-duality (of the Self) which is the highest (principle) of all and which comprises all within itself; cherishing the conviction, ‘There is nought else distinct from me’; absorbing in the Self the fuel (of concept) other than the secret known only by the gods; untouched by sorrow; unresponsive to (worldly) happiness; free of desire for affection; unattached everywhere to the auspicious or the inauspicious; with (the functioning of) all senses at standstill; unmindful of the superiority of his conduct, learning and moral merit (dharma) acquired in the previous stages of his life; giving up the conduct befitting caste and stage of life (Vanaprastha); dreamless, as night and day are the same to him; ever on the move everywhere; remaining with the body alone left to him; his water-pot being the watering-place (only); ever sensible (but) wandering alone as though he were a child, madman or ghost; always observing silence and deeply meditating on his Self, he has for his support the propless (Brahman); forgetting everything (else) in consonance with the absorption in his Self; this Turiyatita sage reaching the state of the Avadhuta ascetic and completely absorbed in non-duality (of the Atman) (finally) gives up his body as he has become one with Om (the Pranava): such an ascetic is an Avadhuta; he has accomplished his life’s purpose. Thus (ends) the Upanishad.
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Turiyatitavadhutopanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Sannyasa Upanishad
Translated by Prof. A. A. Ramanathan
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
FIRST ADHYAYA
1. Now we shall expound the Upanishad on renunciation. He who in due order (of the stages of life) gives up (the primary inclinations such as the desire for wealth, etc.,) becomes one who has renounced (worldly life). What is this called renunciation ? How does one renounce ? One who guards himself by the (following) activities, who has (for his renunciation) the approval of mother, father, wife, sons and kinsmen should assemble all the officiating priests known to him and as before (with their approval) perform the Vaishvanara sacrifice (for the welfare of all people). He shall (after partition) give away all his wealth to the officiating priests. For the priests are the singers (of the Vedic hymns, deserving the gift). The (five) vital airs, Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana and Samana, shall be (symbolically) placed in all the sacrificial vessels over the (five) sacred fires, the ahavaniya, garhapatya, anvaharyapachana, sabhya and avasathya. Shaving off his hair along with the tuft, snapping the sacred thread and seeing his son, he shall consecrate (himself) with the mantras ‘You are the god Brahma, you are the sacrifice, you are everything’. If he has no son he should consecrate himself thus and not minding (anything) proceed as a mendicant monk eastward or northward.
He may receive alms from (people of the) four castes. He should eat from the vessel of his hands. He shall consider food as medicine. He should take food as medicine (i.e. in great moderation). He should eat as and when he gets (food, without discontent and not asking for more, like Oliver Twist) for bare sustenance and in such a way that there is no increase of fat. Having grown lean he may shelter one night in a village, five nights in a town; he may reside during the four rainy months in a village or town. (Interpreting) fortnights as months, he may reside (in a fixed abode) for two months. If he is unable to endure (heat or cold) he may accept as gift a tattered garment or bark dress. He shall not accept any other. For penance is to suffer pain (with equanimity). What then is the sacred thread, the tuft and the ceremonial sipping of water to one who thus renounces in the prescribed manner and who thus views it (in the correct perspective) ? To him (the questioner) is this reply. This is his sacred thread (namely) that he meditates on the Atman; the (practice of) Brahma-vidya is the tuft; that he quenches his thirst with the vessel of his belly accomplishes (the ceremonial) duty with water that is present everywhere. His residence is at the bank of (a reservoir of) water. When the sun has set, how can he (ceremoniously) sip water ? As (he touches water) during day, so at night; (for) he has neither night nor day. (The enlightened ascetic is above the restrictions of time). This has been said by the Vedic sage (in a mantra): ‘To him there is (only) one (time), the day.’ He who knows thus realizes the Atman through this (renunciation).
SECOND ADHYAYA
1. That person alone is entitled to renunciation who has undergone the forty purificatory rites (samskaras), has detachment from all (worldly) things, has acquired purity of mind, has burnt out desires, envy, intolerance and egotism, and is equipped with the four disciplines of spiritual life (sadhanas).
2. Having resolved on renunciation he who does not embrace it shall perform the penance (Prajapatya) alone (as an atonement); thereafter he is entitled to renounce (the world).
3. One who (having resolved on renunciation, later) denounces it, one who supports a fallen ascetic (as if he were genuine), and one who throws obstacles (in the path of those desiring renunciation) – these three (classes of people) are to be known as fallen.
4. Now these (persons, though possessing dispassion, are not entitled to renunciation – a eunuch, a fallen man, a maimed person, women, a deaf person, a child, a dumb person, a heretic, an informer, a student (who has not completed his study), a Vaikhanasa anchorite (belonging to a Vaishnava sect), an ardent Saivite (Haradvija), a salaried teacher, a man without prepuce and one without ritual fire. Even if they renounce the world they are not entitled to instruction in the great scriptural texts (such as 'That Thou Art').
5. The son of one who has fallen from ascetic grace, one having disease of the nails, one who is brown toothed, a consumptive, as well as a deformed person – these are never entitled to renounce.
6. One should never allow renunciation to those who have just settled as house-holders, those who have committed great sins, those who have lost caste due to non-performance of the principal purificatory rites (vratyas) and the accursed.
7. (Again) one should never allow renunciation to one who is devoid of religious observances, religious acts (yajnas), penance, charity, offering, oblations in ritual fire and study of scripture; and those fallen from truth and purity. These do not deserve to renounce; (and no one) can dispense with the due order except one sorely afflicted.
8. The person (entitled to renounce) should discard his tuft reciting ‘Om Bhuh Svaha’. Saying the mantra ‘The sacred thread shall not remain externally. Grant me fame, strength, spiritual wisdom, dispassion and intelligence’, he shall snap the sacred thread and leave it in the waters along with his garment and waist-band muttering ‘Om Svaha’; then he should repeat thrice, ‘I have renounced’.
9. Seeing a Brahmana who has renounced the world the sun moves from his place (thinking), ‘This person will reach Brahman breaking through my disc’.
10. That wise man who says ‘I have renounced’ raises to glory sixty generations of his family before him and sixty generations after him.
11. All the defects born of bad sons and all defects born of bodily weakness, the Praisa fire (at the time of renouncing) shall burn out, just as the fire of chaff does to gold.
12. (Reciting the mantra) ‘Friend, guard me’, he (the renouncer) shall accept the (emblematic) staff.
13. The ascetic should bear a staff which shall be of bamboo, smooth, whole (with the bark), of even joints, grown in holy ground and cleaned of all defects;
14. It shall be unscarred (by forest fire), uninjured by worms, shining with its joints, (of length) reaching upto the nose, head or the eyebrows.
15. Close association is always enjoined between the staff and the person; a wise man shall not move without the staff a distance three times that of an arrow-throw.
16. Reciting the mantra ‘You are the receptacle of water which sustains the world; never say nay to me, you who are always agreeable to all’, he should receive the water vessel; and invested with the yogic garment (as aid to meditation) he shall go about in an agreeable frame of mind.
17. Give up (concepts of) righteousness and unrighteousness (dharma and adharma), give up both truth and untruth; having given up both truth and untruth discard that by which you abandon (all these) (i.e. duality).
18. Ascetic due to dispassion, ascetic due to spiritual wisdom, ascetic due to wisdom and dispassion and ascetic due to renunciation of action; these are the four kinds (of ascetics) obtained.
19. This is how it is. He is the ascetic due to dispassion who has become indifferent to sensory objects that are seen or heard of and who has renounced (the world) due to the influence of good actions done previously.
20. He alone is the ascetic due to Jnana, who, being dead to worldly life due to the (true) knowledge of the scripture and listening to the experiences of the people in sin and goodness and who, having discarded lingering attachment to the body, scripture and the world and considering as worthless like vomit all worldly actions, possesses the fourfold discipline in spiritual life and then renounces the world.
21. Having studied in the prescribed manner all (scripture) and experienced all (vicissitudes of) life he is the ascetic due to Jnana and dispassion who has his body alone left to him by meditation on the nature of the Self due to Jnana and dispassion and then renounces and becomes unclad (as he was when born).
22. Having completed the period of celibate studentship, becoming a house-holder and then embracing the stage of forest life (Vanaprastha), he, who renounces (the world) only in order to observe the order of the stages of life even though without dispassion, is the ascetic who renounces action.
23. Renunciation is of six kinds: (and the ascetics are called) Kutichaka, Bahudaka, Hamsa, Paramahamsa, Turiyatita and Avadhuta.
24. The Kutichaka ascetic has tuft and sacred thread, bears a staff and water vessel, wears a loin-cloth and patched garment, is devoted to the service of father, mother and preceptor, is equipped with a vessel, spade, sling, etc., alone, is addicted to eating food in one place, wears on the forehead a perpendicular mark of white sandal and holds a threefold (emblematic) staff.
25. The Bahudaka ascetic wears tuft, etc., patched garment and three (horizontal) lines of holy ash on his forehead and is similar in all respects to the Kutichaka ascetic (except) that he subsists on eight mouthfuls of food gathered (as alms from eight houses), as a bee (does honey).
26. The Hamsa ascetic wears matter hair, puts on the forehead the mark of either the horizontal lines of holy ash or the perpendicular one of sandal, subsists on food gathered as alms without restriction and wears a piece of loin-cloth.
27. The Paramahamsa ascetic is devoid of tuft and sacred thread, receives alms in the vessel of his hands, wears a single loin-cloth, has a single (patched) garment, one bamboo staff, either wears a single garment or is smeared with holy ashes and has discarded all (possessions and attachments).
28. The Turiyatita ascetic subsists of fruits receiving them in his mouth like a cow; if he eats cooked rice (he receives them as alms) from three houses. He has his body alone left to him (without any possessions and attachment), is unclad (dressed by the points of the compass) and treats his body as if it were a corpse.
29. The Avadhuta ascetic has no fixed rules. He eats food like a python as and when he gets it, from persons of all castes except those who are fallen or accursed and is ever intent on meditation on the nature of the Self.
30. I am not surely of this world consisting of trees, grass and mountains. How can I, the supreme Being, be this external (phenomenon) which is intensely inert ? I am not the body which is non-sentient and perishable in a short time.
31. I am not the sound which is non-sentient, coming from void and of the form of void and which remains for a short period grasped by the inert cavity of the ear.
32. I am not the touch which is non-sentient but which has life granted to it by the favour of consciousness and which can be experienced by skin of momentary existence and in no other way.
33. I am not the taste which is non-sentient, dependent on matter and of short duration, insignificant and brought into existence by the fickle tongue aided by the fickle mind.
34. I am not the form (rupa) which is non-sentient, non-existent in the sole Witness (Brahman), perishable and which rests on sight and the object of sight which have but momentary existence.
35. I am not the smell which is non-sentient, subtle and of indefinable form and brought into existence by the perishable nose which is dead to smell.
36. I am pure consciousness alone which is devoid of parts, ‘mine-ness’ and thought and which is quiescent and beyond the delusions of the five senses.
37. I am consciousness alone, devoid of a place of worship, and am illuminator, omnipresent (externally and internally), devoid of parts and stain, the light of distinctionless consciousness, all-pervading and one alone.
38. It is only by me, the consciousness, that all things such as pots and garments up to the sun are illumined by self-effulgence as by a lamp.
39. It is only by me, with my inwardly shining effulgence, that the various senses are active just as the mass of sparks shine due to fire which is blazing within.
40. This pure eye of consciousness, which enjoys endless bliss and which shines even when all others are extinct, is victoriously present in all eyes.
41. Salutation, salutation to myself alone who am present in all other beings and consist of consciousness free from (the restriction of) an object to be known and am of the form of the individual Self (consciousness).
42. The various clearly seen powers (such as those of earth, etc.,) are (really) rendered variegated by consciousness which is free of change, one whole and free from the limitation of time and parts (kala).
43. Of consciousness which is beyond the three durations (of past, present and future), is devoid of the restriction of perceivability of objects and which discards individuality of the soul, there remains the oneness alone (of the Self and Brahman).
44. Indeed the same (consciousness), being beyond the reach of words, seems to remain as having reached the state of the conclusion of Selfishness, (i.e. the state of non-duality), as if it were eternal non-existence.
45. The same consciousness, slightly encompassed by impurities of desires and non-desires, is unable to rise high like a female bird bound by a string.
46. People (overcome) by the delusion (caused by) the pairs (of opposites), which is born of desire and hatred, become similar to worms which are sunk in the cavities of the earth.
47. Salutation to the Atman, to you, who are non-different from consciousness. I am now seized (of the truth), I am awakened, I have risen (above delusion).
48. I am lifted up from doubts; I am what I am; salutation to you, to your and to me, the eternal; to you and to me consisting of consciousness.
49. Salutation to you, the supreme God and salutation to me, the Shiva. Though seated (the Atman) is not seated, though going he does not go. Though quiescent he is engaged in activities, though performing action he is not tainted.
50. He is eminently accessible, he is easily known like a close kinsman; he is the bee in the interior of the lotus of the body of all.
51. I have no desire for the state of enjoyment nor for abandoning enjoyment. Let come what may, let go what may.
52. When the mind is quelled in itself and has become free of egotism and when ideation is dissolved in itself I remain, alone, happy.
53. My enemy (duality) remains (i.e. is absorbed) in the pure Atman of vibration alone, without ideation, egotism, mind and desire.
54. Breaking the bonds of intense desires from the cage of my body I know not where the female bird of non-ego has flown up and gone.
55. He who has no egotism, whose intellect is not tainted, and who is equanimous to all beings – his life shines bright.
56. He who looks at this (phenomenal world) like (an impartial) witness with his mind, being cool within, is freed of love and hatred, has his life blessed.
57. He who, understanding correctly, abandons both the undesirables and the desirables and places his mind in its quiescence, has his life blessed.
58. When the connecting link between the object and the person (who grasps it) has vanished peace comes well into being. When peace has established itself, it is called liberation.
59. Like parched seeds there is no more sprouting of worldly birth; the latent desires become pure in the heart of those who are liberated while living.
60. (Latent desire of a realized soul) is purifying, highly proper, falls within the scope of pure nature, consists of meditation on the Atman and is eternal; it remains as if in deep sleep.
61. Understanding without the mind is indeed said to be the individual consciousness. As it is of the nature of the quiescent mind there is not the impurity of comprehension (of distinctions).
62. Where the mind is rendered quiescent, there is truth and auspiciousness; its is the true state; it is omniscience and it is indeed complete satisfaction.
63. When speaking, giving, taking, opening and closing the eyes, I am purely consciousness, the bliss (that comes of) discarded thinking process.
64. Having discarded the impurity of things to be known, rendering the mind thoroughly quiescent and cutting off the fire of the bond of desire, I am pure consciousness alone.
65. I have set at rest thoughts good and bad, am without worry, rid of ideation of the pleasant and the unpleasant; I am pure consciousness alone.
66. Discarding the idea of oneself and another, taking no sides in worldly happenings and clinging to the Atman, as an adamantine pillar I am steady.
67. I remain in my consciousness which is pure and without hopes, freed from desires and non-desires and devoid of both the undesirable and the desirables.
68. When shall I get the inward joy while remaining in the state of self-luminosity ? When shall I be in a mountain cave with my mind quiescent ?
69. When shall I attain similarity to a stone by (practising) distinctionless deep meditation (Nirvikalpa-Samadhi) when, while remaining dumb by the peace of partless meditation, birds of the forest will build their leafy nests on my head ?
70. Having cut the trees of ideation and the creepers of intense desire of the forest of the mind and having reached the broad plains (of spiritual wisdom), I enjoy life happily.
71. I follow that path (of wisdom), I am alone (unencumbered with attachments), I am successful (in realizing the truth); I am liberated, I am without desire, I am partless and I desire nothing.
72-73. The states of purity, strength, reality, heartiness, truth, true, knowledge, bliss, tranquillity, the rise of constant joy, fullness, true richness, the possession of effulgence and true oneness – the mendicant monk thus thinking on the true nature of his Self and realizing his true nature freedom doubts, indeed became the one without an alternative (i.e. became one with Brahman).
74. If one sorely afflicted recovers, renunciation in the prescribed order should be embraced. (An ascetic) shall not converse with a low caste woman, one fallen from virtue, and a woman in he courses. The ascetic has no worship of gods, nor witnessing (temple) festivals. The goal of asceticism is not one (and the same) heaven. The sorely afflicted and the Kutichaka ascetics gain the worlds Bhur and the Bhuvas respectively. The Bahudaka ascetic (gains) heaven (Svarga). The Hamsa ascetic, the world of truth (Satya-loka). The Turiyatita and the Avadhuta ascetics attain supreme bliss in themselves by deeply meditating on the true nature of the Self according to the maxim of the wasp.
75. The practice of Scripture-study, which is distinct from meditation on the nature of the Self, is useless like (carrying( saffron flowers which are but a burden to a camel. The ascetic has not to practise the science of Yoga or the Sankhya; he has no rituals with mantras and tantras nor the study of any other religious treatise (Shastra); if there is, it is like adorning a corpse. (Such an ascetic) is far away from spiritual lore like a cobbler. A mendicant monk shall not mention his name (in the previous stage of life). One reaps the fruit of whatever action one does. (Hence the ascetic) shall give up all, as one would (discard) the foam on castor oil. There is no receiving of the offerings made to a deity. He shall not worship gods externally.
76. Discarding everything apart from the Self, subsisting on food secured as alms from a number of houses (as a bee gathers honey), being lean and avoiding increase of fat (in his body) he shall move about. He should spend the time, (eating food) secured as alms from a number of houses using his hand or mouth as a vessel.
77. The sage established in the Self should take food which is conducive to (the realization of) the Self. Two quarters (of the belly shall be filled) with food and one quarter with water; the fourth quarter shall be left for the movement of air.
78. He shall always live on alms; he shall never eat food secured as alms from one house alone; he should go particularly to those houses where the people are seen to be easy in mind (i.e. those who dine only after giving alms).
79. He may expect alms from four or seven houses (where the house-holder) perform religious rites; he may expect (alms) up to the period of milking cows (in the afternoon); when he has come out (of a house without alms) he shall not go in again.
80. Fasting is preferable to (getting food from) devotees; unsolicited food is better than fasting; begging alms is preferable to unsolicited food; hence he shall subsist on alms.
81. He shall never enter a house by a side entrance at the time of begging alms; he shall not out of delusion go across a house where no harm is seen in so doing.
82. He shall not beg alms from a Vedic scholar if it is (given) without faith and devotion; he may beg alms from the house of a twice-born who has lost caste when offered with faith and devotion.
83. Alms from a number of houses without planning, that which is planned, the one unbegged, the timely one and the one offered (at the monastery) are declared to be the five kinds of alms.
84. (The first kind), alms from a number of houses, is declared to be that which is obtained from there, five or seven houses without pre-meditation as in the case of a honeybee (from flowers).
85. (The second kind), alms previously arranged, is that which is accepted after repeated requests made by devotees in that morning and the previous day; none the less he may subsist on that.
86. (The third kind), alms unbegged is that which is received when invited to dine by some one or other as he is ready to go abegging; this should be eaten by ascetics (desiring salvation).
87. (The fourth kind) timely alms is known as that (meal) which is offered by a Brahmana when he has approached (a house) for alms; this (food) should be eaten by ascetics.
88. Sages desiring liberation say that the (fifth kind of) alms, the food offered (to the ascetic at the monastery) is the ready meal which is brought by a Brahmana to the monastery.
89. The ascetic shall subsist on alms by begging from door to door even though it may be from the houses of outcastes. He shall not dine in one house even if (the host) is equal to the preceptor of the gods (in learning). He shall subsist on alms, solicited or unsolicited.
90. Air is not spoiled by touching (any object); fire by the activity of burning; waters, by urine and faeces (getting into them); and a mendicant monk by short-comings in food.
91. When (in houses) smoke has subsided, the pestle (for pounding rice) is at rest, the fire (in the oven) has gone out and the people have dined, (the ascetic) shall go for alms in the late afternoon.
92. He shall receive alms except from the accursed, the fallen, heretics and the class of people exclusively engaged in temple worship; from all the castes, in difficult times.
93-94. (He shall consider) clarified butter as dog’s urine, honey as spirituous liquor, oil as hog’s urine, condiment as garlic, cakes made of black gram as beef, and milk as urine. Therefore the ascetic shall avoid, by putting forth all effort, clarified butter, etc.
95. The Yogin shall never eat food mixed with clarified butter, condiments, etc.; using his hand as a vessel he shall not go about for alms more than once (a day).
96. When the ascetic seeks food with his mouth (alone) like a cow, he becomes equanimous to all; (hence) he becomes fit for immortality.
97. (The ascetic) shall discard clarified butter like blood, taking food in one house like flesh, using cosmetics like smearing himself with unclean things, salt and molasses like an outcaste, garment like dirty dishes, oil bath like courting women, pleasant company of friends like urine, desire like beef, familiar places like the hut of an outcaste, women like snakes, gold like deadly poison, an assembly hall like a cemetery, the capital (city) like hell and food in one house like the balls of rice at a funeral. There is no worship of gods (by him). Discarding the way of the world he shall become one ‘liberated while living’.
98. Stay (continuously in one place), acquisition of (begging) bowl, collecting (of staff, etc.,), gathering disciples, sleep by day time (divasvapnah) and useless talk – these are the six sins of ascetics.
99-103. Remaining (continuously in one place) except during the rains is said to be a stay (asana). Acquisition of even a single vessel like the afore-said vessel of gourd, etc., for daily use by an ascetic is said to be ‘acquiring vessels’ (patralopa). Collecting (samchaya) is declared to be the acceptance of a second staff, etc., for future use by one who has one already. The acceptance of disciples for personal service, profit, dignity or fame and not out of compassion (to help them) is said to be gathering disciples (sishyasamgraha). (Vedantic) learning is (called) day as it is illuminating; ignorance (avidya) is said to be night. Negligence in learning is said to be ‘sleep during day’ divasvapnah). Excepting talk pertaining to the Self and at the time of receiving alms, (bestowal of) blessings and inquiries (concerning the Self), any other talk is said to be useless talk (vrithajalpah).
104. Food from one house, pride, envy, adorning with cosmetics and flowers, chewing betel roll, oil bath, sport, desire for enjoyment, medicine to prolong life and retard old age (rashayana);
105. Boasting, abusive language, pronouncement of benediction, astrological prediction, buying and selling, ritual, debate on ritual, transgression of the Guru and scripture;
106-107. Conciliating, fighting, vehicle, cot, white garment, release of semen, sleep by day time, vessel for alms (alms-bowl), gold, gum-myrrh, weapon, seed (for cultivation or mystical letter forming the essential part of the mantra of a deity), injuring, severity, copulation, what is discarded by the yoga of renunciation, vows such as the duties of house-holder;
108. Family, etc., branch of the Veda (of his early days), all families of the father and mother, and wealth – all these are prohibited to the ascetic. If he resorts to them he falls (from the state of renunciation).
109. A wise man, though very old, shall not trust in women though very old. Even in very old patched garments old cloth will stick (when stitched).
110. Immovable property, mobile things (servants), seed (for cultivation), gold, gum-myrrh and weapon these six an ascetic shall not take up as (though they were) urine and faeces.
111. An ascetic shall not take with him even a little provision for a journey except when in danger; in hard times he may receive ripe corn when cooked food is not available.
112. A mendicant monk who is not sick and a young monk shall not stay in any house (of a house-holder); he shall neither accept nor give anything to another at any time.
113. With a sense of humility the ascetic shall strive for the welfare of beings; begging cooked or uncooked food (for another), he falls (from asceticism).
114-115. An ascetic keen on feeding others, who accepts clothes, etc., and woollen garments or others as well as good clothes undoubtedly falls (from virtue). Resorting to the ship of non-duality he will gain liberation while living.
116. For restraint in speech, he shall observe silence; for control over the body, he shall fast; for control over the mind, breath control (pranayama) is prescribed.
117. A being is bound by (worldly) action; he gets liberated by spiritual knowledge. Hence far-seeing ascetics do not perform (worldly) action.
118. Scattered are (torn) garments on roads; alms can be had everywhere; the earth is a wide bed; how (then) are ascetics put to grief ?
119. The ascetic who offers the whole world as oblation in the fire of spiritual wisdom, having (symbolically) transferred the ritual fires to his Self – that great ascetic is the (true) Agnihotrin (the consecrator and maintainer of sacred fire).
120. Advancement in the spiritual path is twofold – that of the she-cat and the she-monkey. Those who practise spiritual wisdom (Jnana) are (like) she-cats; the secondary way of (Apara-Brahman) is (like that of) a she-monkey.
121. The ascetic shall not speak to any one unless he is spoken to; nor to one who asks improperly. An intelligent man though knowing, should behave in the world as if he were dull-witted.
122. When confronted with a mass of sins (i.e. when the flesh becomes weak, over-ruling the dictates of wisdom) he shall practise the (meaningful) repetition of the Taraka (Om) twelve thousand times (a day); for it cuts (sins).
123. The supreme Brahman shines to him in twelve months who gently repeats the Pranava twelve thousand times every day. Thus (ends) the Upanishad.
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Sannyasopanishad, included in the Sama-Veda.
Paramahamsa-Parivrajaka Upanishad
Translated by Prof. A. A. Ramanathan
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1. Now then the god Brahma approaching his father Adinarayana, the supreme Being and paying obeisance asked of him: Lord, from your mouth all things pertaining to the nature of castes and orders have been heard, known and grasped. Now I wish to know the characteristics of the Paramahamsa mendicant monk. Who is entitled to renunciation ? What are the characteristics of a mendicant monk ? Who is a Paramahamsa monk ? How is his mendicancy ? (Pray) expound to me all this. The Lord Adinarayana then replied:
(The person entitled to renunciation) is the wise one who has undergone the difficult course of learning the sacred lores from a good preceptor; has understood all the exertion necessary for happiness in this world and the next; has understood the need to discard, as vomit, the three (primary) desires, the three primary inclinations (regard for the body, etc.,), ‘mine-ness’ and egotism; has completed studentship in celibacy which is the means to reach the path of liberation and has become a householder. From the stage of a householder he shall become a forest-dweller (Vanaprastha) and then renounce (worldly life). Or alternately he may renounce from the stage of a celibate student or from the stage of a house-holder or a forest-dweller. Or, whether or not he is an observer of vows, has completed his course of study, has discontinued his fire-ritual or does not maintain the sacred fire, he shall renounce that very day on which he has become disillusioned with the world. Thus discontented with all worldly affairs, whether as a celibate student, house-holder or forest-dweller, he shall get the approval of his father, mother, wife, close kinsmen and in the absence of these, of a disciple or fellow-lodger (and then renounce the world).
2. Some (law-givers) prescribe the sacrifice called Prajapatya (of which the god Brahma is the presiding deity, prior to a twice-born embracing renunciation). But (though thus prescribed) he may not do so. He shall only perform the sacrifice Agneyi (whose presiding deity is Agni, the god of fire). For Agni is the vital breath (Prana). Thereby he does (i.e. strengthens) the vital breath. (Then) he shall perform the Traidhataviya sacrifice (whose presiding deity is the god Indra). By this (sacrifice) the three vital fluids, namely the Sattva (semen), Rajas (blood) and Tamas (the dark one) (become strong like fire). (Having performed the sacrifice in the prescribed manner he shall smell the holy fire, reciting the following mantra):
‘Oh Fire, this (vital breath) is your source; as you are born at the proper time (of the year) you put on effulgence. Knowing him (the Atman, your ultimate source) may you merge (with the Prana, your source). May you increase our wealth (of transcendent knowledge)’. So reciting the mantra he shall smell the fire. This is the source of fire, the vital air. May you go to the Prana, may you go to your source. Svaha. Thus alone the mantra says.
Having procured the holy fire from the house of a well-versed Vedic scholar he shall smell the holy fire in the manner described previously. If he is afflicted (by illness) or does not get the holy fire, he shall offer the oblation in the waters. For water is (presided over by) all the gods. Reciting, ‘I offer the oblation to all gods, Svaha’, he shall tender the oblation and picking up (a small portion of) the offered oblation which is mixed with ghee, he shall eat this, as it is beneficial. (In the case of the Kshatriyas and others not entitled to renunciation) the rule is that they may seek liberation) in the path of the brave (by courting death in battle-field) or fast (unto death as a discipline), or enter into water (to rise no more) or enter fire or undertake the great journey (in which they collapse by exhaustion). If he were afflicted (by illness) he may renounce mentally or by speech (reciting mantras). This is the path (of their renunciation).
3. A healthy person (if desiring to renounce the world) in the due order (of the stages in life) shall perform the shraddha ceremony unto himself and the fire-ritual for ridding himself of passions (Viraja-homa). He shall infuse the ritual fire to be symbolically present in his person. His proficiency in the affairs of the world and Vedic learning as well as the fourteen means of action under his control (karanas) shall be transferred to his son (symbolically). In the absence (of a son) it shall be done to a disciple; in his absence it shall be transferred into his Atman. He shall then meditate on Brahman as identical with his Self, pronouncing the words ‘Brahman Thou (Art)’, ‘The sacrifice thou (Art)’. The Veda-mother, the prop of Brahmanhood and embodiment of the essence of all learning shall be consigned into the waters reciting the three vyahritis (Om Bhuh, etc.,) and the three vyahritis into the letters a, u and m (of the Pranava). He shall then ceremoniously sip water keeping his attention on that (Pranava); pull out the tuft muttering the Pranava; snap the sacred thread; discard the garment too on the ground or in the waters; become unclad reciting the mantra ‘Om Bhuh Svaha, Om Bhuvah Svaha and Om Suvah Svaha’; meditate on his own form; again recite mentally or in speech the Pranava and the vyahritis separately and utter three times three the farewell words, ‘I have renounced, I have renounced, I have renounced’ in gentle, middling and sharp tones; deeply engage in meditation on the Pranava and raise his hand saying ‘Freedom from fear to all from me, Svaha’. He shall then start for the north thinking over the meaning of great scriptural texts such as ‘The Brahman I Am’, ‘That Thou Art’ and proceed in the unclad state. This is renunciation.
If one is not entitled to this (way of renunciation), he shall recite first the prayer of the house-holder and then the texts ‘Freedom from fear to all beings, every thing emanates from me, you are my friend and you guard me. You are the (source of) strength. You are the Vajra (weapon) of Indra which killed (the demon) Vritra. Be a blessing to me. Prevent that which is a sin’. Reciting this mantra preceded by the Pranava he shall take up the emblematic bamboo staff and water pot and wear the waist band, loin-cloth and a discoloured (i.e. ochre coloured) garment; then approach a good Guru, bow to him and receive from the mouth of the Guru the great scriptural text 'That Thou Art', preceded by the Pranava. Then he shall wear a tattered garment or a bark-garment or a deer-skin; avoid a landing place at a river side (for bathing, to prevent mixing with crowds), moving up (a staircase), and getting alms from a single house. He shall bathe during the three prescribed periods, listen to an exposition of the Vedanta and practise the Pranava; be well established in the path of (realizing) Brahman; merge his favourite desire in the Atman; become free of ‘mine-ness’ and get established in the Self; give up passion, anger, greed, delusion, intoxication, rivalry, false pride, pride, egotism, intolerance, arrogance, desires, hatred, gloating, impetuosity, ‘mine-ness’, etc.; possessed of wisdom and dispassion he shall turn away from wealth and women and possessing a pure mind he shall ponder over the truths of all the Upanishads; guard bestowing particular care his celibacy, non-possession, universe-injuring attitude and truthfulness; conquer his senses and be free from affection externally and internally; secure alms for sustaining the body, like a harmless cow, from members of the four castes excepting those who are accursed and fallen; such a person is considered worthy of realizing Brahman. He shall view with equanimity at gain or loss (of alms) at all times; eat food (secured as alms from many places) like a bee, using the hand as a vessel; not increase fat (but) become lean; feel that he is Brahman; approach a village for (serving the preceptor). He shall, steady in conduct, go about alone for eight months and shall not journey as two (i.e. with a companion).
When he has attained sufficient good sense (i.e. dispassion) he may become a Kutichaka or a Bahudaka or a Hamsa or a Paramahamsa ascetic. Reciting the respective mantras he shall discard in the waters his waist-band, loin-cloth, staff and water vessel and move about unclad. He shall stay one night in a village, three nights in a holy place, five nights in a town and seven nights in a place of pilgrimage (Kshetra). He shall be without a (fixed) abode, be steady in mind, not resort to a fire-place (for warmth), be free from emotions, discard both rituals and non-rituals, receive alms for sustaining life alone with equanimity at its gain or loss in the manner of a cow, has his water vessel (only) in (the form of) a watering place and his residence in a solitary place free from trouble. He shall not think of gain or loss but be interested in rooting out both good and bad actions; sleep always on the floor; discard shaving, give up the restriction of observing chaturmasya, interest himself deeply in pure meditation, be averse to wealth, women and city (life), behave like an insane person although perfectly sane, possess no distinguishing emblems or distinctive conduct, have no dreams as day and night are the same to him and be attentive to the path of deep meditation on Brahman in the form of Pranava in investigating on the nature of the Self. He who thus gives up his body by resorting to renunciation is the Paramahamsa mendicant monk.
4. The god Brahma asked (Narayana): Lord, what is Brahma-Pranava ? (The Lord) Narayana replied: The Brahma-Pranava consists of sixteen parts and it is cognized in quadruples in the four states (waking, etc.,). In the waking state there are the four states, waking within waking, etc., (jagrat-jagrat); in the dreaming state the four states are waking within dreaming, etc., (svapna-jagrat); in deep sleep there are the four states waking within deep sleep, etc., (susupti-jagrat); in the fourth state (turiya) there are the four states waking within the Turiya, etc., (turiya-jagrat). In the waking state of distributive pervasion (vyashti) there is quadruplicity of vishva, namely, vishva-vishva, vishva-taijasa, vishva-prajna and vishva-turiya. In the dreaming state of distributive pervasion there is quadruplicity of taijasa, namely taijasa-vishva, taijasa-taijasa, taijasa-prajna and taijasa-turiya. In the state of deep sleep of Prajna there is quadruplicity, namely prajna-vishva, prajna-taijasa, prajna-prajna and prajna-turiya. In the fourth state (turiya) there is the quadruplicity of the turiya, namely turiya-vishva, turiya-taijasa, turiya-prajna (and turiya-turiya). These in due order make up the sixteen parts. In the letter ‘a’ (of the Om – Aum) there is jagrat-vishva, in the letter ‘u’ jagrat-taijasa, in the letter ‘m’ jagrat-prajna, in the ardha-matra (of Om) jagrat-turiya, in the bindu svapna-vishva, in the nada svapna-taijasa, in the kala svapna-prajna, in the kalatita svapna-turiya, in the shanti susupta-vishva, in the shantyatita susupta-taijasa, in pashyanti turiya-prajna, in para turiya-turiya. The four parts of jagrat pertain to the letter ‘a’, the four parts of Svapna pertain to the letter ‘u’, the four parts of Susupti pertain to the letter ‘m’, the four parts of turiya pertain to the ardha-matra. This is the Brahma-Pranava. This is to be worshipped by the Paramahamsa, Turiyatita and Avadhuta ascetics. By this Brahman is illumined. (This is) liberation in the disembodied state (Videha-mukti).
5. Lord, how is one without the sacred thread and tuft a person who has discarded all (worldly) activities ? How is he solely devoted to absorption in Brahman ? How is he a Brahmana ? Thus the god Brahma asked (Narayana). Lord Vishnu then replied: Oh child, he who has knowledge of the non-dual Atman has the real sacred thread (i.e. that knowledge itself is the sacred thread). His deep absorption in meditation is itself the tuft. This activity is (itself) the possession of the sanctifying ring of holy grass (pavitra). He does all actions, he is the Brahmana, he is deeply absorbed in Brahman, he is the illumined being (deva), he is the sage, he practises penance, he is the noblest, he is superior to all; know that he is I. In this world very rare is the mendicant monk who is a Paramahamsa. If there is one he is ever pure, he alone is the Purusha (glorified) in the Veda. He who is a great man (maha-purusha) has his mind resting in me. I too remain in him alone. He is the ever-satisfied. He is free from the (effects of) cold and heat, happiness and misery, honour and dishonour. He puts up with insult and anger. He is devoid of the six human infirmities (hunger and thirst, sorrow and delusion, old age and death), and is free from the six properties (of the body, birth, existence, change, growth, decay and death). He is without the intervention of (i.e. he is not circumscribed by) the state of elderliness or otherwise. Excepting the Self he sees nothing else. Unclad (lit. clothed by the points of the compass), bowing to none, not uttering Svaha (as he worships no gods), not uttering Svadha (to propitiate the manes), without the need to send back (gods as they have not been invoked), free from blame and praise, not resorting to mantras and rituals, not meditating on other gods (than the supreme God), refraining from aims and their absence, with all activities ceased, firmly established in Consciousness consisting of Existence, Knowledge and Bliss, being conscious of the one supreme bliss, he ever meditates on the Brahma-Pranava (to the effect) that he is Brahman alone and thus fulfils himself; such a one is the Paramahamsa mendicant monk. Thus (ends) the Upanishad.
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Paramahamsa-Parivrajakopanishad, included in the Atharva-Veda.
Aksha Malika Upanishad [The Upanishad of Rosary Beads]
Translated by K. Srinivasan
Published by celextel.org
Om ! May my speech be based on (i.e. accord with) the mind;
May my mind be based on speech.
O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me.
May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me.
May not all that I have heard depart from me.
I shall join together (i.e. obliterate the difference of) day
And night through this study.
I shall utter what is verbally true; I shall utter what is mentally true.
May that (Brahman) protect me;
May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me;
May that protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1. Then the Prajapàti (Creator) asked Guha: “Oh Sir, (please) tell me the rules regarding the rosary of beads. What is its characteristic ? How many varieties of rosaries are there ? How many threads (does a rosary) contain ? How should it be made ? What are its colours ? How is it consecrated ? Who is its presiding deity ? And what is the benefit (of using it) ?”
2. Guha replied: “(It is made of any one of the following 10 materials) Coral, Pearl, Crystal, Conch, Silver, Gold, Sandal, Putra-Jìvikà, Lotus or Rudràksha. Each head must be devoted and thought of as presided over by the deities of Akàra to Kshakàra. Golden thread should bind the beads through the holes. On its right silver (caps) and left copper. The face of a bead should face, the face of another head and tail, the tail. Thus a circular formation must be made.
3. The internal thread must be thought of as Brahma (the Supreme Being). The right side silver cap must be considered to be the place of Shiva and Copper caps belonging to Vishnu. The face must be thought of as Sarasvati and the tail as Gayatri. The hole is Knowledge. The knot must be thought of as nature. The Beads representing vowels must be white (since they represent Sàttvika Guna). Those which represent mutes-consonants must be yellowish (since they are the result of mixture of Sattva and Tamas). The balance must be red in complexion (since they are Ràjasic).
4. Then (after thus meditating the presiding deities in different part of the rosary) bathe it (or clean it) in the milk got from 5 types of cows (like Nanda); and then in Pancha-gavya (a sanctified liquid prepared from the cow-dung, cow’s urine, ghee, curd and milk) and darbha grass immersed in water and then in the individual Pancha-gavya (in the aforesaid 5 things separately) and in sandal water. Then sprinkle water with darbha grass uttering Omkàra. Besmear it with eight fragrant (pastes) of eight (sweet-smelling substances like Sandal, Kasturi etc.,). Place it on flowers. Meditate (all) the letters in the rosary (or each letter in each bead).
5. Om Aëkàra, the conqueror of death, Omnipresent, be established in the 1st head !
Om Àëkàra, He who of the nature of attracting, found everywhere, be established in the 2nd head ! Om Iëkàra, the giver of wealth and firmness, be established in the 3rd head !
Om Ìëkàra, the maker of clarity in speech and clear One, be established in the 4th head! Om Uëkàra, the giver of strength, the essence of everything, be established in the 5th head!
Om Ùëkàra, One who drives away evil spirits, the intolerable, be established in the 6th head !
Om Äëkàra, One who disturbs the (the dis-order), the moving One, be established in the 7th head ! Om Íëkàra, the deluding one, the effulgent and shining, be established in the 8th head !
Om Îëkàra, the hater, the devourer of everything else (or one who conceals everything), be established in the 9th head !
Om Îëkàra, the deluding one, be established in the 10th head !
Om Eëkàra, One who attracts everyone, Suddha-sattva, be established in the 11th head!
Om Aiëkàra, the Pure and Noble (Suddha-sattvika), attracting human beings, be established in the 12th head !
Om Oëkàra, the (base) of entire speech, eternally pure, be established in the 13th head !
Om Auëkàra, of the nature of speech, capable of attracting the peaceful, be established in the 14th head !
Om Aëkàra, capable of attracting elephants etc., attracting, be established in the 15th head! Om Aãkàra, capable of destroying death terrible, be established in the 16th head !
Om Kaëkàra, the remover of all poison, giver of auspiciousness, be established in the 17th head ! Om Khaëkàra, the tormentor (or disturber) spreading everywhere, be established in the 18th head ! Om Gaëkàra, He who puts dows all obstacles, the greatest, be established in the 19th head !
Om Ghaëkàra, the giver of (sanbhasya), stupefier, be established in the 20th head!
Om Ñaëkàra, the destroyer of all poisons, the sharp, be established in the 21st head !
Om Caëkàra, the destroyer of (abhichara), cruel, be established in the 22nd head !
Om Chaëkàra, the destroyer of goblins, terrifying, be established in the 23rd head!
Om Jaëkàra, the destroyer of (krityas - abhichara), unstoppable, be established in the 24th head !
Om Jhaëkàra, the destroyer of (bhutas), be established in the 25th head !
Om Ñaëkàra, the churner of (mrityu), be established in the 26th head !
Om Âaëkàra, the remover of all diseases, the good One, be established in the 27th head ! Om Âhaëkàra, of the nature of moon, be established in the 28th head !
Om Áaëkàra, the soul of Garuda, remover of poisons, be established in the 29th head ! Om Áhaëkàra, the giver of all wealth, the good One, be established in the 30th head !
Om Åaëkàra, the giver of all successes (siddhis), the deluder, be established in the 31st head ! Om Taëkàra, the giver of wealth and grains, who pleases one, be established in the 32nd head! Om Thaëkàra, One who yokes with dharma, faultless one, be established in the 33rd head!
Om Daëkàra, the developer of growth, with pleasing looks, be established in the 34th head!
Om Dhaëkàra, the destroyer of mundane suffering (visajvara), the expansive One, be established in the 35th head !
Om Naëkàra, the giver of enjoyment and liberation, the peaceful One, be established in the 36th head ! Om Paëkàra, the destroyer of poison and obstructions, the Evolved One, be established in the 37th head!
Om Phaëkàra, the giver of eight siddhis, like atomic form, taking capacity, the effulgent nature etc., be established in the 38th head !
Om Baëkàra, the remover of all defects, the auspicious One, be established in the 39th head ! Om Bhaëkàra, One who quietens the goblins, the terrifying One, be established in the 40th head ! Om Maëkàra, the deluder of haters, be established in the 41st head !
Om Yaëkàra, the Omnipresent, the purifier, be established in the 42nd head ! Om Raëkàra, the burning One, the odd shaped, be established in the 43rd head !
Om Laëkàra, the hearer of the world, the effulgent, be established in the 44th head ! Om Vaëkàra, the all-pervading One, the noblest One, be established in the 45th head ! Om Éaëkàra, the giver of all results, the sanctifier, be established in the 46th head !
Om Çaëkàra, the giver of righteousness, wealth and pleasure, , be established in the 47th head !
Om Saëkàra, the cause of everything, the undercurrent of all letters, be established in the 48th head ! Om Haëkàra, the base of all speech, the pure One, be established in the 49th head !
Om Laëkàra, the giver of all power, the Supreme One, be established in the 50th head !
Om Kçaëkàra, the One who instructs on the main and subsidiary categories of the world, of the nature of Supreme effulgence, be firmly established in the crest gem!
Mrityu not only means death but carelessness, non-alertness consequent swerving from the path of spirituality. Hence ajnana, nescience and the bodily perils like hunger etc., too are referred to as Mrityu. Such invocation of sacred syllables (avahana), their spirits and the deity who confers a particular boon and of the nature of a particular form must be invoked in the first head - right of central head.
Invocation must be done circularly and end in crest jewel.
6. Then one must say: “Salutations to those gods who are on and move about in earth ! Be firmly established in this rosary and bless us and forefathers too after getting established in Aksha-malika permit us for auspiciousness and good !”
7. Then one must say: “Salutations to those gods who are in and move about in atmosphere! Be firmly established in this rosary and bless us and forefathers too after getting established in Aksha-malika permit us for auspiciousness and good !”
8. Then one must say: “Salutations to those gods who are in and move about in heaven ! Be firmly established in this rosary and bless us and forefathers too after getting established in Aksha-malika permit us for auspiciousness and good !”
9. Then one must say: “Salutations to seven crore mantras and 64 arts” and invoke their powers in rosary.
10. Then one must say: “Salutations to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva” and invoke their powers in rosary.
11. Then one must say: “Salutations unto the 36 Tattvas (the fundamental categories)” and invoke the presence of the best Tattvas in it, praying to them to make the rosary capable of yielding the desired fruit like a divine-cow (Kamadhenu).
12. Then one must say: “Salutations unto Hundreds of Thousands of Saivites, Vaishnavites and Saktas (and seek their blessings and permission to use the rosary); be pleased and permit me to use”.
13. Then one must say: “Salutations unto the powers of Mrityu; Let you all make me happy, happy !”
14. Then meditating on the rosary as representing everything as the form of God, should start touching eastwards, feeling grateful to its help and touch the heads (beads) 108 times.
15. Then getting up, placing it (on flowers) circumambulating utter the following incantation: “Om, Oh goddess, salutations, mother of all mantras of the forms of letters, rosary of beads; He who attracts everyone, Salutations ! Oh goddess mantra matrike, rosary of beads, stupefier of everything, Salutations ! Oh goddess, the remover of Abhicharas, Salutations ! Oh goddess, eternal One, conqueror of nescience, the illuminator of everything, protector of the all world, life giver for all world, creator of everything, ordainer of the day, ordainer of the night, mover to the other rivers, mover to other places, mover to other islands, mover to other worlds, shining everywhere always, she who illumines all hearts!
Salutations to you of the form of Parà ! Salutations to you of the form of Paéyanti ! Salutations to you of the form of Madhyamà ! Salutations to you of the form of Vaikhari !
Salutations ! Salutations to you of the nature of all Tattvas, all knowledge, of the nature of all powers, of the nature of all good, worshipped by sage Vasistha, attended to by sage Visvamitra !
16. If one studies this in morning, the sins of night are destroyed. If one studies this in evening twilight, sins done in day are destroyed. One who reads this both in the morning and evening, even if a sinner, becomes rid off sins. The mantras recited with rosary immediately gives benefits.” Thus said Guha to Prajapati. Thus ends the Upanishad.
Om! May my speech be based on (i.e. accord with) the mind;
May my mind be based on speech.
O Self-effulgent One, reveal Thyself to me.
May you both (speech and mind) be the carriers of the Veda to me.
May not all that I have heard depart from me.
I shall join together (i.e. obliterate the difference of) day
And night through this study.
I shall utter what is verbally true; I shall utter what is mentally true.
May that (Brahman) protect me;
May That protect the speaker (i.e. the teacher), may That protect me;
May that protect the speaker – may That protect the speaker.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Aksha-Malikopanishad, as contained in the Rig-Veda.
Avyakta Upanishad
Om! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
The three states of evolution in the beginning were Avyakta( indeterminate), Mahattatwa(determined indeterminate) and Ahamkara(determinate). For each of these is a sukta.
Avyakta – Naasadeeya Sukta Mahattatwa – Hiranyagarbha Sukta Ahamkara -- Purusha Sukta
NAASADEEYA SUKTA
1.Naa sa daasee nno sa daasee ttadaaneem
naa see drajo no vyomaaparo yat
ki maavareevah kuhakasya sharman
ambhah kimaaseed gahanam gabheeram
2.Na mrithyu raaseed amritham na tharhi
Na raatryaa ahna aaseeth prakethah,
Anee davaatham svadhayaa thadekam
Thasmaad anya nna parah kincha naasa
3.Thama aaseeth thamasaa goodha magre
Praketham salilam sarva maa idam
Thucche naabhu apihitham yadaaseeth
Thapasah thanmahinaa jaaya thaikam
4.Kaamah thadagre samavartha thaadhi
Manaso rethah prathamam yadaaseeth
Satho bandhu masathi niravindan
Hridi pratheeshyaa kavayo maneeshaa
5.Thirashcheeno vithatho rashmi reshaam
Adhasvi daasee dupari svi daaseeth
Rethodhaa aasan mahimaana aasat
Svadhaa avasthaat prayathih parasthath
6.Ko addhaa veda ka iha pravochat
Kutha aajaathaa kutha iyam visrishtih
Arvaagdevaa asya vivarjanena
Adha ko veda yata aababhoova
7.Idam visrishti ryata aababhoova
Yadi vaa dadhe yadi vaa na dadhe
Yo asya adhyakshah parame vyoman
So anga veda yadi vaa na veda
TRANSLATION
Then there was neither Aught nor Naught, no air nor sky beyond.
What covered all? What rested all? In watery gulf profound?
Nor death was then, nor deathlessness, nor change of night and day.
That one breathed calmly, self-sustained; naught else beyond it lay.
Gloom hid in gloom existed first-one sea eluding view.
The one a void in chaos wrapt, by inward forever grew.
Within it first arose desire, the primal germ of mind,
which nothing with existence links, as ages searching find.
The kindling ray that shot across the dark and dreariness-
was it beneath or high aloft? What bard can answer this?
There fecundating powers were found and mighty forces strove –
A self supporting mass beneath, and energy above.
Who knows and whoever told, from whence this vast creation rose?
No gods had been born. Who then can e’er the truth disclose
whence sprang this world, whether framed by hand divine or no-
Its lord in heaven alone can tell, if he can show.
(The translation is taken from MUIR’S ORIGINAL SANSKRIT TEXTS, Vol. V)
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Avyaktopanishad, included in the Sama-Veda.
Ekakshara Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1.Thou art the one Imperishable in the Imperishable, conjoint with Uma. As known by means of Susumna, here (on the empirical plane), the one firm (Principle art Thou). Thou art the ancient source of the world, the Lord of beings; Thou the Parjanya (the Principle of life-giving water), the Protector of the world.
2.Thou art immanent in all; from (the view-point) of the wise, Thou, the Lord of the world art the all-knowing (Fire). In the beginning Thou art unborn, the first born, the sacrifice, too, art Thou. Thou alone the one omnipresent and ancient.
3.Thou art the Principle of life; Thou the manifestation (the manifested world); Thou the source of the world; by a quarter hast Thou pervaded this world. Thou art the world’s birth, the cause, the life supreme, and the child in the womb armed with the excellent bow and arrow.
4.Having widely spread out the arrow, shining like the youthful sun in the sky, Thou shinest as Hiranyagarbha. By means of light hast Thou created the resplendent eagle (the sun), in the sky. Thou art Subrahmanya, Thou Arishtanemi (a brother of Garuda).
5.Thou art the bearer of the Thunderbolt (Indra), the Lord of beings; Thou alone art love in all living beings and in Soma (Shiva with Uma). Thou art the sacred syllables Svaha, Svadha and Vasat; Thou the Rudra immanent unhurt in the hearts of beasts.
6.(Thou art) the supporter, the ordainer, the purifier (air), the all pervading plenum, the divine Varaha, night and aloneness; the past, the future and the present; Thou art all activities, time, sequence and the supreme Imperishable.
7.The Vedic verses, prose formulas and songs proceed from Thy mouth. Thou shinest best (as) the Vasus and the sky. Thou art the leader of the sacrifice, the all-pervading fire and the Rudras. So also (art Thou) the hosts of demons and Vasus.
8.This God here dwells in the sun (the wheel of the celestial chariot) and elsewhere dispelling darkness. All that pertains to Him shines in lovely (fashion) like gold in some other sky. (This world of relativities shines so).
9.He is the all-knower; the Protector of the world; the firm nave of all born beings. He exists lengthwise and crosswise, the sum total of (things) spread out in order. He is the birthless (of wondrous births) Prajapati sung in the Vedas.
10.Thou art He whom in the sacrifices the knowers of Brahman adore with Vedic Songs, formulas and rites and the soma juice; as the final (Truth) devoid of all admixture, as the golden, the best of Veda-knowers.
11.Thou alone art the woman, the man; again Thou art the boy and the girl. Thou art the ordainer, the King Varuna, the Year, Aryama, the all.
12.(Thou art) Mitra, the bright-feathered (Garuda), the moon, Indra, Varuna, Rudra, Tvastar, Vishnu, Savitar, the lord of light, Thou Vishnu protectest all beings from the demoniac; the world is encompassed by Thee; Thou the womb of all that is born; Thou art the earth, the atmosphere, the firmament; Thou art the self-born; Thou art turned towards all.
13.Whoso thus knows the eternal Dweller in the cave (of the heart), the ancient Lord who has become the all, the golden, the supreme goal of the wise, is wise. He stays transcending all (forms of) wisdom. This is the secret doctrine.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Ekaksharopanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Annapurna Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I-1-2. The king of Yogins, Nidagha, prostrated flat (like a rod) before Ribhu, that pre-eminent knower of Brahman. Then, rising, that ascetic respectfully said, ‘Teach me the truth about the Self; by what kind of adoration have you, Oh Brahmana, attained this state ?
I-3-4. Teach me that grand science which yields sovereignty over the empire of emancipation. ‘You have done well, Nidagha ! Listen to the eternal science by the knowledge of which alone will you be liberated life. Lodged in Om that envelopes the Root of phenomena (Brahman), supporting the syllable ‘aim’,
I-5-7. ‘Eternal bliss, independent (‘hrim’), renowned, with streaming stresses (‘sauh’), the ruler of the world (‘srim’), Mahalakshmi, (at once) desire (‘klim’), fulfilment, and humanity, is the divine Annapurna. ‘I begged of Her, using the celebrated and quintessential incantation of 27 syllables, cultivated by hosts of female ascetics,
I-8. ‘Namely, aim, hrim, sauh, srim, klim, aum namo bhagavatyannapurne mamabhilashitam annam dehi Svaha. [Salutation, O divine Annapurna, vouchsafe the food I desire]: ‘Thus have I been instructed by my father. From then on have I established myself in (this) discipline, persisting in the activities of my station (in life) and have given myself up to the daily practice of this incantation.
I-9. ‘When many days passed thus, there appeared in front of me Annapurna, wide-eyed, her lotus-face beaming with a smile.
I-10. ‘Seeing her, I prostrated flat on the ground, and (then) stood up with folded hands. “Well, child, you have done well; ask of me a boon, delay not.”
I-11. Oh (Nidagha), best of sages ! Thus hidden by the wide-eyed (deity) I spoke: ‘O Daughter of the mountain, may the truth of the Self dawn on my mind’.
I-12. Saying ‘be it so’ she vanished, then and there. Then, through the perception of the world’s variety the idea (mati) arose in me.
I-13. Delusion appears five-fold; it will be presently set forth. Due to the first delusion, Jiva and God appear to have different forms.
I-14. Due to the second, the attribute of agency dwelling in the Self appears to be real. The third (consists in) deeming the Jiva associated with the three bodies as having attachment.
I-15. The fourth takes the world-cause (God) to be mutable. The fifth delusion ascribes reality to the world as distinguished from its cause. Then, also, in the mind flashes the cessation of the five-fold delusion.
I-16. From that moment, spontaneously, my mind was assimilated to Brahman. O Nidagha, thus may you, too, secure knowledge of reality.
I-17. With humility and respect (Nidagha spoke to Ribhu: impart to me, having faith (in you), the peerless science of Brahman.
I-18. Gratified, Ribhu said: ‘so be it’. I shall impart to you the knowledge of reality, O sinless one. Be a mighty agent, ardent enjoyer, and a great renouncer. Having this investigated your own real nature, be happy.
I-19. ‘I am Brahman, ever manifest, pure, first, endless; there is no room for the slightest dallying with aught else’ – thus think, having become blemishless; achieve Nirvana (permanent peace) having purified and quietened all movements of the mind.
I-20. Know that none of the things seen here is there; it is all like ‘the city in the sky’ and ‘water in the desert’.
I-21. On the other hand, what is nowhere seen, at all, is not given (as an object); beyond the range of the sixth sense, mind, O sage -- assimilate yourself to That.
I-22. Grasp: I am That which is the indestructible, infinite, Spirit, the Self of everything, integral, replete, abundant and partless.
I-23. Due to the absolute contemplation of absence (or nihil), when the mind dwindles, there results the state of the being-in-general (satta-samanya), of that whose essence is unqualified consciousness.
I-24. Surely, devoid of all objective tinge, when consciousness (chit) subsides, there supervenes the exceedingly transparent being-in-general that resembles non-being.
I-25. For the liberated Self, both embodied and disembodied, surely there occurs this ultimate perception known as the state-beyond-the fourth.
I-26. O sinless one, this occurs in the case of the knower both when he has risen from Concentration (Samadhi) and when he is established in it; being born of awareness, this does not happen for the ignorant alone.
I-27. All waverings between states of reasoning, etc., having vanished long since, his face steeped in the lovely light of Brahmic bliss, (the sage) attains the blessed state through right knowledge alone.
I-28. The inner cool (calm repose) of him who perceives this multitude of gunas as non-Self is said to be Concentration.
I-29. The steady mind is empty of latent impulses; the same is (the state of) contemplation. The same also is Aloneness. Besides, it is nothing but perpetual quiescence.
I-30. The mind with attenuated latent impulses is said to be bound for the highest state. Next, the mind, without such impulses, attains the status of the non-doer.
I-31. On the other hand, the mind’s imagination of being the doer is replete with latent impulses; it causes all sufferings; therefore attenuated latent impulses.
I-32. When the imagination of unity with all objects is mentally discarded, due to its constant introverted state, all things are resolved into empty space.
I-33. As crowds in a market, though active, are as good as non-existent (to the observer) when he is not related (to them), so too, to the knower is a village like unto a forest.
I-34. Being inwardly withdrawn, the knower, either asleep, awake, walking or reading, beholds a city, country-side, or village as if it were no other than a forest (i.e. with total disinterestedness).
I-35. Once the inner cool is won, the world is cool. To those scorched by the inner thirst, the world is afire.
I-36. For all (unliberated) beings what is within is projected externally.
I-37. But the lover of the inner Self, though operating through the organs of action, is unaffected by joy and sorrow; he is said to be concentrated.
I-38. He who, as a matter of course and not through fear, beholds all beings as one’s own Self and others’ possessions as clods of earth, alone sees aright.
I-39. Let death come now or at the end of cycles; he remains unblemished as gold (fallen) in mire. I-40. Consider in your mind: who am I ? How is all this (brought about) ? How do death and birth (happen) ? Thus (considering) will you earn the great benefit (of investigation).
I-41. Your mind will shed its (discursive) form and quietly win repose, once, through investigation, you comprehend your real nature.
I-42. O Brahmin, your mind, cured of its feverishness, no more sinks in empirical activities, as an elephant does not, in the hollow made by a cow’s hoof.
I-43. But a petty mind, O Brahmin, does sink in any petty affair, just as a battered mosquito does, in the water collected in the hollow made by a cow’s hoof.
I-44. O best of ascetics, to the extent all objects are readily renounced, the supreme Self, the transcendent light, alone remains.
I-45. So long as all objects are not renounced, the Self is not won. What remains after the renunciation of the entire objective manifold is said to be the Self.
I-46. Therefore, in order to realize the Self, renounce everything. Having cast off all (objects), assimilate yourself to that which remains.
I-47. Whatever object is beheld in the world around is but the vibration of Consciousness, it is nothing permanent.
I-48. O Brahmin, by the term Samadhi (Concentration) the wise denote transcendent understanding that is concentrated, eternally appeased, and is cognisant of things as they are.
I-49. The term Concentration denotes the stable, mountain-like, status (of the self) that is unagitated, unegoistic, and unrelated to dualities.
I-50. O Brahmin, it denotes the perfected flow of the mind that is sure, choiceless and goalless.
I-51. The best of the knowers of the Vedas, the great ones, win that fourth and stable perception that is fashioned solely through a part of the light of the Spirit.
I-52. (It is) lodged in the heart of all things and not altogether unlike dreamless slumber, when the mind and the ego subside.
I-53. After liquidating the mind with the mind, that state – that supremely divine bliss-body – is automatically won.
I-54. Thence follows the obliteration of all cravings for objects; then dawns the auspicious and superbly splendid light, and then, in the case of the very best, due to the sway of even-mindness (takes place) the ineffable transformation into the Self’s substance.
I-55. Directly experienced indeed as the God of gods and Self of all entities, moving and stationary is this total and infinite reality of the Self, dwelling in the fast-evolving mind that is quietened externally. I-56. The unattached, steady, and controlled mind is not in evidence in the worldings; the attached mind, though subjected to long-drawn austerities is, as it were, altogether bound.
I-57. The man free from inner clingings, whose mind dwells on the blissful (Brahman) may or may not act externally; never can he be either agent or experiencer.
II-1. Nidagha: What is attachment like ? What kind of it leads to human bondage ? And what kind of it is said to liberate ? How is this (attachment) cured ?
II-2. (Ribhu): Imagination, ignoring wholly the distinction between the body and the embodied (Self) – the exclusive faith in the body – is the attachment that is said to bind.
II-3. All this is Self: what shall I seek here and what avoid ? Know this to be the position of non-attachment that the Jivanmukta fosters.
II-4. I am not; none, other than me, is; neither this nor the non-other exists. This (attitude) is said to be non-attachment, always maintaining, ‘I am Brahman’.
II-5. He does not approve of inactivity; neither does he cling to activities. He, the renouncer, is the superbly equable (in outlook); he is said to be the non-attached.
II-6. One who mentally, and not in the concrete act alone, renounces fruits, etc., of all his activities – that adept is said to be non-attached.
II-7. Imaginations and the manifold activities issuing (therefrom) are cured, here, by non-indulgence in imagination; thus promote well-being.
II-8-9. The mind that clings not to acts, thoughts, and things, to wanderings and reckonings of time, but reposes in Consciousness alone, finding no delight anywhere, even when turned toward some objects, revels in the Self.
II-10. Let him perform or not all this empirical activity; doing or non-doing, his true occupation is Self-delight.
II-11. Or, giving up even that objective element, as stabilised Consciousness, the tranquillised Jiva abides in the Self like a radiant gem.
II-12. The quiescent state of the attenuated mind, free from all objective reference, is said to be the deep sleep in wakefulness.
II-13. This state of slumber, O Nidagha, fully developed through practice, is styled the Fourth by the best knowers of Truth.
II-14. Having attained the indestructible status in this fourth stage, one reaches a non-blissful poise (as it were), its nature being invariably delightful.
II-15. Thence lifted above all relativities, like non-bliss and great bliss, the time-less Yogin, reaching the state beyond the fourth, is said to be liberated.
II-16. With all bonds of birth loosened, and all Tamasic conceits dissolved, the great sage (abides) as the blissful being of the supreme Self like a salt-crystal in water.
II-17. That which is the trans-empirical and experiential reality, present in the (contrasted) perceptions of the material and the conscious, is the essence; Brahman is said to be that.
II-18(a). Bondage is encompassed by the object; on release from this, liberation is said to supervene. II-18(b)-19. Resting in that unvexed experience, discriminated in the link between the substance and perception, abide you; thus one attains the (peace) of deep sleep. That develops into the Fourth; station your gaze on That.
II-20. The Self is neither gross nor subtle; neither manifest nor hidden; neither spiritual nor material; neither non-being nor being.
II-21. That non-dual indestructible one which has become the object, the ground of mind and all sense-organs, is neither ‘I’ nor another; neither one nor many.
II-22. That real joy (experienced) in the relation between the object and perception is the transcendental state; therefore it is, as it were, nothing (in itself).
II-23. Liberation is not on the top of the sky; not in the nether world; not on the earth. The dwindling of mind in which all desires dry up is held to be liberation.
II-24. With the thought, within, ‘let me have liberation’ the mind springs up; this worldly bondage is firm in the mind agitated with thought.
II-25. The mere non-cleansing of the mind reduces it to a state of prodigious transmigration; its cleansing alone, on the other hand, is said to be liberation.
II-26. What is bondage and what is liberation in respect of the Self that transcends all things or that pervades all forms ? Think freely.
II-27. Loving the Spirit, lifted above all hopes, full, holy in mind, having won the incomparable state of repose, he seeks nothing here.
II-28. He is called the Jivanmukta (Liberated in life) who lives, unattached, in the pure Being that sustains all, the indubitable Spirit that is the Self.
II-29. He craves not for what is yet to be; he does not bank on the present; he remembers not the past; yet he does all work.
II-30. Ever unattached to those who cling to him; devoted to the devotees; he is harsh, as it were, to the harsh.
II-31. A child amidst children; adult amidst adults; bold amidst the bold; a youth amidst the youthful; lamenting amidst those who lament;
II-32. Steadfast, blissful, polished, of holy speech, wise, simple and sweet; never given to self-pity; II-33. Through discipline, when the throb of vital breaths ceases, the mind is wholly dissolved; the impersonal bliss (Nirvana) remains;
II-34. Whence all discursive speech turns back. With the obliteration of all of one’s mental constructions that (Brahmic) status abides.
II-35. Here is the supreme Self whose essence is the light of Consciousness without beginning or end; the wise hold this luminous certitude to be the right knowledge.
II-36. The plenitude due to the knowledge ‘all the world is Self alone’ is the right measure of Self-realization everywhere in the world.
II-37. All is Self alone; what are the (empirical) states being and non-being ? Where have they fled ? Where are those notions of bondage and liberation ? What stands out is Brahman alone.
II-38. All is the one supreme Sky. What is liberation ? What is bondage ? This is the great Brahman, established mightily, with extended form; duality has vanished far from It; be you, yourself, the Self alone.
II-39. When the form of a stock, stone and cloth is seen aright, there is not even a shadow of difference; bent on imagination (of differences) where are you ?
II-40. This imperishable and tranquil essence, (present) at the beginning and end of things and yourself, always be That.
II-41. With mental distinctions of duality and non-duality and delusions of old age and death, the Self alone shines in its phases (atmabhih) just as the sea, in its (phases of) waves.
II-42. What enjoyment of the desired (fruits) can disturb him, who dwells steadfast, ever wedded, in thought, to the pure Self that fells the tree of dangers, to the status of bliss supreme ?
II-43. Mental enjoyments are the foes of one who has thought extensively; they move him not in the least just as gentle breezes move not a hill at all.
II-44. ‘Plurality exists in diverse imaginings, not really, within; just as there is nothing but water in a lake’ – a man filled with this one certitude is said to be liberated; he who has perceived the Real.
III-1. (Nidagha): What is the nature of liberation without the body ? Who is the great sage in possession of it ? Resorting to which Yoga has he achieved that supreme status ?
III-2. Ribhu: In the region of Sumeru the celebrated sage Mandavya resorting to Truth (imparted by) Kaundinya became liberated in life.
III-3. Having attained the status of Jivanmukti, that foremost knower of Brahman, that great sage, made up his mind, once upon a time, to withdraw all his sense-organs (from their respective objects).
III-4. He sat in the lotus-posture, with eyes half-closed, slowly avoiding contacts (with objects),
external and internal.
III-5. Then he, with his sinless mind, (reflected on) the (degree of) steadiness of his mind: ‘clearly, though withdrawn, this mind of mine is extremely restless’.
III-6. It wanders from a cloth to a pot and thence to a big cart. The mind wanders among objects as a monkey does from tree to tree.
III-7. The five openings, eyes and so forth, known as the sense organs of cognition, I am watching carefully with my mind.
III-8. O you sense-organs ! Slowly give up your mood of agitation. Here I am, the divine spiritual Self, the witness of all.
III-9. With that all-knowing Self, I have comprehended (the nature of) eyes, etc. I am completely secure and at peace. Luckily I am fearless.
III-10. Incessantly I rest in my Self, the Fourth; my vital breaths, its extensions, have all, in due order, subsided within.
III-11. (I am) as a fire with its multitudinous flames, when the fuel has been consumed; it blazed forth but now is extinguished – the blazing fire has, indeed, been extinguished.
III-12. Having been purified utterly, I remain equable, enjoying all alike, as it were. I am awake though in deep sleep; though in deep sleep, I am awake.
III-13-14. Resorting to the Fourth, I remain within the body with a stable status, having abandoned, together with the long thread of sound reaching upto OM, objects in all the three worlds fashioned by imagination.
III-15. As a bird, for flying in the sky, leaves the net (in which it was enmeshed), the great sage sheds (his) identification with the sense-organs; then (he sheds) his awareness of limbs which has become illusory.
III-16. He has won the knowledge of a new-born infant; as if the air should give up its power to vibrate, he has terminated the proneness of consciousness to attach itself to objects.
III-17. Then, attaining the unqualified state of Consciousness – the state of pure Being –resorting, (as it were), to the state of dreamless slumber, he has stayed immovable like a mountain.
III-18. Winning the stability of dreamless sleep he has attained the Fourth; though gone beyond bliss, (he is) still blissful; he has become both being and non-being.
III-19. Then he becomes that which is beyond even the range of words which is the nihil of the nihilist and Brahman of the knowers of Brahman;
III-20. Which is the pure blemishless cognition of the knowers of cognition, the Purusha of the Sankhyas and Ishvara of the Yogins;
III-21. The Shiva of the Shivagamas; the Time of those who affirm Time alone (as the basic principle); the final doctrine of all Shastras, and what conforms to every heart;
III-22. Which is the All, the all-pervading Reality, the Truth. He has become That, the unuttered, the moveless, the illuminator even of lights;
III-23. The Principle whose sole proof is one’s experience of It – he has remained as That.
III-24. That which is unborn, deathless, beginningless and the First immaculate state, whole and impartite – he has remained as That; a state subtler than that of the sky. In a moment, he has become the hallowed God.
IV-1. Has the Jivanmukta characteristics like the power to fly in space, etc., ? If so, great sage, it is not present in the perfected man (described above).
IV-2. O Brahmin, a non-knower of the Self, still in bondage, achieves (the powers) to fly in space, etc., by virtue of (specific) substances, incantations, practices and potencies of time.
