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An admirable statement of the aims of the Library of Philosophy was provided by the first editor, the late Professor J. H. Muirhead, in his description of the original programme printed in Erdmann’s History of Philosophy under the date 1890. This was slightly modified in subsequent volumes to take the form of the following statement:
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By RADHAKR1SHNAN
INDIAN PHILOSOPHY THE HINDU VIEW OF LIFE AN IDEALIST VIEW OF LIFE
RELIGION IN A CHANGING WORLD THE BHAGAVADGlTA
By A. N. MARLOW radhakrishnan: an anthology (Allen & Unwin)
(Clarendon Press, Oxford)
(Oxford University Press)
INDIA AND CHINA IS THIS PEACE?
(Hind Kitabs, Bombay)
Edited by radhakrishnan
(Allen & Unwin)
Edited by radhakrishnan and j. h. muirhead
(Allen & Unwin)
Edited by radhakrishnan and p. t. raju
(Allen & Unwin)
Edited by radhakrishnan, a. wadia, d. m. datta and h. kabir
(Allen & Unwin)
LONDON: GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD NEW YORK: HUMANITIES PRESS INC.
FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1953 SECOND IMPRESSION 1968 THIRD IMPRESSION 1969 FOURTH IMPRESSION I974
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention. All rights are reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, 1936, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Inquiries should be addressed to the Publishers.
Reprinted in 1978 in the United States of America by Humanities Press Inc. and in England by George Allen & Unwin Ltd.
(U.S.A.) ISBN 0 391 00571 5 (England) ISBN 04 294046 X
Printed in the United States of America
Human nature is not altogether unchanging but it does remain sufficiently constant to justify the study of ancient classics. The problems of human life and destiny have not been superseded by the striking achievements of science and technology. The solutions offered, though conditioned in their modes of expression by their time and environment, have not been seriously affected by the march of scientific knowledge and criticism. The responsibility laid on man as a rational being, to integrate himself, to relate the present to the past and the future, to live in time as well as in eternity, has become acute and urgent. The Upanisads, though remote in time from us, are not remote in thought. They disclose the working of the primal impulses of the human soul which rise above the differ¬ ences of race and of geographical position. At the core of all historical religions there are fundamental types of spiritual experience though they are expressed with different degrees of clarity. The Upanisads illustrate and illuminate these primary experiences.
‘These are really the thoughts of all men in all ages and lands; they are not original with me. If they are not yours as much as mine, they are nothing or next to nothing,’ said Walt Whitman. The Upanisads deal with questions which arise when men begin to reflect seriously and attempt answers to them which are not very different, except in their approach and emphasis from what we are now inclined to accept. This does not mean that the message of the Upanisads, which is as true today as ever, commits us to the different hypotheses about the structure of the world and the physiology of man. We must make a distinction between the message of the Upanisads and their mythology. The latter is liable to correction by advances in science. Even this mythology becomes intelligible if we place ourselves as far as possible at the viewpoint of those who con¬ ceived it. Those parts of the Upanisads which seem to us today to be trivial, tedious and almost unmeaning, should have had value and significance at the time they were composed.
Anyone who reads the Upanisads in the original Sanskrit will be caught up and carried away by the elevation, the poetry, the compelling fascination of the many utterances through which they lay bare the secret and sacred relations of the
The Principal Upanisads
human soul and the Ultimate Reality. When we read them, we cannot help being impressed by the exceptional ability, earnest¬ ness and ripeness of mind of those who wrestled with these ultimate questions. These souls who tackled these problems remain still and will remain for all time in essential harmony with the highest ideals of civilisation.
The Upanisads are the foundations on which the beliefs of millions of human beings, who were not much inferior to our¬ selves, are based. Nothing is more sacred to man than his own history. At least as memorials of the past, the Upanisads are worth our attention.
A proper knowledge of the texts is an indispensable aid to the understanding of the Upanisads. There are parts of the Upanisads which repel us by their repetitiveness and irrelevance to our needs, philosophical and religious. But if we are to under¬ stand their ideas, we must know the atmosphere in which they worked. We must not judge ancient writings from our standards. We need not condemn our fathers for having been what they were or ourselves for being somewhat different from them. It is our task to relate them to their environment, to bridge distances of time and space and separate the transitory from the permanent.
There is a danger in giving only carefully chosen extracts. We are likely to give what is easy to read and omit what is difficult, or give what is agreeable to our views and omit what is disagreeable. It is wise to study the Upanisads as a whole, their striking insights as well as their commonplace assumptions. Only such a study will be historically valuable. I have therefore given in full the classical Upanisads, those commented on or mentioned by £amkara. The other Upanisads are of a later date and are sectarian in character. They represent the popular gods, £iva, Visnu, £akti, as manifestations of the Supreme Reality. They are not parts of the original Veda, are of much later origin and are not therefore as authoritative as the classical Upanisads. If they are all to be included, it would be difficult to find a Publisher for so immense a work. I have therefore selected a few other Upanisads, some of those to which references are made by the great teachers, ^amkara and Ramanuja.
In the matter of translation and interpretation, I owe a heavy debt, directly and indirectly, not only to the classical commentators but also to the modern writers who have worked
Preface 7
on the subject. I have profited by their tireless labours. The careful reader will find, I hope, that a small advance in a few places at least has been made in this translation towards a better understanding of the texts.
Passages in verse are not translated into rhyme as the padding and inversion necessary for observing a metrical pattern take away a great deal from the dignity and concise¬ ness of the original.
It is not easy to render Sanskrit religious and philosophical classics into English for each language has its own charac¬ teristic genius. Language conveys thought as well as feeling. It falls short of its full power and purpose, if it fails to com¬ municate the emotion as fully as it conveys the idea. Words convey ideas but they do not always express moods. In the Upanisads we find harmonies of speech which excite the emotions and stir the soul. I am afraid that it has not been possible for me to produce in the English translation the richness of melody, the warmth of spirit, the power of enchant¬ ment that appeals to the ear, heart and mind. I have tried to be faithful to the originals, sometimes even at the cost of elegance. I have given the texts with all their nobility of sound and the feeling of the numinous.
For the classical Upanisads the text followed is that com¬ mented on by £amkara. A multitude of variant readings of the texts exist, some of them to be found in the famous commen¬ taries, others in more out of the way versions. The chief variant readings are mentioned in the notes. As my interest is philo¬ sophical rather than linguistic, I have not discussed them. In the translation, words which are omitted or understood in Sanskrit or are essential to complete the grammatical structure are inserted in brackets.
We cannot bring to the study of the Upanisads virgin minds which are untouched by the views of the many generations of scholars who have gone before us. Their influence may work either directly or indirectly. To be aware of this limitation, to estimate it correctly is of great importance in the study of ancient texts. The classical commentators represent in their works the great oral traditions of interpretation which have been current in their time. Centuries of careful thought lie behind the exegetical traditions as they finally took shape. It would be futile to neglect the work of the commentators as there are words and passages in the Upanisads of which we
8 The Principal Upanisads
could make little sense without the help of the commen¬ tators.
We do not have in the Upanisads a single well-articulated system of thought. We find in them a number of different strands which could be woven together in a single whole by sympathetic interpretation. Such an account involves the ex¬ pression of opinions which can always be questioned. Impar¬ tiality does not consist in a refusal to form opinions or in a futile attempt to conceal them. It consists in rethinking the thoughts of the past, in understanding their environment, and in relating them to the intellectual and spiritual needs of our own time. While we should avoid the attempt to read into the terms of the past the meanings of the present, we cannot overlook the fact that certain problems are the same in all ages. We must keep in mind the Buddhist saying: ‘Whatever is not adapted to such and such persons as are to be taught cannot be called a teaching.’ We must remain sensitive to the prevailing currents of thought and be prepared, as far as we are able, to translate the universal truth into terms intelligible to our audience, without distorting their meaning. It would scarcely be possible to exaggerate the difficulty of such a task, but it has to be undertaken. If we are able to make the seeming abstractions of the Upanisads flame anew with their ancient colour and depth, if we can make them pulsate with their old meaning, they will not appear to be altogether irrelevant to our needs, intellectual and spiritual. The notes are framed in this spirit.
The Upanisads which base their affirmations on spiritual experience are invaluable for us, as the traditional props of faith, the infallible scripture, miracle and prophecy are no longer available. The irreligion of our times is largely the product of the supremacy of religious technique over spiritual life. The study of the Upanisads may help to restore to funda¬ mental things of religion that reality without which they seem to be meaningless.
Besides, at a time when moral aggression is compelling people to capitulate to queer ways of life, when vast experi¬ ments in social structure and political organisation are being made at enormous cost of life and suffering, when we stand perplexed and confused before the future with no clear light to guide our way, the power of the human soul is the only refuge. If we resolve to be governed by it, our civilisation may
Preface 9
enter upon its most glorious epoch. There are many ‘dis¬ satisfied children of the spirit of the west,’ to use Romain Rolland’s phrase, who are oppressed that the universality of her great thoughts has been defamed for ends of violent action, that they are trapped in a blind alley and are savagely crushing each other out of existence. When an old binding culture is being broken, when ethical standards are dissolving, when we are being aroused out of apathy or awakened out of uncon¬ sciousness, when there is in the air general ferment, inward stirring, cultural crisis, then a high tide of spiritual agitation sweeps over peoples and we sense in the horizon something novel, something unprecedented, the beginnings of a spiritual renaissance. We are living in a world of freer cultural inter¬ course and wider world sympathies. No one can ignore his neighbour who is also groping in this world of sense for the world unseen. The task set to our generation is to reconcile the varying ideals of the converging cultural patterns and help them to sustain and support rather than combat and destroy one another. By this process they are transformed from within and the forms that separate them will lose their exclusivist meaning and signify only that unity with their own origins and inspirations.
The study of the sacred books of religions other than one’s own is essential for speeding up this process. Students of Chris¬ tian religion and theology, especially those who wish to make Indian Christian thought not merely ‘geographically’ but ‘organically’ Indian, should understand their great heritage which is contained in the Upanisads.
For us Indians, a study of the Upanisads is essential, if we are to preserve our national being and character. To discover the main lines of our traditional life, we must turn to our classics, the Vedas and the Upanisads, the Bhagavad-gita and the Dhamma-pada. They have done more to colour our minds than we generally acknowledge. They not only thought many of our thoughts but coined hundreds of the words that we use in daily life. There is much in our past that is degrading and deficient but there is also much that is life-giving and elevating. If the past is to serve as an inspiration for the future, we have to study it with discrimination and sympathy. Again, the highest achievements of the human mind and spirit are not limited to the past. The gates of the future are wide open. While the fundamental motives, the governing ideas which
The Principal Upanisads
constitute the essential spirit of our culture are a part of our very being, they should receive changing expression according to the needs and conditions of our time.
There is no more inspiring task for the student of Indian thought than to set forth some phases of its spiritual wisdom and bring them to bear on our own life. Let us, in the words of Socrates, ‘turn over together the treasures that wise men have left us, glad if in so doing we make friends with one another.’
The two essays written for the Philosophy of the Upanisads (1924), which is a reprint of chapter IV from my Indian Philo¬ sophy, Volume I, by Rabindranath Tagore and Edmond Holmes, are to be found in the Appendices A and B respectively.
I am greatly indebted to my distinguished and generous friends Professors Suniti Kumar Chatterji, and Siddhesvar Bhattacharya for their great kindness in reading the proofs and making many valuable suggestions.
Moscow, S. R.
October, 1951.
Preface 5
Scheme of Transliteration 13
List of Abbreviations 14
Introduction 15
Vedas
trine of Maya and Avidyd 78
12 The Principal Upanisads
XVIII V ajrasucika Upanisad 933
Appendices
(a) Rabindranath Tagore on The Upani¬
sads 937
(b) Edmond Holmes on The Upanisads 943
Selected Bibliography 949
General Index 951
Vowels
a
a i i
u
u r
f 1
anusvara
m
visarga
h
Consonants
gutturals
k
kh
g
gh
n
palatals
c
ch
j
jh
n
cerebrals
t
th
d
dh
n
dentals
t
th
d
dh
n
labials
ph
b
bh
m
semi-vowels
y
r
sibilants
s
^s in sun
s palatal sibilant pronounced like the soft of Russian
s cerebral sibilant as in shun aspirate h
A itareya Upanisad
• • •
Anandagiri
•
Bhagavad-gita
•
Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad
Brahma Sutra
• • •
Chandogya Upanisad .
. •
Indian Philosophy by Radhakrishnan
Isa Upanisad .
• • •
Isa
Jabala Upanisad .
Jabala
Kena Upanisad
• •
Kena
Katha Upanisad .
• •
Katha
Kausitaki Upanisad
Mahabharata
Maitri Upanisad
• • •
Maitri
Mandukya Upanisad .
Ma.U.
Mundaka Upanisad
•
Paihgala Upanisad
•
Paihgala
Prasna Upanisad .
• • •
Prasna
Rangaramanuja
•
Ramanuja’s Commentary Brahma Sutra
on the
Ramanuja’s Commentary Bhagavad-gita
on the
Rg Veda
Samkara ....
^arhkara’s Commentary Brahma Sutra
on the
£amkara’s Commentary Bhagavad-gita
on the
Subala Upanisad .
• • •
Subala
Svetasvatara Upanisad .
• • •
Taittiriya Upanisad
. • * •
Upanisad
• • •
Variant ....
• • •
The Upanisads represent a great chapter in the history of the human spirit and have dominated Indian philosophy, religion and life for three thousand years. Every subsequent religious movement has had to show itself to be in accord with their philosophical statements. Even doubting and denying spirits found in them anticipations of their hesitancies, misgivings and negations. They have survived many changes, religious and secular, and helped many generations of men to formulate their views on the chief problems of life and existence.