IV-3. This is not the concern of the Self-knower. One having contentment in one’s Self never hankers after (the phenomena of) nescience.
IV-4. Whatever objects are present in the world are (held to be) of the stuff of nescience. How can the great Yogin, who has dispelled nescience, plunge into them ?
IV-5. Whichever confounded person or man of little understanding desires the group of Yogic powers achieves them, one by one, through set practices, instrumental to them.
IV-6. Substances, incantations, actions applied at (the right) time, yield Yogic powers all right. None of them lifts man to the status of God.
IV-7. Only influenced by some desire does man work for miraculous powers. The perfect man, seeking nothing, can have no desire whatsoever.
IV-8. When all desires dry up, O sage, the Self is won. How can the mindless (sage) desire miraculous powers ?
IV-9. The man liberated in life would feel no surprise were the sun to radiate cool light, the moon scorching rays or the fire to blaze downwards.
IV-10. (The whole world) is superimposed on the supreme Reality, the Ground, as the snake is on the rope. No curiosity is aroused as regards these superimposed wonders.
IV-11. Those indeed who have known what is to be known and shed all attachments, whose intellect is great, the knots of whose hearts have been cut, are free, though living in the body.
IV-12. Dead is his mind who is unmoved in joy and sorrow, and whom nothing jerks out of equality, even as breaths stir not a mighty mountain.
IV-13. Dead is the mind of one who is undisturbed by danger, resourcelessness, energy, hilarity, dullness, or great rejoicing.
IV-14. The destruction of mind is twofold, determinate and indeterminate. In (the state of) liberation in life it is determinate; in that of disembodied liberation it is indeterminate.
IV-15. The presence of mind makes for sorrow; its destruction promotes joy. Attenuate the existent mind and bring about its destruction.
IV-16. The nature of mind, know, is folly, O sinless one ! When that perishes one’s real essence, mindlessness, is (won).
IV-17. The mind of one liberated in life, having qualities like friendliness, etc., is rich in noble impulses; it is never reborn.
IV-18. This ‘destruction’ of the Jivanmukta’s mind is determinate; Nidagha, with disembodied liberation comes indeterminate destruction.
IV-19. One liberated in disembodiment is he who realizes the partless Self; his mind, the abode of all excellent qualities as it was, is dissolved.
IV-20-21. In that supremely holy, blemishless status of disembodied liberation, marked by ‘mindlessness’, in that state of indeterminate destruction of the mind, just nothing remains, neither qualities nor their absence; neither glory nor its absence; nothing (whatsoever) of the world;
IV-22. Neither sunrise nor sunset; neither sensations of joy or anger; neither light nor darkness; neither twilight, day nor night; neither being, non-being, nor centrality marks the status (of disembodied liberation).
IV-23. The spacious status of those (who are liberated in disembodiment), who have gone beyond intellect and the pomp of worldly life, is like the sky, the abode of the winds.
IV-24. The great (Jivanmuktas) whose bodies are the subtle ether become disembodied there (in the state of disembodied liberation); all their sufferings are cured; they are immaterial; totally quiescent, immobilized in bliss, beyond Rajas and Tamas. In that state dissolve the remnants of their mind.
IV-25. O great sage, Nidagha, rid your mind of all latent tendencies; concentrate your mind forcefully, and go beyond all mental constructions.
IV-26. That eternally self-shining Light, illuminating the world, is alone the witness of this world, the Self of all, the pure One.
IV-27. As massed Intelligence It is the ground of all beings. That non-dual Brahman characterised by truth, knowledge, and bliss is the object of knowledge.
IV-28-29. The sage fulfils his duty with the realization, ‘I am the one Brahman’; (Brahman is) the ground of all, non-dual, supreme, eternal, of the essence of being, intelligence, and bliss, beyond the range of word and mind.
IV-30. There shine not the forms of the moon and the sun; the winds blow not; and none of the gods (are there). This divinity alone shines forth as being, pure by itself, free from rajas.
IV-31. The knot of the heart is split; all doubts are cut asunder. All his actions dwindle when He, who is both here and beyond, is seen.
IV-32. In this body are the birds, called the Jiva and the Lord, dwelling together. Of them the Jiva eats the fruit of action, not the great Lord.
IV-33. Alone as the Witness, without participation, the great Lord shines by Himself. Through Maya is set up the difference between them. Spirit is other than Its form; as It does not dwindle, the Spirit is non-different (from all objects).
IV-34. As the unity of the Spirit is established through reasoning and means of right knowledge, once that unity is comprehensively known, one no more sorrows; nor is one deluded.
IV-35. Having the certain knowledge, ‘I am the ground of the whole world, solid Truth and Knowledge’, the sage may dispel (all) sorrow.
IV-36. Those whose flaws have (all) been attenuated realize in their own bodies the Witness of all, whose essence is self-luminous Being; not those others who are encompassed by Maya.
IV-37. Knowing Him alone, let the intelligent Brahmana build up wisdom; let him not dwell on a multitude of words that only makes for verbal weariness.
IV-38. Having mastered the knowledge of Brahman let him live in childlikeness alone. Having mastered both Brahman-knowledge and childlikeness, the sage possesses the Self.
IV-39. Know the elemental body as the seed of the creeper of samsara (the transmigratory life) with its immense sprouts, good and evil, having their potencies latent (in the body).
IV-40. Of this body, the seed is the mind conforming to cravings; it is a sheath of active and quiescent moods, a casket holding the gem of pain.
IV-41. The tree of the mind has two seeds; one is the vibration of the vital breath; the other, obstinate imagination.
IV-42. When the vital breath, aroused by nervous contacts, vibrates, at once the mind is transformed into a mass of sensations.
IV-43. That all-pervading awareness is aroused by the vibration of the vital breath. It is better to suppress the awareness (of objects); less harmful is the vibration of the vital breath, etc.
IV-44. For mental peace, the Yogins suppress vital breaths through breath-control, meditation and practices dictated by reasoning.
IV-45. Know the supreme cause yielding the fruit of mental peace: (namely) the joyful Self-abidance of cognition that is known as breath-control.
IV-46. Latent impression is said to consist in the seizing of an object (by the force of) entrenched imagination, despite all considerations of cause and effect.
IV-47. Rejecting everything and imagining nothing, either to be chosen or rejected, the mind remains (in itself); now is the mind unborn.
IV-48. Being continuously free from latent impressions, when the mind ceases to ponder there arises mindlessness that yields supreme tranquillity.
IV-49. When no aspect of objects in the world is imagined how can the mind be born in the empty sky of the heart ?
IV-50. The conception of a thing’s absence is based on its non-being; mindlessness is posited with reference to the object-as-such.
IV-51. The mind abiding coolly in itself, after the inner rejection (of all objects), though in modifications, is (still) held to have the form of non-being.
IV-52. They indeed are deemed liberated in life whose latent, unenjoyed, impressions are like the fried seeds, incapable of sprouting any more.
IV-53. Their minds have acquired the form of Sattva; they have gone beyond the farther shore of knowledge; they are said to be mindless. With the fall of their bodies they become sky-like.
IV-54. Due to rejection of objects, both the vibrations of vital breaths and latent impressions swiftly perish as does a tree whose root is cut off.
IV-55. In this state of cognition, whatever appears either as experienced before or as altogether new, must be meticulously wiped out by every one whose knowledge is sound.
IV-56. The vast transmigratory life is (due to) the failure to obliterate them; on the contrary, liberation is held to be just their obliteration.
IV-57. Be immaterial (spiritual), rejecting all pleasures and cognitions.
IV-58. Knowledge depends on the states of objects; one having no knowledge is non-cognitive, though he performs a hundred actions; he is held to be non-inert.
IV-59. He is said to be liberated in life, the clear sphere of whose emotions is not in the least affected by objects; his knowledge is spiritual.
IV-60. Due to the absence of latent impressions in the mind when nothing is imagined, it remains steady with cognitions similar to those of children and the dumb.
IV-61. Now the sage is no longer affected; for he resorts to the vast intelligent non-knowing (in the objective mode).
IV-62. Through the concentration of modelessness, rejecting all latent impressions, he becomes one with it; in the Infinite even that is dissolved.
IV-63. Though standing, walking, touching, smelling, the intelligent sage, devoid of all clingings, gets rid of (fluctuating) pleasures, and the cognitions (of the particulars); he is at peace.
IV-64. A shoreless ocean of excellences, he crosses the sea of sufferings, because he resorts to this vision even in the midst of vexed activities.
IV-65. Devoid of all particular the stainless, pure Being is one vast essence – That is held to be the abode of (immutable) existence.
IV-66. Rejecting distinctions like the being of time, the being of instants, the being of entities, be solely devoted to pure Being.
IV-67. Contemplating but one unqualified universal Being, be omnipresent, full, supremely blissful, filling up all space.
IV-68. The pristine inconceivable Status, without beginning and end, that remains at the fringe of universal Being, is causeless.
IV-69. Cognitions dissolve there. It remains beyond the possibility of doubts. A man who reaches That returns to pains no more.
IV-70. It is the cause of all beings; itself has no cause. It is the quintessence of all essences; nothing is more quintessential that It.
IV-71. In that vast mirror of Intelligence, all these perceptions of objects are reflected as the trees on the bank are reflected in the lake.
IV-72. That is the pure unobscured Truth of the Self; when that is known the mind is tranquillised. Having, through knowledge, won Its essence you become truly free from the fear of samsara.
IV-73. By the application of the remedies mentioned by me for the causes of suffering, that (supreme) status is attained.
IV-74-75. O knower of Truth ! If by manly endeavour you forcefully eschew latent impressions and establish yourself, all alone, in that indestructible status, even for a moment, at the very summit of universal being, well, at this very moment you achieve it all right;
IV-76. Or, if you sedulously cultivate the status of universal being, that status you will attain with somewhat greater effort.
IV-77. Nidagha, if you stay meditating on the principle of cognition, through (still) greater effort you will win that exalted status.
IV-78. Or, sir, if you strive to shed latent impressions (know) that till the mind is dissolved, the latent impressions, too, are not attenuated.
IV-79. As long as the latent impressions are not attenuated, the mind is not tranquillised; as long as the knowledge of truth is not won, whence can come mental tranquillity ?
IV-80. As long as the mind is not tranquil, Truth cannot be known; so long as the knowledge of Truth is not won whence can mental tranquillity come ?
IV-81-82. Knowledge of Truth, mind’s destruction, attenuation of latent impressions – (these) mutually cause one another; they are indeed hard to accomplish. Therefore, flinging far from you the desire for enjoyment, cultivate this triad.
IV-83. High-souled one ! Sought for long and simultaneously, the attenuation of latent impressions, knowledge (of Truth), and the destruction of the mind are held to prove effective.
IV-84. By means of these three, cultivated aright, the tough knots of the heart are shattered without residue as are their threads when the lotus stalks are crushed.
IV-85. Truth-knowers know that breath-control corresponds to the eschewal of latent impressions; therefore, also, practise this latter too, by breath control.
IV-86. By eschewing latent impressions the mind ceases to be; also by obstructing the vibrations of the vital breath (it does so); do (the one or the other) as you choose.
IV-87. By the steady practice of breath-control, the exercise of reasoning taught by the teacher, the practice of Yogic postures and the regulation of diet, the vibration of breath is obstructed.
IV-88. Through behaviour without attachment, avoidance of contemplation of birth (and empirical life) and the perception of the decline of the body, latent impressions cease to operate.
IV-89. The vibration of the vital breath is indeed the same as mind’s vibration. The intelligent man should strive hard to conquer vibrations of the vital breath.
IV-90. Without sound reasoning it is impossible to conquer the mind. Resorting to pure cognition and rejecting attachment, be steady.
IV-91. O great-souled one ! Abide solely in the heart, contemplating without conceptions the pristine, single, matchless and indubitable status of cognition without objects; but perform action, having achieved the status of inactivity in the blaze of tranquil glory.
IV-92. The man who, through ratiocination, in however small a measure, has slain his mind has achieved the object of his life.
V-1. He is said to be dead whose mind is not given over to investigation when he walks or stands; when he is awake or sleep.
V-2. Know the Spirit-in-Itself to be of the nature of the light of right knowledge. It is fearless; neither subjugated nor depressed.
V-3. The knower digests (whatever) food he eats – (whether it is) impure, unwholesome, defiled through contact with poison, well-cooked or stale, as though it were ‘sweet’ (i.e. a hearty meal).
V-4. The (wise) know liberation to be the renunciation of (all) attachment: non-birth results from it. Give up attachment to objects; be liberated in life, O sinless one !
V-5. Attachment is held to be the impure impressions causing reactions like joy and indignation when the objects sought after are present or absent.
V-6. Pure is the impression latent in the bodies of the liberated in life which does not lead to rebirth and is untainted by elation or depression.
V-7. O Nidagha ! Pains do not depress you; joys do not elate you; abandoning servitude to desires, be unattached.
V-8. ‘Undetermined by space and time, beyond the purview of ‘is’ and ‘is not’, there is but Brahman, the pure indestructible Spirit, quiescent and one; there is nothing else’.
V-9. Thus thinking, with a body at once present and absent, be (liberated), the silent man, uniform, with quiescent mind delighting in the Self.
V-10. There is neither mind -stuff nor mind; neither nescience nor Jiva. Manifest is the one Brahman alone, like the sea, without beginning or end.
V-11. The illusory perception of mind, etc., continues as long as the I-sense is bound up with the body, objects are mistaken for the Self, and the sense of possession, expressed as ‘this is mine’, persists.
V-12. Sage ! Illusory perceptions of mind, etc., vanish for one who, through introversion, internally burns up, in the fire of the Spirit, the dry grass that is this three-fold world.
V-13. I am the Self that is the Spirit; I am impartite. I have neither cause not effect. Remember your vast (infinite) form; through memory, do not be finitized.
V-14. By means of the mantra (incantation) of the spiritual science, contemplated within, the deadly disease of craving dwindles as does mist in autumn.
V-15. (The sages) hold that the best (form of) renunciation, namely that of latent impressions, by virtue of knowledge, is the status of Aloneness, as it is pure universal Being.
V-16. Where latent impressions remain in solution there is ‘deep sleep’; it does not make for perfection. Where the impressions are seedless, there is ‘the Fourth’ that yields perfection.
V-17. Even a very small residue of latent impressions, of fire, debt, disease and adversaries, of attachment, enmity and poison affects one adversely.
V-18. With the seeds of latent impressions consumed, and conformed to universal Being, with or without a body, one no more partakes of sufferings.
V-19. The decision, ‘This is not Brahman’, is the sum total of nescience, whose extinction consists in (the opposite) decision, ‘this is Brahman’.
V-20. Brahman is Spirit, Brahman is the world. Brahman is the congregation of beings, Brahman is myself, Brahman is the adversary of the Spirit, Brahman is the allies and friends of the Spirit.
V-21. Once it is realized that Brahman is all, man is Brahman indeed ! One experiences the omnipresent Spirit that is peace.
V-22. When the mind, the guide of unregenerate senses, ceases to operate in regard to the alien, the immaculate, all-pervading awareness (that remains), the Brahman-Intelligence, am I.
V-23. Resort to that intelligent Self, having discarded all speculations, all curiosity, all vehemence of feelings.
V-24. Thus intelligent beings, with full knowledge, equanimous, with minds rid of all attachment, neither applaud nor condemn either life or death.
V-25-26. O Brahmin, the vital breath has the ceaseless power of vibration; it always moves. In this body with its ins and outs, this up going vital breath is placed above; the down breath too is similar; only it is stationed below.
V-27. That best breath control that operates in the expert, whether awake or asleep – listen to (an account of) that for better being.
V-28. Puraka is the contact of the body with the up-breaths that move forwards (from the nostrils) through the space of twelve finger-breadths.
V-29. Apana (the down-breath) is the moon that keeps the body in well-being, O well-disciplined sage ! The up-breath is the sun or the fire which internally warms the body.
V-30. Resort to the spiritual identity of the down-and-up breaths that dwells near the point where the up-breath dwindles and the down-breath rises.
V-31. Resort to that spiritual, impartite Principle when the down-breath has set and, for a moment, the up-breath has not yet arisen.
V-32. Resort to that spiritual impartite Principle, at the tip of the nose where the breaths revolve, before the down-breath sets while the up-breath has done so.
V-33. These three worlds are only an appearance, neither existent nor non-existent; (the consequent) renunciation of all concern with an other, the wise maintain, is right knowledge.
V-34. Noble Brahmin ! Even this appearance is distorted by the mirror of the mind. Therefore, giving up that, too, be rid of all appearances.
V-35. Uprooting this fearful demon of the mind, detrimental to the essence of steadiness, remain what you are; be steadfast.
V-36. The Spirit that is beyond cause and effect and is likened to the (boundless) sky is incapable of confrontation by any (real) object; it remains at the end of all mental processes.
V-37. The satisfaction (felt) at the moment of desire is caused by that very desire. This satisfaction lasts only till discontent (sets in); therefore, reject desire.
V-38. Reduce desire to desirelessness; let conceptions cease; let mind grow into mindlessness in the process of your life without attachment.
V-39. Acting through sense organs, free from (the force) of latent impulses, like the sky, you would not alter though there be a thousand disturbances.
V-40. Due to the activity and the inactivity of the mind does empirical life start and subside. Through the suppression of latent impulses and the vital breath, reduce the mind to inactivity.
V-41. Due to the activity and inactivity of the vital breaths does empirical life start and subside. Through drill and application, reduce it to inactivity.
V-42. Due to the active and passive phases of ignorance do activities get started and cease. Dissolve it (ignorance) forcefully by winning a teacher and the instructions of the Shastras.
V-43. By a mere quiver of the non-objective knowledge or by the suppression of vital breaths is mind reduced to mindlessness; that is the supreme status.
V-44. Through the perception of Brahman, infallibly directed to it (bliss), behold that real bliss occasioned by the visioning of the knowable (as Brahman).
V-45. That indeed is the non-factitious bliss which the mind does not reach; it is free from decline and growth; it neither rises nor sets.
V-46. The mind of the knower is not called mind; mind indeed is the Truth of Spirit. Therefore, in the Fourth state, it transcends that state.
V-47. Having renounced all mental constructions, equable, and with a quiescent mind, be a sage, wedded to the Yoga of renunciation, possessing both knowledge and freedom.
V-48. The supreme Brahman is that which conforms to no act of mentation. (It is what remains) when mental activities completely die down and all masses of latent impulses have been liquidated.
V-49. By securing right knowledge, and by unremitting concentration, those who become enlightened in the wisdom of the Upanishads are the Sankhyas and the others are the Yogins.
V-50. Those are the Yogins, versed in Yoga, who, after the quiescence of the breaths through ascetic practices, achieve the status above sufferings, beginningless and endless.
V-51. What is required to be won by all is the uncaused and still status; the contemplation of the one changeless Real, the control of breaths, the dwindling of the mind.
V-52. When one of them is perfected, it helps perfect the others (also). The vital breaths and mind of living beings are all concomitant.
V-53. Like the container and the content they perish when only one is present. Through self-destruction they produce that best of products, namely, liberation.
V-54. If, remaining steady, you reject all this by understanding, then, on the cessation of the I-sense, you yourself are the supreme Status.
V-55. There is but one great Spirit, which is called the Being; it is flawless, even, pure, free from the I-sense.
V-56. It shines forth but once, the pure, the ever risen, the same. It is described by many names, as Brahman, the supreme Self, etc.
V-57. O Nidagha, knowing for creation ‘I am That’, having done what had to be accomplished, I never think of the past or the future.
V-58. I cling wholly to the vision that is present here (and now). ‘This have I won today; I shall achieve this beautiful’ (thing).
V-59. I laud not; neither do I condemn. Nothing other than the self is anywhere. The gaining of the good does not gladden me; evil betiding me does not sadden me.
V-60. Sage, the waverings of my mind have been totally stilled; it is rod of all sorrow. It is cured of all wantings. It is tranquil. Therefore I am hale, and untrammelled.
V-61. ‘This is a friend; that is a foe; this is mind; that is a stranger’ – this sort of knowledge does not occur to me, O Brahmin; no affection touches me.
V-62. Rid of all latent impressions, the mind is liberated from old age and death. Mind with latent impressions inherent in it is knowledge. What is to be known is the mind rid of all latent impressions. V-63. When the mind is rejected, this duality on all sides is dissolved; but remains the tranquil supreme One, pure and untrammelled.
V-64. The endless, unborn, unmanifest, unageing, tranquil, unlapsing, non-dual, beginningless and endless which (nevertheless) is the first Apprehension.
V-65. One, devoid of beginning and end, wholly spirit, pure, pervasive, subtler far than the sky; thou art that Brahman indubitably.
V-66. Undetermined by space, time, etc.; superlatively pure, ever arisen, omnipresent, this one End is all-in-all; be thou that pure Spirit.
V-67. ‘All is this tranquil one, devoid of beginning, middle and end. All is unborn, both Being and non-being' – so thinking, be happy.
V-68. I am not bound nor liberated. I am indeed the untrammelled Brahman. I am free from duality. I am being, Intelligence, bliss.
V-69. Keeping far away the entire multitude of objects, be you ever devoted to the Self, your mind all cooled.
V-70. ‘This is fine; this is not ! -- such (feeling) is the seed of your extended sorrow. When that is burned in the fire of impartiality, where is the occasion for sorrow ?
V-71. First augment wisdom by means of familiarity with the Shastras and by seeking the company of the holy.
V-72. The true, real and ultimate Brahman, superlatively pure, eternal, without beginning and end, is the cure for all forms of transmigratory life.
V-73. So also is It neither coarse nor spaced; neither tangible nor visible; It is tasteless and scentless; unknowable and peerless.
V-74. Well disciplined (sage) ! For achieving liberation, one should meditate on the bodiless Self that is Brahman - Being consciousness and Bliss without end – as ‘I am (That)’.
V-75. Concentration is the origination of knowledge in regard to the unity of the Supreme and the Jiva. The Self, verily, is eternal, omnipresent, immutable and flawless.
V-76. Being (but) one, through Maya it splits up; not in Its essence. Therefore the non-dual alone is; no manifold, no empirical life (is there).
V-77. Just as space is called ‘Pot-space’ (and) ‘great space’, so, due to delusion, is the self called Jiva and Ishvara in two ways.
V-78. When the all-pervading spirit shines always without a break in the mind of the Yogin then one becomes one’s Self.
V-79. Verily, when one beholds all beings in one’s own Self, and one’s Self in all beings, one becomes Brahman.
V-80. In the state of concentration, atoned with the Supreme, one beholds no beings; one then is the Alone.
V-81. The first plane, generating the desire for liberation, is marked by the practice (of discipline) and detachment due to intimacy with the Shastras and the company of the holy.
V-82. The second is marked by investigation; the third by contemplation with (all) its accessories; the fourth is the solvent as it consists in the dissolution of latent impressions.
V-83. The fifth is the rapturous; it is purely cognitive. This is the station of the Liberated-in-life who is, as it were, half awake and half asleep.
V-84. The sixth plane is non-cognitive. It is the station similar to deep sleep, having the nature of pure and massive bliss.
V-85. The seventh plane is (marked by) equability, utter purity, tenderness; it is indeed unqualified liberation, the quiescent Fourth State.
V-86. The transcendent state beyond the Fourth, Nirvana in its essence, is the transcendent and developed seventh plane; it does not come within the purview of mortals.
V-87. The first three constitute but the wakeful life; the fourth is called the dream (state) where the world is regrettably dream-like.
V-88. The fifth, conforming to massive bliss, is styled deep sleep. In contrast the sixth which is non-cognitive is named the Fourth State.
V-89. The most excellent seventh plane is the state beyond the Fourth, beyond the range of mind and words, and identified with the self-luminous Being.
V-90. If due to the withdrawal (of the cognitive organs) into (one’s self) no object is perceived., (one) is liberated, indeed, indubitably by that mighty sameness (of vision).
V-91. ‘I die not; neither do I live; being preponderantly non-existent, I am existent neither. ‘I am nothing (but) Spirit’, so thinking the intelligent Jivanmukta sorrows not.
V-92. ‘Stainless am I; unageing and unattached, with latent impressions all tranquillised. I am impartite, (the veritable) Spirit-sky’, so thinking he sorrows not.
V-93. ‘Rid of the I-sense, pure, awake, unageing, immortal peaceful (am I), all appearances have been quietened for me’, so thinking he sorrows not.
V-94. ‘I am one with Him who dwells at the tips of grass, in the sky, in the Sun, in man, the mountain, and the gods’, so thinking he sorrows not.
V-95. Discarding all mental constructions about objects, rising well above them, dwell on the thought ‘I, the free, am the supreme Brahman that remains’.
V-96. Beyond the purview of words, rid of the predicament of hankering after objects, unagitated even by the flavour of climatic bliss, he delights in the Self by himself.
V-97. Renouncing all actions, ever content, independent, neither by virtue, sin nor aught else is he stained.
V-98. Just as a mirror is not stained by reflections, so is the b-Knower inwardly unstained by actions’ fruits.
V-99. Freely moving amidst the masses, he knows neither pains nor pleasures when his body is tortured or honoured, as if these are directed to (one’s) reflections.
V-100. Beyond praise and change, recognising neither worship nor its object, at once conforming and indifferent to all codes of etiquette,
V-101. Let him give up his body either in a holy spot or in the hut of an eater of dog’s flesh: Once knowledge is won, one becomes Jnanin (a knower) of Brahman, free from all latent impressions of Karma.
V-102. The cause of bondage is mental construction; give that up. Liberation comes through the absence of mental construction; practise it intelligently.
V-103. In the context of objects, sense-organs and their contact by wary, perpetually and steadily avoiding states of mental construction.
V-104. Do not succumb to objects; neither identify (yourself) with the sense-organs. Having renounced all constructions, identify with what remains.
V-105. If anything please you, then in a state of bondage are you in empirical life; if nothing pleases you, then (indeed) are you liberated here.
V-106. In the multitude of objects, moving and stationery, extending from grass, etc.; upto the living bodies, let there be nothing that gives you pleasure.
V-107. In the absence of the I-sense and its negation, at once existent and non-existent, what remains unattached, self-same, superlatively pure, and steadfast is said to be the Fourth.
V-108. That superlatively pure sameness, the quiescent status of liberation-in-life, the state of the
spectator is, inempirical usage, called the fourth state.
V-109. This is neither wakefulness nor dream, for there is no room for mental constructions. Neither is this the state of deep sleep; for no inertness is involved in this.
V-110. This world as it is, is dissolved, and then it is the Fourth State for those who are tranquillised and rightly awakened; for the unawakened it stands changeless (as it is in its plurality).
V-111. When the aspect of I-sense is given up, and equability dominates, and the mind disintegrates, the Fourth State comes on.
V-112. The repudiation of the objective manifold is the doctrine of the Shastras setting forth the Spirit. Here is neither avidya nor Maya; this is the tranquil Brahman, unfatigued.
V-113. One is inevitably tranquillised in the clear sky of the Spirit, known as Brahman whose essence is quietude and equability and which is resplendent with all powers.
V-114. Giving up everything, be wedded to an immense silence, O sinless one ! Plunged into Nirvana, lifted above ratiocination, with mind attenuated and intellect becalmed.
V-115. With a tranquillised mind abide in the Self, like one dumb, blind and deaf; ever turned inward, superlatively pure, with brimming inner wisdom.
V-116. O twice born, perform acts, remaining in deep slumber in wakefulness itself. Having internally renounced everything, act externally as occasion arises.
V-117. Mind’s being alone is suffering; the giving up of the mind alone is joy. Therefore, through non-cognition (of objects) attenuate the mind in the sky of the Spirit.
V-118. Seeing that the beautiful or the ugly always remains, like a stone, irremovable – thus, through one’s own effort, is empirical existence conquered.
V-119. What is hidden in the Vedanta, taught in bygone ages, should not be offered to one who is not established in peace; neither to one who is not a son or pupil.
V-120. Whoever studies the Annapurnopanishad with the blessing of (one’s) teacher become a Jivanmukta, and by himself altogether Brahman – This is the Upanishad.
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Annapurnopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
Surya Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Now we shall expound Atharvangiras in relation to the sun: The seer is Brahma, metre Gayatri, Aditya the deity, ‘Hamsas so’ham with Agni and Narayana is the seed, the power is hrillekha or hrim, the pin is the power in the process of unfolding the sky etc., the application is its use in repetition for winning the four human goals. The six limbs consist of the seed with six vowels added.
He indeed is a Brahmana who thus knows the golden Narayana with the blessed sun, impeller of the time-wheel, having four arms and two lotuses, showing promise of refuge and boon, mounted on the sun chariot, set in the red lotus.
Om, Earth, middle region and sky; we meditate on the adorable splendour of Savitar who may inspire our thoughts. The sun is the self of the world, moving as well as un-moving. From Surya indeed are these creatures born, the Yajna, Parjanya, food and spirit.
I bow to you Aditya; you are the agent himself, the manifest Brahman, Rudra, Vishnu, Rig-Veda etc., as well as all the chandas (Metre-Vedas).
From Aditya is born Vayu, Bhumi, water, fire, sky, directions, Devas, Vedas; the sun scorches this sphere; this sun is Brahman, the inner organ, mind, intellect, mind-stuff and Ego, Prana etc., (the five airs), the five sense organs and five motor organs, sound, touch, form, taste and smell; speech, taking (with the hands) release (of the bowels), joy.
I bow to Mitra, Bhanu, (protect me from death), to the shining one, the cause of the universe.
All creatures are born of Surya and are protected by him, dissolve in him – I am Surya himself. The divine Savitar is our eye the Parvata (spirit of the Time-periods), may be vouchsafe our eye.
We know the sun, meditate on the thousand-rayed; may the sun inspire us.
Savitar is before us as well as behind, above and below. May he grant us omnipresence and long life ! Brahman is the single syllable Om, “Ghrini’ has two syllables, ‘Surya’ also, ‘Aditya’ has three. This is the mantra of eight syllables.
He who recites this everyday is a Brahmana, facing sun while reciting he is released from the fear of great diseases, his poverty perishes. He becomes free from the sins of eating forbidden food, forbidden sex-relation, conversation with fallen (men), of wrong converse.
At midday he shall recite facing the sun and he is released from the five great sins.
He should not impart this Savitri Vidya to just anyone. He who recites at dawn becomes fortunate, gets live-stock, masters Vedas; reciting during the three periods (dawn etc.,) he gets the fruit of a hundred Yagas, reciting when the sun has risen to eighteen fingers, conquers death.
This is the Upanishad.
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Suryopanishad, included in the Atharva-Veda.
Akshi Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
PART-I
Then the blessed Samkriti repaired to the solar world. Bowing down to the sun, he glorified the Sun by means of the science of the Wise:
Om, Salutation to the blessed Lord, the glorious Sun, to the Power of the eye. Om, Salutation to the Sky-Wanderer.
Om, Salutation to the Commander of the Army (of light). Om, Salutation to darkness (excess of light).
Om, Salutation to Energy. Om, Salutation to Light.
Lead me from the unreal to the Real; lead me from darkness to Light; lead me from death to Immortality.
Of the essence of Purity, the blessed One scorches (the sins of the sinful). The blessed Swan, of the essence of Purity, is the Prototype (of the bound soul, the Jiva).
Here rises the Sun, thousand-rayed, existent in myriad ways, the life of all animate beings. (I meditate on Him who is) omniform, compassionate, omniscient, ambrosial, of the essence of light, the Scorcher. Om, Salutation to the blessed Lord, the Sun, the Offspring of the Infinite, the Power of the eye. The flood of days ! The flood !! All Hail !
Thus glorified by means of the science of the Wise the-Lord-in-the-form-of-the-Sun was highly gratified. He said: Whichever Brahmana studies without break this science of the Wise never contracts any eye-disease. None is born blind in his family. Teaching this to eight Brahmanas one becomes perfect in this science. Whosoever knows this is magnified.
PART-II
1.Then verily Samkriti said to the Sun: Blessed One, teach me Brahma-vidya. The Sun told him: Samkriti, listen. I shall set forth the knowledge of Reality, so hard to come by; by which knowledge alone will you become liberated while living in the body.
2.All is one, unborn, tranquil, endless, certain, immutable. See Reality as Spirit; be tranquil and at ease.
3.(The adepts) know Yoga to be the non-knowing (of plurality), the spontaneous attrition of the (object-seeking) mind. Rooted in Yoga, perform actions, or, averse (to all actions), perform (them) not at all.
4.Aversion is felt everyday to inborn tendencies (to act); nevertheless, one tends to plunge into noble actions with gusto.
5-6. Always one hesitates as regards the instinctive actions of the unregenerate; one never refers to what may compromise others, but attends to their righteous deeds. One does gentle deeds that pain none; always dreads sin and avoids all forms of sense-gratification.
7.Such a one’s speech is informed by affection and love; it is lovely and fit, with due regard to time and place.
8.With proper thought, act and speech, one waits upon the virtuous. Getting them from all conceivable sources, one studies the Shastras.
9-10(a). Then one attains the first stage of Yoga. Whoever entertains such thoughts as regards the crossing of transmigratory life is said to have attained a state of Yoga. The rest are said to be just ‘noble’ (arya).
10(b)-11. Coming to the next stage of Yoga, called ‘Analysis’ (vichara), the sadhaka resorts to the foremost scholars, well-known for their serious interpretations of Sruti and Smriti, good conduct, fixed attention, contemplation and activities.
12.As a house-holder (knows) his homestead, (so), having mastered all that has to be learned, the sadhaka comes to know the categories, and the doctrines, vis-à-vis what has to be done and avoided.
13.As a snake sheds its Slough, so sheds he even a slight attachment to external objects when intensified by pride, conceit, intolerance, greed and delusion.
14.With a mind disciplined through devotion to the Shastras, teacher, and the company of the virtuous, he truthfully masters the entire body of knowledge including the secret doctrines.
15.Just as a lover repairs to a spotless bed of flowers, from the second, he (the sadhaka) proceeds to the third state styled Non-attachment.
16-17. Fixing his steady mind on the truthful import of the Shastras and busy with the recitation of spiritual texts proper to the hermitages of the ascetics, he expends his long life, seated on a bed of stone or a slab, diverting himself with ramblings in the forest, made beautiful by his placid mind.
18.As a result of his meritorious actions, the righteous (sadhaka) passes his time in the delights of detachment, repeatedly studying the positive Shastras.
19.One’s perception of reality becomes clear only in due course. The enlightened one, reaching the third stage, experiences this for himself.
20.Non-attachment is of two kinds: listen to the distinction as it is being drawn. This non-attachment is of two-kinds; one general and the other, superior.
21.The general non-attachment is non-involvement in objects, (based on the perception) ‘I am neither agent nor enjoyer, neither the sublater nor the sublated’.
22.‘Everything, be it pleasure or pain, is fashioned by prior deeds; or, everything is under the sway of the Lord. I do nothing in regard to it’.
23.‘Enjoyments and non-enjoyments are dread diseases; possessions are great disasters. All contacts just promote separation. Sufferings are diseases of thoughts’.
24.‘Time is ceaselessly fashioning all things’ – so the general non-attachment of (the sadhaka) who has grasped the import of (the major texts) consists in being averse to all things and in not dwelling on them mentally.
25-26. By cultivating this sequence (of stages), the superior non-attachment in the case of the magnanimous (sadhakas) supervenes. It is said to be silence, repose and quiescence. For speech and import have been flung far away in the light of the truth, ‘I am no agent; the agent is God or my own prior actions’.
27.The first stage that occurs is sweet on account of the satisfaction and joy (that attend it). The sadhaka (puman) has just stepped into the sequence of states. The first is an ambrosial sprout.
28.The first stage is the internal, cleansed, birth-place of the other stages. Thence one attains the second and third stages.
29.Among these, the all-pervading third (stage) is superior. Here the sadhaka has outgrown all proneness to imagine (and get ensnared).
30.Those who reach the fourth (stage) after the dwindling of nescience through the exercises of the three stages look on all things with the same eye.
31.When non-duality is established and duality dissolved, those who have reached the fourth stage look upon the phenomenal world as a dream.
32.The first three states are said to be the waking state; the fourth is called the dream state. And the mind dissolves like the fragments of an autumnal cloud.
33.He who reaches the fifth stage survives but as bare being. Due to the dissolution of the mind in this stage the world-manifold does not present itself at all.
34.Reaching the fifth stage called ‘deep sleep’, the sadhaka remains as pure non-dual being, all particulars having completely vanished.
35.Having reached the fifth stage, one stays consolidated in deep sleep, joyful, inwardly awake, all dual appearances gone.
36.Looking inwards, even when attending to outer things, he appears always indrawn, being extremely exhausted.
37.Practising in this fifth stage, free from all innate impulses, one reaches, as a matter of course, the sixth stage named ‘the Fourth’.
38.Where there is neither the non-existent nor the existent, neither the ‘I’ nor the non-‘I’, with all analytic thinking gone, one stays alone, totally fearless, in non-duality.
39.Beyond knots, with all doubt vanquished, liberated in life, devoid of imaginations, though unextinguished yet extinguished, he is like a painted flame.
40.Having dwelt in the sixth stage, he shall reach the seventh. The state of disembodied liberation is called the seventh stage of Yoga.
41-42(a). This is the acme of all stages, beyond words, quiescent. Avoiding conformity with the ways of the world, and the ways of the body, avoiding conformity with Shastras, get rid of all superimpositions on the Self.
42(b). All that is (here), the vishva, the prajna, etc., is nothing but Om.
43.Because there is non-difference between import and expression, and because, as distinct from each other, neither of these two is known, the Vishva is just the letter ‘a’ and ‘u’ is said to be the Taijasa.
44.The Prajna is the letter ‘m’. Thus know in order, discriminating with great effort, before Concentration (Samadhi) sets in.
45-46. In this due order the concrete and the subtle should all be dissolved in the spiritual Self and the spiritual Self (should be dissolved) perceiving ‘I am the Om Vasudeva, ever pure, awake, free, existent, non-dual massed and supreme bliss’; because all this (objective world) is pain in the beginning, middle and end.
47-48. Therefore, thou sinless one, renouncing everything, be devoted to Truth. Think: I am Brahman, solid Intelligence and Bliss, free from impurity, holy, lifted above mind and words, beyond the darkness of ignorance, beyond all appearances. This is the secret doctrine.
Om! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Akshyupanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Adhyatma Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om! Let there be Peace in me!
Let there be Peace in my environment!
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me!
In the cave of the body is eternally set the one unborn.
The earth is His body. (Though) moving within the earth, the earth knows Him not.
The water is His body. (Though) moving within the water, the water knows Him not.
The fire is His body. (Though) moving within the fire, the fire knows Him not.
The air is His body. (Though) moving within the air, the air knows Him not.
The ether is His body. (Though) moving within the ether, the ether knows Him not.
The mind is His body. (Though) moving within the mind, the mind knows Him not.
The intellect is His body. (Though) moving within the intellect, the intellect knows Him not.
The ego is His body. (Though) moving within the ego, the ego knows Him not.
The mind-stuff is His body. (Though) moving within the mind-stuff, the mind-stuff knows Him not.
The unmanifest is His body. (Though) moving within the unmanifest, the unmanifest knows Him not.
The imperishable is His body. (Though) moving within the imperishable, the imperishable knows Him not.
The Death is His body. (Though) moving within Death, Death knows Him not.
He, then, is the inner-self of all beings, sinless, heaven-born, luminous, the sole Narayana.
1.Superimposition is the thought, 'I' am and mine are the body, the senses, etc., which are all other than the Self. Through devotion to Brahman, the wise man should repudiate it.
2.Knowing oneself to be the subject, the witness of intellect and its operations, reject the idea of the Self being other than the subject, identifying the 'I' with that (the subject).
3.Rejecting conformity with the world, the body, and the Shastras, remove superimposition on the Self.
4.The mind of the Yogin perishes as he stays without intermission in the Self alone, knowing, through reasoning, Shruti, and experience, that one is the Self of all beings.
5.Without granting for a moment even a toe-hold for sleep, gossip, verbal exchanges, etc., and self-forgetfulness, meditate on the Self in the self.
6.Casting the body far aside, the offspring of parental exudations, as its status is no better than that of an outcast, and becoming Brahman, seek fulfilment.
7.Dissolve the self in the supreme Self as the pot-space is dissolved in infinite space; then, as the Infinite be silent for ever, O sage!
8.Having become the self-luminous Substratum, as Being, reject both the macrocosm and the microcosm which are but abodes of impurities.
9.Locating the body-bound I-sense in the ever-blissful spiritual Self, renounce the subtle body; eternally be the Absolute.
10.Knowing 'I am that Brahman' in which this world appearance (exists) like a city reflected in a mirror, find fulfilment, O sinless one!
11.Liberated from the grip of egoism, like the moon (after the eclipse), full, ever blissful, self-luminous, one attains one's essence.
12.The destruction of actions leads to that of thought; thence results the dwindling of innate impulses (to act). The obliteration of innate impulses is liberation; it is held to be freedom in life.
13.At all places and by all means, perceiving everything as Spirit, one achieves the dissolution of innate impulses as it strengthens the attitude of universal good will.
14.Never should one be heedless in devotion to Brahman; 'heedlessness is death' so aver the philosophers of Brahman in regard to (this) science.
15.Just as a pulled-up water-reed stays not still, even for a moment, so does Maya (ceaselessly) envelop even a wise man if he averts his face (from the Truth).
16.Whosoever wins absoluteness while alive continues to be absolute even after death. Rooted in concentration, O sinless one, remain steadfast.
17.With the vision of the non-dual Self through unwavering concentration comes the dissolution without residue of the knots of ignorance in the heart.
18.Strengthening the sense of Self vis-à-vis this vision, and rejecting it vis-à-vis the ego, etc., remain indifferent to them all, as to objects like pots and clothes.
19.All things from Brahma down to clumps of grass are nothing but unreal adjuncts. Distinct from the, see one's Self existing as the immutable plenum.
20.One's Self is Brahma, Vishnu, Indra and Shiva; this entire world is one's Self; other than this Self, there is nothing.
21.After repudiating all objective appearances superimposed on one's Self, one remains alone as the supreme Brahman, full, non-dual, stirless.
22.The world is a postulation, as good as non-existent, in the one Reality that is immutable, formless, unqualified; whence is difference?
23.(In the one Reality) devoid of distinctions like the percipient, perception, and the perceived, and of all sufferings, in the absolutely full, spiritual, Self, like unto the ocean at the time of cosmic dissolution, (whence is difference)?
24.Darkness implicit in It as in light is the cause of delusion. Whence is difference in the supreme non-dual and unqualified Reality?
25.In this uniform and supreme Reality, how can the agent of differences dwell? In deep sleep that is nothing but bliss who has perceived difference?
26.This perception of difference is rooted in the mind (of the percipient); there is none of it in the absence of the mind. Therefore, concentrate the mind on the supreme Self as the subject.
27.Upon realizing the Self that is impartite bliss as one's own essence (there follows) the savouring of the timeless bliss that is the Self, both externally and internally.
28.Of detachment the fruit is knowledge: of knowledge the fruit is withdrawal. Experience of Self as bliss leads to peace; again, peace is the fruit of withdrawal.
29.Without the consequent states, the precedent ones are fruitless, indeed. Cessation is supreme satisfaction; matchless bliss is spontaneous.
30.The expressed sense of the word tat (God) has Maya for His adjunct; He is the world-cause. He is characterised by omniscience, etc.; is tinged by transcendence, and is essentially Truth and so forth.
31.The expressed sense of the word 'Tvam' shines forth as the content of the idea and expression 'I'; it is awareness blended with the mind (the inner organ of perception).
32.Only through the exclusion of Maya and avidya, the adjuncts of God and Jiva is the supreme Spirit, the impartite Being, Consciousness and Bliss, indicated.
33.'To listen', thus is to pursue by means of sentences their import. On the other hand, 'thinking' consists in perceiving its consistency with reason.
34.'Meditation' is indeed the exclusive attention of the mind fixed on (the import) rendered indubitable through listening and thinking.
35.'Concentration' is said to be the mind which, outgrowing the dualism between the meditator and meditation, gradually dwells exclusively on the object (of meditation) and is like a flame in a windless spot.
36.Mind's modifications in regard to the Self are uncognized in that state; they are (only) inferred as past, after quitting the state of Samadhi.
37.Crores of karmans, accumulated in this beginningless transmigratory life, are dissolved by means of concentration: (then) pure virtue begins to flourish.
38.The best knowers of Yoga call this concentration the cloud of virtues, since it rains the flood-waters of virtue in a thousand streams.
39-40. When the load of innate impulses is dissolved without residue by means of this (cloud of virtues) and heaps of karmans, good and evil, are totally eradicated, the major text, which at first shone forth immediately, now unobstructed, yields immediate awareness as (clear) as the myrobalan in the palm (of one's hand).
41.The non-occurrence of the impulse (to enjoy, etc.,) in regard to the objects of enjoyment marks the acme of detachment. The highest pitch of awareness is (marked by) the non-occurrence of the egoistic sense.
42(a).The acme of withdrawal is (marked by) the non-occurrence of (even) the latent impulse (to enjoy).
42(b).He is the ascetic of steadfast wisdom who enjoys bliss for ever;
43-44(a). Whose self is merged in Brahman alone; who is immutable and quiescent. Wisdom (prajna) is defined as the unwavering spiritual mode whose content is the unity of Brahman and Atman purged (of all adjuncts).
44(b). Whosoever possesses it (wisdom) without a break is liberated in life;
45.Who has no conceit of 'I' in regard to body and senses; nor the conceit of objects in regard to things other than them - who is free from these two conceits in regard to anything whatsoever is liberated-in-life;
46.Who, in his wisdom, perceives no difference between the subject and Brahman; who neither refers to the creator nor creation is liberated in life.
47.Whose attitude is the same both when he is honoured by the virtuous and when he is persecuted by the wicked is liberated in life.
48.He who has realized the truth of Brahman no longer transmigrates, as hitherto; if he does, this truth has not been realized by him; he is but an extrovert.
49.As long as the experience of pleasure, etc., lasts, so long operative karmans from the past are held to persist. (Causal) actions precede the occurrence of effects; never is this unpreceded by actions.
50.Consequent on the experience 'I am Brahman', karmans accumulated in the course of aeons are dissolved, even as the actions in dreams are, upon waking up.
51.Just as nothing clings to space, so to the sage, who knows the Self to be unattached and indifferent, future actions cling not in the least degree.
52.Just as space is unaffected by the smell of liquor though it touches the pot (containing the liquor), so is Self unaffected by the attributes of Its adjuncts.
53.Karmans done before the dawn of knowledge perish not as a result of that knowledge; they must produce their proper effect even as an arrow shot to hit a target (stops not before hitting it).
54.The arrow discharged (to hit) what was taken for a tiger stops not, though, alter, (the target) is known to be a cow; the target is hit with full force.
55.'I am un-ageing'; 'I am immortal' - how can one who knows his Self to be such and lives that knowledge fabricate operative past actions?
56.Then only is operative past action real when one mistakes one's Self to be the body. The treatment of the body as Self is improper; therefore reject (the notion) of operative past action.
57.The fabrication of operative past actions is also, indeed, a delusion due to this body.
58.How can the superimposed be real? How can the unreal be born? How can the unborn perish? How can the unreal own operative past actions?
59-60. To answer the dull-witted (who) doubtfully ask how this body persists if the entire effects of nescience with their cause are destroyed by knowledge, Shruti, with an outward eye, propounds the theory of operative past actions; not to suggest to the wise that the body, etc., are real.
61. A total plenum, without beginning and end, measure and change. Massed being and intelligence, massed eternal bliss, undiminishing,
62.With the sole savour of the subject, full, endless, behold all, Neither to be shunned nor seized, neither to be held nor propped;
63.Beyond inert forces and actions, subtle, certain, unblemished; Whose essence is beyond thought, beyond mid and words;
64.Existent, a plenitude, self-proven, pure, awake and matchless. One only is non-dual Brahman; here is no plurality at all.
To Apantaratamas was this science imparted.
He imparted it to Brahma, who passed it on to Ghorangiras.
The latter gave it to Raikva and Raikva to Rama.
Rama imparted it to all beings.
This is the injunction in regard to Nirvana; this is the injunction of the Vedas, of the Vedas.
This is the secret teaching.
Om! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om! Let there be Peace in me!
Let there be Peace in my environment!
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me!
Here ends the Adhyatmopanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Kundika Upanishad
Translated by Prof. A. A. Ramanathan
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1-2. After studying the scriptures during the blemishless period of studentship in which he devotes himself to the service of the teacher, the Brahmacharin with the permission of the teacher, shall marry a suitable wife. Then (at the end of the householder’s life) he shall kindle the sacred fire (for renunciation) bravely and perform a sacrifice lasting a day and night in which Brahma, etc., are the deities.
3.Then after dividing his property among his sons in the proper way and giving up all sensory pleasures, he shall journey along sacred places as a Vanaprastha.
4.Subsisting on air only or on (air and) water only or with the addition (in dire need) of approved bulbous roots (and fruits) he shall find all worldly life in his person alone. He shall not (remembering his past comforts) allow his tears fall on the ground.
5-7(a). How can a man, in the company of his wife, be said to have renounced (worldly life) ? How can one who is (merely) known with an appellation (of an ascetic) be said to have renounced ? Hence he should purify himself (first) by renouncing the result of his deeds through self-control (Vanaprastha); thereafter he may take to renunciation. One reaches the stage of forest-life (Vanaprastha) after having maintained the sacred fire (as a householder). He goes to lead the forest-life with self-control accompanied by his wife as though he were a person attached to her.
7(b)-8. ‘Why does he undergo (the life of a mendicant monk) in vain, having given up the happiness of worldly life ? What is that (impending) misery the thought of which should make him abandon great pleasures ?’ (Such is the query of the wife). ‘I am afraid of the (miserable) life in the womb (of another mother) and also the miseries of heat, cold, etc. (So) I wish to enter the cave(-shelter) of renunciation, the means for the painless transcendent state (of Brahman)’. Thus (he replies).
9.Having renounced the sacred fire he shall not return to it (even in mentally reciting the mantras pertaining to it).
10.‘For, I, (i.e. the mantra) (pertaining to this sacred fire) becoming extinct (being incompatible with renunciation) shall be merged into the oncoming (knowledge of Brahman).’
11.He may repeat the mantras pertaining to Self (realization).
12.He shall have consecration. (He shall be) wearing (ochre) coloured garment. (He shall remove) the hairs excluding those in the arm pits and the private parts. With (right) hand raised (he shall set forth as a mendicant monk), abandoning the path of worldly life. He shall move on without (a fixed) abode. Living on alms, he shall deeply ponder over (Vedantic texts) and meditate (on his identity with the transcendent Brahman). He shall possess pure knowledge (pavitram) for the protection of all beings. 13-14. (These) verses are there (or the same theme): (The mendicant monk shall have) a water pot, an (alms-) bowl, a sling (to carry his effects), sandals to traverse a long distance (literally, over the three worlds), a patched garment to withstand cold, a loin cloth to cover (his privities), a purifying ring (pavitram of holy grass), a bath towel and an upper garment; other than these the ascetic shall give up all else.
15.He shall sleep on the sandy bed of a river or outside a temple. He shall not bother his body too much either with pleasures or pain.
16.Pure water should be used for bathing, drinking and cleansing. He shall not become pleased with praise nor shall he curse others when censured.
17.His alms-bowl shall be (a cup) made of leaves and the material for washing shall be the prescribed (fresh earth).
18.Thus provided with the means of living, he shall, with the senses subdued, always mutter the (philosophical) mantras. The wise (ascetic) shall realize in his mind (the identity of the individual self with the universal Self) which is the meaning of Om.
19.(From Brahman arose ether); from ether air; from air fire; from fire water; from water the earth. To (the prime cause of all) these primary elements. Brahman, I resort (in reverence); I resort to the ageless, immortal and indestructible Brahman.
20.In me, the ocean of unalloyed bliss, many a time arise and fall waves of the universe due to the winds of the fanciful sport of illusion (Maya).
21.I am not attached to my body just as the sky is not attached to the clouds. Hence how can I have its (i.e. the body’s) characteristics during (the stages of) waking, dreaming and deep sleep ?
22.I am always far beyond imagination like ether; I am different from it (the body) as the sun is from the objects of illumination; I am ever changeless just like the unchangeable (i.e. the Meru mountain) and, like the ocean am I limitless.
23.I am Narayana, I am the destroyer of the (demon) Naraka, I am (Siva), the destroyer of the three (aerial) cities, I am the Purusha, I am the supreme Lord; I am the indivisible consciousness, the witness of all; I am without a superior, I am devoid of ‘I-ness’ (egotism) and ‘mine-ness’ (possessiveness).
24-25. (The ascetic) shall, by the practice (of Yoga) bring together the Prana and Apana vital airs in the body. He shall place the (palms of the) two hands at the perineum, gently biting the (tip of the) tongue thrust out to the extent of a grain of barley. Similarly directing the eyes open to the extent of a blackgram seed, towards the (ether of the) ear (and the feet firmly resting) on the ground, he shall not allow the ear (to function) and the nose to smell (i.e. the five senses shall be controlled). (Thus he accomplishes the union of the Prana and Apana vital airs).
26.(Therefore the vital air passing through the Kundalini and the Susumna gets dissolved in the Sahasrarachakra at the top of the head. Then the vision, the mind, vital air and the ‘fire’ of the body reach) the seat of Siva (and get dissolved); that is Brahman; that is the transcendent Brahman. That (Brahman) will be realized by the practice (of Yoga), which is facilitated by the acquisition of practice in previous births.
27.With the (help of the) external and internal organs (the knowledge of the qualified Brahman) called effulgence, reaching the heart and supported by the vital air’s capability (to proceed upwards, goes through the Susumna Nadi) and piercing the skull at the top of the body, one realizes the indestructible (qualified Brahman).
28.Those (sages) who attain the transcendent state (through the passage) in the skull at the top of their body, do never return (to the worldly life) for they realize the lower as well as the higher (Brahman).
29.The attributes of objects seen do not affect the onlooker who is different from them. The attributes of a householder do not affect him who remains non-aligned without any mental modification, just as a lamp (which suffers no change by the objects revealed by it).
30.Let (me) the non-aligned (sage) roll in water or on the ground; I am untouched by their characteristics just as the ether (in the pot) is not affected by the attributes of the pot.
31-32. I am free (from the effect) of activities, and changes, devoid of parts and form, I am without fancies, I am eternal , I am without a support and I am devoid of duality. I am the form of all (beings), I am the all, I am beyond everything and without a second; I am the one indivisible knowledge and I am the compact bliss of the Self.
33.Seeing everywhere the Self, considering the Self as without a second, enjoying the bliss of the Self, I remain without reflections.
34.Walking, standing, sitting, lying or otherwise, the wise sage delighting in the Atman shall live as he wishes (fulfilling his duties; and on leaving the world, will attain final liberation). Thus (ends) the Upanishad.
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Kundikopanishad, included in the Sama-Veda.
Savitri Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1-2. Who is Savitar, who is Savitri ? Who is Savitar, who is Savitri ? Agni is Savitar, earth is Savitri. Where there is Agni there is earth and where is earth there is Agni. The two are causes forming one pair. Varuna alone is Savitar, water – Savitri. When there is Varuna etc., -- they are the sources, forming a pair.
3-6. (Again) Air alone is Savitar, ether is Savitri. Where there is air there is ether (and vice versa) – they are twin sources, forming a pair. Sacrifice alone is Savitar and metres are Savitri – where there is sacrifice there are metres (and vice versa). Thunder is Savitar and lightning is Savitri; where there is lightning (and vice versa). These two are twin sources.
7-8. The moon is Savitar and stars are Savitri. Where there is the moon, there are the stars (and vice versa) – these two are twin sources.
9.Man is Savitar, woman is Savitri. Where there is a man there is a woman and vice versa. They form one pair of sources.
10.Mind is Savitar and world is Savitri – where there is mind, there is woman (and vice versa) – these two are twin sources.
11.Of Savitri the first foot is Earth. ‘Of that Savitar, the admirable; fire indeed is adorable, water and moon are adorable. The second foot is Bhuvar, the mind region; ‘we meditate on the radiance of that deity’ – the fire is the radiance; sun, moon are radiance.
12.The third foot is the firmament – which may inspire our thoughts – this woman and man bring forth.
13.He who knows this Savitri conquers death.
14-15. Of Bala and Atibala Virat Purusha is the seer, Gayatri the metre and deity. A, U, M are seed letters etc. Their application is to the removal of hunger etc., ‘klam’ etc., are the group of six limbs. Meditation: I ceaselessly practise these two, fronted by the moon pouring life into all, adept in removing sin, the rays of Vedic wisdom, whose are forms are Aum, whose bodies are solar in form ! Om, hsim bala, great goddess; hrim, mighty one; klim, yielder of four-fold human goals, granter of the boon of Savitar; hrim, adorable light of the deity !
O Atibala, embodiment of all mercy, destroyer of hunger and fatigue, we meditate on you who may inspire our thoughts. O essence of inspiration, adorned with the crown of Pranava, Hum, Phat, Svaha. One who knows thus accomplishes his talks and shares his realm with Savitri.
This is the Upanishad.
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me. Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Savitri Upanishad, included in the Sama-Veda.
Atma Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I-1. Now Angirah: The Spirit, manifests Itself, in three ways: the self, the inner Self and the supreme Self.
I-2. There are the organs – the skin, inner and outer: flesh, hair, the thumb, the fingers, the backbone, the nails, the ankles, the stomach, the navel, the penis, the hip, the thighs, the cheeks, the ears, the brows, the forehead, the hands, the flanks, the head and the eyes; these are born and these die; so they constitute the self.
I-3. Next this inner self is (indicated by the elements) earth, water, fire, air, ether, desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, desire, delusion, doubts, etc., and memory, (marked by) the high pitch and accentlessness, short, long and prolate (vowel sounds), the hearer, smeller, taster, leader, agent and self of knowledge vis-à-vis stumbling, shouting, enjoying, dancing, singing and playing on musical instruments. He is the ancient spirit that distinguishes between Nyaya, Mimamsa and the institutes of law and the specific object of listening, smelling and grasping. He is the inner Self.
I-4. Next the supreme Self, the imperishable, He is to meditated on with (the help of) the Yogic steps, breath control, withdrawal (of sense organs), fixation (of mind), contemplation and concentration, He is to be inferred by the thinkers on the Self as like unto the seed of the Banyan tree or a grain of millet or a hundredth part of a split hair. (Thus) is He won and not known. He is not born, does not die, does not dry, is not wetted, not burnt, does not tremble, is not split, does not sweat. He is beyond the gunas, is spectator, is pure, partless, alone, subtle, owning naught, blemishless, immutable, devoid of sound, touch, colour, taste, smell, is indubitable, non-grasping, omnipresent. He is unthinkable and invisible. He purifies the impure, the unhallowed. He acts not. He is not subject to empirical existence.
II-1. The good named the Atman is pure, one and non-dual always, in the form of Brahman. Brahman alone shines forth.
II-2. Even as the world with its distinctions like affirmation, negation, etc., Brahman alone shines forth. II-3. With distinctions like teacher and disciples (also), Brahman alone appears. From the point of view of truth, pure Brahman alone is.
II-4. Neither knowledge nor ignorance, neither the world nor aught else (is there). What sets empirical life afoot is the appearance of the world as real.
II-5(a). What winds up empirical life is (its) appearance as unreal.
II-5(b)-6. What discipline is required to know, ‘this is a pot’, except the adequacy of the means of right knowledge ? Once it is given, the knowledge of the object (supervenes). The ever present Self shines when the means of Its cognition (is present).
II-7. Neither place nor time nor purity is required. The knowledge ‘I am Devadatta’ depends on nothing else.
II-8. Similarly, the knowledge ‘I am Brahman’ of the Knower of Brahman (is independent). Just as the whole world by the sun, by the splendour of the Knowledge of Brahman is everything illumined.
II-9-10(a). What can illumine the non-existent, and illusory, non-Self ? That which endows the Vedas, Shastras, Puranas and all other beings with import – that Knower what will illumine ?
II-10(b)-11. The child ignores hunger and bodily pain and plays with things. In the same way, the happy Brahman-Knower delights (in himself) without the sense of ‘mine’ and ‘I’. Thus the silent sage, alive and alone, the embodiment of desirelessness, treats the objects of desire.
II-12. Existing as the Self of all, he is ever content abiding in his Self. Free from all wealth, he rejoices always: though companionless, he is mighty.
II-13. Though not eating, he is ever content, peerless he looks on all alike: though acting, he does nothing: though partaking of fruit, yet, he is no experiencer thereof.
II-14-17. Living in a body, he is still disembodied; though determinate, he is omnipresent; never is this Brahman-Knower, disembodied and ever existent, affected by the pleasant and the unpleasant or by the good and the evil. Because it appears to be encompassed by Rahu (the darkness), the unencompassed sun is said to be encompassed by deluded men, not knowing the truth. Similarly, deluded folk behold the best of Brahman-Knowers, liberated from the bondage of body, etc., as though he is embodied, since he appears to have a body. The body of the liberated one remains like the shed Slough of the snake.
II-18. Moved a little, hither and thither, by the vital breath, (that body) is borne like a piece of timber, up and down, by the flood waters.
II-19-20. By fate is the body borne into contexts of experiences at appropriate times. (On the contrary) he who, giving up all migrations, both knowledge and unknowable, stays as the pure unqualified Self, is himself the manifest Shiva. He is the best of all Brahman-Knowers. In life itself the foremost Brahman-Knower is the ever free, he has accomplished his End.
II-21. All adjuncts having perished, being Brahman he is assimilated to the non-dual Brahman, like a man who, with (appropriate) apparels, is an actor and without them (resumes his natural state),
II-22(a). In the same way the best of Brahman-Knowers is always Brahman alone and none else.
II-22(b)-23. Just as space becomes space itself when the (enclosing) pot perishes, so, when particular cognitions are dissolved, the Brahman-Knower himself becomes nothing but Brahman, as milk poured into milk, oil into oil, and water into water become (milk, oil and water).
II-24(a). Just as, combined, they become one, so does the Atman-knowing sage in the Atman. II-24(b). Thus disembodied liberation is the infinite status of Being.
II-25. Having won the status of Brahman, no longer is the Yogin reborn, for his ignorance-born bodies have all been consumed by the experimental knowledge of Being as the Self.
II-26-27(a). Because that Yogin has become Brahman, how can Brahman be reborn ? Bondage and liberation, set up by Maya, are not real in themselves in relation to the Self, just as the appearance and disappearance of the snake are not in relation to the stirless rope.
II-27(b). Bondage and liberation may be described as real and unreal and as due to the nescience (concealment of truth).
II-28-29. Brahman suffers from no concealment whatsoever. It is uncovered, there being nothing other than It (to cover It). The ideas, ‘it is’ and ‘it is not’, as regards Reality, are only ideas in the intellect.
They do not pertain to the eternal Reality. So bondage and liberation are set up by Maya and do not pertain to the Self.
II-30. In the supreme Truth as in the sky, impartite, inactive, quiescent, flawless, unstained and non-dual where is room for (mental) construction ?
II-31. Neither suppression nor generation, neither the bond nor the striving: neither the liberty seeking nor the liberated – this is the metaphysical truth.
Om! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Atmopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
Pasupata Brahmana Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Shiva, who is the Lord of all beings (Pasupathi), is always witness for everything. The minds of all people are controlled as well as sent to different topics by Him only. The soul acts because of him. The words talk because of Him. The eyes see shapes because of Him. The ear hears everything because of Him. Even other organs only perform the actions allotted to them because of Him. This act of His is not due to the nature but by illusion. Whatever has been taught as “What is heard?”, to the beings, has been taught so by Shiva who is Pasupathi and He gives the nature of “What is heard?” to them. He enters the minds of souls, sits there as its nature and gives it the position of the mind. He is different from all things that are known to us through organs. Of all that knowledge taught to the different organs, He is the one who is there taking suitable forms, and gives the being the relevant experience. Therefore eyes, speech and other organs do not go to His great self-shining form. That shine of the soul, which is not due to its action, is due to the soul itself and not the organs. Suppose we decide to do away with rules of logic, it can be told that he who understands Brahman himself becomes the great knower of Brahman.
This type of outside knowledge should be attained by truth, penance and other rules of life dictated by celibacy and by the paths shown by Vedanta. People in whom there are no faults see realistic object of self shine in their own body. Others do not see it. By having a discipline in food habits, mental discipline develops. By mental discipline, one gets wisdom. Step by step. the problems in the mind are solved. By the knowledge of the form of Brahman when the world becomes that which should be enjoyed, he eats the form which is he himself. There is nothing else except oneself. The savant who knows Brahman, whenever he sees the world does not see it as something different from himself. This is the Upanishad.
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Pasupata-Brahmanopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
Para-Brahma Upanishad
Translated by Prof. A. A. Ramanathan
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1.Now then Saunaka, the great householder (mahashala) approached in due form the revered sage Pippalada of Angiras family and asked him: (All created things) were surely present in the divine ether of the heart of Brahman (the Hiranyagarbha). How did the great lord create them out of himself in different species and who is this great and powerful lore ? To him (Pippalada) said: The most excellent lore of Brahman which I now expound, (Brahman of that alone) is true. It shines brilliantly in the city of the transcendent Brahman, being beyond Rajas (and the other gunas), partless, pure, indestructible and sustaining the power of the senses and the vital airs. He is the creator of the group of bees (in the form of individual souls) and restrains (their outward vision). Remaining in the city of his Self, doing no worldly work (as an ascetic) (he realizes oneness with Brahman). (But) as a doer of action he reaps the fruit (of repeated births and deaths), like a farmer. The knower of the true nature of action does action, (without attachment). Knowing the secret of action, (that unattached action leads to liberation) (the ascetic) shall do action. Which person (possessing discrimination) will throw the net (of motivated action) on the one (Brahman, screening it) ? (Motiveless action) will not drag him (to worldliness), will not drag him.
2.The deities presiding over the vital breath are four (Vishva, Viraj, Otir and Turya). All the nadis (where the vital breath and the deities remain are also four). (The former two active in Rama and Arama get fatigued in the waking and dreaming states and rest during) deep sleep as a hawk flying in the sky. Just as a hawk flying in the sky goes (when fatigued) into its abode, the nest, so the speaker (the Self) after remaining in this (waking) and the other (dreaming state, rests in deep sleep). This Self (while resting) in the golden transcendent sheath (of the ether of the heart) and being immortal is active in the three nadis (Rama, etc.,). (The first pada of this being avidya) it remains in the state of Brahman in the three quarters. The remaining pada (the Jiva) attains (its natural state) and then follows (i.e. attains liberation). Hence the speaker of elsewhere (the Jiva in the avidya) and the other (the Tripada Brahman are fancied to be different and thereby the Jiva wanders in bondage.
(Although) the Jiva remains in the golden transcendent sheath (of the ether of the heart, yet it experiences the states of waking, etc., due to avidya). Just as Devadatta (i.e. any person) awakened from sleep when prodded with a stick does not go back (to sleep immediately, so also the Jiva getting wisdom from the Vedanta does not have the delusion of the three states of waking, etc.,); and it is not tainted by good or bad acts (such as the optional) charitable deeds. It is similar to a small boy who experiences joy without specific desires (in whatever thing that comes to him). Just as the luminous being (Jiva), (after getting fatigued in the waking and dreaming states) welcomes the joy of deep sleep, so it experiences bliss by realizing (its oneness with) the supreme effulgence (Brahman), which gives all round lustre to luminaries (such as the sun). Thus the heart (chitta) merges itself in the highest (Brahman) and thus realizing the Paramatman enjoys bliss. The pure colour (i.e. the state of non-distinction) arises from the (grace of) Ishvara. Again by the same path of turya-svapna (dreaming in the fourth state) he gives rest to the Self. Just as a leech moves from one position to another (the Jiva moves from the waking state of the turya to the dreaming state of the turya); this desire (to move from one state to another in the turya) arises due to (the grace of) Ishvara. By this the Jiva enjoys itself (by means of the distinctionful and distinctionless deep meditation, Savikalpa and Nirvikalpa Samadhi).
The juncture of the individual and supreme consciousness is rejected as there is a tinge of distinction involved in it. (When distinctionlessness alone exists) it is the highest (i.e. Brahman) and there is nothing other than that. (When Self-realization does not result by the study, etc., of the scripture) then one shall resort to the eight-limbed Yoga; this like a flower of a plantain tree (ever rubbing against the stem and attaining the state of a blossom) succeeds (in attaining perfection). That which remains as the source of Indra (Ishvara) is ever awake there, as the source of the Veda (as Parameshvara). Beyond (the bonds of) good and bad, he (the ascetic) is not tainted by (accidental) good or bad actions. This effulgent Being is the (bestower of) favour on other gods (like the god Brahma), the ‘internal check’ of the form of unattached pure consciousness, the Purusha, the Hamsa of the Pranava, the supreme Brahman. It is not the chief Prana (vital breath). The Pranava is the Self (Jiva). (This state of the Jiva) remains as the first effulgent being. How can he who knows thus (the true nature of the Pranava) set forth difference (between the Jiva and Brahman) ? He realizes that the Jiva is Brahman (alone).
3.Then to this realized person reality (i.e. true wisdom) constitutes the inner tuft and sacred thread. To the Brahmana desirous of liberation is (allowed) the state of the inward tuft and sacred thread. The wearing of externally visible tuft and sacred thread (is necessary) for the householders engaged in rituals. The characteristic of the inward sacred thread is not clearly visible like external thread; it is the union with reality inwardly.
4.It (avidya) is not existent (as the cause is not visible), nor non-existent (as the effect is visible as the phenomenal world), nor both (existent and non-existent part, as the two are incompatible). It is not different (from Brahman as it has no independent existence), nor non-different (as it is not a substance), nor of both (different and non-different, as it is an impossibility). It is not possessed of parts (as the parts are absent in the cause), nor partless (as the effect is seen possessed of parts), nor a combination of both. (Thus avidya is indescribable). It is to be discarded by the realization of oneness of Brahman and the Self; for it is the cause of illusion. Thus (it is to be understood).
5.There is nothing other than Brahman of the five padas (i.e. the turyatita). There are four places for realizing the inward Jiva-Brahman who consists of four padas inside the body. (The vyasti’s four padas are: Vishva, Taijasa, Prajna and Turiya. The samasti’s four padas are: Viraj, Sutra, Bija and Turiya). In the eyes, throat, heart and head there are (the four) states of waking, dreaming, deep sleep and turya. (Moreover the Atman is to be conceived as) the Ahavaniya, Garhapatya, Dakshina and Sabhya fires. In the waking state (the presiding deity is) the god Brahma, in dreaming state Vishnu, in deep sleep Rudra and the fourth state is the indestructible one, consisting of consciousness. Hence the four states (waking, etc.,) are to be considered as a covering by four fingers and just as the sacred thread is of ninety-six four-finger breadths (in extent) so the inward brahma-sutra consists of ninety-six categories (tattvas). As the sacred thread consists of three threads so the inward brahma-sutra is brought to the state of thirty two categories in each of the three gunas.
This state of the triad purified by wisdom is to be known separately as the three gods (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva). This is known as the nine Brahman-s possessed of nine attributes. These counted as nine, being rendered into three each having three attributes, are to be identified with the digits of the sun, moon and fire. The first and last (of the triad) are to be turned thrice in the middle and are to be considered as Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshvara. The first and last are to be joined and the knot of non-duality is to be made in the knot of consciousness. Then this which extends from the navel to the Brahmarandhra and connected with the twenty-seven tattvas separately and possessing the three gunas is to be considered as one though they are seen with the characteristics of the Trinity. This (inward) brahma-sutra is to be considered as hanging from the left shoulder reaching up to the right hip. The meeting together of the first and last is to be understood as having one foundation. Things made of clay are considered real (but) it is verbosity (born of ignorance); the transformation is a (mere) name; that it is clay alone is the truth. (As there is no pot without clay, so the primary cause, Brahman alone is real). With the two letters of the Hamsa (i.e. I am the Hamsa, Brahman) he should be convinced of the internal tuft and sacred thread. The state of a Brahmana is the state deserving meditation on Brahman. The state of being a sage has the absence of visible tuft and sacred thread. Thus the householder has visible tuft for performing ritual and the sacred thread for acquiring wisdom. To the state of the semblance of a Brahmana there is the tuft consisting of a mass of hair and sacred thread made of cotton threads. (The brahma-sutra is one alone); it is four (as Vishva, Viraj, etc.,) by quadruplication. The twenty-four tattvas constitute the threads. The nine tattvas constitute the one transcendent Brahman, (but people) provide many paths (such as Sankhya, Yoga, etc.,) due to difference in approach.
Liberation is one alone to all, whether they are Brahma and the other gods, divine sages or human beings. Brahman is one alone. The state of the Brahmana is one alone. Castes, stages of life and special duties are divergent. The tuft is the same to the castes and stages of life. To the ascetic seeking salvation the basis of tuft and sacred thread, (the wise) declare, is the Pranava alone. The Hamsa is the tuft, the Pranava is the sacred thread and the Nada is the connecting link. This is the dharma and no other is the dharma. How is that ? The Pranava, Hamsa and Nada constitute the three fold thread and this remains in consciousness in one’s heart. Know this to be the three fold Brahman. (The ascetic) shall discard the worldly tuft and sacred thread.
6.Having had a shave removing the tuft, a wise person shall discard the external sacred thread. He shall have as the sacred thread the transcendent Brahman which is indestructible.
7.For avoiding rebirth he shall ever long for liberation. The sutra is so called as it indicates (liberation); the sutra indeed is the highest position.
8.He knows the sutra who has become a seeker after liberation, a mendicant monk. He is the knower of the Veda, having unimpeachable conduct. He is the learned Brahmana who sanctifies by his presence the persons who sit in the same row to dine with him.
9.The Yogin, who is the knower of Yoga, a Brahmana and an ascetic shall wear that sutra by which all this (phenomenal world) is joined together (as a unity) just as gems are strung together in a thread.
10.A learned Brahmana who is deeply intent on Yoga and spiritual wisdom shall discard the external sacred thread. He who wears the sutra consisting of devotion to Brahman attains salvation. There is neither impurity nor the state of eating the leavings of others when one possesses that sutra.
11.Those who, having the sacred thread of spiritual wisdom, possess the sutra inwardly are the knowers of the sutra in the world and they are the (true) wearers of the sacred thread.
12.Their tuft and sacred thread consist of spiritual wisdom (Jnana), they are established in Jnana; to them Jnana alone is supreme and this Jnana is declared to be sanctifying.
13.The wise one whose tuft consists of Jnana and no other, like the flame emanating from fire, is said to possess the (true) tuft; not the others who wear (a mass of) hair.
14.Those who are immersed in activities, whether Vedic (ritual) or worldly actions live as Brahmanas in name only, filling their bellies. They come to grief and have rebirth again and again.
15.The sacred thread hanging from the left shoulder to the right hip is contrariwise (to liberation). The wise shall wear (i.e. possess) true knowledge which is rooted in consciousness, having threads in the form of true principles (tattvas) and extending from the navel to the tip of the aperture in the crown of the head (Brahmarandhra).
16.This sacred thread which forms part of ritual and made of (cotton) threads is to be worn by them (i.e. the ignorant). He whose tuft consists of wisdom as also his sacred thread has all the (true) characteristics of a Brahmana; others have none at all.
17.It is this sacred thread which is the supreme panacea. The wise one who wears this sacred thread attains liberation.
18.That learned Brahmana is entitled to renunciation who has the sacred thread both within and without; but the one having one (i.e. the external one) alone is never entitled to renunciation.
19.Hence by all effort the ascetic shall long for liberation. Discarding the external thread he shall wear the internal sutra within himself.
20.Disregarding the external phenomenal world, tuft and sacred thread he shall hold on to the tuft and sacred thread in the form of the sacred syllable (Pranava) and Brahman (Hamsa) and thus equip himself for liberation. Thus declared the revered sage Saunaka. Thus (ends) the Upanishad.
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Parabrahmopanishad, included in the Atharva-Veda.
Avadhuta Upanishad
Translated by Prof. A. A. Ramanathan
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1.Then, it is said, Samkriti approached the venerable Avadhuta, Dattatreya, and questioned: Venerable Sir, Who is an Avadhuta ? What is his condition ? What his characteristic ? And what his worldly existence ? To him replied the venerable Dattatreya, the most compassionate:
2.The Avadhuta is so called because he is immortal [akshara]; he is the greatest [varenya]; he has discarded worldly ties [dhutasamsarabandhana]; and he is the indicated meaning of the sentence 'Thou art That', etc., [tattvamasyadi-lakshya].
3.He who rests constantly in himself, after crossing (the barrier of) castes and stages (of social position) and thus rises above varnas and asramas and is in union (with God) is said to be an Avadhuta.
4.His joy [priya] is (to be envisaged as) the head; delight [moda] is his right wing; great delight [pramoda] his left wing; and bliss (his very self). Thus he assumes a fourfold condition.
5.One should identify Brahman neither with the head nor with the middle part nor with the bottom but with (what remains in the shape of) the tail, since it is said that Brahman is ‘the Tail’ and substratum. Thus, those who contemplate this fourfold division attain the supreme Goal.
6.Not by rituals, not by begetting children, not by wealth, but by renunciation [tyaga] alone a few attained immortality.
7.His (the Avadhuta’s) worldly existence consists in moving about freely, with or without clothes. For them there is nothing righteous or unrighteous; nothing holy or unholy. Through all-consuming, correct knowledge [samgrahaneshti] (the Avadhuta) performs Ashvamedha sacrifice within (himself). That is the greatest sacrifice and the great Yoga.
8.Nought of this extraordinary, free action (of his) should be disclosed. This is the great vow [mahavrata]. He is not tainted like the ignorant.
9.As the sun absorbs all waters, and the fire consumes all things (remaining unaffected by them), even so, the pure Yogin enjoys all objects, unstained by virtues or sins.
10.As the ocean into which all waters flow maintains its own nature despite the water pouring in (from all sides), so, he alone attains peace into whom all desires flow in like manner; not he who seeks the objects of pleasure.
11.There is neither death nor birth; none is bound, none aspires. There is neither seeker after liberation nor any liberated; this indeed is the ultimate Truth.
12.Many were my activities perchance in the past for gaining things here and hereafter, or for obtaining liberation. All that is now of the past.
13.That itself is the state of contentment. Verily remembering the same (i.e. the past) achievements involving objects, he now remains thus ever content. The miserable ignorant, desirous of children, etc., needs must suffer.
14.Wherefore shall I suffer, who am filled with supreme bliss ? Let those who yearn to go to the other worlds perform rituals.
15.What shall I, who am of the nature of all the worlds, perform ? For what and how ? Let those who are worlds, perform ? For what and how ? Let those who are qualified interpret the Shastras or teach the Vedas.
16.I have no such qualification, since I am free of action. I have no desire for sleeping or begging, bathing or cleaning. Nor do I do them.
17.If onlookers thus superimpose, let them do so. What matters to me the superimposition of others ? A heap of the red-black berries (of the Abrus precatorius) would not burn, even if others superimposed fire on it. Likewise, I partake not of worldly duties superimposed (on me) by others.
18.Let them, who are ignorant of the reality, study the scriptures; knowing (the reality) why should I study ? Let them who have doubts reflect (upon what was studied). Having no doubts, I do not reflect.
19.Were I under illusion, I may meditate; having no illusion, what meditation can there be (for me) ? Confusion of body for the self, I never experience.
20.The habitual usage ‘I am a man’ is possible even without this confusion, for it is due to impressions accumulated during a long time.
21.When the results of actions set in motion [prarabdha-karman] are exhausted, the habitual usage also ends. This (worldly usage) will not cease even with repeated meditation unless such actions are exhausted.
22.If infrequency of worldly dealings is sought, let there be contemplation for you. Wherefore should I, to whom worldly dealings offer no hindrance, contemplate ?
23.Because I do not have distractions, I do not need concentration, distraction or concentration being of the mind that modifies.
24.What separate experience can there be for me, whom am of the nature of eternal experience ? What has to be done is done, what has to be gained is gained for ever.
25.Let my dealings, worldly, scriptural or of other kinds proceed as they have started, I being neither an agent (of action) nor one affected (by it).
26.Or, even though I have achieved what has to be achieved, let me remain on the scriptural path for the sake of the well-being of the world. What harm for me thereby?
27.Let the body be engaged in the worship of gods, bathing, cleaning, begging and so forth. Let speech repeatedly utter the tara-mantra or recite the Upanishadic passages.
28.Let thought contemplate Vishnu or let it be dissolved in the bliss of Brahman. I am the witness. I neither do nor cause any doing.
29.Being contented with duties fulfilled and achievements accomplished, he ceaselessly reflects as follows with a contented mind:
30.Blessed am I, blessed am I. Directly and always, I experience my own self. Blessed am I, blessed am I, the bliss of Brahman shines brightly in me.
31.Blessed am I, blessed am I. I do not see the misery of existence. Blessed am I, blessed am I; my ignorance has fled away.
32.Blessed am I, blessed am I; no duty exists for me. Blessed am I, blessed am I; everything to be obtained is now obtained.
33.Blessed am I, blessed am I. What comparison is there in the world for my contentment ! Blessed am I, blessed am I; blessed, blessed, again and again blessed.
34.Logical ! The virtues accrued have yielded fruit ! Indeed they have ! By the richness of virtue we are as we are.
35.Wondrous knowledge, wondrous knowledge ! Wondrous happiness, wondrous happiness ! Wondrous scriptures, wondrous scriptures ! Wondrous teachers, wondrous teachers !
36.He who studies this also achieves everything to be achieved. He becomes free of the sins of drinking liquor. He becomes free of the sins of stealing gold. He becomes free of the sins of killing a Brahmin. He becomes free of actions, ordained or prohibited. Knowing this, let him wander according to his free will. Om, Truth. Thus (ends) the Upanishad.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Avadhuta Upanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Tripura Tapini Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! Gods ! With ears let us hear what is good; Adorable ones !
With eyes let us see what is good. With steady limbs, with bodies, praising,
Let us enjoy the life allotted by the gods.
May Indra, of wide renown, grant us well-being;
May Pusan, and all-gods, grant us well-being.
May Tarksya, of unhampered movement, grant us well-being.
May Brihaspati grant us well-being.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
I-1: Now, in this sphere (of nescience), the Lord (Sadasiva), assuming the guises of Prajapati, Vishnu and Rudra, comes to be styled Goddess Tripura. By His primeval Power are fashioned the three abodes – the earth, the atmosphere and the heavens, or the heavens, the earth and the nether world. In the form of hrim, identical with the maya of Hara, the divine Hrillekha permeates, with Her terrible might, the terminus of the three peaks (above the junction of the two eyebrows), the seat of equilibrium of the three gunas, and the region where the world of objects is dissolved. This selfsame divinity is called Tripura.
I-2: On that adorable splendour Of the divine Creator we
Meditate; may He our thoughts inspire – Who beyond all darkness is, Om.
I-3: Let us for all-knowing Fire the soma press Who, of our foes, the wealth consumes;
As boat over river, so may He help Us over all difficulties, all troubles.
I-4: Let us adore with sacrifice the three-eyed God, Fragrant increaser of earthly growth.
Like cucumber fruit from its stalk released,
Let me from death, find freedom unto immortality.
I-5: The supreme sovereign, the goddess of the three cities, is the embodiment of the three Vedas and the supreme knowledge consisting of the 108 letters. The first four divisions elucidate Brahman; the second pertains to Sakti or Power; and the third to Siva, the Good.
I-6: It is recorded that the worlds, the Vedas, the sciences, legends, codes, medical works and astronomical treatises have all proceeded from the union of Siva and Sakti (Goodness and Power).
I-7: Now we shall elucidate the supreme mystery of it (i.e. the mantra given above). The syllable tat of the great mantra is the eternal Brahman, the supreme Lord, indefinable, impeccable, unconditioned, and unconstrained. He thinks, perceives, evolves, desires the status of consciousness. Thus that sole Deity, essentially good, evolves as the visible world. In the ascetics, sacrifices, mystics, He desires and what is desired is born. Being free from desires (in truth) and impeccable, He holds sway. He puts forth (letters like) a, ka, ca, ta, ta, pa, ya and sa. Hence is the Lord named Desire. So, technically, (the Lord as) Desire pervades ka. Desire alone is this tat. Thus is karma understood. Hence it is the sense of tat.
Whoso knows thus (becomes the Lord).
I-8: Savitur varenyam. The root supreme means ‘to give birth to a living thing’. Savitur gives birth to living things; power gives birth.
I-9: This primeval power is Tripura, The supreme sovereign, Tripura; Goddess great with ear-rings adorned In sphere of fire abiding.
I-10: Whosoever masters (this knowledge) pervades everything. The power of the triangle (the serpent power) creates with (the aid of the) exalted letter e. So only the letter e is taken.
I-11: Varenyam means the best, the adorable, the imperishable, worthy of obeisance. So varenyam is understood as the letter e. Whoso knows this (becomes the best).
I-12: Bhargo devasya dhimahi – this we shall expound: Dha denotes bearing. By thought is the supreme Lord borne. Bharga is the shining one that dwells in the centre; the imperishable fourth (letter), the immediate Fourth, the all, the inmost of everything. The fourth letter i is in the middle of words. Thus is the form of bharga expounded, they say. So the letter i is understood as the equivalent of bhargo devasya dhi.
I-13: The exposition of mahi. The letter in which are present greatness, inertness and hardness is mahi. The letter la is the supreme abode. The letter la denotes the sphere, predominantly hard, comprising the seas, the mountains, the seven islands and the forests, and having a resplendent form. By mahi the goddess Earth is denoted.
I-14: Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat. May the supreme Self, the primeval, transcendental Sadasiva, inspire (our) thoughts, (our) luminous Self, with the steadfast letter la towards the transcendental, undifferentiated Real, which is beyond the sphere of desire for contemplation. Without verbal utterance, holding this in mind only, should one meditate.
I-15: Paro rajase savadom. Finally that (which is other than the Self) becomes the supreme Light, pure consciousness, the divinity dwelling in the heart, whose mark is consciousness, and which is (the same as) hrim, whose abode is the heart. So the group of five letters, Vagbhavakuta, which gives rise to the five elements and consists of five sections, is clarified. Who knows thus (reaps the results).
I-16: Now the next group that has become Kamakala is called Kamakuta, say the wise. In the utterance of the thirty-two sacred syllables, tat savitur varenyam, etc., tat is the supreme Self, Sadasiva, the imperishable, the pure, the unconditioned. The syllable ha, setting forth the identity (with Siva), has the form of Siva; it is held to be unarticulated, (though) a syllable. Thus, remaining external, it (ha) indicates the Power.
I-17: Along the line indicated earlier of tat savituh the moon (whose seed-syllable is sa) must be placed next to the sun (whose seed-syllable is ha). (The light of the sun) fills the region between the basic circle and the sacred orifice of the crown. The syllable sa is said to be unique. (He who is meditated on as tat and savitur) is the divine being whose essence is Siva and Sakti.
I-18: Siva is the Supreme God
So (Brahman-knowers) say;
Sakti is all that is born;
Sun and moon united are
Hamsa – Brahman attributeless.
I-19: From Siva supreme, who creates
Desire’s objects, wells up desire;
Lord of desires, the choice Light
Is described as the letter ka.
I-20: Tat Savitur varenyam Bhargo devah. The imperishable milk that wipes out the effects of acts and their agents is worth imbibing. That imperishable (milk) is won through the union of the supreme Self and the individual self. That is the clear third syllable ha. It is indeed Sadasiva, the flawless, the shining divinity. The last syllable is thus expounded as the supreme abode.
I-21: Dhi denotes upholding; the upholding of inert matter is associated with mahi, denoted by the syllable, la. The sense of la coming after ha denoting Siva is clearly (Brahman). The last syllable is the Supreme Spirit. May it inspire our thoughts !
I-22: Paro rajase savadom: This group is the abode of Kamakala (i.e. the Vagbhava group). He who treads the six paths (such as the path of letters) reaches the seat of Vishnu. Whoso knows thus (reaches that seat). Nothing besides this (exists), says the Lord.
I-23: After this the other, the third group, Saktikuta, attains (accord) with the Gayatri of thirty-two syllables.
I-24: Tat Savitur varenyam. From the Self (comes) the sky; from the sky the air stirs forth. What comes into being in dependence on It is adorable. Befitting Savitur is the coming together of the individual self and the Supreme Self. The syllable denoting the individual self, (sa), clearly attains the form of the luminous Power.
I-25: Bhargo devasya dhi. With these words is counted the syllable (ka) denoting Siva who contains (all). With mahi, etc. (la is in accord). With the desirable, lovely, visible remainder (i.e. dhiyo yo nah, etc.), the desirable, lovely (hrillekha is in accord). Thus is Saktikuta elucidated.
I-26: Whoso repeats thus the fifteen-syllabled mantra of Tripura attains all desires; he attains all enjoyments; he conquers all worlds; he causes all words to bloom; he attains the status of Rudra; breaking through the abode of Vishnu (the veil of Maya), he reaches the supreme Brahman.
I-27: Having set forth the primeval vidya (incantation), the Sakti group (sa ka la hrim) and Power and Siva (denoted by sa ka) (must be contemplated in the first abode, the wakeful state). The Lopamudra incantation (ha sa ka la hrim) (must be contemplated) in the second abode, (the dream state).
I-28: In the third abode (or the collective sleep state) must be contemplated the previous incantation, the Power, hrillekha, without the nasal sound (sa ka la hri), the incantation on which Durvasas, the wrathful sage, meditated.
I-29: The Vagbhava group of the previous incantation is described as pertaining to Manu, Chandra and Kubera.
I-30: After Madana (or klim) comes the auspicious Vagbhava; next is the Kamakala (ka, etc.); next is the Sakti group, sa, etc. This grouping, in this order, was adored by Manu, and must be contemplated in the fourth abode (the Visva state).
I-31: (First) that which is styled Siva and Sakti (namely ha, etc.); then Vagbhava; again the Siva and Sakti group; and the third (sa, etc.) – this incantation, adored of Chandra, is to be contemplated in the fifth abode (the Taijasa state).
I-32: The incantation of Siva, etc., added to that of Chandra is the incantation of Kubera; it must be contemplated in the sixth abode (the Prajna state). Whoso knows this (attains Kubera’s wealth).
I-33: Leaving out the fourth vowel i, and placing the sun and the moon (represented by ha and sa) in the beginning of all (groups), there results the vidya (incantation) promoting power over desires; it is named after Agastya and must be meditated on in the seventh abode (the Viraj state).
I-34: In the incantation (of Agastya) given above, set in twofold manner, ha ha, representing the incantations beginning with Kama and Madana; then sa, the seed-syllable of Sakti, and ka, the beginning of Vagbhava. Of sa and ka, let the vowels be shortened into half-syllables. This is the incantation of Nandi (to be contemplates) in the eighth abode (the Sutratman state).
I-35: The Vagbhava group; the incantation of Agastya, consisting of words and meanings styled Kamakala; (then) all the power of Maya (the Sakti group) – (these, integrated, were adored by the sun and so) this is called the incantation of Prabhakara. (It must be meditated on) in the mind abode (the state of the causal abode).
I-36: Again the incantation of Agastya; (then) Vagbhava; the seed-letter of Sakti (hrim); the seed-letter of Kama (klim); the seed-letters of Siva and Sakti (hamsa); (again) the seed-letter of Kama (klim); the seed-letter of the earth (lam); that of Maya (hrim); the abode of Kamakala (the six syllables beginning with ha); the seed-letters of the moon and the sun (so’ham); the seed-letter of Kama (klim); that of Siva (ham); that of Mahiman (sa); the third (i.e. hamsa, so’ham and hamsa) – (integrated), this incantation, adored by Shanmukha must be meditated on in the tenth abode.
I-37: Repeating the incantation of Agastya after that of Shanmukha, one gets the incantation of the supreme Siva who rules over the last region. It must be meditated on in the eleventh abode (in the spirit of Anujnatir).
I- 8: Repeating the incantation of Agastya with Vagbhava, the incantation of Kubera, the abode of Kamakala and the sovereign group of Sakti derived from the incantation of Lopamudra, one gets the incantation of Vishnu. It must be meditated on in the twelfth abode (in the spirit of pure Anujna). He who knows thus (becomes Vishnu).
I- 9: The Lord (Sadasiva) said to all the gods: Having listened to the incantation (set forth by Me) and made it clear to yourself (‘I am Brahman’), know (there is nothing other than Brahman) and reduce (whatever appears besides) to Brahman. Enthrone the supreme vidya, the Divinity in the heart – the Divinity styled Kama, the Primeval One; whose form is the Fourth; who transcends the Fourth, who exceeds all; who occupies all seats consecrated with holy spells; who is surrounded on all sides by deities seated on the main and subordinate seats; who pervades all parts (from Prana, vital breath, to naman, name); the deity who is replete with delight; who is in union with the supreme Spirit; who is in the heart; whose gift is immortality; who is complete and who is possessed of senses; who, forever, is uprisen; who comprises three groups; has three abodes, and is the supreme and most excellent Maya; who is the supreme power of Vishnu. Enthrone in the pericarp of the heart’s lotus the supreme, sacred Lakshmi, the Maya ever uprisen; who controls the senses of Her devotees; who overwhelms the god of love; who is armed with bow and arrow; who inspires eloquence; who abides in the centre of the moon’s sphere, is adorned with the crescent, and assumes the guise of the seventeen Prajapatis. She is the great one, eternally present. Her hands holding a noose and a goad are charming. She, the three-eyed one, shines like the rising sun. In the heart meditate on the goddess Mahalakshmi, comprehending all glories and possessed of all auspicious marks. Her own nature is Spirit. She is flawless. Her name is Trikuta. She has a smiling face, is beautiful, is the great Maya, and is extremely fascinating. She is adorned with great ear-rings. She rests on the threefold seat and abides in the nameless sacred abode, Sripitha. She is the great Bhairavi, the power of Spirit, the great Tripura. Meditate on Her through the great yoga of meditation. Whoso knows Her thus (fulfils his life). This is the great Upanishad.
II- 1: Then, therefore, having uttered the verse, ‘Let us for all-knowing Fire the soma press’, etc., one achieves the realization of Tripura.
II-2: The seers said: Explain the form of the extensive seed-letters latent in the beginning, middle and end of the glorificatory verse, ‘Let us for all-knowing fire…’
II-3: The Lord said to them: Utter the verse, ‘Let us for all-knowing Fire the soma press’, etc. Repeat backwards the last group of the Adividya (i.e. sa ka la hrim). Lengthen the first syllable of the first group (as ka) and that of the second group (as ha). (Together we get ka ha). ‘Let us press the soma’. They say that (this verse refers to the state in which) cosmic ignorance vanishes; it is competent (to extinguish all that has been imagined as other than Brahman); it is the most excellent and blissful; it is the great glory.
II-4: The first group (called Vagbhava), the same as all prosperity, causes the sublation (of the world of objects); the second group (named after Kama) supports (the world of objects); the third (named after Sakti) brings it into being. Thus meditating on the three groups and purifying the mind, and elucidating the incantation of Tripura, one utters the mantra ‘Let us for all-knowing Fire the soma press’, etc.; then (there dawns) the wisdom called the incantation of Mahavidyeshvari.
II-5: (Relying on) the incantation of Tripureshvari, having uttered the word jatavedase [‘for all-knowing Fire’] and associating the dot denoting the divine principle of Siva with the vowels a, etc., of the Pranava, one gets the serpent-power that has become one with immortality and has assumed the triangular form (at the base of the spinal column).
II-6: Thus, of the chief principle of Adividya, the first group (beginning with ka) is Vagbhava; the second (beginning with ha) is the Kamakala. With the utterance of the syllables jata, the supreme Self is clearly expressed.
II-7: By the syllables jata, etc., the supreme (undifferentiated) Self, Siva, is denoted.
II-8: From birth onwards given to desires, one desires (Lordship). (When desires are renounced) perfection (of one’s nature results). (So the knowers of Brahman) declare.
II-9: That very thing (the perfect spirit of Siva), we declare aright as installed in the three la-s, the seed-letters of the earth. Clarifying the letters of the mantras in the light of the significance of the three la-s (which denote existence-knowledge-bliss absolute), each in the midst (of the three groups), the word gotra must be understood. The principle of Siva is said to have been installed in this gotra. Thus has it been elucidated. Then follows the Kamakala (the second group beginning with ha). The rest may be elucidated as before with reference to vamam (competent). The incantation thus explained is styled Sarvarakshakari, the All-protecting one.
II-10: Thus having clarified this incantation of Tripureshi by means of the verse jatavedase, etc., there remains but the one supreme Divinity, the Light. Or (this results from) the incantation (consisting of the three groups). Grant the boon of the Fourth (i.e. meditate on the fact that the three groups do not exist independently of Siva). Fully identify the ‘I’ - sense with the nature of the Lord. Relate each of the three groups with the incantation styled the All-protecting one. Also clarify the incantation of the Atmasana form. Repeat the verse jatavedase, etc., and (once more) recall to mind the All-protecting incantation. Assign the form of Siva and Sakti to the initial and final positions (of the All-protecting incantation). Know that the syllable sa in the verse jatavedase, etc., has Sakti as its quintessence and that the word soma represents the prowess whose quintessence is Siva. Whoso knows this becomes great.
II-11: Thus elucidate this incantation which abides in Tripura and which is set forth in the circular seat. Repeat the verse jatavedase, etc., and also the incantation of Tripureshvari which is ever ascendant and whose quintessence is Siva and Sakti, as already set forth. Jatavedas symbolizes Siva, and sa has the imperishable Sakti as its essence. Elucidate Tripura, the ever-ascendant Mahalakshmi, resting on the seat of mantras (symbolized by ha and sa), denoting the sun and the moon, pervading the three groups and subsisting in between Siva and the primeval Power. Repeat the verse jatavedase sunavama somam, etc., and call to mind the previous incantation associated with the seat of the real Self. With the words veda, etc., (in the verse), essentially the same as the sun denoted by ha, is indicated the universal Power of the Spirit (cicchakti) ever-ascendant. Put over it the dot (denoting the Siva principle). Elucidate the incantation of Tripura, garlanded, abiding in the seat of the Adept. Repeat the verse jatavedase sunavama somam, etc. Relying on the enchanting Tripura, contemplate (Her) in the syllables ka la.
Elucidate the embodied incantation of Tripura, the sovereign over all incantations. Repeat jatavedase, etc., and relying on Tripura, the Lakshmi, one consumes fire.
II-12: Elucidate the incantation of Tripura, the Mother, the sovereign threefold Light, knowing that she consumes with a mouth of fire.
II-13: Thus with the words sa mah parsad ati durgani visva, She illuminates the supreme, She who is the inner Self. Her incantation, here, having become an effect, is utilized in the act of hailing. She is deemed competent in every way.
II-14: Thus these eight incantations, the very limbs of the divine Mahamaya are elucidated.
II-15: The gods verily said to the blessed Lord: Tell us about the foremost of the wheels, which promotes all desires, is adored of all, takes all forms, faces all quarters, and is the gateway to Liberation, by adoring which the Yogins cut through (the knot of differences) into the undifferenced bliss of supreme Brahman.
II-16: To them the blessed Lord said: We shall elucidate the concept of Srichakra.
II-17: Make a triangle with three vertices. In it take as a measure a line, lengthen it, and make a triangle farther in front of it. Parallel to the base of the first triangle, but over all, make another triangle. The first triangle is the wheel, the second is the intermediary region, and the third has, marking it, the eight triangles.
II-18: Then, moving the line beyond the intermediary quarters, on the extremities of the eight spoked wheel move the line for soliciting the Sadhyas etc. Have the upper part marked with triangles. Draw four lines going up from the closed regions. In due order, with the two measuring lines, the wheel comes to be marked with ten triangles.
II-19: In the same manner, again, the wheel with ten spokes takes shape.
II-20: The wheel with fourteen spokes takes shape by joining the measuring line brought up to the parts of the ten spokes, after having joined the four vertices of the central triangles with the triangles at the extremities of the four lines.
II-21: Then take shape respectively the wheels enveloped in the eight lotuses, the sixteen lotuses, and the earth-wheel with four gates.
II-22: Thus has the wheel been elucidated by the process of construction.
II-23: I enumerate in the reverse order (the elements of) the wheel consisting of the nine selves. The first wheel enchants the three worlds; has the eight powers such as the power to assume the atomic size etc.; has the eight mothers; has the decade beginning with the All-agitating force; etc.; is manifest, is occupied by Tripura, and is characterized by the mystic mark of the All-agitating force.
II-24: The second wheel fulfils all expectations, is conjoined with the sixteen attractive powers beginning with sakama. It is well protected, occupied by the sovereign Tripura, and is characterized by the mystic mark of the All-scattering force.
II-25: The third wheel agitates all and is adorned with the eight flowers of Cupid. It is better secured, occupied by the beautiful Tripura, and characterized by the mystic mark of the All-fascinating force. II-26: The fourth wheel grants excellence to all; has fourteen forces like the All-agitating force; is associated with a tradition; is occupied by the Dweller in the three cities, and is marked by the mystic mark of the All-subduing force.
II-27: The fifth wheel, beyond the fourth, accomplishes all ends; has the ten forces such as the power to yield all perfections; has the fullness of the Kaula; is occupied by Mahalakshmi who is Tripura, and is marked by the mystic mark of the greatly exciting force.
II-28: The sixth wheel protects all; has ten traits such as omniscience; is devoid of interspaces; is occupied by the garlanded Tripura; and has the mark of the great goad.
II-29: The seventh wheel cures all diseases; has eight forces such as the force to subdue; has its mysteries; and bears the mystic mark of the khechari.
II-30: The eighth wheel grants all perfections; is characterized by four weapons, and the mysteries, higher and lower. It is occupied by the mother, Tripura, and has the mystic mark of the seed.
II-31: The ninth master-wheel is replete with all delight and is associated with the triad such as Kameshvari. It is exceedingly mysterious, occupied by the great Tripura, the beautiful, and has the mystic mark of the triangle.
II-32: All the metres indeed have passed over as spokes into the wheel. This wheel is the Srichakra. II-33: In its hub, in the sphere of fire, are the sun and the moon. Worship the seat of the syllable Om there. There is the Imperishable in the form of the point. Call to mind the supreme Incantation, sky-like, and immanent in it. Bring thither the great Tripura, the beautiful. Petition Her with the single verse:
Goddess ! In milk bathed, with sandal paste Besmeared ! Goddess! With bilva leaves worshipped ! Durga ! I seek refuge in Thee.
Adore Her with the mantra of Mayalakshmi. Thus spoke the blessed Lord.
II-34: With these mantras adore the blessed Goddess. Then She becomes pleased and manifests Herself. So whoever worships with these mantras sees Brahman. He sees all things and achieves immortality – whosoever knows thus. This is the great Upanishad.
III-1: The gods said to the blessed Lord: We would fashion the mystic marks. The blessed Lord told them: Seated in the lotus posture with the region of the knees touching the earth, make the mystic marks.
III-2: He who knows the mystic mark of the triangle attracts all; he knows all; enjoys all fruits; he breaks up all and immobilizes the foe. Keeping the middle fingers over the ring fingers, he (brings together) the little fingers and the thumbs, the forefingers being left free like rods pointing downward. Thus is the first mark made (the triangle).
III-3: The same with the middle fingers joined is the second (the seed). III-4: The third has the shape of the goad.
III-5: Rubbing the palms in the reverse order, bringing together the thumbs and the forefingers, the fourth is formed (the great goad).
III-6: The fifth (the great Deluder) is made when the thumbs are joined to the nails of the middle fingers, after rubbing with the forefinger on the little finger and the ring fingers held straight with the middle fingers.
III-7: The same shaped at the tip like a goad is the sixth (the All-subduing).
III-8: Keeping the left hand in the right resting posture, the ring fingers in the middle of the little fingers, and the middle fingers with the forefingers crossed over them, the thumbs straight, one gets the seventh, the khechari (the All-attracting).
III-9: In the all-upright, all-retracting posture, keeping each little finger in the space between its middle finger and the ring finger, and at the sides the forefingers in the shape of the goad, and the thumbs and palms in contact, the eighth is formed (the All-scattering).
III-10: The ring fingers rest on the back of the middle fingers; the thumbs holding the middle fingers on which rest the forefingers remain in the middle – thus is the ninth formed (the All-agitating).
III-11: Keeping the little fingers equally in and the thumbs, too, equally in, the mystic mark comes to have three sections. The five arrows, the mystic marks such as the five, are clear.
III-12: Krom is the seed of the goad; (ha, sa are those of Siva and Sakti; kha, of killing; prem, of enchantment); ha, sa, kha, prem, of khechari; ha (of the sun); straum (of desire); (ka) the first seed of Vagbhava is the ninth. (Ha, the first seed of Kamakuta) is the tenth. Whoso knows thus (becomes an adept in mantra).
III-13: Now, therefore, we shall expound the wheel that has become the Kamakala. Hrim, klim, aim, blum, straum – these five desires pervade the whole wheel. Wrap up the middle desire, aim, in the past (desire), straum, (i.e. aim, straum, aim). Let this group be put within blum. Bind up twice the end sought with the two medial aim-s and worship (setting them) in the birch-bark. Whoso knows this wheel knows all; he attracts all the worlds; he immobilizes everything. The wheel dyed in indigo slays foes, arrests all movements. Smearing it with lac, one controls all worlds. Uttering the formula nine lakhs of times, one attains the status of Rudra. Wrapping up (the wheel) in the inscribed diagram, one becomes victorious. Offering oblation in the fire built in a triangular fire-place, one wins over women. Doing so in a fire-place shaped like a rod or a circle one acquires unrivalled wealth. Doing so in a square fire-place one gets rain. If one offers oblations in a triangular fire-place, foes are killed, movements are immobilized Offering flowers, one becomes victorious. Offering substances having great tastes, one becomes surcharged with supreme joy. The great tastes are the six tastes.
III-14: We invoke you, Leader of hosts, Of poets, poet, most renowned;
Doyen of kings, among Brahman-s Lord of Brahman-s, pay heed to us. Come with protection to our homes.
Uttering this hymn, touch the body pronouncing ga with the dot above. Bow down to Ganesha saying gam to Ganesha. Om, Bow unto the blessed Lord, with ash-smeared limbs, of formidable prowess.
Kill ! Kill !! burn ! burn !! consume ! consume !! subdue ! subdue !! erase ! erase !! Breaker up of the plough ! At the foot of the trident , secure the accomplishment of the symbol. Dry up ! Dry up !! The Eastern sea ! Immobilize ! Immobilize!! You who disrupt the counsels, the machines, the strategy, the messengers, the armies of the enemy, tear up ! tear up !! cut up ! cut up !! hrim, phat, Svaha. With this worship the Lord of the field.
III-15: Oh maid of noble lineage ! We know, we contemplate a crore Of mantras; so many Kula’s force Inspire us ever.
Thus adoring the maiden, whichever aspirant meditates, attains immortality. He attains renown and the full stretch of life. Or, knowing the Supreme Brahman, he abides. Whosoever knows thus (wins the fruit). This is the great Upanishad.
IV-1: The gods, verily, said to the blessed Lord: Lord ! The heart of the most excellent Gayatri pertaining to Tripura has been expounded to us.
IV-2: In the hymn of jatavedas Tripura’s eight (vidyas) are limned. Thus adoring Her, from the bonds Of life the Yogin is released.
IV-3: Now tell us about Mrityumjaya (victory over death). Hearing the words of all the gods speaking thus, the victory over Death is revealed through the hymn on Tryambaka in the Anustubh metre.
IV-4: Whence is the word Tryambaka derived ? Being master of the three cities, he is Tryambaka. IV-5: Why say: ‘Let us sacrifice’ ? ‘Sacrifice’ means ‘worship’, ‘extol’ the real, by the two syllables mahe. By the immutable single letter kam (after Tryamba) victory over Death is expressed. So it is said: ‘Let us sacrifice’.
IV-6: Now, why say ‘fragrant’ ? He attains renown on all sides. Hence it is said ‘fragrant’.
IV-7: Why say ‘increases growth’ ? He creates all the worlds, saves all the worlds, pervades all the worlds. Hence He is said to increase growth.
IV-8: Why say ‘like cucumber fruit … let me find freedom’ ? As the cucumber is fast held by the stalk, so is (man) bound fast, and he is released from death, the bondage of transmigration; he becomes free. IV-9: Why say ‘unto immortality’ ? One achieves immortality, achieves the imperishable; one becomes Rudra.
IV-10: The gods verily said to the blessed Lord: Everything has been expounded to us. Now tell us all those mantras pertaining to Siva, Vishnu, Surya, Ganesha, by lauding with which Bhagavati will reveal Herself.
IV-11: The blessed Lord said:
With ‘Tryambaka’ in sloka-metre
Worship the Conqueror of Death;
It is laid down that the single letter
Is pervaded, as shown afore.
IV-12: One who worships with the mantra of the Yajus, ‘Om, Obeisance to Siva’ attains the status of Rudra and achieves blessedness. He who knows thus (does so).
IV-13: That supreme abode of Vishnu,
Like an eye across the heavens,
The wise always behold.
IV-14: Vishnu faces all quarters. As oil surrounds and fills a ball of sesamum, He pervades (all things). His supreme abode is the high sky. The wise, namely gods like Brahma, behold it, i.e., hold it for ever in the heart. Hence, Vishnu’s own form is derived from His abiding, existing, in all beings. He is Vasudeva (the god who dwells in all).
IV-15: Om Namah consists of three syllables. Bhagavate has four syllables. Vasudevaya has five syllables. This is the twelve-syllabled mantra of Vasudeva. He (who knows this) surmounts all hardships, lives a full life, achieves mastery over beings, and enjoys possession of wealth and cattle. IV-16: The letters a, u and meditation constituting the Pranava denote the inward bliss, the all-pervading Brahman. Putting them together, (there is formed) Om.
IV-17: Swan sailing in the pure sky,
Dweller in the atmosphere,
Sacrificer near the altar,
Guest walking into the house,
Dweller in men, in noble things,
In the right and in sky; in water born,
Born in the light, in the right, in mounts;
The Right, the great – (He is the Lord).
IV-18: All fruits he wins who repeats the previous mantra of the sun together with the Powers, namely the dawn, the dusk, the intellect, which are the true, ordered, embodied Light. By each of the other luminous words in the mantra of the Surya is it upheld. Words like, ‘in water born’, etc., denote the Powers. He dwells in the high abode, the heavens, pertaining to the sun.
IV-19: Worshipping the Lord of hosts with the mantra given previously (III-14), ‘We invoke you, Leader of hosts’, etc., in the traistubha metre, together with the monosyllable, one achieves the status of Ganesha.
IV-20: Next have been laid down the Gayatri, the Savitri, the unuttered mantra (ajapa), that of Sarasvati, the matrika (or alphabet): By It, all this has been pervaded.
IV-21: Aim, the Goddess of speech ! We know; klim, the Goddess of desire ! We meditate; sau, May the Power inspire us. Thus, in the morn, Gayatri; at midday, Savitri; and at dusk, Sarasvati. The ajapa, ‘hamsa’, the unuttered (is chanted) without break. The matrika, comprising fifty letters, from a to ksa, pervades all words, all Shastras, all Vedas. The Goddess pervades all things. Obeisance, obeisance, unto Her !
IV-22: The blessed Lord said to them: Whoso perpetually lauds the Goddess with these mantras beholds all things. He attains immortality – whoso knows this. This is the Upanishad.
V-1: The gods, verily, said to the blessed Lord: Clearly has been explained to us the section on activities and what pertains to Tripura with all related topics. Next tell us about the attributeless Supreme.
V-2: The blessed Lord spoke to them: By means of the fourth and final Maya (avidya, jnana, vijnana and samyagjnana), has the supreme Brahman been indicated, the supreme Person, the supreme Self, whose essence is consciousness. The hearer, the thinker, the seer, the teacher, the toucher, the proclaimer, the cognizer, the supreme knower, the inner person in all persons – that Self must be cognized.
V-3: In that there are neither worlds seen nor unseen; no gods or demons; beasts or non-beasts; ascetics or non-ascetics; outcastes or non-outcastes; brahmins or non-brahmins. Alone and single, the supreme Brahman, all-quiet, shines forth. Gods, seers, manes, prevail not there. The awakened knower, the all-knower is Brahman.
V-4: In this context there are the following verses:
Hence the seeker after liberation
Must from object his mind withdraw;
For, liberation is indeed
Mind’s detachment from objects.
V-5: Two kinds of minds there are:
Pure and impure;
Impure the mind, desire-ridden,
The pure of desires freed.
V-6: Mind alone is cause of man’s
Bondage and release; bondage is
Clinging to objects; the mind
Withdrawn therefrom promotes release.
V-7: Shorn of attachment to objects,
And restricted to the heart,
Mind thus ceases to be mind –
Such is the state supreme.
V-8: Control the mind until
It quiescence reaches in the heart.
This is knowledge and meditation;
The rest is naught but words.
V-9: Brahman is not thinkable alone,
Nor unthinkable; think not;
Yet, only think; thus, surely,
Become Brahman, the same to all.
V-10: Yogin dissolves himself with self
In Being, through meditation (high);
Meditation on non-self is deemed
No meditation at all.
V-11: That Brahman has no parts
Is beyond concepts, without blemish.
Knowing ‘I am That’, by slow degrees
One Brahman does become.
V-12: Knowing It as beyond concepts,
Endless, without cause or parallel;
Immeasurable and beginningless,
The man of wisdom is released.
V-13: There is no restriction, no origin;
None in bondage: none who strives;
None seeks liberation; aye, none Liberated – this is truth.
V-14: In wakeful state, in dreams, in sleep
Know that the Self is only one;
For one who passes beyond these states
Rebirth there is none.
V-15: One real Self alone exists
In diverse beings; as one,
Or many is It seen, like
Moon in water’s sheen.
V-16: As when a pot is moved,
The sky, pot-bound moves not –
So is the living Self unmoved,
Like sky when only pot has moved.
V-17: When repeated in different forms,
Like pot from pot distinct,
He knows not in these divisions,
And yet at all times knows.
V-18: As long as illusions of words
Encompass one, difference lasts;
When darkness is scattered,
It is unity one sees.
V-19: The lower Brahman is the Word;
The Eternal, when that wears off,
Remains; Its knower shall, for peace of mind,
On the Eternal meditate.
V-20: Two Brahman-s are to be pondered on:
The Word and Brahman Supreme;
In the Word well versed, one attains
Brahman Supreme.
V-21: The acute mind, after study of texts,
On knowledge and wisdom intent,
Must forsake all, as one who seeks grain
Forsakes the husk perforce.
V-22: Milk has but a single colour
Though drawn from diverse cows;
As milk is knowledge known,
Its sources are like cows.
V-23: Focussing the eye of knowledge
Evoke the thought: ‘I am Brahman,
The great, supreme abode without
Parts or movement, the quiescent One.’
V-24: Whoso knows thus the one supreme form of Brahman, the Fourth, abiding in all beings, dwells in the imperishable supreme abode.
V-25: I seek refuge, for the sake of life, in this fourth Power of Knowledge, the cause of the manifestation of Brahman.
V-26: In the order of Akasa, etc. Akasa is the supreme source of all these elements. All these beings, verily, are born of Akasa, and they merge in Akasa. Because of it they live, once they are born. So, know Akasa to be the seed.
V-27: That very thing, know as the seat of Akasa, of air, of fire, of water, of precious stones. Whoso knows this attains immortality.
V-28: Therefore, whoever knows this fourth (Wisdom or vidya) pertaining to the glory of Kamaraja (the Self in liberation) with its elevenfold form as the imperishable Brahman attains the fourth state – whoever knows this. This is the great Upanishad.
Om ! Gods ! With ears let us hear what is good;
Adorable ones ! With eyes let us see what is good.
With steady limbs, with bodies, praising,
Let us enjoy the life allotted by the gods.
May Indra, of wide renown, grant us well-being;
May Pusan, and all-gods, grant us well-being.
May Tarksya, of unhampered movement, grant us well-being.
May Brihaspati grant us well-being.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Tripura-Tapini Upanishad, included in the Atharva-Veda.
Devi Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! Gods ! With ears let us hear what is good;
Adorable ones ! With eyes let us see what is good.
With steady limbs, with bodies, praising,
Let us enjoy the life allotted by the gods.
May Indra, of wide renown, grant us well-being;
May Pusan, and all-gods, grant us well-being.
May Tarksya, of unhampered movement, grant us well-being.
May Brihaspati grant us well-being.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
1.All the gods waited upon the Goddess (and asked): ‘Great Goddess, who art Thou ?’
2.She replied: I am essentially Brahman. From Me (has proceeded) the world comprising Prakriti and Purusha, the void and the Plenum. I am (all forms of) bliss and non-bliss. Knowledge and ignorance are Myself. Brahman and non-Brahman are to be known – says the scripture of the Atharvans.
3.I am the five elements as also what is different from them. I am the entire world. I am the Veda as well as what is different from it. I am the unborn; I am the born. Below and above and around am I.
4.I move with Rudras and Vasus, with Adityas and Visvedevas.
Mitra and Varuna, Indra and Agni, I support, and the two Asvins.
5.I uphold Soma, Tvastir, Pusan and Bhaga,
The wide-stepping Vishnu, Brahma, Prajapati.
6.To the zealous sacrificer offering oblation
And pressing the Soma-juice do I grant wealth;
I am the state, the Bringer of Wealth;
Above it all, place I its protector.
7.Whoso knows my essence in the water of the inner sea,
Attains he the Goddess’s abode.
8.Those gods said:
Salutation to the Goddess, the great Goddess !
To Siva, the auspicious, salutation, for ever more.
To blessed Prakriti, salutation !
Ever to Her we bow.
9.Refuge I seek in Her who is the colour of fire,
Burning with ascetic ardour, Goddess resplendent,
Delighting in actions’ fruits; O Thou, hard to reach,
Dispel Thy gloom.
10.The gods engendered divine Speech;
Her, beasts of all forms speak;
The cow that yields sweet fruits and vigour –
To us may lauded Speech appear.
11.To holy Siva, to Daksha’s daughter,
To Aditi and Sarasvati,
To Skanda’s Mother, Vishnu’s Power,
To Night of death by Brahma lauded,
We render obeisance.
12.Know we Great Lakshmi,
Goddess of good Fortune;
On all fulfilment do we meditate.
May the Goddess inspire us !
13.Through You, Dakshayani, was Aditi born;
She is your daughter; after her were born
The gods auspicious, Friends of deathlessness.
14.Love, womb, love’s part, the bearer of the thunderbolt
The cave, ha-sa, the wind, the cloud, Indra;
Again the cave, sa-ka-la with Maya –
So runs the full primeval science begetting all.
15.This is the power of Self, enchanting all, armed with the noose, the hook, the bow and the arrow. This is the great and holy Science.
16.Who knows thus tides over grief.
17.Divine Mother ! Salutation to you; protect us in all possible ways.
18.She, here, is the eight Vasus, the eleven Rudras, the twelve Adityas, She is the all-gods, (those) who drink Soma and (those) who do not; she is the goblins, the demons, the evil beings, the ghosts; she also, beings super-human, the semi-divine. She is Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. She is Prajapati, Indra and Manu. She is the planets, stars and luminous spheres. She is the divisions of time, and the form of primeval Time. I salute Her ever:
19.Goddess who banishes distress
Grants pleasure and deliverance alike,
Infinite, victorious, pure,
Siva, Refuge, the Giver of good.
20.Seed all-powerful of the Goddess’ mantra,
Is sky, conjoined with ‘i’ and fire,
With crescent moon adorned.
21.On the single-syllabled mantra
Meditate the pure-hearted sages,
Supremely blissful;
Of wisdom the veriest oceans.
22.Fashioned by speech; born of Brahman; the sixth
With face equipped; the sun; the left ear where
The point is; the eighth and the third conjoint.
23.The air, with Narayana united,
And with the lip; vicce, the nine-lettered;
The letter, shall delight the lofty ones.
24.Seated in the lotus-heart,
Resplendent as the morning sun,
Goddess, bearing noose and hook,
With gesture granting boons, dissolving fears;
Tender, three-eyed, red-robed, granting devotees
Their hearts’ desires,
Thee I adore.
25.I bow to Thee, Goddess,
Thou dispeller of gravest fears, Vanquisher of obstacles;
Thou wearer of great Mercy’s form.
26.Brahma and others know not Her essence; so is she called the Unknowable. She has no end; so is she called the Endless. She is not grasped and so is she called the Incomprehensible. Her birth is not known and so is she called the Unborn. She alone is present everywhere, and so is she called the One. She alone wears all forms, and so is she called the Many. For these reasons is she called the Unknowable, the Endless, the Incomprehensible, the Unknown, the One and the Many.
27.The Goddess is the source of all mantras:
Of all the words the knowledge is Her form.
Her conscious Form transcends all cognitions;
She is the witness of all emptiness.
28.Beyond Her is nothing; renowned is
She As unapproachable; afeared of life,
I bow to the inaccessible One,
Bulwark against all sins; the Pilot who
Steers me across the sea of worldly life.
29.He who studies this Atharva Upanishad gains the fruit of repeating five (other) Atharva Upanishads; he who, having mastered this Atharva Upanishad, persists in worship.
30.Of this vidya ten million chants
Are less than the worship’s fruit.
Eight and hundred recitations thereof
Make but this rite’s inauguration.
31.Who reads it but ten times,
Is released at once from sins;
Through the grace of the Goddess great,
Tides he over obstacles great.
32.Reading it in the morning one destroys the sins of the night; reading it in the evening one destroys the sins committed by day. Thus, reading both in the evening and morning, the sinner becomes sinless. Reading it midnight, too, the fourth ‘junction’, there results perfection of speech. Its recitation before a new image brings to it the presence of the deity. Its recitation at the time of consecration (of an image) makes it a centre of energy. Reciting it on Tuesday under the asterism Ashvini, in the presence of the great Goddess, one overcomes fell death – one who knows thus. This is the secret.
Om ! Gods ! With ears let us hear what is good;
Adorable ones ! With eyes let us see what is good.
With steady limbs, with bodies, praising,
Let us enjoy the life allotted by the gods.
May Indra, of wide renown, grant us well-being;
May Pusan, and all-gods, grant us well-being.
May Tarksya, of unhampered movement, grant us well-being.
May Brihaspati grant us well-being.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Devi Upanishad, included in the Atharva-Veda.
Tripura Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! Speech is rooted in my thought (mind) and my thought is rooted in my speech.
Be manifest, patent, to me; be ye two, for me, the lynch-pins of the Veda.
Let not Vedic lore desert me.
With this mastered lore, I join day with night.
I shall speak what is right; I shall speak what is true.
Let that protect me; let that protect the speaker.
Let that protect me.
Let that protect the speaker, protect the speaker !
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
1.Three cities are there, and pathways three for all.
(On the dais of Fortune) are letters a, ka, tha and others.
In them there dwells, never-ageing, ancient,
The exceeding grandeur of the gods.
2.Subject to Her whose sources are nine
Shine forth the centres nine and Yogas nine,
Nine deities and regents of the planets nine,
Gentle healing deities nine and gestures nine.
3.The One she was, the Foremost;
She was the nine, the nineteen and the twenty-nine;
The forty, she; may the radiant energies three,
As fond mother’s love, encircle me.
4.In the beginning was upblazing Light;
Gloom and Motion stretched athwart the Ageless;
The Moonlight gladness and delights; these spheres
Adorn indeed (the knowers of Brahman).
5.Of the three lines, abodes, three worlds and three spheres
With triple constituents (She is the prop).
This group of three among the sheaths is prime.
In diagram drawn with mystic words
The God of Love with Fortune’s Goddess dwells.
6.The Exhilarating and the Proud,
The Auspicious, the Lucky and the Lovely,
The Perfected, the shy, the Witty One,
The Gratified, the chosen and the Full,
The Wealthy, the Forbidden, the Graceful,
The Eloquent – (These on Consciousness do wait).
7.Attended thus the Power of Consciousness
Is drunk with the draught of Immortality;
Knowing Her and worshipping Her throne
(Her devotees) on heaven’s great vault do dwell
And enter the supreme Triple City.
8.Desire, the womb, the Digit of Desire,
The Wielder of the Thunderbolt, the Cave,
Ha sa, the Wind, the Cloud, the King of Heaven,
Yet again the Cave, sa ka la and maya –
Such is the primeval Wisdom, embracing all,
Mother of the vast universe.
9.Uttering in secret Her three basic letters –
The sixth, the seventh and the eighth –
Lauding the Lord, the theme of the Upanishads,
The Seer, the Fashioner, the Free to Will,
(Seekers) achieve the state of Immortality.
10.The Mother of the Universe sustains
Her abode – the Destroyer’s Face, the Circle of the Sun,
The core of sounds, the span of time,
The Eternal, half the lunar month;
With sixteen (She sustains the core of their abode).
11.Or, worshipping the digit of desire in its manifold forms,
Enthroned in the three cavernous homes and in symbols
Of the rounded breasts and face set in the spheres,
The man of desires gains that which he wants.
12.Dressed fish, goat’s flesh,
Cooked rice, pleasure of sex,
Who offers to the Goddess great,
Merit and success for himself achieves.
13.With (Sarasvati) fair and (Lakshmi), World’s Mother,
(Gauri), roseate, primeval Power, withdrawer of the world,
Binds with noose creatures who grasp, and tread
Attachment’s path; and swiftly smites with bow and arrows five.
14-15. The Power of Consciousness and desire’s Lord,
Lord of auspicious powers, coequals both,
Of equal prowess, in energy equal,
Grant gifts to the fortunate here.
Of the two, the un-ageing Power, the world’s womb,
With offering of knowledge pleased,
Removes the aspirant’s twofold sheath.
With mind averted from illusion’s sphere
He becomes Creator, Protector,
Withdrawer of the world;
Nay, one with Cosmic Being.
16. This is Tripura’s great Upanishad,
Imperishable, which, in glorious words
The Rig, Yajus, Saman and Atharvan
And other forms of knowledge laud.
Om, Hrim, Om, Hrim – thus ends the secret doctrine.
Om ! Speech is rooted in my thought (mind) and my thought is rooted in my speech.
Be manifest, patent, to me; be ye two, for me, the lynch-pins of the Veda.
Let not Vedic lore desert me.
With this mastered lore, I join day with night.
I shall speak what is right; I shall speak what is true.
Let that protect me; let that protect the speaker.
Let that protect me.
Let that protect the speaker, protect the speaker !
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Tripura Upanishad, included in the Rig-Veda.
Katharudra Upanishad
Translated by Prof. A. A. Ramanathan
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1.The Gods, it is said, requested of the venerable (Brahma): Venerable Sir, impart to us the spiritual knowledge. He, the creator (Prajapati), replied:
2.After removing the hair including the tuft and discarding it, and after removing the sacred thread, looking at one’s son (the following shall be uttered): ‘Thou art the scripture , thou the sacrifice, thou the Vasatkara, thou the syllable Om, thou art Svaha, thou Svadha, thou the doer and thou the creator’. Then the son shall say: ‘I am the scripture , I am the sacrifice, I am the Vasatkara, I am the syllable Om, I am Svaha, I am Svadha, I am the doer and I am the creator, I am the divine architect (Tvastir), I am the base’. These are the words (to be uttered). While parting (from the son) he shall not shed tears. Should he shed tears, the line of progeny will be broken. Circumambulating clockwise (his village) and not looking at anything he shall depart. Such a one is fit for the world of Brahman.
3.After studying the Vedas as a celibate student and performing the duties prescribed in the scriptures, after marrying and begetting sons and providing them with suitable means, having performed sacrifices according to ability, he who has been permitted by elders and relatives shall take to renunciation. Reaching the forest he shall perform the Agnihotra sacrifice for twelve nights by pouring oblations of milk into the fire; for twelve nights he shall subsist on milk. At the end of twelve nights, the wooden vessels, being no more of use, shall be offered to the fire (with the mantra): ‘This is the oblation of cooked rice to the Vaishvanara fire, to Prajapati, (this is) the oblation appointed in three potsherds to Vishnu and Agni’. The clay pots shall be consigned to the waters; the metal ones shall be given to the teacher, with the mantra: ‘May you not desert me while parting from me, may I not desert you while I part from you’. He shall prostrate before the three fires – the household-fire, the southern-fire and the fire in which the oblations are offered. Some say that he shall consume a handful of ashes from the place where the fire-kindling sticks stand. After removing the hair including the tuft and discarding it, he shall abandon the sacred thread in the waters with the mantra, ‘Bhuh Svaha’. Therefore, he shall resort to starvation or drowning in water or entering fire, or betake himself to the battle field; or he shall journey forward until he falls and dies or he shall enter a hermitage of elderly ascetics. He shall consume milk as the repast (of the evening). That shall be his offering for the evening. That (milk which he takes) in the morning is his morning (offering); that of the new-moon-day, the new-moon-day sacrifice; that of the full-moon-day, the full-moon-day sacrifice. The shaving of the hair, beard, etc., and cutting of nails in the spring comprise his Agnishtoma sacrifice.
4.After renunciation he shall not resume the fire-rituals. He shall recite the spiritual mantra: ‘For I have become Death and would enter that which is coming into being (i.e. Brahman-knowledge)’, etc. Saying ‘Welfare to all beings’, and contemplating the Self and naught else, lifting up the arms, he shall be one who has abandoned the (usual) path; he shall move about without any (fixed) abode. He shall subsist on alms, and shall not give any (gift). He shall not wear even scant (apparel) save during the rainy season for the protection of the animal body. Here are the verses (to support this):
5-6. The water-pot, the ladle, the sling (to carry his effects), the staff, foot-wear, covering to protect from the cold, the loin-cloth, the garment (to cover the body), the ring of Kusa grass, the bath towel, as well as the upper cloth, the sacred thread and the scriptures – all these an ascetic shall renounce.
7. With purified water he shall bathe and wash and also drink of the same. He shall sleep on the sands of a river (bank) or in temples.
8. He shall not make the body endure the extremes of comfort or hardship. He shall not exult when praised, nor curse others when blamed.
9-11. The one who bears a staff (ascetic) shall be unfalteringly firm in celibacy. Looking at, touching, sporting, talking about, entering into secret dialogue, imagining, thinking about, or physical enjoyment (with women) – this is what the learned call the eightfold cohabitation. Brahmacharya [celibacy] is the contrary. It should be observed by those who seek Liberation.
11-12. The self-effulgent light which illumines the world ever shines. It is indeed the witness of the world, the Self of all, pure in form, the basis of all beings, whose nature is pure consciousness.
13. Not by action, not by (begetting) children, not by anything else, only by knowing Brahman, man attains Brahman.
14-15. That Brahman, which is without a second, and which is Truth, Knowledge and Happiness, is the object of (real) knowing. The best of the twice-born, who know Brahman residing in the cave which is called the highest heaven, during his transmigratory existence known as ‘illusion’, ‘ignorance’, etc., attain all desired things instantaneously.
16.He who realizes his own Self, which is the witness of the power called ignorance and illusion, knowing ‘I am Brahman alone’ becomes Brahman Itself.
17.From this Self which is one with Brahman and which is possessed of power (i.e. maya) arose the unmanifest ether (Akasa) like a rope-serpent.
18.Then from the ether emerged the unmanifest touch which is named ‘air’ (Vayu). Then from air emerged fire; from fire, water; and from water, the earth.
19.Then after dividing and compounding all those subtle (elements) into five, from them alone the auspicious Lord created the cosmic egg.
20.Enfolded in the cosmic egg are gods, anti-gods, Yakshas, Kinnaras, human beings, animals, birds, etc., in accordance with (the result of) their own actions.
21.The bodies of beings which appear in the form of (a framework of) bones, sinews, etc., is the self of the nature of food for the all-pervading Self.
22.Then, further within, is the self of Prana [vital energy] split (into five). Still further within is the self of the nature of mind which is different (from the others).
23.Next, even further within and different is the self of the nature of knowledge. Then, in the interior, distinct, is the self of the nature of bliss.
24.That (self) of the nature of food is pervaded by (the self) of the nature of vital energy; similarly (the self of) vital energy is by the nature (pervaded) by (the self) of the nature of mind.
25.The mind-self is pervaded by the self of knowledge. The ever-happy self of the nature of knowledge is always pervaded by bliss.
26.In the same way, the self of bliss is pervaded by Brahman, the witness, the innermost of all. Brahman is not (pervaded) by anything else.
27-28. By realizing directly this Brahman, which is named the Support (the Tail puccha), which is of the nature of truth, knowledge and non-duality, the essence, the joy, the eternal, the dweller in the body becomes happy everywhere. Wherefrom otherwise can there be happiness ?
28-29. If this supreme bliss which is the very Self of all beings were not existent, which human being can be alive ? Who can ever be active ?
29-30. Therefore it is this Being, shining fully in the consciousness, that ever makes happy the individual self, which is otherwise full of sorrow.
30-32. Only when the great ascetic realizes his complete unity without any difference from this, which is described as unseen, etc., he attains total fearlessness. This is the ultimate Good, supreme Immortality, absolute Existence, transcendent Brahman, beyond the three divisions (of time).
32-33. When an individual experiences even a slight difference in this (identity) he will have fear; there is no doubt.
33-34. Because of this sheath of bliss, from (God) Vishnu to a pillar – all always realize happiness though in different degrees.
34-35. For him who is versed in the scriptures, disinterested in attaining any position, and happy, the bliss which is his very nature shines forth by itself.
35-36. It is well known that word functions dependent upon a base (like jati, dravya, kriya, guna). Because of the absence of any (such) base, words recoil (from Brahman). For how can the word function in respect of the absolute bliss devoid of any base ?
37-38. This subtle mind which makes all things its object turns back from That, from which retreat also (the senses), hearing, touch, sight, etc., as well as the organs of actions; they are not capable of reaching the Supreme.
38-39. Realizing that Brahman which is Bliss, without a second, devoid of attributes, the solidarity of truth and consciousness, as one’s own Self, one fears nought.
39-40. He who knows thus from the teaching of his Guru, who becomes master of himself, never suffers from the impact of good or bad actions.
40-41. The whole world which appeared formerly as the inflictor and the inflicted now shines as one’s own Self, owing to the knowledge arising from the Vedantic teaching.
41-42. The pure (Brahman), God, the individual self, the knower, the means of knowledge, the object of knowledge and the result – thus, for empirical purposes, is the sevenfold distinction made.
43-44. (The Consciousness) devoid of the condition of Maya [cosmic nescience] is termed ‘pure’ (Brahman). When related to the cosmic nescience, it is God. Under the influence of the individual nescience (Avidya) it is the individual self. When related to the internal organ it is called the knower. In relationship with the modifications of the internal organ, it is called the means of knowledge.
45-46. The Consciousness which is not known is termed ‘object’; and the consciousness which is known is called ‘result’. The intelligent man should meditate upon his own Self as devoid of all conditioning.
46.He who knows this in reality becomes Brahman itself.
47.Now I speak of the true essence of the teaching of all Vedanta: dying oneself, becoming oneself, one yet remains oneself. Thus (ends) the Upanishad.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Katharudropanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Bhavana Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! Gods ! With ears let us hear what is good; Adorable ones !
With eyes let us see what is good.
With steady limbs, with bodies, praising,
Let us enjoy the life allotted by the gods.
May Indra, of wide renown, grant us well-being;
May Pusan, and all-gods, grant us well-being.
May Tarksya, of unhampered movement, grant us well-being.
May Brihaspati grant us well-being.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
1.The holy Teacher is the Power (Para-Sakti) that is the cause of all.
2.Of that Power the body with its nine orifices is the form.
3.It is the holy Wheel in the guise of the nine wheels.
4.The Power of the Boar is paternal: Kurukulla, the deity of sacrifice, is maternal.
5.The (four) human Ends are the oceans (purusharthas - dharma, artha, kama and moksha).
6- 7. The body with the seven constituents (Chile, blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow and semen) like the skin and the hair is the island of the nine gems.
8.Resolutions are the wish-granting trees; energy (of the mind) is the garden of the trees of plenty.
9.The six seasons are the tastes, namely sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, astringent and saltish, which are apprehended by the tongue.
10.Knowledge is the material for worship; the object of knowledge is the oblation; the knower is the sacrificer. The meditation on the identity of the three, knowledge, its object, and the knower, is the worship rendered to the holy Wheel.
11.Destiny and sentiments like love are (the miraculous attainments like) atomicity, etc. Lust, anger, greed, delusion, elation, envy, merit, demerit – these constitute the eight powers of Brahma, etc. (Brahma, Maheshvari, Kaumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Raudri, Charmamunda and Kalasamkarsini).
12.The nine abodes (muladhara etc.,) are the powers of the mystic gestures.
13.The earth, water, fire, air, ether, ear, skin, eye, tongue, nose, speech, feet, hands, the organs of evacuation and generation and the modification of mind are the sixteen powers such as the pull of lust, etc.
14.Speech, grasp, motion, evacuation, generation, and the attitudes of rejection, acceptance and apathy are the eight (entities) such as the flower of love, etc.
15.Alambusa, kuhu, visvodara, varana, hastijihva, yasovati, payasvini, gandhari, pusa, sankhini, sarasvati, ida, pingala and susumna – these fourteen arteries are the fourteen powers such as the all-exciting, etc.
16.The five vital breaths and the five minor breaths are the ten divinities of the outer spokes, (styled) Sarvasiddhiprada, etc.
17.The digestive fire becomes fivefold through distinctions based on its association with this pre-eminent breath. (They are) what ejects, what cooks, what dries, what burns and what inundates.
18.Owing to the prominence of the minor breath, these (fires) in the human body come to be styled as the corroder, the ejector, the agitator, the yawner and the deluder. They promote the digestion of the fivefold food: eaten, chewed, sucked, licked and imbibed.
19.The ten aspects of Fire are the ten divinities of the inner spokes, Sarvajna, etc.
20.The qualities of cold, heat, pleasure, pain, desire, sattva, rajas and tamas are the eight powers, vasini, etc.
21.The five, rudimentary sound, etc., are the flowery shafts.
22.Mind is the bow made of sugarcane.
23.Attachment is the cord (that binds).
24.Aversion is the hook.
25.The unmanifest, the Great, and the principle of Egoism are the divinities of the inner triangle: Kameshvari, Vajreshvari and Bhagamalini.
26.Absolute awareness, verily, is Kameshvara.
27.The supreme divinity, Lalita, is one’s own blissful Self.
28.Of all this the distinctive apprehension is the red glow.
29.Perfection (ensues from) exclusive concentration of the mind.
30.In the performance of meditation consist (various acts of) respectful service.
31.The act of oblation is the merger in the Self of distinctions like I, Thou, Existence, non-Existence, the sense of duty and its negation, and the obligation worship.
32.Assuagement is the thought of identity of (all) objects of imagination.
33.The view of time’s transformation into the fifteen days (of the half lunar month) points to the fifteen eternal (divinities).
34.Thus meditating for three instants, or two, or even for a single instant, one becomes liberated while living; one is styled the Siva-Yogin.
35.Meditations on the inner wheel have been discussed (here) following the tenets of Saktaism.
36.Whoso knows thus is a student of the Atharvasiras.
Om ! Gods ! With ears let us hear what is good; Adorable ones !
With eyes let us see what is good. With steady limbs, with bodies, praising,
Let us enjoy the life allotted by the gods.
May Indra, of wide renown, grant us well-being;
May Pusan, and all-gods, grant us well-being.
May Tarksya, of unhampered movement, grant us well-being.
May Brihaspati grant us well-being.
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Bhavanopanishad, included in the Atharva-Veda.
Rudra Hridaya Upanishad
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Now, at this moment, I take refuge in that Pure State of the Supreme Absolute which can be known by the Vidya, called the Rudra Hridaya Upanishad.
After prostrating before the celebrated form of Sri Mahadeva-Rudra in his heart, adoring the sacred Bhasma and Rudraksha and mentally reciting the great Mahavakya-Mantra, Tarasara, Sri Suka asked his father Sri Vyasa Maharshi, thus:
Who is the real God of gods? In whom are all these existences established? By worshipping whom, can I please the Devas in whole?
Hearing these words, Sri Veda Vyasa replied thus:
Rudra is the embodiment of all Devas. All devas are merely different manifestations of Sri Rudra Himself. On the right side of Rudra, there is the sun, then the four-headed Brahma, and then three Agnis (fires). On the left side, there exist Sri Umadevi, and also Vishnu and Soma (moon).
Uma Herself is the form of Vishnu. Vishnu Himself is the form of the moon. Therefore, those who worship Lord Vishnu, worship Siva Himself. And those who worship Siva, worship Lord Vishnu in reality. Those who envy and hate Sri Rudra, are actually hating Sri Vishnu. Those who decry Lord Siva, decry Vishnu Himself.