Their thought by itself and through Buddhism influenced even in ancient times the cultural life of other nations far beyond the boundaries of India, Greater India, Tibet, China, Japan and Korea and in the South, in Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula and far away in the islands of the Indian and the Pacific Oceans. In the West, the tracks of Indian thought may be traced far into Central Asia, where, buried in the sands of the desert, were found Indian texts.1
The Upanisads have shown an unparalleled variety of appeal during these long centuries and have been admired by different people, for different reasons, at different periods. They are said
1 ‘For the historian, who pursues the history of human thought, the Upanisads have a yet far greater significance. From the mystical doctrines of the Upanisads, one current of thought may be traced to the mysticism of the Persian Sufism, to the mystic, theosophical logos doctrine of the Neo-Platonics and the Alexandrian Christian mystics, Eckhart and Tauler, and finally to the philosophy of the great German mystic of the nineteenth century, Schopenhauer.' Winternitz: A History of Indian Literature. E. T. Vol. I (1927), p. 266. See Eastern Religions and Western Thought. Second Edition (1940), Chapters IV, V, VI, VII. It is said that Schopenhauer had the Latin text of the Upanisads on his table and ‘was in the habit, before going to bed, of performing his devotions from its pages.’ Bloomfield: Religion of the Veda (1908), p. 55. ‘From every sentence [of the Upanisads], deep original and sublime thoughts arise, and the whole is pervaded by a high and holy and earnest spirit. In the whole world . . . there is no study ... so beneficial and so elevating as that of the Upanisads. They are products of the highest wisdom. They are destined sooner or later to become the faith of the people.’ Schopenhauer.
18 The Principal Upanisads
to provide us with a complete chart of the unseen Reality, to give us the most immediate, intimate and convincing light on the secret of human existence, to formulate, in Deussen’s words, ‘philosophical conceptions unequalled in India or perhaps anywhere else in the world,’ or to tackle every funda¬ mental problem of philosophy.1 All this may be so or may not be so. But of one thing there is no dispute, that those earnest spirits have known the fevers and ardours of religious seeking ; they have expressed that pensive mood of the thinking mind which finds no repose except in the Absolute, no rest except in the Divine. The ideal which haunted the thinkers of the Upanisads, the ideal of man’s ultimate beatitude, the perfection of knowledge, the vision of the Real in which the religious hunger of the mystic for divine vision and the philosopher’s ceaseless quest for truth are both satisfied is still our ideal. A. N. Whitehead speaks to us of the real which stands behind and beyond and within the passing flux of this world, ‘some¬ thing which is real and yet waiting to be realised, something which is a remote possibility and yet the greatest of present facts, something that gives meaning to all that passes, and yet eludes apprehension; something whose possession is the final good, and yet is beyond all reach; something which is the ultimate ideal and the hopeless quest.’2 A metaphysical curiosity for a theoretical explanation of the world as much as a passionate longing for liberation is to be found in the Upanisads. Their ideas do not only enlighten our minds but stretch our souls.
If the ideas of the Upanisads help us to rise above the glamour of the fleshly life, it is because their authors, pure of soul, ever striving towards the divine, reveal to us their pictures of the splendours of the unseen. The Upanisads are respected not because they are a part of sruti or -revealed literature and so hold a reserved position but because they have inspired generations of Indians with vision and strength by their in¬ exhaustible significance and spiritual power. Indian thought
1 Cp. W. B. Yeats: ‘Nothing that has disturbed the schools to controversy escaped their notice.’ Preface to the Ten Principal Upanisads (1937), P- II-
2 Science and the Modern World, (1933), p. 238.
Introduction
has constantly turned to these scriptures for fresh illumination and spiritual recovery or recommencement, and not in vain. The fire still burns bright on their altars. Their light is for the seeing eye and their message is for the seeker after truth.1
THE TERM ‘UPANISAD’
The word ‘upanisad’ is dervied from upa (near), ni (down) and sad (to sit), i.e. sitting down near. Groups of pupils sit near the teacher to learn from him the secret doctrine. In the quietude of forest hermitages the Upanisad thinkers pondered on the problems of the deepest concern and communicated their knowledge to fit pupils near them. The seers adopt a certain reticence in communicating the truth. They wish to be satisfied that their pupils are spiritually and not carnally minded.2 To respond to spiritual teaching, we require the spiritual disposition.
The Upanisads contain accounts of the mystic significance of the syllable aum, explanations of mystic words like tajjalan, which are intelligible only to the initiated, and secret texts and esoteric doctrines. Upanisad became a name for a mystery, a secret, rahasyam, communicated only to the tested few. 3 When
1 In an article on Christian Vedantism, Mr. R. Gordon Milburn writes, ‘Christianity in India needs the Vedanta. We missionaries have not realised this with half the clearness that we should. We cannot move freely and joyfully in our own religion; because we have not sufficient terms and modes of expression wherewith to express the more immanen- tal aspects of Christianity. A very useful step would be the recognition of certain books or passages in the literature of the Vedanta as consti¬ tuting what might be called an Ethnic Old Testament. The permission of ecclesiastical authorities could then be asked for reading passages found in such a canon of Ethnic Old Testament at divine service along with passages from the New Testament as alternatives to the Old Testament lessons.’ Indian Interpreter. 1913.
2 Cp. Plato: ‘To find the Father and Maker of this universe is a hard task; and when you have found him, it is impossible to speak of him before all people.’ Timaeus.
3 guhya adesah. C.U. III. 52. paramarh guhyam. Katha I. 3. 17. vedante paramarh guhyam. S.U. VI. 22.
vedaguhyam, vedaguhyopanisatsu gudham. S.U. V. 6.
20 The Principal Upanisads
the question of man’s final destiny was raised, Yajnavalkya took his pupil aside and whispered to him the truth.1 According to the Chandogya Upanisad, the doctrine of Brahman may be imparted by a father to his elder son or to a trusted pupil, but not to another, whoever he may be, even if the latter should give him the whole earth surrounded by the waters and filled with treasures.2 In many cases it is said that the teacher com¬ municates the secret knowledge only after repeated entreaty and severe testing.
fsamkara derives the word upanisad as a substantive from the root sad, ‘to loosen,’ ‘to reach’ or ‘to destroy’ with upa and ni as prefixes and kvip as termination. 3 If this derivation is accepted, upanisad means brahma-knowledge by which ignorance is loosened or destroyed. The treatises that deal with brahma-knowledge are called the Upanisads and so pass for the Vedanta. The different derivations together make out that the Upanisads give us both spiritual vision and philosophical argument. 4 There is a core of certainty which is essentially incommunicable except by a way of life. It is by a strictly personal effort that one can reach the truth.
Ill
The Upanisads form a literature which has been growing from early times. Their number exceeds two hundred, though
guhyalamam. Maitrl VI. 29.
abhayarh vai brahma bh'avati ya evarh veda, iti rahasyam. Nrsimhottara- tapani U. VIII.
dharme rahasy upanisat syat. Amarakosa.
upanisadarh rahasyam yac cintyam. S on Kena IV. 7. The injunction of secrecy about the mysteries reserved for the initiated is found among the Orphics and the Pythagoreans.
* B.U. III. 2. 13.
* III. 11. 5; B.U. III. 2. 13.
3 Introduction to the Katha. In his commentary on T.U., he says, upanisannam va asyam pararn sreya iti.
4 Oldenberg suggests that the real sense of Upanisad is worship or reverence, which the word upasana signifies. Upasana brings about oneness with the object worshipped. See Keith: The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and the Upanisads (1925), p. 492.
Introduction
the Indian tradition puts it at one hundred and eight.1 Prince Muhammad Dara Shikoh’s collection translated into Persian (1656-1657) and then into Latin by Anquetil Duperron (r8oi and 1802) under the title Oupnekhat, contained about fifty. Colebrooke’s collection contained fifty-two, and this was based on Narayana’s list (c. a.d. 1400). The principal Upanisads are said to be ten. £amkara commented on eleven, Isa, Kena, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya, Brhad-dranyaka and Svetasvatara. He also refers to the Kausi- taki, Jabala, Mahanarayana and Paihgala Upanisads in his Commentary on the Brahma Sutra. These together with the Maitrayaniya or Maitri Upanisad constitute the principal Upanisads. Ramanuja uses all these Upanisads as also the Subala and the Culika. He mentions also the Garbha, the Jabala and the Maha Upanisads. Vidyaranya includes Nrsi- mhottara-tapani Upanisad among the twelve he explained in his Sarvopanisad-arthanubhuti-prakasa. The other Upanisads which have come down are more religious than philosophical. They belong more to the Purana and the Tantra than to the Veda. They glorify Vedanta or Yoga or Samnyasa or extol the worship of Siva, Sakti or VisnuA
1 See the Muktika U., where it is said that salvation may be attained by a study of the hundred and eight Upanisads. I. 30-39.
1 There is, however, considerable argument about the older and more original Upanisads. Max Muller translated the eleven Upanisads quoted by Sarhkara together with Maitrayaniya. Deussen, though he translated no less than sixty, considers that fourteen of them are original and have a connection with Vedic schools. Hume translated the twelve which Max Muller selected and added to them the Mandukya. Keith in his Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and the Upanisads includes the Mahanarayana. His list of fourteen is the same as that of Deussen.
English translations of the Upanisads have appeared in the following order: Ram Mohan Roy (1832), Roer (1853), ( Bibliotheca Indica) Max Muller (1879-1884) Sacred Books of the East, Mead and Chattopadhyaya (1896, London Theosophical Society), Sltaram Sastrf and Gariganath Jha (1898-1901), (G. A. Natesan, Madras), Sitanath Tattvabhusan (1900), S. C. Vasu (1911), R. Hume (1921). E. B. Cowell, Hiriyanna, Dvivedi, Mahadeva Sastri and Sri Aurobindo have published transla¬ tions of a few Upanisads.
Samkara’s commentaries on the principal Upanisads are available in English translations also. His interpretations are from the standpoint of advaita or non-dualism. Rangaramanuja has adopted the point of view of Ramanuja in his commentaries on the Upanisads. Madhva’s commentaries are from the standpoint of dualism. Extracts from his
22 The Principal Upanisads
Modern criticism is generally agreed that the ancient prose Upanisads, Ailareya, Kausitakl, Chandogya, Kena, Taittiriya and Br had- dr any aka, together with Isa and Katha belong to the eighth and seventh centuries b.c. They are all pre-Buddhis- tic. They represent the Vedanta in its pure original form and are the earliest philosophical compositions of the world. These Upanisads belong to what Karl Jaspers calls the Axial Era of the world, 800 to 300 b.c., when man for the first time simul¬ taneously and independently in Greece, China and India ques¬ tioned the traditional pattern of life.
As almost all the early literature of India was anonymous, we do not know the names of the authors of the Upanisads. Some of the chief doctrines of the Upanisads are associated with the names of renowned sages as Aruni, Yajnavalkya, Balaki, £vetaketu, Sandilya. They were, perhaps, the early exponents of the doctrines attributed to them. The teach¬ ings were developed in pari$ads or spiritual retreats where teachers and pupils discussed and defined the different views.
As a part of the Veda, the Upanisads belong to sruti or re¬ vealed literature. They are immemorial, sanatana, timeless. Their truths are said to be breathed out by God or visioned by the seers. They are the utterances of the sages who speak out of the fullness of their illumined experience. They are not reached by ordinary perception, inference or reflection,1 but seen by the seers, even as we see and not infer the wealth and riot of colour in the summer sky. The seers have the same sense of assurance and possession of their spiritual vision as we have of our physical perception. The sages are men of ‘direct’ vision, in the words of Yaska, sdksat-krta-dharmanah, and the records of their experiences are the facts to be considered by any philo¬ sophy of religion. The truths revealed to the seers are not mere reports of introspection which are purely subjective. The inspired sages proclaim that the knowledge they communicate is not what they discover for themselves. It is revealed to
commentaries are found in the edition of the Upanisads published by the Panini Office, Allahabad.
1 They are relevant in matters which cannot be reached by perception and inference, aprapte iastram arthavat. Mimamsa Sutra I. 1. 5.
Introduction
them without their effort.1 Though the knowledge is an experi¬ ence of the seer, it is an experience of an independent reality which impinges on his consciousness. There is the impact of the real on the spirit of the experiencer. It is therefore said to be a direct disclosure from the 'wholly other,’ a revelation of the Divine. Symbolically, the Upanisads describe revelation as the breath of God blowing on us. 'Of that great being, this is the breath, which is the Rg Veda.’2 3 4 5 The divine energy is compared to the breath which quickens. It is a seed which fertilises or a flame which kindles the human spirit to its finest issues. It is interesting to know that the Brhad-dranyaka Upanisad tells us that not only the Vedas but history, sciences and other studies are also 'breathed forth by the great God. ’3
The Vedas were composed by the seers when they were in a state of inspiration. He who inspires them is God. 4 Truth is impersonal, apauruseya and eternal, nitya. Inspiration is a joint activity, of which man’s contemplation and God’s revelation are two sides. The Svetasvatara Upanisad says that the sage ^vetasvatara saw the truth owing to his power of contemplation, tapah-prabhava, and the grace of God, deva-prasada. 5 The dual significance of revelation, its subjective and objective character, is suggested here.
The Upanisads are vehicles more of spiritual illumination than of systematic reflection. They reveal to us a world of rich and varied spiritual experience rather than a world of abstract
1 purus a-pr ay ainam vina prakatlbhuta. S.
^ B.U. II. i. io; M.U. II. i. 6; R.V. X. 90. 9.
3 II. 4. 10. The Naiyayikas maintain that the Vedas were composed by God, while the Mimamsahas hold that they were not composed at all either by man or by God, but have existed from all eternity in the form of sounds. It is perhaps a way of saying that the timeless truths of eternity exist from everlasting to everlasting. Aristotle regards the fundamental truths of religion as eternal and indestructible,
4 With reference to the prophets, Athenagoras says : ‘While entranced and deprived of their natural powers of reason by the influence of the Divine Spirit, they uttered that which was wrought in them, the spirit using them as its instrument as a flute-player might blow a flute.’ Apol. IX.
Cp. ‘Howbeit, when he the spirit of truth is come he shall guide you unto all the truth; for he shall not speak from himself, but whatsoever things he shall hear, these shall he speak.’ John XVI, 13.
The Principal Upanisads
philosophical categories. Their truths are verified not only by logical reason but by personal experience. Their aim is prac¬ tical rather than speculative. Knowledge is a means to freedom. Philosophy, brahma-vidya, is the pursuit of wisdom by a way of life.