Rudra is the generator of the seed. Vishnu is the embryo of the seed. Siva Himself is Brahma and Brahma Himself is Agni. Rudra is full of Brahma and Vishnu. The whole world is full of Agni and Soma. The masculine gender is Lord Siva. The feminine gender is Sri Bhavani Devi. All the mobile and immobile creation of this universe, is filled up with Uma and Rudra. The Vyakta is Sri Uma, and the Avyakta is Lord Siva. The combination of Uma and Sankara is Vishnu.
Hence everybody should prostrate to Sri Maha Vishnu with great devotion. He is the Atman. He is the Paramatman. He is the Antaratman. Brahma is the Antaratman. Siva is the Paramatman. Vishnu is the Eternal Atman of all this universe. This whole creation of Svarga, Martya and Patala Lokas is a big tree. Vishnu is the top portion (branches) of this tree. Brahma is the stem. The root is Lord Siva.
The effect is Vishnu. The action is Brahma. The cause is Siva. For the benefit of the worlds. Rudra has taken these three forms.
Rudra is Dharma. Vishnu is the world. Brahma is Knowledge. Therefore, do Kirtan of His name, ‘Rudra’, ‘Rudra’. By singing like this, the hallowed name of this great Lord, all your sins will be destroyed.
Rudra is man. Uma is woman. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is Brahma. Uma is Sarasvati. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is Vishnu. Uma is Lakshmi. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is Sun. Uma is shadow. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is moon. Uma is star. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is day. Uma is night. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is Yajna. Uma is Vedi. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is Agni, Uma is Svaha. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is Veda. Uma is Sastra. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is tree. Uma is creeper. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is scent. Uma is flower. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is meaning. Uma is word. Prostrations to Him and Her. Rudra is Linga. Uma is Pitha. Prostrations to Him and Her.
The devotee should worship Sri Rudra and Uma with these Mantras referred to above. O my son, Suka! With these hymns, you should meditate on the Eternal Para-Brahman, which is beyond the reach of the senses, which is pure Existence, knowledge and Bliss and which cannot be understood either by the speech or by the mind. After knowing this, there is nothing more to be known, because everything is the form of That, and there is nothing separate from That.
There are two Vidyas to be known. They are Para and Apara. Apara Vidya is the embodiment of the four Vedas and their six Angas. They do not deal with the Nature of the Atman. But the Para Vidya is called the Moksha-Sastra. It deals with that supreme philosophy of the Absolute Truth, ununderstandable, impersonal, Nirguna, Nirakara, without ears, without eyes, without hands, without feet, eternal, omnipresent, imperishable, and knowable by the intelligent daring sages.
From that Lord Siva who performs a terrible penance in the form of Supreme Jnana-Marga, this whole world is created which is the food of the mortals. This world is Maya. It seems to appear just like a dream. It is superimposed on the Lord just like a rope on a serpent. This is the eternal Truth. There is no creation in reality. All is absolute. All is Truth. Knowing this, one is liberated at once.
Only through Jnana, you can get rid of this Samsara. Only through Jnana, you can understand this existence and never through Karma. Understand this through the guidance of a Brahmanishtha-Srotriya Guru. The Guru will give the disciple all the necessary knowledge of Brahman, the Absolute. By cutting off the bondage of Ajnana or Avidya, one should take refuge in Lord Sadasiva. This is the real wisdom to be understood by an aspirant seeking after Truth.
The Pranava is the bow. The Atman is the arrow. The Para-Brahman is the target. Just like the arrow, the Atman will become one with Brahman.
But all these three, the bow, the arrow and the target are not different from that Sadasiva. There do not shine the bodies of the sun, moon or the stars. There does not blow the wind, there do not exist many Devatas. He, the One Lord only exists. He only, the Purity of purities, shines for ever and ever.
There are two birds in this body, the Jiva and the Paramatman. The Jiva eats the fruit of his Karmas, but the Paramatman is untouched by anything. The Paramatman is only the Sakshi. He does not do anything. He only assumes the form of the Jiva through His Maya, just as the Akasa inside a pot seems to be different from the Akasa outside and assumes the form of the pot. In reality all is Siva, Advaita, the One Absolute. There is no difference of whatever kind.
When all is understood to be One, Omkara, the Absolute, there is no sorrow, there is no Maya. Then the attainment of the Advaita-Paramananda is very easy. Think that you are the basis of all this universe, you are the One, Kevala, Sat-Chit-Ghana. All people cannot understand this Truth. Those devoid of Maya can know this secret. After knowing this, the Atman does not move towards any place at any time. It becomes one with the Absolute, just like Ghatakasa with Paramakasa. Just as Akasa does not move anywhere, similarly this Atman does not have any movement. It becomes one with OM.
One who knows this great secret Truth is the real Muni. He becomes the Para-Brahman Itself. He becomes Satchidananda. He attains permanent peace.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Rudra-Hridayopanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Yoga-Kundalini Upanishad
Translated by K. Narayanasvami Aiyar
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
CHAPTER - I
1.Chitta has two causes, Vasanas and (Prana) Vayu. If one of them is controlled, then both are controlled.
2.Of these two, a person should control (Prana) Vayu always through moderate food, postures and thirdly Sakti-Chala.
3-4. I shall explain the nature of these. Listen to it, O Gautama. One should take a sweet and nutritious food, leaving a fourth (of his stomach) unfilled, in order to please Shiva (the patron of Yogins). This is called moderate food. Posture herein required is of two kinds, Padma and Vajra.
5.Placing the two heels over the two opposite thighs (respectively) is the Padma (posture) which is the destroyer of all sins.
6.Placing one heel below the Mulakanda and the other over it and sitting with the neck, body and head erect is the Vajra posture.
7.The Sakti (mentioned above) is only Kundalini. A wise man should take it up from its place (Viz., the navel, upwards) to the middle of the eyebrows. This is called Sakti-Chala.
8.In practising it, two things are necessary, Sarasvati-Chalana and the restraint of Prana (breath). Then through practice, Kundalini (which is spiral) becomes straightened.
9-10(a). Of these two, I shall explain to you first Sarasvati-Chalana. It is said by the wise of old that Sarasvati is no other than Arundhati. It is only by rousing her up that Kundalini is roused.
10(b)-11(a). When Prana breath is passing through (one’s) Ida (left nostril), he should assume firmly Padma-posture and should lengthen (inwards) 4 digits the Akasa of 12 digits.
11(b)-13(a). Then the wise man should bind the (Sarasvati) Nadi by means of this lengthened (breath) and holding firmly together (both his ribs near the navel) by means of the forefingers and thumbs of both hands, (one hand on each side) should stir up Kundalini with all his might from right to left often and often; for a period of two Muhurtas (48 minutes), he should be stirring it up fearlessly.
13(b)-14. Then he should draw up a little when Kundalini enters Susumna. By this means, Kundalini enters the mouth of Susumna. Prana (also) having left (that place) enters of itself the Susumna (along with Kundalini).
15. By compressing the neck, one should also expand the navel. Then by shaking Sarasvati, Prana goes above (to) the chest.
16-17. Through the contraction of the neck, Prana goes above from the chest. Sarasvati who has sound in her womb should be shaken (or thrown into vibration) each day. Therefore by merely shaking it, one is cured of diseases.
18.Gulma (a splenetic disease), Jalodara (dropsy), Pliha (a splenetic disease) and all other diseases arising within the belly, are undoubtedly destroyed by shaking this Sakti.
19.I shall now briefly describe to you Pranayama. Prana is the Vayu that moves in the body and its restraint within is known as Kumbhaka.
20.It is of two kinds, Sahita and Kevala. One should practise Sahita till he gets Kevala.
21.There are four Bhedas (lit., piercings or divisions) viz., Surya, Ujjayi, Sitali and Bhastri. The Kumbhaka associated with these four is called Sahita Kumbhaka.
22-23. Being seated in the Padma posture upon a pure and pleasant seat which gives ease and is neither too high nor too low, and in a place which is pure, lovely and free from pebbles, etc., and which for the length of a bow is free from cold, fire and water, one should shake (or throw into vibration) Sarasvati;
24.Slowly inhaling the breath from outside, as long as he desires, through the right nostril, he should exhale it through the left nostril.
25.He should exhale it after purifying his skull (by forcing the breath up). This destroys the four kinds of evils caused by Vayu as also by intestinal worms.
26(a). This should be done often and it is this which is spoken of as Surya-Bheda.
26(b)-27. Closing the mouth and drawing up slowly the breath as before with the nose through both the Nadis (or nostrils) and retaining it in the space between the heart and the neck, one should exhale it through the left nostril.
28.This destroys the heat caused in the head as well as the phlegm in the throat. It removes all diseases, purifies his body and increases the (gastric) fire within.
29.It removes also the evils arising in the Nadis, Jalodara (waterbelly or dropsy) and Dhatus. This Kumbhaka is called Ujjayi and may be practised (even) when walking or standing.
30.Drawing up the breath as before through the tongue with (the hissing sound of) ‘Sa’ and retaining it as before, the wise man should slowly exhale it through (both) the nostrils.
31.This is called Sitali Kumbhaka and destroys diseases, such as Gulma, Pitha, consumption, bile, fever, thirst and poison.
32.Seated in the Padma posture with belly and neck erect, the wise man should close the mouth and exhale with care through the nostrils.
33.Then he should inhale a little with speed up to the heart, so that the breath may fill the space with noise between the neck and skull.
34-35. Then he should exhale in the same way and inhale often and often. Just as the bellows of a smith are moved (viz., stuffed with air within and then the air is let out), so he should move the air within his body. If the body gets tired, then he should inhale through the right nostril.
36-37(a). If his belly is full of Vayu, then he should press well his nostrils with all his fingers except his forefinger and performing Kumbhaka as before, should exhale through the left nostril.
37(b)-38. This frees one from diseases of fire in (or inflammation of) the throat, increases the gastric fire within, enables one to know the Kundalini, produces purity removing sins, gives happiness and
pleasure and destroys phlegm which is the bolt (or obstacle) to the door at the mouth of Brahma-Nadi (viz., Susumna).
39.It pierces also the three Granthis (or knots) differentiated through the three Gunas. This Kumbhaka is known as Bhastri and should especially be performed.
40.Through these four ways when Kumbhaka is near (or is about to be performed), the sinless Yogin should practise the three Bandhas.
41.The first is called Mulabandha. The second is called Uddiyana and the third is Jalandhara. Their nature will be thus described.
42.Apana (breath) which has a downward tendency is forced up by one bending down. This process is called Mulabandha.
43.When Apana is raised up and reaches the sphere of Agni (fire), then the flame of Agni grows long, being blown about by Vayu.
44-45(a). Then Agni and Apana come to (or commingle with) Prana in a heated state. Through this Agni which is very fiery, there arises in the body the flaming (or the fire) which rouses the sleeping Kundalini through its heat.
45(b)-46. Then this Kundalini makes a hissing noise, becomes erect like a serpent beaten with stick and enters the hole of Brahmanadi (Susumna). Therefore Yogins should daily practise Mulabandha often.
47-48(a). Uddiyana should be performed at the end of Kumbhaka and at the beginning of expiration. Because Prana Uddiyate (viz., goes up) the Susumna in this Bandha, therefore is called Uddiyana by the Yogins.
48(b)-49(a). Being seated in the Vajra posture and holding firmly the two toes by the two hands, he should press at the Kanda and at the place near the two ankles.
49(b)-50. Then he should gradually upbear the Tana (thread or Nadi) which is on the western side first to Udara (the upper part of the abdomen above the navel), then to the heart and then to the neck. When Prana reaches the Sandhi (junction) of navel, slowly it removes the impurities (or diseases) in the navel. Therefore this should be frequently practised.
51.The Bandha called Jalandhara should be practised at the end of Kumbhaka. This Jalandhara is of the form of the contraction of the neck and is an impediment to the passage of Vayu (upwards).
52.When the neck is contracted at once by bending downwards (so that the chin may touch the breast), Prana goes through Brahmanadi on the western Tana in the middle.
53.Assuming the seat as mentioned before, one should stir up Sarasvati and control Prana.
54.On the first day Kumbhaka should be done four times; on the second day it should be done ten times and then five times separately;
55.On the third day, twenty times will do and afterwards Kumbhaka should be performed with the three Bandhas and with an increase of five times each day.
56-57. Diseases are generated in one’s body through the following causes, viz., sleeping in daytime, late vigils over night, excess of sexual intercourse, moving in crowd, the checking of the discharge of urine and faeces, the evil of unwholesome food and laborious mental operation with Prana.
58.If a Yogin is afraid of such diseases (when attacked by them), he says, “my diseases have arisen from my practice of Yoga”. Then he will discontinue this practice. This is said to be the first obstacle to Yoga.
59.The second (obstacle) is doubt; the third is carelessness; the fourth, laziness; the fifth, sleep;
60.The sixth, the not leaving of objects (of sense); the seventh, erroneous perception; the eighth, sensual objects; the ninth, want of faith;
61.And the tenth, the failure to attain the truth of Yoga. A wise man should abandon these ten obstacles after great deliberation.
62.The practice of Pranayama should be performed daily with the mind firmly fixed on Truth. Then Chitta is absorbed in Susumna and Prana (therefore) never moves.
63.When the impurities (of Chitta) are thus removed and Prana is absorbed in Susumna, he becomes a (true) Yogin.
64.Apana, which has a downward tendency should be raised up with effort by the contraction (of the anus) and this is spoken of as Mulabandha.
65.Apana thus raised up mixes with Agni and then they go up quickly to the seat of Prana. Then Prana and Apana uniting with one another go to Kundalini, which is coiled up and asleep.
66-67. Kundalini being heated by Agni and stirred up by Vayu, extends her body in the mouth of Susumna, pierces the Brahmagranthi formed of rajas and flashes at once like lightning at the mouth of Susumna.
68-69(a). Then it goes up at once through Vishnugranthi to the heart. Then it goes up through Rudragranthi and above it to the middle of the eyebrows; having pierced this place, it goes up to the Mandala (sphere) of the moon.
69(b)-70(a). It dries up the moisture produced by the moon in the Anahata-Chakra having sixteen petals.
70(b)-71. When the blood is agitated through the speed of Prana, it becomes bile from its contact with the sun, after which it goes to the sphere of the moon where it becomes of the nature of the flow of pure phlegm. How does it (blood) which is very cold become hot when it flows there ?
72.(Since) at the same time the intense white form of moon is speedily heated. Then being agitated, it goes up.
73.Through taking in this, Chitta which was moving amidst sensual objects externally, is restrained there. The novice enjoying this high state attains peace and becomes devoted to Atman.
74.Kundalini assumes the eight forms of Prakriti (matter) and attains Shiva by encircling him and dissolves itself in Shiva.
75.Thus Rajas-Sukla (seminal fluid) which rises up goes to Shiva along with Marut (Vayu); Prana and Apana which are always produced become equal.
76.Pranas flow in all things, great and small, describable, or indescribable, as fire in gold.
77.Then this body which is Adhibhautika (composed of elements) becomes Adhidaivata (relating to a tutelar deity) and is thus purified. Then it attains the stage of Ativahika.
78.Then the body being freed from the inert state becomes stainless and of the nature of Chit. In it, the Ativahika becomes the chief of all, being of the nature of That.
79.Like the conception of the snake in a rope, so the idea of the release from life and Samsara is the delusion of time.
80.Whatever appears is unreal. Whatever is absorbed is unreal. Like the illusory conception of silver in the mother-of-pearl, so is the idea of man and woman.
81.The microcosm and the macrocosm are one and the same; so also the Linga and Sutratman, Svabhava (substance) and form and the self-resplendent light and Chidatma.
82.The Sakti named Kundalini, which is like a thread in the lotus and is resplendent, is biting with the upper end of its hood (namely, mouth) at the root of the lotus the Mulakanda.
83-84.Taking hold of its tail with its mouth, it is in contact with the hole of Brahmarandhra (of Susumna). If a person seated in the Padma posture and having accustomed himself to the contraction of his anus makes his Vayu go upward with the mind intent on Kumbhaka, then Agni comes to Svadhisthana flaming, owing to the blowing of Vayu.
85.From the blowing of Vayu and Agni, the chief (Kundalini) pierces open the Brahmagranthi and then Vishnugranthi.
86.Then it pierces Rudragranthi, after that, (all) the six lotuses (or plexuses). Then Sakti is happy with Shiva in Sahasrara Kamala (1000 lotuses seat or pineal gland). This should be known as the highest Avastha (state) and it alone is the giver of final beatitude.
Thus ends the first chapter. CHAPTER - II
1.I shall hereafter describe the science called Khechari which is such that one who knows it is freed from old age and death in this world.
2.One who is subject to the pains of death, disease and old age should, O sage, on knowing this science make his mind firm and practise Khechari.
3-4. One should regard that person as his guru on earth who knows Khechari, the destroyer of old age and death, both from knowing the meaning of books and practice, and should perform it with all his heart. The science of Khechari is not easily attainable, as also its practice.
5.Its practice and Melana are not accomplished simultaneously. Those that are bent upon practice alone do not get Melana.
6.Only some get the practice, O Brahmana, after several births, but Melana is not obtained even after a hundred births.
7.Having undergone the practice after several births, some (solitary) Yogin gets the Melana in some future birth as the result of his practice.
8. When a Yogin gets this Melana from the mouth of his Guru, then he obtains the Siddhis mentioned in the several books.
9.When a man gets this Melana through books and the significance, then he attains the state of Shiva freed from all rebirth.
10.Even Gurus may not be able to know this without books. Therefore this science is very difficult to master.
11.An ascetic should wander over the earth so long as he fails to get this science and when this science is obtained, then he has got the Siddhi in his hand (viz., mastered the psychical powers).
12.Therefore one should regard as Achyuta (Vishnu) the person who imparts the Melana, as also him who gives out the science.
13.He should regard as Shiva him who teaches the practice. Having got this science from me, you should not reveal it to others.
14-15. Therefore one who knows this should protect it with all his efforts (viz., should never give it out except to persons who deserve it). O Brahmana, one should go to the place where lives the Guru, who is able to teach the divine Yoga and there learn from him the science Khechari and being then taught well by him, should at first practise it carefully.
16-17. By means of this science, a person will attain the Siddhi of Khechari. Joining with Khechari Sakti (viz., Kundalini Sakti) by means of the (science) of Khechari which contains the Bija (seed of letter) of Khechari, one becomes the lord of Khecharas (Devas) and lives always amongst them.
Khechari Bija (seed-letter) is spoken of as Agni encircled with water and as the abode of Khecharas (Devas).
18.Through this Yoga, Siddhi is mastered. The ninth (Bija) letter of Somamsa (Soma or moon part) should also be pronounced in the reverse order.
19.Then a letter composed of three Amsas of the form of moon has been described; and after that, the eight letter should be pronounced in the reverse order;
20.Then consider it as the supreme and its beginning as the fifth and this is said to the Kuta (horns) of the several bhinnas (or parts) of the moon.
21-22(a). This which tends to the accomplishment of all Yogas, should be learnt through the initiation of a Guru. He who recites this twelve times every day, will not get even in sleep that Maya (illusion) which is born in his body and which is the source of all vicious deeds.
22(b)-23. He who recites this five lakhs of times with very great care – to him the science of Khechari will reveal itself. All obstacles vanish and the Devas are pleased.
24. The destruction of Valipalita (viz., wrinkle and greyness of hair) will take place without doubt. Having acquired this great science, one should practise it afterwards.
25-26. If not, O Brahmana, he will suffer without getting any Siddhi in the path of Khechari. If one does not get this nectar like science in this practice, he should get it in the beginning of Melana and recite it always; (else) one who is without it never gets Siddhi.
27.As soon as he gets this science, he should practise it; and then the sage will soon get the Siddhi.
28.Having drawn out the tongue from the root of the palate, a knower of Atman should clear the impurity (of the tongue) for seven days according to the advice of his Guru.
29.He should take a sharp knife which is oiled and cleaned and which resembles the leaf of the plant Snuhi (“Euphorbia Antiquorum”) and should cut for the space of a hair (the Fraenum Lingui).
30.Having powdered Saindhava (rock-salt) and Pathya (sea-salt), he should apply it to the place. On the seventh day, he should again cut for the space of a hair.
31.Thus for the space of six months, he should continue it always gradually with great care. In six months, Siro-Bandha (Bandha at the head), which is at the root of the tongue is destroyed.
32.Then the Yogin who knows timely action should encircle with Siro-Vastra (lit. the cloth of the head) the Vak-Ishvari (the deity presiding over speech) and should draw (it) up.
33.Again by daily drawing it up for six months, it comes, O sage, as far as the middle of the eyebrows and obliquely up to the opening of the ears;
34.Having gradually practised, it goes to the root of the chin. Then in three years, it goes up easily to the end of the hair (of the head).
35-36. It goes up obliquely to Sakha and downwards to the well of the throat. In another three years, it occupies Brahmarandhra and stops there without doubt. Crosswise it goes up to the top of the head and downwards to the well of the throat.
37.Gradually it opens the great adamantine door in the head. The rare science (of Khechari) Bija has been explained before.
38.One should perform the six Angas (parts) of this Mantra by pronouncing it in six different intonations. One should do this in order to attain all the Siddhis;
39.And this Karanyasam should be done gradually and not all at a time, since the body of one who does it all at once will soon decay.
40-41(a). Therefore it should be practised, O best of sages, little by little. When the tongue goes to the Brahmarandhra through the outer path, then one should place the tongue after moving the bolt of Brahma which cannot be mastered by the Devas.
41(b)-42. On doing this for three years with the point of finger, he should make the tongue enter within; then it enters Brahmadvara (or hole). On entering the Brahmadvara, one should practise Mathana (churning) well.
43. Some intelligent men attain Siddhi even without Mathana. One who is versed in Khechari Mantra accomplishes it without Mathana.
44-46(a). By doing the Japa and Mathana, one reaps the fruits soon. By connecting a wire made of gold, silver or iron with the nostrils by means of a thread soaked in milk, one should restrain his breath in his heart and seated in a convenient posture with his eyes concentrated between his eyebrows, he should perform Mathana slowly.
46(b)-47. In six months, the state of Mathana becomes natural like sleep in Children. And it is not advisable to do Mathana always. It should be done (once) only in every month.
48. A Yogin should not revolve his tongue in the path. After doing this for twelve years, Siddhi is surely obtained.
49. Then he sees the whole universe in his body as not being different from Atman. This path of the Urdhva-Kundalini (higher Kundalini), O chief of Kings, conquers the macrocosm.
Thus ends the second chapter.
CHAPTER - III
1.Melana-Mantra: Hrim, Bham, Sam, Pam, Pham, Sam, Ksham. The lotus-born (Brahma) said: “O Shankara, (among) new moon (the first day of the lunar fortnight) and full moon, which is spoken of as its (mantra’s) sign ?
2.In the first day of lunar fortnight and during new moon and full moon (days), it should be made firm and there is no other way (or time).
3.A man longs for an object through passion and is infatuated with passion for objects. One should always leave these two and seek the Niranjana (stainless).
4-5. He should abandon everything else which he thinks is favourable to himself. Keeping the Manas in the midst of Sakti and Sakti in the midst of Manas, one should look into Manas by means of Manas.
Then he leaves even the highest stage. Manas alone is the Bindu, the cause of creation and preservation.
6. It is only through Manas that Bindu is produced, like the curd from milk. The organs of Manas is not that which is situated in the middle of Bandhana.
7-8(a). Bandhana is there where Sakti is between the sun and moon. Having known Susumna and its Bheda (piercing) and making the Vayu go in the middle, one should stand in the seat of Bindu and close the nostrils.
8(b)-9(a). Having known Vayu, the above-mentioned Bindu and the Sattva-Prakriti as well as the six Chakras, one should enter the Sukha-Mandala (viz., the Sahasrara or pineal gland, the sphere of happiness).
9(b)-11. There are six Chakras. Muladhara is in the anus; Svadhisthana is near the genital organ; Manipuraka is in the navel; Anahata is in the heart; Visuddhi is at the root of the neck and Ajna is in the head (between the two eyebrows).
12. Having known these six Mandalas (spheres), one should enter the Sukha-Mandala (pineal gland), drawing up the Vayu and should send it (Vayu) upwards.
13. He who practises thus (the control of) Vayu becomes one with Brahmanda (the macrocosm). He should practise (or master) Vayu, Bindu, Chitta and Chakra.
14-15. Yogins attain the nectar of equality through Samadhi alone. Just as the fire latent in (Sacrificial) wood does not appear without churning, so the lamp of wisdom does not arise without the Abhyasa Yoga (or practice of Yoga). The fire placed in a vessel does not give light outside.
16. When the vessel is broken, its light appears without. One’s body is spoken of as the vessel and the seat of ‘That’ is the fire (or light) within;
17-18(a). And when it (the body) is broken through the words of a Guru, the light of Brahma Jnana becomes resplendent. With the Guru as the helmsman, one crosses the subtle body and the ocean of Samsara through the affinities of practice.
18(b)-19. That Vak (power of speech) which sprouts in Para, gives forth two leaves in Pashyanti; buds forth in Madhyama and blossoms in Vaikhari – that Vak which has before been described, reaches the stage of the absorption of sound, reversing the above order (viz., beginning with Vaikhari, etc.,).
20-21(a). Whoever thinks that He who is the great lord of that Vak, who is the undifferentiated and who is the illuminator of that Vak is Self; whoever thinks over thus, is never affected by words, high or low (or good or bad).
21(b)-23(a). The three (aspects of consciousness), Vishva, Taijasa and Prajna (in man), the three Virat, Hiranyagarbha and Ishvara in the universe, the egg of the universe, the egg of man and the seven worlds – all these in turn are absorbed in Pratyagatman through the absorption of their respective Upadhis (vehicles).
23(b)-24(a). The egg being heated by the fire of Jnana is absorbed with its Karana (cause) into Paramatman (Universal Self). Then it becomes one with Para-Brahman.
24(b)-25. It is then neither steadiness nor depth, neither light nor darkness, neither describable nor distinguishable. Sat (Be-ness) alone remains. One should think of Atman as being within the body like a light in a vessel.
26.Atman is of the dimensions of a thumb, is a light without smoke and without form, is shining within (the body) and is undifferentiated and immutable.
27-28(a). The Vijnana Atman that dwells in this body is deluded by Maya during the states of waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep; but after many births, owing to the effect of good Karma, it wishes to attain its own state.
28(b)-29(a). Who am I ? How has this stain of mundane existence accrued to me ? What becomes in the dreamless sleep of me who am engaged in business in the waking and dreaming states ?
29(b)-30. Just as a bale of cotton is burnt by fire, so the Chidabhasa which is the result of non-wisdom, is burnt by the (wise) thoughts like the above and by its own supreme illumination. The outer burning (of body as done in the world) is no burning at all.
31-32. When the worldly wisdom is destroyed, Pratyagatman that is in the Dahara (Akasa or ether of the heart) obtains Vijnana, diffusing itself everywhere and burns in an instant Jnanamaya and Manomaya (sheaths). After this, He himself shines always within, like a light within a vessel.
33.That Muni who contemplates thus till sleep and till death is to be known as a Jivanmukta. Having done what ought to be done, he is a fortunate person.
34.And having given up (even) the state of a Jivanmukta, he attains Videhamukta (emancipation in a disembodied state), after his body wears off. He attains the state, as if of moving in the air.
35.Then That alone remains which is soundless, touchless, formless and deathless, which is the Rasa (essence), eternal, and odourless, which has neither beginning nor end, which is greater than the great and which is permanent, stainless and decayless.
Thus ends the third chapter. Hari Om Tat Sat !
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Yogakundalini Upanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Bhasma Jabala Upanishad
Om! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady ! May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I am that Absolute Brahman only which, after being understood in its true aspect (as one with this Atman), entirely burns into ashes (Bhasma) the ignorance (illusion or Maya) of considering this universe to be existing (real) and separate from one’s own Self, through the destructive fire of (Supreme) Knowledge!
Once Bhusunda, a descendant of Jabali went to the Kailas Peak and prostrated before Lord Mahadeva Siva, who is the form of Omkara and who is beyond the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra.
Bhusunda worshipped Siva with great devotion again and again through fruits, flowers and leaves. Then he questioned Lord Siva: “Lord! Kindly impart to me the essential knowledge of all the Vedas, embodying the process and technique of using the Bhasma (sacred ash), because it is the only means for attaining Liberation. What is the Bhasma made of? Where should it be applied? What are the Mantras to be recited? Who are the persons fitted for this? What are the rules regarding it? Kindly instruct me, born from depressed class.”
The kind Lord Paramesvara said: At first the devotee after understanding the influence of the celestials at the prescribed time, should fetch some sacred and pure cow-dung early in the morning, keep it in the leaf of a Palasa-tree and then dry it with the Vedic Mantra ‘Tryambakam’ etc. (in the sun).
Then he should burn that dry cow-dung, placed in a convenient place, with any fire that is available, according to the rules laid down in the Grihya Sutras of his sect, and then pour Ahutis of seasamum and paddy together with ghee, with the Mantra ‘Somaya Svaha’. The number of Ahutis should be 1008, or if possible, 1 ½ times this. The instruments for pouring ghee should be made of leaf; in that case man does not commit any sin.
Then, at the end, the devotee should offer the oblation of Sveshtakruta at the time of Purna-Ahuti, with the Mantra ‘Tryambakam’ etc. With the same Mantra Bali (an offering) should be placed in the eight directions (of the fire).
That Bhasma should be sprinkled with water by the Gayatri Mantra. Then that sacred ash should be placed in a gold, silver, copper or earthen vessel and sprinkled again with the Rudra Mantras. It should then be kept in a clean and decent place.
Then the devotee should honour the Brahmins with a grand feast. Then only he will become purified. Then he should take the Bhasma from the vessel with the Pancha-Brahma-Mantras, ‘Manastoka’, ‘Sadyo Jatam’, etc., and with the idea that ‘fire is Bhasma, air is Bhasma, water is Bhasma, earth is Bhasma, ether is Bhasma, gods are Bhasma, Rishis are Bhasma, all this universe and existence are Bhasma; I prostrate to this sacred and purifying Bhasma which destroys all my sins.’
Thus, the devotee should keep a little Bhasma with the clean palm of his left hand saying, ‘Vamadevaya’ (this is to Vamadeva) sprinkling with the Mantra ‘Tryambakam’ etc., and cleaning it with the Mantra ‘Suddham suddhena’ etc. Then he should filter it nicely. Then he should apply it from head to foot, with the five Brahma-Mantras. With the first finger, middle finger and ring finger, he should apply the same to the middle of the head saying ‘to the head’ and ‘O Bhasma! Thou hast come from Agni!’
He should apply bhasma at the top of the head with the mantra ‘Murdhanam.’ On the forehead with ‘Tryambakam etc.’, on the neck with ‘Nilagrivaya etc., on the right side of the neck with ‘Tryayusham etc. and Vama etc.’, on the cheeks with ‘Kalaya etc.’, on the ‘eyes with ‘Trilochanaya etc.’, on the ears with ‘Srinavama etc.’, on the mouth with ‘Prabravama etc.’, on the heart (chest) with ‘Atmane etc.’, on the navel with ‘Nabhih etc.’, on the right shoulder with ‘Bhavaya etc.’, on the right elbow with ‘Rudraya etc.’, on the right wrist with ‘Sarvaya etc.’, on the back of the right palm with ‘Pasupataye etc.’, on the left shoulder with ‘Ugraya etc.’, on the left elbow with ‘Agre-vadhaya etc.’, on the left wrist with ‘Dure-vadhaya etc.’, on the back of the left palm with ‘Namo Hartre etc.’, and over the shoulder-blades with ‘Sankaraya etc.’.
The devotee should then prostrate to Siva with the Mantra ‘Somaya’ etc. He should wash the hands and drink that ash-water with the Mantra ‘Apah Punantu’ etc. The water should never be spilt down from any cause.
Thus, this practice of Bhasmadharana should be done in the morning, noon and evening. If he does not do this, he will become fallen. This very thing is the prescribed Dharma of all Brahmins. Without having Bhasmadharana in this fashion, he should never take any food, water or anything else.
Accidentally if this practice is forgotten, that day, Gayatri should not be repeated. No Yajna should be done on that day; no Tarpana should be offered to gods, Rishis or Pitrus. This is the eternal Dharma that destroys all sins and gives the final state of Moksha.
This is the daily rite of Brahmins, Brahmacharins, Grihasthas, Vanaprasthas and Sannyasins. If this is overlooked even once, he should stand in water upto the neck, repeating Gayatri 108 times, and fast the whole day. If a Sannyasin does not wear Bhasma, even a single day, he should fast during the whole day and do 1000 Pranava Japa, for being purified once again. Otherwise, the Lord will throw these Sannyasins to dogs and wolves.
In case this kind of Bhasma is not available, any other Bhasma that may be at hand should be used with the prescribed Mantras. This kind of practice shall destroy any kind of sin that may be committed by man.
Then again Bhusunda asked Siva: What are the daily rites to be performed by a Brahmin, by neglecting which he will commit a sin? Who is to be then meditated upon? Who is to be remembered? How to meditate? Where to practice this? Please tell me in detail.
The Lord answered all in a nutshell: First of all the devotee should get up early in the morning before sunrise, and after finishing the purificatory actions, should take his bath. He should clean the body with the Rudra Suktas. Then he should wear a clean cloth. After this, he should meditate on the sun-god and apply Bhasma to all the prescribed parts of the body.
He should then wear white Rudraksha, as prescribed. Some prescribe the following way of wearing Rudraksha beads: Over the head should be worn forty rudraksha beads. One or three beads on the chest. Twelve beads over each of the two ears. Thirt-two beads around the neck. Sixteen beads around each of the upper arms. Twelve beads around each of the wrists. Six beads around each of the thumbs. Then the devotee should observe Sandhya with the Kusa grass in his hand. He should do Japa of either Siva-Shadakshara or Siva-Ashtakshara. ‘Om Namah Sivaya’ and ‘Om Namo Mahadevaya’ are the two Mantras. This is the highest truth and the greatest instruction. I myself am that Great Lord Siva, God of all gods, the Supreme Controller of all the universes. I am that Impersonal Brahman, I am Omkara, I am the Creator, Preserver and Destroyer of all. Through My terror only, all are working properly. I am this world and the five elements. I am the Highest Truth that exists, the Brahman of the Upanishads.
This is the greatest Vidya.
I am the only giver of Moksha. Hence all people come to Me for final help. That is why I absorb into My Being those creatures who leave their Pranas at Banares which is standing at the top of My Trisula (trident). Therefore, everyone should perform penance at Banares only. Banares should not be neglected under any circumstance. Everybody should try to live at Banares as far as possible. No place is better than Banares.
Even at Banares, the most celebrated is the temple of Siva, where in the East, there is the place of Wealth, in the South, the place of Vichara, in the West, the place of Vairagya and in the North, the place of Jnana. There in the middle, I, the Eternal Spirit should be worshipped. That Linga at Banares, is not illumined by the sun, moon or the stars. That self-luminous Linga called ‘Visvesvara’ has its root in Pathala. That is Myself. I should be worshipped by one who wears the sacred Bhasma and Rudrakshas in the prescribed manner. I shall deliver him from all sins and sorrows.
By performing My Abhisheka, he attains My Sayujya state. Nothing exists other than Myself. I initiate all with the Taraka Mantra. Those who want Mukti should live at Banares. I will take care of them. I am the Lord of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra. The most corrupt man or woman will attain Moksha, if he or she dies at Banares. Other sinners will be fried in burning pits of live coals after death. Therefore, everybody should try to live at Banares which is My Pranalinga Itself.
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Bhasma-Jabalopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
Rudraksha Jabala Upanishad
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Hail Om! I praise the Effulgent State of Absolute Peace, belonging to Sri Maharudra, which is to be known through the Rudraksha Jabala Upanishad.
Bhusunda questioned Lord Kalagnirudra: What is the beginning of Rudraksha beads? What is the benefit of wearing them on the body?
Lord Kalagnirudra answered him thus: I closed my eyes for the sake of destroying the Tripura Asuras. From my eyes thus closed, drops of water fell on the earth. These drops of tears turned into Rudrakshas.
By the mere utterance of the name of ‘Rudraksha’, one acquires the benefit of giving ten cows in charity. By seeing and touching it, one attains double that benefit. I am unable to praise it any more.
I closed my eyes one thousand celestial years. Then from my eyelids, drops of water dropped down and attained the state of immobility for blessing the devoted persons.
This Rudraksha destroys the devotees’ sins that are committed both night and day, by wearing it.
By mere vision of the Rudraksha, the benefit will be say, a lac. But by wearing them, it will be a crore. Why, it will be equal to hundred crores.
But it will be a thousand lacs of crores and hundred lacs of crores times powerful when one does Japa with Rudraksha and wears it at all times.
Among Rudrakshas, one as big as Amalaka (myrobalan), is considered to be the best. One as big as the Badari fruit (Indian berry) is considered to be of the middle sort. But that as big as Chana (Bengal gram) is considered to be the worst of all. This is my idea about the size of Rudraksha beads.
The four kinds of people, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras are born as merely a worthless burden on the earth. The real Brahmin is the white Rudraksha. The red is a Kshatriya. The yellow is a Vaisya. And the black is a Sudra.
Therefore, a Brahmin should wear white Rudrakshas, a Kshatriya the red, a Vaisya the yellow and a Sudra the black.
One should use those Rudraksha-beads which are nice, handsome, strong, big, auspicious and thorny. One should avoid those eaten by worms, broken, without thorns, and having sores.
The self-holed Rudraksha is of the best variety. But that which is holed by man’s attempt, is considered to be worse. Those best Rudrakshas should be strung in white thread. A worshipper of Siva should wear Rudraksha all over the body. He should wear one bead on the crest, three hundred round the head, thirty-six round the neck, sixteen round each arm, twelve round the chest and five hundred round the waist. He should wear a Yajnopavita consisting of one hundred and eight beads of Rudrakshas. He should wear two, three, five or seven Malas of Rudraksha round the neck.
A Siva-Bhakta should wear Rudrakshas round his crown, ear-ring, chain, round the ear, armlet, at all times, and specially round the stomach, irrespective of the fact whether he is sleeping, drinking, etc. If the devotee wears three hundred beads, it is the worst, if he wears five hundred it will be medium, but one thousand will be the best of all.
The devotee, when wearing Rudrakshas on the head, should repeat his Ishta Mantra, and when wearing them round the neck, should repeat the Tat-Purusha Mantra and when wearing round the throat, should repeat the Aghora Mantra. The same Mantra (Aghora) should be recited when wearing round the chest also.
He should wear them round the arms with the Aghora Bija Mantra.
Then again Bhusunda asked Lord Kalagnirudra: What are the different forms and effects of Rudraksha beads? Please tell me about the secret of these blessed ones including their various faces, which is the means of getting rid of all evil.
Lord Kalagnirudra said: The bead with one face is of the form of the Supreme Truth. A disciplined one (controlling his senses) mingles himself with the one Eternal Truth, after wearing these Rudrakshas.
The bead with two faces is of the form of Ardhanarisvara and the devotee wearing it attains the grace of Ardhanarisvara (Siva united with Sakti). The bead with three faces is of the form of the three fires and the devotee wearing it attains the grace of Agni. The bead with four faces is of the form of the four-faced Brahma and the devotee wearing it attains the grace of Brahma. The bead with five faces is of the form of Panchabrahman (the five-faced Siva) and the devotee wearing it attains the grace of Panchabrahman and drives away the sin of homicide. The bead with six faces is of the form of the six-faced Kartikeya or Ganesha and the devotee wearing it attains the grace of wealth and health, clear intellect and wisdom, and purification. The bead with seven faces is of the form of the seven Matras (Mother Goddesses) and the devotee wearing it attains the grace of wealth and health, right perception, and purity of mind. The bead with eight faces is of the form of the eight-fold Nature (five elements, mind, ego, and matter) or the eight Vasus and the devotee wearing it attains the grace of these Devatas and becomes truthful. The bead with nine faces is of the form of the Nava-Saktis and the devotee wearing it attains the grace of the nine Powers. The bead with ten faces is of the form of the ten Yamas means used by Yogins and the devotee wearing it attains the grace of achieving peace of the mind. The bead with eleven faces is of the form of the eleven Rudras and the devotee wearing it attains the grace of increase well-being and wealth. The bead with twelve faces is of the form of Mahavishnu or the twelve Adityas and the devotee wearing it attains the grace of Moksha. The bead with thirteen faces is of the form of the Kama (Cupid or the god of Love) and the devotee wearing it attains the grace of Cupid in gratifying all desires. The bead with fourteen faces is of the form of Rudra being generated out of his eyes and the devotee wearing it attains the grace of destruction of all diseases.
One who wears Rudrakshas, should not use intoxicants, meat, garlic, onions, carrots and all such prohibited things. By wearing Rudrakshas during eclipses, Vishusankranti (the end of Mina and beginning of Mesha Masa), new moon, full moon and other such auspicious days, one is freed of all sins.
The base of the Rudraksha bead is Brahma, its navel is Vishnu, its face is Rudra and its hole consists of all gods.
One day Sanatkumara asked Kalagnirudra: “O Lord! Tell me the rules for wearing Rudrakshas”. At that time Nidagha, Jadabharata, Dattatreya, Katyayana, Bharadvaja, Kapila, Vasishtha, Pippalada, etc., came to Kalagnirudra. Then Lord Kalagnirudra asked them why they all had come in a group. They all answered that they came to hear the method of wearing Rudrakshas.
Kalagnirudra said: Those that are born out of Rudra’s Akshis (eyes) are called Rudrakshas. When these beads are even once touched by hand, one attains the glory of giving in charity two thousand cows at a time. When they are worn in ears, he gets the effect of giving out eleven thousand cows in charity. He also attains the state of the eleven Rudras. When the beads are worn on the head, one has the benefit of giving a crore of cows in charity. Of all these places, I am unable to tell you the benefit when worn in the ears.
Whoever studies this Rudraksha Jabala Upanishad, be he a boy or a youth, becomes great. He becomes the Guru of all and the teacher of all Mantras. Havan and Archana should be done with these Mantras (of the Upanishad).
That Brahmin who recites this Upanishad in the evening, destroys the sins committed during day time; who recites at noon, destroys the sins of six births; who recites in the morning and evening, destroys the sins of many births. He attains the same benefit of doing six thousand lacs of Gayatri Japa.
He becomes purified from all sins of killing a Brahmin, drinking toddy, stealing gold, approaching Guru’s wife, having intercourse with her, speaking with corrupted person, etc.
He gets the benefits of all pilgrimages and river-baths. He attains Siva-sayujya. He does not come back (to rebirth).
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Rudraksha Jabalopanishad, included in the Sama-Veda.
Ganapati Upanishad
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Auspiciousness to those who hear thus the Santi.
1.Om Gam. I bow to Ganapati.
2.You clearly are the tattva. You alone are the creator. You alone are the maintainer. You alone are the destroyer. Of all this you certainly are Brahman. You plainly are the essence.
3.Always I speak amrta. The truth I speak.
4.Protect me. Protect the speakers. Protect the hearers. Protect the givers. Protect the holders. Protect the disciple that repeats. Protect that in the east. Protect that in the south. Protect that in the west. Protect that in the north. Protect that above. Protect that below. Everywhere protect! Protect me everywhere!
5.You are speech. You are consciousness. You are bliss. You are Brahman. You are being-consciousness-bliss. You are the non-dual. You are plainly Brahman. You are knowledge. You are intelligence.
6.You create all this world. You maintain all this world. All this world is seen in you. You are earth, water, air, fire, ether. You are beyond the four measures of speech. You are beyond the three gunas. You are beyond the three bodies. You are beyond the three times. You are always situated in the muladhara. You are the being of the three Saktis. You are always meditated on by yogins. You are Brahma, you are Visnu, you are Rudra, you are Agni, you are Vayu, you are the sun, you are the moon, you are Brahma, bhur-bhuvah-svar.
7.Ga is the first syllable, after that the first letter, beyond that m, then the half-moon all together. Joined with m, this is the mantra form.
8.The letter ga is the first form, letter a the middle form, m the last form. Bindu the higher form, nada the joining together, samhita the junction. This is the vidya of Lord Ganesa.
9.Ganaka is the seer, nricad-gayatri the metre, Sri Mahaganapati the devata. Om ganapataye namah.
10.Let us think of the one-toothed, let us meditate on the crooked trunk, may that tusk direct us.
11.One tusk, four arms, carrying noose and goad, with his hands dispelling fear and granting boons, with a mouse as his banner.
12.Red, with a big belly, with ears like winnowing baskets, wearing red, with limbs smeared with red scent, truly worshipped with red flowers.
13.To the devoted a merciful deva, the maker of the world, the prime cause, who at the beginning of creation was greater than nature and man.
14.He who always meditates thus is a yogin above yogins.
15.Hail to the lord of vows, hail to Ganapati, hail to the first lord, hail unto you, to the big-bellied, one-tusked, obstacle-destroyer, the son of Siva, to the boon-giver, hail, hail!
16.He who studies this atharva text moves towards Brahma. He is always blissful. He is not bound by any obstacles. He is liberated from the five greater and the five lesser sins. Evening meditation destroys the unmeritorious actions of the night. At both evening and morning he is liberated from the bad and he attains dharma, artha, kama and moksa.
17.This atharva text should not be given to those not pupils. If from delusion a person so gives, he is a bad person.
18.He who wants something may accomplish it by 1,000 recitations of this. He who sprinkles Ganapati with this becomes eloquent. He who recites this on a fourth day becomes a knower of vidya. This is an artharva saying: ‘‘He who moves towards Brahmavidya is never afraid.’’ He who worships with fried grains becomes famous and becomes intelligent. He who worships with sweet-meat (modaka) gains the desired fruit. He who worships with samit and ghee by him all is attained, all is gained by him. He who makes eight brahmËnas understand this becomes like the sun’s rays. In a solar eclipse, in a great river, or in front of an image having recited (this) he gets accomplished in the mantra. He becomes liberated from great obstacles. He is freed from great misfortunes.
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Ganapati Upanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
Jabala Darsana Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
God Dattatreya is the reincarnation of the four armed Vishnu and he is the ruler of the world. Sankrithi is a great devotee and a sage and is an expert in yoga and also a disciple of Dattatreya. He approached his teacher (God Dattatreya) with humility and with folded hands, when his teacher was alone and requested him, “Oh God, please tell me about the science of yoga which has eight branches and five different sthanas (places) by knowing which I will attain salvation. Dattatreya told him, “Hey Sankrithi, I shall tell you about Yoga which has eight branches. The eight branches are Yama, Niyama, Aasana, Pranayama, Prathyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi.
Yama which is the first is the practice of non-violence, truth, non possession of properties of others, celibacy, mercy, honesty, patience, stability, food discipline and cleanliness. 1
Niyama is the ten aspects of penance, joy, orthodoxy, charity, worship of god, hearing of philosophy, fear for bad actions, clear intellect, chanting and austerities. 2
The nine important Asanas (sitting positions) are Swasthika (Swastika), Gomukha (cows face), Padma (lotus), Veera (valorous), Simha (lion), Badra (safe), Muktha (free), Mayura (peacock) and Sukha (pleasant). Oh sage, that position, whatever it may be but which makes you comfortable and gives you courage to undertake Yoga is called Sukhasana. People who do not have strength to take up other positions can use that. Victory in the seating position is like victory over the three worlds. Once the Asana is fixed, one should practice Pranayama. 3
Either in the top of the mountain or by the shore of the river or under a Bilwa tree in the forest, after choosing a clean place which is acceptable to the mind and after establishing a place to do tapas (Asram), sit in the Asana which is most familiar facing either east or north. Then sit with the body neck and head in a straight line, cover the face and concentrate the vision with best possible attention on the nectar flowing from the fourth state of the moon like dot at the end of the nose. Draw the air inside using the lungs, store it in the stomach, meditate on the flame of fire inside the body and then shift meditation to the root of fire with its sound and dot. Then the intelligent one will exhale and draw the Prana using Pingala (Nadi which is tawny and is on the right side of Sushumna Nadi) and meditate on the Agni Bheeja. Again he has to exhale and inhale again in the middle using the Ida (Nadi which is pleasant and is on the left side of Sushumna). One should have to live in a secret place practicing this exercise six times for 3-4 days or 3-4 weeks at dawn, noon and dusk. This would help him to clean up the Nadis. Slowly symbols will start showing up. Body will become light, the fire in the stomach will burn well and the voice would become clearer. These are the symbols of Siddhi (getting mastery). Till you see this, you have to practice. 4
Now I will tell you about Prathyahara. To use force and divert the sensory organs which normally travel according to their nature is Prathyahara. Those who know Brahma say that seeing whatever we see as the form of Brahman is Prathyahara. Prathyahara also is doing clean or unclean acts as those belonging to Brhaman. Further doing daily religious activities after dedicating them to God and similarly doing the activities which we desire is also Prathyahara. Apart from this inhaling air (oxygen) and stopping it in different places is also Prathyahara. The wise man would sit in Swasthikasana, draw his breath till it fills up from head to toe and hold it in two feet, mooladhara, stomach, middle of the heart, bottom of the neck, jaw, middle of the eyelids, forehead and at the top of the skull. Then he should leave out the belief that the body is oneself and make that thought as nirvikalpa and merge it with Paramatma. The experts in Vedanta say that this is true Prathyahara. There is nothing that cannot be attained by those who practice like this. 5
Now I will tell you about the five types of Dharana (holding steady - a stage in meditation - here we try to hold on what we are mediating upon without wavering). In the sky which is in the middle of the body, Dharana of the sky outside should be made. Similarly in the breath, Dharana of air outside should be made. In the fire in the stomach, Dharana of the fire outside should be made. In the fluid aspects of the body, Dharana of the water outside should be made. In the earthy aspects of the body, Dharana of the earth outside should be made. Sage, also it is necessary to chant the pancha bhootha mantras viz., Ham, Yam, Ram, Vam and Lam. It is said that this very great Dharana destroys all sins. In the body up to the knee is the aspect of the earth, from there till hip it is the aspect of water, up to the heart is the aspect of fire, up to middle of eyelids is the aspect of air and then up to the middle of the skull is the aspect of the sky. In the aspect of earth Brahma has to be placed, in the aspect of water Vishnu should be placed, in the aspect of fire Rudra should be placed, in the aspect of air Iswara should be placed and in the aspect of sky, the Sadashiva should be placed. Hey great sage, I will also tell you another Dharana. In the Jeevatma, that lord Shiva who rules over everything and is the personification of wisdom should be placed. To get rid of all sins, the wise man should suppress the gods like Brahma in the causative self, and place the Avyakta (that which is not clear) which is formless and which is the root cause inside the entire soul with the chanting of pranava. He should control the sensory organs by mind and should merge them with the soul. 6
I will now tell you about Dhyana (meditation) which destroys sorrow. Dhyana should be done of that Maheswara, who is the medicine for problems arising out of birth, who is the discipline and fundamental basis of the world who is of the form of Para Brahma, who has the masculine power upwards, who is of the form of the world, who is Virupaksha, and who is the head of all yogis as “I am He”. Then continue to do Dhyana of him who is beyond the reach of meditation, who is the personification of Sachidananda Brahman and who is soul in person as “I am He” for attaining salvation. In the mind of that great Purusha who practices like this, the science of Vedanta would automatically appear. There is no doubt about it. 7
Now I will tell you about Samadhi (deep meditative state) which destroys the ills of birth and death. Samadhi is that state in which there is knowledge that Jeevatma and Paramatma are one. Atma (soul) is filled all over for ever and does not have motion or stain. Though it is one, due to the effects of illusion, it appears as different objects. Really there is no difference between these so called objects. When one sees all objects within himself and him as a part of all objects, He attains Brahman. When one drowns himself in Samadhi and does not see different objects as different , then he attains the single aim of salvation. When he sees only the true soul and the entire world appears as an illusion to him and he is cured of all sorrow.
Thus advised by Lord Dattatreya the sage Sankrithi fully lost all his fear and attained that blissfull state, deep in himself.
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Jabala Darsanopanishad, included in the Sama-Veda.
Tara Sara Upanishad
Translated by K. Narayanasvami Aiyar
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
CHAPTER - I
1.Hari Om. Brihaspati asked Yajnavalkya: “That which is called Kurukshetra is the place of the sacrifice of the Devas and the spiritual seat of all beings. Therefore where should one go in order that he may cognise Kurukshetra, the place of the sacrifice of the Devas and the spiritual seat of all beings ?” (To which Yajnavalkya replied): “Avimukta is Kurukshetra, the place of the sacrifice of the
Devas and of the study of Brahman, because it is there that Rudra initiates one into the Taraka Brahman when Prana (life) goes out. Through this, one becomes immortal and the enjoyer of Moksha. Therefore one should always be in the midst of that place Avimukta and should never leave, O Reverend Sir, Avimukta.” Thus said Yajnavalkya.
2.Then Bharadvaja asked Yajnavalkya: “What is Taraka ? What is that which causes one to cross (this mundane existence)”. To which Yajnavalkya replied: “Om Namo Narayanaya is the Taraka. It should be worshipped as Chidatma. Om is a single syllable and of the nature of Atman. Namah is of two syllables and is of the nature of Prakriti (matter). Narayanaya is of five syllables and is of the nature of Parabrahman. He who knows this becomes immortal. Through ‘Om’, is Brahma produced; through ‘Na’ is Vishnu produced; through ‘Ma’ is Rudra produced; through ‘Na’ is Ishvara produced; through ‘Ra’ is the Anda-Virat (or Virat of the universe) produced; through ‘Ya’ is Purusha produced; through ‘Na’ is Bhagavan (Lord) produced; and through ‘Ya’ is Paramatman produced. This Ashtakshara (eight syllables) of Narayana is the supreme and the highest Purusha. Thus is the Rig-Veda with the first foot (or half).
CHAPTER - II
That which is Om is the indestructible, the supreme and Brahman. That alone should be worshipped. It is this that is of the eight subtle syllables. And this becomes eight, being of eight forms. ‘A’ is the first letter; ‘U’ is the second; ‘M’ is the third; Bindu is the fourth; Nada is the fifth; Kala is the sixth; Kalatita (that beyond Kala) is the seventh; and that which is beyond these is the eighth. It is called Taraka, because it enables one to cross this mundane existence. Know that Taraka alone is Brahman and it alone should be worshipped”. The (following) verses may be quoted here:
1.“From the letter ‘A’ came Brahma named Jambavan (the bear). From the letter ‘U’ came Upendra, named Hari.
2.From the letter ‘M’ came Shiva, known as Hanuman. Bindu is named Ishvara and is Satrughna, the Lord of the discuss itself.
3.Nada should be known as the great Lord named Bharata and the sound of the conch itself. From Kala came the Purusha himself as Lakshmana and the bearer of the earth.
4.Kalatita is known as the goddess Sita Herself. That which is beyond is the Paramatman named Sri Rama and is the highest Purusha.
All this is the explanation of the letter Om, which is the past, the present and future and which is other than these (viz.,) Tattva, Mantra, Varna (colour), Devata (deity), Chhandas (metre), Rik, Kala, Sakti and Srishti (creation). He who knows this becomes immortal. (Thus is) Yajur-Veda with the second foot”.
CHAPTER - III
Then Bharadvaja asked Yajnavalkya: “Through what Mantra is Paramatman pleased and shows his own Atman (to persons) ? Please tell this”. Yajnavalkya replied:
1.Om. He who is Sri-Paramatman, Narayana and the Lord described by (the letter) ‘A’ and is Jambavan (the bear) and Bhuh, Bhuvah and Suvah; Salutation to Him !
2.Om. He who is Sri-Paramatman, Narayana and the Lord described by (the letter) ‘U’ and is Upendra (or) Hari and Bhuh, Bhuvah and Suvah; Salutation to Him !
3.Om. He who is Sri-Paramatman, Narayana and the Lord described by (the letter) ‘M’ and is of the form of Shiva (or) Hanuman and Bhuh, Bhuvah and Suvah; Salutation to Him !
4.Om. He who is Sri-Paramatman, Narayana, the Lord of Satrughna of the form of Bindu and the Bhuh, Bhuvah and Suvah; Salutation to Him !
5.Om. He who is Sri-Paramatman, Narayana and the Lord, and is Bharata of the form of Nada and the Bhuh, Bhuvah and Suvah; Salutation to Him !
6.Om. He who is Sri-Paramatman, Narayana and the Lord, and is Lakshmana of the form of Kala and the Bhuh, Bhuvah and Suvah; Salutation to Him !
7.Om. He who is Sri-Paramatman, Narayana and the Lord, and is Kalatita, the Goddess Sita, of the form of Chit and the Bhuh, Bhuvah and Suvah; Salutation to Him !
8.Om. He who is Sri-Paramatman, Narayana and the Lord that is beyond that (Kalatita), is the supreme Purusha and is the ancient Purushottama, the eternal, the immaculate, the enlightened, the emancipated, the true, the highest bliss, the endless, the secondless and the all-full – that Brahman is myself. I am Rama and the Bhuh, Bhuvah and Suvah; Salutation to Him !
He who has mastered this eightfold Mantra is purified by Agni; he is purified by Vayu; he is purified by the sun; he is purified by Shiva; he is known by all the Devas. He attains the fruit of reciting Itihasas, Puranas, Rudra (Mantras), a hundred thousand times. He who repeatedly remembers (or recites) the Ashtakshara (the eight-syllabled Mantra) of Narayana gains the fruit of the recitation of Gayatri a hundred thousand times or of Pranava (Om) a myriad of times. He purifies (his ancestors) ten (degrees) above and (his descendants) ten (degrees) below. He attains the state of Narayana. He who knows this (attains) the state of Narayana).
Like the eye (which sees without any obstacle) the things spread (in the sky), the wise ever see this supreme seat of Vishnu. Brahmanas who are spiritually awake praise in diverse ways and illuminate the upreme abode of Vishnu. Thus is the Upanishad. (Thus is) the Sama-Veda with the third foot. Hari Om Tat Sat !
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Tarasara Upanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Maha Vakya Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
God Brahma said:
I would explain this Upanishad based on inside experience. The personal knowledge “that this Sun is Brahman” is got by chanting Ajabha Gayatri viz., “Hamsa Soham.” The ever joyous Paramatma would set in if, after controlling Prana and Apana by Pranayama, and attaining it (pranayama) by constant and long practice of Pooraka and Rechaka (macro, micro as well as together) and making the mind concentrate on the same Brahman in three stages. It would shine like one thousand suns and would be complete like the shoreless sea. That experience is neither Samadhi nor Yoga Sidhi and nor mixing of the mind. That is merging with Brahman as Brahman is always single.
The sages who experience this tell as follows: I know that Purusha with the shining light who is beyond darkness, who makes shapes, who names them, who provides for them and who is the brave Purushotama. The one who finds out that Purusha, who was announced as Para Brahman by Brahma in the primitive times and who was found out by Indra in all the four directions, attains the deathless state in this birth itself. There is no other method for salvation.
I am that sun who is the ethereal light. I am that Siva who is that sun of Knowledge. I am the very clean light of Atma. I am all the light that we know. Om.
Whoever reads this Upanishad of Atharva-Veda gets the same holy effect as reading the complete Vedas. He would definitely attain the place of Maha Vishnu.
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Maha-Vakyopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
Pancha Brahma Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Sage Pippalada asked Lord Ishwara, “Oh, God, Which appeared first?” For which, the Lord Maheswara replied:
The Para Brahma took shape in stages of Sathyojatha, Aghora, Vamadeva, Thathpurusha and Ishana. 1
Sathyojatha is the aspect of earth and is the Sun, Goddess Lakshmi, Brahma, the letter Om, Rig Veda, Garhapathyagni (Household fire), mantras, Saptha Swaras (seven notes) and yellow colour. It gives all that is wished for. 2
Aghora is the aspect of water and is moon, Goddess Parvathy, Yajur Veda, blue colour of the cloud, Dakshinagni (the fire of the south) and fifty letters. It drives away all sins, destroys all that is evil and grants riches. 3
Vamadeva gives great knowledge and destroys all sins. It is the aspect of fire, is lights of crores of suns, Sama Veda, eight type of songs, courageous tone, Ahwaneeyagni, power of knowledge, power to destroy and slightly blackish white colour. It gives full consciousness, rules over all the three worlds, spread over all the three worlds and grants all sort of luck and results for the action performed. 4
Thathpurusha is with eight letters (Aa, Ka, Cha, Ta, Tha, Pa, Ya, Sa) and is in the eight petal lotus and is normally surrounded by air. It has five fires, protects effects of mantras, personification of the fifty consonants, has the form of Atharva Veda, is the chief of several crores of Ganas, has the shape which is extremely big, red coloured, gives whatever is asked for, medicine for worry and diseases and the root of Srishti (creation), Sthithi (upkeep) and Laya(merging). It is the basis of all strengths. It is the Thureeya which is beyond the three common states and is the thing called Brahman. It is worshipped by Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. It is the philosophy from which all others originate. 5
You should understand that Ishana is the witness for intelligence and is the activator of the brain. It is the aspect of sky and cannot be seen. It is decorated by the sound of “Om”. It has the shape of all devas. It is peaceful. It is beyond peace. It is beyond sound. It is Aa and occupies the headship of vowels. It is the form of Pancha Brahma which is everywhere and activates the five actions of creation, upkeep, destruction, disappearance and blessing. It hides the Pancha Brahmas within itself and exists as itself and shines beyond the Pancha Brahmas by its light. It shines in the beginning, middle and end without any causative reason. All those devas who are all under stupor by the illusion of Maheswara would not understand properly that Mahadeva who is the teacher of the universe, is the cause of all causes. His shape does not appear before the eye. This world is shining because of that Parathpara Purusha in whom the world exists. It merges in him. That Ishana aspect is the Para Brahman which is the upper boundary of peace. The knowledge that the Para Brhaman is oneself and the rise of Sathyo Jatam (birth of truth) is Para Brahman. Whichever is seen or heard is the soul of Para Brahman. 6
The existence in five shapes is called Brahma Karya (activity). After understanding Brahma Karya, Ishana is appreciated. After putting the fact all that is originating from Para Brahman in ones soul, the wise man experiences and understands that “It is me” and becomes Brahman as well as deathless.
There is no doubt that the one who understands this Brahman becomes freed (emancipated).
One should chant the Panchakshara Mantra which is from Na to Ya (Namasivaya) and which is of the shape of five letters and is Lord Shiva’s body. After understanding the philosophy of the soul of Pancha Brahma, One should understand that every form is the form of those five. One who studies this knowledge of the soul of the Pancha Brahma would shine himself as Pancha Brahma. This Upanishad tells that Lord Shiva, who grants salvation to one, from this day- to-day life of the world, exists as witness without differentiation in the heart of all beings and is called Hrudayam (That which exists within).
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Pancha-Brahmopanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Pranagnihotra Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1.Now, therefore, we shall set forth ‘the hymn of food’ that is beyond all empirical knowledge, the essence of all Upanishads, dealing with the sacrifice in the body, by virtue of which the embodied man becomes free from transmigratory life without Agnihotra and the knowledge of Sankhya.
2.According to proper procedure, setting (the cooked) rice on the ground one intones the three verses beginning with ‘Ya osadhaya …’ and the two beginning with ‘annapate ..’.
3.The many plants of hundred shapes and forms that Soma rules asking, urged on by Brihaspati, ye deliver us from calamities.
4.The fruitful plants and fruitless, that have flowers and the flowerless, urged on by Brihaspati, ye deliver us from calamities.
5.Let me not bind for you the plants that live and endow (others with) life, that are free from malignancy; may they put to fight the evil spirits from one who offers them (sacrifice).
6.Lord of food ! Give us food that is clean and rich in energy; help the giver of food over (the hazards of life). Endow us, bipeds and quadrupeds, with might.
7.May the food (we eat) be fire; (though) it is adverse to the Rudras and the evil spirits and may it promote generations of off-spring. Let the mighty (Lord) purge it of all seeds of fear and make it auspicious. Hail to the mighty Lord.
8.Seeing all you move within the hidden (places). You are the sacrifice; You are Brahma, Rudra, Vishnu. You are the sacred syllable Vasat, light, taste, the immortal Brahman, the earth, the mid-region and the firmament. OM Salutation.
9.May the waters purify the earth; may the purified earth purify me. May (the waters) purify the master of the Veda; may the hallowed Vedic essence purify me. Whatever is left over as unfit to be consumed or whatever deed of mine be sinful – all these may the waters purify; also the gifts (accepted from) the unrighteous. Hail !
10.You are ambrosia; an ambrosial spread (base). You are ambrosia in regard to the vital breath; fit for the sacred offering, the last blessing. OM, salutation to Prana. OM, salutation to Apana. OM, salutation to Vyana. OM, salutation to Udana. OM, salutation to Samana. OM, salutation to Brahman. OM, may myself be in Brahman for the winning of immortality.
11.The offering to Prana is made with the little finger and the thumb. With the ring finger and the thumb is made the offering to Apana. With the middle finger and the thumb is made that to Vyana, with all fingers is the offering made to Udana and with the forefinger and the thumb is made the offering to Samana.
12.Silently one offering is made with one Ric; two in the Ahavaniya; one in the Dakshina fire; one in the Garhapatya and one in the fire for all expiatory rites.
13.Then, ‘You are the lid for immortality’ – for winning immortality. Sipping one must take again and touch again.
14.Taking water in the right palm and holding it over against the heart one should intone: Prana is fire; is the supreme Self surrounded by the five vital breaths. Fearlessness to all living beings ! Fear never dwells in me
15.You (Prana) are Vishva and Vaishvanara; by you is the multiform world sustained as it manifests itself. Where you are, the immortal Brahma, are all offerings (made).
16.This great and novel Spirit (is) established at the ends of the big toes. I pour water round him at the end (of the ceremonial eating) for winning immortality.
17.Let this external self meditate on specific activities – thus one makes offerings in the fire. Let (the performer) be a son to all. The ritual offerings are consecrated in the fire.
18.I shall perform sacrifice in my body. There are the four fires, no mean ones, corresponding to the four parts of OM with the half syllable.
19.There is no solar fire, shaped like the solar disc, sheathed in a thousand rays, abiding in the crown as the solar seer. The fire of vision mentioned (above) with its four forms, becoming the Ahavaniya is stationed in the mouth. The bodily fire consumes the oblations that destroy old age. Becoming Dakshinagni, shaped like a half moon, it is stationed in the heart. Then, there is the gastric fire that, becoming Garhapatya is stationed at the navel consuming what is eaten, drunk, licked and sucked.
20.Underneath are the three horizontal states of mind – the moon, Lord and the agent of generation.
21.In this bodily sacrifice, unadorned by the girdle round the sacrificial post, who is the sacrificer ? Who is (his) wife ? Who are the officiating priests ? Who are the attendants ? Which are the sacrificial vessels ? What are the oblations ? Which is the altar ? Which is the interior of the altar ? Which is the wooden container (for the soma juice) ? Which is the chariot ? Which is the sacrificial animal ? Who is the officiating priest ? Who is the invoking priest ? Who is the assistant of the Chief priest ? Who is the assistant of the Adhvaryu ? Who is the first chanter ? Who is the assistant of the Hotir ? Who sings the Sama songs aloud ? Which is the libation to (Agni) ? Who is the assistant of the Brahma priest ? What are the Darbha grass ? Which is the ladle ? Which is the container of the ghee ? Which are the two ghee offerings ? Which are the two parts of the ghee ? What are the preliminary offerings ? What are the final sacrifices ? Which is the Ida libation (in between the two) ? What is recitation ? What is the Samyorvaka formula ? Which are the four Ajya oblations ? Which is the sacrificial post ? Which is the cord ? Which are the Ishtis (oblations of butter, fruits, etc.,) ? What is the sacrificial fee ? What is the ritual bath after the sacrifice ?
22.In the bodily sacrifice, unadorned by the cord round the sacrificial post, the sacrificer is the self; (his) wife is the intellect. The great officiating priests are the Vedas. The ego is the Adhvaryu. The mind-stuff is the invoking priest. Prana is the assistant of the chief priest; Apana is the assistant of the Adhvaryu. Vyana is the first chanter. Udana is the loud Sama singer. Samana is the assistant of Hotir. The body is the altar. The nose is the interior of the altar. The crest is the wooden container. The foot is the chariot. The right hand is the ladle. The left hand is the container of the ghee. The ears are the two ghee offerings. The eyes are the two parts of the ghee. The neck is the libation. The Tanmatras are the assistant of the Brahma Priest. The great elements are the attendants. Gunas are the supplementary offerings. The tongue is the final sacrifices. Teeth and lips are the middle libation. The palate is the hymn-recitation. Memory is the Samyorvaka formula. Compassion, forbearance, non-violence are the four Ajya oblations (to Soma, etc.,). Om is the sacrificial post. Desire is the cord. Mind is the chariot. Lust is the sacrificial animal. The hair is the Darbha grass. The sense organs are the sacrificial vessels. The organs of action are the oblations. Non-violence is the Ishtis. Renunciation is the sacrificial fee.
The post-sacrificial bath (follows) from death. In this body are stationed all the divinities.
23. (Either) one dies in Benares (or) the Brahmana who reads this (Upanishad) achieves liberation in one life: This is the secret doctrine.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Pranagnihotropanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Gopala-Tapaniya Upanishad
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Chapter One
1.Om namah. I offer my respectful obeisances to Sri Krishna, whose form is eternal and full of knowledge and bliss, who is the rescuer from distress, who is understood by Vedanta, who is the supreme spiritual master, and who is the witness in everyone’s heart.
2.Om. Some sages said to the demigod Brahma: “Who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead? Whom does death fear? By knowing whom does everything else become known? Who created this world.
3.Brahma replied to them: “Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Death fears Govinda. By understanding Gopijanavallabha everything becomes known. By pronouncing the word “svaha” the Personality of Godhead created the world.
4.They then said: “Who is Krishna? Who is Govinda? Who is Gopijanavallabha? What is Svaha?”
5.To them Brahma said: “Krishna means He who delivers from sin, Govinda means He who is famous on the earth, in the Vedas, and among the surabhi cows, Gopijanavallabha means He who enchants the gopis, and Svaha means the potency of the Supreme. All these names refer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
6.One who meditates on this Supreme Personality of Godhead, glorifies Him, and worships Him, becomes liberated. He becomes liberated.
7.They said: What is His form? What is His glorification? How does one worship Him? Please describe this to us
8-9.Brahma said: He appears like a cowherd boy. His complexion is like a monsoon cloud. He stays under a desire-tree. The following verses describe Him.
10.Meditating with all his heart on Lord Krishna, whose eyes are handsome lotus flowers, whose complexion is a monsoon cloud, whose garments are lightning, who has two arms, who is rich in transcendental knowledge, who wears a garland of forest flowers, who is the supreme controller, who is surrounded by gopas, gopis, and surabhi cows, who rests under a sura-druma tree, who is decorated with splendid ornaments, who stands in the middle of a red lotus flower, and who is served by breezes that have touched the Yamuna’s waves, a person becomes free from repeated birth and death.
11.This mantra should be repeatedly chanted: “klim krishnaya govindaya gopijanavallabhaya svaha”.
12.By chanting these five names one attains the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose potencies are manifested as the heavenly planets, the earth, sun, moon, and fire.
13.A person who even once chants the mantra “Klim krsnaya govindaya gopijanavallabha svaha” quickly attains the association of Lord Krishna. He does not attain any other result.
14.Devotional service to Lord Krishna is performed when the heart no longer desires any material benefit to be obtained in this life or the next. This is freedom from the bonds of karma.
15.Many brahmanas worship Krishna. Many worship eternal Govinda. Gopijanavallabha maintains the worlds. Powerful Svaha moves the universe.
16.Although originally one, air becomes the five life-airs in the bodies of all living entities. In the same way, for the benefit of the world Lord Krishna appears as these five words.
17.They said: Please describe the worship of Govinda, the Supersoul, who maintains everything.
18.Brahma said: The Lord’s altar should be a golden lotus with eight petals. Within that lotus should be placed two triangles and the mantra klim krsnaya namah, the Kama-gayatri (klim krsnaya govindaya gopijanavallabhaya svaha), and the ananga-gayatri (kamadevaya sarva-jana-priyaya sarva-jana-sammohanaya jvala jvala prajvala prajvala sarva-janasya hrdayam me vasam kuru kuru svaha) should be written there. then anga should be offered with the sula-matra (astraya phat). Then one should worship the Lord’s expansions, beginning with Rukmini, the devotees headed by Indra, the devotees headed by King Vasudeva, the devotees headed by Arjuna, and the devotees headed by Indranidhi.
19.He who at sunrise, noon and sunset, makes various offerings to the Deity, obtains everything. He obtains everything.
20.In this matter there are the following verses: Lord Krishna is the worshipable, all-pervading supreme controller, and although He is one, He manifests in many forms. They who are intelligent worship Him as He stands on His altar. They, and not others, attain eternal happiness.
21.The brahmanas, who worship, as He stands on His altar, the one greatest among the eternals and greatest among conscious persons, the one who fulfils the desires of the many, they, and not others, attain perfection.
22.To they who always diligently worship Lord Visnu’s transcendental form, the Lord, in His original form as a cowherd boy, shows His lotus feet.
23.It was Krishna who in the beginning instructed Brahma in Vedic knowledge and who disseminated Vedic knowledge in the past. They who desire liberation surrender to Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who grants transcendental knowledge to His devotees.
24.To they who chant the five-word mantra with om and govinda (om krsnaya govindaya gopijanavallabha svaha) the Lord reveals His own form. Therefore, to attain transcendental peace, they who desire liberation should regularly chant this mantra.
25.From this five-word mantra have come all other govinda-mantras in human society, including the ten-syllable govinda-mantra chanted by Indra’s followers and by they who desire opulences.
26.They asked: Please tell us the nature of this mantra.
27-28. Brahma said: I continually glorified the Lord and meditated upon Him for millions of years, and at last I was able to understand the transcendental form of the Lord as Sri Krishna, in the dress of a cowherd boy. With devotion in my heart I bowed down before Him. He gave me the eighteen-syllable mantra to be used for the activity of creation, and then He disappeared.
29.When I desired to create the universe He again appeared before me, showing me in these syllables the universe that was to be.
30.From the letter k, I created water, from the letter l, earth, from the letter i, fire, from the letter m, the moon, and from the entire word klim, the sun. From the word krsnaya, I created ether, from govindaya, air, from gopijanavallabha, knowledge and the surabhi cows, and from svaha, men, women, and everything else. Everything else.
31.By worshipping Him, Shiva became free from illusion, and by chanting this mantra in a solitary place, he attained the Lord.
32.The demigods gaze at Visnu’s abode, which is like a splendid sun in the sky.
33.Therefore one should regularly chant this mantra. One should regularly chant this mantra.
34.Some have said that from the first word of this mantra earth was created, from the second word water, from the third fire, from the fourth air, and from the fifth ether. To attain liberation one should chant this five-word Vaishnava mantra, which reveals Lord Krishna.
35.About this are the following verses: One should chant this mantra, of which from the first word the element earth came, from the second word water, from the third fire, from the fourth air, and from the fifth ether.
36.By chanting this mantra Shiva entered Lord Visnu’s eternal spiritual abode.
37.That spiritual world, completely pure, uncontaminated, free from suffering, free from greed and all other vices, and identical with this five-word mantra, is manifested from Lord Vasudeva. It is not separate from Him.
38.With eloquent prayers I and the Maruts please Lord Govinda, whose form is eternal and full of knowledge and bliss, who stays under a desire tree in Vrndavana, and who is this five-word mantra.
39.Om namah. To Lord Govinda, who is the form of the universe, the creator. maintainer, and destroyer of the universe, the master of the universe, and the universe itself. I offer my respectful obeisances.
40.Obeisances to Lord Govinda, whose form is full of knowledge, whose form is full of supreme bliss, who is all-attractive, and who is the master of the gopis.
41.Obeisances to Him, His eyes lotus flowers. Obeisances to Him, garlanded with lotuses. Obeisances to Him, His navel a lotus. Obeisances to Him, the husband of the goddesses of fortune.
42.Obeisances to Lord Govinda, handsome with a peacock-feather crown, identical with Balarama, His intelligence sharp, and He the swan in the Manasa lake of the goddess of fortune’s thoughts.
43.Obeisances to Him, the death of Kamsa and his allies, the killer of Kesi and Canura, the object of worship for Siva, and the chariot-driver of Arjuna.
44.Obeisances to Him, the cowherd boy fond of playing the flute, the crusher of Kaliya, the person who walks on the Yamuna’s shore and whose earrings gracefully swing to and fro.
45.Obeisances to Sri Krishna, the protector of the surrendered souls. Obeisances to Him, the expert dancer garlanded with the gopi’s lotus glances.
46.Obeisances to Him, the death of sin, the lifter of Govardhana Hill, the end of Putana’s life, the thief of Trnavarta’s life.
47.Obeisances to Sri Krishna, decorated with a golden necklace, charming, pure, the enemy of impurity, one without a second, the greatest.
48.Be kind, O blissful one. Be kind, O Supreme Lord. O Lord, please rescue me, bitten by the snake of physical and mental pain.
49.O Krishna, O husband of Rukmini, O enchanter of the gopis, O master of the universe, please rescue me, drowning in the ocean of repeated birth and death.
50.O Kesava, O Narayana, O Govinda, O Janardana, O source of all transcendental bliss, O Lord who rescues the devotees from distress, O Madhava, please rescue me.
51.Brahma said: As I worship Him, so should you. Chanting this five-word mantra, and meditating on Lord Krishna, you will transcend the world of birth and death.
52.One who chants this five-word mantra easily attains His transcendental abode.
53.Although fixed in His abode, the Personality of Godhead is swifter than the mind and can overcome all others running. Even the powerful demigods cannot approach Him.
54.Therefore, Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One should meditate upon Him, glorify Him, serve Him and worship Him. Om tat sat.
Chapter Two
1-2. Once, after they had passed the entire night with Him, the passionate girls of Vraja spoke to the cowherd boy Krishna, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and He also spoke to them.
3.The gopis said: To what brahmana should charity be given?
4.Krishna said: Durvasa.
5.The gopis said: How will we cross the Yamuna’s waters and approach Him, from whom great blessings will come?
6.Krishna said: Say the words Krishna, the brahmacari, and the Yamuna will give you a path.
7.By remembering Me a shallow person becomes deep. By remembering Me an impure person becomes pure. By remembering Me an impious person becomes pious. By remembering Me one full of material desires becomes desireless. By remembering Me a fool becomes learned.
8.After hearing these words, they meditated on Durvasa, and with these words crossed the Yamuna. They went to the very sacred asrama and bowed down before Durvasa Muni, the best of sages. They gave to the brahmana delicious foods made with milk and ghee.
9.Pleased, he bathed, ate, blessed them, and gave them permission to go.
10.They said: How will we cross the Yamuna?
11.He said: Meditate on me as a sage that eats only durva grass, and the Yamuna will give you a path.
12.Gandharvi (Srimati Radharani), the best among them, reflected for a moment.
13.She said: How is Krishna a brahmacari? How is this sage a person that eats only durva grass?
14.Accepting Her as their leader, the other girls became silent.
15.Durvasa Muni replied: Sound is contained within the element of ether, although sound and ether are different. Sound is contained within ether. This ether does not know. I am spirit. How can I be a materialistic enjoyer.
16.Touch is contained within the element of air, although touch and air are different. Touch is contained within air. This air does not know. I am spirit. How can I be a materialistic enjoyer?
17.Form is contained within the element of fire, although form and fire are different. Form is contained within fire. This fire does not know. I am spirit. How can I be a materialistic enjoyer?
18.Taste is contained within the element of water, although taste and waste are different. Taste is contained within water. This water does not know. I am spirit. How can I be a materialistic enjoyer?
19.Aroma is contained within the element of earth, although aroma and earth are different. Aroma is contained within earth. This earth does not know. I am spirit. How can I be a materialistic enjoyer?
20.It is the mind that remains among the senses and accepts them.
21.When spirit is everything how does one think? Where does one go? I am spirit, how can I be a materialistic enjoyer?
22.Your beloved Krishna is the original creator of the two kinds of bodies.
23.On the tree of the body are two birds. One is an expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is a witness. The other is an enjoyer. They are an enjoyer and a non-enjoyer. The first enjoys, and the second is Krishna.
24.In Him we do not find material so-called knowledge and ignorance. This ignorance and real knowledge are different. How can Krishna, who is full of real knowledge, become a materialistic enjoyer?
25-26. He who lusts after pleasure is lusty. He who does not lust after pleasures is not lusty.
27.Krishna, who is free from birth and death, who is unchanging, who cannot be cut, who stays by the Yamuna, who stays among the surabhi cows, who protects the surabhi cows, who stays among the cowherd boys, who stays in all the Vedas, who is glorified by all the Vedas, who has entered all living entities, and who controls all living entities, is your husband.
28.Gandharvi (Radha) said: Why has the Supreme Personality of Godhead taken birth among us as a cowherd boy? O sage, how do you know this about Krishna? What is His mantra? What is His abode? Why has He taken birth in Devaki’s womb? Who is His elder brother Balarama? How is He worshipped? Why has the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is far above the world of matter, descended to this Earth?
29.He said: In the beginning only Lord Narayana existed. In Him the material worlds are woven as thread on a loom. From His lotus heart the demigod Brahma was born.
30.When Brahma performed severe austerities, Lord Narayana granted him a boon.
31.Brahma chose a question.
32.Lord Narayana granted his request.
33-34. Brahma said: Among Your many incarnations, which is the best, the one that makes humans and demigods happy, the one that, remembering Him, they become liberated from repeated birth and death? Why is this incarnation the best?
35.Lord Narayana said:
36.As on the summit of Mount Meru are seven cities that fulfil all desires, so on the Earth are seven cities that fulfil desires and grant liberation. Among them the city of Gopala Puri is directly the spiritual world.
37.In this city the desires of the demigods and all other creatures are all fulfilled and everyone attains liberation.
38.Protected by My cakra, this city if Mathura, or Gopala Puri, stands in this world as a lotus stands in a lake.
39.Gopala Puri contains these forests: 1. the great forest of Brhadvana, 2. Madhuvana, the former residence of the Madhu demon, 3. Talavana, full of palm trees, 4. delightful Kamyavana, 5. great Bahulavana, 6. Kumudavana, full of lotus flowers and water lilies, 7. Khadiravana, full of Khadira trees, 8. Bhadravana, the favourite spot of Lord Balarama, 9. Bhandiravana, the great forest of Banyan trees, 10. Srivana, the abode of the goddess of fortune, 11. Lohavana, the former residence of the demon Loha, and 12. Vrndavana, ruled by the goddess Vrnda-devi.
40.In these forests the demigods, human beings, Gandharvas, Nagas, and Kinnaras sing and dance.
41.The twelve Adityas, eleven Rudras, eight Vasus, seven sages, Brahma, Narada, five Vinayakas, Viresvara, Rudresvara, Ambikesvara, Ganesvara, Nilakanthesvara, Visvesvara, Gopalesvara, Bhadresvara, and 24 other lingas reside there.
42.These forests are divided into two groups: 1. Krishnavana, or Krishna’s forests, and 2.Bhadravana, or Balarama’s forests. Among these twelve forests some are sacred and others are most sacred.
43.There the demigods stay. There the perfect beings attained perfection.
44.In this place are a Deity of Rama, a Deity of Pradyumna, a Deity of Aniruddha, and a Deity of Krishna.
45.In this way there are twelve Deities in the forests of Mathura.
46.The Rudras worship the first Deity, Brahma worships the second, Brahma’s sons worship the third, The Maruts worship the fourth, the Vinayakas worship the fifth, the Vasus worship the sixth, the sages worship the seventh, the Gandharvas worship the eighth, the Apsaras worship the ninth, the tenth Deity is now invisible, the eleventh Deity has gone to His own planet, and the twelfth Deity is now on the Earth.
47.They who worship this Deity surpass death and attain liberation. They cross beyond the three-fold miseries of birth, old-age and death.
48.There are these verses: Lord Krishna, accompanied by His three potencies, and by Balarama, Aniruddha, Pradyumna, and Rukmini, stays in delightful Mathura Puri, which is worshipped by Brahma and the other demigods and protected by the conch, cakra, club, and sarnga bow. These four names are identical with the name Om.
49.One should think: I am spiritual, beyond material passion. One should think: I am Lord Gopaka’s. In this way one attains liberation. He realizes his spiritual nature. He becomes a knower of spirit.
50.Because since the beginning of creation He lovingly protects (alati) the conditioned souls (gopa), He is known as Gopala. Om tat sat. I am a spirit. I am a part-and-parcel of Krishna. My spiritual form is eternally full of bliss. Om.
51.The Supreme Personality of Godhead is therefore known as Gopala.
52.With all one’s heart one should think: I am Gopala’s.
53.Lord Gopala is unmanifest, limitless, and eternal.
54.Lord Narayana continued: O Brahma, decorated with a forest-flower garland, and holding a conch, disk, mace and lotus, I will reside eternally in Mathura.
55.O Brahma, he who with all his heart meditates on Me, whose form is the resting place of all forms, whose form is supremely powerful and splendid, whose form is wonderful, and who has no material form, goes to MY abode. Of this there is no doubt.
56.O Brahma, a resident of this earth planet who remains in the district of Mathura and worships Me as I appear in the form of the Deity, becomes very dear to Me.
57.You should always worship Me as Krishna in Mathura.
58.Four kinds of men worship Me.
59.Following the devotional process prescribed for the age, intelligent devotees in this world worship Lord Gopala, who is accompanied by His elder brother Balarama and queen Rukmini.
60.I am unborn, eternal Gopala. I am eternal Pradyumna. I am Rama. I am Aniruddha. He who is intelligent worships Me.
61.Free from all impure desires, the residents of Krishnavana and Bhadravana worship Me, following the regulations of bhakti I Myself have spoken.
62.Even they who formerly rejected the principles of religion and were swallowed up by the age of Kali, may become devoted to Me, and also reside in Mathura.
63.Anyone who becomes My sincere devotee becomes very dear to Me. As dear as You and Your sons are, as dear as Shiva and hid associates, as dear as the goddess of fortune, Laksmi.
64.Brahma said: How has the one Supreme Personality of Godhead become four Deities? How has the single sacred syllable om become many?
65.The Lord said to him: Before the material world was manifest, only the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is one without a second, existed. From Him came the impersonal Brahman. From that came the syllable om. From om came the mahat-tattva. From the mahat-tattva came false-ego. From false-ego came the five tanmatras. From them came the elements. Om is covered by these things.
66.I am the sacred syllable. I am om. I am ageless, deathless, nectarean, the fearless Supreme Great. I am liberated. I am unchanging.
67.The eternal Supreme Personality of Godhead manifested Himself as the all-pervading universal form. In the same way the Lord, who is one without a second, by His transcendental potency expanded Himself into four.
68.The sacred syllable om consists of three letters: a, u and m. Balarama, the son of Rohini, is the letter a. Splendid Pradyumna is the letter u.
69.Intelligent Aniruddha is letter m. Lord Krishna, in whom the entire universe rests, is the ardha-matra letter (m), which completes the syllable om.
70.Rukmini is Lord Krishna’s wife. She is the creator of the worlds and the root of material nature.
71.The Vedic literatures explain that the goddess of fortune appeared among the women of Vraja. Learned transcendentalists say that the Lord’s potency is the syllable om.
72.Therefore, all-pervading Lord Gopala is the syllable om.
73.Learned transcendentalists declare that the syllable om is not different from the sacred syllable klim.
74.He whom meditates on Me as I appear in Mathura attains liberation.
75-78. In his mind one should meditate on Me standing on the blossomed eight-petaled lotus of the heart, My two feet marked with conchshell, flag and umbrella, MY chest marked with srivatsa and splendid with the kautabha gem, My four arms holding the conch, cakra, mace, and sarnga bow, My arms decorated with armlets. MY neck splendid with a flower garland, My head circled by a splendid crown, My ears decorated with glistening shark-shaped earrings, MY form splendid and handsome, holding a flute and buffalo-horn bugle, and granting fearlessness to the devotees.
79.When the entire universe is churned (mathyate) by the churning-rod of spiritual knowledge, the butter produced is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Mathura. That is why it is called Mathura.
80.In my heart I meditate on the material world with its eight dik-palas (protectors of the directions) as a blossomed lotus flower growing in the ocean of repeated birth and death.
81.The sun and moon are the splendour of My body. Golden Mount Meru is My splendid flag. Brahmaloka as My umbrella. The seven lower planetary systems are My feet.
82.I am marked with srivatsa and svarupa. Therefore the learned sages call me Srivatsa-lanchana (marked with srivatsa).
83.Aware of My supremacy, the sages declare that the splendour of the sun, moon, fire, and eloquent speech has come from My glittering Kaustubha jewel.
84.The four arms of My universal form are goodness, passion, ignorance, and false-ego. The five material elements are the conchshell I carry in the hand that is the mode of passion.
85.Childishness is said to be the cakra, the original illusory potency the Sarnga bow, and the universe the lotus flower in the hand of the universal form.
86.The origin of ignorance is known as the club I always carry in My hand.
87.Religion, economic development, and sense-gratification are the splendid bracelets that eternally decorate the wrists of My universal form.
88.The neck, said to be the qualityless Brahman, is garlanded by the first unborn. O Brahma, your mind-born sons have elaborately described this garland.
89.The sages say that My eternal form is the crown.
90.The two things above the changing material world are My two glittering earrings.
91. He who meditates in this way is eternally dear to me. He attains liberation. He becomes liberated. I give Myself to him.
92.O Brahma, I have said all that will be about My two forms: one made of the modes of nature, and the other beyond the modes of nature.
93.Brahma said: What are the ornaments worn by the Deities You have described? How do the Maruts, Rudras, Brahma, sons of Brahma, Vinayakas, twelve Adityas, Vasus, Apsaras, and Gandharvas worship them? Who is the Deity that has gone to His own abode? Who is the Deity now invisible? Who is the Deity the humans worship?
94.Lord Narayana said to him: these twelve unmanifested transcendental Deities are present on all planets, among all demigods and all human beings.
95.As a Rudra among the Rudras, as a Brahma among the followers of Brahma, as a demigod among the demigods, as a human being among the humans, as the destroyer of obstacles (Ganesa) among the Vinayakas, as Surya Narayana among the Adityas, as a Gandharva among the Gandharvas, as an Apsara among the Apsaras, and as a Vasu among the Vasus, My form, which fulfils desires, is present even when it is invisible. Whether visible or invisible in this world, My form is always stays in My own abode.
96.My form is also present as the Deity of ignorance, the Deity of passion, and the Deity of Goodness.
97.My humanlike form, which is eternal and full of transcendental knowledge, is present in devotional service.
98.Om. Obeisances to the Supersoul, who is present in the life-breath. Om tat sat. Bhu Bhuvah and Svah. Obeisances, obeisances to Him, the Supersoul, who is present in the life-breath.
99.Obeisances to Sri Krishna, who is Govinda and Gopijanavallabha, Om tat sat. Bhur Bhuvah and Svah. Obeisances, obeisances to Him.
100.Om. Obeisances to the Supersoul, who is present in the apana air. Om tat sat. Bhur Bhuvah and Svah. Obeisances, obeisances to Him, present in the apana air.
101.Om. Obeisances to Krishna, who is Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha. Om tat sat. Bhur Bhuvah and Svah. Obeisances, obeisances to Him.
102.Om. Obeisances to the Supersoul, who is present in the sama air. Om tat sat. Bhur Bhuvah and Svah. Obeisances, obeisances to Him, present in the same air.
103. Om. Obeisances to Sri Krishna, who is Sri Rama. Om tat sat. Bhur Bhuvah and Svah. Obeisances, obeisances to Him.
104.Om. Obeisances to the Supersoul, who is present in the udana air. Om tat sat. Bhur Bhuvah and Svah. Obeisances, obeisances to Him, present in the udana air.
105.Om. Obeisances to Krishna, the son of Devaki. Om tat sat. Bhur Bhuvah and Svah. Obeisances, obeisances to Him
106.Om. Obeisances to the Supersoul, who is present in the vyana air. Om tat sat. Bhur Bhuvah and Svah. Obeisances, obeisances to Him, present in the vyana air.
107.Om. Obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose original form is that of a cowherd boy. Om tat sat. Bhur Bhuvah and Svah. Obeisances, obeisances to Him.
108.Om. Lord Gopala is the Supersoul, present in the primordial material energy. Om tat sat. Bhur Bhuvah and Svah. Obeisances, obeisances to Him.
109.Om. Lord Gopala is the Supersoul, present in the senses. Om tat sat. Bhur Bhuvah and Svah. Obeisances, obeisances to Him.
110.Om. Lord Gopala is the Supersoul, present in the material elements. Om tat sat. Bhur Bhuvah and Svah. Obeisances, obeisances to Him.
111.Om. Lord Gopala is the Supreme Person. Om tat sat. Bhur Bhuvah and Svah. Obeisances, obeisances to Him.
112.Om. Lord Gopala is the Supreme Brahman. Om tat sat. Bhur Bhuvah and Svah. Obeisances, obeisances to Him.
113.Om. Lord Gopala is the Supersoul in the heart of all beings. Om tat sat. Bhur Bhuvah and Svah. Obeisances, obeisances to Him.
114.Om. Surpassing wakefulness, sleep, and deep sleep, Lord Gopala is beyond the transcendence of the impersonalists. Om tat sat. Bhur Bhuvah and Svah. Obeisances, obeisances to Him.
115.The one Supreme Personality of Godhead is hidden within everything. He is all-pervading. He is in everyone’s heart. He witnesses everyone’s activities. He lives in everyone’s heart. He is the witness. He is consciousness. His is transcendence. He is beyond the modes of nature.
116.Obeisances to Rudra. Obeisances to Aditya. Obeisances to Vinayaka. Obeisances to Surya. Obeisances to Vidya-devi. Obeisances to Indra. Obeisances to Agni. Obeisances to Yama. Obeisances to Nirrti. Obeisances to Varuna. Obeisances to Vayu. Obeisances to Kuvera. Obeisances to Isana. Obeisances to Brahma. Obeisances to all the demigods.
117.After giving these most pious prayers to Brahma, who was rapt in meditation on the Lord’s transcendental form, and after giving him the ability to create the universe, Lord Narayana disappeared.
118.As these instructions were heard from Brahma, Brahma’s sons, and Narada, so I have spoken them. O Gandharvi (Radha), now You may go to Your own home.
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
\May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Gopala-Tapaniyopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
Krishna Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
When the sages living in the forest visited Sri Ramachandra who was the incarnation of the ever joyful God and who was extremely pretty, they became surprised and forgetting themselves said, “We want to embrace you, Oh Lord.” The God told them, “When I reincarnate as Lord Krishna, you will be born as Gopis and then you can embrace me.”[Their wish was fulfilled in Krishnavatara.] 1
During the time of incarnation of the Lord as Krishna, Gokula became the forest heaven. Those who had done penance earlier became trees in that forest. Characters like miserliness and anger became Asuras. The Kali period which was coming was postponed till the reincarnation period was over. That Hari who was very pretty reincarnated himself as a Gopa Boy. His playful nature (play with the world) was an unknowable secret. Because of that the world was enchanted. Upanishads and portions of Vedas came in the form of 16108 maidens. The "mercy" was born as mother Rohini and the “earth mother” was born as Sathya Bhama. “Humility” was born as Krishna’s friend Sudhama. “Control of senses” was born as Sage Udhawa and “Truth” was born as Sage Akroora. The broken curd pots became to Krishna the ocean of milk so that he can play with it. This reincarnation was meant to destroy his enemies and to protect good people. The sword in the hand of Krishna was the God of destruction, the Maheswara himself. Sage Kasyapa was born as the mortar in Yasodha’s house and The God mother Adithi became the rope which tied Krishna to the mortar. Kali who destroys all enemies was the mace. The bow called Saranga was the illusion of the God. The harvest season of Sarad became the meals in his house. The lotus he held playfully was the seed for the world. Though the world was not different from all these, it appeared as if it was different. Similarly God himself did not have any differences.
And the Vaikunta of those people who live in heaven was brought down to the world. The people who have understood this truly would get the result of their good deeds. They would get themselves released from the ties of the body and attain salvation.
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Krishnopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
Yajnavalkya Upanishad
Translated by Prof. A. A. Ramanathan
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1.Now King Janaka of the Videhas respectfully approached the sage Yajnavalkya and said: ‘Revered Sir, expound to me renunciation’. Yajnavalkya said: Having completed the stage of a celibate student one may become a house-holder. From the stage of the house-holder he may become a forest-dweller (Vanaprastha) and then renounce. Or else he may become a mendicant monk from the stage of a celibate student or a house-holder or a forest-dweller. (There is also the provision that) a person may renounce worldly life that very day on which distaste for it dawns on him, whether he is not observing vows (before the stage of renunciation) or observes them, whether he has undergone the prescribed ablution on completing the disciplined studentship or not, whether he is one who has discontinued maintaining ritual fire at the death of his wife (Utsannagni) or one who does not maintain the ritual fire (anagnika).
2.Some (law givers) prescribe the sacrifice called Prajapatya (of which god Brahma is the presiding deity, prior to a twice-born embracing renunciation). But (though thus prescribed) he may not do so. He shall only perform the sacrifice Agneyi (whose presiding deity is Agni, the god of fire). For Agni is the vital breath (Prana). Thereby he helps (strengthens) the vital breath. (Then) he shall perform the Traidhataviya sacrifice (whose presiding deity is the god Indra). By this sacrifice the three vital fluids (become strong like fire), namely the Sattva (semen), Rajas (blood) and Tamas (the dark one).
(Having performed the sacrifice in the prescribed manner he shall smell the holy fire, reciting the following mantra): ‘Oh Fire, this (vital breath) is your source; as you are born at the proper time (of the year) you put on effulgence. Knowing him (the Atman, your ultimate source) may you merge (with the Prana, your source). May you increase our wealth (of transcendent knowledge)’. So reciting the mantra he shall smell the fire. This is the source of fire, this vital air. ‘(May you) go unto fire (your source). Svaha’. Thus alone the mantra says.
3.Having procured the holy fire (from the house of a well-versed Vedic scholar) in the village he shall be directed to smell the fire as described previously. If he does not get the ritual fire he may offer oblations in the waters. For water is (presided over by) all the gods. Reciting ‘I offer the oblation to all the gods, Svaha’, he should tender the oblations and picking up (a small portion of) the offered oblation which is mixed with ghee, he shall eat it, as this is beneficial. (Before eating the offered oblation he shall recite) the mantra of liberation (namely Om) which he shall realize as (the essence of) the three Vedas. He shall adore Brahman (Existence, Knowledge and Bliss) as that (connoted by Om). Cutting off the tuft of hair and sacred thread he shall recite thrice ‘I have renounced’. (The royal sage Janaka accepted this elucidation by saying) ‘Indeed, so it is, revered Yajnavalkya’.
4.(Then prompted by King Janaka) the sage Atri asked Yajnavalkya: How is one without the sacred thread (by wearing which alone he can perform rituals) a Brahmana ? Yajnavalkya replied: This alone is his sacred thread (the conviction), ‘That (Self-effulgent) Atman (I am)’. He shall then ceremoniously sip water (thrice with the mantra, ‘Reach the sea, Svaha’, having previously discarded his tuft and sacred thread). This is the method (to be adopted by those who renounce the world).
5.Then (in the case of those entitled to renunciation) the mendicant monk wearing (ochre) coloured garment, with shaven head, accepting nothing (except food for bare sustenance), pure, injuring none (in thought, word and deed), (austerely) living on alms, becomes fit for realizing Brahman. This is the path of the mendicant monks. (In the case of the Kshatriyas and others not entitled to renunciation, they may seek liberation) by the path of the brave (by courting death in the battle-field), or fast (unto death as a discipline), or enter into water (to rise no more), or enter fire or undertake the great journey (in which they collapse by exhaustion). (For those entitled to renunciation) this way has been prescribed by the god Brahma; the ascetic who has renounced the world (Sannyasin) following this path realizes Brahman. Thus (it is stated in the Vedanta). ‘Thus indeed it is, revered Sir, Yajnavalkya’, (appreciated the royal sage Janaka).
6.There are the well known sages called Paramahamsas (as in the days of yore, the sages) Samvartaka, Aruni, Svetaketu, Durvasas, Ribhu, Nidagha, Dattatreya, Suka, Vamadeva, Harita and others, wearing no distinguishing marks, with conduct beyond the ken (of worldly people) and who behaved as though bereft of their senses though (perfectly) sane.
7.Averse to others’ wives and (desire to stay in) towns and discarding all these, namely, the threefold staff (bamboo), the water vessel, (the earthen plate) used for a meal, the ceremonial purification with water, the tuft and the sacred thread, internally as well as externally, in the waters reciting ‘Bhuh, Svaha’, (the Paramahamsa) shall seek the Atman.
8.Possessing a form as one new-born (i.e. unclad) unaffected by pairs (of opposites, such as heat and cold, pleasure and pain); accepting nothing (except alms, for bare sustenance); well established in the path of the truth of Brahman; of pure mind; receiving alms into the mouth (lit. into the vessel of the belly) at the prescribed time in order to sustain life, becoming equanimous at gain and loss (of alms), drinking water from the vessel of hand or from a water vessel, begging alms but to store in the belly; devoid of any other vessel; the watering place serving as water vessel; sheltering, equanimous at gain and loss of it, in an abode which is free from disturbance and is solitary (such as) an unoccupied house, a temple, a clump of (tall) grass (or hay stack), an ant-hill, the shade of a tree a potter’s hut, a hut where ritual fire is kept, the sandy bank of a river, a mountain thicket, a cave, a hollow in a tree, the vicinity of a water fall or a piece of clean ground, without residing in a fixed abode; making no efforts (for gainful activity) and deeply intent on the uprooting of good and bad actions – such a sage who finally gives up his body in the state of renunciation is indeed a Paramahamsa. Thus (it has been declared).
9.The mendicant monk who is unclad (lit. clothed by the points of the compass), salutes none, has no desire for wife or son and is above aim and non-aim becomes the supreme God. Here there are the verses:
10.To one who has become an ascetic earlier and who is equal to him in characteristics, obeisance ought to be paid (by an ascetic) and never to any one else.
11.Even ascetics are seen who are careless, whose minds are in outward phenomenal things, are tale-bearers, eager to quarrel and whose views are condemned by the Veda.
12.If an ascetic remains in identity with the highest self-effulgent Brahman which is beyond name, etc., then to whom shall he, the knower of the Atman, pay obeisance ? Then the activity (of bowing) ought not to be done.
13.(If an ascetic is convinced that) the supreme God has entered into beings as the individual Self, then he may fully prostrate on the ground before dog, outcaste, cow or donkey.
14.What possibly is charming in a woman who is a doll made of flesh, in a cage of limbs which is moved by machinery and who is a conglomerate of tendons bones and joints ?
15.Are the eyes (of a woman) charming when we look at them after dissection into skin, flesh, blood and tears ? Why then do you get infatuated in vain ?
16.Similarly, Oh sage, is seen of the pearl necklace which shines bright (adoring women) in the onrush of the Ganga water down the shining slopes of the Meru mountain.
17.In cemeteries (situated) in remote places the same breast of a woman is eaten in due course by dogs as if it were a small morsel of food.
18.Having (attractive) tresses and putting on collyrium, women, difficult to touch but pleasing to the eyes are (verily) the flames of the fire of sin and they burn men as though they were straw.
19.Women pleasing and cruel, are the fuel for the hell-fires, that inflame even at a distance and though juicy (loveable) are devoid of moisture (flavour).
20.Silly women are the nets spread by the hunter called Cupid to entangle the bodies of men in the form of birds.
21.Woman is the bait stuck in the fish-hook at the string of evil propensity to catch men in the form of fish that are in the pond of worldly life and that are active in the mud of the mind.
22.Enough of women to me, forever, who are the strong caskets (to preserve) all gems of evil and are the chains of misery.
23.He who has a woman with him has desire for enjoyment; where is the scope for enjoyment to one who is without woman ? Discarding woman is discarding worldly life; one shall be happy after abandoning worldly life.
24.A son unborn worries the (would be) parents for long; when obtained (in the womb) he gives trouble due to miscarriage or the pangs of child-birth.
25.When the boy is born there is the worry of evil planes, illness, etc., and then his propensity to evil ways. When invested with the sacred thread he does not become learned and if he becomes wise he refuses marriage.
26.In youth he takes to adultery, etc., and has (the curse of) poverty when he has a family. There is no end of worry due to a son and if he is rich he (suddenly) may die.
27.The (good) ascetic has no fickleness of hands and feet; he is not unsteady in his eyes and he is not loose with his speech; conquering his senses he becomes one with Brahman.
28.When a person of discrimination sees equality and oneness between an enemy, a prisoner and his own body, where is (the scope for) anger, as towards the limbs of one’s own body ?
29.If you have any anger against a wrong doer, how is it you do not have anger against anger, as it forcibly blocks (the path to) duty, wealth, love and liberation ?
30.My salutation to the anger against anger, which well sets ablaze its substratum and which gives one dispassion and awakens one to one’s faults.
31.Where the people are always asleep the man of self-control is wide awake; where they are vigilant, Oh wise one, the prince among the Yogins, is in deep sleep. Be convinced that there is consciousness here, that (all) this is consciousness alone and is pervaded by consciousness, that you are consciousness and I am consciousness, and all these worlds are of consciousness.
32.Ascetics should accept this, the highest position of being a Paramahamsa. Oh best of sages, there is nothing higher than this. Thus (ends) the Upanishad.
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Yajnavalkyopanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Varaha Upanishad
Translated by K. Narayanasvami Aiyar
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
CHAPTER - I
The great sage Ribhu performed penance for twelve Deva (divine) years. At the end of the time, the Lord appeared before him in the form of a boar. He said: “Rise, rise and choose your boon”. The sage got up and having prostrated himself before him said: “O Lord, I will not, in my dream, wish of thee those things that are desired by the worldly. All the Vedas, Shastras, Itihasas and all the hosts of other sciences, as well as Brahma and all the other Devas, speak of emancipation as resulting from a knowledge of thy nature. So impart to me that science of Brahman which treats of thy nature.”
Then the boar-shaped Bhagavan (Lord) said:
1.Some disputants hold that there are twenty-four Tattvas (principles) and some thirty-six, whilst others maintain that there are ninety-six.
2.I shall relate them in their order. Listen with an attentive mind. The organs of sense are five, viz., ear, skin, eye and others.
3.The organs of action are five, viz., mouth, hand, leg and others. Pranas (vital airs) are five; sound and other (viz., rudimentary principles) are five.
4.Manas, Buddhi, Chitta and Ahankara are four; thus those that know Brahman know these to be the twenty-four Tattvas.
5.Besides these, the wise hold the quintuplicated elements to be five, viz., earth, water, fire, Vayu and Akasa;
6.The bodies to be three, viz., the gross, the subtle and the Karana or causal; the states of consciousness to be three, viz., the waking, the dreaming and the dreamless sleeping.
7-8. The Munis know the total collection of Tattvas to be thirty-six (coupled with Jiva). With these Tattvas, there are six changes, viz., existence, birth, growth, transformation, decay and destruction.
9.Hunger, thirst, grief, delusion, old age and death are said to be the six infirmities.
10.Skin, blood, flesh, fat, marrow and bones are said to be the six sheaths. Passion, anger, avarice, delusion, pride and malice are the six kinds of foes.
11.Vishva, Taijasa and Prajna are the three aspects of the Jiva. Sattva, Rajas and Tamas are the three Gunas (qualities).
12.Prarabdha, Sanchita and Agamin are the three Karmas. Talking, lifting, walking, excreting and enjoying are the five actions (of the organs of action);
13.And there are also thought, certainty, egoism, compassion, memory (functions of Manas, etc.,), complacency, sympathy and indifference;
14.Dik (the quarters), Vayu, Sun, Varuna, Ashvini Devas, Agni, Indra, Upendra and Mrityu (death); and then the moon, the four-faced Brahma, Rudra, Kshetrajna and Ishvara.
15-16. Thus these are the ninety-six Tattvas. Those that worship, with devotion, me of the form of boar, who am other than the aggregate of these Tattvas and am without decay are released from Ajnana and its effects and become Jivanmuktas.
17. Those that know these ninety-six Tattvas will attain salvation in whatever order of life they may be, whether they have matted hair or are of shaven head or have (only) their tuft of hair on. There is no doubt of this.”
Thus ends the first Chapter of Varaha Upanishad.
CHAPTER - II
1. The great Ribhu (again) addressed the Lord of Lakshmi of the form of boar thus: “O Lord, please initiate me into the supreme Brahma-Vidya (or science).”
2-3. Then the Lord who removes the miseries of his devotees being thus questioned, answered thus: “Through (the right observance of) the duties of one’s own caste and orders of life, through religious austerities and through the pleasing of the Guru (by serving him rightly), arise to persons the four, Vairagya, etc. They are the discrimination of the eternal from the non-eternal; indifference to the enjoyments of this and the other worlds;
4-5(a). The acquisition of the six virtues, Sama, etc., and the longing after liberation. These should be practised. Having subdued the sensual organs and having given up the conception of ‘mine’ in all objects, you should place your consciousness of ‘I’ in (or identify yourself with) me, who am the witness Chaitanya (consciousness).
5(b)-7(a). To be born as a human being is difficult – more difficult it is to be born as a male being – and more so is it to be born as a Brahmana. Even then, if the fool does not cognise through the hearing, etc., of Vedanta, the true nature of the Sachchidananda (of Brahman) that is all-pervading and that is beyond all caste and orders of life, when will he obtain Moksha?
7(b)-8. I alone am happiness. There is none other. If there is said to be another, then it is not happiness. There is no such things as love, except on my account. The love that is on account of me is not natural to me. As I am the seat of supreme love, that ‘I am not’ is not.
9. He who is sought after by all, saying “I should become such”, is myself, the all-pervading. How can non-light affect Atman, the self-shining which is no other than the light whence originates the words ‘I am not light’.
10-12(a). My firm conviction is whoever knows for certain that (Atman) which is self-shining and has itself no basis (to rest upon), is one of Vijnana. The universe, Jiva, Ishvara, Maya and others do not really exist, except my full Atman.
12(b)-13(a). I have not their characteristics, Karma which has Dharana and other attributes and is of the form of darkness and Ajnana is not fit to touch (or affect) me, who am Atman, the self-resplendent.
13(b)-14(a). That man who sees (his) Atman which is all-witness and is beyond all caste and orders of life as of the nature of Brahman, becomes himself Brahman.
14(b)-15(a). Whoever sees, through the evidence of Vedanta, this visible universe as the Supreme Seat which is of the form of light, attains Moksha at once.
15(b)-16(a). When that knowledge which dispels the idea that this body (alone) is Atman, arises firmly in one’s mind as was before the knowledge that this body (alone) is Atman, then that person, even though he does not desire Moksha, gets it.
16(b)-17(a). Therefore how will a person be bound by Karma, who always enjoys the bliss of Brahman which has the characteristics of Sachchidananda and which is other than Ajnana ?
17(b)-18. Persons with spiritual eyes see Brahman, that is the witness of the three states that has the characteristics of be-ness, wisdom and bliss, that is the underlying meaning of the words ‘Thou’ (Tvam) and ‘I’ (Aham) and that is untouched by all the stains.
19.As a blind man does not see the sun that is shining, so an ignorant person does not see (Brahman). Prajnana alone is Brahman. It has truth and Prajnana as its characteristics.
20.By thus cognising Brahman well, a person becomes immortal. One who knows his own Atman as Brahman, that is bliss and without duality and Gunas (qualities) and that is truth and absolute consciousness is not afraid of anything.
21.That which is consciousness alone which is all-pervading, which is eternal, which is all-full, which is of the form of bliss and which is indestructible, is the only true Brahman.
22-23(a). It is the settled determination of Brahma-Jnanis that there is naught else but that. As the world appears dark to the blind and bright to those having good eyes, so this world full of manifold miseries to the ignorant is full of happiness to the wise.
23(b)-24(a). In me, of the form of boar, who am infinite and the Bliss of absolute Consciousness, if there is the conception of non-dualism, where then is bondage ? And who is the one to be emancipated ?
24(b)-25(a). The real nature of all embodied objects is ever the absolute Consciousness. Like the pot seen by the eyes, the body and its aggregates are not (viz., do not really exist).
25(b)-26. Knowing, as Atman, all the locomotive and fixed worlds that appear as other than Atman, meditate upon them as ‘It I am’. Such a person then enjoys his real nature. There is no other to be enjoyed than one-Self.
27. If there is anything that is, then Brahman alone has that attribute. One who is perfect in Brahma-Jnana, though he always sees this established universe, does not see it other than his Atman.
28-30. By cognising clearly my form, one is not trammelled by Karma. He is an undaunted person who by his own experience cognises as his own real nature all (the universe and Brahman) that is without the body and the organs of sense – that is the all-witness – that is the one noumenal Vijnana, that is the blissful Atman (as contrasted with Jivatma or the lower self) and that is the self-resplendent. He is one that should be known as ‘I’ (myself). O Ribhu, may you become He.
31.After this, there will be never any experience of the world. Thereafter there will always be the experience of the wisdom of one’s own true nature. One who has this known fully Atman has neither emancipation nor bondage.
32.Whoever meditates, even for one Muhurta (48 minutes) through the cognition of one’s own real form, upon Him who is dancing as the all-witness, is released from all bondage.
33.Prostrations – prostrations to me who am in all the elements, who am the Chidatma (viz., Atman of the nature of wisdom) that is eternal and free and who am the Pratyagatman.
34-35. O Devata, you are I. I am you. Prostrations on account of myself and yourself who are infinite and who are Chidatma, myself being the supreme Isha (Lord) and yourself being Shiva (of a beneficent nature). What should I do ? Where should I go ? What should I reject ?
36.(Nothing, because) the universe is filled by me as with the waters on the universal deluge. Whoever gives up (fondness) love of the external, love of the internal and love of the body and thus gives up all associations, is merged in me. There is no doubt about it.
37.That Paramahamsa (ascetic) who, though living in the world, keeps aloof from human congregation as from serpent, who regards a beautiful woman as a (living) corpse and the endless sensual objects as
poison and who has abandoned all passion and is indifferent towards all objects is no other than Vasudeva, (viz.,) myself.
38.This is Satya (Truth). This is nothing but truth. It is truth alone that is now said. I am Brahman, the truth. There is naught else but I.
39.(The word) ‘Upavasa’ (lit., dwelling near) signifies the dwelling near (or union) of Jivatma and Paramatman and not (the religious observance as accepted by the worldly of) emaciating the body through fasts.
40.To the ignorant, what is the use of the mere drying up of the body ? By beating about the hole of a snake, can we be said to have killed the big snake within.
41.A man is said to attain Paroksha (indirect) wisdom when he knows (theoretically) that there is Brahman; but he is said to attain Sakshatkara (direct cognition) when he knows (or realises) that he is himself Brahman.
42.When a Yogin knows his Atman to be the Absolute, then he becomes a Jivanmukta.
43.To Mahatmas, to be always in the state ‘I am Brahman’ conduces to their salvation. There are two words for bondage and Moksha. They are ‘mine’ and ‘not mine’.
44.Man is bound by ‘mine’, but he is released by ‘not mine’. He should abandon all the thoughts relating to externals and so also with references to internals. O Ribhu, having given up all thoughts, you should rest content (in your Atman) ever.”
45.The whole of the universe is caused through Sankalpa alone. It is only through Sankalpa that the universe manifests. Having abandoned the universe, which is of the form of Sankalpa and having fixed your mind upon the Nirvikalpa (one which is changeless), meditate upon my abode in your heart.
46.O most intelligent being, pass your time in meditating upon me, glorifying me in songs, talking about me to one another and thus devoting yourself entirely to me as the Supreme.
47.Whatever is Chit (consciousness) in the universe is only Chinmatra. This universe is Chinmaya only. You are Chit. I am Chit; contemplate upon the worlds also as Chit.
48-49(a). Make the desires nil. Always be without any stain. How then can the bright lamp of Atmic Vijnana arising through the Vedas be affected by the Karma arising from the ignorance of the actor and the agent ?
49(b)-50(a). Having given up not-Atman and being in the world unaffected by it, delight only in the Chinmatra within, ever intent on the One.
50(b)-51(a). As the Akasa of the pot and that of the house are both located in the all-pervading Akasa, so the Jivas and Ishvara are only evolved out of me, the Chidakasa (the one Akasa of universal consciousness).
51(b)-52(a). So that which did not exist before the evolution of Atmas (Jiva) (and Ishvara) and that which is rejected at the end (viz., universal deluge) is called Maya by Brahma-Jnanis through their discrimination.
52(b)-53(a). Should Maya and its effects (the universe) be annihilated, there is no state of Ishvara, there is no state of Jiva. Therefore like the Akasa without its vehicle, I am the immaculate and Chit.
53(b)-54. The creation, sentient as well as non-sentient from Ikshana (thinking) to Pravesha (entry) of those having the forms of Jivas and Ishvara is due to the creation (or illusion) of Ishvara; while the Samsara (worldly existence) from the waking state to salvation is due to the creation of Jiva.
55.So the Karmas ordained in the sacrifice (called) Trinachaka (so called after Nachiketas of Katha Upanishad) to Yoga are dependent upon the illusion of Ishvara; while (the systems from) Lokayata (atheistical system) to Sankhya rest on the illusion of Jiva.
56.Therefore aspirants after salvation should never make their heads enter into the field of controversy regarding Jiva and Ishvara. But with an undisturbed mind, Tattvas of Brahman should be investigated.
57.Those who do not cognise the Tattva of the secondless Brahman are all deluded persons only. Whence (then) is salvation to them ? Whence then is happiness (to them) in this universe ?
58.What if they have the thoughts of the superiority and inferiority (of Ishvara and Jiva) ? Will sovereignty and mendicancy (experienced by a person) in the dreaming state affect him in his waking state ?
59.When Buddhi is absorbed in Ajnana, then it is termed, by the wise, sleep. Whence then is sleep to me who have not Ajnana and its effects ?
60.When Buddhi is in full bloom, then it is said to be the Jagrat (waking state). As I have no changes, etc., there is no waking state to me.
61.The moving about of Buddhi in the subtle Nadis constitutes the dreaming state. In me without the act of moving about, there is no dreaming.
62.Then at the time of Sushupti when all things are absorbed, enveloped by Tamas, he then enjoys the highest bliss of his own nature in an invisible state.
63.If he sees everything as Chit without any difference, he alone is an actual Vijnani. He alone is Shiva. He alone is Hari. He alone is Brahma.
64.This mundane existence which is an ocean of sorrow, is nothing but a long-lived dream, or an illusion of the mind or a long-lived reign of the mind. From rising from sleep till going to bed, the one Brahman alone should be contemplated upon.
65.By causing to be absorbed this universe which is but a superimposition, the Chitta partakes of my nature. Having annihilated all the six powerful enemies, through their destruction become the non-dual One like the scent-elephant.
66.Whether the body perishes now or lasts the age of moon and stars, what matters it to me having Chit alone as my body ? What matters it to the Akasa in the pot, whether it (the pot) is destroyed now or exists for a long time.
67.While the Slough of a serpent lies cast off lifeless in its hole, it (the serpent) does not evince any affection towards it.
68.Likewise the wise do not identify themselves with their gross and subtle bodies. If the delusive knowledge (that the universe is real) with its cause should be destroyed by the fire of Atma-Jnana, the wise man becomes bodiless, through the idea ‘It (Brahman) is not this; It is not this’.
69.Shastras, the knowledge of reality (of the universe) perishes. Through direct perception of truth, one’s fitness for action (in this universe) ceases. With the cessation of Prarabdha (the portion of the past Karma which is being enjoyed in this life), the destruction of the manifestation (of the universe) takes place. Maya is thus destroyed in a three-fold manner.
70.If within himself no identification (of Jiva) with Brahman takes place, the state (of the separateness) of Jiva does not perish. If the non-dual one is truly discerned, then all affinities (for objects) cease.
71.With the cessation of Prarabdha (arising from the cessation of affinities), there is that of the body. Therefore it is certain that Maya perishes thus entirely. If it is said that all the universe is, that Brahman alone is that is of the nature of Sat.
72.If it is said that the universe shines, then it is Brahman alone that shines. (The mirage of) all the water in an oasis is really no other than the oasis itself. Through inquiry of one’s Self, the three worlds (above, below and middle) are only of the nature of Chit.
73.In Brahman, which is one and alone, the essence of whose nature is absolute consciousness and which is remote from the differences of Jiva, Ishvara and Guru, there is no Ajnana. Such being the case, where then is the occasion for the universe there ? I am that Brahman which is all full.
74.While the full moon of wisdom is robbed of its lustre by the Rahu (one of the two nodes of the moon) of delusion, all actions such as the rites of bathing, alms-giving and sacrifice performed during the time of eclipse are all fruitless.
75.As salt dissolved in water becomes one, so if Atman and Manas become identified, it is termed Samadhi.
76.Without the grace of a good (perfect) guru, the abandonment of sensual objects is very difficult of attainment; so also the perception of (divine) truth and the attainment of one’s true state.
77.Then the state of being in one’s own self shines of its own accord in a Yogin in whom Jnana-Sakti has dawned and who has abandoned all Karmas.
78.The (property of) fluctuation is natural to mercury and mind. If either mercury is bound (or consolidated) or mind is bound (or controlled), what then on this earth cannot be accomplished ?
79.He who obtains Murchchha cures all diseases. The dead are brought to life again. He who has bound (his mind or mercury) is able to move in the air. Therefore mercury and mind confer upon one the state of Brahman.
80.The master of Indriyas (the organs) is Manas (mind). The master of Manas is Prana. The master of Prana is Laya (absorption Yoga). Therefore Laya-Yoga should be practised.
81.To the Yogins, Laya(-Yoga) is said to be without actions and changes. This Laya (absorption) of mind which is above speech and in which one has to abandon all Sankalpas and to give up completely all actions, should be known through one’s own (experience).
82.As an actress, though subject (or dancing in harmony) to music, cymbals and other musical instruments of time, has her mind intent upon he protection of the pot on her head, so the Yogin, though intent for the time being upon the hosts of objects, never leaves off the mind contemplating on Brahman.
83.The person who desires all the wealth of Yoga should, after having given up all thoughts, practise with a subdued mind concentration on Nada (spiritual sound) alone.”
Thus ends the second Chapter of Varaha Upanishad.
CHAPTER - III
1.“The One Principle cannot at any time become of manifold forms. As I am the partless, there is none else but myself.
2.Whatever is seen and whatever is heard is no other than Brahman. I am that Para-Brahman, which is the eternal, the immaculate, the free, the one, the undivided bliss, the non-dual, the truth, the wisdom and the endless.
3.I am of the nature of bliss; I am of undivided wisdom; I am the supreme of the supreme; I am the resplendent absolute Consciousness. As the clouds do not touch the Akasa, so the miseries attendant on mundane existence do not affect me.
4.Know all to be happiness through the annihilation of sorrow and all to be of the nature of Sat (be-ness) through the annihilation of Asat (not-be-ness). It is only the nature of Chit (Consciousness) that is associated with this visible universe. Therefore my form is partless.
5.To an exalted Yogin, there is neither birth nor death, nor going (to other spheres), nor returning (to earth); there is no stain or purity or knowledge but (the universe) shines to him as absolute Consciousness.
6.Practise always silence ‘I am (viz., that you yourself are) Para-Brahman’ which is truth and absolute Consciousness, which is undivided and non-dual, which is invisible, which is stainless, which is pure, which is second-less and which is beneficent.
7.It (Brahman) is not subject to birth and death, happiness and misery. It is not subject to caste, law, family and Gotra (clan). Practise silence – I am Chit, which is the Vivarta-Upadana (viz., the illusory cause) of the universe.
8.Always practise silence – I am (viz., you are) the Brahman, that is the full, the secondless, the undivided consciousness which has neither the relationship nor the differences existing in the universe and which partakes of the essence of the non-dual and the supreme Sat and Chit.
9.That which always is and that which preserves the same nature during the three periods of time, unaffected by anything, is my eternal form of Sat.
10.Even the state of happiness which is eternal without Upadhis (vehicles) and which is superior to all the happiness derivable from Sushupti is of my bliss only.
11.As by the rays of the sun, thick gloom is soon destroyed, so darkness, the cause of rebirth is destroyed by Hari (Vishnu) Viz., the sun’s lustre.
12.Through the contemplation and worship of my (Hari’s) feet, every person is delivered from his ignorance. The means of destroying deaths and births is only through the contemplation of my feet.
13.As a lover of wealth praises a wealthy man, so if with earnestness a person praises the Cause of the universe, who will not be delivered from bondage ?
14.As in the presence of the sun the world of its-own accord begins to perform its actions, so in my presence all the worlds are animated to action.
15.As to the mother-of pearl, the illusory conception of silver is falsely attributed, so to me is falsely attributed through Maya this universe which is composed of Mahat, etc.
16. I am not with those differences that are (observable) in the body of low caste men, the body of cow, etc., the fixed one’s, the bodies of Brahmanas and others.
17.As to a person, even after being relieved from the misconception of the directions, the (same misconception of) direction continues (as before), just so is to me the universe though destroyed by Vijnana. Therefore the universe is not.
18.I am neither the body nor the organs of sense and action, nor Pranas, Nor Manas, nor Buddhi, nor Ahankara, nor Chitta, nor Maya, nor the universe including Akasa and others.
19.Neither am I the actor, the enjoyer, nor he who causes the enjoyment. I am Brahman that is Chit, Sat and Ananda alone and that is Janardana (Vishnu).
20.As, through the fluctuation of water, the sun (reflected therein) is moved, so Atman arises in this mundane existence through its mere connection with Ahankara.
21.This mundane existence has Chitta as its root. This (Chitta) should be cleansed by repeated effort. How is it you have your confidence in the greatness of Chitta ?
22.Alas, where is all the wealth of the kings ! Where are the Brahmanas ? Where are all the worlds ? All old ones are gone. Many fresh evolutions have occurred.
23.Many Crores of Brahmas have passed away. Many kings have flitted away like particles of dust. Even to a Jnani, the love of the body may arise through the Asura (demoniacal) nature. If the Asura nature should arise in a wise man, his knowledge of truth becomes fruitless.
24.Should Rajas and others generated in us be burnt by the fire of discriminative (divine) wisdom, how can they germinate again ?
25.Just as a very intelligent person delights in the shortcomings of another, so if one finds out his own faults (and corrects them) who will not be relieved from bondage ?
26.O Lord of Munis, only he who has not Atma-Jnana and who is not an emancipated person, longs after Siddhis. He attains such Siddhis through medicine, (or wealth), Mantras, religious works, time and skill.
27.In the eyes of an Atma-Jnani, these Siddhis are of no importance. One who has become an Atma-Jnani, one who has his sight solely on Atman, and one who is content with Atman (the higher Self) through (his) Atman (or the lower self), never follows (the dictates of) Avidya.
28.Whatever exists in this world, he knows to be of the nature of Avidya. How then will an Atma-Jnani who has relinquished Avidya be immersed in (or affected by) it.
29.Though medicine, Mantras, religious work, time and skill (or mystical expressions) lead to the development of Siddhis, yet they cannot in any way help one to attain the seat of Paramatman.
30.How then can one who is an Atma-Jnani and who is without his mind be said to long after Siddhis, while all the actions of his desires are controlled ?”
Thus ends the third Chapter of Varaha Upanishad.
CHAPTER - IV
On another occasion Nidagha asked Lord Ribhu to enlighten him as to the characteristics of Jivanmukti. To which Ribhu replied in the affirmative and said the following: “In the seven Bhumikas (or stages of development of wisdom) there are four kinds of Jivanmuktas. Of these the first stage is Subhechcha (good desire); the second is Vicharana (inquiry); the third is Tanumanasi (or pertaining to the thinned mind); the fourth is Sattvapatti (the attainment of Sattva); the fifth is Asamsakti (non-attachment); the sixth is the Padartha-Bhavana (analysis of objects) and the seventh is the Turya (fourth or final stage). The Bhumika which is of the form of Pranava (Om) is formed of (or is divided into) Akara – ‘A’, Ukara – ‘U’, Makara - ‘M’ and Ardha-Matra. Akara and others are of four kinds on account of the difference of Sthula (gross) Sukshma (subtle), Bija (seed or causal) and Sakshi (witness). Their Avasthas are four: waking, dreaming, dreamless sleeping and Turya (fourth). He who is in (or the entity that identifies itself with) the waking state in the gross Amsa (essence or part) of Akara is named Vishva; in the subtle essence, he is termed Taijasa; in the Bija essence, he is termed Prajna; and in the Sakshi essence, he is termed Turya.
He who is in the dreaming state (or the entity which identifies itself with the dreaming state) in the gross essence of Ukara is Vishva; in the subtle essence, he is termed Taijasa; in the Bija essence, is termed Prajna; and in the Sakshi essence, he is termed Turya.
He who is in the Sushupti state in the gross essence of Makara is termed Vishva; in the subtle essence, Taijasa; in the Bija essence, he is termed Prajna; and in the Sakshi essence, he is termed Turya.
He who is in Turya State in the gross essence of Ardha-Matra is termed Turya-Vishva. In the subtle, he is termed Taijasa; in the Bija essence, he is termed Prajna; and in the Sakshi essence, he is termed Turya-Turya.
The Turya essence of Akara is (or embraces) the first, second and third (Bhumikas or stages of the seven). The Turya essence of Ukara embraces the fourth Bhumika. The Turya essence of Makara embraces the fifth Bhumika. The Turya essence of Ardha-Matra is the sixth stage. Beyond this, is the seventh stage.
One who functions in the (first) three Bhumikas is called Mumukshu; one who functions in the fourth Bhumika is called a Brahmavit; one who functions in the fifth Bhumika is called a Brahmavidvara; one who functions in the sixth Bhumika is called a Brahmavidvariya; and one in the seventh Bhumika is called a Brahmavidvarishtha. With reference to this, there are Slokas. They are:
1.Subhechcha is said to be the first Jnana-Bhumi (or stage of wisdom); Vicharana, the second; Tanumanasi, the third;
2.Sattvapatti, the fourth; then come Asamsakti as the fifth, Padartha-Bhavana as the sixth and Turya as the seventh.
3.The desire that arise in one through sheer Vairagya (after resolving) ‘Shall I be ignorant ? I will be seen by the Shastras and the wise’ (or ‘I will study the books and be with the wise’) – is termed by the wise as Subhechcha.
4.The association with the wise and Shastras and the following of the right path preceding the practice of indifference is termed Vicharana.
5.That stage wherein the hankering after sensual objects is thinned through the first and second stages is said to be Tanumanasi.
6.That stage wherein having become indifferent to all sensual objects through the exercise in the (above) three stages, the purified Chitta rests on Atman which is of the nature of Sat is called Sattvapatti.
7.The light (or manifestation) of Sattva-Guna that is firmly rooted (in one) without any desire for the fruits of actions through the practice in the above four stages is termed Asamsakti.
8-9. That stage wherein through the practice in the (above) five stages one, having found delight in Atman, has no conception of the internals or externals (though before him) and engages in actions only when impelled to do so by others is termed Padartha-Bhavana, the sixth stage.
10.The stage wherein after exceedingly long practice in the (above) six stages one is (immovably) fixed in the contemplation of Atman alone without the difference (of the universe) is the seventh stage called Turya.
11.The three stages beginning with Subhechcha are said to be attained with (or amidst) differences and non-differences. (Because) the universe one sees in the waking state he thinks to be really existent.
12.When the mind is firmly fixed on the non-dual One and the conception of duality is put down, then he sees this universe as a dream through his union with the fourth stage.
13.As the autumnal cloud being dispersed vanishes, so this universe perishes. O Nidagha, be convinced that such a person has only Sattva remaining.
14.Then having ascended the fifth stage called Sushuptipada (dreamless sleeping seat), he remains simply in the non-dual state, being freed from all the various differences.
15-16(a). Having always introvision though ever participating in external actions, those that are engaged in the practice of this (sixth stage) are seen like one sleeping when fatigued (viz., being freed from all affinities).
16(b). (Lastly) the seventh stage which is the ancient and which is called Gudhasupti is generally attained.
17.Then one remains in that secondless state without fear and with his consciousness almost annihilated where there is neither Sat nor Asat, neither self nor not-self.
18.Like an empty pot in the Akasa, there is void both within and without; like a filled vessel in the midst of an ocean, he is full both within and without.
19.Do not become either the knower or the known. May you become the Reality which remains after all thoughts are given up.
20.Having discarded (all the distinctions of) the seer, the sight and the seen with their affinities, meditate solely upon Atman which shines as the supreme Light.
21.He is said to be a Jivanmukta (emancipated person) in whom, though participating in the material concerns of the world, the universe is not seen to exist like the invisible Akasa.
22.He is said to be a Jivanmukta, the light of whose mind never sets or rises in misery or happiness and who does not seek to change what happens to him (viz., either to diminish his misery or increase his happiness).
23.He is said to be a Jivanmukta who though in his Sushupti is awake and to whom the waking state is unknown and whose wisdom is free from the affinities (of objects).
24.He is said to be a Jivanmukta whose heart is pure like Akasa, though acting (as it) in consonance to love, hatred, fear and others.
25.He is said to be a Jivanmukta who has not the conception of his being the actor and whose Buddhi is not attached to material objects, whether he performs actions or not.
26.He is said to be a Jivanmukta, of whom people are not afraid, who is not afraid of people and who has given up joy, anger and fear.
27.He is said to be a Jivanmukta, who though participating in all the illusory objects, is cool amidst them and is a full Atman, (being) as if they belonged to others.
28.O Muni, he is said to be a Jivanmukta, who having eradicated all the desires of his Chitta, is (fully) content with me who am the Atman of all.
29. He is said to be a Jivanmukta, who rests with an unshaken mind in that all pure abode which is Chinmatra and free from all the modifications of Chitta.
30.He is said to be a Jivanmukta in whose Chitta do not dawn (the distinctions of) the universe, I, he, thou and others that are visible and unreal.
31.Through the path of the Guru and Shastras, enter soon sat – the Brahman that is immutable, great, full and without objects – and be firmly seated there.
32.Shiva alone is Guru; Shiva alone is Vedas; Shiva alone is Lord; Shiva alone is I; Shiva alone is all. There is none other than Shiva.
33.The undaunted Brahmana having known Him (Shiva) should attain wisdom. One need not utter many words as they but injure the organ of speech.
34.(The Rishi) Suka is a Mukta (emancipated person). (The Rishi) Vamadeva is a Mukta. There are no others (who have attained emancipation) than through these (viz., the two paths of these two Rishis). Those brave men who follow the path of Suka in this world become Sadyo-Muktas (viz., emancipated) immediately after (the body wear away);
35.While those who always follow the path of Vamadeva (i.e., Vedanta) in this world are subject again and again to rebirths and attain Krama (gradual) emancipation, through Yoga, Sankhya and Karmas associated with Sattva (Guna).
36.Thus there are two paths laid down by the Lord of Devas (viz.,) the Suka and Vamadeva paths. The Suka path is called the bird’s path; while the Vamadeva path is called the ant’s path.
37-38. Those persons that have cognised the true nature of their Atman through the mandatory and prohibitory injunctions (of the Vedas), the inquiry into (the true meaning of) Maha-Vakyas (the sacred sentences of the Vedas), the Samadhi of Sankhya Yoga or Asamprajnata Samadhi and that have thereby purified themselves, attain the supreme seat through the Suka path.
39-40. Having, through Hatha-Yoga practice with the pain caused by Yama, postures, etc., become liable to the ever recurring obstacles caused by Anima and other (Siddhis) and having not obtained good results, one is born again in a great family and practises Yoga through his previous (Karmic) affinities.
41.Then through the practice of Yoga during many lives, he attains salvation (viz.,) the supreme seat of Vishnu through the Vamadeva path.
42.Thus there are two paths that lead to the attainment of Brahman and that are beneficent. The one confers instantaneous salvation and the other confers gradual salvation. To one that sees (all) as the one (Brahman), where is delusion ? Where is sorrow ?
43.Those that are under the eyes of those whose Buddhi is solely occupied with the truth (of Brahman) that is the end of all experience are released from all heinous sins.
44.All beings inhabiting heaven and earth that fall under the vision of Brahmavits are at once emancipated from the sins committed during many Crores of births.”
Thus ends the fourth Chapter of Varaha Upanishad.
CHAPTER - V
Then Nidagha asked Lord Ribhu to enlighten him as to the rules (to be observed) in the practice of Yoga. Accordingly He (the Lord) said thus:
1.“The body is composed of the five elements. It is filled with five Mandalas (spheres). That which is hard is Prithvi (earth), one of them; that which is liquid is Apas;
2.That which is bright is Tejas (fire); motion is the property of Vayu; that which pervades everywhere is Akasa. All these should be known by an aspirant after Yoga.
3.Through the blowing of Vayu-Mandala in this body, (there are caused) 21,600 breaths every day and night.
4.If there is a diminution in the Prithvi-Mandala, there arise folds in the body; if there is diminution in the essence of Apas, there arises gradually greyness of hair;
5.If there is diminution in the essence of Tejas, there is loss of hunger and lustre; if there is diminution in the essence of Vayu, there is incessant tremor;
6.If there is diminution in the essence of Akasa, one dies. The Jivita (viz., Prana) which possesses these elements having no place to rest (in the body) owing to the diminution of the elements, rises up like birds flying up in the air.
7.It is for this reason that is called Udyana (lit., flying up). With reference to this, there is said to be a Bandha (binding, also meaning a posture called Udyana-Bandha, by which this flight can be arrested). This Udyana-Bandha is to (or does away with) death, as a lion to an elephant.
8.Its experience is in the body, as also the Bandha. Its binding (in the body) is hurtful. If there is agitation of Agni (fire) within the belly, then there will be caused much of pain.
9.Therefore this (Udyana-Bandha) should not be practised by one who is hungry or who has urgency to make water or void excrement. He should take many times in small quantities proper and moderate food.
10.He should practise Mantra-Yoga. Laya-Yoga and Hatha-Yoga, through mild, middling and transcendental methods (or periods) respectively. Laya, Mantra and Hatha-Yogas have each (the same) eight subservients.
11-12(a). They are Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. 12(b)-13(a). (Of these), Yama is of ten kinds. They are non-injury, truth, non-coveting, continence, compassion, straightforwardness, patience, courage, moderate eating and purity (bodily and mental). 13(b)-14. Niyama is of ten kinds. They are Tapas (religious austerities), contentment, belief in the existence of God or Vedas, charity, worship of Ishvara (or God), listening to the expositions of religious doctrines, modesty, a (good) intellect, Japa (muttering of prayers) and Vrata (religious observances).
15-16. They are eleven postures beginning with Chakra. Chakra, Padma, Kurma, Mayura, Kukkuta, Vira, Svastika, Bhadra, Simha, Mukta and Gomukha are the postures enumerated by the knowers of Yoga.
17.Placing the left ankle on the right thigh and the right ankle on the left thigh and keeping the body erect (while sitting) is the posture “Chakra”.
18.Pranayama should be practised again and again in the following order, viz., inspiration, restraint of breath and expiration. The Pranayama is done through the Nadis (nerves). Hence it is called the Nadis themselves.
19.The body of every sentient being is ninety-six digits long. In the middle of the body, two digits above the anus and two digits below the sexual organ, is the centre of the body (called Muladhara or sacral plexus).
20-21. Nine digits above the genitals, there is Kanda of Nadis which revolves oval-shaped, four digits high and four digits broad. It is surrounded by fat, flesh, bone and blood.
22.In it, is situate a Nadi-Chakra (wheel of nerves) having twelve spokes. Kundali by which this body is supported is there.
23.It is covering by its face the Brahmarandhra (viz., Brahma’s hole) of Susumna. (By the side) of Susumna dwell the Nadis Alambusa and Kuhuh.
24.In the next two (spokes) are Varuna and Yasasvini. On the spoke south of Susumna is, in regular course, Pingala.
25.On the next two spokes, are Pusha and Payasvini. On the spoke west of Susumna is the Nadi called Sarasvati.
26.On the next two spokes are Sankhini and Gandhari. To the north of Susumna dwells Ida;
27-28. In the next is Hastijihva; in the next is Visvodara. In these spokes of the wheel, the twelve Nadis carry the twelve Vayus from left to right (to the different parts of the body). The Nadis are like (i.e. woven like the warp and woof of) cloth. They are said to have different colours.