The Vedanta meant originally the Upanisads, though the word is now used for the system of philosophy based on the Upanisads. Literally, Vedanta means the end of the Veda, vedasya antah, the conclusion as well as the goal of the Vedas. The Upanisads are the concluding portions of the Vedas. Chrono¬ logically they come at the end of the Vedic period. As the Upanisads contain abstruse and difficult discussions of ultimate philosophical problems, they were taught to the pupils at about the end of their course. When we have Vedic recitations as religious exercises, the end of these recitals is generally from the Upanisads. The chief reason why the Upanisads are called the end of the Veda is that they represent the central aim and meaning of the teaching of the Veda.1 The content of the Upanisads is veddnta vijhanam, the wisdom of the Vedanta.* The Samhitas and the Brahmanas, which are the hymns and the liturgical books, represent the karma-kanda or the ritual portion, while the Upanisads represent the jhana-kanda or the knowledge portion. The learning of the hymns and the per¬ formance of the rites are a preparation for true enlightenment. 3
The Upanisads describe to us the life of spirit, the same yesterday, to-day and for ever. But our apprehensions of the life of spirit, the symbols by which we express it, change with
1 tilesu tailavad vede vedantah su-pratisthitah. Muktika. U. I. 9. Again, vedd brahmatma-visaya. Bhdgavata. XI. 21. 35. atmaikatva-vidya-prati- pattaye sarve-vedanta arabhyante. S.B. Introduction, vedanto nama upanisat pramanam. Vedanta-sara.
1 M.U. III. 2. 6. S. U. speaks of the highest mystery in the Vedanta. veddnte paramam guhyam VI. 22.
3 Much of the material in the C.U. and B.U. belongs properly to the Brahmanas.
Introduction
time. All systems of orthodox Indian thought accept the authoritativeness of the Vedas,1 * 3 but give themselves freedom in their interpretation. This variety of interpretation is made possible by the fact that the Upanisads are not the thoughts of a single philosopher or a school of philosophers who follow a single tradition. They are the teachings of thinkers who were interested in different aspects of the philosophical problem, and therefore offer solutions of problems which vary in their in¬ terest and emphasis. There is thus a certain amount of fluidity in their thought which has been utilised for the development of different philosophical systems. Out of the wealth of sugges¬ tions and speculations contained in them, different thinkers choose elements for the construction of their own systems, not infrequently even through a straining of the texts. Though the Upanisads do not work out a logically coherent system of metaphysics, they give us a few fundamental doctrines which stand out as the essential teaching of the early Upanisads. These are recapitulated in the Brahma Sutra.
The Brahma Sutra is an aphoristic summary of the teaching of the Upanisads, and the great teachers of the Vedanta develop their distinctive views through their commentaries on this work. By interpreting the sutras which are laconic in form and hardly intelligible without interpretation, the teachers justify their views to the reasoning intelligence.
Different commentators attempt to find in the Upanisads and the Brahma Sutra a single coherent doctrine, a system of thought which is free from contradictions. Bhartrprapanca, who is anterior to fsarhkara, maintains that the selves and the physical universe are real, though not altogether different from Brahman. They are both identical with and different from Brahman, the three together constituting a unity in diversity. Ultimate Reality evolves into the universal creation srsti and the universe retreats into it at the time of dissolution, pralayaA
The advaita of £amkara insists on the transcendent nature
1 Even the Buddhists and the Jainas accept the teaching of the
Upanisads, though they interpret it in their own ways. See Introduction to Dhamma-pada and VUesavaiyaka Bhasya, Yasovijaya Jaina Grantha- rndld. No. 35.
3 See Indian Antiquary (1924), pp. 77-86.
The Principal Upanisads
of non-dual Brahman and the duality of the world including Isvara who presides over it. Reality is Brahman or Atman. No predication is possible of Brahman as predication involves duality and Brahman is free from all duality. The world of duality is empirical or phenomenal. The saving truth which redeems the individual from the stream of births and deaths is the recognition of his own identity with the Supreme. ‘That thou art’ is the fundamental fact of all existence.1 The multi¬ plicity of the universe, the unending stream of life, is real, but only as a phenomenon.
Ramanuja qualifies the non-dual philosophy so as to make the personal God supreme. While Brahman, souls and the world are all different and eternal, they are at the same time in¬ separable.2 Inseparability is not identity. Brahman is related to the two others as soul to body. They are sustained by Him and subject to His control. Ramanuja says that while God exists for Himself, matter and souls exist for His sake and sub¬ serve His purposes. The three together form an organic whole. Brahman is the inspiring principle of the souls and the world. The souls are different from, but not independent of, God. They are said to be one only in the sense that they all belong to the same class. The ideal is the enjoyment of freedom and bliss in the world of Narayana, and the means to it is either prapatti or bhakti. The individual souls, even when they are freed through the influence of their devotion and the grace of God, retain their separate individuality. For him and Madhva, God, the author of all grace, saves those who give to Him the worship of love and faith.
For Madhva there are five eternal distinctions between (i) God and the individual soul, (2) God and matter, (3) soul and matter, (4) one soul and another, (5) one particle of matter and another. The supreme being endowed with all auspicious qualities is called Visnu, and Laksmi is His power dependent on Him. Moksa is release from rebirth and residence in the abode of Narayana. Human souls are innumerable, and each of them is separate and eternal. The divine souls are destined for salvation. Those who are neither very good nor very bad
* a-prthak-siddha.
Introduction
are subject to samsara, and the bad go to hell. Right knowledge of God and devotion to Him are the means to salvation. Without divine grace there can be no salvation.1
Baladeva adopts the view of acintya-bhedabheda. Difference and non-difference are positive facts of experience and yet cannot be reconciled. It is an incomprehensible synthesis of opposites. Ramanuja, Bhaskara, Nimbarka and Baladeva believe that there is change in Brahman, but not of Brahman ,2 3
Even the most inspired writers are the products of their environment. They give voice to the deepest thoughts of their own epoch. A complete abandonment of the existing modes of thought is psychologically impossible. The writers of the Rg Veda speak of the ancient makers of the path. 3 When there is an awakening of the mind, the old symbols are interpreted in a new way.
In pursuance of the characteristic genius of the Indian mind, not to shake the beliefs of the common men, but to lead them on by stages to the understanding of the deeper philosophical meaning behind their beliefs, the Upanisads develop the Vedic ideas and symbols and give to them, where necessary, new meanings which relieve them of their formalistic character. Texts from the Vedas are often quoted in support of the teachings of the Upanisads.
The thought of the Upanisads marks an advance on the ritualistic doctrines of the Brahmanas, which are themselves different in spirit from the hymns of the Rg Veda. A good deal of time should have elapsed for this long development. The mass of the Rg Veda must also have taken time to produce,
1 moksai ca visnu-prasadena vina na labhyate. Visnu-tattva-nirnaya.
2 See I.P. Vol. II., pp. 751-765; B.G., pp. 15-20.
3 idam nama rsibhyah purvajebhyah purvebhyah pathi-krdbhyah.
The Principal Upanisads
especially when we remember that what has survived is probably a small part compared to what has been lost.1
Whatever may be the truth about the racial affinities of the Indian and the European peoples, there is no doubt that Indo- European languages derive from a common source and illustrate a relationship of mind. In its vocabulary and inflexions Sanskrit2 presents a striking similarity to Greek and Latin. Sir William Jones explained it by tracing them all to a common source. ‘The Sanskrit language,’ he said in 1786, in an address to the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 'whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either; yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs, and in the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong, indeed, that no philologer could examine them all without believing them to have sprung from some common source which perhaps no longer exists. There is a similar reason, though not quite so forcible, for supposing that both the Gothic and the Celtic, though blended with a different idiom, had the same origin with the Sanskrit; and the old Persian might be added to the same family.’
The oldest Indo-European literary monument is the Rg Veda.3 The word ‘Veda,’ from vid, to know, means knowledge
1 ‘We have no right to suppose that we have even a hundredth part of the religious and popular poetry that existed during the Vedic age.’ Max Muller: Six Systems of Indian Philosophy (1899), p. 41.
1 samskrta : perfectly constructed speech.
3 ‘The Veda has a two-fold interest: it belongs to the history of the world and to the history of India. In the history of the world, the Veda fills a gap which no literary work in any .other language could fill. It carries us back to times of which we have no records anywhere, and gives us the very words of a generation of men, of whom otherwise we could form but the vaguest estimate by means of conjectures and inferences. As long as man continues to take an interest in the history of his race and as long as we collect in libraries and museums the relics of former ages, the first place in that long row of books which contains the records of the Aryan branch of mankind will belong for ever to the Rg Veda.’ Max Muller: Ancient History of Sanskrit Literature (1859), p. 63. The Rg Veda, according to Ragozin ‘is, without the shadow of a doubt, the oldest book of the Aryan family of nations.’ Vedic India (1895), p. 114.
Winternitz observes: ‘If we wish to learn to understand the beginnings of our own culture, if we wish to understand the oldest Indo-European
Introduction
par excellence, sacred wisdom. Science is the knowledge of secondary causes, of the created details ; wisdom is the know¬ ledge of primary causes, of the Uncreated Principle. The Veda is not a single literary work like the Bhagavad-gita or a collection of a number of books compiled at some particular time as the Tri-pitaka of the Buddhists or the Bible of the Christians, but a whole literature which arose in the course of centuries and was handed down from generation to generation through oral transmission. When no books were available memory was strong and tradition exact. To impress on the people the need for preserving this literature, the Veda was declared to be sacred knowledge or divine revelation. Its sanctity arose spontaneously owing to its age and the nature and value of its contents. It has since become the standard of thought and feeling for Indians.
The name Veda signifying wisdom suggests a genuine spirit of inquiry. The road by which the Vedic sages travelled was the road of those who seek to inquire and understand. The questions they investigate are of a philosophical character. ‘Who, verily, knows and who can here declare it, where it was born and whence comes this creation? The gods are later than this world’s production. Who knows, then, whence it first came into being?'1 According to Sayana, Veda is the book which describes the transcendent means for the fulfilment of well¬ being and the avoidance of evils.2
There are four Vedas: the Rg Veda which is mainly composed
culture, we must go to India, where the oldest literature of an Indo- European people is preserved. For, whatever view we may adopt on the problem of the antiquity of Indian literature, we can safely say that the oldest monument of the literature of the Indians is at the same time the oldest monument of Indo-European literature which we possess.’ A History of Indian Literature, E.T. Vol. I (1927), p. 6. See also Bloomfield : The Religion of the Veda (1908), p. 17. He says that the Rg Veda is not only ‘the most ancient literary monument of India’ but also ‘the most ancient literary document of the Indo-European peoples.’ ‘This literature is earlier than that of either Greece or Israel, and reveals a high level of civilisation among those who found in it the expression of their worship,’ according to Dr. Nicol Macnicol. See his Hindu Scriptures (1938), p. XIV.
1 ista-prapty-anista-pariharayoralaukikam upayam yo grantho vedayati sa vedah.
30 The Principal Upanisads
of songs of praise; the Yajur Veda, which deals with sacrificial formulas; the Santa Veda which refers to melodies; and the Atharva Veda, which has a large number of magic formulas. Each contains four sections consisting of : (i) Samhitd or collec¬ tion of hymns, prayers, benedictions, sacrificial formulas and litanies; (ii) Brahmanas or prose treatises discussing the significance of sacrificial rites and ceremonies; (iii) Aranyakas or forest texts, which are partly included in the Brahmanas and partly reckoned as independent; and (iv) Upanisads.
Veda denotes the whole literature made up of the two portions called Mantra and Brahmana.1 Mantra is derived by Yaska from manana, thinking.2 3 It is that by which the contemplation of God is attempted. Brahmana deals with the elaboration of worship into ritual. Parts of Brahmanas are called Aranyakas. Those who continue their studies without marrying are called aranas or aranamanas. They lived in hermitages or forests. The forests where aranas (ascetics) live are aranyas. Their speculations are contained in Aranyakas.
Yaska refers to different interpretations of the Vedas by the ritualists ( yajhikas ), the etymologists ( nairuktas ) and mytholo- gists (aitihasikas) . The Brhad-devata which comes after Yaska’s Nirukta also refers to various schools of thought in regard to Vedic interpretations. It mentions atma-vadins or those who relate the Vedas to the psychological processes.
The Rg Veda, which comprises 1,017 hymns divided into ten books, represents the earliest phase in the evolution of religious consciousness where we have not so much the com¬ mandments of priests as the outpourings of poetic minds who were struck by the immensity of the universe and the in¬ exhaustible mystery of life. The reactions of simple yet unsophisti¬ cated minds to the wonder of existence are portrayed in these joyous hymns which attribute divinity to the striking aspects of nature. We have worship of devas, 3 deities like Surya (sun),
1 mantra-brahmanayor veda namadheyam. Apastamba in Yajha-pari- bhasa.
1 Nirukta VII. 3. 6.
3 The devas are, according to Amara, the immortals, amarah, free from old age, nirjarah, the evershining ones, devah, heavenly beings, tridasah. the knowing ones, vibudhah, and gods or deities, surah.
Introduction
Soma (moon), Agni (fire), Dyaus (sky), Prthivi (earth),1 Maruts (storm winds), Vayu (wind), Ap (water), Usas (dawn). Even deities whose names are no longer so transparent were originally related to natural phenomena such as Indra, Varuna, Mitra, Aditi, Visnu, Pusan, the two Asvins, Rudra and Parjanya. Qualities which emphasise particular important aspects of natural phenomena attained sometimes to the rank of inde¬ pendent deities.* Savitr, the inspirer or the life-giver, Vivasvat, the shining, were at first attributes and names of the Sun but later became independent Sun-gods. Some of the deities wor¬ shipped by the different tribes were admitted into the Vedic pantheon. Pusan, originally the Sun-god of a small shepherd tribe, becomes the protector of travellers, the god who knows all the paths. Some deities have their basis in abstract qualities such as sraddha, faith, manyu, anger. 3 We also come across Rbhus, or elves, Apsaras or nymphs, Gandharvas or forest or field spirits. 4 A suras who become the enemies of the gods in the later Vedic works retain in the Rg Veda the old meaning of 'possessors of wonderful power’ or ‘God’ which the corre¬ sponding word Ahura has in the A vesta. 5
1 In Greek mythology Zeus as sky-father is in essential relation to earth mother. See A. B. Cook: Zeus (1914) I, p. 779.
1 The ancient Greeks advanced the natural elements into gods by deifying their attributes. Apollo shone in the sun. Boreas howled in the mountain blasts. Zeus threatened in the lightning and struck in the thunderbolt.
3 These occur in the latest hymns of the tenth book of the Rg Veda.
4 The Vedic Indians were not phallus worshippers. Sisna-devah (R. V. VII. 21. 5; X. 99. 3) does not mean phallus-worshippers. Yaska says that it refers to non-celibates: ‘hina-devah a-brahmacaryah,’ IV. 9. Saymm adopts this view: sisnena divyanti kridanti, iti sisna-devdh, a-brahmacaryd ity arthah. Though it is a bahuvrihi compound meaning those whose deity is phallus, the word 'deva' is to be taken in its secondary sense, laksyartha. It means those who are addicted to sex life. The plural number also suggests that it is not a deity that is meant. Cp. the later Sanskrit.
iisnodara-parayanah. ‘Addicted to the gratification of sex and stomach.’
5 The Persians call their country Iran, which is the airiya of the A vesta and signifies the land of the Aryans. Even to-day after centuries of Islam, the influences of Aryan thought are not altogether effaced. The Muslims of Persia tend to emphasise passages of the Quran which are capable of a mystic interpretation. Professor E. G. Browne writes: ‘When in the seventh century the warlike followers of the Arabian prophet swept across Iran, overwhelming in their tumultuous onslaught
The Principal Upanisads
Varuna, a god common both to the Indians and the Iranians, regulates the course of the sun and the sequence of the seasons. He keeps the world in order and is the embodiment of truth and order which are binding on mankind. He protects moral laws and punishes the sinful. The Vedic Indians approach Varuna in trembling and fear and in humble reverence and ask for forgiveness of sins.1 Indra, who is a king among the gods, occupying the position of Zeus in the Greek Olympus, is invoked by those who are fighting and struggling. Agni is the mediator between men and gods. The hymns speak of him as a dear friend, the master of the house, grha-pati. He bears the sacrificial offerings to the gods and brings the gods down to
an ancient dynasty and a venerable religion, a change, apparently almost unparalleled in history, was in the course of a few years brought over the land. Where for centuries the ancient hymns of the Avesta had been chanted and the sacred fire had burned, the cry of the Mu’ezzin sum¬ moning the faithful to prayer rang out from minarets reared on the ruins of the temples of Ahura Mazda. The priests of Zoroaster fell by the sword; the ancient books perished in the flames; and soon none were left to represent a once mighty faith but a handful of exiles flying towards the shores of India and a despised and persecuted remnant in solitary Yezd and remote Kirman. . . . Yet, after all, the change was but skin deep and soon a host of heterodox sects born on Persian soil — - Shi’ites, Sufis, Ismailis and philosophers arose to vindicate the claim of Aryan thought to be free and to transform the religion forced on the nation by Arab steel into something which, though still wearing a semblance of Islam, had a significance widely different from that which one may fairly suppose was intended by the Arabian prophet.' A Year amongst the Persians (1927), p. 134.
1 Varuna becomes Ahura Mazda (Ormuzd), the supreme God and Creator of the world. In one of those conversations with Zoroaster which embody the revelation that was made to him, it is recorded, Ahura says, ‘I maintain that sky there above, shining and seen afar and encompas¬ sing the earth all round. It looks like a palace that stands built of a heavenly substance firmly established with ends that lie afar, shining, in its body of ruby over the three worlds; it is like a garment inlaid with stars made of a heavenly substance that Mazda puts on.’ Yasht XIII. Like Varuna, who is the lord of rta, Ahura is the lord of asa. As Varuna is closely allied with Mitra, so is Ahura with ' M it hr a, the sun-god. Avesta knows Verethragna who is Vrtrahan, the slayer of Vrtra. Dyaus, Apamnapat (Apam Napat), Gandharva (Gandarewa), Krsanu (Keresani), Vayu (Vayu), Yama, son of Vivasvant (Yima, son of Vivanhvant) as well as Yajha (Yasna), Hotr (Zaotar), Atharva priest (Athravan). These point to the common religion of the undivided Indo- Aryans and Iranians.
In the later Avesta, the supreme God is the sole creator but his attri¬ butes of the good spirit, righteousness, power, piety, health and immor¬ tality become personified as ‘the Immortal Holy Ones.'
Introduction
the sacrifice. He is the wise one, the chief priest, purohita. Mitra is the god of light. When the Persians first emerge into history, Mitra is the god of light who drives away darkness. He is the defender of truth and justice, the protector of righteous¬ ness, the mediator between Ahura Mazda and man.1
Mitra, Varuna and Agni are the three eyes of the great illuminator Sun.2 Aditi is said to be space and air, mother, father and son. She is all comprehending. 3 Deities presiding over groups of natural phenomena became identified. The various Sun-gods, Surya, Savitr, Mitra and Visnu tended to be looked upon as one. Agni (Fire) is regarded as one deity with three forms, the sun or celestial fire, lightning or atmospheric fire and the earthly fire manifest in the altar and in the homes of men.
Again, when worship is accorded to any of the Vedic deities, we tend to make that deity, the supreme one, of whom all others are forms or manifestations. He is given all the attributes of a monotheistic deity. As several deities are exalted to this first place, we get what has been called henotheism, as distinct from monotheism. There is, of course, a difference between a psycho¬ logical monotheism where one god fills the entire life of the worshipper and a metaphysical monotheism. Synthesising processes, classification of gods, simplification of the ideas of divine attributes and powers prepare for a metaphysical unity, the one principle informing all the deities. 4 The supreme
1 Mithraism is older than Christianity by centuries. The two faiths were in acute rivalry until the end of the third century a.d. The form of the Christian Eucharist is very like that of the followers of Mithra.
1 citr aril devanam ud agad anxkarh caksur mitrasya varunasyagneh. apra dydvd prthivi antariksarii surya atma jagatas tasthusas ca.
3 aditir dyaur aditir antariksam, aditir matd, sa pita, sa putrah vitve-deva aditih parica-jana
aditir jatam, aditir jani tv am. R.V. I. 89. 10.
For Anaximander, the boundless and undifferentiated substance which fills the universe and is the matrix in which our world is formed, is theos.
4 mahad devanam asuratvam ekam. R.V. III. 55. 11.
‘One fire burns in many ways: one sun illumines the universe; one divine dispels all darkness. He alone has revealed himself in all these forms. ’ eka evagnir bahudhd samiddha ekah suryo visvam anu prabhutah ekaivosah sarvam idarii vibhdty ekam, vaidam vi babhuva sarvam. R.V. VIII. 58. 2
34 The Principal Upanisads
is one who pervades the whole universe. He is gods and men.1
The Vedic Indians were sufficiently logical to realise that the attributes of creation and rulership of the world could be granted only to one being. We have such a being in Praja-pati, the lord of creatures, Visva-karman, the world-maker. Thus the logic of religious faith asserts itself in favour of monotheism. This tendency is supported by the conception of rta or order. The universe is an ordered whole; it is not disorderliness (akosmia).1 If the endless variety of the world suggests numerous deities, the unity of the world suggests a unitary conception of the Deity.
If philosophy takes its rise in wonder, if the impulse to it is in scepticism, we find the beginnings of doubt in the Rg Veda. It is said of Indra: ‘Of whom they ask, where is he? Of him indeed they also say, he is not. ’3 In another remarkable hymn, the priests are invited to offer a song of praise to Indra, ‘a true one, if in truth he is, for many say, “There is no Indra, who has ever seen him? To whom are we to direct the song of praise?” ’4 When reflection reduced the deities who were once so full of vigour to shadows, we pray for faith: 'O Faith, endow us with belief. ’5 Cosmological thought wonders whether speech and air were not to be regarded as the ultimate essence of all things.6 In another hymn Praja-pati is praised as the creator and preserver of the world and as the one god, but the refrain occurs in verse after verse ‘What god shall we honour by means of sacrifice? '7 Certainty is the source of inertia in thought, while doubt makes for progress.
Agni, kindled in many places, is but one;
One the all-pervading Sun;
One the Dawn, spreading her light over the earth.
All that exists is one, whence is produced the whole world.
See also X. 8i. 3. *
1 yo nah pita, janita yo vidhata dhamani veda ■ bhuvandni visvd. yo devanam namadha eka eva tarn samprasnam bhuvana yanty anya.
1 See Plato: Gorgias 507. E.
3 11.12. 4 VIII. xoo, 3 ff. 5 X. 151. 5.
6 Germ of the world, the deities’ vital spirit,
This god moves ever as his will inclines him.
His voice is heard, his shape is ever viewless :
Let us adore this air with our oblation. X. 168. 4.
7 kasmai devaya havisa vidhemat X. 121.
Introduction
The most remarkable account of a superpersonal monism is to be found in the hymn of Creation.1 It seeks to explain the universe as evolving out of One. But the One is no longer a god like Indra or Varuna, Praja-pati or Visva-karman. The hymn declares that all these gods are of late or of secondary origin. They know nothing of the beginning of things. The first principle, that one, tad ekam, is uncharacterisable. It is without qualities or attributes, even negative ones. To apply to it any description is to limit and bind that which is limitless and boundless.1 ‘That one breathed breathless. There was nothing else.’ It is not a dead abstraction but indescribable perfection of being. Before creation all this was darkness shrouded in darkness, an impenetrable void or abyss of waters, 3 until through the power of tapas, 4 or the fervour of austerity, the One evolved into determinate self-conscious being. He becomes a creator by self-limitation. N thing outside himself can limit him. He only can limit himself. He does not depend on anything other than himself for his manifestation. This power of
1 X. 129. 2 * 4 See B.U. III. 9. 26.
3 Cp. Genesis I. 2, where the Spirit of God is said to move on the face of the waters, and the Puranic description of Visnu as resting on the Serpent Infinite in the milky ocean. Homer’s Iliad speaks of Oceanos as ‘the source of all things’ including even the gods. 14, 246, 302. Many others, North American Indians, Aztecs, etc., have such a belief.
According to Aristotle, Thales considered that all things were made of water. The Greeks had a myth of Father-Ocean as the origin of all things.
Cp. Nrsimha-purva-tapani TJ. I. 1.
apo va idam asan salilam eva, sa praja-patir ekah puskara-parne samabhavat, tasyantar manasi kamah samavarlata idam srjeyam iti.
‘All this remained as water along (without any form). Only Praja-pati came to be in the lotus leaf. In his mind arose the desire, “let me create this (the world of names and forms).”
Two explanations are offered for the presence of identical symbols used in an identical manner in different parts of the world. W. J. Perry and his friends argue that these myths and symbols were derived originally from Egyptian culture which once spread over the world, leaving behind these vestiges when it receded. This theory does not bear close examination and is not widely held. The other explanation is that human beings are very much the same the world over, their minds are similarly constituted and their experience of life under primitive conditions does not differ from one part of the world to another and it is not unnatural that identical ideas regarding the origin and nature of the world arise independently.
4 tapas literally means heat, creative heat by which the brood hen produces life from the egg.
36 The Principal Upanisads
actualisation is given the name of maya in later Vedanta, for the manifestation does not disturb the unity and integrity of the One. The One becomes manifested by its own intrinsic power, by its tap as. The not-self is not independent of the self. It is the avyakta or the unmanifested. While it is dependent on the Supreme Self, it appears as external to the individual ego and is the source of its ignorance. The waters represent the unformed non-being in which the divine lay concealed in darkness. We have now the absolute in itself, the power of self-limitation, the emergence of the determinate self and the not-self, the waters, darkness, para-prakrti. The abyss is the not-self, the mere potentiality, the bare abstraction, the receptacle of all developments. The self-conscious being gives it existence by impressing his forms or Ideas on it. The unmanifested, the indeterminate receives determinations from the self-conscious Lord. It is not absolute nothing, for there is never a state in which it is not in some sense.1 The whole world is formed by the union of being and not-being and the Supreme Lord has facing him this indetermination, this aspiration to existence.2 Rg Veda describes not-being ( asat ) as lying ‘with outstretched
1 See Paingala U. I. 3.
In the Puranas, this idea is variously developed. Brahma Pur ana makes out that God first created the waters which are called nara and released his seed into them; therefore he is called N arayana. The seed grew into a golden egg from which Brahma was born of his own accord and so is called svayambhu. Brahma divided the egg into two halves, heaven and earth. I. 1. 38 ff.
The Brahmanda Purana says that Brahma, known as Nardyana, rested on the surface of the waters.
Vidyaranya on Mahanarayana U. III. 16 says nara-sarirdnam upadana-rupany annadi-panca-bhutani nara-sabdenocyante, tesu bhiitesu yd apo mukhyah ta ayanam adharo yasya visnoh so'yarh narayanah samudra-jala-sayi.
Cp. apo nara iti proktd apo vai nara-sunavah
ayanam tasya tali proktas tena ndrdyanas smrtah.
The Visnu-dharmottara says that Visnu created the waters and the creation of the egg and Brahma took place afterwards.
1 Speaking of Boehme’s mystic philosophy which influenced William Law, Stephen Hobhouse writes that he believes ‘in the Ungrund, the fathomless abyss of freedom or indifference, which is at the root, so to speak, of God and of all existences . . . the idea of the mighty but blind face of Desire that arises out of this abyss and by means of imagination shapes itself into a purposeful will which is the heart of the Divine personality.’ Selected Mystical Writings of William Law (1948), p. 307.
Introduction 37
feet’ like a woman in the throes of childbirth.1 As the first product of the divine mind, the mind’s first fruit, came forth kama, desire, the cosmic will, which is the primal source of all existence. In this kama, ‘the wise searching in their hearts, have by contemplation (mantsa), discovered the connection between the existent and the non-existent’2. The world is created by the personal self-conscious God who acts by his intelligence and will.
This is how the Vedic seers understood in some measure how they and the whole creation arose. The writer of the hymn has the humility to admit that all this is a surmise, for it is not possible for us to be sure of things which lie so far beyond human knowledge. 3
This hymn suggests the distinction between the Absolute Reality and Personal God, Brahman and Isvara, the Absolute beyond being and knowledge, the super-personal, super-essential godhead in its utter transcendence of all created beings and its categories and the Real manifested to man in terms of the highest categories of human experience. Personal Being is treated as a development or manifestation of the Absolute.