29-30. The central portion of the cloth (here the collection of the Nadis) is called the Nabhi Chakra (navel plexus). Jvalanti, Nadarupini, Pararandhra and Susumna are called the (basic) supports of Nada (spiritual sound). These four Nadis are of ruby colour. The central portion of Brahmarandhra is again and again covered by Kundali.
31-33(a). Thus ten Vayus move in these Nadis. A wise man who has understood the course of Nadis and Vayus should, after keeping his neck and body erect with his mouth closed, contemplate immovably upon Turyaka (Atman) at the tip of his nose, in the centre of his heart and in the middle of Bindu and should see with a tranquil mind through the (mental) eyes, the nectar flowing from there.
33(b)-34. Having closed the anus and drawn up the Vayu and caused it to rise through (the repetition of) Pranava (Om), he should complete with Sri Bija. He should contemplate upon his Atman as Sri (or Parasakti) and as being bathed by nectar.
35.This is Kalavanchana (lit., time illusion). It is said to be the most important of all. Whatever is thought of by the mind is accomplished by the mind itself.
36.(Then) Agni (fire) will flame in Jala (water) and in the flame (of Agni) will arise the branches and blossoms. Then the words uttered and the actions done regarding the universe, are not in vain.
37.By checking the Bindu in the path, by making the fire flame up in the water and by causing the water to dry up, the body is made firm.
38.Having contracted simultaneously the anus and Yoni (the womb) united together, he should draw up Apana and unite with it Samana.
39.He should contemplate upon his Atman as Shiva and then as being bathed by nectar. In the central part of each spoke, the Yogin should commence to concentrate Bala (will or strength).
40.He should try to go up by the union of Prana and Apana. This most important Yoga brightens up in the body the path of Siddhis.
41.As dam across the water serves as an obstacle to the floods, so it should ever be known by the Yogins that the Chhaya of the body is to (Jiva).
42.This Bandha is said of all Nadis. Through the grace of this Bandha, the Devata (goddess) becomes visible.
43.This Bandha of four feet serves as a check to the three paths. This brightens up the path through which the Siddhas obtained (their Siddhis).
44.If with Prana is made to rise up soon Udana, this Bandha checking all Nadis goes up.
45.This is called Samputa-Yoga or Mula-Bandha. Through the Practising of this Yoga, the three Bandhas are mastered.
46.By practising day and night intermittingly or at any convenient time, the Vayu will come under his control.
47.With the control of Vayu, Agni (the gastric fire) in the body will increase daily. With the increase of Agni, food, etc., will be easily digested.
48.Should food be properly digested, there is increase of Rasa (essence of food). With the daily increase of Rasa, there is the increase of Dhatus (spiritual substances).
49.With the increase of Dhatus, there is the increase of wisdom in the body. Thus all the sins collected together during many Crores of births are burnt up.
50.In the centre of the anus and the genitals, there is the triangular Muladhara. It illumines the seat of Shiva of the form of Bindu.
51.There is located the Parasakti named Kundalini. From that seat, Vayu arises. From that seat, Agni becomes increased.
52.From that seat, Bindu originates and Nada becomes increased. From that seat, Hamsa is born. From that seat, Manas is born.
53.The six Chakras beginning with Muladhara are said to be the seat of Sakti (Goddess). From the neck to the top of the head is said to be the seat of Sambhu (Shiva).
54.To the Nadis, the body is the support (or vehicle); to Prana, the Nadis are the support; to Jiva, Prana is the dwelling place; to Hamsa, Jiva is the support;
55.To Sakti, Hamsa is the seat and the locomotive and fixed universe. Being without distraction and of a calm mind, one should practise Pranayama.
56.Even a person who is well-skilled in the practice of the three Bandhas should try always to cognise with a true heart that Principle which should be known and is the cause of all objects and their attributes.
57.Both expiration and inspiration should (be stopped and made to) rest in restraint of breath (alone). He should depend solely on Brahman which is the highest aim of all visibles.
58.(The giving out of) all external objects is said to be Rechaka (expiration). The (taking in of the) spiritual knowledge of the Shastras is said to be Puraka (inspiration) and (the keeping to oneself of) such knowledge is said to be Kumbhaka (or restraint of breath).
59.He is an emancipated person who practises thus such a Chitta. There is no doubt about it. Through Kumbhaka, it (the mind) should be always taken up and through Kumbhaka alone it should be filled up within.
60.It is only through Kumbhaka that Kumbhaka should be firmly mastered. Within it is Parama-Shiva. That (Vayu) which is non-motionless should be shaken again through Kantha-Mudra (throat-posture). 61-62. Having checked the course of Vayu, having become perfect in the practice of expiration and restraint of breath and having planted evenly on the ground the two hands and the two feet, one should pierce the four seats through Vayu through the three Yogas. He should shake Mahameru with the (aid of) Prakotis (forces) at the mouth of Vayu.
63.The two Putas (cavities) being drawn, Vayu throbs quickly. The union of moon, sun and Agni should be known on account of nectar.
64.Through the motion of Meru, the Devatas who stay in the centre of Meru move. At first in his Brahma-Granthi, there is produced soon a hole (or passage).
65.Then having pierced Brahma-Granthi, he pierces Vishnu-Granthi; then he pierces Rudra-Granthi. 66-67(a). Then to the Yogin comes Vedha (piercing) through his liberation from the impurities of delusion, through the religious ceremonies (performed) in various births, through the grace of Gurus and Devatas and through the practice of Yoga.
67(b)-68. In the Mandala (sphere or region) of Susumna (situated between Ida and Pingala), Vayu should be made to rise up through the feature known as Mudra-Bandha. The short pronunciation (of Pranava) frees (one) from sins; its long pronunciation confers (on one) Moksha.
69-70. So also its pronunciation in Apyayana or Pluta Svara (tone). He is a knower of Veda, who through the above-mentioned three ways of pronunciation knows the end of Pranava which is beyond the power of speech, like the never ceasing flow of oil or the long-drawn bell-sound.The short Svara goes to Bindu. The long Svara goes to Brahmarandhra; the Pluta to Dvadasanta (twelfth centre). The Mantras should be uttered on account of getting Mantra Siddhis.
71-72(a). This Pranava (OM) will remove all obstacles. It will remove all sins. Of this, are four Bhumikas (states) predicated, viz., Arambha, Ghata, Parichaya and Nishpatti.
72(b)-73(a). Arambha is that state in which one having abandoned external Karmas performed by the three organs (mind, speech and body), is always engaged in mental Karma only.
73(b)-74(a). It is said by the wise that the Ghata state is that in which Vayu having forced an opening on the western side and being full, is firmly fixed there.
74(b). Parichaya state is that in which Vayu is firmly fixed to Akasa, neither associated with Jiva nor not, while the body is immovable.
75.It is said that Nishpatti state is that in which there take place creation and dissolution through Atman or that state in which a Yogin having become a Jivanmukta performs Yoga without effort. Whoever recites this Upanishad becomes immaculate like Agni. Like Vayu, he becomes pure. He becomes freed from the sin of drinking alcohol. He becomes freed from the sins of the theft of gold. He becomes a Jivanmukta. This is what is said by the Rig-Veda. Like the eye pervading the Akasa (seeing without effort everything above), a wise man sees (always) the supreme seat of Vishnu. The Brahmanas who have always their spiritual eyes wide open praise and illuminate in diverse ways the spiritual seat of Vishnu. OM, thus is the Upanishad.”
Thus ends the fifth Chapter of Varaha Upanishad.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Varaha Upanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Satyayaniya Upanishad
Translated by Prof. A. A. Ramanathan
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1.The mind alone is the cause of bondage and liberation of the people; (the mind) attached to the objects of the senses leads them to bondage; freed from the objects it leads them to liberation. (Thus) it has been declared.
2.If that attachment of the mind of a person to the objects of the senses is directed towards Brahman, who shall not be liberated from bondage ?
3.The mind (chitta) alone is worldly life; hence it should be purified with effort. As the mind is, so he becomes. This is the eternal secret.
4.One who knows not the Veda realizes not that omnipresent One (Brahman); one who knows not Brahman reaches not that supreme abode. He who realizes that the omnipresent god (Vishnu), the omniscient one, the prop of all (Vasudeva) (is himself), that sage, seer of reality, attains the state of wisdom while living (vipratvam).
5.Then (observing in the four disciplines) those Brahmanas well-versed in the Veda and untouched by desires, who ponder over the eternal supreme Brahman (realize Brahman). (A person desiring liberation) who is quiescent, self-subdued, has renounced all sensory pleasures, is forbearing, well versed in the scripture, is known as equanimous, has discarded the primary desires (for wealth, wife and progeny) and is free from the debts (to the manes, etc.,), coming to realize the Atman, shall live, observing silence, in some stage of life or other as the Kutichaka (or Paramahamsa).
6.Then entering into the final stage of life (i.e. Sannyasa) he may possess five (small) things (matras) as is proper.
7.He should possess as long as he lives (the five things, namely) a three-fold staff (of bamboo), sacred thread, garment consisting of a loin-cloth, sling and holy ring of sacred grass.
8.These fire are the things pertaining to an ascetic (of the Kutichaka order); (to all ascetics the inward possessions are five, namely, the ‘a’, ‘u’, ‘m’, the bindu and the nada constituting Om.) This matra (namely the five constituents) is heard in the Pranava (Brahman). Till the final exit (of the vital breath) the ascetic shall not abandon (the twofold five matras); even at death (the five external matras) shall be buried with him.
9.The sign of Vishnu (i.e. means leading to liberation) is said to be twofold, the external and the internal. If one of them is discarded (the ascetic) is without doubt fallen.
10.The threefold staff is an emblem (leading to) Vishnu; it is a means of attaining liberation by learned Brahmanas as ascetics. It is the extinction of all worldly characteristics – thus runs the Vedic teaching. 11-12. Then indeed, Oh Brahmana, there are four kinds of ascetics, namely Kutichaka, Bahudaka, Hamsa and Paramahamsa. All these bear the signs of Vishnu (i.e. they strive for liberation), wear tuft and sacred thread, are pure in mind, consider their own Self as Brahman, are intent on worship (of God) in the form of pure consciousness, practise muttering of prayers and the principal and secondary disciplines (Yama and Niyama), are of good conduct and (thus) become exalted. This is declared in a Vedic verse: The Kutichaka, Bahudaka, Hamsa and Paramahamsa ascetics are different in their way of life; all these possess the signs of Vishnu, the external and internal, which are always visible and invisible (respectively). Practising the five devotional acts (yajnas), having penetration into the Vedanta, observing the rites (appropriate to the station in life), resorting to the spiritual lore, abandoning the tree (of worldly life) but having recourse to its root-cause (namely Brahman), renouncing its flowers (of rituals) but enjoying its (true) essence, sporting in Vishnu (i.e. leading the life spiritual), delighting in Vishnu, freed (from external worship), identifying themselves with Vishnu, they realize the omnipresent Vishnu.
13.Worship during the three junctures of the day (Sandhyas) bathing according to capacity, presenting libations of water to the manes, cleansing (i.e. purifying oneself with water), waiting upon (the deities with prayers) – these five devotional acts (the Kutichaka) shall perform till death.
14.With ten Pranavas and seven mystic words (vyahritis) the four-footed Gayatri along with its ‘head’ is the prayer to be recited during the three Sandhyas.
15.The practice of yoga consists of the constant single-minded devoted service of Vishnu, the Guru; non-injuring by word, thought and deed is the devotional act of penance (tapoyajna).
16.It is declared that the devotional act of studying the scripture (Svadhyaya-yajna) consists of reciting the various Upanishads. The attentive reciting of Om offers the (concept of the individual) Self in the fire of the (non-dual) Brahman.
17.The devotional act of possessing spiritual wisdom (Jnana-yajna) is to be known as the very best of all yajnas. (The Paramahamsas) have Jnana (true knowledge) for the (emblematic) staff, Jnana for the tuft and Jnana for the sacred thread.
18.He whose tuft consists of Jnana and the sacred thread too of that (Jnana) has all the characteristics of a Brahmana – thus is the injunction of the Veda.
19.Then indeed, Oh Brahmana, these mendicant monks are as they appear (i.e. unclad, as when they were born). They should desire to remain as a tree, having gone beyond passion, anger, greed, delusion, false pride, pride, envy, ‘mine-ness’ and egotism; and having discarded honour and dishonour, blame and praise; and when cut down (like a tree) they shall not complain. Thus these wise men become immortal here (in this world) itself. This has been said in the Vedic verse: Having taken leave of his kinsmen and son with good will and not seeing them again, enduring the pairs (of opposites, heat and cold, etc.,) and quiescent he shall turn eastward or northward and proceed on foot.
20-22. (Equipped with) a (water) vessel and staff, seeing four cubits of ground alone before him, wearing sacred thread and tuft or remaining shaven-headed, having a family (of his body alone), and receiving from people alms unbegged or begged for bare sustenance’ having a vessel made of clay, wood, gourd or strung leaves as originally provided, and clothed with a garment of hemp, silk, grass, a patched one, (deer-)skin or a leafy one strung or unstrung; shaving his head alone at the junction of the seasons without removing hair below and in the arm pits and never the tuft; he shall reside in a fixed place for four months (of the rainy season) during which the inward soul, the omnipresent Purusha (Vishnu) is asleep (in the milky ocean).
23.When (God, Vishnu) has risen (from sleep), the ascetic may reside in one place to carry out his work (such as study, meditation or Samadhi) for the other eight months or he may go about (as a mendicant monk). (During the journey) he may stay (for short periods) in a temple, a hut where the ritual fire is kept, the shade of a tree, or a cave, without attachment and unnoticed by the people. He shall be quiescent like fire when fuel is exhausted and he shall not give or cause trouble to any one anywhere. (On seeing one equal to or inferior to him he shall not shrink nor consider any one existing as different from himself).
24.If a person has realized that he is the Atman non-different from the universal Self, what can he wish for, and to fulfil which desire need he torture his body (by various kinds of austerities) ?
25.A wise-man knowing this (truth) and thus a knower of Brahman shall have this consciousness. He shall not worry himself with many words; for it is only torturing language.
26.Having discerned the knowledge of Brahman he should wish to remain with dispassion (lit. with the innocence of the child); a sage has realized the Atman when he has the lore of Brahman and dispassion.
27.When all desires which cling to the heart have been shed, then the man becomes immortal and he enjoys the (bliss of) Brahman here (itself).
28.Then indeed, Oh Brahman, he who abandons this asceticism which is the highest spiritual life, becomes a child-murderer, a murderer of a Brahmana, a killer of an embryo, a great sinner. He, who abandons this steady life pertaining to Vishnu (i.e. the external and internal discipline in spiritual life), becomes a thief, a seducer of his preceptor’s wife, treacherous to a friend, ungrateful; he is denied all (auspicious) worlds. This has been declared in the Vedic verse – A thief, a drinker of spirituous liquor, a seducer of his preceptor’s wife and one treacherous to his friend get purified by expiation; (but) one who abandons the sign of Vishnu, external or internal, which he was possessing, will never be purified in spite of all his self-exertions.
29.Abandoning the sign of Vishnu-worship, external or internal, he who resorts to his stage of life or no (prescribed) stage at all, or returns (to his former way of living prior to renunciation) – to that great fool (and to people of his kind) there is no liberation seen even in tens of millions of eons.
30.Abandoning all other stages of life a wise man should live for long in the stage of life leading to liberation. There is no liberation possible to one who has fallen from the stage leading to final beatitude.
31.Having embraced asceticism, if one does not remain observing its laws, he is to be known as ‘fallen from grace’ (arudhachyuta) – such is the Vedic injunction.
32.Then indeed, Oh Brahmana, when (a wise man) has embraced this age old spiritual life pertaining to Vishnu and remains without transgressing it, he becomes self-controlled, worthy of being remembered as auspicious, a (true) knower of the world, a knower of the Vedanta, a knower of Brahman, omniscient, self-luminous; he becomes the supreme God Brahman, he redeems from (the misery of) worldly life his ancestors, relations by marriage, (other) kinsmen, associates and friends.
33.When a wise man renounces the world, those belonging to his family become blessed in this world, a hundred generations before him and three hundred generations after him.
34.The scripture says that a very pious mendicant monk redeems thirty generations of his family after him, thirty generations before him and thirty generations after those that follow (the first thirty).
35.The Vedic teaching is that the ancestors of (a wise man) are redeemed if he were to say that he has renounced even while his final breath remains in his throat (i.e. just before death).
36.Hence, Oh Brahmana, wise men have said that this age old lore of the Self, the discipline pertaining to Vishnu, shall not be expounded till one has oneself realized (the goal) and (that) not to one who has not studied the Veda, has not the conviction of the Self, has not freed himself from attachment, has not become pure, has not approached (to receive this of his own accord), and who has not made earnest efforts (to know them). This has been said in a Vedic verse (as well):
Once (Brahma-)Vidya approached (the god) Brahma and said: ‘Guard me, I am your treasure. Do not reveal me to one who is envious, crooked or crafty. Thus shall I be of potent strength’.
37.This discipline of the Atman pertaining to Vishnu (i.e. this lore to realize Brahman) shall be revealed to a person after a careful test as to whether he is of pure conduct, attentive, intelligent, observes celibacy and has approached (the Guru of his own accord for receiving instruction).
38.With those ascetics who have been taught (the scripture) by a Guru and who do not honour him in word, thought and deed, the Guru does not dine; similarly (good ascetics) do not eat the food (from houses where the ill-mannered receive alms). Such is the (injunction of the) scripture.
39.The Guru is the supreme righteousness (Dharma); the Guru alone is the sole means (of liberation). He who honours not his Guru who gives (initiation into) the single syllable (Om which is Brahman) has all his scriptural learning, penance and spiritual wisdom oozed out as water from an unbaked clay vessel.
40.He who has supreme faith in God and the same faith in his Guru is a knower of Brahman, who reaches supreme beatitude. Such is the teaching of the Veda. Thus (ends) the Upanishad.
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Satyayaniyopanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
Hayagriva Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander
Published by celextel.org
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
First Chapter
Hari Om. Narada approached Lord Brahma and requested him, “Oh, God please teach me that knowledge of Brahman by which all sins can be destroyed quickly and the wisdom of Brahman is realized and one is blessed with all the wealth.” Lord Brahma told as follows:
The one who masters the mantras for which Lord Hayagreeva is the master would know Sruthi (heard knowledge), Smrithi (memorized knowledge), Ithihasas (history) and Puranas (epics) and would be blessed with all types of wealth. Those Mantras are as follows: 1.1
Hey, Lord Hayagreeva, who is the form of the holy mind, who saves everybody and who is the King of Knowledge, Salutations to you, Swaha, Swaha. 1.2
Hey , Lord Hayagreeva, who has the form of Rig, Yajur and Sama Vedas, who brought these Vedas to earth, who has the shape of the singing of Pranava, and who has a horse head, Salutations to you,
Swaha, Swaha. 1.3
Hey Lord Hayagreeva, who is being sung by the song of Pranava, who is the God for all those Gods of words, who is the personification of all Vedas, and who is beyond thought, teach us everything .
Salutations to you, Swaha, Swaha. 1.4
For the 29 lettered mantra of Hayagreeva, Brahma, Athri ,Surya and Bhargava are the sages, Gayathri, Trushtup and Anushtup are the meters, God is Hayagreeva himself, root is the sound “Lhowm (hsowm), Strength (Shakthi) is Hoham, Keelaga (the nail) is Lhoom (Shoom), Viniyoga is Bhoga, Moksha and the symbolic rite with hands is the letters Aa, Uu and Ma.
The prayer is:
I meditate on that Hayagreeva,
Who has the glitter of the full moon,
Who holds the conch, wheel, the great stamp and the book in his hands.
The 29 lettered Hayagreeva mantra is:
Om Sreem, lhowm (Hsowm), Om Namo Bhagawathe, Hayagreevaya, Vishnave, Mahyam, Medham, Pragnam, Prayascha Swaha! 1.5
The 28 lettered Hayagreeva mantra is:
Om, Sreem, Im, Im, Im , Kleem, Kleem, Sow, Sow, Hreem, Om Namo Bhagawathe, Mahyam, Medham Pragnam, Prayascha Swaha! 1.6
Second Chapter
I will now tell you that ‘Hayagreeva knowledge’ of Brahman which is of one letter. That is the root letter Lhoum (hsoum). Among all the roots, this Hayagreeva single letter root is the king of mantras. 2.1
Chanting of the mantra “Lhoum (hsoum) Amrutham Kuru Swaha!”, gives one the mastery over words, wealth and the eight occult powers. 2.2
The mantra “Lhoum (hsoum) Sakala Samrajya Sidhim Kuru Kuru Swaha” tells us the secret of the great Vedic sayings like “Pragnanam Anandam Brahma (Brahmam is the realized happiness)”, “Tat Tvam Asi (You are it)”, “Ayam Atma Brahma (My soul is Brahma)” and “Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahmam)”. The same letter “Lhoum” and “hsoum” are the same vowels though different and give worldly pleasures and salvation respectively. 2.3
After the chanting of Hayagreeva Mantra, it is normal to chant the Vedic mantras starting with
1. Yad Vak Vadanthi…. 2. Gowrimimaya… 3 Oshtapidhana and 4. Sa Sarpareeramathim…… 2.4-2.7
One who reads this ‘Hayagreeva knowledge’ of Brahmam on the Ekadasi day, would become a great man because of the blessings of Hayagreeva. He would get salvation. Upanishad says, "the knowledge of Brahmam which is taught with the mantra ending with 'Om Namo Brahmane’ would never leave his heart".
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being!
Om! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Hayagrivopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
Dattatreya Upanishad
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Once Brahma the creator asked Lord Narayana about the efficacy of the Taraka-Mantra to which the latter replied:
"Always think of Me and My glory, and be in commune with Me in the attitude 'I am Datta, the great Lord.' Such ones who meditate thus do not swirl in the recurring course of worldly existence."
Accordingly, after meditating on Lord Vishnu (Dattatreya), Brahma said: "Yes. The Brahman that is the infinite and peerless alone remains as the residuum after negation of everything else."
The one-, six-, eight-, twelve-, and sixteen-syllable mantras of Dattaatreya:
The Taraka monosyllable is 'Daam'. He is the Hamsa established in all beings. 'Daam' in the lengthened form is the Paramatman. The six syllable one is 'OM, Shreem, Hreem, Kleem, Glaum, Draam.
The eight-syllable one is 'Dram' or 'Draam' and then adding to it the syllables 'Da, tta, tre, ya, ya, Na, mah." The portion 'Dattatreya' is of the character of knowledge, existence, and bliss, and that of Namah is of full- blown bliss.
The twelve-syllable formula is 'Om, Aam, Hreem, Krom, Ehi Dattatreya svaha.' The sixteen-syllable formula is Om, Aim, Krom, Kleem, Klaum, Hram, Hreem, Hraum, Sauh (nine) and the five syllables constituting Dattatreyaya, and the twin syllable Svaha. The whole formula is 'Om, Aim, Krom, Kleem, Klaum, Hram, Hreem Hraum, Sauh Dattatreyaya Svaha.'
The Anushtubh-mantra of Dattaatreya
All the portions of the mantra are said to be in the vocative forms right through as 'Dattatreya Hare Krishna Unmatananda-dayaka, Digambara, Mune, Bala, Pishacha, Jnana Sagara.'
The Moola-Mantra of Dattaatreya. This is then given as:
'Om Namo Bhagavate Dattatreyaya, Smarana-Matra-Samtushtaya!
OM salutations unto Lord Dattatreya who is propitiated by remembrance (devotion), Maha-Bhaya-Nirvanaya, Maha-Jnana-Pradaya, Chidanandatmane - That is the dispeller of great fears, who bestows the highest character of sentience and bliss.
Balonmatta-Pishacha-Veshaya - Who is in the guise of a child, a mad-man, a devil. Thus:
Maha Yogine Avadhutaya, Anasuyananda-Vardhanayatri-Putraya - A great yogin, is the enhancer of the bliss of Anasuya (His mother), is the son of the sage Atri.
Sarva-Kama-Phala-Pradaya, Bhava-Bandha-Mochanaya - Who bestows the fruits of all the desires of the devotee's heart, the redeemer of the bonds of worldly existence.
Sakala-Vibhuti-Daya Sadhyakarshanaya Sarva-Manah-Kshobhanaya, Chiram-Jivane Vashi-Kuru, Vashi-Kuru, Akarshaya-Akarshaya, Vidveshaya, Vidveshaya, Uchataya-Uchataya, Stambhaya-Stambhaya, Maraya-Maraya Namah, Sampannaya, Namah Sampannaya, Svaha Poshaya, Poshaya, Para-Mantra Para-Yantra Para-Tantramsh Chindhi, Chindhi!
Grahan Nivaraya; Nivaraya; Vyadhiin Nivaraya, Nivaraya; Dukham Haraya, Haraya; Daridriyam Vidravaya, Deham Poshaya, Poshaya; Citttam Toshhaya, Toshhaya!
Do thou counteract the malignant influences of the planets, cure the ailments, drive off anguish, melt away all penury, fill the mind with joy.
Sarva Mantra Sarva Yantra Sarva Tantra Sarva Pallava Svaruupaya Iti Om Namah Shivaya Om! Unto Thee of the real form of incantations, all mystic symbols and powers, etc. Om salutations!
Om salutations unto Lord Dattatreya who is propitiated by remembrance (devotion), that is the dispeller of great fears, who bestows the highest character of sentience and bliss and who is in the guise of a child, a mad- man, a devil, a great yogin, is the enhancer of the bliss of Anasuya (His mother), is the son of the sage Atri, who bestows the fruits of all the desires of the devotee's heart, the redeemer of the bonds of worldly existence. Do thou nourish my body, counteract the malignant influences of the planets, cure the ailments, drive off anguish, melt away all penury, fill the mind with joy...unto Thee of the real form of incantations, all mystic symbols and powers, etc. Om Salutations!
He who knows all about this Vidya and practices this becomes holy, and he attains the fruits of having muttered the Gayatri, the Maha Rudra, and the Pranava innumerable times, and he is absolved of all his sins.
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Dattatreyopanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
Garuda Upanishad
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Om! That (world) is a complete whole. This (world) too is a complete whole. From the complete whole only, the (other) complete whole rose. Even after removing the complete whole from the (other) complete whole, still the complete whole remains unaltered and undisturbed.
Om Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!
I will preach the Brahman – science. Brahman taught it to Narada, Narada to Brhatsena, Brhatsena to Indra, Indra to Bharadvaja, Bharadvaja to his puils who desired to preserve their life.
(He taught them the science) which achieves this, which achieves good, removes poison, destroys poison, overcomes poison and annihilates poison:
“Struck is the poison, annihilated is the poison, destroyed is the poison; it is struck by Intra’s thunder-bolt, Svaha! May it originate from snakes, from vipers, from scorpions, from cankers, from salamanders, from amphibious animals or from rats”.
“May you be Anantaka’s messenger, or be Anantaka himself! May you be Vasuki’s messenger, or be Vasuki himself! May you be Taksaka’s messenger, or be Taksaka himself! May you be Karkotaka’s messenger, or be Karkotaka himself! May you be Samkhapulika’s messenger, or be Samkhapulika himself! May you be Padmaka’s messenger, or be Padmaka himself! May you be Maha Padmaka’s messenger, or be Maha Padmaka himself! May you be Elapatraka’s messenger, or be Elapatraka himself! May you be Mahailapatraka’s messenger, or be Mahailapatraka himself! May you be Kalika’s messenger, or be Kalika himself! May you be Kulika’s messenger, or be Kulika himself! May you be Kambalasvatara’s messenger, or be Kambalasvatara himself!”
For twelve years snakes do not bite him who hears this great science on the new moon night. The snakes do not bite him as long as he lives who, having recited this great science on the new moon night, wears it (as an amulet).
He who teaches it to eight Brahmanas he releases (from the effects of snake bite) by merely touching with grass, with a piece of wood, with ashes. One who teaches it to a hundred Brahmanas, he releases by a mere glance. One who teaches it to a thousand Brahmanas, he releases by the mere thought – he releases it by the mere thought.
Thus spake the exalted Brahman – the exalted Brahman. This is the essence of the Garuda Upanishad. Om! That (world) is a complete whole. This (world) too is a complete whole. From the complete whole only, the (other) complete whole rose. Even after removing the complete whole from the (other) complete whole, still the complete whole remains unaltered and undisturbed.
Om Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!
Om ! O Devas, may we hear with our ears what is auspicious;
May we see with our eyes what is auspicious, O ye worthy of worship !
May we enjoy the term of life allotted by the Devas,
Praising them with our body and limbs steady !
May the glorious Indra bless us !
May the all-knowing Sun bless us !
May Garuda, the thunderbolt for evil, bless us !
May Brihaspati grant us well-being !
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Garuda Upanishad, as contained in the Atharva-Veda.
Kali Santarana Upanishad
Translated by K. Narayanasvami Aiyar
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Hari Om ! At the end of Dvapara-Yuga, Narada went to Brahma and addressed him thus: "O Lord, how shall I, roaming over the earth, be able to across Kali ?" To which Brahma thus replied: "Well asked.
Hearken to that which all Shrutis (the Vedas) keep secret and hidden, through which one may cross the Samsara (mundane existence) of Kali. He shakes off (the evil effects of) Kali through the mere uttering of the name of the Lord Narayana, who is the primeval Purusha". Again Narada asked Brahma: "What is the name ?" To which Hiranyagarbha (Brahma) replied thus:
1.Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
2.These sixteen names (words) are destructive of the evil effects of Kali. No better means than this is to be seen in all the Vedas.
These (sixteen names) destroy the Avarana (or the centripetal force which produces the sense of individuality) of Jiva surrounded by the sixteen Kalas (rays). Then like the sphere of the sun which shines fully after the clouds (screening it) disperse, Parabrahman (alone) shines."
Narada asked: ‘O Lord, what are the rules to be observed with reference to it ?" To which Brahma replied that there were no rules for it. Whoever in a pure or an impure state, utters these always, attains the same world of, or proximity with, or the same form of, or absorption into Brahma.
Whoever utters three and a half Crores (or thirty-five millions) times this Mantra composed of sixteen names (or words) crosses the sin of the murder of a Brahmana. He becomes purified from the sin of the theft of gold. He becomes purified from the sin of cohabitation with a woman of low caste. He is purified from the sins of wrong done to Pitris, Devas and men. Having given up all Dharmas, he becomes freed at once from all sins. He is at once released from all bondage. That he is at once released from all bondage is the Upanishad.
Hari Om Tat Sat !
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Kalisantarana Upanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Jabali Upanishad
Translated by P. R. Ramachander Published by celextel.org
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
The Sage Pippalada approached Sage Jabali and asked him, “Oh God like sage, please teach me the secret of the absolute philosophy. What is Thathwa (principle)? Who is Jeeva (being)? What is Pasu? Who is Ishwara? And what is the method for salvation?” Thus asked sage Jabali explained to him everything as follows:
Jeeva (being) is nothing but God (the Lord of all beings - Pasupathi) himself who is acting the role of egoism. That Jeeva (being) is the Pasu. Pasupathi is he who knows everything, who does the five jobs like creation, and who is the Lord of all beings. Pasu (in common parlance) are those animals which eat grass, which do not have viveka (knowledge to differentiate), which are driven by others, which are made to work in jobs like agriculture and which undergo lot of sufferings. Similar to the owner of such animals is the God Pasupathi who rules over all beings.
To the question, “What trick is there to acquire such knowledge?“. Jabali replied, “By wearing of the holy ash". He further told, “After taking the holy ash in hand by reciting the five Brahma mantras starting with ‘Sathyojatham’, and chanting “Agnirithi Basma (Hoy ash is fire)”, mix it with water by chanting, “Manasthoke” and then wear the holy ash in head, forehead and shoulders in sets of three lines chanting the three mantras “trayayusham”. Further wear these by chanting the three mantras starting with “Trayayusham” and the mantra “Tryambakam” is called Sambhava penance. Those with knowledge of Veda say that this has been told in all Vedas. For avoiding rebirth, the people with eternal wisdom, should adopt this.
Among the three lines, the first one is Garhapathya (the domestic fire), the letter Aa, the quality of Rajas, earth, Jeevathma (soul of beings), the power of creation, Rigveda, time of dawn and its God is Lord Brahma. The second line is Dakshinagni (Fire of the south), the letter Uu, the quality of Sathva, atmosphere, the soul inside the body, the power of desire, Yajurveda, the time of noon, and its God is Lord Vishnu. The third line is the Ahavaneeya agni (the fire of the Sun), the letter Ma, the quality of Thamas, the place of Gods, the Paramatma, the power of knowledge, Samaveda, the time of dusk and its God is Shiva. That individual, who wears holy ash, whether he is a Brahmachari or Sanyasi, gets rid of great as well as minor sins. He becomes fit to worship all gods; he becomes one who has taken bath in all holy waters and the one who has chanted all the Rudra mantras. He does not have rebirth. This Upanishad tells that, it is sworn that he will not have rebirth.
Om ! Let my limbs and speech, Prana, eyes, ears, vitality
And all the senses grow in strength.
All existence is the Brahman of the Upanishads.
May I never deny Brahman, nor Brahman deny me.
Let there be no denial at all:
Let there be no denial at least from me.
May the virtues that are proclaimed in the Upanishads be in me,
Who am devoted to the Atman; may they reside in me.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Jabali Upanishad, included in the Sama-Veda.
Saubhagya Lakshmi Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! Speech is rooted in my thought (mind) and my thought is rooted in my speech.
Be manifest, patent, to me; be ye two, for me, the lynch-pins of the Veda.
Let not Vedic lore desert me.
With this mastered lore, I join day with night.
I shall speak what is right; I shall speak what is true.
Let that protect me; let that protect the speaker.
Let that protect me.
Let that protect the speaker, protect the speaker !
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
I-1: Then the Gods said to the Lord: Lord ! Expound for us the science of the Goddess of Prosperity. I-2: The Lord, the primeval Narayana, replied: Be it so. With intent minds, all of you Gods, listen ! With the aid of the fifteen verses beginning with the verse ‘hiranyavarnam’ (of the hue of gold), etc., meditate on the four-armed Sri (the Goddess of Prosperity), whose form is that of the Fourth, who is beyond the Fourth, who is supreme over all, who is present in all consecrated seats, and who is encircled by the divinities of the seats, major and minor.
I-3: Now, the seers of the hymn on Sri consisting of fifteen verses are Ananda, Kardama, Chiklita and Indirasuta. Of the first verse, the seer is Sri. Of the (next) fourteen verses, the seers are Ananda etc. Of the first three verses, ‘hiranyavarnam’, etc., the metre is Anustubh. Of the verse ‘kamso’smi’, the metre is brihati, of the two others Tristubh (is the metre); of the next eight the metre is Anustubh. Of the remainder, the metre is Prastarapankti. The divinity is the Fire which is Sri. The seed is ‘hiranyavarnam’. The power is ‘kamso’smi’. The consecration of the limbs is (effected) with the words hiranmaya chandra rajatasraja hiranyasraja hiranya hiranyavarna, beginning with Om, ending with Namah (i.e. salutation), and having the nouns declined in the dative case. Next (follows) the consecration of the limbs with the triads of faces. With the verses of the Srisukta themselves consecrate, in order, the head, the eyes, the ears, the nose, the face, the neck, the two arms, the heart, the navel, the privies, the thighs, the knees and the shanks.
I-4: Seated in the spotless lotus Coloured as its pollen heaps Bearing in her lotus palms
Lotus pair and symbolled promise
Of fear dispelled and boons bestowed;
With jewelled crown and ornaments diverse Wondrously adorned – Let Sri,
Mother of the world entire, Promote our fortunes ever.
I-5: Her seat: With the goal kept in view, set down in the pericarp the seed-syllable’ of Sri; and in the eight-petalled, twelve-petalled, and sixteen-petalled lotuses, the half verses of the Srisukta (hymn on Sri); outside it (the sixteen-petalled lotus), (set down) the verse ‘yah sucih’, etc., together with the alphabet (from a to la); (and outside, and all around) set down the ‘seed-syllable’ of Sri. Also, draw the ten limbs of the diagram. Then invoke the Goddess Sri.
I-6: With the limbs (e.g. ‘SRAN salutation to the heart’), the first encasing (is accomplished); with Padma, etc., the second encasing; with the mantras of the Lords of the world, the third; with those of their weapons, the fourth encasing. With the hymn of Sri, invocations, etc., (must be made). Sixteen thousand utterances (of the hymn must be made).
I-7: Of the monosyllabic incantation of Rama, the Goddess of Prosperity, the seer, metre and deity are Bhrigu, Nicird-Gayatri and Sri. The power of the seed is SAM. The six limbs are SRIM, etc.
I-8: Abiding in the lotus, lotus-eyed, Her home Sri Padmanabha’s breast; Her hands of lotus pair uphold,
And surety of gifts and fear dissolved. Shining like to burnished gold
Bathed in waters held in jars
By trunks of elephant pair agleam Like white and spotless clouds;
Her crown with clustered gems bedecked In silk exceeding pure enrobed
With sweet unguents anointed May Sri our welfare still promote.
I-9: Her seat: The seat of Rama (the Goddess of Prosperity] consists of eight petals, three circles, divisions comprising twelve houses, and four sides. In the pericarp (are inscribed) the seed of Sri, keeping the goal in view. Worship the nine powers with the words ‘prosperity’, ‘elevation’, ‘glory’, ‘creation’, ‘honour’, ‘humility’, ‘individuality’, ‘upliftment’, and ‘welfare’ in the dative case, each having Om in the beginning and Namah (salutation) in the end.
I-10: The first encasing is done with the limbs; the second with Vasudeva, etc.; the third with Balaki, etc.; the fourth with Indra, etc. The utterance (of the incantation has to be repeated) twelve lakhs of times.
I-1: Sri Lakshmi, the giver of boons, the spouse of Vishnu, the donor of wealth, of golden form, is decked with a garland of gold, and a chaplet of silver. She has the sheen of gold, is in a fortress of gold, and dwells in the lotus. She holds a lotus in her hand and loves the lotus. The pearl adorns her. She is the moon-goddess and the sun-goddess, is fond of bilva leaves and is mighty. She is enjoyment, release, prosperity, increase, true increase, the ploughing (and the) development. She is the giver of wealth and the mistress of wealth. She is faith, rich in enjoyments, the giver of enjoyments, the upholder, the ordainer – these and similar terms in the dative case, with Om in the beginning and Namah in the end, are the mantras. The seat has eight limbs with the monosyllable inscribed on it. A lakh (in number) are the utterances (of the incantations). The proposition is (made with) a tenth (of the lakh). The oblation is (made with) a hundredth part. The gratification of the twice-born is (won with) a thousandth part.
I-2: Adeptship in the science of Sri is reserved for those who are free from desires; never for those who cherish desires.
II-1: Then the gods said to Him: Expound the principle indicated by the fourth (i.e. the final) Maya. ‘Be it so’, said He:
Yoga through yoga must be known;
From yoga, yoga does increase;
Who through yoga is ever alert,
That Yogin long delights therein.
II-2: Awake from sleep, eating but little
When food consumed is digested aright,
At ease be seated in a spot secluded,
Untroubled by pests, ever free of desire –
Such is effort. Else restrain the breath
And stray not from the path of practice.
II-3: Filling the mouth with breath, and in Fire’s seat
Drawing the down-breath, there arresting,
With fingers six of hands, from thumbs commencing
Stopping the ears, eyes and nostrils, too,
Yogins behold along this way
The inner light; their minds wrapt in the course
Of varied musings on the sacred Om.
II-4: Ears, mouth, eyes and nostrils must, perforce,
Be by yoga stopped;
Clear and flawless then is heard the note
In cleansed Susumna’s channel.
II-5: In Anahata, then,
Resonant with strange notes, a sound is heard.
Sacred becomes the yogin’s body; thus
With splendour filled and odour heavenly
He is ill no longer;
II-6: His heart is filled;
When heart-space resounds, a Yogin he
Becomes; snapping the second knot, flows
At once the breath to middle region.
II-7: Poised in lotus seat and others, too,
Firm established must the Yogin be.
The knot of Vishnu, then rent asunder
Delight wells up supreme.
II-8: Beyond Anahata, ‘the unstruck note’,
Rises the drum’s resounding sound;
With energy, piercing Rudra’s knot
The maddala’s note is heard.
II-9: The vital breath moves on to Largest Space,
The sure abode of all perfections; thence,
Ignoring mind’s delight, the breath pervades
All yogic seats.
II-10: Yoga achieved, the all-pervading sound
Tinkles and hence is ‘the tinkler’ styled.
Then, integrated, the mind is adored
Of sages like Sanaka and the rest.
II-11: Identifying the finite with the infinite,
The fragments with the Whole, one meditates
On the vast Source; thus fulfilment found
One immortal becomes.
II-12: Through unity with Self, prevent contact
With others; so too, through Self’s being
Oppose ought else’s self; thus, becoming
Truth supreme, of all dualities free,
Supreme is one for ever.
II-13: Renounce the sense of I; yea,
Of this world, of appearance so unlike.
Never again is sorrow for the sage,
Rooted in Truth transcendent.
II-14: Like salt in water melted and fused,
So self and mind in oneness are blended.
That concentration is styled.
II-15: Breath dwindles and mind dissolves
And Bliss homogeneous is found.
This is concentration.
II-16: Fusion of lower and higher selves
Free from all imaginings,
Is styled concentration.
II-17: Rid of the light of wakefulness,
And of the mind that dreams;
Rid of sleep that knows none other,
Free of all that causes pain;
Total void without reflections –
Such is concentration.
II-18: Through ceaseless concentrated sight
When thought of body there is nought;
Then unstirring Self is realized –
This, concentration is called.
II-19: Whithersoever the mind wanders
There, just there, is the prime abode;
There, just there, is supreme Brahman
That abides alike everywhere.
III-1: Next, the gods said to Him: Teach us how to discern the nine wheels. ‘Be it similarly’, said He: At the base is the wheel of Brahman shaped like a threefold circle of waves. In that root is a power. One should meditate on it in the form of fire. Just there is the seat in the form of desires; it yields the objects of all desires. Such is the basic wheel.
III-2: The second is the wheel of Svadhisthana; it has six petals. In the centre of it is a west-faced phallus. One should meditate on it as resembling a sprout of coral. Right there is the ‘seat of the girdle’, yielding the power to attract the world.
III-3: The third is the wheel of the navel, a wide whirlpool with a form crooked like a serpent’s. Meditate in its centre on the ‘serpent power’, effulgent like a crore of rising suns and resembling lightning. It has the power of competence and yields all perfections. It is the wheel (called) Manipuraka.
III-4: The wheel of the heart has eight petals and it faces below. In its centre, on the phallus of light, one should meditate. The symbol (of the divine Power), here, is the swan. She is beloved of all and enchants all the worlds.
III-5: The wheel of the throat (extends over) the breadth of four fingers. There on the left is Ida, the moon-nerve; on the right is Pingala, the sun-nerve. In its centre, on Susumna of fair colour, one should meditate. Who knows thus becomes the donor of the perfection of Anahata (‘the unstruck note’).
III-6: The wheel of the palate: There flows the immortal elixir; the image of the tiny bell is in the orifice whence is suspended ‘the royal tooth’ (the uvula) the tenth opening. One should meditate on the void there. The dissolution of the mind-stuff takes place.
III-7: The seventh, the wheel of the brow, is of the measure of the thumb. There, on the eye of knowledge, shaped like a tongue of flame, one should meditate. That is the root of the skull, the wheel of Ajna, the giver of power over words.
III-8: The Brahman-orifice is the wheel of nirvana. There should one meditate on the opening shaped like a thread of smoke, thinner than a needle. There is the seat of meshes, the yielder of release.
Therefore, it is the wheel of supreme Brahman.
III-9: The ninth is the wheel of space. There is the lotus with sixteen petals, facing upwards. Its pericarp in the middle is shaped like the '‘riple peaks'’(the centre of the eyebrows). In its centre one should meditate on the upgoing power, the supreme void. There indeed is the seat of the ‘full mount’, the instrument of fulfilment of all desires.
III-10: Whoso constantly studies this Upanishad is purified by fire and by air; he comes in possession of all wealth, grains, good sons, wife, horses, lands, elephants, animals, she-buffaloes, female attendants, yoga, and knowledge. No more does he return. Such is the mystic doctrine.
Om ! Speech is rooted in my thought (mind) and my thought is rooted in my speech.
Be manifest, patent, to me; be ye two, for me, the lynch-pins of the Veda.
Let not Vedic lore desert me.
With this mastered lore, I join day with night.
I shall speak what is right; I shall speak what is true.
Let that protect me; let that protect the speaker.
Let that protect me.
Let that protect the speaker, protect the speaker !
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Saubhagya-Lakshmi Upanishad, included in the Rig-Veda.
Sarasvati-Rahasya Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
1.The sages, verily, with due reverence, asked the holy Asvalayana: How is that knowledge won which illumines the content of the word Tat ? Tell us that, Holy Sir, by meditation on which you know the Truth.
2.Best of Sages ! I won supreme perfection by exalting Sarasvati with the reciting of the ten verses on Her, as also the Ric stanzas with the ‘seed-syllables’.
3.The sages said: How, by what meditation, Sage of Dedicated Life, is the truth of Sarasvati won ? What pleases the great and sacred goddess Sarasvati ? Speak.
4.Asvalayana then spoke: Of this great mantra of the ten verse on Sarasvati, I, Asvalayana, am the seer. The eight-syllabled Anustubh is the metre; the holy Vagisvari, the divinity; ‘yadvak’ is the seed; ‘devim vacham’ the power; ‘pra no devi’ the lynch-pin; the application (of the mantra) is for pleasing Her; the consecration of limbs is by (invoking) faith, intelligence, wisdom, memory, the goddess of speech and Mahasarasvati.
5.To win plenitude of speech, in my heart I salute the goddess Sarasvati, who shines like snow, pearls, camphor and the moon; who confers auspicious blessing; is decked with garlands of golden Champaka blossoms; and charms the mind by her figure with the lofty, rounded bosom.
6.Of this mantra (pra no devi), Bharadvaja is the seer; Gayatri, the metre; Sri Sarasvati, the divinity; OM, the seed, power and lynch-pin; its application is for gaining whatever is desired; consecration is with the mantra.
7.Her nature the essence of Vedanta’s sense,
She the Supreme Sovereign,
Manifest as name and form –
May Sarasvati guard me !
8.OM !
May the goddess Sarasvati,
Dispenser of nourishment,
Guardian of thoughts,
Protect us ever !
9.Of this mantra (a no divah), Atri is the seer; Tristubh, the metre; Sarasvati, the divinity; HRIM, the seed, power and lynch-pin; its application is for gaining whatever is desired; its application is for gaining whatever is desired; consecration of limbs is with the mantra.
10.The only one extolled in Vedas four
And their ancillaries; the non-dual
Potency of Brahman – May She, divine
Sarasvati, protect me !
11.HRIM
From heaven, from the giant clouds,
Let holy Sarasvati come
To our sacrifice; listening
Kindly to the call, may the Queen
Of Waters gladly hear our sweet words !
12.Of this mantra (pavaka nah), Madhucchandas is the seer; Gayatri, is the metre; Sarasvati, the divinity; SRIM, the seed, power and lynch-pin; its application is for gaining whatever is desired; consecration is with the mantra.
13.Existing solely in the form of sense,
Of sentence, word and letter,
Without beginning and without end –
May She, infinite Sarasvati, protect me !
14.SRIM
The purifier Sarasvati,
Dispenser of nourishment,
Treasure of intelligence –
May She accept our sacrifice !
15.Of this mantra (chodayitri), Madhucchandas is the seer; Gayatri, the metre; Sarasvati, the divinity; BLUM, the seed, power and lynch-pin; consecration is with the mantra.
16.In the self, among the gods,
The Sovereign Mistress of the gods
Dwells inwardly, forth uttering –
May Sarasvati protect me !
17.BLUM
Inspirer of truthful words,
Awakener of noble minds,
Sarasvati receives worship.
18.Of this mantra (maho arnah), Madhucchandas is the seer; Gayatri, the metre; Sarasvati, the divinity; SAUH, the seed, power and lynch-pin; consecration is with the mantra.
19.She as the inner controller
Rules over all in the three worlds,
Dwells as Rudra, the Sun and others –
May that Sarasvati protect me !
20.SAUH
Sarasvati shines splendidly –
Vast sheet of water – who confers
Wisdom and vivifies all thought.
21.Of this mantra (chatvari vak), the seer is Uchathyaputra; Tristubh, the metre; Sarasvati, the divinity; AIM, the seed, power and lynch-pin; consecration is with the mantra.
22.Being manifested, She is experienced
By sages looking inwardly;
Pervasive, one, form of awareness,
May Sarasvati protect me !
23.AIM
Speech is confined to four groups of words.
These, intelligent Brahmans know.
Hidden in the cave, the three do not stir –
The fourth group men speak forth.
24.Of this mantra (yadvak), the seer is Bhargava; Tristubh, the metre; Sarasvati, the divinity; KLIM, the seed, power and lynch-pin; consecration is with the mantra.
25.Being conceived in eightfold form
Of names, general and the like,
She as the integral is manifest –
May She, Sarasvati, protect me !
26.KLIM
She is the word of inert things;
The Queen of gods dwells silently;
Power milks four energy-streams;
Whither has fled Her supreme form ?
27.Of this mantra (devim vacham), the seer is Bhargava; Tristubh, the metre; Sarasvati, the divinity; SAUH, the seed, power and lynch-pin; consecration is with the mantra.
28.Whom the Vedas and all others
Of distinct or indistinct speech
Speak forth – the cow that yields all desires,
May that Sarasvati protect me !
29.SAUH
The gods, divine Speech engendered !
Her, beasts of all forms speak;
The cow that yields sweet drink and vigour –
To us may lauded Speech appear !
30.Of this mantra (uta tvah), the seer is Brihaspati; Tristubh, the metre; Sarasvati, the divinity; SAM, the seed, power and lynch-pin; consecration is with the mantra.
31.Knowing whom all bonds are cut;
Along all paths the knower hies;
To that supreme abode – (Freedom) –
May She, Sarasvati, protect me !
32.SAM
Though seeing, one does nor behold
Speech; though hearing one does not hear;
To one She does reveal Herself,
As does a well-robed wife in love Unto her lord.
33.Of this mantra (ambitame), Gritsamada is the seer; Anustubh, the metre; Sarasvati, the divinity; AIM, the seed, power and lynch-pin; consecration is with the mantra.
34.Vesting things of name and form
In Her, meditate they on Her,
Of whom the form is the One Brahman,
May that Sarasvati protect me !
35.AIM
Dearest mother ! Best of rivers !
Greatest goddess ! Sarasvati !
Unbelauded are we, almost –
Mother ! Make for us great name !
36.Female swan amidst the cluster
Of the faces of the four-faced god –
May the all-white Sarasvati
Sport for ever in my mind !
37.Bowing to Thee, Sarada !
Dweller in Kashmir’s city,
The I petition for ever –
Grant me the gift of right knowledge !
38.Holding in Thy hands the string
Of beads, the goad, the noose, the book,
Wearing the necklace of pearls,
Reside Thou ever in my speech !
39.Thy neck is as the conch; thy lip
Deep red; decked with all ornaments
Art thou, goddess Sarasvati !
Great One ! reside on my tongue-tip !
40.Faith, grasp, intelligence Thou art,
Goddess of Speech, spouse of Brahma;
Thy home, the tongue-tip of devout
Souls; Thou the giver of virtues,
Such as restraint of mind’s movements.
41.Obeisance to Thee, O Bhavani !
Whose tresses deck the crescent moon.
Thou art the stream of nectar that
Extinguishes samsara’s heat.
42.Whoso the gift of faultless poesy,
And enjoyment and Freedom seeks,
With these ten verses, worshipping ever,
Bestows rich praise on Sarasvati,
43.To him who thus unfailingly
Worships and lauds Sarasvati,
Who has both faith and devotion,
Conviction comes in six brief months.
44.From him streams forth Sarasvati
Spontaneous, lovely-lettered,
In sounds of poetry and prose
Of import true and unmeasured.
45.A text unheard the poet grasps;
Sarasvati’s being he shares.
46.Sarasvati thus spake:
Through Me even Brahma won Self-knowledge eternal;
Ever being Truth, Knowledge, Bliss,
Mine is perpetual Brahmanhood,
Without let or hindrance.
47.Thence through equilibrium
Of qualities, Sattva,
Rajas, Tamas, become
I Prakriti; in Me
Chit’s semblance shines,
As reflection in mirror fair.
48.Once more, Prakriti shines
Threefoldwise, through that
Reflection of the Chit;
And as determined by
Prakriti, am I Purusha too verily.
49.The Unborn, in Maya
In which pure Sattva reigns, Is reflected; Maya,
Prakriti is, that has
Sattva dominant.
50.That Maya is adjunct,
Wholly subordinate
To all-knowing Ishwara;
For, His alone oneness,
Over Maya lordship, and
Omniscience are, in truth.
51.Being of Sattva made,
In essence collective,
Of worlds the spectator,
He is God who holds power
To make, unmake or otherwise
Make the universe; He
Has virtues like all-knowingness.
52.Maya has forces two; one projection,
The other, concealment: the first projects
The world – all that is subtle and all gross.
53.The second veils, within, the gulf
Between the Seer and seen; without,
The gulf between creation and Brahman.
Maya causes endless cosmic flux.
54.Nescience appears in Witness-light,
To subtle body conjoined,
Spirit and mind co-dwelling there
Become jiva phenomenal.
55.His Jivahood,
Through ascription shines forth, also,
In Witness-light; together with
The fall of what conceals, and so,
The shining forth of distinction,
That (Jivahood) disappears, too.
56.So also, through subservience
Of Brahman to the Power which
Veils Its difference from cosmos,
Brahman shines forth in mutations.
57.Here, too, the difference that holds
Between Brahman and the cosmos
Shows not, once Maya’s power which
Conceals falls low; their difference
Is in creation; in Brahman never.
58.Five factors are there here; being,
Shining, loving, form, and name, too;
The first three to Brahman pertain;
Two others constitute the world.
59.Leave aside the last two factors,
Be intent on the former three;
Either in the heart, or without,
Practise always concentration.
60-63. Twofold is concentration
In the human heart: with or without
Aspects; that with aspects is, then,
Twofold, conforming to ‘word’
And ‘object’; desire and its train
Are objects of the mind; of them,
As spectator, meditate on
Consciousness: that concentration
Conforms to objects. ‘I without
Taints am; being, knowing, loving
I am; self-shining, devoid of
Duality’: to ‘word’ conforms.
Thus concentration with aspects.
Abandoning ‘objects’ and ‘words’
For joy of deep Self-experience,
One wins concentration without
Aspects: a flame in windless spot.
64.Like to concentration
In the heart, outside too, in some
Object twofold concentration
Takes place with discrimination
Of name and form from pure Being.
65.The third, as said above, takes place
When taste of bliss to silence leads;
Time may, without a break, be spent
In these six concentrations well.
66.With conceit in body gone,
And Supreme Self realized,
Wherever the mind may roam
There rests immortality.
The knot of heart is cut asunder
And all doubts are slain;
67.All modes of action dwindle away
When the Supreme Self is seen.
68.A finite soul, the supreme God –
These notions are to Me imputed.
They are not real – who knows this,
In truth, is free – doubt is there none.
This is the secret wisdom.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Sarasvati-Rahasyopanishad, included in the Krishna-Yajur-Veda.
Bahvricha Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! Speech is rooted in my thought (mind) and my thought is rooted in my speech.
Be manifest, patent, to me; be ye two, for me, the lynch-pins of the Veda.
Let not Vedic lore desert me.
With this mastered lore, I join day with night.
I shall speak what is right; I shall speak what is true.
Let that protect me; let that protect the speaker.
Let that protect me.
Let that protect the speaker, protect the speaker !
Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
1.Om. The Goddess was indeed one in the beginning. Alone she emitted the world-egg. (She) is known as Love’s Part (IM). (She) is known as the half-syllabic instant after OM.
2.Of Her was Brahma born; was Vishnu born; was Rudra born. All wind-gods were born, celestial minstrels, nymphs, semi-human beings playing on instruments, were born (of Her), all around. What is enjoyed was born; everything was born (of Her). Everything of Power was born (of Her). The egg-born, the sweat-born, the seed-born, the womb-born, whatever breathes here, the stationary as well as the moving, and man were born (of Her).
3.She, here, is the Power supreme. She, here, is the science of Sambhu, (known) either as the science beginning with ka, or as the science beginning with ha, or as the science beginning with sa. This is the secret Om grounded in the word Om.
4.Pervading the three cities, the three bodies, illuminating within and without, She, the Consciousness within, becomes the Maha-Tripura-Sundari, being associated with space, time and objects.
5.She alone is Atman. Other than Her is untruth, non-self. Hence is She Brahman-Consciousness, free from (even) a tinge of being and non-being. She is the Science of Consciousness, non-dual Brahman Consciousness, a wave of Being-Consciousness-Bliss. The Beauty of the three-great-cities, penetrating without and within, is resplendent, non-dual, self-subsisting. What is, is pure Being; what shines is pure Consciousness; what is dear is Bliss. So here is the Maha-Tripura-Sundari who assumes all forms. You and I and all the world and all divinities and all besides are the Maha-Tripura-Sundari. The sole Truth is the thing named ‘the Beautiful’. It is the non-dual, integral, supreme Brahman.
6.The fivefold form relinquished And effects like space transcended, Remains the one, the great being, The supreme Ground, the only Truth.
7.It is declared either that ‘Brahman is Consciousness’ or that ‘I am Brahman’. In dialogue it is said: ‘Thou art That’; or ‘This Atman is Brahman’; or ‘I am Brahman’; or ‘Brahman alone am I’.
8.She who is contemplated as ‘That which I am’ or ‘I am He’ or ‘What He is that I am’, is the Sodasi, the Science of Sri, the fifteen-syllabled (science), the sacred Maha-Tripura-Sundari, the Virgin, the Mother, Bagala, the Matangi, the auspicious one who chooses her own Partner, the Mistress of the world, Chamunda, Chanda, the Power of the Boar, She who veils, the royal Matangi, dark like a parrot, light dark, mounted on a horse; opposed to Angiras; smoke-bannered; Power of Savitur, Sarasvati, Gayatri, part of Brahmic bliss.
9.The songs of praise dwell in the highest sphere Where dwell all gods;
With Ric what will he do who knows not this ? They who know this well, they dwell all right; This is the secret science.
Om ! Speech is rooted in my thought (mind) and my thought is rooted in my speech.
Be manifest, patent, to me; be ye two, for me, the lynch-pins of the Veda.
Let not Vedic lore desert me.
With this mastered lore, I join day with night.
I shall speak what is right; I shall speak what is true.
Let that protect me; let that protect the speaker.
Let that protect me.
Let that protect the speaker, protect the speaker !
Om! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !
Here ends the Bahvrichopanishad, included in the Rig-Veda.
Muktika Upanishad
Translated by Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier
Published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
I-i-1-6. In the beautiful city of Ayodhya, in the centre of a pavilion set with gems, together with Sita, Bharata, Lakshmana and Satrughna, was Rama seated, glorified day and night by sages like Sanaka, Vasistha and Suka as well as other devotees, unchanging witness of thousands of modifications of the intellect, delighted in contemplating his own form. At the end of this Samadhi, Hanuman asked with devotion, ‘O Rama, you are the supreme being, of the nature of Sat, Chid and Ananda. I desire to know your nature truly for liberation. Please tell me how I can be released from bondage without strain.
I-i-7-14. Rama: Well asked. I shall tell you. I am well established in Vedanta. Hanuman: What is Vedanta and where is it ?
Rama: The Vedas in all their great extent are my breath, Vedanta is well grounded in them, like oil in sesamum.
Hanuman: How many are the Vedas and how many branches do they have ? Of these what are the Upanishads ?
Rama: Vedas are four, Rig-Veda etc., many branches and Upanishads exist in them. Rig-Veda has 21 branches and Yajus has 109. Sama has 1000 and Atharva has 50. Each branch has one Upanishad. Even by reading one verse of them with devotion, one gets the status of union with me, hard to get even by sages.
I-i-15-17. Hanuman: Rama, sages speak differently: some say there is only one kind of liberation. Others say it can be got by worshipping your name and by the Taraka mantra at Kashi. Others speak of Sankhya-Yoga and Bhakti-Yoga, the enquiry into Vedanta-Vakyas etc.
I-i-18-23. Rama: Liberation is of four kinds: Salokya etc. But the only real type is Kaivalya. Anybody even though leading a wicked life, attains Salokya, not other worlds, by worshipping my name. Dying in the sacred Brahmanala in Kashi, he will get the Taraka-mantra and also liberation, without rebirth. On dying anywhere (else) in Kashi, Maheshvara will utter the Taraka-mantra in his right ear. He gets Sarupya with me as his sins are washed away.
The same is called Salokya and Sarupya. Persevering in good conduct, with mind fixed upon me, loving me as the Self of all, the twice-born gets nearer to me – This is called the three forms of liberation. Salokya, Sarupya and Samipya.
I-i-24-25. Meditating on my eternal form as prescribed by the Teacher, one will surely achieve identity with me like the insects changing into the bee. This alone is the liberation of identity (Sayujya) yielding the bliss of Brahman.
All these four kinds of Mukti will be got by worshipping Me.
I-i-26-29. But by what means is the Kaivalya kind of Moksha got ? The Mandukya is enough; if knowledge is not got from it, then study the Ten Upanishads. Getting knowledge very soon, you will reach my abode. If certainty is not got even then, study the 32 Upanishads and stop. If desiring Moksha without the body, read the 108 Upanishads. Hear their order.
I-i-30-39.
1. Isa
2. Kena
3. Katha
4. Prasna
5. Munda
6. Mandukya
7. Taittiri
8. Aitareya
9. Chandogya
10. Brihadaranyaka
11. Brahma
12. Kaivalya
13. Jabala
14. Svetasva
15. Hamsa
16. Aruni
17. Garbha
18. Narayana
19. Paramahamsa
20. Amritabindu
21. Amritanada
22. Atahrvasirah
23. Atharvasikha
24. Maitrayini
25. Kaushitakibrahmana
26. Brihajjabala
27. Nrisimhatapini
28. Kalagnirudra
29. Maitreya
30. Subala
31. Kshurika
32. Mantrika
33. Sarvasara
34. Niralamba
35. Sukarahasya
36. Vajrasuchika
37. Tejobindu
38. Nadabindu
39. Dhyanabindu
40. Brahmavidya
41. Yogatattva
42. Atmabodha
43. Naradaparivrajaka
44. Trisikhi
45. Sita
46. Yogachudamani
47. Nirvana
48. Mandalabrahmana
49. Dakshinamurti
50. Sarabha
51. Skanda
52. Tripadvibhuti-Mahanarayana
53. Advayataraka
54. Ramarahasya
55. Ramatapani
56. Vasudeva
57. Mudgala
58. Sandilya
59. Paingala
60. Bhiksu
61. Mahat
62. Sariraka
63. Yogasikha
64. Turiyatita
65. Sannyasa
66. Paramahamsaparivrajaka
67. Akshamalika
68. Avyakta
69. Ekakshara
70. Annapurna
71. Surya
72. Akshi
73. Adhyatma
74. Kundika
75. Savitri
76. Atma
77. Pasupata
78. Parabrahma
79. Avadhutaka
80. Tripuratapini
81. Devi
82. Tripura
83. Katharudra
84. Bhavana
85. Rudrahridaya
86. Yoga-kundali
87. Bhasma
88. Rudraksha
89. Ganapati
90. Darsana
91. Tarasara
92. Mahavakya
93. Panchabrahma
94. Pranagnihotra
95. Gopalatapini
96. Krishna
97. Yajnavalkya
98. Varaha
99. Satyayani
100. Hayagriva
101. Dattatreya
102. Garuda
103. Kalisamtarana
104. Jabali
105. Saubhagyalakshmi
106. Sarasvatirahasya
107. Bahvricha
108. Muktika
I-i-40-43. These destroy three kinds of Bhavana (regarding) body, senses and mind respectively as identified with Atman. The best of Brahmanas will become Jivanmuktas if they study upto the destruction of Prarabdha, these 108 Upanishads from a Guru along with the Shanti-pada. Then, in course of time they will get Vedeha-mukti, surely.
I-i-44-52. These 108 are the essence of all Upanishads and can cut away all sins by merely hearing once. These cause release whether read with or without knowledge. One may give away a kingdom, wealth etc., to one who asks, but not these 108 to just anyone – to an unbeliever (nastika), ungrateful, of bad conduct, one against devotion to me, deluded by wrong scripture or lacking devotion to the Guru.
But they shall be taught to one devoted to service, devotee, of good conduct, birth and wisdom. He should be well tested. A Rik verse on this: the goddess of knowledge came to a Brahmana and said ‘Protect me, I am your treasure, do not teach me to one who is jealous, dishonest and deceitful – then I shall powerful, but give it to one who is learned, careful, wise and celibate, after examining him’.
I-ii-1. Then Maruti asked Sri Ramachandra thus: Please relate to me separately the Shanti-mantras of the different Vedas, Rig etc.
Sri Rama then said: "My speech rests on my mind … " [Vanme-Manasi….]. This is the Shanti-mantra of the following ten Upanishads forming part of the Rig-Veda:
1. Aitareya
2. Kaushitakibrahmana
3. Nadabindu
4. Atmabodha
5. Nirvana
6. Mudgala
7. Akshamalika
8. Tripura
9. Saubhagyalakshmi
10. Bahvricha
I-ii-2. "That (which lies beyond) is full" [Purnamada ….] – and so on: This is the Shanti-mantra of the following Nineteen Upanishads, forming part of the Sukla-Yajur-Veda:
1. Isavasya
2. Brihadaranyaka
3. Jabala
4. Hamsa
5. Paramahamsa
6. Subala
7. Mantrika
8. Niralamba
9. Trisikhibrahmana
10. Mandalabrahmana
11. Advayataraka
12. Paingala
13. Bhiksu
14. Turiyatita
15. Adhyatma
16. Tarasara
17. Yajnavalkya
18. Satyayani
19. Muktika
I-ii-3. "May (the Brahman of the Upanishads) protect us both" [Sahanavavatu …] – and so on: This is the Shanti-mantra of the following Thirty-Two Upanishads, forming part of the Krishna-Yajur-Veda:
1. Kathavalli
2. Taittiriyaka
3. Brahma
4. Kaivalya
5. Svetasvatara
5. Garbha
6. Narayana
7. Amritabindu
8. Amritanada
9. Kalagnirudra
10. Kshurika
11. Sarvasara
12. Sukarahasya
13. Tejobindu
14. Dhyanabindu
15. Brahmavidya
16. Yogatattva
17. Dakshinamurti
18. Skanda
19. Sariraka
20. Yogasikha
21. Ekakshara
22. Akshi
23. Avadhuta
24. Katharudra
25. Rudrahridaya
26. Yoga-kundalini
27. Panchabrahma
28. Pranagnihotra
29. Varaha
30. Kalisamtarana
31. Sarasvatirahasya
I-ii-4. "May the unseen powers nourish" [Apyayantu ….] – and so on: This is the Shanti-mantra of the following Sixteen Upanishads forming part of the Sama-Veda:
1. Kena
2. Chandogya
3. Aruni
4. Maitrayani
5. Maitreya
6. Vajrasuchika
7. Yogachudamani
8. Vasudeva
9. Mahat
10. Sannyasa
11. Avyakta
12. Kundika
13. Savitri
14. Rudrakshajabala
15. Darsana
16. Jabali
I-ii-5. "May we hear with our ears the auspicious truths of the Vedanta" [Bhadram-Karnebhih…] – and so on: This is the Shanti-mantra of the following Thirty-One Upanishads of the Atharva-Veda:
1. Prasna
2. Mundaka
3. Mandukya
4. Atahrvasiras
5. Atharvasikha
6. Brihajjabala
7. Nrisimhatapini (Purvottara)
8. Naradaparivrajaka
9. Sita
10. Sarabha
11. Tripadvibhuti-Mahanarayana
12. Ramarahasya
13. Ramatapini (Purvottara)
14. Sandilya
15. Paramahamsaparivrajaka
16. Annapurna
17. Surya
18. Atma
19. Pasupatabrahmana
20. Parabrahma
21. Tripuratapini
22. Devi
23. Bhavana
24. Bhasmajabala
25. Ganapati
26. Mahavakya
27. Gopalatapini (Purvottara)
28. Krishna
29. Hayagriva
30. Dattatreya
31. Garuda
I-ii-6. Men who are seekers after Liberation and well-equipped with the four requisite means ! Approach properly, with gifts in the hands, a good teacher who is dedicated, belonging to a good family, well-versed in the Vedas, interested in the scriptures, of good quality, straightforward, interested in the welfare of all creatures, compassionate and learn in the prescribed manner the one hundred and eight Upanishads; study them through listening, reflection and deep absorption continuously; the accumulated Karmas will be dissolved, the three kinds of bodies (gross, subtle and causal) are abandoned and like the ether of the pot when released from its Upadhi, rise to the level of fullness called Videha-mukti. This indeed is the Absolute Liberation (Kaivalya-mukti). That is why even those in the Brahma-loka, get identity with Brahman after listening to the Upanishads from his mouth. And for everyone Absolute Liberation is stated to be (attainable) only through knowledge; not through Karma rituals, not through Sankhya-Yoga or worship. Thus the Upanishad.
II-i-1. Then Hanuman asked Ramachandra: What is this Jivanmukti, Videha-mukti ? What is the authority, means of success and purpose ? Rama said: For a person there is bondage from doer-ship, enjoyer-ship, pleasure, pain etc., -- their prevention is liberation in the body. Videha-mukti (liberation without the body) is from the destruction of Prarabdha (operative) karma, like the space in a pot released from the conditioning (enclosing) pot. For both the authority is the 108 Upanishads. The purpose is eternal happiness through the stopping of the misery of doer-ship etc. This can be achieved by human effort just as a son is got by putra-kama sacrifice, wealth by trade etc., and heaven by jyotistoma.