In another hymn, 4 the first existent being is called Praja-pati, facing the chaos of waters. He impregnates the waters and becomes manifest in them in the form of a golden egg or germ, from which the whole universe develops. 5 He is called the one
1 I. io. 72.
5 Kama becomes defined later as iccha, desire and kriya, action. It is the creative urge.
Cp. with Kama, the Orphic god, Eros, also called Phanes, who is the principle of generation by whom the whole world is created.
3 See also I. 16. 4. 32, where the writer says that he who made all this does not probably know its real nature.
‘He, the first origin of this creation, whether he formed it all or did not form it,
Whose eye controls this world in highest heaven,
He, verily, knows it, or perhaps he knows not.’
■* I. 10. 121.
5 hiranya-garbha, literally gold-germ, source of golden light, the world- soul, from which all powers and existences of this world are derived. It comes later to mean Brahma, the creator of the world. In the Orphic Cosmogony we have similar ideas. Professor F. M. Cornford writes, ‘In the beginning there was a primal undifferentiated unity, called by the Orphics “Night.” Within this unity the world egg was generated, or
38 The Principal Upanisads
life or soul of the gods ( devanam asuh).1 Hiranya-garbha is the first born determinate existent while Brahman-Isvara, Absolute- God is in the realm of the transcendent.2 The world is said to be a projection, emission or externalisation of the ideal being of God, of the eternal order which is eternally present in the divine wisdom.
The Purusa Siiktai repeats in concrete form the ideal of a primeval being existing before any determinate existence and evolving himself in the empirical universe. The being is con-
according to some accounts, fashioned by Ageless Time (Chronos). The egg divided into two halves, Heaven and Earth. Mythically Heaven and Earth are the Father and Mother of all life. In physical terms the upper half of the egg forms the dome of the sky, the lower contains the moisture or slime from which the dry land (Earth) arose. Between earth and heaven appeared a winged spirit of light and life, known by many names, as Phanes, Eros, Metis, Ericapaeus, etc. The function of this spirit, in which sex was as yet undifferentiated, was to generate life either by the immediate projection of seed from itself, or by uniting the sundered parents, Heaven and Earth in marriage. The offspring were successive pairs of supreme gods; Oceanus and Tethys, Chronos and Rhea, Zeus and Hera.’ Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. IV (1926), p. 536.
Anaximander develops a scheme similar to the Orphic cosmology: (1) There is a primal undifferentiated unity. (2) A separation of opposites in pairs to form the world order. (3) A reunion of these sundered opposites to generate life. This formula is stated by Euripides (Melanippe, Fragment 484): ‘The tale is not mine; I had it from my mother: that Heaven and Earth were once one form, and when they had been sundered from one another, they gave birth to all things and brought them up into the light.’
1 It is quite possible that the Sarhkhya system was a development from the ideas suggested in this hymn. Primitive matter (waters) is said to be existent independently and purusa first comes into determinate consciousness in intelligence ( mahat or buddhi), which is a product of matter ( avyakta ).
1 ko dadarsa prathamarh jdyamdnam asthanvantam yad anasthd bibharti
bhumya asursrgatma kva svit ko vidvarhsam upagat prastum etat. R.V. I. 164. 4.
This distinction which becomes established in the Upanisads has its parallels in other historical developments. Cp. the three Bodies of the Buddha, Dharmakaya or the Absolute Reality, Sambhogakaya, the personal God or the Logos and Nirmanakaya or the historical embodi¬ ment of the Logos in a material body born into the world at a given moment of time. See I.P. Vol. I, pp. 597-9. The Sufis regard A1 Haqq as the Absolute Reality, the abyss of godhead, Allah as the personal Lord, and Muhammad the prophet as the historical embodiment.
Introduction
ceived as a cosmic person with a thousand heads, eyes and feet, who filled the whole universe and extended beyond it, by the length of ten fingers,1 the universe being constituted by a fourth of his nature.2 3 The world form is not a complete expres¬ sion or manifestation of the divine Reality. It is only a fragment of the divine that is manifested in the cosmic process. The World-soul is a partial expression of the Supreme Lord.
Creation is interpreted in the Vedas as development rather than the bringing into being something not hitherto existent. The first principle is manifested in the whole world. Purusa by his sacrifice becomes the whole world. This view prepares for the development of the doctrine which is emphasised in the Upanisads that the spirit in man is one with the spirit which is the prius of the world.
Within this world we have the one positive principle of being and yet have varying degrees of existence marked by varying degrees of penetration or participation of nonentity by divine being. God as Hiranya-garbha is nothing of the already made. He is not an ineffective God who sums up in himself all that is given.
Rg Veda used two different concepts, generation and birth, and something artificially produced to account for creation. Heaven and earth are the parents of the gods; or the Creator of the world is a smith or a carpenter.
Again ‘In the beginning was the golden germ
From his birth he was sole lord of creation.
He made firm the earth and this bright sky;’3
In this hymn Praja-pati, the lord of offspring, assumes the name of Hiranya-garbha, the golden germ, and in the Atharva Veda and later literature Hiranya-garbha himself becomes a supreme deity. 4 The Rg Veda is familiar with the four-fold distinction of (i) the Absolute, the One, beyond all dualities and
1 sa bhumim visvato vrtva aty atisthad dasartgulam.
2 pado’sya visva bhutani tripad asyamrtam divi.
-t In the Atharva Veda he appears as the embryo which is produced in the waters at the beginning of creation. IV. 2. 8.
40 The Principal Upanisads
distinctions, (ii) the self-conscious Subject confronting the object, (iii) the World-soul, and (iv) the world.1
The monistic emphasis led the Vedic thinkers to look upon the Vedic deities as different names of the One Universal Godhead, each representing some essential power of the divine being.’ They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni. He is the heavenly bird Garutmat. To what is one, the poets give many a name. They call it Agni, Yama, Matarisva.’2 The real that lies behind the tide of temporal change is one, though we speak of it in many ways. Agni, Yama, etc., are symbols. They are not gods in themselves. They express different qualities of the object worshipped. The Vedic seers were not conscious of any iconoclastic mission. They did not feel called upon to denounce
1 This list finds a parallel, as we shall see, in the hierarchy of being given in the Ma.U. with its four grades of consciousness, the waking or the perceptual, the dreaming or the imaginative, the self in deep sleep or the conceptual, the turlya or the transcendent, spiritual consciousness which is not so much a grade of consciousness as the total consciousness.
Plato in the T imaeus teaches that the Supreme Deity, the Demi-urge, creates a universal World-Soul, through which the universe becomes an organism. The World-Soul bears the image of the Ideas, and the world- body is fashioned in the same pattern. If the whole world has not been ordered as God would have desired, it is due to the necessity which seems to reside in an intractable material, which was in ‘disorderly motion’ before the Creator imposed form on it.
J I. 164. 46. ekarh santam bahudha kalpayanti. R.V. X. 114. 4. See B. G. X. 41.
Zeus is the supreme ruler of gods and men ; other gods exist to do his bidding.
Cp. Cicero. ‘God being present everywhere in Nature, can be regarded in the field as Ceres; or on the sea as Neptune; and elsewhere in a variety of forms in all of which He may be worshipped. De Nature Deorum.
For Plutarch and Maximus of Tyre, the different gods worshipped in the third century Roman Empire were symbolic representations of a Supreme God who is unknowable in his inmost nature.
‘God himself, the father and fashioner of all . . . is unnameable by any lawgiver, unutterable by any voice, not to be seen by any eye. . . . But if a Greek is stirred to the remembrance of God by the art of Phidias, an Egyptian by paying worship to animals, another man by a river, another by fire, I have no anger for their divergence; only let them know, let them love, let them remember.’
In the Taittiriya Samhita and Saiapatha Brahmana, it is said that Praja-pati assumed certain forms of fish ( matsya ), tortoise (kurma) and boar ( varaha ) for the attainment of certain ends. When the doctrine of avataras, incarnations, becomes established, these three become the incarnations of Visnu.
Introduction
4i
the worship of the various deities as disastrous error or mortal sin. They led the worshippers of the many deities to the worship of the one and only God by a process of reinterpretation and reconciliation.
The reaction of the local cults on the Vedic faith is one of the many causes of variety of the Vedic pantheon. People in an early stage of culture are so entirely steeped in the awe and reverence which have descended to them that they cannot easily or heartily adopt a new pattern of worship. Even when militant religions fell the tall trees of the forest, the ancient beliefs remain as an undergrowth. The catholic spirit of Hinduism which we find in the Rg Veda has always been ready to give shelter to foreign beliefs and assimilate them in its own fashion. While preferring their own, the Vedic Indians had the strength to comprehend other peoples’ ways.
There is no suggestion in the Rg Veda of the illusory character of the empirical world. We find varied accounts of creation. The Supreme is compared to a carpenter or a smith who fashions or smelts the world into being. Sometimes he is said to beget all beings. He pervades all things as air or ether ( akasa ) pervades the universe. He animates the world as the life-breath {prana) animates the human body, a comparison which has been developed with remarkable ingenuity by Ramanuja.
Rg Veda raises the question of the nature of the human self, ko nu atma.1 It is the controller of the body, the unborn part, ajo bhagah2, which survives death. It is distinguished from the jiva or the individual soul. 3 The famous verse of the two birds dwelling in one body, which is taken up by the Upanisads,4 distinguishes the individual soul which enjoys the fruits of actions from the spirit which is merely a passive spectator. 5 This distinction between the individual soul and the supreme self is relevant to the cosmic process and is not applicable to the supreme supra-cosmic transcendence. Those who think that the distinction is to be found in the Supreme Transcendence
4 See M.U. III. 1. 1; S.U. IV. 6.
5 I. 164. 17. atra laukika-paksa-dvaya-drstantena jwa-paramdtmanau sluyete. Sayana.
The Principal Upanisads
do not know their own origin, pitaram na veda. 1 The individual souls belong to the world of Hiranya-garbha.
‘Let this mortal clay (self) be the immortal god.’2 'Vouchsafe, O Indra, that we may be you. '3 One can become a devata, a deity, by one’s own deeds. 4 The aim of the Rg Veda is to become like gods. The individual soul can become the Universal Spirit.
The way to spiritual attainment is through worship5 and moral life. Vestiges of Yoga discipline are found in a late passage6 which describes the kesins or the long-haired ascetics with their yogic powers that enabled them to move at will in space. Of a muni, it is said that his mortal body men see but he himself fares on the path of the faery spirits. His hair is long and his soiled garments are of yellow hue. Vamadeva when he felt the unity of all created things with his own self exclaimed: ‘I am Manu, I am Surya.’7 So also King Trasadasyu said that he was Indra and the great Varuna.8
The cardinal virtues are emphasised: ‘O Mitra and Varuna, by your pathway of truth may we cross. ’9 Mere memorising of the hymns is of no avail if we do not know the Supreme which sustains all.10
Primitive societies are highly complicated structures,
1 yasmin vrkse madhvadah suparnd nivisante suvate cadhi visve tasyed ahuh pippalarh khadv agre tan nonnasad yah pitaram na veda.
* R.V. VIII. 19. 25.
3 tve indrapy abhuma vipra dhiyarh vanema rtayd sapamtah. R.V. II. 11. 12.
4 B.U. IV. 3. 32; see also IV. 1. 2. devo bhutva devan apyeti ; see also T.U. II. 8.
5 The solitary reference to a temple is in R.V. X. 107. 10. where the word deva-mana, building of a god, occurs.
6 R.V. X. 136. See also Aitareya Brahmana VII. 13.
7 aham manur abhavam suryas caham. R.V. IV. 26. 1.
8 aham raja varuno. R.V. IV. 42. 2.
9 rtasya patha vdm . . . tarema. VII. 65. 3.
10 rco aksare parame vyoman yasmin deva adhi visve niseduh yas tarn na veda kirn karisyati ya it tad vidus ta ime samdsate.
See S.U. IV. 8.
Introduction
balanced social organisations with their systems of belief and codes of behaviour. The fundamental needs of society are the moral and the spiritual, the military and the economic. In Indo-European society these three functions are assigned to three different groups, the men of learning and virtue, the men of courage and fight, and the men who provide the economic needs,1 the Brahmana, the Ksatriya and the Vaisya. Below them were the £udras devoted to service. These distinctions are found in the Rg Veda, though they are not crystallised into castes. Ancient Iranian society was constituted on a similar pattern.
Even the gods were classified into the Brahmana, the Ksatriya and the Vaisya according to the benefits which they provide, moral, military or economic. Our prayers are for righteousness, victory and abundance. Surya, Savitr are gods who confer spiritual benefits. Indra is a war god and Asvins give us health and food. In Roman mythology Jupiter provides spiritual benefits, Mars is the god of war and Quirinus is the god of plenty.
Pitaras or fathers or ancestral spirits receive divine worship. The king of the ancestral spirits who rules in the kingdom of the deceased is Yama, a god who belongs to the Indo-Iranian period. He is identical with Yima of the Avesta, who is the first human being, the primeval ancestor of the human race. As the first one to depart from this world and enter the realm of the dead, he became its king. The kingdom of the dead is in heaven, and the dying man is comforted by the belief that after death he will abide with King Yama in the highest heaven. The world of heaven is the place of refuge of the departed.2 In the funeral hymn, 3 the departing soul is asked to ‘go forth along the ancient pathway by which our ancestors have departed.’ The Vedic Heaven is described in glowing terms ‘where inexhaustible radiance dwells, where dwells the King Vaivasvata.’3
There is no reference to rebirth in the Rg Veda, though its elements are found. The passage of the soul from the body, its dwelling in other forms of existence, its return to human
1 Luther felt that three classes were ordained by God, the teaching class, the class of defenders and the working class.
* R.V. IV. 53. 2; X. 12. 1.