II-ii-1-9. There are these verses: Human effort is said to be of the two kinds: For and against the Shastras – the former gives disaster, the latter the ultimate reality. True knowledge does not come to one from latent impressions through the world, Shastras and the body. Such impressions are two-fold: good and bad; if you are induced by the good, you shall reach me gradually but quickly; the bad ones involved lead to trouble and should be overcome with effort. The river of impression flowing through good and bad paths, must be turned into the good path with human effort – One should fondle the mind-child with human effort. When by means of practice, good impressions arise, then the practice
has been fruitful. Even when this is in doubt, practice only the good tendencies – there shall be no fault. II-ii-10-15. The destruction of impressions, cultivation of knowledge and destruction of the mind, when practised together for long will yield fruit. If not practised together, there will be no success even after hundreds of years, like mantras which are scattered. When these three are practised long, the knots of the heart surely are broken, like lotus fibre and the stalk. The false impression of worldly life is got in a hundred lives and cannot be destroyed without long practice. So avoid desire of enjoyment as a distance with effort and practise the three.
II-ii-16. The wise know that the mind is bound by the impressions, it is liberated when released well from them. So, O Hanuman, practice the destruction of mental impression, quickly.
II-ii-17-18. When impressions die out, the mind becomes put out like a lamp. Whoever gives up impressions and concentrates on Me without strain, he becomes Bliss.
II-ii-19-23. Whether he concentrates on actions or not, when he avoids all the desires of the heart, he is doubtlessly liberated. He has nothing to gain from action or inaction. If his mind is not freed from impressions even Samadhi and Japa cannot give fruit. The highest place cannot be got without silence free from impressions. Sense organs like the eye go towards external objects without voluntary impression but because of the latent impression just as the eye falls voluntarily without attachment on external objects, so the man of wisdom operates in work.
II-ii-24-31. The sages know that Vasana comprises all objects generated by creative faculty of the mind in attaining or avoiding them. The very unsteady mind which is the cause of birth, old age and death is generated by desire for objects in excess. By the influence of Vasana there is the pulsation of Prana, from it comes Vasana (again) like seed and sprout. For the tree of the human mind, the pulsation and Vasana are two seeds – when one dies both die. Latent impressions stop operating through detached behaviour, avoidance of worldly thought and realization that the body is mortal.
The mind becomes non-mind by giving up Vasanas. When the mind does not think, then arises mindlessness giving great peace; so long as your mind has not fully evolved, being ignorant of the supreme reality, perform what has been laid down by the teacher, Shastra and other sources. Then with impurity ripened (and destroyed) and Truth understood, you should give up even the good impressions. II-ii-32-37. In a Jivanmukta the destruction of the mind is with form – in a Videhamukta it is formless – when you achieve it, the mind with qualities like friendliness will surely attain peace. The mind of the Jivanmukta has no rebirth.
The mind is the root of the tree of Samsara which has thousands of sprouts, branches, fruits etc. I take the mind to be nothing but construction; make it dry in such a way that the tree also is dried up.
II-ii-38-47. There is only one means for overpowering mind. Shooting up of one’s mind is one’s undoing, its destruction is good fortune. The mind of the knower is destroyed, it is a chain for the ignorant. As long as the mind is not defeated by means of firm practice, the impressions jump in the heart like ghosts at night.
The impressions of enjoyment die, like lotus in winter, for one whose mental pride is reduced and the senses – the enemies – are defeated. One should at first conquer the mind, hands locked in hands, teeth set on teeth and limbs subdued. The mind cannot be conquered without defectless reasoning (methods) by merely sitting, just as an elephant in rut without a goad. The reasons (methods) well-nourished in mind-conquest are knowledge of Vedanta, contact with good people, giving up impressions and stopping of the pulsation of Prana. Those who ignore these and control the mind by force, throw away the lamp and search in darkness by means of soot, also (try to) bind an elephant in rut by lotus fibre.
II-ii-48-50. The tree of mind, bearing the weight of the creepers of thought, has two seeds: the pulsation of Prana and strong impressions. All pervasive consciousness is shaken by the pulsation of Prana – In contrast, by means of concentration the knowledge arises. The Dhyana, its means, is now imparted.
Dissolving thought totally in the reverse order, think only of the remaining pure consciousness.
II-ii-51-56. After the Apana sets and before Prana arises in the heart, there exists the state of Kumbhaka (immobility) experienced by Yogins. Kumbhaka in the external form is the fullness of Prana after in-breath disappears and out-breath arises. By repeatedly practising meditation of Brahman without ego, Samprajnata Samadhi will be got. The Asamprajnata Samadhi, loved by Yogins, is (from) the mind giving great bliss after (all) the mental modifications (thoughts) die away. It is valued by sages, being the spirit devoid of the light (of ego), of the mind (of dream) and of the intellect (in deep sleep). This concentration is other than what is not Brahman. Full above, below and in the middle the essence of goodness – this state, prescribed by the Upanishads, is the ultimate reality.
II-ii-57-60. Latent impression is that unexamined grasping of objects by persistent imagination. What one brings into being, through intense dispassion by one’s self, is realized quickly, devoid of opposite impressions. Influenced by impressions, a person looks upon those things as reality by the peculiarity of the impressions, the ignorant person sees the spirit wrongly though it does not lose its own nature. II-ii-61-68. The impure impression binds, the pure destroys birth. The impure one is solid ignorance and ego, causes rebirth. The restful state is like the roasted seed, giving up the (sprout of) rebirth. Can the inner light be sought with chewing the cud of many Shastras, uselessly ? One who remains alone giving up perception as well as non-perception is himself the Brahman – A person cannot know Brahman by merely learning the four Vedas and Shastras, as the ladle cannot taste the food.
If a person does not get detachment by the bad smell of his own body, what other cause of detachment can be taught ? The body is very impure – the soul is pure. When one knows the difference, what purification need be prescribed ? Bondage is by impressions, Moksha is their destruction – you give them up as well as the desire for Moksha.
II-ii-69-71. Give up mental impressions of objects and cultivate pure impressions like friendship; then, discarding even these while acting according to them, putting down all desires, have only the impression of consciousness. Give up these too along with mind and intellect; concentrate only on me. II-ii-72-77. Contemplate me as devoid of sound, touch, form, taste and smell, eternal, indestructible, without name and family, destroying all suffering, the nature of vision like the sky, the one syllable Om, unsmearing though omnipresent, unique, without bondage, forward, across, above, below, I fill ever place.
Unborn, ageless, shining by myself, not the cause nor effect, ever contented when the body dies away, giving up the state of Jivanmukta, one enter the Videhamukti stage.
So says the Rik: That supreme place of Vishnu the sages see ever – like an eye extended in heaven. The wise and awakened persons, free from emotions, keep it alight.
Om – This is the Upanishad.
Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite.
The infinite proceeds from the infinite.
(Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe),
It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Muktikopanishad belonging to the Sukla-Yajur-Veda.
End of the 108 Upanishads
A Brief Sanskrit Glossary
A
Abhava: Nonexistence; absence; negation; nothing.
Abhaya(m): “Without fear;” fearlessness; a state of steadfastness in which one is not swayed by fear of any kind.
Abheda: Non-difference; non-duality.
Abhedananda, Swami: A direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, who spent many years travelling and teaching Vedanta and Yoga in America.
Abhimana: Egoism; conceit; attachment; I-sense; pride; the function of the ego; the delusion of “me” and “mine;” identification with the body.
Abhimukti: Turned toward liberation; the stage in which liberation is assured.
Abhisheka(m): Bathing–the ritual pouring of various items over a sacred image or personage in homage and worship.
Abhyasa: Sustained spiritual practice.
Achala: Immovable; not moving; fixed; standing still; firm; steady; unwavering; without change; mountain.
Achara: 1) Immobile. 2) Conduct; good behavior; custom; practice; teaching.
Acharya: Teacher; preceptor.
Achetana: Unconscious; non-conscious; inanimate; inert; matter.
Achintya: Unthinkable; inconceivable; incomprehensible; inexplicable. A title of Brahman because the mind cannot conceive Its nature.
Achintya-bhedabheda-vedanta: A Vedantic school of philosophy founded by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu called Unthinkable Dualistic Nondualism or Ineffable Difference-In-Identity. It propounds that there is both difference and non-difference between all individual souls (jiva) and the Absolute (Brahman), but that this dualistic relation of both difference and non-difference is logically unthinkable.
Achintya shakti: Inscrutable power ineffable force.
Achit: Insentient; inert; unconscious; non-conscious; matter; inanimate phenomenal object.
Achyuta: Imperishable one–a title of Krishna.
Adharma: Unrighteousness; demerit, failure to perform one’s proper duty; unrighteous action; lawlessness; absence of virtue; all that is contrary to righteousness.
Adhikara: Authority; qualification; jurisdiction; prerogative; office; claim; privilege.
Adhikarin: An eligible or qualified person; a worthy person. It implies both fitness and capability.
Adhyatma: The individual Self; the supreme Self; spirit.
Adhyatma vidya: Study of the Self; metaphysics.
Adhyatmika (Adhyatmic): Pertaining to the Self, individual and Supreme.
Adhyaya: Chapter; section.
Adi: First; origin; beginning; original.
Adi Purusha: The First or Original Purusha. See Purusha.
Adishakti: Primal Power.
Aditi: Boundless; the unbounded; “Infinite Mother”–the source of all the cosmic forms of consciousness from the physical upwards.
Aditya: The sun; the Sun god.
Adityas: Solar deities, the greatest of which is Vishnu.
Adivasi: Original inhabitants; name denoting the tribals in India.
Adrishta(m): Unseen; invisible; unperceived. This is sometimes applied to God, fate, destiny, influence, or unseen potency or force.
Adrishya: Invisible; that which cannot be perceived by the physical eye.
Advaita: Non-dualism; nonduality; literally: “not two.”
Advaitic: Non-dual; having to do with the philosophy of Advaita (Non-Dualism).
Advityia: Without a second.
Agama: Scripture; particularly scriptures dealing with the four topics of temple construction and the making of images, philosophy, meditation practice, and methods of worship.
Agami karma: “Karma-yet-to-come.” The result of acts performed during this present life which will mature in the normal course of events.
Agastya: A sage and reputed seer of many hymns in the Rig Veda.
Agni: Vedic god of fire.
Agnihotra: “Fire offering;” a Vedic fire sacrifice.
Aham: “I am;” “I;” “I” awareness; “I” consciousness; self-consciousness.
Aham Brahmasmi: “I am Brahman.” The Mahavakya (Great Saying) of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
Ahamkara: See Ahankara.
Ahankara: Egoism or self-conceit; the false “I;” “I” am-ness. It is the self-arrogating principle “I” that is projected by the mind rather than the real Self. “Ego” (ahankara) is in manifestation whenever “I” is said or claimed by anything other than the spirit-self.
Ahimsa: Non-injury in thought, word, and deed; non-violence; non-killing; harmlessness.
Airavata: “Child of the Water,” the white elephant of Indra that was produced by the churning of the milk ocean.
Aishwarya: Dominion; power; lordship; divine glory; majesty; splendor; an attribute of God (Ishwara).
Ajapa japa: The natural japa (mantric sounds) made by the breath as it flows in and out.
Ajara: Without old age; ageless.
Ajara Amara Avinashi Atma: The ageless, immortal, imperishable Self.
Ajna chakra: “Command Wheel.” Energy center located at the point between the eyebrows, the “third eye.” The medulla center opposite the point between the eyebrows.
Ajnana: Ignorance; nescience.
Ajnana timira: The “glaucoma” of ignorance.
Akala: Without parts; an attribute of the Divine Being.
Akasha: “Not visible;” ether; space; sky; the subtlest of the five elements; the substance that fills and pervades the universe; the particular vehicle of life and sound; the element from which the sense of sound (shabda)–both speech and hearing–arises.
Akhanda: Unbroken (literally: “not broken”); indivisible; undivided; whole.
Aklishta: Unafflicted; nonafflicted; unmoved.
Akshara: Imperishable; indestructible, immutable, undying; undecaying–all in reference to the individual self and the Supreme Self, Brahman. It also means syllable and is used in reference to the ekakshara–the one syllable, the One Imperishable: Om.
Akshaya: Undecaying; everlasting.
Alankara: Ornamentation; the putting of ornaments or decorations on a sacred image.
Alata chakra: The illusory circle of fire produced by rapidly waving around a stick that is burning at one end; symbol of the illusory nature of relative existence–of Maya.
Alinga: Without any characteristic or mark. Amala: Without defect; pure; immaculate. Amalam: Free from the impurity of Maya. Amara: Immortal; deathless.
Amavasya: New moon day.
Amba: Mother; a title of Durga.
Ambika: The Mother; a title of Parvati.
Amrita: That which makes one immortal. The nectar of immortality that emerged from the ocean of milk when the gods churned it.
Anadi: Beginningless; eternal.
Anahata: “Unstruck;” “unbeaten.” Continuous bell-like inner resonance; the heart; the heart chakra; the inner divine melody (mystic sounds heard by the Yogis); Om.
Anahata chakra: “Unstruck.” Energy center located in the spine at the point opposite the center of the chest (sternum bone). Seat of the Air element.
Ananda: Bliss; happiness; joy; delight.
Anandamaya kosha: “The sheath of bliss (ananda).” The causal body. The borderline of the Self (atman).
Anandamayi Ma: One of the major spiritual figures in twentieth-century India, first made known to the West by Paramhansa Yogananda in his Autobiography of a Yogi.
Ananta(m): Infinite; without end; endless; a name of Shesha, the chief of the Nagas, whose coils encircle the earth and who symbolizes eternity, and upon whom Vishnu reclines.
Aneka: Not one–i.e., many.
Anga: Limb; individual part; accessory; member; technique.
Anima: Little; minute; atomization; the capacity (siddhi) to become as small as one desires–even as small as an atom.
Anishta: Undesirable; bad.
Anjali: Two hands held with palms together in salutation; an offering of a handful of flowers.
Anna(m): Food; matter.
Annamaya kosha: “The sheath of food (anna).” The physical–or gross–body, made of food.
Annapurna: “Full of Food.” A title of the Goddess (Shakti) depicted as the Goddess of Food and Abundance. The consort of Shiva.
Anta: End; extremity.
Antahkarana: Internal instrument; fourfold mind; mind, intellect, ego and subconscious mind.
Antahprajna: Inner (subjective) consciousness; inwardly cognitive.
Antara: Internal; interior; inside; middle. Antaratman: The indwelling (inner) Self; inner soul. Antariksha: Sky; firmament; atmosphere.
Antarmukha: Literally “inner face”–inward vision or perception.
Antaryamana: Dwelling, guiding, or ruling within.
Antaryamin: Indweller; inner guide; inner ruler; the spark of divinity within; the “witness” who dwells within every living being. This applies to both the jivatma and the Paramatma. (Antar–within/inner; and yamin–guide.)
Anu: Atom; atomic; elementary particle; minute; that which cannot further divided; an individual being.
Anubhava: Perception; direct personal experience; spiritual experience; intuitive consciousness; knowledge.
Anuswara: Bindu.
Anusandhana: Enquiry or investigation; in Vedanta, enquiry or investigation into the nature of Brahman.
Anushthana: Observance; religious exercise; repetition of a mantra for a set number of times during a given period; systematic performance of religious practices, usually undertaken for some definite period of time.
Anuttara: “Beyond which there is nothing;” the Highest, the Supreme; the Absolute.
Anvaya-vyatireka: Positive and negative assertions; proof by assertion and negation. Just as several kinds of dal are mixed together, so also, the Atman is mixed with the five koshas. You will have to separate the Self from the five sheaths. You will have to separate name and form from Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. Anvaya and vyatireka processes always go together. The Self exists in the five sheaths, yet it is not the sheaths. This is Vedantic sadhana. The aspirant rejects the names and forms and the five sheaths and realizes the one, all-pervading, indivisible, infinite, eternal, unchanging essence, viz., Brahman.
Ap/Apah: Water; one of the five elements, from which the sense of taste (rasa) arises.
Apaishunam: Absence of calumny; aversion to fault-finding.
Apana: The prana that moves downward, producing the excretory functions in general.
Aparigraha: Non-possessiveness, non-greed, non-selfishness, non-acquisitiveness.
Aparoksha: Immediate; direct.
Aparoksha anubhuti: The direct, immediate, intuitive experience or perception of the invisible–the realization of Brahman. The title of a treatise on Advaita Vedanta by Shankaracharya.
Apta: A trustworthy person.
Aradhana: Worship of the Divine; adoration; self-surrender.
Arani: Sacrificial wood stick for creating fire through friction.
Aranyaka: “Forest book;” philosophical, symbolic, and spiritual interpretations of the Vedic hymns and rituals. Mainly meant for forest-dwelling ascetics (vanaprasthas).
Arati: A ceremony of worship in which lights, incense, camphor, and other offerings representing the five elements and the five senses–the totality of the human being–are waved before an image or symbol of the Divine.
Aratrika: See Arati.
Archa: Worship; adoration.
Archanam: Worship of a sacred image.
Ardhangini: Partner in life (wife); especially Parvati, the wife of Lord Siva.
Arghya: Offering made in ritualistic worship. Sometimes an offering of flowers, bel leaves, sandal paste, durva grass, and rice together.
Arjava: Straightforwardness; honesty; rectitude (from the verb root rinj: “to make straight.”)
Artha: Wealth; object; thing. It is the secular value which is both desired and desirable. It satisfies the acquisitive tendency in individuals. It is the economic value.
Artharthi: One who desires material gain (artha).
Arupa: Formless.
Arya(n): One who is an Arya–literally, “one who strives upward.” Both Arya and Aryan are exclusively psychological terms having nothing whatsoever to do with birth, race, or nationality. In his teachings Buddha habitually referred to spiritually qualified people as “the Aryas.” Although in English translations we find the expressions: “The Four Noble Truths,” and “The Noble Eightfold Path,” Buddha actually said: “The Four Aryan Truths,” and “The Eightfold Aryan Path.”
Aryaman: Chief of the Pitris.
Asambhava: Total inapplicability; impossibility.
Asamprajñata samadhi: Highest superconscious state where the mind and the ego-sense are completely annihilated.
Asana: Posture; seat; Hatha Yoga posture.
Asanga: Non-attachment; without attachment.
Asat: Unreal[ity]; nonbeing; nonexistence; false; falsehood.
Asatya: Unreal; untrue.
Ashanti: Absence of peace of mind; restlessness; distraction.
Ashaucha: Impurity.
Ashram(a): A place for spiritual discipline and study, usually a monastic residence. Also a stage of life. In Hinduism life is divided ideally into four stages (ashramas): 1) the celibate student life (brahmacharya); 2) the married household life (grihastha); 3) the life of retirement (seclusion) and contemplation (vanaprastha); 4) the life of total renunciation (sannyasa).
Ashramite: Resident of an ashram.
Ashta: Eight.
Ashtami: Eighth; eighth day (of the lunar month).
Ashtanga Yoga: The “eight-limbed” Yoga of Patanjali consisting of yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. (See separate entries for each “limb.”)
Ashwattha: The pipal (sacred fig) tree, in the Bhagavad Gita, the eternal tree of life whose roots are in heaven. The “world tree” in the sense of the axis of the earth and even of the cosmos.
Ashwins: Two Vedic deities, celestial horsemen of the sun, always together, who herald the dawn and are skilled in healing. They avert misfortune and sickness and bring treasures.
Ashubha: Inauspicious unfortunate. Ashuddha: Impure; unpurified; incorrect. Asmita: I-ness; the sense of “I am;” “I exist.”
Asteya: Non-stealing; honesty; non-misappropriativeness.
Astra(m): Weapon.
Asura: Demon; evil being (a-sura: without the light).
Asurim: The state of an asura, one who dwells in darkness (a-sura–without the light). The condition of those negative souls who are turned away from divinity and moving further into degradation of consciousness and mode of life.
Aswara: Without sound, accent, or tone.
Ashwattha: The pipal (sacred fig) tree, the eternal tree of life whose roots are in heaven. The “world tree” in the sense of the axis of the earth and even of the cosmos.
Atma(n): The individual spirit or self.
Atmabhava: The nature of the Self; awareness of the self; feeling: “I am the Self.”
Atmadrishti: The seeing or sight of the Self (atma); the vision of the Self; knowledge of the Self through direct vision or knowing.
Atmajnana: Knowledge of the Self.
Atmanubhava: Self-realization; perception/experience of the Self.
Atmashakti: Power of the Self; personal power or strength.
Atmavichara: Enquiry into the Self.
Atmavidya: Teaching about the Self and its reality; knowledge of the Self.
Atmic: Having to do with the atma–spirit or self.
Aurobindo Ghosh, Sri: One of India’s greatest yogis and spiritual writers, he was at first involved in the Indian freedom movement, but came to see that yoga was the true path to freedom. His ashram in South India became one of the major spiritual centers in modern India, and his voluminous spiritual writings are read and prized throughout the world.
Avadhuta: “Cast off” (one who has cast off the world utterly). A supreme ascetic and jnani who has renounced all worldly attachments and connections and lives in a state beyond body consciousness, whose behavior is not bound by ordinary social conventions. Usually they wear no clothing. The highest state of asceticism or tapas.
Avatar(a): A Divine Incarnation.
Avidya: Ignorance; nescience; unknowing; literally: “to know not.”
Avinashi: Indestructible; imperishable.
Avyakta(m): Unmanifest; invisible; the undifferentiated; the state when the three gunas are in perfect equilibrium; in Sankhya philosophy a term for Prakriti.
Ayam Atma Brahma: “This Self is Brahman.” The Mahavakya (Great Saying) of the Mandukya Upanishad).
Ayurveda: “Life-knowledge.” The ancient system of Indian medicine formulated by the sage Dhanvantari and considered part of the Vedic revelation.
B
Badarayana: “Inhabitant of Badarika Ashrama” a title of the sage Vyasa.
Badrinath: One of the major centers of Hindu pilgrimage, sacred to Vishnu, located in the heart of the Himalayas.
Bala brahmacharya: Brahmacharya observed from childhood (bala).
Bandha: “Lock;” bond; bondage; tie or knot.
Bhadra: Blessing; happy; well.
Bhagavad Gita: “The Song of God.” The sacred philosophical text often called “the Hindu Bible,” part of the epic Mahabharata by Vyasa; the most popular sacred text in Hinduism.
Bhagavan: The Lord; the Personal God. From bhag–splendor and power–and van–Master or possessor (of splendor and power). Bhagavan possesses six divine attributes: knowledge (jnana), strength (bala), lordship (aishwarya), potency or power (shakti), creative power or might (virya), and splendor/radiance (tejas). See Ishwara.
Bhagavata: A devotee of God (Bhagavan) or Vishnu.
Bhagavatam: Srimad Bhagavatam. A major purana devoted to the glory and worship of Vishnu and his incarnation as Krishna. The major scripture of the Vaishnavas.
Bhagavati: Goddess; the feminine form of Bhagavan.
Bhairavi: A nun of the Tantric sect.
Bhajan(a): Devotional singing; a devotional song.
Bhakta: Devotee; votary.
Bhakti: Devotion; love (of God).
Bhakti Marga: The path of devotion leading to union with God.
Bhakti Yoga: The yoga of attaining union with God through the prescribed spiritual discipline of the path of devotion.
Bhakti Yogi: One who practices Bhakti Yoga.
Bhaktivedanta (Swami): The founder of the Hari Krishna movement in America.
Bharat(a): The proper Sanskrit name for India.
Bharat Giri Maharaj: Bharat Giri Maharaj was a Gujarati sadhu who visited America in the summer of 1999. At his passing in 2002 he was between one hundred and thirty or one hundred and forty years of age, a great yogi and visionary. What it was to be in his presence is beyond description, but the exaltedness of his consciousness was very obvious. Therefore I include his words on the Pranava in this section.
Bharati: Indian
Bharatvarsha: The land of India.
Bhasha: Language; gentle and holy talk.
Bhashma: Ash, usually from the sacred fire sacrifice.
Bhashya: Commentary.
Bhava (1): Becoming, from the verb “bhu” or “bhavh” which means to become or to exist.
Bhava (2): Subjective state of being (existence); attitude of mind; mental attitude or feeling; state of realization in the heart or mind.
Bhava samadhi: Superconscious state attained by bhaktas or devotees through intense divine emotion.
Bhavanam: Meditation. “Bhavanam is setting the heart on the Lord Who is designated by Om and brought into the mind by It.” (Shankara, Commentary on the Yoga Sutras)
Bhavani: “Giver of Existence;” a title of the Divine Mother.
Bhaya: Fear; terror.
Bheda: Difference; separation.
Bhiksha: Almsfood–food obtained by begging or that is offered to a monk.
Bhikshu: One who lives on bhiksha (almsfood); a mendicant; a sannyasi; a Buddhist monk.
Bhoga: Enjoyment, pleasure; experience; perception; also food (usually what has been offered to a deity).
Bhogya: Object of experience or enjoyment.
Bhokta: Enjoyer; experiencer; subject
Bhranti: Delusion; wrong notion; false idea or impression.
Bhrigu: An ancient sage, so illustrious that he mediated quarrels among the gods.
Bhuh: The earth; the material world/plane.
Bhukti: Enjoyment; material enjoyment.
Bhuloka: The material world/plane of atomic matter.
Bhuma: The unconditioned Infinite; Brahman.
Bhumi: The earth; realm.
Bhuta: A spirit. Some bhutas are subhuman nature spirits or “elementals”, but some are earthbound human spirits–ghosts. Bhutas may be either positive or negative.
Bhuta: What has come into being; an entity as opposed to the unmanifested; any of the five elementary constituents of the universe (panchabhuta); element.
Bhutapanchaka: The Five Elements: ether, air, fire, water, and earth. Bhuvaloka: The lesser astral world, similar to the material plane (Bhuloka). Bhuvana: The universe; the world.
Bodha: Consciousness; knowledge; intelligence; spiritual wisdom; “to be awake;” enlightenment.
Bodhi: Enlightenment; “to be awakened.”
Bija: Seed; source.
Bija Mantra: A “seed” mantra from which realization grows as a tree from a seed; usually a single-syllable mantra that is called “seed” because of its small size as a dot or point of sound.
Bindu: Point; dot; seed; source; the point from which the subtle Omkara arises that is experienced in meditation.
Brahma: The Creator (Prajapati) of the three worlds of men, angels, and archangels (Bhur, Bhuwah, and Swah); the first of the created beings; Hiranyagarbha or cosmic intelligence.
Brahma satyam; jagan mithya; jivo brahmaiva naparah: “Brahman is real. The world is illusory. The jiva is nondifferent from Brahman.” This is Shankara’s renowned “Vedanta in half a verse.”
Brahma Sutras: A treatise by Vyasa on Vedanta philosophy in the form of aphorisms. Also called the Vedanta Sutras or Vedanta Darshana.
Brahma-anubhava: Direct personal experience of Brahman.
Brahmabhavanam: Meditation on Brahman; feeling of identity with Brahman, as well as of everything as Brahman.
Brahmachari: One who observes continence; a celibate student in the first stage of life (ashrama).
Brahmacharini: Female “brahmachari.”
Brahmacharya: Continence; self-restraint on all levels; discipline.
Brahma-chintana: Constant meditation on Brahman; constant thought of or awareness of God.
Brahmajnana: Direct, transcendental knowledge of Brahman; Self-realization.
Brahmajnani: One who possess Brahmajnana.
Brahmajyoti: The Light of God.
Brahmaloka: The world (loka) of Brahma, the Creator; the highest heaven; the world of supreme joy. Those who each this plane of existence after death are beyond rebirth.
Brahmamaya: Formed of Brahman; filled with Brahman.
Brahmamuhurta: “The muhurta of Brahman.” The period of one and a half hours before sunrise (sometime between 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.), which is said to be the best time for meditation and worship.
Brahman: The Absolute Reality; the Truth proclaimed in the Upanishads; the Supreme Reality that is one and indivisible, infinite, and eternal; all-pervading, changeless Existence; Existence-knowledge-bliss Absolute (Satchidananda); Absolute Consciousness; it is not only all-powerful but all-power itself; not only all-knowing and blissful but all-knowledge and all-bliss itself.
Brahmana: A knower of Brahman. A Brahmin. A Vedic liturgical text explaining the rituals found in the Vedic samhitas (collection of hymns). A guidebook for performing those rites.
Brahmanda: “The egg of Brahma” or “the Brahmic egg.” The cosmic “egg;” the universe; the cosmos; the macrocosm.
Brahmanishtha: Remaining steadfast in the Absolute (Brahman). One who is firmly established in the Supreme being, in the direct knowledge of Brahman, the Absolute Reality.
Brahmarandhra: “The hole of Brahman,” the subtle (astral) aperture in the crown of the head. Said to be the gateway to the Absolute (Brahman) in the thousand-petaled lotus (sahasrara) in the crown of the head. Liberated beings are said to exit the physical body through this aperture at death.
Brahma-sakshatkara: Realization of Brahman; direct experience of the Absolute Being.
Brahmavadin: Literally “one who walks the path of Brahman.” One who advocates that there is one existence alone–Parabrahman.
Brahmavichara: Enquiry into the Absolute (Brahman).
Brahmavidya: Science of Brahman; knowledge of Brahman; learning pertaining to Brahman or the Absolute Reality.
Brahmic: Divine; pertaining to God (Brahman).
Brahmin (Brahmana): A knower of Brahman; a member of the highest Hindu caste consisting of priests, pandits, philosophers, and religious leaders.
Brihaspati: The guru–priest and teacher–of the gods.
Brihat: The great; the large.
Buddha: An awakened one (from the root verb budh: to enlighten, to know).
Buddhi: Intellect; understanding; reason; intelligence; the thinking mind. Derived from the root verb budh: to enlighten, to know.
Buddhi Yoga: The Yoga of Intelligence spoken of in the Bhagavad Gita which later came to be called Jnana Yoga, the Yoga of Knowledge.
C
Caste: See Varna.
Chakra: Wheel. Plexus; center of psychic energy in the human system, particularly in the spine or head.
Chaitanya: The consciousness that knows itself and knows others; absolute consciousness.
Chakshuh: Eye; the subtle organ of sight; visual sense.
Chamatkara: Remarkable traits and abilities; cleverness; shining forth with divine glory.
Chanda: Silver; the moon.
Chandala: An outcaste of the lowest level, so degraded that he eats dogs; wild; bad; untouchable.
Chandra: The moon; the presiding deity of the moon or the astral lunar world (loka).
Chandraloka: The subtle world, “the world of the moon.”
Chandrayana Vrata: An observance in which, beginning with fifteen morsels of food on a full-moon day, a person lessens them one by one daily, until he takes no food on the new moon day; and again increases them one by one till he reaches the same fifteen morsels on the next full-moon day.
Charana: Foot.
Charu: A preparation of boiled rice, milk, sugar and ghee, to be offered into the fire for gods; a sattvic dietary regimen usually taken by yoga-practitioners and celibates. Havishya.
Charvaka: The Indian materialistic school, also known as Lokayata (“restricted to the world of common experience”). Its central teaching is that matter is the only reality, and sense perception is the only valid means of knowledge or proof. Therefore sense satisfaction is the only goal.
Charya: Activity; mode of behavior; a way of life–as in brahmacharya.
Chela: Disciple.
Chetana: Consciousness; volition; intelligence.
Chidakasha: “The Space (Ether) of Consciousness.” The infinite, all-pervading expanse of Consciousness from which all “things” proceed; the subtle space of Consciousnesss in the Sahasrara (Thousand-petalled Lotus). The true “heart” of all things.
Chinmaya: Full of consciousness; formed of consciousness.
Chinta: Enquiry; thought; discussion.
Chintana: Thinking; reflecting.
Chit: Consciousness (that is spirit or purusha); “to perceive, observe, think, be aware, know;” pure unitary Consciousness.
Chitraratha: The chief of the gandharvas.
Chitshakti: Power of consciousness or intelligence.
Chitta: The subtle energy that is the substance of the mind.
Chittashuddhi: Purification of the mind; purity of conscience.
Chitta-vritti-nirodha: Cessation of the modifications of the mind; control of thoughts; Patanjali’s definition of Yoga.
Crore: Ten million.
D
Dacoit: A violent thief who preys on travellers, sometimes killing them.
Daityas: Demons who constantly war with the gods. Sometimes “races” or nationalities who acted contrary to dharma and fought against the “aryas” were also called demons (daityas or asuras).
Daivim: The state of a deva or “shining one;” the quality of those positive souls who are progressing toward divinity.
Dakshina: Gift; priestly gift; sacrificial fee.
Dakshinamurti: A name for Lord Shiva as the silent teacher. Vedic Religion declares that in every cycle of creation God manifests as Dakshinamurti and becomes the guru of the first human beings– those who were most spiritually evolved in the previous creation–teaching them the path to liberation (moksha).
Dakshinayana: “The southern way/path.” The solar year is divided into two halves. The dakshinayana, beginning on the summer solstice (June 21), the first day of summer (also called dakshinayana) is when the sun appears to begin moving southward for the next six months. See Uttarayana.
Dakshineshwar: A village on the Ganges about five miles north of Calcutta, where, in the 1850’s, the Rani Rasmani built a compound of temples: the Kali temple, twelve small Shiva temples, and the Radhakanta (Radha-Krishna) temple. Just north of the northernmost Shiva temple is the room which Sri Ramakrishna occupied for a considerable part of his life.
Dama: Self-control; control of the senses; restraint.
Damaru: A small, hand held drum with two heads that is sounded by twisting the wrist and causing a ball tied to its middle to rhythmically strike the heads alternately.
Dana: “Giving;” gift; charity; almsgiving; self-sacrifice; donation; generosity.
Danava: A demon; an evil spirit.
Danda: Stick; staff; rod; particularly the staff carried by a sannyasi; punishment; chastisement.
Darshan: Literally “sight” or “seeing.” Darshan is the seeing of a holy being as well as the blessing received by seeing such a one.
Dasah: Servant; slave.
Dasanami: “Ten named.” A term for members of the monastic order of Shankaracharya headquartered in the four quarters of India (Sringeri, Dwaraka, Badrinath and Jagannath Puri). After their proper monastic names they add one of ten titles (Saraswati, Bharati, Puri, Tirtha, Ashrama, Giri, Parvata, Sagara, Vanam, Aranya) according to their monastic succession.
Dasya: The attitude of being a servant of God.
Dasyu: Slave; a name for non-Aryans in the Rig Veda.
Dattatreya: A famous sage, son of the Rishi Atri and Anasuya. His birth was a divine boon, hence his name: Datta–“given”–and atreya–“son of Atri.” Considered a divine incarnation and known as the Lord of Avadhutas, he is often revered as the embodiment of the Supreme Guru. He is credited with the authorship of the Avadhuta Gita, the Jivanmukti Gita, and the Tripura Rahashya.
Daya: Mercy; compassion; grace; empathy.
Dayananda (Maharishi Swami): A leading reformer within Hinduism in the nineteenth century and the founder of the Arya Samaj.
Dehadhyasa: False identification with the body.
Desha: Place; spatial location; country.
Deva: “A shining one,” a god–greater or lesser in the evolutionary hierarchy; a semi-divine or celestial being with great powers, and therefore a “god.” Sometimes called a demi-god. Devas are the demigods presiding over various powers of material and psychic nature.
Devaloka: “The world of shining beings;” the world of the gods; heaven; one of the higher subtler worlds.
Devanagari: “Divine city;” the Sanskrit script.
Devata: Godhead; divinity; celestial being. See Deva.
Devayana: The way/path of the gods. Also called The Northern Way/Path–Uttarayana–when the sun seems to move northward. Those who follow this in its spiritual sense attain Brahmaloka and usually do not return to earth. It is the way of faith and asceticism. At death, those who attain liberation by ascending in the Devayana never return to the cycle of birth and death.
Devi: “Shining One;” Goddess; the Supreme Shakti (Divine Power) or Divine Mother, or a demigoddess.
Dhama: Abode; dwelling; place of residence.
Dharana: Concentration of mind; fixing the mind upon a single thing or point.
Dharma: The righteous way of living, as enjoined by the sacred scriptures and the spiritually illumined; characteristics; virtue.
Dharma-megha samadhi: The final state of one-pointedness, when an individual becomes disinterested even in omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. This state of superconsciousness or samadhi is called dharma-megha–cloud of virtue–inasmuch as it showers nectar drops of immortality through knowledge of Brahman, when all the hosts of vasanas are entirely destroyed.
Dharma shastras: Scriptures which set forth the rules for society and individuals, including spiritual observances. Manu Smriti is the most authoritative–and the foundation–of all the dharmashastras of India.
Dharmashala: A place for pilgrims to stay, either free of charge or at a minimal cost.
Dharmic: Having to do with dharma; of the character of dharma.
Dhatri: Giver; a name for God; creator; establisher.
Dhatu: Element; original element; core; constituent; the vital force in the human being.
Dhira: Steadfast; strong; bold; courageous. One who possesses these qualities.
Dhoti: A long piece of material worn around the waist by traditionally-dressed men in India, rather like a long skirt.
Dhriti: Steadfast; constant; attraction; sustaining effort; firmness; patience; endurance.
Dhuni: A fire lighted by wandering monks, beside which they meditate and sleep.
Dhvani: Tone: sound; word; the subtle aspect of the vital shakti or the jiva in the vibrations.
Dhyana(m): Meditation; contemplation.
Dhyeya: Object of meditation or worship; purpose behind action.
Diksha: Initiation; dedication; consecration.
Dipa: A wick lamp fed by oil or ghee; a flame in a lamp. Divya: Divine; celestial; divine nature; luminous; supernatural. Divya chakshuh: Divine eye; the heavenly eye; wisdom.
Divya shakti: Divine energy or power.
Dosha: Defect; imperfection; blemish; fault; shortcoming. In Yoga philosophy there are five doshas: lust (kama), anger (krodha), greed (lobha), delusion (moha), and envy (matsarya).
Dosha drishti: Seeing the defects in samsara and samsaric life.
Drashta: The pure consciousness comprehending all objects; perceiver; seer; purusha; subject.
Drik: See Drashta.
Drishta: The visible; see; that which is perceived.
Drishti: Seeing; sight; vision; view; inner sight; opinion; gaze; perception.
Drishya: Visible; object seen; perceived; objects of consciousness; the world; that which can be seen by the physical sense.
Dukha(m): Pain; suffering; misery; sorrow; grief; unhappiness; stress or distress; that which is unsatisfactory or produces dukha.
Durga: “Incomprehensible One;” “Difficult to reach;” the Universal Mother; she rides a lion (or tiger) and carries a weapon in each of her eight arms symbolizing the powers of the Self against ignorance and evil. She is invoked against all forms of evil–physical and metaphysical. Considered the consort, the shakti, of Shiva.
Dwaita: Dual; duality; dualism.
Dwandwa(s): The pairs of opposites in nature (prakriti) such as pleasure and pain, hot and cold, light and darkness, gain and loss, victory and defeat, love and hatred.
Dwandwamoha: The delusion of the pairs of opposites.
Dwapara Yuga: The Bronze Age. See Yuga.
Dwesha: Aversion/avoidance for something, implying a dislike for it. This can be emotional (instinctual) or intellectual. It may range from simple nonpreference to intense repulsion, antipathy and even hatred. See Raga.
Dwija: “Twice born;” any member of the three upper castes that has received the sacred thread (yajnopavita).
Dwipa: Island; continent.
E
Eka: One; unique; Reality.
Ekadashi: “The eleventh.” The eleventh day of each half of the lunar month (that is, the eleventh day after the new and full moons) that is devoted to the worship of Vishnu and his avataras.
Ekadashi Vrata: Observing ekadhashi (the eleventh day after the new and full moons, sacred to Vishnu) by fasting–through abstinence from grains and other staples and eating much less than usual, oftentimes fasting from food (and sometimes water) until after sundown.
Ekagrata: One-pointedness of the mind; concentration; close attention.
Ekakshara: A common term for Om meaning “the Single Syllable” or “the Single Letter.”
Ekam-eva-advitiyam: “One, only, without a second.” A description of Brahman.
Eva(m): Only; in fact; thus; so; in this manner; without limitation.
G
Gaja: Elephant.
Gambhira: Deep; magnanimous; dignified; grand; imperious; grave.
Ganapati: “Lord of the Ganas” (the spirits that always accompany Shiva). See Ganesha.
Gandha: Smell; fragrance.
Gandharva: A demigod–a celestial musician and singer.
Ganesha: The elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati; the remover of obstacles; lord (pati) of the ganas (spirits that always accompany Shiva); god of wisdom; god of beginnings; the granter of success is spiritual and material life; in ritual worship he is worshipped first, and is therefore known as Adi-deva, the First God.
Ganga: See Ganges.
Ganges (Ganga): The sacred river–believed to be of divine origin–that flows from high up in the Himalayas, through the plains of Northern India, and empties into the Bay of Bengal. Hindus consider that bathing in the Ganges profoundly purifies both body and mind.
Ganja: Indian hemp; a form of marijuana found in India.
Garuda: A great being who can assume bird form, and therefore considered the king of birds. Often depicted as an eagle, he is the vehicle of Vishnu.
Gatha: Verse; stanza.
Gaudapada: The guru of Shankara’s guru, Govindapada.
Gauh (Go): Cow.
Gauri: “The Golden One.” A title of the Divine Mother, consort of Shiva.
Gayatri Mantra: A Rig Vedic mantra in the gayatri meter invoking the solar powers of evolution and enlightenment.
Gayatri Meter: A meter found only in the Rig Veda, consisting of three lines of eight syllables each. It is considered especially appropriate for mantric invocation of deities before worship.
Gerua: The brownish-orange mud used to dye the clothing of Hindu monastics; the color produced by dyeing with gerua is also called gerua.
Ghat: A stairway leading down to a river, pond, or water reservoir.
Ghatashuddi: “Purifying the ‘pot.’” Purification of the physical body. An expression of Hatha Yoga, referring to the “earthen pot” of the body.
Ghee: Clarified butter.
Giri: Mountain.
Gita: The Bhagavad Gita.
Gopa: Cowherd boy; male counterpart of the gopis.
Gopala: Cowherd; master of the cows; a title of Krishna the cowherd boy.
Gopi: Milkmaid; childhood companions and devotees of Krishna.
Gopinath Kaviraj (Mahamahopadyaya Sri): Gopinath Kaviraj was considered to be the greatest scholar of modern India, so much so that many Indian book catalogs devoted an entire section to his books alone.
Gopuram: A towerlike structure over an entrance (gateway) to a temple or temple compound, shaped like a wedge standing on its wide end, consisting of many tiers that are highly decorated (sculpted), often with images of deities and figures from Hindu cosmology.
Goshala: Cow shed.
Gotra: Clan; family; lineage.
Govinda: Chief of cowherds–a title of Krishna.
Griha: Home; house; temple.
Grihasta: A married “householder;” the second stage (ashrama) in life.
Grihya sutras: Scriptures (dharmashastras) setting down the way of life to be observed by Grihastas.
Guha: Cave; the heart (hridaya guha).
Guhya: Secret; secret place.
Guna: Quality, attribute, or characteristic arising from nature (Prakriti) itself; a mode of energy behavior. As a rule, when “guna” is used it is in reference to the three qualities of Prakriti, the three modes of energy behavior that are the basic qualities of nature, and which determine the inherent characteristics of all created things. They are: 1) sattwa–purity, light, harmony; 2) rajas–activity, passion; and 3) tamas–dullness, inertia, and ignorance.
Gunatita: Beyond the gunas; the state of transcendence of the gunas–freedom from their conditionings.
Guru: Teacher; preceptor.
Guru Nanak: Founder of the Sikh religion.
Gurukula: “Teacher’s school” or “teacher’s abode.” A gurukula is the residence of a spiritual teacher where young students (brahmacharis) came to live and learn.
H
Hamsah: “I am He;” swan.
Hanuman: A powerful monkey chief of extraordinary strength and prowess, whose exploits are celebrated in the epic Ramayana, the life of Rama. He was an ideal devotee (bhakta) and servant of Lord Rama.
Hara: “One who takes away;” a title of Shiva; the destroyer; the remover.
Hari: Vishnu.
Harikatha: Literally “Hari [Vishnu] Story,” a hari katha is a narration of the life and deeds of a deity or saint, interspersed with songs relevant to the events being spoken about or actual poetic reflections on those events and their significance. Kirtan is often a part, as well. This is the most popular and widespread traditional form of spiritual “entertainment.”
Harsha: Joy; exhilaration; excitement.
Hatha yoga: A system of Yoga consisting of physical exercises, postures, and breathing exercises for gaining control over the physical body and prana.
Havishya: Sacrificial food. See Charu.
Havan: Fire sacrifice.
Havan kunda: Pit or receptacle for the fire sacrifice.
Himsa: Injury, violence; killing.
Hiranyagarbha: “Golden egg;” cosmic womb; cosmic intelligence; the Supreme Lord of the universe; also called Brahman. It can also refer to Brahma the creator of the three lower worlds.
Holy Mother: A reference to Sri Sarada Devi (Saradamani Mukhopadhyaya), the wife of Sri Ramakrishna, believed by many to have been an incarnation of the Divine Mother.
Homa: Vedic fire ritual/sacrifice.
Hridaya: Heart; center or core of something; essence; the space (akasha) where the inbreath and outbreath merge–this is the true heart.
Hridayaguha: “The Cave of the Heart,” the core of our being wherein the Self dwells.
Hrishikesha: The bristling (or bushy) haired one. A title of Krishna.
I
Iccha (Ichchha): Desire; will; wish; free will; the divine will.
Iccha (Ichchha) shakti: The power/force of desire; power/force of will; Shakti in the aspect of divine will.
Ida: The subtle channel that extends from the base of the spine to the medulla on the left side of the spine.
Indra: King of the lesser “gods” (demigods).
Indriya: Organ. The five organs of perception (jnanendriyas) are the ear, skin, eye, tongue, and nose. The five organs of action (karmendriyas) are the voice, hand, foot, organ of excretion, and the organ of generation.
Isha: Lord; master; ruler; Ishwara.
Ishana: The all-enjoyer; Lord of everything; Lord of space.
Ishta-devata: Beloved deity. The deity preferred above all others by an individual. “Chosen ideal” is the usual English translation.
Ishta mantra: The mantra of the divine form specially beloved by an individual (ishta devata).
Ishwara: “God” or “Lord” in the sense of the Supreme Power, Ruler, Master, or Controller of the cosmos. “Ishwara” implies the powers of omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. See Bhagavan.
Ishwarapranidhana: Offering of one’s life to God (Ishwara).
Ishwari: The Divine Cosmic Mother; the feminine form of Ishwara.
Itihasa: “Thus spoken”–history; technical term for the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
J
Jada: Inert; unconscious; matter. Jagadguru: “World guru;” world teacher. Jagat: World; cosmos.
Jagrat: The waking state.
Jala: Water.
Janaka: The most renowned philosopher-king of ancient India, ruler of Mithila and father of Sita, the wife of Rama. Mentioned in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, he is considered the prime example of one who has attained total fulfillment in both material and spiritual life simultaneously without slighting either.
Janaloka: The world that embraces both the highest astral levels and the lower causal levels.
Janardana: Agitator of men (properly an epithet of Vishnu)–a title of Krishna.
Janma: Birth.
Janmotsava: Birthday celebration.
Japa: Repetition of a mantra.
Jata: Long matted hair.
Jati: Birth; class; class notions; family; species. Jaya: Victory; victorious; mastery; hail; salutations. Jayanti: Birth day; victorious; conquering.
Jitendriya: One who has controlled the indriyas–the senses.
Jiva: Individual spirit; embodied spirit; living entity; life..
Jivanmukta: One who is liberated in this present life.
Jivanmukti: Liberation in this life.
Jivatma(n): Individual spirit. See Jiva.
Jnana: Knowledge; wisdom; knowledge of the Reality or Brahman, the Absolute.
Jnana Marga: The path of discriminative knowledge leading to union with God.
Jnana Yoga: The path of knowledge; meditation through wisdom; constantly and seriously thinking on the true nature of the Self as taught by the upanishads.
Jnanamaya kosha: “The sheath of intellect (buddhi).” The level of intelligent thought and conceptualization. Sometimes called the Vijnanamaya kosha. The astral-causal body.
Jnanata: Consciousness.
Jnanendriya: The five organs of perception: ear, skin, eye, tongue, and nose.
Jnani: A follower of the path of knowledge (jnana); one who has realized–who knows–the Truth (Brahman).
Jnanopadesha: Instruction in wisdom (jnana).
Jyoti(h): Light; flame; illumination; luminosity; effulgence.
Jyotisha: Astrology; astronomy.
K
Kabir: An Indian mystic of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Kailash(a): “Crystalline;” the name of the mountain home of Siva–a mountain peak in the Himalayas (in present-day Tibet) revered as the abode of Shiva, that is a famous place of pilgrimage.
Kaivalya: Transcendental state of Absolute Independence; Moksha; isolation; final beatitude; emancipation.
Kaivalya-mukti: Liberation.
Kala (1): Time measure, as in the time required to recite a mantra. It also sometimes means levels of creation or manifested beings.
Kala (2): Time; death; fate; black; Yama.
Kali: “The Black One;” the black-skinned goddess who emerged from the body of Goddess Durga to defeat the demons that were attacking her. She wears a garland of skulls (or severed heads) around her neck and a skirt of severed arms–both symbolizing the sense of egotism. In one hand she wields the sword of spiritual wisdom (prajna) and in the other carries a severed head (ego). Despite her fearsome appearance, her two other hands are held in the gestures (mudras) that indicate: “Fear not” and “Draw near.”
Kali Yuga: The Iron Age. See Yuga.
Kalki: The future–tenth–incarnation (avatar) of Vishnu.
Kalpa: A Day of Brahma–4,320,000,000 years. It alternates with a Night of Brahma of the same length. In the Day of Brahma creation is manifest and in the Night of Brahma is it resolved into its causal state.
Kalpana: Imagination of the mind; the association of name and permanence to objects; presumptive knowledge; assumption; creation.
Kalpataru: “The wish-fulfilling tree.” The celestial tree of Hindu mythology, which grants all that a person standing or sitting under it desires.
Kalpita: Imaginary; created (artificial, unreal); dreamt.
Kalpita bheda: Imaginary difference.
Kalyana: Excellence; auspicious; blessed.
Kama: Desire; passion; lust. Its intensity may range from tepid to raging intensity.
Kamadeva: God of beauty and love; the Vedic Cupid who shoots a bow with flowers instead of arrows.
Kamadhenu: Wish-fulfilling cow produced at the churning of the milk ocean.
Kamadhuk: See Kamadhenu.
Kamala: Lotus; rose colored.
Kamandalu: A water vessel carried by a travelling sannyasi; usually made of a gourd or coconut shell, it may also be earthenware. The kamandalu and staff (danda) are considered the insignia of the sannyasi along with gerua clothing.
Kanda: Section; part; chapter.
Kandarpa: See Kamadeva.
Kapila: The great sage who formulated the Sankhya philosophy which is endorsed by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. (See the entry under Sankhya.)
Karana: “Instrument;” cause; instrumental cause; reason. The means of knowledge and action. The inner and outer instruments (sense organs). The unmanifested potential cause that, in due time, takes shape as the visible effect; the material cause of the universe in such a state during the period of dissolution, i.e., cosmic energy in a potential condition.
Karana sharira: The causal body (where the individual rests during sound, deep, dreamless sleep, the intellect, mind and senses being reduced to an unmanifested potential condition), also known as the anandamaya kosha, the “sheath of bliss.”
Karatalabhiksha: Using hands (palms) as the begging bowl.
Karika: Commentary; treatise.
Karma: Karma, derived from the Sanskrit root kri, which means to act, do, or make, means any kind of action, including thought and feeling. It also means the effects of action. Karma is both action and reaction, the metaphysical equivalent of the principle: “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). It is karma operating through the law of cause and effect that binds the jiva or the individual soul to the wheel of birth and death. There are three kinds of karma: 1) sanchita karma, which is all the accumulated actions of all previous births. 2) Prarabdha karma, the particular portion of such karma allowed for being worked out in the present life. 3) Agami karma, the current karma being freshly performed by the individual.
Karma Yoga: The Yoga of selfless action; performance of one’s own duty; service of humanity.
Karma Yogi: One who practices karma yoga.
Karma-bandhanam: Karmic bondage; karmic tie.
Karma-kanda: The ritual portion of the Veda. The philosophy that Vedic ritual is the only path to perfection.
Karma-kandi: One who follows the Karma-kanda as philosophy and practice.
Karmaphala: The fruit of actions; the consequence of a deed.
Karma Marga: The path of selfless knowledge leading to union with God.
Karmashaya: Latent impression of action which will eventually fructify.
Karmendriya: The five organs of action: voice, hand, foot, organ of excretion, and the organ of generation.
Karttikeya: See Subramanya.
Karuna: Mercy; compassion; kindness.
Kaupina: A small strip of cloth used to cover one’s private parts. Also called a langoti.
Khechari Mudra: “Sky-walking” mudra. The turning up of the eyes in meditation. In Hatha Yoga, the insertion of the tongue upward and behind the palate, blocking the nasal passages.
Kedarnath (Kedar Nath): One of the chief places of pilgrimage in India: a temple on a mountaintop in the Himalayas, dedicated to the worship of Shiva in the form of a linga installed there by Adi Shankaracharya.
Keshava: Beautiful-haired one–a title of Krishna.
Kevala: Oneness; absolute; alone; single; independent; perfect; uncompounded.
Kevala-advaita: Absolute Non-dualism culminating in liberation.
Kevala Advaitin: A nondualist intent on the attainment of the state of Kaivalya–liberation.
Khol: See Mridangam.
Kirtan: Singing the names and praises of God; devotional chanting.
Klesha: Literally, taints or afflictions. The kleshas are: ignorance, egotism, attractions and repulsions towards objects, and desperate clinging to physical life from the fear of death. (See Yoga Sutras 2:2-9.)
Klishta: Afflicted.
Kosha: Sheath; bag; scabbard; a sheath enclosing the soul; body. There are five such concentric sheaths or bodies: the sheaths of bliss, intellect, mind, life-force and the physical body–the anandamaya, jnanamaya, manomaya, pranamaya and annamaya bodies respectively.
Kripa: Grace; mercy; compassion; blessing. There are three kinds of kripa: 1) sadhana kripa, the grace of self-effort; 2) guru kripa, the grace of a teacher, and 3) divya kripa, divine grace.
Krishna (1): Black; dark-colored.
Krishna (2): “The dark blue one.” A Divine Incarnation born in India about three thousand years ago, Whose teachings to His disciple Arjuna on the eve of the Great India (Mahabharata) War comprise the Bhagavad Gita.
Krishna Dwaipayana: “The island-born dark one.” Vyasa.
Krita Yuga: Satya Yuga, the Golden Age. See Yuga.
Kriya: Purificatory action, practice, exercise, or rite; movement; function; skill. Kriyas purify the body and nervous system as well as the subtle bodies to enable the yogi to reach and hold on to higher levels of consciousness and being.
Kriya Shakti: Power or faculty of action (kriya.)
Kriya Yoga: The Yoga of Purification: “Austerity (tapasya), self-study (swadhyaya), and offering of the life to God (Ishwara pranidhaha) are Kriya Yoga.” (Yoga Sutras 2:1)
Krodha: Anger, wrath; fury.
Kshama: Forgiveness; patience, forbearance.
Kshatriya: A member of the ruler/warrior caste.
Kshetra: Field; property; place of pilgrimage; sacred place; the physical body.
Kshetrajna: Knower of the field; the individual Self (Atman); the Supreme Self (Paramatman). See the thirteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita.
Kshobha: Shaking; agitated; disturbed; emotion.
Kubera: The god of wealth.
Kumaras (Four): Those highly advanced souls–Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatkumara and Sanatsujata–who at the beginning of this creation cycle refused to engage in worldly life despite the command of Brahma. They were then taught by Lord Shiva, in the form of Dakshinamurti, the mysteries of Brahmajnana.
Kumari: Virgin; a formal title of address for an unmarried woman.
Kumari Puja: The worship of a virgin (usually a prepubescent girl) as an embodiment of the Divine Mother.
Kumbha: Pot; water vessel.
Kumbhaka: Retention of breath; suspension of breath.
Kumkum: “Red-red.” Red-colored powder used for making a ritual mark between the eyebrows.
Kund: A pond; a small natural bathing place.
Kundalini: The primordial cosmic energy located in the individual; it is usually thought of as lying coiled up like a serpent at the base of the spine.
Kurukshetra: The battlefield in Northern India where the Mahabharata (Great Indian) War took place, and where the Bhagavad Gita was spoken.
Kusha: One of the varieties of sacred grass (darbha) used in many religious rites. Because of its insulating qualities, both physical and metaphysical, it is recommended as a seat (asana) for meditation, and as mats for sleeping (it keeps the sleeper warm).
Kutashtha: Changeless; immutable; dweller in the height (summit); a name of Brahman.
Kutira: Hut; cottage; house; building; hermitage.
L
Lahiri Mahasaya: One of the greatest yogis of nineteenth-century India, written about extensively in Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda.
Lakh: One hundred thousand.
Lakshana: Definition; characteristic; condition; attribute; sign; mark.
Lakshmi: The consort of Vishnu; the goddess of wealth and prosperity; good fortune; auspiciousness; abundance.
Lakshya: Perceivable object; object of concentration-attention; vision.
Langoti: See kaupina.
Laya: Dissolution; merging.
Laya Yoga: Process of absorption of the individual soul into the Supreme Soul; concentration of the mind with a view to dissolve it; that kind of yogic meditation where the mind is carried on progressively from grosser to subtler ideas until it is dissolved in the Unmanifested or Para Brahman; the yoga sometimes known as Omkaralayacintana–the merging of the consciousness into Om.
Lila: Play; sport; divine play; the cosmic play. The concept that creation is a play of the divine, existing for no other reason than for the mere joy of it. The life of an avatar is often spoken of as lila.
Linga: Mark; characteristic; gender; sign; symbol; distinctive sign through which it is possible to recognize the nature of something. Usually a reference to a column-like or egg-shaped symbol of Shiva.
Linga sharira: Subtle body; astral body (also called sukshma-sharira).
Lobha: Greed; covetousness.
Loka: World or realm; sphere, level, or plane of existence, whether physical, astral, or causal. There are seven lokas: Bhuloka: The material plane of atomic matter. Bhuvaloka: The lesser astral world, similar to the material plane (Bhuloka). Swa(r)loka: The median astral world. Mahaloka: The higher astral world. Those who attain this world need never be reborn in the three lower worlds of Bhur, Bhuvah, and Swah. Janaloka: The world that embraces both the highest astral levels and the lower causal levels. Tapoloka: The median causal world exclusively inhabited by advanced spirits who perpetually engage in meditation–tapasya. Satyaloka: The highest causal world inhabited by those who have attained liberation (moksha).
Lokaishana: Desire for fame.
Lokasangraha: Solidarity of the world; uplift of the world.
Lota: A metal water vessel used for drinking, carrying, or pouring water.
M
Mada: Pride; conceit; intoxication; exhilaration; dementia.
Madhava: Descendant of Madhu (a Yadava or Madhava patriarch). A title of Krishna.
Madhura: Sweet; honeylike.
Madhura bhava: The devotional relationship of love toward God; looking upon God as the Beloved.
Madhusudana: Destroyer of the Demon Madhu (properly an epithet of Vishnu)–a title of Krishna.
Madhvacharya: The founder and exponent of Dvaita (Dualistic) Vedanta (1199-1278), who taught devotion to Vishnu.
Madhya: Center; middle; central.
Maha: Great; mighty; powerful; lofty; noble. Usually a prefix or suffix.
Mahabharata: The world’s longest epic poem (110,00 verses) about the Mahabharata (Great Indian) War that took place about three thousand years ago. The Mahabharata also includes the Bhagavad Gita, the most popular sacred text of Hinduism.
Mahabhuta: Great elements; primordial elements. The five great elements: ether (akasha), air (vayu), fire (tejas), water (ap), and earth (prithvi).
Mahadeva: “The Great God;” a title of Shiva.
Mahaloka: The higher astral world. Those who attain this world need never be reborn in the three lower worlds of Bhur, Bhuvah, and Swah.
Mahamantra: “The Great Mantra,” popularly known in the United States and Europe as “the Hare Krishna Mantra”–Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama, Rama, Hare, Hare; Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare, Hare.
Mahamaya: “Great illusion;” divine Power operating as identified with the Supreme Lord. A title of Shakti, the Goddess.
Mahamrityunjaya: “The Great Conqueror of Death.” A title and four-armed form of Shiva.
Mahamrityunjaya mantra: “The Great Conqueror of Death Mantra.” A Vedic verse addressed to Shiva that is recited for protection, recovery from disease, and extension of life.
Mahan: The Great One; The Supreme One; title of the Supreme Being. That One which is impossible to adequately praise. That alone which is truly Great.
Mahapralaya: The final cosmic dissolution; the dissolution of all the worlds of relativity (Bhuloka, Bhuvaloka, Swaloka, Mahaloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka, and Satyaloka), until nothing but the Absolute remains. There are lesser dissolutions, known simply as pralayas, when only the first five worlds (lokas) are dissolved.
Maharatha: “A great-car-warrior,” a commander of eleven thousand bowmen as he rode in his chariot.
Mahar(i)shi: Great sage (rishi).
Mahapurusha: A great person; a great soul; a sage; the Supreme Lord.
Mahasamadhi: Literally “the great union [samadhi],” this refers to a realized yogi’s conscious departure from the physical body at death.
Mahashakti: The Great Power; the divine creative energy.
Mahashivaratri: “The Great Night of Shiva.” The major, night-long festival of the worship of Shiva that occurs on the fourteenth day of the dark half of the lunar month known as Phalguna (usually in February, but every third year when an extra month is added to the lunar calendar, it may occur in March).
Mahashunya(ta): The Great Void; the Great Emptiness. The state of the Formless Absolute, which is empty in the sense that it is without manifest creation. It is not a state of nonexistence, because it has the nature of Being, Consciousness, and Bliss (Satchidananda).
Mahat: See Mahat Tattwa.
Mahat Tattwa: The Great Principle; the first evolute from Prakriti; intellect. The principle of Cosmic Intelligence or Buddhi; universal Christ Consciousness, the “Son of God,” the “Only Begotten of the Father,” “the firstborn of every creature.”
Mahatma: Literally: “a great soul [atma].” Usually a designation for a sannyasi or a saint.
Mahavakya: Literally: “Great Saying.” The highest Vedantic truth, found in the Upanishads, there are four Mahavakyas: 1) Prajñanam Brahma–“Consciousness is Brahman” (Aitareya Upanishad); 2) Ayam Atma Brahma–“This Self is Brahman” (Mandukya Upanishad); 3) Tat Twam Asi–“Thou art That” (Chandogya Upanishad); 4) Aham Brahmasmi–“I am Brahman” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad).
Mahavrata: The Great Vow/Rule of Conduct. The Yoga Sutras (2:31) of Patanjali state that ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya, and aparigraha “not conditioned by class, place, time or occasion, and extending to all stages, constitute the Great Vow.” (See separate entries for each component.)
Maheshwara: The Great Ishwara; Shiva.
Mahima: Glory; greatness; magnitude; miracle; magnification (in the sense of glorification or praise).
Mahout: Trainer-handler of an elephant.
Maithuna(m): Sexual intercourse.
Maitri: Friendliness; friendship; love.
Mala (1): Taint; impurity; defilement; defect; ignorance, limitation of consciousness.
Mala (2): Garland; flower garland; rosary; chain. A string of beads (usually 108) used to count off repetitions of a mantra or a yogic process.
Malina: Impure; defective.
Manah: The sensory mind; the perceiving faculty that receives the messages of the senses.
Manana: Thinking, pondering, reflecting, considering.
Manas(a): See Manah.
Manasika: Pertaining to the mind; mental; mental action.
Mandala: Circle; magical circle or diagram; the special domain of a deity; a section of the Rig Veda; an association.
Mandapa(m): An open, covered hall or pavilion consisting of a roof and supports (usually pillars, but it can be walls with very large openings); a tent.
Mandir(a): Temple; abode.
Mangala: Auspicious. Mangalarati: See Arati. Mani: Jewel.
Manipura chakra: Energy center located in the spine at the point opposite the navel. Seat of the Fire element.
Manohara: “Enchanter/Ravisher/Stealer of the Mind;” one who captivates one’s mind. A title of Vishnu, but usually applied to Krishna as the flute player.
Manolaya: Involution and dissolution of the mind into its cause.
Manomaya kosha: “The sheath of the mind (manas–mental substance).” The level (kosha) of the sensory mind. The astral body.
Manonasa: Destruction of the mind.
Manonirodha: Control or annihilation of the mind.
Mantra(m): Sacred syllable or word or set of words through the repetition and reflection of which one attains perfection or realization of the Self. Literally, “a transforming thought” (manat trayate). A mantra, then is a sound formula that transforms the consciousness.
Mantra Yoga: The Yoga of the Divine Word; the science of sound; the path to divine union through repetition of a mantra.
Mantric: Having to do with mantra(s)–their sound or their power.
Manu: The ancient lawgiver, whose code, The Laws of Manu (Manu Smriti) is the foundation of Hindu religious and social conduct.
Manus: Progenitors of the human race who were also its lawgivers and teachers.
Manushya: Human being.
Manvantara: An age of the rulership of a Manu. Within a cosmic age (kalpa) there are fourteen manvantaras.
Mara: The embodiment of the power of cosmic evil, illusion, and delusion.
Marga: Way; path; street; approach to God-realization (bhakti marga, jnana marga, karma marga, yoga marga, etc.).
Margashirsha: A lunar month, roughly the latter half of November and the first half of December. This is the time of ideal weather in India.
Marichi: The chief of the Maruts.
Maruts: The presiding deities of winds and storms.
Mata: Mother.
Math(a): A monastery.
Matra: Letters of the alphabet or their sounds.
Mauna(m): Silence–not speaking.
Maya: The illusive power of Brahman; the veiling and the projecting power of the universe, the power of Cosmic Illusion.
Mayic: Having to do with Maya.
Medha: Power of retaining the import of studies; intelligence or intellect; power of understanding.
Mela: Fair; large religious gathering.
Meru: The mountain, of supreme height, on which the gods dwell, or the mountain on which Shiva is ever seated in meditation. Said to be the center of the world, supporting heaven itself. Obviously a yogic symbol. The central bead on a japa mala.
Mimamsa: An enquiry into the nature of a thing; the science of philosophical logic enquiring into Vedic knowledge. Usually a reference to Purva-Mimamsa, one of the six schools of orthodox Indian philosophy. It focuses on the Vedas and the Vedic rites to establish their supreme spiritual value and authority.
Mimamsaka: A follower of the Purva Mimamsa school of philosophy.
Mitahara: Moderate diet.
Mithya: Not real; neither real nor unreal; illusory; false; untrue; incorrect.
Mitra: Friend; companion; associate. The Vedic god of harmony.
Mleccha: Foreigner; an alien; barbarian; someone who does not belong to Hindu culture.
Moha: Delusion–in relation to something, usually producing delusive attachment, infatuation, or obsession based on a completely false perception and evaluation of the object.
Moksha: Release; liberation; the term is particularly applied to the liberation from the bondage of karma and the wheel of birth and death; Absolute Experience.
Mridanga(m): A drum used exclusively in devotional music, also known as a khol.
Mrityu: Death; Lord Yama.
Mudita: Joy; happiness.
Mudra: Gesture; hand position; seal; stamp.
Muhurta: A unit of time–a thirtieth part of a day, forty-five to forty-eight minutes in length.
Mukta: Liberated; freed; one who is liberated from bondage.
Muktajiva: A liberated individual spirit.
Mukti: Moksha; liberation; release.
Mula: Origin(al); primary; root; base.
Muladhara chakra: “Seat of the root.” Energy center located at the base of the spine. Seat of the Earth element.
Mulaprakriti: The Root [Basic] Energy from which all things are formed. The Divine Prakriti or Energy of God.
Mumukshu: A seeker after liberation (moksha).
Mumukshutwa: Intense desire or yearning for liberation (moksha).
Muni: “Silent one” ( one observing the vow of silence (mauna); sage; ascetic.
Murti: Image; statue; idol; figure; embodiment.
N
Nada: Sound; the resonance of sound; mystic inner sound; the primal sound or first vibration from which all creation has emanated; the first manifestation of the unmanifested Absolute; Omkara or Shabda Brahman. The inner sound of Om experienced in meditation.
Nadi: A channel in the subtle (astral) body through which subtle prana (psychic energy) flows; a physical nerve.
Naga: Snake; a kind of astral being; naked.
Nagar(a): City; town.
Nagar(san)kirtan: Kirtan done in procession through the streets or sometimes within or around an ashram or other property.
Nagas: Astral beings that often interact with human beings, usually taking the form of snakes. (In Sanskrit naga is the word for snake.)
Nahabat: A temple music tower. Musicians sit on the upper story and play during festivals and sometimes at the time of daily worship. Holy Mother Sarada Devi lived in the northern nahabat of the Dakshineshwar Kali Temple.
Naishthika brahmachari(n): One irrevocably vowed to life-long celibacy; a permanent brahmachari.
Naivedya: Food offered in worship.
Nakshatra: Star; heavenly body; asterism or constellation.
Nama: Name. The Divine Name.
Nama-rupa: Name and form.
Namaskara: “I bow to you;” a respectful greeting; salutation; obeisance.
Namasmarana: Remembrance (repetition) of the Name of God. Remembrance of the Lord through repetition of His name.
Namaste(bhyam): “I bow to you.” “I salute you.”
Nanak (Guru): Founder of the Sikh religion in the fifteenth century.
Nara: Man; human.
Narada: A primeval sage to whom some of the verses of the Rig Veda are attributed.
Naraka: Hell.
Naraki: One who is in hell.
Narayana: A proper name of God–specifically of Vishnu. The term by etymology means a Being that supports all things, that is reached by them and that helps them to do so; also one who pervades all things. He Who dwells in man. Literally: “God in humanity.” Sadhus often address one another as Narayana and greet one another: “Namo Narayanaya”–I salute Narayana [in you].
Narayana shila: See Shalagrama.
Nasika: Nose.
Nasikagra: Tip of the nose.
Nasikagradrishti: Gaze directed toward the tip of the nose.
Nastika: Unbeliever; atheist.