44 The Principal Upanisads
form, the determination of future existence by the principle of Karma are all mentioned. Mitra is born again.1 The Dawn (Usas) is born again and again.2 ‘I seek neither release nor return. ’3 ‘The immortal self will be reborn in a new body due to its meritorious deeds. ’4 Sometimes the departed spirit is asked to go to the plants and ‘stay there with bodies. ’5 There is retribution for good and evil deeds in a life after death. Good men go to heaven6 and others to the world presided over by Yama.7 Their work ( dharma ) decided their future.8
In the Rg Veda we find the first adventures of the human mind made by those who sought to discover the meaning of existence and man’s place in life, ‘the first word spoken by the Aryan man. ’9
Sacred knowledge is trayl vidya. It is three-fold, being the knowledge of the Rg, the Yajur and the Santa Vedas. The two latter use the hymns of the Rg and the Atharva Vedas and arrange them for purposes of ritual. The aim of the Yajur Veda is the correct performance of the sacrifice to which is attributed the whole control of the universe. Deities are of less importance than the mechanism of the sacrifice. In the Atharva Veda the position of the deities is still less important. A certain aversion to the recognition of the Atharva Veda as a part of the sacred canon is to be noticed. Even the old Buddhist texts speak of learned Brahmanas versed in the three Vedas.10
1 mitro jayate punah. X. 85. 19.
1 punah punar jayamana. I. 92. 10.
3 na asydh vasmi vimucarh na avrtarh punah. V. 46. 1.
4 jlvo mrtasya carati svadhabhir amartyo martyena sa yonih.
» Max Muller. For further information on the R.V. see I.P. Vol. I, Ch. II.
10 Sutta Nipata. 1019.
Introduction
Though we meet in the Atharva Veda many of the gods of the Rg Veda, their characters are not so distinct. The sun becomes rohita, the ruddy one. A few gods are exalted to the position of Praja-pati, Dhatr (Establisher), Vidhatr (arranger). Paramesthin (he that is in the highest). In a notable passage the Supreme in the form of Varuna is described as the universal, omnipresent witness.1 * * 4 There are references to kata or time as the first cause of all existence, kama or desire as the force behind the evolution of the universe, skambha or support who is conceived as the principle on which everything rests. Theories tracing the world to water or to air as the most subtle of the physical elements are to be met with.
The religion of the Atharva Veda reflects the popular belief in numberless spirits and ghosts credited with functions con¬ nected in various ways with the processes of nature and the life of man.1 We see in it strong evidence of the vitality of the pre-Vedic animist religion and its fusion with Vedic beliefs. All objects and creatures are either spirits or are animated by spirits. While the gods of the Rg Veda are mostly friendly ones we find in the Atharva Veda dark and demoniacal powers which bring disease and misfortune on mankind. We have to win them by flattering petitions and magical rites. We come across spells and incantations for gaining worldly ends. The Vedic seer was loth to let the oldest elements disappear without trace. Traces of the influence of the Atharva Veda are to be found in the Upanisads. There are spells for the healing of diseases, bhaisajyani, for life and healing ayusyani suktani. These were the beginnings of the medical science. 3
The liberated soul is described as ‘free from desire, wise, immortal, self-born . . . not deficient in any respect . . . wise, unageing, young. ’4
1 dvau sarhnisidhya yau mantrayete raja tad veda varunah trtlyah.
J In B.U. VI. 4 we read of devices for securing the love of a woman or for the destruction of the lover of a wife. See also K.U.
46 The Principal Upanisads
The elements of the ritualistic cult found in the Vedas are developed in the Brahmanas into an elaborate system of ceremonies. While in the Rg Veda the sacrifices are a means for the propitiation of the gods, in the Brahmanas they become ends in themselves. Even the gods are said to owe their position to sacrifices. There are many stories of the conflict between devas and asuras for world power [and of the way in which gods won through the power of the sacrifice.1
It is not the mechanical performance of a sacrificial rite that brings about the desired result, but the knowledge of its real meaning. Many of the Brahmana texts are devoted to the exposition of the mystic significance of the various elements of the ritual. By means of the sacrifices we ‘set in motion’ the cosmic forces dealt with and get from them the de¬ sired results. The priests who knew the details of the aim, meaning and performance of the sacrifice came into great prominence. Gods became negligible intermediaries. If we perform a rite with knowledge, the expected benefit will result. Soon the actual performance of the rite becomes unnecessary. Ritualistic religion becomes subordinate to knowledge.2
The Brahmanas are convinced that life on earth is, on the whole, a good thing. The ideal for man is to live the full term of his life on earth. As he must die, the sacrifice helps him to get to the world of heaven.
While the Vedic poets hoped for a life in heaven after death, there was uneasiness about the interference of death in a future life. The fear of re-death ,punar-mrtyu becomes prominent in the Brahmanas. Along with the fear of re-death arose the belief of the imperishability of the self or the atman, the
1 Katha Samhita XXII. 9; Taittiriya Samhita V. 3. 3; Tandya Brahmana XVIII. 1. 2.
1 See Franklin Edgerton: ‘The Upanisads: What do they seek and Why?’ Journal of ihe American Oriental Society, June, 1929.
Introduction
essential part of man’s being. Death is not the end but only causes new existences which may not be better than the present one. Under the influence of popular animism which sees souls similar to the human in all pares of nature, future life was brought down to earth. According to the Satapatha Brahmana, a man has three births, the first which he gets from his parents, the second through sacrificial ceremonies and the third which he obtains after death and cremation.1
The Aranyakas do not give us rules for the performance of sacrifices and explanations of ceremonies, but provide us with the mystic teaching of the sacrificial religion. As a matter of fact, some of the oldest Upanisads are included in the Aranyaka texts,2 3 which are meant for the study of those who are engaged in the vow of forest life, the Vanaprasthas.i As those who retire to the forests are not like the house¬ holders bound to the ritual, the Aranyakas deal with the meaning and interpretation of the sacrificial cere¬ monies. It is possible that certain sacred rites were per¬ formed in the seclusion of the forests where teachers and pupils meditated on the significance of these rites. The
1 trir ha vai puruso jayate, etan nu eva matus ca adhi pitui ca agre jayate; atha yarn yajnah upanamati sa yad yajate, tad dvitlyam jayate; atha yatra mriyate yatrainam agnav abhyadadhati sa yat tatas sambhavati, tat trtly am jayate. XI. 2. 1. 1. See I.P. Vol. I, Ch. III.
2 A.U. is included in the Aitareya Aranyaka which is tacked on to Aitareya Brahmana: K.U. and T.U. belong to the Brahmanas of the same names. B.U. is found at the end of the Satapatha Brahmana. C.U. of which the first section is an Aranyaka belongs to a Brahmana of the Sdma Veda. Kena ( Talavakdra U.) belongs to the Jaiminiya Upanisad Brahmana. Isa belongs to the White Yajur Veda, Katha and S.U. to the Black Yajur Veda, M.U. and Prasna belong to the Atharva Veda. Maitri, though attributed to a school of Black Yajur Veda, is perhaps post-Buddhistic, judged by its language, style and contents.
3 Aruneya U. 2.
48 The Principal Upanisads
distinction of Brahmana and Aranyaka is not an absolute one.
The Aranyakas1 shade off imperceptibly into the Upanisads even as the Brahmanas shade off into the Aranyakas. While the student ( brahmacdrin ) reads the hymns, the house¬ holder ( grhastha ) attends to the Brahmanas which speak of the daily duties and sacrificial ceremonies, the hermit, the man of the forest (vanaprastha) , discusses the Aranyakas, the monk who has renounced worldly attachment ( samnyasin ), studies the Upanisads, which specialise in philosophical speculations.
The great teachers of the past did not claim any credit for themselves, but maintained that they only transmitted the wisdom of the ancients.2 3 4 The philosophical tendencies implicit in the Vedic hymns are developed in the Upanisads.
Hymns to gods and goddesses are replaced by a search for the reality underlying the flux of things. ‘What is that which, being known, everything else becomes known? ’3 Kena Upanisad gives the story of the discomfiture of the gods who found out the truth that it is the power of Brahman which sustains the gods of fire, air, etc. 4 While the poets of the Veda speak to us of the many into which the radiance of the Supreme has split, the philosophers of the Upanisads speak to us of the One Reality behind and beyond the flux of the world. The Vedic deities are the messengers of the One Light which has
1 Aitareya Aranyaka (III. 1. 1.) begins with the title ‘The Upanisad of the Samhitd,’ athatas samhitaya upanisat: see also Sarhkhyayana Aranyaka VII. 2.
2 Cp. Confucius: ‘I am not born endowed with knowledge. I am a man who loves the ancients and has made every effort to acquire their learning.’ Lun yu VII. 19.
3 M.U. I. 1. 3; see also T.U. II. 8.
4 See also B.U. III. 9. 1-10.
Introduction
burst forth into the universal creation. They serve to mediate between pure thought and the intelligence of the dwellers in the world of sense.
When we pass from the Vedic hymns to the Upanisads we find that the interest shifts from the objective to the subjective, from the brooding on the wonder of the outside world to the meditation on the significance of the self. The human self contains the clue to the interpretation of nature. The Real at the heart of the universe is reflected in the infinite depths of the soul. The Upanisads give in some detail the path of the inner ascent, the inward journey by which the individual souls get at the Ultimate Reality. Truth is within us. The different Vedic gods are envisaged subjectively. ‘Making the Man ( purusa ) their mortal house the gods indwelt him.’1 'All these gods are in me.’2 ‘He is, indeed, initiated, whose gods within him are initiated, mind by Mind, voice by Voice. ’3 The operation of the gods becomes an epiphany: ‘This Brahma, verily, shines when one sees with the eye and likewise dies when one does not see. ’4 The deities seem to be not different from Plato’s Ideas or Eternal Reasons.
In the Upanisads we find a criticism of the empty and barren ritualistic religion. 5 Sacrifices were relegated to an inferior position. They do not lead to final liberation; they take one to the world of the Fathers from which one has to return to earth again in due course.6 When all things are God’s, there is no point in offering to him anything, except one’s will, one’s self. The sacrifices are interpreted ethically. The three periods of life supersede the three Soma offerings. 7 Sacrifices become self- denying acts like purusa-medha and sarva-medha which enjoin abandonment of all possessions and renunciation of the world. For example, the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad opens with an account of the horse sacrifice ( asva-medha ) and interprets it as a meditative act in which the individual offers up the
1 Atharva Veda XI. 8. 18.
2 J aimimya Upanisad Brahmana I. 14. 2.
3 Kausitaki Brahmana VII. 4.
4 K.U. II. 12 and 13.
5 M.U. I. 2. 1, 7-1 1 ; B.U. III. 9. 6, 21; C.U. I. 10-12, IV. 1-3.
6 B.U. I. 5, 16, VI. 2. 16; C.U. V. 10. 3; Prasna I. 9; M.U. I. 2. 10.
50 The Principal Upanisads
whole universe in place of the horse, and by the renuncia¬ tion of the world attains spiritual autonomy in place of earthly sovereignty.1 In every homa the expression svaha is used which implies the renunciation of the ego, svatva- hanana.2 3 4 5
There is great stress on the distinction between the ignorant, narrow, selfish way which leads to transitory satisfac¬ tions and the way which leads to eternal life. Yajha is Karma, work. 3 It is work done for the improvement of the soul and the good of the world, atmonnataye jagaddhitaya. Samkhydyana Brahmana of the Rg Veda says that the self is the sacrifice and the human soul is the sacrificer, puruso vai yajhah, dtma yajamanah. The observance of the Vedic ritual prepares the mind for final release, if it is in the right spirit. 4
Prayer and sacrifice are means to philosophy and spiritual life. While true sacrifice is the abandonment of one’s ego, prayer is the exploration of reality by entering the beyond that is within, by ascension of consciousness. It is not theoretical learning. 5 We must see the eternal, the celestial, the still. If it is unknowable and incomprehensible, it is yet realisable by self-discipline and integral insight. We can seize the truth not
1 Devi Bhagavata says that the Supreme took the form of the Buddha in order to put a stop to wrong sacrifices and prevent injury to animals. dusta-yajha-vighataya paiu-hirhsd nivrttaye bauddha-rupam dadhau yo'sau tasmai devaya te namah.
Animal sacrifices are found in the Vedas (inserted) by the twice-born who are given to pleasures and relishing tastes. Non-injury is, verily, the highest truth.
dvijair bhoga-ratair vede darsitam himsanam paioh jihvd-svada-paraih kamam ahimsaiva para mata.
1 Yaska explains it thus: su aha iti va, sva vag aheti va, svarn pr aheti vd, svdhutam havir juhoti iti va. Nirukta VIII. 21.
3 Cp. B.G. III. 9, 10.
Manu says: ‘Learning is brahma-yajha, service of elders is pilr-yajha, honouring great and learned people is deva-yajha, performing religious acts and charity is bhuta-yajha and entertaining guests is nara-yajha.' adhyapanam brahma-yajhah pitr-yajhas tu tarpanam homo daivo balir bhauto nr-yajho atithi-pujanam.
4 Laugaksi Bhaskara points out at the end of the Artha-samgraha; so’yam dharmah yad uddisya vihitah tad-uddesena kriyamanah tad-hetuh, iivararpana-buddhyd kriyamanas tu nihsreyasa-heluh.
Introduction
5i
by logical thinking, but by the energy of our whole inner being. Prayer starts with faith, with complete trust in the Being to whom appeal is made, with the feeling of a profound need, and a simple faith that God can grant us benefits and is well disposed towards us. When we attain the blinding experience of the spiritual light, we feel compelled to proclaim a new law for the world.
The Upanisad seers are not bound by the rules of caste, but extend the law of spiritual universalism to the utmost bounds of human existence. The story of Satyakama Jabala, who, though unable to give his father’s name, was yet initiated into spiritual life, shows that the Upanisad writers appeal from the rigid ordinances of custom to those divine and spiritual laws which are not of today or of yesterday, but live for ever and of their origin knoweth no man. The words tat tvam asi are so familiar that they slide off our minds without full compre¬ hension.
The goal is not a heavenly state of bliss or rebirth in a better world, but freedom from the objective, cosmic law of karma and identity with the Supreme Consciousness and Freedom. The Vedic paradise, svarga, becomes a stage in the individual’s growth.1
The Upanisads generally mention the Vedas with respect and their study is enjoined as an important duty.3 Certain verses from the Vedas such as the gayatri form the subject of meditations3 and sometimes verses from the Vedas are quoted in support of the teaching of the Upanisads. 4 While the Upanisads use the Vedas, their teaching is dependent on the personal experience and testimony of teachers like Yajnavalkya, ^andilya. The authority of the Vedas is, to no small extent, due to the inclusion of the Upanisads in them.
It is often stated that Vedic knowledge by itself will not do. In the Chandogya Upanisad ,5 ^vetaketu admits that he has
1 The svarga offered as a reward for ceremonial conformity is only a stage in the onward growth of the human soul, sattva-gunodaya. Bhagavata XI. 19. 42.