Nataraja: “King of the Dance,” a title of Shiva the Cosmic Dancer. The whole creation is the dance of Shiva. He holds a drum (damaru) in his upper right hand representing the sound (shabda) of Om by which the universe is created. In his upper left hand he holds a flame which symbolizes the dissolution of the universe in fire–but which also represents the tapasya by which the yogi dissolves the bonds of this world. His lower hand is in abhaya mudra, the gesture meaning “fear not,” bestowing peace and protection. His lower left hand points toward his upraised foot indicating that the “feet” of the yogi must be lifted up toward Spirit. It also symbolizes liberation.
Natha: Lord; ruler; protector.
Navadhvara kuti: The nine-gated house–the body.
Navadhvara puri: The nine-gated city–the body.
Neem Karoli Baba: One of India’s most amazing and mysterious spiritual figures. The life of this great miracle-worker and master spanned from two to four centuries (at the least), including most of the twentieth century.
Neti-neti: “Not this; not this.” The analytical process of progressively negating all names and forms in order to arrive at the eternal underlying Truth. In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad both Brahman and the Self are described as “not this; not this,” meaning that when we negate every name, form, or quality, Being Itself will remain.
Nididhyasana: Meditation; contemplation; profound and continuous meditation. It is a continuous, unbroken stream of ideas of the same kind as those of the Absolute. It removes the contrariwise tendencies of the mind.
Nidra: Sleep; either dreaming or deep sleep state.
Nijananda: The bliss beyond sense perception. Nimitta: Cause; instrument; effect; sign; substance. Nirakara: Without form.
Niranjana: Without blemish; spotless; flawless.
Nirguna: Without attributes or qualities (gunas).
Nirguna Brahman: The impersonal, attributeless Absolute beyond all description or designation.
Nirodha: Restraint; suppression; non-reaction; non-response; dissolving.
Nirmala: Without impurity; pure; without defect or blemish.
Nirvana: Liberation; final emancipation; the term is particularly applied to the liberation from the bondage of karma and the wheel of birth and death that comes from knowing Brahman; Absolute Experience. See Moksha.
Nirvedam: Indifference; non-reaction; non-susceptibility; the state of being unmoved or not influenced by something.
Nirvikalpa: Indeterminate; non-conceptual; without the modifications of the mind; beyond all duality.
Nirvikalpa Samadhi: Samadhi in which there is no objective experience or experience of “qualities” whatsoever, and in which the triad of knower, knowledge and known does not exist; purely subjective experience of the formless and qualitiless and unconditioned Absolute. The highest state of samadhi, beyond all thought, attribute, and description.
Nirvikara: Without transformation, modifications, or change; changeless.
Nishkama karma: Desireless action; disinterested action; action dedicated to God without personal desire for the fruits of the action; selfless action.
Nitya: Eternal; permanent; unchanging; the ultimate Reality; the eternal Absolute. Secondarily: daily or obligatory (nitya karma–that which must be done every day).
Nitya-Shuddha: Eternally pure.
Nityananda (Avadhuta Paramhansa): A great Master of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the most renowned Pranava yogi of our times. His Chidakasha Gita contains some of the most profound statements on the Pranava and Its application by the yogi.
Nivritti: Negation; the path of turning away from activity; withdrawal. Literally, “to turn back.” The path of renunciation.
Nivritti Marga: The path of renunciation, of withdrawal from the world.
Niyama: Observance; the five Do’s of Yoga: 1) shaucha–purity, cleanliness; 2) santosha–contentment, peacefulness; 3) tapas–austerity, practical (i.e., result-producing) spiritual discipline; 4) swadhyaya–self-study, spiritual study; 5) Ishwarapranidhana–offering of one’s life to God.
O
Ojah: See Ojas.
Ojas: Vitality; vigor; luster; splendor; energy; spiritual energy. The highest form of energy in the human body. In the spiritual aspirant who constantly practices continence and purity, other forms of energy are transmuted into ojas and stored in the brain, manifesting as spiritual and intellectual power.
Om: The Pranava or the sacred syllable symbolizing and embodying Brahman.
Omkara: Om.
Oshadhi: Medicinal plant.
P
Pada (1): Part; chapter; one-fourth portion.
Pada (2): Foot.
Padma: Lotus.
Padmasana: Lotus posture; considered the best posture for meditation.
Paduka: Sandals.
Panchabhuta: The Five Elements: ether, air, fire, water, and earth.
Panchagni: “Five fires.” A discipline in which four fires are kindled in the four cardinal directions and meditation is done from dawn till dusk seated in their midst, the sun being the fifth “fire.” Also called Panchatapa.
Panchanga: Traditional Indian calendar.
Panchatapa: See Panchagni.
Pandal: A flat-roofed tent whose sides and top are detached from one another, the root usually being higher than the sides to provide air circulation.
Pandavas: The five sons of King Pandu: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva. Their lives are described in the Mahabharata.
Pandita: Scholar; pundit; learned individual.
Papa: Sin; demerit; evil; sinful deeds; evil deeds.
Para: Higher; supreme; universal; beyond; transcendent. Parabhakti: Supreme devotion to God. This leads to jnana. Parabrahman: Supreme Brahman.
Parama: Highest; supreme.
Param[a]guru: The guru’s guru.
Param[a]purusha: See Purusha.
Paramartha: The highest attainment, purpose, or goal; absolute truth; Reality.
Paramatma(n): The Supreme Self, God.
Parameshwara: The Supreme Lord.
Paramhansa: Literally: Supreme Swan, a person of the highest spiritual realization, from the fact that a swan can separate milk from water and is therefore an apt symbol for one who has discarded the unreal for the Real, the darkness for the Light, and mortality for the Immortal, having separated himself fully from all that is not God and joined himself totally to the Divine, becoming a veritable embodiment of Divinity manifested in humanity.
Parampara: Tradition; one following another; lineage; succession; uninterrupted succession.
Parampurusha: The Supreme Spirit; Supreme Person.
Paranirvana: The Supreme, Final Nirvana, when the perfectly enlightened individual is released from physical embodiment, never to return to birth in any world, high or low.
Para-shakti: Supreme Power.
Parikrama: Circumambulation; “to traverse around.” It is the custom in India to circumambulate sacred objects and places, always moving clockwise so the sacred thing or place is to the right of the devotee.
Paripurna: All-full; self-contained.
Parivrajaka: “One who wanders;” a roaming ascetic; one who has renounced the world; a sannyasin.
Parvati: “Daughter of the Mountain;” the daughter of King Himalaya; the consort of Shiva; an incarnation of the Divine Mother.
Patala: Hell; nether world.
Patanjali: A yogi of ancient India, the author of the Yoga Sutras.
Pati: “Lord;” God; Master; Shiva.
Pativrata dharma: The rules of life of a chaste woman devoted to her husband.
Paurusha: Manhood, manliness, virility, potency, courage, effort.
Pauresheya: Personal; pertaining to or what originates from a person (purusha).
Pavaka: Agni.
Pavitra: Holy; pure; purified; can also mean purifier or sanctifier.
Payasa: A sweet rice pudding made from rice, milk, ghee, sugar, and spices.
Phala: Fruit; result or effect.
Pinda: Part of the whole; individual; small ball of rice offered to one’s ancestors as an oblation. Sometimes in the sannyas ritual the prospective sannyasi performs his own funeral obsequies (shraddha ceremony), including making offerings of rice balls to/for himself.
Pingala: The subtle channel that extends from the base of the spine to the medulla on the right side of the spine.
Pishacha: Vampire; flesh-or-blood-craving demon.
Pitamaha: Grandfather; Great Father; titles of Brahma, the Creator.
Pitha: Seat; throne; chair. It also indicates a place where something is centered or established. For example, a place of power may be referred to as a “shakti pitha” or a place favorable to meditation as a “yoga pitha.” A shrine to a deity may also be called a pitha, such as “Sarada pitha,” etc., meaning that the deity resides or is established there.
Pitri: A departed ancestor, a forefather.
Prabhu: Lord; excelling; mighty; powerful; master. From the root bhu–“to become, hence to rule”–and pra–“forth.”
Prarabdha karma: “Ripened” actions (pra=before; rabh=begin); the portion of accumulated karma, the fruits of which determines one’s present life, which are being experienced now and which cannot be erased; karma in action; remainder; karma that is working itself out during the present life. That part of the accumulated effect of past deeds which has begun to take effect with the creation of the present physical body and which is responsible for the continuance of the body even after release is attained. It is destroyed only when its force is spent. It cannot be averted, avoided, or changed–though either by knowledge or by grace its impact can be minimized or rendered nil to the perceiver.
Pradakshina: Circumambulation of a sacred object or place, walking around it clockwise so it is always on your right side.
Pradhana: Prakriti; causal matter.
Prahlada: A daitya prince who rejected his daitya heritage and became a devotee of Vishnu. His father, the evil Hiranyakashipu, tortured him and attempted his life because of his devotion and his speaking to others of divine matters, yet he remained steadfast.
Prajapati: Progenitor; the Creator; a title of Brahma the Creator.
Prajna: Consciousness; awareness.
Prajñanam Brahma: “Consciousness is Brahman.” The Mahavakya (Great Saying) of the Aitareya Upanishad.
Prajapati: Progenitor; the Creator; a title of Brahma the Creator.
Prakasha: Shining; luminous; effulgence; illumination; pure consciousness.
Prakriti: Causal matter; the fundamental power (shakti) of God from which the entire cosmos is formed; the root base of all elements; undifferentiated matter; the material cause of the world. Also known as Pradhana.
Prakritilaya: Absorbed or merged in Prakriti; the state of yogis who have so identified with the cosmic energy that they are trapped in it as though in a net and cannot separate themselves from it and evolve onwards until the cosmic dissolution (pralaya) occurs in which the lower worlds of men, angels, and archangels (bhur, bhuwah and swar lokas) are dissolved.
Pralaya: Dissolution. See Mahapralaya.
Prama: Valid knowledge; true knowledge; knowledge of the real; knowledge free from error and above doubt.
Pramana: Means of valid knowledge logical proof; authority (of knowledge) means of cognition.
Pramanya(m): Truth; validity; proof.
Prameya: Object of cognition; object of (right) knowledge; object of proof; subject of inquiry.
Prana: Vital energy; life-breath; life-force. In the human body the prana is divided into five forms: 1) Prana, the prana that moves upward; 2) Apana: The prana that moves downward, producing the excretory functions in general. 3) Vyana: The prana that holds prana and apana together and produces circulation in the body. 4) Samana: The prana that carries the grosser material of food to the apana and brings the subtler material to each limb; the general force of digestion. 5) Udana: The prana which brings up or carries down what has been drunk or eaten; the general force of assimilation.
Pranam: “To bow;” to greet with respect. A respectful or reverential gesture made by putting the hands together palm-to-palm in front of the chest. A prostration before a deity or revered person.
Pranamaya kosha: “The sheath of vital air (prana).” The sheath consisting of vital forces and the (psychic) nervous system.
Pranapratishta: “Installation of life;” a ritual which is done to an image when it is set on the altar of a temple at its consecration. This ritual makes the image alive in a subtle–but no less real–sense.
Pranava: A title of Om, meaning “Life-ness” or “Life-Giver.” Om is the expression or controller of prana–the life force within the individual being and the cosmos.
Pranayama: Control of the subtle life forces, often by means of special modes of breathing. Therefore breath control or breathing exercises are usually mistaken for pranayama.
Prapancha: The world; appearance of the world.
Prarabdha: Karma that has become activated and begun to manifest and bear fruit; karmic “seeds” that have begun to “sprout.”
Prasada(m): Food or any gift that has been first offered in worship or to a saint; that which is given by a saint; literally: “grace.”
Pratima: Image; symbol; reflection; idol; figure; creator.
Pratipaksha bhavana: The method of substituting the opposite through imagination; thus, fear is overcome by dwelling strongly upon its opposite, viz., courage. Reflecting on and cultivating those traits which are opposed to spiritual obstructions.
Pratyagatman: The Self whose existence is understood only by turning one’s vision inward; the indwelling Self; kutashtha; Brahman.
Pratyahara: Abstraction or withdrawal of the senses from their objects, the fifth limb of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga.
Pratyaksha: Perception; direct perception; intuition.
Pravrajin: A wandering sannyasi.
Pravritti: Action; endeavor. Literally: “to turn forth.”
Pravritti Marga: The path of active involvement in the world.
Prayag: Rudraprayag, the modern-day Allahabad, site of the Triveni–the confluence of the three sacred rivers: Ganges, Jumna (Yamuna), and Saraswati.
Prayaschitta: Atonement (through various prescribed acts); expiation; mortification.
Prayatna: Effort; attempt; conscious activity.
Prema: Love, both human and divine; in the latter sense an ecstatic experience, interior disposition or movement which brings the lover into oneness with the Beloved.
Premeshananda, Swami: Affectionately known as “Premesh Maharaj,” Swami Premeshananda was a disciple of Sri Sri Ma Sarada Devi, the wife of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa, and a renowned monk of the Ramakrishna Order.
Preta: Ghost; spirit of the dead.
Preyo marga: The path of the pleasing, the pleasant, the pleasurable, or of worldly gain, as opposed to the path of the good or truly beneficial.
Prithvi: The planet earth; the earth element, from which the sense of smell (gandha) arises
Priya(m): Dear; beloved; pleasing.
Puja: Worship; ceremonial (ritual) worship; adoration; honor. Usually involving the image of a deity.
Pujari: One who performs ritualistic worship (puja).
Punarjanma: “Birth again;” rebirth/reincarnation.
Pundit: Scholar; pandita; learned individual.
Punya: Merit; virtue; meritorious acts; virtuous deeds.
Puraka: Inhalation.
Purana: Literally “The Ancient.” The Puranas are a number of scriptures attributed to the sage Vyasa that teach spiritual principles and practices through stories about sacred historical personages which often include their teachings given in conversations.
Purana Purusha: The Ancient Person; God.
Purascharana: An observance consisting of the repetition of a mantra–as many hundred thousand times as there are syllables (letters) in it. This is done with rigid rules regarding diet, number of japa to be done per day, seat, etc.
Purna: Full; complete.
Purnima: Full moon day.
Purohita: Priest; class of Vedic priests.
Purusha: “Person” in the sense of a conscious spirit. Both God and the individual spirits are purushas, but God is the Adi (Original, Archetypal) Purusha, Parama (Highest) Purusha, and the Purushottama (Best of the Purushas).
Purushartha: The four goals of human life: wealth (artha), desire (kama), righteousness (dharma), and liberation (moksha). The first is the economic value, the second is the psychological value, the third is the moral value, and the fourth is the spiritual value. Human effort; individual exertion; right exertion.
Purushottama: Best of the purushas; highest of the purushas; Supreme Purusha. The word “spirits” may also be substituted for “purushas,” and in some instances “men” can be susbituted for “purushas.”
Purva samskaras: Previous samskaras; that is, samskaras brought over from previous lives.
Purvashram: Previous stage of life.
Pusan: Surya, the Sun-god.
Pushpa: Flower. Pushpanjali: Flower offering. Putra: Son.
Putraishana: Desire for progeny.
R
Radha: The most celebrated of the Gopis, the dearest to Sri Krishna.
Raga: Attachment/affinity for something, implying a desire for it. This can be emotional (instinctual) or intellectual. It may range from simple liking or preference to intense desire and attraction. See Dwesha.
Raga-dwesha: The continual cycle of desire/aversion, like/dislike.
Raja: King; royal.
Raja Yoga: See Ashtanga Yoga.
Rajas: Activity, passion, desire for an object or goal. One of the three gunas.
Rajasic: Possessed of the qualities of the raja guna (rajas). Passionate; active; restless.
Rajoguna: Activity, passion, desire for an object or goal.
Raki: A (usually) red string tied around the right wrist–usually by a priest in a temple or holy place–as mantras are recited for blessing and protection.
Rakshasa: There are two kinds of rakshasas: 1) semidivine, benevolent beings, or 2) cannibal demons or goblins, enemies of the gods. Meat-eating human beings are sometimes classed as rakshasas.
Rama: An incarnation of God–the king of ancient Ayodhya in north-central India. His life is recorded in the ancient epic Ramayana.
Rama Tirtha: One the key spiritual figures in late nineteenth and early twentieth century India. A former university professor of mathematics in the Punjab, Swami Rama Tirtha traveled throughout India and even to Japan and America, preaching the truths of Advaita Vedanta and vigorously teaching the practice of Om Yoga.
Ramakrishna: Sri Ramakrishna lived in India in the second half of the nineteenth century, and is regarded by all India as a perfectly enlightened person–and by many as an Incarnation of God.
Ramana Maharshi: A great sage of the twentieth century who lived in Arunachala in South India. He taught the path of Self-Inquiry (Atma Vichara) wherein the person simply turns his awareness within asking “Who am I?” until the self (atma) is revealed.
Ramanuja (Sri): The great Vaishnava teacher of the eleventh century who formulated the philosophy known as Vishishtadvaita Vedanta (Qualified Non-Dualism).
Ramayana: The great Sanskrit epic poem by the sage Valmiki describing the life of Rama, the king of ancient Ayodhya in north-central India, who is regarded as an incarnation of God. The renowned Hindi devotional poem by the saint Tulsidas, also on the life of Rama.
Ramdas (Swami): One of the best-known and most influential spiritual figures of twentieth-century India, founder of Anandashram in South India and author of the spiritual classic In the Vision of God as well as many other inspirational books.
Ramnam: “The Name of Rama.” Japa or kirtan of the Name, titles, or mantra(s) of Rama.
Rasa: Taste; essence; savor; juice; nectar of delight.
Rati: Pleasure.
Ratna: Jewel; pearl; gem; the best.
Ratri: Night.
Rechaka: Exhalation of breath.
Retas: Semen; virile seed
Riddhi: Highest experiential delight; nine varieties of extraordinary exaltation and grandeur that come to a yogi as he advances and progresses in Yoga, like the supernatural powers or siddhis. Increase; growth; prosperity; success; wealth.
Rishabhadeva: An ancient ascetic who wandered freely through the forests, possessing nothing–not even wearing clothes–virtually unaware of his body.
Rishi: Sage; seer of the Truth.
Rita(m): Truth; Law; Right; Order. The natural order of things, or Cosmic Order/Law. Its root is ri, which means “to rise, to tend upward.” It is said to be the basis for the Law of Karma.
Rudra: Shiva. Derived from rud–he who drives away sin or suffering.
Rudras: Vedic deities of destruction for renewal, the chief of which is Shiva.
Rudraksha: “The Eye of Shiva;” a tree seed considered sacred to Shiva and worn by worshippers of Shiva, Shakti, and Ganesha, and by yogis, usually in a strand of 108 seeds. Also used as a rosary to count the number of mantras repeated in japa.
Rupa: Form; body.
S
Sabha: Assembly; congregation; public audience.
Sadachara: Morality; right behavior.
Sadashiva: Eternally auspicious; eternally happy; eternally prosperous. A title of Shiva, the eternally auspicious One.
Sad-darshanas: The six orthodox systems of Indian philosophy: Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, and Vedanta.
Sadguru: True guru, or the guru who reveals the Real (Sat–God).
Sadhaka: One who practices spiritual discipline–sadhana–particularly meditation.
Sadhana: Spiritual practice.
Sadhana-chatushtaya: The fourfold aids to spiritual practice: 1) the ability to discriminate between the transient and the eternal (nitya-anity-astu-viveka); 2) the absence of desire for securing pleasure or pain either here or elsewhere (iha-anutra-artha-phala-vairagya); 3) the attainment of calmness, temperance, spirit of renunciation, fortitude, power of concentration of mind, and faith (shama-damadi-sadhana-smaptti); 4) an intense desire for liberation (mumukshutwa).
Sadhu: Seeker for truth (sat); and person who is practicing spiritual disciplines. Usually this term is applied only to monastics.
Sadhvi: A female sadhu.
Sadhyas: A group of celestial beings with exquisitely refined natures thought to inhabit the ether.
Sagara: Sea; ocean.
Saguna: With attributes or qualities (gunas).
Saguna Brahman: The supreme Absolute conceived of as endowed with qualities like mercy, omnipotence, omninscience, omnipresence, etc., as distinguished from the undifferentiated Absolute–Nirguna Brahman.
Sahaja: Natural; innate; spontaneous; inborn.
Sahasrara chakra: The “thousand-petalled lotus” of the brain. The highest center of consciousness, the point at which the spirits (atma) and the bodies (koshas) are integrated and from which they are disengaged.
Sahitya: Association; connection; society; combination; harmony.
Sai Baba: See Shirdi Sai Baba.
Sakara: With form.
Sakhyam: Friendship; companionship.
Sakshatakara: Self-realization; direct experience; experience of Absoluteness; Brahmajnana.
Sakshi(n): The witness self; the kutashtha which passively observes the actions of the body and the senses; seer; the intuitive faculty.
Sakshichaitanya: The witness consciousness or intelligence.
Sama: Calmness; tranquility; control of the internal sense organs; same; equal.
Samadarshana: Seeing all things equally; viewing all things with an equal and even mind; seeing all things in their essential unity and considering them the same; freedom from responding to things with either like or dislike, acceptance or avoidance.
Samadhi: The state of superconsciousness where Absoluteness is experienced attended with all-knowledge and joy; Oneness; where the mind becomes identified with the object of meditation; the meditator and the meditated, thinker and thought become one in perfect absorption of the mind. See Samprajñata Samadhi, Asamprajñata Samadhi, Savikalpa Samadhi, and Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
Samana: The prana that carries the grosser material of food to the apana and brings the subtler material to each limb; the general force of digestion.
Samata (samatwa): Equality; impartiality; equanimity; equalness; equanimity of outlook in the sense of making no distinction between friend and foe, pleasure and pain, etc.
Sambandha: Relationship; connection.
Samhara: Destruction; dissolution.
Samhita: Collection; a division of the Vedas; Vedic hymns.
Sampradaya: Tradition; school; doctrine; handed-down instruction.
Samprajñata samadhi: State of superconsciousness, with the triad of meditator, meditation and the meditated; samadhi in which one is aware of an object; savikalpa samadhi.
Samsara: Life through repeated births and deaths; the wheel of birth and death; the process of earthly life.
Samsaric: Having to do with samsara; involved with samsara; partaking of the traits or qualities of samsara.
Samshaya: Doubt; suspicion.
Samskara: Impression in the mind produced by previous action or experience; prenatal tendency. See Vasana.
Samvega: Intense ardor derived from long practice.
Samyama: Self-control; perfect restraint; an all-complete condition of balance and repose. The combined practice of the last three steps in Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga: concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and union (samadhi). See the Vibhuti Pada of the Yoga Sutras.
Sanaka: One of the Four Kumaras (see Kumaras). Sanandana: One of the Four Kumaras (see Kumaras). Sanatana: Eternal; everlasting; ancient; primeval.
Sanatana Dharma: “The Eternal Religion,” also known as “Arya Dharma,” “the religion of those who strive upward [Aryas].” Hinduism.
Sanatkumara: One of the Four Kumaras (see Kumaras).
Sanatkumaras: The Four Kumaras (see Kumaras).
Sanatsujata: One of the Four Kumaras (see Kumaras).
Sanchita karma: Karma produced by acts performed either in this life or in a previous one, but which remains latent during this present life. Karma which has not yet begun to produce results or fruits.
Sandhya: A ritual done at the “junctions” (sandhyas) of the day–dawn, noon, and sunset–during which the Savitri Gayatri is repeated.
Sangha: Attachment; company; association; collection; community.
Sankalpa: Wish; desire; volition; resolution; will; determination; intention.
Sankhya: One of the six orthodox systems of Hindu philosophy whose originator was the sage Kapila, Sankhya is the original Vedic philosophy, endorsed by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. (Gita 2:39; 3:3,5; 18:13,19. Also, the second chapter of the Gita is entitled: Sankhya Yoga.) The Ramakrishna-Vedanta Wordbook says: “Sankhya postulates two ultimate realities, Purusha and Prakriti. Declaring that the cause of suffering is man’s identification of Purusha with Prakriti and its products, Sankhya teaches that liberation and true knowledge are attained in the supreme consciousness, where such identification ceases and Purusha is realized as existing independently in its transcendental nature.” Not surprisingly, then, Yoga is based on the Sankhya philosophy.
Sankirtan: Singing the names and praises of God; devotional chanting.
Sannyasa: Renunciation; monastic life.
Sannyasi(n): A renunciate; a monk.
Sannyasini: A female renunciate; a nun.
Sanskrit(am): The language of the ancient sages of India and therefore of the Indian scriptures and yoga treatises.
Santosha: Contentment; peacefulness.
Sapta Rishis: “Seven Sages.” Great Beings who exist at the top of creation and supervise it.
Sarada Devi (“Holy Mother”): The virgin-wife of Sri Ramakrishna, and a great teacher in her own right, considered by many to be an incarnation of the Mother aspect of God.
Saraswati: “She of the stream.” The name of Brahma’s consort who presides over speech, knowledge, and the arts; the goddess of wisdom.
Sarva: All; everything; complete. Sarvajna: Omniscient; all-knowing. Sarvajnatva: Omniscience.
Sashtitantra: A name for the Sankhya philosophy.
Sat: Existence; reality; truth; being; a title of Brahman, the Absolute or Pure Being.
Satchidananda: Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute; Brahman.
Satsanga: Literally: “company with Truth.” Association with godly-minded persons. The company of saints and devotees.
Sattwa: Light; purity; reality. One of the three gunas.
Sattwa Guna: Quality of light, purity, harmony, and goodness.
Sattwic: Partaking of the quality of Sattwa.
Satya(m): Truth; the Real; Brahman, or the Absolute; truthfulness; honesty.
Satyaloka: The highest causal world inhabited by those who have attained liberation (moksha).
Satya Yuga: The Golden Age. See Yuga.
Savikalpa Samadhi: Samadhi in which there is objective experience or experience of “qualities” and with the triad of knower, knowledge and known.
Savitri Gayatri: A mantra of the Rig Veda which is recited for unfoldment of the intellectual powers leading to enlightenment.
Sayujya: Becoming one with God; united with God; union/merging.
Seva: Service; selfless service.
Sevak: Servant.
Shabda: Sound; word; Vedas: Omkara.
Shabda Brahman: Sound-God; Word-God; Brahman in the Form of Sound; Omkara, or the Veda.
Shabdakshara: “Sound-syllable;” Om.
Shaiva: Shaivite; a devotee of Shiva; pertaining to Shiva.
Shakta: A devotee of the Divine Mother, Maha Shakti; pertaining to shakti.
Shakti: Power; energy; force; the Divine Power of becoming; the apparent dynamic aspect of Eternal Being; the Absolute Power or Cosmic Energy.
Shama: Calmness; tranquility; control of the internal sense organs; same; equal.
Shambho: The beneficient; auspicious; origin of bliss; bestower of happiness. A title of Shiva.
Shankha: Conch.
Shankara (1): “The Auspicious One.” A title of Shiva.
Shankara (2): Shankaracharya; Adi (the first) Shankaracharya: The great reformer and re-establisher of Vedic Religion in India around 300 B.C. He is the unparalleled exponent of Advaita (Non-Dual) Vedanta. He also reformed the mode of monastic life and founded (or regenerated) the ancient Swami Order.
Shalagrama: A flat-round or disk-like stone with rounded edges, found only in the Mandakini River in the region of Tibet, considered to be a manifestation of Vishnu and His avataras.
Shanta: One who possesses shanti; peaceful; calm; peace; contentment.
Shanti: Peace; calm; tranquility; contentment.
Sharanam: Refuge; protection, shelter.
Sharanagati: Taking refuge or shelter, seeking protection. One who has taken refuge or shelter, or sought protection.
Sharira: Body; sheath; literally: “that which perishes,” from the root shri which means “to waste away.”
Shastra: Scripture; spiritual treatise.
Shastri: One who knows the shastras; teacher of the shastras.
Shaucha: Purity; cleanliness.
Shesha: The endless; the infinite; The name of the snake (naga) upon which Vishnu reclines.
Shesha Narayan: The form of Vishnu reclining upon Shesha, the infinite (endless) snake (naga).
Shikha: A tuft of hair on the crown of the head, usually worn only by Brahmins or brahmacharis, but in the villages of Northern India many men of other castes wear the shikha as a sign that they are Hindus.
Shiksha: Teaching; instruction.
Shila (1): Stone; rock.
Shila (2): Conduct; good behavior; right discipline; morality.
Shirdi Sai Baba: Perhaps the most renowned spiritual teacher of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in India. His fame continues to grow in this century as well.
Shishya: Disciple; student.
Shiva: A name of God meaning “One Who is all Bliss and the giver of happiness to all.” Although classically applied to the Absolute Brahman, Shiva can also refer to God (Ishwara) in His aspect of Dissolver and Liberator (often mistakenly thought of as “destroyer”).
Shiva Linga(m): A column-like or oval (egg-shaped) symbol of Shiva, the Formless All-pervasive Reality, made of stone, metal, or clay.
Shraddha (1): Faith.
Shraddha (2): An annual ceremony commemorating the dead on the anniversary of their death. Shravana: Hearing; study; listening to reading of the scriptures or instruction in spiritual life. Shri (1): The goddess Lakshmi; prosperity; glory; success.
Shri (2): Excellent, venerated. A term of respect. Often used as a prefix to the name of deities and holy personages to indicate “holiness.”
Shruti: That which is heard; revealed scripture in the sense of divine communication. Usually applied to the Vedas, Shankara also spoke of the Upanishads as Shruti.
Shubha: Auspicious; fortunate.
Shuddha: Pure; clear; clean; untainted.
Shuddhasattwa: According to Vishishtadvaita philosophy, shuddhasattwa is a self-luminous, immaterial, spiritual substance which is unconnected with the three gunas. It is infinite in the higher regions and finite in the lower regions. It is the “matter” out of which the bodies of gods, avatars, eternals, and liberated beings are made.
Shudra: A member of the laborer, servant caste.
Shukla: White; bright.
Shukla sannyasa: “White sannyasa.” The adoption of monastic life spontaneously, solely from a profound urge from within, without any formal external ritual or conferring of sannyasa by another person.
Shukta: Vedic hymn.
Shyama: “Dark one;” a name of Krishna because of his dark blue complexion, and also of Kali because of her dark or black complexion..
Shyama Charan Lahiri: See Lahiri Mahasaya.
Shyamasundara: “The beautiful dark one”–Krishna.
Sivananda (Swami): A great twentieth-century Master, founder of the world-wide Divine Life Society, whose books on spiritual life and religion are widely circulated in the West as well as in India.
Siddha: A perfected being, an adept, a seer, a perfect yogi.
Siddhi: Spiritual perfection; psychic power.
Sita: The consort of Rama and daughter of King Janaka.
Skanda: See Subramunya.
Skandha: Group; aggregate.
Sloka: A Sanskrit verse. Usually it consists of two lines of sixteen syllables each, or four lines of eight syllables each.
Smarana(m): Remembrance (of God).
Smriti: Memory; recollection; “that which is remembered.” In this latter sense, Smriti is used to designate all scriptures except the Vedas and Upanishads (which are considered of greater authority).
Snana: Ritual bath in a sacred river, pond, lake, or ocean.
So’ham: “I am He.”
Soma: A milkweed, Ascelpias acida, whose juice in Vedic times was made into a beverage and offered in sacrifices; the nectar of immorality; a name of Chandra, the presiding deity of the moon.
Spanda: Vibration; expanding vibration; flutter; throb; movement; creative shakti; pulsation; creative pulsation; apparent motion in the motionless Shiva which brings about the manifestation, maintenance, and withdrawal of the universe; the principle of apparent movement from the state of absolute unity to the plurality of the world.
Sparsha: Touch; sense contact.
Sphatika: Clear quartz crystal.
Sphota: The Sanskrit original of our English word “spot;” manifester; the idea which bursts or flashes–including the Pranava which burst or flashes forth from the Absolute and becomes transformed into the Relative.
Sreyo marga: The path of the good or truly beneficial, as opposed to the path of the merely appealing, pleasant, pleasurable, or that which leads to worldly gain.
Sri: Holy; sacred; excellent; venerated (venerable); revered; a term of respect similar to “Reverend.” Also: prosperity, glory, and success–and therefore an epithet for Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and abundance, the consort of Vishnu. It is often used as an honorific prefix to the name of deities and holy persons to indicate holiness (Sri Krishna, Sri Swami N., etc.). Also used as the equivalent of the English “Mr.” (Srimati would be the equivalent of “Mrs.”)
Sri Yantra: The mystical diagram showing the movement of the spiritual energies inherent in and produced by the supreme mantra: Om. The Sri Yantra has also come to be identified with the energy-power of the Divine Mother, and if often worshipped by her devotees.
Sri Vaishnava: A worshipper of Vishnu according to the philosophical school of Sri Ramanuja known as Vishishtadvaita Vedanta (Qualified Non-Dualism).
Srimad Bhagavatam: One of the eighteen scriptures known as Puranas which are attributed to Vyasa. See Bhagavatam.
Srishti: Creation; projection or gradual unfoldment of what exists potentially in the cause; evolution of the universe from its seed state.
Sruti: Sacred scripture. The Vedas and Upanishads.
Steya: Stealing.
Sthala: Abode; place; hall.
Sthana: Position; abode; residence.
Sthira: Fixed; firm; still; steady; stable; enduring.
Sthirata (Sthirattwa): Steadiness or firmness of body or mind; the steady tranquillity born of meditation.
Sthitaprajna: Establishment in Divine Consciousness; one who is so established. Sthiti: Steadiness; condition or state; existence; being; subsistence; preservation. Sthula: Gross material; physical entity; atomic matter.
Sthula-sharira: Gross body; physical body; body of atomic matter.
Stotra(m): Hymn in praise of God.
Subramanya: The god of war and son of Shiva and Parvati.
Sukha: Happiness; joy; happy; pleasant; agreeable.
Sukshma: Subtle; fine.
Sukshma: Subtle sense organ; sometimes applied to the mind itself. Sukshma-sharira: Subtle body; astral body (also called linga sharira). Sundara: Beautiful.
Sureshwaracharya: Sureshwaracharya was a renowned disciple of Shankara.
Surya: The sun; the presiding deity of the sun, sometimes identified with Vishnu (Surya-Narayana) or the Absolute Brahman.
Surya-mandala: The circle (orbit) of the sun.
Suryanarayana: God (Narayana) in the form of the Sun (Surya).
Sushumna: A subtle passage in the midst of the spinal column, corresponding to the spinal cord, that extends from the base of the spine to the medulla oblongata in the head.
Sushupti: The dreamless sleep state.
Sutra: Literally: a thread. An aphorism with minimum words and maximum sense; a terse sentence.
Swa(r)loka: The median astral world.
Swara: Sound; accent; tone.
Swabhava: One’s own inherent disposition, nature, or potentiality; inherent state of mind; state of inner being.
Swadharma: One’s own natural (innate) duty (dharma), based on their karma and samskara. One’s own prescribed duty in life according to the eternal law.
Swadhishthana chakra: Energy center located in the spine a little less than midway between the base of the spine and the area opposite the navel. Seat of the Water element.
Swadhyaya: Introspective self-study or self-analysis leading to self-understanding. Study of spiritual texts. Swadhyaya: Self study; study of scriptures pertaining to the Self.
Swaha: “It is offered.” Invocation at offerings to the gods. A mantra used when offering oblations to the sacrificial fire.
Swahananda Swami: Swami Swahananda is a senior monk of the Ramakrishna Order, a disciple of Swami Vijnanananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, and head of the Vedanta Society of Southern California.
Swaloka: The median astral world. See Swarloka.
Swami(n): Literally, “I am mine”–in the sense of absolute self-mastership. It is often used in the sense of “lord” or owner as well as a spiritual guide or authority. God Himself is the ultimate Swami. As a matter of respect it is always used in reference to sannyasis, since they have vowed themselves to pursue the knowledge of the Self, or those considered to be of spiritual advancement.
Swapna: The dream state; a dream.
Swaprakasha: Self-luminous; self-illumined; self-revealing.
Swara: Sound; accent; tone.
Swarga/Swargaloka: Heaven; the celestial region; a place of light and happiness.
Swarloka: The highest of the three lower worlds–Bhur, Bhuvah, and Swah.
Swarupa: “Form of the Self.” Natural–true–form; actual or essential nature; essence. A revelatory appearance that makes clear the true nature of some thing.
Swarupasthiti: Established in the Self; firmly established in one’s own essential nature.
Swasti: “May it be well.: An expression of salutation meaning “may it be well with you.” Successful; fortune; well-being.
Swastika: Sign of auspiciousness. Swayambhu: Self-existent or self-generated. Swayamjyoti: Self-luminous; self-illumined.
Swayamprakasha: Self-luminous; self-illumined.
Swatantra: “Self-rule;” independent; free; absolute freedom.
T
Taimni, I. K.: A professor of chemistry in India. He wrote many excellent books on philosophy and spiritual practice, including The Science of Yoga, a commentary on the Yoga Sutras. For many years he was the spiritual head of the Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society headquartered in Adyar, Madras (Tamilnadu), and traveled the world without publicity or notoriety, quietly instructing many sincere aspirants in the path to supreme consciousness.
Tala: Place; world. See Loka.
Tamas: Dullness, inertia, folly, and ignorance. One of the three gunas.
Tamasic: Possessed of the qualities of the tamo guna (tamas). Ignorant; dull; inert; and dark.
Tandava: Dance of Destruction (Dissolution of the Cosmos) of Lord Shiva.
Tanmatras: The pure elements; the subtle essence of the five elements, elemental essence.
Tantra: A manual of or a particular path of sadhana laying great stress upon japa of a mantra and other esoteric practices relating to the powers latent in the human complex of physical, astral, and causal bodies in relation to the cosmic Power usually thought of as the Divine Feminine.
Tantric: Pertaining to Tantra. Tapa: Heating; producing heat. Tapas: See tapasya.
Tapaswin: One who is practicing tapasya.
Tapasya: Austerity, practical (i.e., result-producing) spiritual discipline; spiritual force. Literally it means the generation of heat or energy, but is always used in a symbolic manner, referring to spiritual practice and its effect, especially the roasting of karmic seeds, the burning up of karma.
Tapatraya: Sufferings or afflictions of three kinds, to which mortals are subject: 1) those caused by one’s own body (adhyatmika), 2) those caused by beings around him (adhibhautika), and 3) those caused by devas (adhidaivika).
Tapoloka: The median causal world exclusively inhabited by advanced spirits who perpetually engage in meditation–tapasya.
Tara: Savior; Deliverer; a title of the Divine Mother.
Taraka: Deliverer.
Taraka Mantra: From the root word tara–that which crosses. The Taraka Mantra is that which enables its invokers to cross over the ocean of samsara and attain liberation.
Taraka Nama: The Delivering Name; Om.
Tarka: Reasoning; logic; argumentation; debate.
Tat Twam Asi: “Thou art That.” The Mahavakya (Great Saying) of the Chandogya Upanishad.
Tattwa: “Thatness.” Principle; element; the essence of things; truth; reality.
Tattwa jnana: Knowledge of Brahman; same as Brahmajnana.
Tejas: Radiance; brilliancy (especially spiritual); Agni; heat; the element of fire, from which the sense of sight (rupa) arises.
Tejomaya: Full of tejas; full of light; resplendent.
Thakur: “Master” or “Lord.” A reference to God or to a holy person considered to be one with God.
Tilaka: A sacred mark made on the forehead or between the eyebrows denoting what form of God the person worships.
Timira: Darkness; disease of the eye producing double vision or darkening the vision; glaucoma.
Tirtha: A sacred place of pilgrimage; a river or body of water in which it is auspicious and spiritual beneficial to bathe; the water offered in ritual worship and then sprinkled on or drunk by the devotees.
Titiksha: Endurance of opposites; forbearance; tolerance; the ability to withstand opposites like pleasure and pain, heat and cold, etc., with equal fortitude; the bearing of all afflictions without caring to change them and without anxiety or lament.
Tivra Mumukshutva: Intense, earnest and consuming desire for liberation (moksha). Trataka: Steady gazing; the process of fixing the gaze on a small dot, point, yantra, etc. Treta Yuga: The Silver Age. See Yuga.
Triguna: The three gunas: sattwa, rajas, and tamas. See Guna.
Triloka: The three worlds: Bhur, Bhuvah, and Swah.
Trimurti: “The three forms”–Brahman, Vishnu, and Shiva, the Hindu “Trinity.”
Triputi: “The triple form.” The triad of: knowing, knower, and object known; cognizer, object, and cognition; seer, sight, and seen.
Trishna: Thirst; craving; desire.
Triveni: The confluence of the three sacred rivers: Ganges, Jumna (Yamuna), and Saraswati, located outside the sacred city of Rudraprayag (called Allahabad in modern times). Considered the most place for purificatory bathing.
Tukaram: A poet-saint of seventeenth century India (Maharashtra) devoted to Krishna in his form of Panduranga (Vittala).
Tulasi (Tulsi): The Indian basil plant sacred to Vishnu. Considered a manifestation of the goddess Lakshmi. Its leaves are used in worship of Vishnu and his avataras, and its stems and roots are formed into rosary beads used for counting the repetition of the mantras of Vishnu and his avataras. The leaves of tulasi are also used for purification and even medicinally.
Turiya: The state of pure consciousness. A Ramakrishna-Vedanta Wordbook defines it as: “The superconscious; lit., ‘the fourth,’ in relation to the three ordinary states of consciousness–waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep–which it transcends.”
Turiya-Turiya: “The consciousness of Consciousness;” the Absolute Consciousness of God, the Consciousness behind our individualized consciousness (turiya).
Tushti(s): Contentment; satisfaction; satisfaction, contentment, or happiness with the status quo. Tyaga: Literally: “abandonment.” Renunciation–in the Gita, the relinquishment of the fruit of action. Tyagi: A renouncer, an ascetic.
U
Uchchaishravas: The name of Indra’s horse (or the horse of the Sun god, Surya), that was born of the amrita that was churned from the ocean by the gods. The name means “high-sounding” and refers to the power of mantra.
Udana: The prana which brings up or carries down what has been drunk or eaten; the general force of assimilation.
Udgitha: The Pranava [Om] when it is sung aloud in Vedic recitation.
Uma: See Parvati.
Upadesha: Spiritual instruction.
Upadhi: Limiting adjunct; association; attribute.
Upanayana(m): Investure with the sacred thread (yajnopavita) and initiation into the Gayatri mantra.
Upanishads: Books (of varying lengths) of the philosophical teachings of the ancient sages of India on the knowledge of Absolute Reality. The upanishads contain two major themes: (1) the individual self (atman) and the Supreme Self (Paramatman) are one in essence, and (2) the goal of life is the realization/manifestation of this unity, the realization of God (Brahman). There are eleven principal upanishads: Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitaryeya, Chandogya, Brihadaranyaka, and Svetashvatara, all of which were commented on by Shankara, thus setting the seal of authenticity on them.
Uparati: Uparati is the power–once the sense have been restricted–to ensure that they may not once again be drawn toward worldly objects; indifference toward the enjoyment of sense-objects; surfeit; discontinuance of religious ceremonies following upon renunciation; absolute calmness; tranquillity; renunciation.
Upasana: “Sitting near” or “drawing near” in the sense of learning by listening to spiritual teaching; also worship, adoration, contemplation of God or deity; devout meditation.
Upasaka: One who engages in upasana.
Urdhvareta yogi: The yogi in whom the seminal energy flows upwards.
Ushmapas: A class of ancestors (pitris) which live off subtle emanations or vapors.
Utsava: Festival; celebration.
Utsava murti: The image of a deity that is taken out in procession rather than the main image in the temple which is usually permanently affixed to a stone pedestal.
Uttama: Highest; superior; best.
Uttara: Higher.
Uttarayana: “Northern way.” The half of the year beginning on the winter solstice (December 21) when the sun appears to be moving northward.
V
Vach: Word; Divine Word; logos; speech. Vachaka: That which is denoted by speech. Vachya: That which is denoted by speech. Vahana: Vehicle; conveyance.
Vaidika: Vedic.
Vaikhari: Sound that is spoken and heard.
Vaikuntha: The celestial abode (loka) of Vishnu and His devotees.
Vairagi: A renunciate.
Vairagya: Non-attachment, detachment, dispassion, absence of desire, or indifference. Indifference towards and distaste for all worldly things and enjoyments.
Vaishnava: A devotee of Vishnu.
Vaishvanara: Universal Being. Brahman as the universe. The deity Agni, also the element of Cosmic Fire, which includes all forms of manifested fire, including digestive fire in the bodies of sentient beings.
Vaishya: A member of the merchant, farmer, artisan, businessman caste. Vajra: Diamond; thunderbolt–the special weapon of Indra, king of the gods. Vak: Speech; voice, world; Primoridal Word (Om); Logos.
Vakya: Word or statement.
Valmiki: The first poet of India, author of the Ramayana.
Vanaprastha: Literally: a forest (vana) dweller. The third stage of life (ashrama) in which, leaving home and children, the husband and wife dwell together in seclusion and contemplation as a preparation to taking sannyasa.
Varna: Caste. (Literally: color.) In traditional Hindu society there were four divisions or castes according to the individual’s nature and aptitude: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra.
Varnashrama: Related to the four castes and the four stages (ashramas) of Hindu life; the laws of caste and ashrama.
Varnashram dharma: The observance of caste and ashram.
Varshneya: Clansman of the Vrishnis–a title of Krishna.
Varuna: A Vedic deity considered the sustainer of the universe and also the presiding deity of the oceans and water. Often identified with the conscience.
Vasana: A bundle or aggregate of similar samskaras. Subtle desire; a tendency created in a person by the doing of an action or by enjoyment; it induces the person to repeat the action or to seek a repetition of the enjoyment; the subtle impression in the mind capable of developing itself into action; it is the cause of birth and experience in general; the impression of actions that remains unconsciously in the mind.
Vasanakshaya: Annihilation of subtle desires and impressions.
Vashishtha: One of the most famous of Vedic seers (rishis).
Vasudeva: “He who dwells in all things”–the Universal God; the father of Krishna, who is also sometimes called Vasudeva.
Vasuki: The king of the serpents. He assisted at the churning of the milk ocean.
Vasus: Eight Vedic deities characterized by radiance.
Vayu (1): The Vedic god of the wind.
Vayu (2): Air; the element of air, from which the sense of touch (sparsha) arises.
Veda: Knowledge, wisdom, revealed scripture. See Vedas.
Vedanta: Literally, “the end of the Vedas;” the Upanishads; the school of Hindu thought, based primarily on the Upanishads, upholding the doctrine of either pure non-dualism or conditional non-dualism. The original text of this school is Vedanta-darshana or the Brahma Sutras compiled by the sage Vyasa.
Vedanta Sutras: The Brahma Sutras.
Vedantin: A follower of Vedanta.
Vedas: The oldest scriptures of India, considered the oldest scriptures of the world, that were revealed in meditation to the Vedic Rishis (seers). Although in modern times there are said to be four Vedas (Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva), in the upanishads only three are listed (Rig, Sama, and Yajur). In actuality, there is only one Veda: the Rig Veda. The Sama Veda is only a collection of Rig Veda hymns that are marked (pointed) for singing. The Yajur Veda is a small book giving directions on just one form of Vedic sacrifice. The Atharva Veda is only a collection of theurgical mantras to be recited for the cure of various afflictions or to be recited over the herbs to be taken as medicine for those afflictions.
Vedic: Having to do with the Vedas.
Vega: Motion; velocity; inertia.
Vibhu: All-pervasive; great.
Vibhuti (1): Manifestations of divine power or glory; might; prosperity; welfare; splendor; exalted rank; greatness; miraculous powers; superhuman power resembling that of God (Ishwara). The quality of all-pervasiveness (omnipresence). Also sacred ash from a fire sacrifice.
Vibhuti (2): Sacred ash from a fire sacrifice.
Vichara: Enquiry/investigation into the nature of the Self, Brahman or Truth; ever-present reflection on the why and wherefore of things; enquiry into the real meaning of the Mahavakya Tat-twam-asi: Thou art That; discrimination between the Real and the unreal; enquiry of Self.
Videhamukti: Disembodied salvation; salvation attained by the realized soul after shaking off the physical sheath as opposed to jivanmukti which is liberation even while living.
Vidvan: A knower; usually applied to a knower of the Self as distinct from the body; one who is learned; an expert in all aspects of the Sanskrit language.
Vidvat sannyasa: Renunciation after the attainment of the knowledge of Brahman. Asceticism resorted to by the wise (jnanis) and perfected ones (siddhas). Renunciation by the wise.
Vidya: Knowledge; both spiritual knowledge and mundane knowledge.
Vidyapith(a): A school. Vijaya: Victory; triumph.
Vijnana: Supreme knowledge; supreme wisdom; supreme realization.
Vijnana: Buddhi; intellect.
Vijnanamaya kosha: The jnanamaya kosha, the buddhi.
Vikalpa: Imagination; mental construct; abstraction; conceptualization; hallucination; distinction; experience; thought; oscillation of the mind.
Vikara: Change, change of form, or modification–generally with reference to the modification of the mind, individually or cosmically.; gluiness; manifestation.
Vikshepa: The projecting power of the mind, causing external involvement; the movement of pushing outward or away; the projecting power of ignorance; mental restlessness resulting from the awareness moving out from the center that is the Self.
Vimala: Purity; unblemished; without stain or defect.
Vinaya: Humility; sense of propriety; manners; rule of conduct; education; mental culture and refinement; discipline.
Vipra: “Twice-born.” A term usually applied to those that have been invested with the yajnopavita (sacred thread) and initiated into the Gayatri mantra. Since the Kshatriya and Vaishya castes no longer do this, today vipra almost exclusively means a Brahmin. Vipra can also be meant in a spiritual manner, indicated one that has been “born” spiritually as well as physically.
Viraj: The macrocosm; the manifested universe; the world man–the masculine potency in nature in contradistinction to the feminine potency.
Viraja homa: “Universal homa;” the final fire sacrifice done just before taking sannyas in which offerings are made to all living beings in petition for their releasing of the prospective sannyasin from all karmic obligations he might have in relation to them.
Virat: The cosmic form of the Self as the cause of the gross world; the all-pervading Spirit in the form of the universe.
Virochana: King of the demons (asuras). According to the Chandogya Upanishad, along with Indra he went to the Creator to learn the nature of the Self. Misunderstanding the teaching: “Virochana, satisfied for his part that he had found out the Self, returned to the demons and began to teach them that the body alone is to be worshiped, that the body alone is to be served, and that he who worships the body and serves the body gains both worlds, this and the next.”
Virya: Strength; power; energy; courage.
Vishaya (1): Doubt.
Vishaya (2): Object; object of perception or enjoyment; subject matter; content.
Vishaya-chaitanya: Consciousness as objects; the object known; the consciousness determined by the object cognized.
Vishayavritti: Thought of sensual objects. Vishesha: Special; distinctive qualification. Vishishta: Qualified; particularity.
Vishishtadvaita Vedanta: The philosophy of Qualified Non-Dualism formulated by Sri Ramanuja.
Vishnu: “The all-pervading;” God as the Preserver.
Vishuddha: Supremely pure; totally pure.
Vishuddha chakra: “Supreme purity.” Energy center located in the spine opposite the hollow of the throat. Seat of the Ether element.
Vishuddhi: Supreme purity; total purity.
Vishwa: Universe; all pervasive.
Vishwa-devas: A group of twelve minor Vedic deities.
Vishwanatha: “Lord of the Universe;” a title of Shiva, often applied to his temple in Varanasi (Benares).
Vishwaprana: Universal Life or Prana.
Vishwarupa: Universal/Cosmic Form (see chapter eleven of the Bhagavad Gita); multiform having all forms.
Vittaishana: Desire for wealth.
Vitthala: A title of Krishna, meaning “the one standing on a brick,” a reference to the image of Krishna worshipped in Pandharpur in Western India.
Vivarta: Illusory appearance; a doctrine of the Nondualistic school of Vedanta philosophy explaining creation as an illusory appearance of the Absolute; apparent variation; illusory manifestation of Brahman; apparent or unreal or seeming change; superimposition; appearance.
Vivarta-vada: Phenomenalism. See Vivarta.
Viveka: Discrimination between the Real and the unreal, between the Self and the non-Self, between the permanent and the impermanent; right intuitive discrimination; ever-present discrimination between the transient and the permanent.
Vivekananda (Swami): The chief disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, who brought the message of Vedanta to the West at the end of the nineteenth century.
Viveki: One who possesses discrimination (viveka).
Vividisha sannyasa: Renunciation for the purpose of knowing Brahman.
Vrata: Vow; a resolution; rule of conduct.
Vritti: Thought-wave; mental modification; mental whirlpool; a ripple in the chitta (mind substance).
Vyakta: Manifested; revealed.
Vyana: The prana that holds prana and apana together and produces circulation in the body.
Vyasa: One of the greatest sages of India, commentator on the Yoga Sutras, author of the Mahabharata (which includes the Bhagavad Gita), the Brahma Sutras, and the codifier of the Vedas.
Vyavahara: Worldly activity; relative activity as opposed to Absolute Being; empirical/phenomenal world; worldly relation.
Vyoma: Akasha; ether.
W
Word-Brahman: Om; Shabda Brahman.
Y
Yajna: Sacrifice; offering; sacrificial ceremony; a ritual sacrifice; usually the fire sacrifice known as agnihotra or havan.
Yajnavalkya: A great Vedic seer whose teachings are found in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
Yajnaypitha: See Yajnasthala.
Yajnasthala: An open sided, roofed structure in which the fire sacrifice is performed.
Yajnopavita: Sacred thread. A triple thread worn by the twice-born (dwijas) that represents the threefold Brahman. It is essential for the performance of all the rites of the twice-born. Usually worn only by Brahmins, originally it was worn by Kshatriyas and Vaishyas as well.
Yajnopavitin: Wearer of the sacred thread (yajnopavita).
Yaksha: There are two kinds of yakshas: 1) semidivine beings whose king is Kubera, the lord of wealth, or 2) a kind of ghost, goblin, or demon.
Yama (1): Restraint; the five Don’ts of Yoga: 1) ahimsa–non-violence, non-injury, harmlessness; 2) satya–truthfulness, honesty; 3) asteya–non-stealing, honesty, non-misappropriativeness; 4) brahmacharya–continence; 5) aparigraha–non-possessiveness, non-greed, non-selfishness, non-acquisitiveness.
Yama (2): The Lord of Death, controller of who dies and what happens to them after death.
Yantra: Geometrical designs of the energy patterns made by mantras when they are recited or which, when concentrated on produce the effects of the corresponding mantras. Though often attributed to deities, they are really the diagrams of the energy movements of those deities’ mantras.
Yasha(s): Fame; celebrity; good repute. Yati: “Wanderer;” a wandering ascetic. Yatra: Pilgrimage.
Yatri: Pilgrim.
Yoga: Literally, “joining” or “union” from the Sanskrit root yuj. Union with the Supreme Being, or any practice that makes for such union. Meditation that unites the individual spirit with God, the Supreme Spirit. The name of the philosophy expounded by the sage Patanjali, teaching the process of union of the individual with the Universal Soul.
Yoga Darshan(a): Hinduism embraces six systems of philosophy, one of which is Yoga. The basic text of the Yoga philosophy–Yoga Darshana–is the Yoga Sutras (also called Yoga Darshana), the oldest known writing on the subject of yoga, written by the sage Patanjali, a yogi of ancient India. Further, the Yoga Philosophy is based on the philosophical system known as Sankhya, whose originator was the sage Kapila.
Yoga Marga: The path of meditation and inner purification leading to union with God.
Yoga Nidra: A state of half-contemplation and half-sleep; light yogic sleep when the individual retains slight awareness; a state between sleep and wakefulness. In its higher sense Yoga Nidra is the state in which the yogi experiences pure consciousness within the state of dreamless sleep, when he is neither awake nor asleep in the usual sense. And in the highest sense Yoga Nidra is the state in which the three “normal” states of waking, sleep, and deep sleep have become transmuted into the turiya state of pure consciousness and the yogi remains “asleep” in relation to those three lesser states.
Yoga Siddhi: Spiritual perfection or psychic power resulting from the practice of Yoga.
Yoga Sutras: The oldest known writing on the subject of yoga, written by the sage Patanjali, a yogi of ancient India, and considered the most authoritative text on yoga. Also known as Yoga Darshana, it is the basis of the Yoga Philosophy which is based on the philosophical system known as Sankhya.
Yoga Vashishtha: A classical treatise on Yoga, containing the instructions of the Rishi Vashishtha to Lord Rama on meditation and spiritual life.
Yogabhrashta: One who has fallen away from the practice of Yoga.
Yogabhyasa: Practice of Yoga.
Yogananda (Paramhansa): The most influential yogi of the twentieth century in the West, author of Autobiography of a Yogi and founder of Self-Realization Fellowship in America.
Yogeshwara: Lord of Yoga; a Master Yogi; a title of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita.
Yogi: One who practises Yoga; one who strives earnestly for union with God; an aspirant going through any course of spiritual discipline.
Yogic: Having to do with Yoga.
Yogin: Yogi.
Yogini: A female practicer of yoga.
Yogiraj: “King of Yogis,” a title often given to an advanced yogi, especially a teacher of yogi.
Yojana: A measure of distance equivalent to nine or ten miles.
Yuga: Age or cycle; aeon; world era. Hindus believe that there are four yugas: the Golden Age (Satya or Krita Yuga), the Silver age (Treta Yuga), The Bronze Age (Dwapara Yuga), and the Iron Age (Kali Yuga). Satya Yuga is four times as long as the Kali Yuga; Treta Yuga is three times as long; and Dwapara Yuga is twice as long. In the Satya Yuga the majority of humans use the total potential–four-fourths–of their minds; in the Treta Yuga, three-fourths; in the Dwapara Yuga, one half; and in the Kali Yuga, one fourth. (In each Yuga there are those who are using either more or less of their minds than the general populace.) The Yugas move in a perpetual circle: Ascending Kali Yuga, ascending Dwapara Yuga, ascending Treta Yuga, ascending Satya Yuga, descending Satya Yuga, descending, Treta Yuga, descending Dwapara Yuga, and descending Kali Yuga–over and over. Furthermore, there are yuga cycles within yuga cycles. For example, there are yuga cycles that affect the entire cosmos, and smaller yuga cycles within those greater cycles that affect a solar system. The cosmic yuga cycle takes 8,640,000,000 years, whereas the solar yuga cycle only takes 12,000 years. At the present time our solar system is in the ascending Dwapara Yuga, but the cosmos is in the descending Kali Yuga.
Consequently, the more the general mind of humanity develops, the more folly and evil it becomes able to accomplish.
End:
Hindu/Sanscrit GLOSSARY
ABHAYAM: Fearless.
ABHIMANA: Egoism, identification with the body. ABHYASA: Spiritual practice.
ADHIKARI: A qualified person. ADHISHTHANA: Substratum, support.
ADHYASA: Superimposition or false attribution of properties of one thing on another thing. ADHYATMIC: Spiritual.
ADHYAYANA: Study.
ADVAITA: Non-duality. AGRAHYA: Unknowable. AHANKARA: Egoism.
AHIMSA: Non-injury in thought, word and deed. AISVARYA: Divine powers.
AJARAM: Without old age.
ALABDHABHUMIKATVA: The feeling that it is impossible to see reality. ALASYA: Laziness.
AMARA: Immortal.
AMARA-PURUSHA: Immortal being. AMRITAM: Immortal.
ANADI: beginning less.
ANAHATA: Mystic sound heard by Yogis.
ANANDA: Bliss, happiness, joy.
ANANDA-GHANA: Cloud of bliss.
ANANDA-SVARUPA: Of the form of bliss.
ANANDAMAYA: Full of great happiness.
ANTAHKARANA: Internal instrument such as mind, intellect, ego and the subconscious mind.
ANANTAM: Infinity.
ANTARATMAN: Inner Self.
ANTARYAMIN: Inner witness.
ANUBHAVA: Experience.
APTA: Realized.
ARHATA: A perfected Soul.
ASAMPRAJNATA: Highest super conscious state where the mind is completely annihilated and Reality experienced.
ASANA: A bodily pose or posture. ASHRAM: A hermitage; monastery. ASHTANGA: Eight limbs.
ASURIC: Demoniacal.
ATMA-JNANA: Knowledge of the Self.
ATMA-SVARUP: The essential nature of the Self. ATMAN: The Self.
AVADHUTA: A naked sage. AVARANA: Veil of ignorance. AVIDYA: Ignorance.
AYURVEDA: The ancient Indian science of medicine.
BENARES: A holy pilgrimage center of Hindus, now called Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, India. BHAGAVAD-GITA: A scripture containing Lord Krishna's teachings.
BHAGAVATA: Name of a Purana (sacred work dealing with the doctrines of creation, etc.) BHAJAN: Devotional song
BHAKTA: Devotee of God BHAKTI: Devotion.
BHARATAVARSHA: India.
BHAVA(NA): Feeling; mental attitude. BHAYANAKA-SABDA: A fear inducing sound. BHOGI: Enjoyer.
BHUMA: The Unconditioned, the Great Infinite, Brahman.
BHUTA-SIDDHI: A psychic power by which mastery is gained over the elements. BODHISATTVA: A being who, having developed the Awakening Mind (a mind infused with the aspiration to attain the state of Buddhahood), devotes his life to the task of achieving Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings.
BRAHMA-CHINTANA: Constant thinking of Brahman. BRAHMA-JNANA: Direct Knowledge of Brahman.
BRAHMA-NISHTHA: One who is established in the Knowledge of Brahman. BRAHMA-SROTRI: One who has knowledge of the Vedas and the Upanishads. BRAHMA-SUTRAS: Classical Vedantic scripture.
BRAHMA-TEJAS: Spiritual halo.
BRAHMA-VIDYA: The science of Brahman, knowledge of Brahman, learning pertaining to Brahman or the Absolute Reality.
BRAHMACHARYA: Practice of celibacy. Purity in thought, word and deed. BRAHMAMUHURTA: Period from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m.
BRAHMAN: The Absolute Reality; God. BRIHADARANYAKA: Name of an Upanishad.
BUDDHA: One who is totally purified from all defilements and who has realized all that can be known.
BUDDHI: Intellect.
CHAITANYA: Pure Consciousness.
CHAKRAS: Centers of energy in the human system. CHANDOGYA: Name of an Upanishad.
CHELA: Disciple.
CHIRANJIVI: One who has gained eternal life. CHITTA: Subconscious mind.
DAIVIC: Divine.
DAMA: Control of senses. DARSHAN: Vision.
DAYA: Mercy. DEHA: Body.
DEVAS: Celestial beings. DHARANA: Concentration.
DHARMA: Righteous way of living as enjoined by the sacred scriptures, virtue. DHYANA: Meditation.
DIVYA-DRISHTI: Divine perception. DVESHA: Repulsion; hatred; dislike.
EKADASI: Eleventh day of the Hindu lunar fortnight. GANDHA: Smell.
GANGA: River Ganges.
GAYATRI: One of the most sacred Vedic Mantras; goddess. GITA: Renowned sacred text "Bhagavad-Gita".
GUNA: Quality born of nature. GURU: Teacher; preceptor.
HAVAN: Sacred oblations.
HIRANYAGARBHA: Cosmic intelligence; the supreme lord of the universe; cosmic mind.
INDRA: The Lord of gods; the ruler of heaven. INDRIYAS: Senses.
ISHVARA: Lord; God.
JADA: Insentient.
JAPA: Repetition of the Lord's Name. JIVA: Individual Soul.
JIVANMUKTA: One who is liberated in this life. JNANA: Knowledge; wisdom.
JNANA-INDRIYAS: Organs of knowledge or perception. JNANI: (Pronounced Nyani) A wise person.
KAIVALYA: Emancipation; state of absolute independence. KARMA: Actions operating through the law of cause and effect.
KARMA-INDRIYAS: Organs of action - tongue, hands, feet, genital organ and anus. KARMA-KANDI: One who observes strictly the duties ordained in the scriptures.
KARMASRAYA: Receptacle of actions. KARUNA: Compassion
KASHAYA: Hidden desires. KIRTAN: Singing devotional songs.
KRIYA: A type of of exercise in Hatha Yoga. KSHAMA: Forgiveness.
KUNDALINI: The primordial cosmic energy located in the individual. KUTIR: A small cottage; hut.
LAYA: Merging; dissolution.
LINGA-SARIRA: The subtle body, the astral body. LOBHA: Greed.
MAHA: Great.
MAHABHARATA: A Hindu epic. MAHANT: Great sage MAHAPURUSHA: A great soul. MAHARISHI: Great sage
MAHASAMADHI: The departure of a Self-realized saint from his mortal coil. MAHATMA: Great soul
MAITRI: Friendship. MANAS: Mind.
MANONASA: Destruction of mind.
MANTRA: Sacred syllable or word, or set of words through the repetition and reflection of which one attains perfection.
MAYA: The illusive power of God. MOHA: Infatuation.
MOKSHA: Liberation. MOUNA: Vow of silence.
MOUNI: One who observes silence. MUKTI: Liberation.
MUMUKSHU: One who aspires after moksha or liberation. MUNI: An ascetic.
MURTI: Idol.
NADA: Mystic sound. NIRODHA: Control or restraint.
NIRVANA: Liberation; final emancipation.
NIRVIKALPA-SAMADHI: Super conscious state where there is no modification of the mind or Triputi.
NITYA-SIDDHA: A liberated soul of marvellous powers who is ever present on the astral plane. NIVRITTI: Renunciation.
NIYAMA: The second step in Raja Yoga; observance - purity, contentment, austerities, etc.
OJAS: Spiritual energy.
OM: The sacred monosyllable which symbolizes Brahman.
OORDHVARETA: A Yogi who has stored up the seminal energy in the brain after sublimating the same into spiritual energy.
PARIVRAJAKA: Wandering monk.
PARAM-DHAMA: Supreme abode.
PARAMAHAMSA: The highest class of Sannyasins.
PASU-SVABHAVA: Animal nature; bestial nature.
PATANJALI: The author of Yoga-Sutras.
PRAKRITI: Mother Nature, causal matter.
PRANA: Vital energy; life-breath.
PRANAVA: The sacred monosyllable Om.
PRANAYAMA: Practice of breath-control.
PRATYAHARA: Abstraction of senses; fifth step in Raja Yoga.
PREMA: Divine Love.
PRITHVI: Earth.
PURANA: Hindu myths and legends.
PURNA-JNANI: A full-blown sage.
PURNA-YOGI: A full-blown yogi.
PURUSHA: The Supreme Being.
RAGA: Attachment.
RAJA: King.
RAJAS: One of the three qualities of Prakriti which generates passion and restlessness. RAJA-YOGA: A system of Yoga generally taken to be the one propounded by Patanjali Maharishi, i.e., Ashtanga Yoga.
RAJASUYA-YAJNA: A sacrifice performed by a monarch as a mark of his subduing all other kings.
RAMAYANA: A holy narative of Lord Rama. RASA: Taste.
RASASVADA: Tasting the bliss of lower Samadhi. RISHI: Sage.
RISHIKESH: A sacred place in the Himalayas. RUPA: Form.
SADHAKA: Spiritual aspirant. SADHANA: Spiritual practice. SADHU: Pious man; Sannyasin. SAGARA: Ocean.
SAHASRANAMA: The thousand Names of the Lord. SAKSHI: Witness.
SAKTI: Power; the feminine aspect of Divinity.
SAKTI-SANCHAR: Transference of power by a developed Yogi. SAMA: Serenity; control of mind.
SAMADHI: The state of superconsciousness where Absoluteness is experienced attended with all-knowledge and joy. Oneness.
SAMSARA: The process of worldly life. SAMSKARAS: Impressions in the subconscious mind.
SAMYAMA: Perfect restraint, an all-complete condition of balance and repose, concentration, meditation and Samadhi.
SANKARA: The well known teacher of Vedanta philosophy. SANKIRTAN: Singing of divine songs.
SANNYASINS: Those who have embraced the life of complete renunciation. SATCHIDANANDA: Existence absolute(Sat), Knowledge absolute(Chid), Bliss absolute(Ananda).
SATSANG: Association with the wise.
SATTVA: Purity-one of the three qualities of nature.
SATYA-YUGA: the Age of Truth, the first of the four Hindu time-cycles. SHABDA: Sound.
SIDDHI: Psychic power.
SIVA: Lord Siva - bestower of auspiciousness on His devotees. SLOKA: Verse.
SPARSA: Touch. SRADDHA: Faith.
SRI: Auspiciousness-a name is qualified by putting "Sri" before it as a mark of courtesy and auspiciousness.
STOTRA: Hymn. SUDDHA: Pure.
SUKHA: Happiness.
SUSHUMNA: The chief among astral tubes in the human body running inside the spinal column. SUTRA: Aphorism.
SVADHYAYA: Study of scriptures. SVARUPA: Essential nature; Reality.
TAMAS: One of the three qualities of nature which generates inertia, laziness, dullness and infatuation.
TANMATRA: Subtle, undifferentiated root elements of matter. TAPAS: Austerity.
TAPASCHARYA: Practice of austerity. TATTVA: Essence; principle.
TEHSILDAR: Revenue officer. TRIPUTI: The triad-seer, sight and seen. TRISHNA: Sense-hankering.
TURIYA: The state of super consciousness, the fourth state transcending the waking, dreaming and deep sleep states.
TYAGA: Renunciation (of egoism, desires and the world).
UDDALAKA: A great sage of yore. UPADESA: Spiritual advice.
UPANISHADS: Revelation; text dealing with Ultimate Truth and Its Realization.
VAIRAGYA: Dispassion. VASANA-KSHYA: Desireless. VASANAS: Subtle desires.
VASTU: Article.
VEDANTA: The school of Hindu thoughts (based primarily on the Upanishads). VEDANTIN: One who follows the path of Vedanta
VEDAS: The most ancient authentic scripture of the Hindus, a revealed scripture and therefore free from imperfections.
VEERYA: Seminal energy. VETTA: Knower.
VICHARA: Enquiry into the nature of the Self, Truth, Absolute, Brahman. VIGRAHA: Attack.
VIKSHEPA: The tossing of mind. VISHAYA: Sense-objects.
VIVEKA: Discrimination. VRITTI: A wave in the mind-lake. VYAVAHARA: (Worldly) activity.
YAJNAVALKYA: A great sage of yore.
YAMA: First step in Raja Yoga; Eternal vows - non-violence, truthfulness, etc. YOGA: Union; union with the Supreme Being - any course that makes for such union. YOGI (N): One who practices Yoga; one who is established in Yoga.
YONI: Source.
ZAMINDAR: A rich landlord.
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