Niralambopanisad defines svarga as sat-sarhsarga. Heaven and Hell are both in the cosmic process : atraiva narakas svargah. Bhagavata III. 30. 29.
J B.U. IV. 4. 22; I. 9. 3 B.U. VI. 3. 6. “» B.U. I. 3. 10.
5 VI. iff.
The Principal Upanisads
studied all the Vedas but is lacking in the knowledge 'whereby what has not been heard of becomes heard of, what has not been thought of becomes thought of, what has not been under¬ stood becomes understood.' Narada tells Sanatkumara that he has not the knowledge of the Self though he has covered the entire range of knowledge, from the Vedas to snake-charming.1
To the pioneers of the Upanisads, the problem to be solved presented itself in the form, what is the world rooted in? What is that by reaching which we grasp the many objects perceived in the world around us? They assume, as many philosophers do, that the world of multiplicity is, in fact, reducible to one single, primary reality which reveals itself to our senses in different forms. This reality is hidden from senses but is discernible to the reason. The Upanisads raise the question; what is that reality which remains identical and persists through change ?
The word used in the Upanisads to indicate the supreme reality is brahman. It is derived from the root brh. 'to grow, to burst forth.’ The derivation suggests gushing forth, bubbling over, ceaseless growth, brhattvam. £amkara derives the word ‘brahman’ from the root brhati to exceed, atiiayana and means by it eternity, purity. For Madhva, brahman is the person in whom the qualities dwell in fullness, brhanto hy asmin gunah. The real is not a pale abstraction, but is quickeningly alive, of powerful vitality. In the Rg Veda, brahman is used in the sense of ‘sacred knowledge or utterance, a hymn or incantation,’ the concrete expression of spiritual wisdom. Sometimes Vac is personified as the One.2 Visva-karman, the All-Maker is said to be the lord of the holy utterance. 3 Brahman is mantra or prayer. Gradually it acquired the meaning of power or potency of prayer, It has a mysterious power and contains within itself the essence of the thing denoted. Brhaspati, Brahmanas- pati are interpreted as the lord of prayer.
1 VII. i ff. * R.V. X. 1 25 )A tharva Veda IV. 30.
Introduction
In the Brahmanas, brahman denotes the ritual and so is regarded as omnipotent. He who knows brahman knows and controls the universe. Brahman becomes the primal principle and guiding spirit of the universe. ‘There is nothing more ancient or brighter than this brahman.’1
In later thought, brahman meant wisdom or Veda. As divine origin was ascribed to the Veda or brahman, the two words were used with the same meaning. Brahman or sacred know¬ ledge came to be called the first created thing, brahma pratha- majam and even to be treated as the creative principle, the cause of all existence.
The word suggests a fundamental kinship between the aspiring spirit of man and the spirit of the universe which it seeks to attain. The wish to know the Real implies that we know it to some extent. If we do not know anything about it, we cannot even say that it is and that we wish to know it. If we know the Real, it is because the Real knows itself in us. The desire for God, the feeling that we are in a state of exile, implies the reality of God in us. All spiritual progress is the growth of half-knowledge into clear illumination. Religious experience is the evidence for the Divine. In our inspired moments we have the feeling that there is a greater reality within us, though we cannot tell what it is. From the movements that stir in us and the utterances that issue from us, we perceive the power, not ourselves, that moves us. Religious experience is by no means subjective. God cannot be known or experienced except through his own act. If we have a knowledge of Brahman , it is due to the working of Brahman in us.2 Prayer is the witness to the spirit of the transcendent divine immanent in the spirit of man. The thinkers of the Upanisads based the reality of Brahman on the fact of spiritual experience, ranging from simple prayer to illuminated experience. The distinctions which they make in the nature of the Supreme Reality are not merely logical. They are facts of spiritual experience.
1 Satapatha Brahmana X. 3. 5. 11.
1 Cp. St. Anselm: ‘I cannot seek Thee except Thou teach me, nor find Thee except Thou reveal Thyself’; Rumi: ‘Was it not I who sum¬ moned Thee to long service; was it not I who made Thee busy with my name? Thy calling “Allah” was my “Here am I”.’
The Principal Upanisads
The thinkers of the Upanisads attempt to establish the reality of God from an analysis of the facts of nature and the facts of inner life.
‘Who knows and who can declare what pathway leads to the gods?
Seen are their lowest dwelling-places only;
What pathway leads to the highest, most secret regions?’1
The Upanisads assume that it is a distorted habit of mind which identifies ‘the highest, most secret regions’ with the ‘lowest dwelling-places.' The Real is not the actual. The Upanisads ask, 'What is the tajjalan from which all things spring, into which they are resolved and in which they live and have their being.2
The Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad maintains that the ultimate reality is being, san-matrarh hi brahma. Since nothing is without reason there must be a reason why something exists rather than nothing. There is something; there is not nothing. The world is not self-caused, self-dependent, self-maintaining. All philo¬ sophical investigation presupposes the reality of being, asti- tva-nisthd.3 The theologian accepts the first principle of being as an absolute one; the philosopher comes to it by a process of mediation. By logically demonstrating the impossibility of not-being in and by itself, he asserts the necessity of being. Being denotes pure affirmation to the exclusion of every possible negation. It expresses simultaneously God’s consciousness of himself and his own absolute self-absorbed being. We cannot live a rational life without assuming the reality of being. Not- being is sometimes said to be the first principle. 4 It is not absolute non-being but only relative non-being, as compared with later concrete existence.
* R.V. III. 54. * C.U. III. 14. 1 ; see also T.U. III. 1 ; S.U. I. 1.
3 Cp. ‘Then God said to Moses: “I am that I Am”.' Exodus III. 14.
There is a familiar distinction between nastika and astika. The
nastika thinks that nothing exists except what we see, feel, touch and measure. The astika is one who holds with R.V. X. 31. 8. naitavad end paro anyad asti, there is not merely this but there is also a transcendent other.
4 T.U. II. 7; C.U. III. 19. 1-3.
Introduction
Even as the nyagrodha tree is made of the subtle essence which we do not perceive, so is this world made of the infinite Brahman.1 ‘It is at the command of that Imperishable that the sun and the moon stand bound in their places. It is at the command of that Imperishable that the heaven and the earth stand each in its own place. It is at the command of that Imperishable that the very moments, the hours, the days, the nights, the half-months, the months, the seasons and the years have their appointed function in the scheme of things. It is at the command of that Imperishable that some rivers flow to the east from the snow-clad mountains while others flow to the west.’2 When Balaki defines Brahman as the person in the sun ( aditye purusah) and successively as the person in the moon, in lightning, in ether, in wind, in fire, in the waters, also as the person in the mind, in the shadow, in echo and in the body. King Ajatasatru asks, ‘Is that all?’ When Balaki con¬ fesses that he can go no farther, the king says, ‘He who is the maker of all these persons, he, verily, should be known.’ Brahman is satyasya satyam, the Reality of the real, the source of all existing things. 3
In some cosmological speculations the mysterious principle of reality is equated with certain naturalistic elements. Water is said to be the source of all things whatsoever.4 From it came satya, the concrete existent. Others like Raikva look upon air as the final absorbent of all things whatsoever, including fire and water. 5 The Katha Upanisad tells us that fire, having entered the universe, assumes all forms.6 The Chandogya Upani¬ sad, however, makes out that fire is the first to evolve from the Primaeval Being and from fire came water and from water the earth. At the time of dissolution, the earth is dissolved in water, and water in fire and fire in the Primaeval Being.7 Akaia, ether, space, is sometimes viewed as the first principle.
In regard to the development of the universe, the Upanisads
1 C.U. VI. 12. For the usage of the world as a tree, see R.V. I. 164. 20; VII. 40. 5; VII. 43. 1.
1 B.U. III. 8. 9. Augustine in his Confessions expresses the thought that the things of the world declare through their visible appearance the fact that they are created. XI. 4.
3 B.U. II. 1. 4 B.U. V. 5. 1. 5 C.U. IV. 3. 1-2. 6 n. 5.
56 The Principal Upanisads
look upon the earliest state of the material world as one of extension in space, of which the characteristic feature is vibration represented to us by the phenomenon of sound. From akasa, vayu, air arises. Vibration by itself cannot create forms unless it meets with obstruction. The interaction of vibrations is possible in air which is the next modification. To sustain the different forces, a third modification arises, tejas, of which light and heat are the manifestations. We still do not have stable forms and so the denser medium of water is pro¬ duced. A further state of cohesion is found in earth. The development of the world is a process of steady grossening of the subtle akasa or space. All physical objects, even the most subtle, are built up by the combination of these five elements. Our sense experience depends on them. By the action of vibration comes the sense of sound; by the action of things in a world of vibrations the sense of touch, by the action of light the sense of sight, by the action of water the sense of taste, by the action of earth the sense of smell.
In the Taittinya Upanisad1 the pupil approaches the father and asks him to explain to him the nature of Brahman. He is given the formal definition and is asked to supply the content by his own reflection. ‘That from which these beings are born, that in which when born they live, and that into which they enter at their death is Brahman.’ What is the reality which conforms to this account? The son is impressed by material phenomena and fixes on matter (anna) as the basic principle. He is not satisfied, for matter cannot account for the forms of life. He looks upon life (prana) as the basis of the world. Life belongs to a different order from matter. Life, again, cannot be the ultimate principle, for conscious phenomena are not commensurate with living forms. There is something more in consciousness than in life. So he is led to. believe that con¬ sciousness (manas) is the ultimate principle. But consciousness has different grades. The instinctive consciousness of animals is quite different from the intellectual consciousness of human beings. So the son affirms that intellectual consciousness (vijhana) is Brahman. Man alone, among nature’s children
Introduction
has the capacity to change himself by his own effort and trans¬ cend his limitations. Even this is incomplete because it is subject to discords and dualities. Man’s intellect aims at the attainment of truth but succeeds only in making guesses about it; there must be a power in man which sees the truth unveiled. A deeper principle of consciousness must emerge if the funda¬ mental intention of nature, which has led to the development of matter, life, mind, and intellectual consciousness, is to be accomplished. The son finally arrives at the truth that spiritual freedom or delight ( ananda ), the ecstasy of fulfilled existence is the ultimate principle. Here the search ends, not simply because the pupil’s doubts are satisfied but because the pupil’s doubts are stilled by the vision of Self-evident Reality. He apprehends the Supreme Unity that lies behind all the lower forms. The Upanisad suggests that he leaves behind the discursive reason and contemplates the One and is lost in ecstasy.1 It concludes with the affirmation that absolute Reality is satyam, truth, jnanam, consciousness, anantam, infinity.
There are some who affirm that ananda is the nearest approxi¬ mation to Absolute Reality, but is not itself the Absolute Reality. For it is a logical representation. The experience gives us peace, but unless we are established in it we have not received the highest.
In this account, the Upanisad assumes that the naturalistic theory of evolution cannot be accepted. The world is not to be viewed as an automatic development without any intelligent course or intelligible aim. Matter, life, mind, intelligence are different forms of existence with their specific characteristics
1 Cp. Jalal-uddin RumI:
‘I died a mineral and became a plant,
I died a plant and rose an animal,
I died an animal and I was man.
Why should I fear ? When was I less by dying ?
Yet once more I shall die as man, to soar With the blessed angels; but even from angelhood I must pass on. All except God perishes.
When I have sacrificed my angel soul,
I shall become that which no mind ever conceived.
O, let me not exist! for Non-existence proclaims,
“To him we shall return.’’ '
58 The Principal Upanisa&s
and modes of action, each acting on the other but not derived from each other. The evolution of life in the context of matter is produced not by the material principle but by the working of a new life-principle which uses the conditions of matter for the production of life. Life is not the mechanical resultant of the antecedent co-ordination of material forces, but it is what is now called an emergent. We cannot, by a complete knowledge of the previous conditions, anticipate the subsequent result. There is an element of the incalculable. Life emerges when the material conditions are available, which permit life to organise itself in matter. In this sense, we may say that matter aspires for life, but life is not produced by lifeless particles. So also life may be said to be aspiring for or be instinct with mind, which is ready to emerge when conditions enable it to organise itself in living matter. Mind cannot be produced from things without mind. When the necessary mental conditions are prepared, intelligence qualifies the mental living creature. Nature is working according to this fundamental intention, which is being accomplished because it is essentially the instrument of the Supreme Being.
The world is not the result of meaningless chance. There is a purpose working itself out through the ages. It is a view which modem science confirms. By interpreting the fragmentary relics of far remote times, science tells us how this earth in which we live was gradually adapted to be a place where life could develop, how life came and developed through uncounted centuries until animal consciousness arose and this again gradually developed, until apparently, man with self-conscious reason appeared on the scene. The long record of the develop¬ ment of the human race and the great gifts of spiritual men like the Buddha, Socrates, Jesus make out that man has to be trans¬ cended by God-man.
It cannot be argued that, when material particles are organised in a specific way, life arises. The principle of organisation is not matter. The explanation of a thing is to be sought in what is above it in the scale of existence and value and not below it. Matter cannot raise itself. It moves to a higher level by the help of the higher itself. It cannot undergo inner development without being acted upon by something above it. The lower
Introduction
is the material for the higher. Life is the matter for mind and form for physical material : so also intellect is form for the mind and matter for the spirit. The eternal is the origin of the actual and its nisus to improvement. To think of it as utterly trans¬ cendent or as a future possibility is to miss its incidence in the actual. We cannot miss the primordiality of the Supreme. ‘Verily, in the beginning this world was Brahman.’1 There is the perpetual activity of the Supreme in the world.
The Upanisad affirms that Brahman on which all else depends, to which all existences aspire, Brahman which is sufficient to itself, aspiring to no other, without any need, is the source of all other beings, the intellectual principle, the perceiving mind, life and body. It is the principle which unifies the world of the physicist, the biologist, the psychologist, the logician, the moralist and the artist. The hierarchy of all things and beings from soulless matter to the deity is the cosmos. Plato’s world-architect, Aristotle’s world-mover belong to the cosmos. If there is ordered development, progressive evolution, it is because there is the divine principle at work in the universe.
Cosmic process is one of universal and unceasing change and is patterned on a duality which is perpetually in con¬ flict, the perfect order of heaven and the chaos of the dark waters. Life creates opposites, as it creates sexes, in order to reconcile them. ‘In the beginning the woman ( Vrvasi ) went about in the flood seeking a master.’* Indra, for example, divided the world into earth and sky. He ‘produced his father and mother from his own body.’ This conflict runs through the whole empirical world, and will end when the aim of the universe is accomplished. Creation moves upward towards the divine. When the union between the controlling spirit and the manifesting matter is completed, the purpose of the world, the end of the evolutionary process, the revelation of spirit on earth is accomplished. The earth is the foothold of God, the mother of all creatures whose father is heaven. 3
1 B.U. I. 4. 10-11; Maitrl VI. 17.
2 icchantl salile patim. Jaiminiya Upanisad Brahmana I. 56.
3 The Chinese believe that Chien (Heaven) is the father and Khun (Earth) is the mother of all terrestrial existence. Zeus as Sky-father is in
6o
The Principal Upanisads
The conflict is not final. The duality is not a sterile dualism. Heaven and earth, God and matter have the same origin.
As regards the primordial God Hiranya-garbha, a circular process is found. The primal being spontaneously produces the primeval water; from this comes the primordial God as the first born of the divine Order, the golden germ of the world ‘who was the first seed resting on the navel of the unborn.’1 Hiranya-garbha who is the World-soul expresses his spirit through the environ¬ ment. He manifests the forms contained within himself. The world is fixed in him as are the spokes in the hub of a wheel. He is the thread, sutratman, on which all beings and all worlds are strung like the beads of a necklace. He is the first-born, prathama-ja. He is also called Brahma and these Brahmas are created from world to world.2
In the Rg Veda, 3 Hiranya-garbha is the golden germ which enters into creation after the first action of the creator. In the Sdmkhya, prakrti is treated as unconscious and develops on account of the influence of the multitude of individual subjects, and the first product of development is mahat, the great one, or buddhi, the intellect. It is the development of cosmic intelli-
essential relation to Earth-mother. The two are correlative. See A. B. Cook: Zeus (1914), Vol. I, p. 779.
Zoroaster reaches the conception of a single spiritual God, Ormuzd or Ahura Mazda, in whom the principle of good is personified, while the evil principle is embodied in Ahriman, or Ahgra Mainyu, who limits the omnipotence of Ahura Mazda. The whole creation is a combat between the two. The two principles strive eternally in life, and in this struggle men take part. Man is responsible for his actions, good or bad. If he struggles against evil, confesses God and cares for the purity of his body and soul, then after four periods of three thousand years each in the world's history a time shall arrive for the final victory of good over evil, of Ormuzd over Ahriman. The general resurrection of the dead and the last judgment will take place then, assuring him of his place among the saved and the righteous.
The Jews adopted the two principles of good and evil and they were taken over by Christianity. When Blake speaks . of the marriage of Heaven and Hell, Heaven represents the one clear light over all and Hell the dark world of passion and the senses. Divided, both are equally barren, but from their union springs joy. ‘Oh that man would seek immor¬ tal moments! Oh that men could converse with God’ was Blake's cry.
■ R.V. X. 82; IV. 58. 5.
2 ‘God once created Brahma Hiranya-garbha and delivered the Vedas to him.’ S.B. I. 4. 1.
Introduction
gence or Hiranya-garbha. On the subjective side, buddhi is the first element of the lihga or the subtle body. It is the essence of the individual spirit. Buddhi serves as the basis for the develop¬ ment of the principle of individuation, ahamkara, from which are derived, on the one hand, mind and the ten sense organs, five of perception and five of action and, on the other hand, the subtle elements from which arise in their turn the gross elements. Sattva is buddhi, the innermost of the three circles, the outer being rajas and tamas which are identified with ahamkara and manas, which are the emanations of rajas and tamas. The sattva or the buddhi is the bija, the seed of the living individual, since it contains the seeds of karma which develop at each birth into a sense-organism. The sattva or lihga is called the ego, the jiva. As the buddhi is the sutratman of the individual, so is Hiranya-garbha the sutratman, the thread-controller of the world.
In the Katha Upanisad,1 in the development of principles the great self stands after the, undeveloped and the primeval spirit. Hiranya-garbha, the World-soul is the first product of the principle of non-being influenced by the Eternal Spirit, Isvara. The purusa of the Samkhya is the Eternal Spirit made many. Hiranya-garbha is the great self, mahan atma, which arises from the undiscriminated, the avyakta, which corresponds to the primitive material or waters of the Brahmanas, or the prakrti of the Samkhya. We have the Supreme Self, the Absolute, the Supreme Self as the eternal subject observing the eternal object, waters or prakrti and the great self which is the first product of this interaction of the eternal subject and the principle of objectivity. The Supreme Lord, Isvara, who eternally produces, outlasts the drama of the universe. £amkara begins his commentary on the Bhagavad-gita with the verse: ‘Narayana is beyond the unmanifest. The golden egg is produced from the unmanifest. The earth with its seven islands and all other worlds are in the egg.’ The names and forms of the manifested world are latent in the egg as the future tree is in the seed.
Hiranya-garbha answers to the Logos, the Word of Western 1 III. io. ii ; VI. 7. 8; see also K.U. I. 7.
The Principal Upani$ads
thought. For Plato, the Logos was the archetypal idea. For the Stoics it is the principle of reason which quickens and informs matter. Philo speaks of the Divine Logos as the ‘first born son,’1 ‘archetypal man,’2 ‘image of God, ’3 ‘through whom the world was created. '4 Logos, the Reason, ‘the Word was in the beginning and the Word became flesh.’ The Greek term, Logos, means both Reason and Word. The latter indicates an act of divine will. Word is the active expression of character. The difference between the conception of Divine Intelligence or Reason and the Word of God is that the latter represents the will of the Supreme. Vac is Brahman .5 Vac, word, wisdom, is treated in the Rg Veda as the all-knowing. The first-born of Rta is Vac:6 yavad brahma tisthati tavati vak. 7 The Logos is conceived as personal like Hiranya-garbha. ‘The Light was the light of men.' ‘The Logos became flesh.’8
The Supreme is generally conceived as light, jyotisam jyotih, the light of lights. Light is the principle of communication. Hiranya-garbha is organically bound up with the world. Himself, a creature, the first-born of creation, he shares the fate of all creation in the end. 9 But Isvara is prior to the World-soul.10 The principle of process applies to God. While he is the expres¬ sion of the non-temporal he is also the temporal. livara, the eternal Being functions in the temporal Hiranya-garbha. Ramanuja who looks upon Isvara as the supreme transcendent Reality above all world events treats Brahma as the demi-urge
6 Atharva Veda II. 1. 4. See Nama-Rupa and Dharma-Rupa by Maryla Falk (1943), Ch. I.
8 John I. 4, 5. See B. F. Westcott: The Gospel According to St. John (1886), p. xvii.
9 ‘When all things are subjected to him then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be everything to everyone.' I Cor. XV. 28.
10 Cp. ‘Before the mountains were brought forth, or even the earth and the world were made thou art God from everlasting and world without end.' See Hebrews I. 10-13.
Religio Medici : ‘Before Abraham was, I am, is the saying of Christ; yet is it true in some sense, if I say it of myself; for I was not only before myself but Adam; that is, in the idea of God, and the decree of that synod held from all eternity. And in this sense, I say, the world was before the creation, and at the end, before it had a beginning.’
Introduction 63
of creation who forms the lower world in the name and bidding of God.
Why is the universe what it is, rather than something else? Why is there this something, rather than another? This is traced to the divine will. This world and its controlling spirit are the expressions of the Supreme Lord. While the World- soul and the world are organically related and are inter¬ dependent, there is no such relationship between the Supreme Lord and the world, for that would be to subject the infinite to the finite. The relationship is an ‘accident’ to use White¬ head’s expression. This word ‘accident’ implies two different considerations, (1) that Divine Creativity is not bound up with this world in such a way that the changes which occur in the world affect the integrity of the Divine, and (2) that the world is an accidental expression of the Divine principle. Creativity is not bound to express itself in this particular form. If the choice were necessary it would not be free. Creation is the free expression of the Divine mind, icchd-md.tr am. The world is the manifestation of Hiranya-garbha and the creation of fsvara. The world is the free self-determination of God. The power of self- determination, self-expression, belongs to God. It is not by itself. It belongs to the Absolute which is the abode of all possibilities, and by its creative power one of these possibilities is freely chosen for accomplishment. The power of manifestation is not alien to being. It does not enter it from outside. It is in being, inherent in it. It may be active or inactive. We thus get the conception of an Absolute-God, Brahman — livara, where the first term indicates infinite being and possibility, and the second suggests creative freedom.1 Why should the Absolute Brahman perfect, infinite, needing nothing, desiring nothing, move out into the world ? It is not compelled to do so. It may have this potentiality but it is not bound or compelled by it. It is free to move or not to move, to throw itself into forms or remain formless. If it still indulges its power of creativity, it is because of its free choice.
1 In the Taoist Tao T£ Ching, Tao, literally ‘Way,’ stands for the Absolute, the divine ground and Te for ‘power,’ for the unfolding of the divine possibilities. Cp. also tathata or suchness and alaya-vijnana the all-conserving or receptacle consciousness.
64 The Principal Upanisads
In Isvara we have the two elements of wisdom and power, Siva and Sakti. By the latter the Supreme who is unmeasured and immeasurable becomes measured and defined. Immutable being becomes infinite fecundity. Pure being, which is the free basis and support of cosmic existence, is not the whole of our experience. Between the Absolute and the World-soul is the Creative Consciousness. It is prajnana-ghana or truth-conscious¬ ness. If sat denotes the primordial being in its undifferenced unity, satya is the same being immanent in its differentiations. If the Absolute is pure unity without any extension or variation, God is the creative power by which worlds spring into existence. The Absolute has moved out of its primal poise and become knowledge-will. It is the all-determining principle. It is the Absolute in action as Lord and Creator. While the Absolute is spaceless and timeless potentiality, God is the vast self- awareness comprehending, apprehending every possibility.1
Brahman is not merely a featureless Absolute. It is all this world. V ayu or air is said to be manifest Brahman, pratyaksam brahma. The Svetasvatara Upanisad makes out that Brahman is beast, bird and insect, the tottering old man, boy and girl. Brahman sustains the cosmos and is the self of each individual. Supra-cosmic transcendence and cosmic universality are both real phases of the one Supreme. In the former aspect the Spirit is in no way dependent on the cosmic manifold; in the latter the Spirit functions as the 'principle of the cosmic manifold. The supra-cosmic silence and the cosmic integration are both real. The two, nirguna and saguna Brahman, Absolute and God, are not different. Jayatirtha contends that Sariikara is wrong in holding that Brahman is of two kinds — brahmano dvairupyasya upramanikatvat.2 It is the same Brahman who is described in different ways.
1 Eckhart says: ‘God and Godhead are as different as heaven from earth. . . . God becomes and unbecomes.’ ‘All in Godhead is one, and of this naught can be said. God works, but Godhead works not. There is no work for it to do and no working in it. Never did it contemplate any¬ thing of work. God and Godhead differ after the manner of working and not working. . . . When I come into the Ground, into the depths, into the flow and fount of Godhead, none will ask me whence I have come or whither I go. None will have missed me; God passes away.’ Sermon LVI. Evans’ E.T. 2 Nyaya-sudha, p. 124.
Introduction
The personality of God is not to be conceived on the human lines. He is not to be thought of as a greatly magnified person. We should not attribute to the Divine human qualities as we know them.1 We have (1) the Absolute, (2) God as Creative power, (3) God immanent in this world. These are not to be regarded as separate entities. They are arranged in this order because there is a logical priority. The Absolute must be there with all its possibilities before the Divine Creativity can choose one. The divine choice must be there before there can be the Divine immanent in this world. This is a logical succession and not a temporal one. The world-spirit must be there before there can be the world. We thus get the four poises or statuses of reality,1 the Absolute, Brahman, (2) the Creative Spirit, Isvara, (3) the World-Spirit, Hiranya-garbha, and (4) the World. This is the way in which the Hindu thinkers interpret the integral nature of the Supreme Reality. Mandukya Upanisad says that Brahman is catus-pat, four-footed, and its four principles are Brahman, Isvara, Hiranya-garbha and Viraj*
1 Aquinas says: ‘Things said alike of God and of other beings are not said either in quite the same sense or in a totally different sense but in an analogous sense.’ Summa Contra Gentiles XXXIV. God is not good or loving in the human sense. ‘For who hath known the mind of the Lord ?’ Romans XI. 34. God is personal, but, as Karl Barth says, ‘personal in an incomprehensible way in so far as the conception of His personality surpasses all our views of personality. This is so, just because He and He alone is a true, real and genuine person. Were we to overlook this and try to conceive God in our own strength according to our conception of personality, we should make an idol out of God.’ The Knowledge of God and the Service of God (1938), pp. 3 iff.
1 In Plotinus we have a similar scheme, (i) The One alone, the simple, the unconditioned. God beyond being of Basilides, the godhead of Eckhart which can only be indicated by negative terms. We cannot even affirm existence of it, though it is not non-existent. It cannot be thought of as either subject or object of experience, as in it subject and object are identical. It is pure impersonal experience or perhaps the ground of all experience; it is pure consciousness, ineffable supra- existence. It is not the first cause, not the creator god. It is cause only in the sense that it is everywhere, and without it nothing could be. (ii) The Nous. The Intelligible world which Plotinus calls One — Many, the world of Platonic forms or archetypes. Not mere Ideas or things thought by the Divine Thinker, not mere passive archetypical pictures. They are active powers within the Divine mind. It is personal God. Unity cannot be separated from diversity. The most perfect form of expressive act is thought or intellection, vijnana, Divine Intellect, First thinker and thought, the personal Lord, Universal Intelligence, The
The Principal Upanisads
The conception of tri-suparna is developed in the fourth section of the Taittiriya Upanisad. The Absolute is conceived as a nest from out of which three birds have emerged, viz. Viraj, Hiranya-garbha and Isvara. The Absolute conceived as it is in itself, independent of any creation, is called Brahman. When it is thought of as having manifested itself as the uni¬ verse, it is called Viraj ; when it is thought of as the spirit moving everywhere in the universe, it is called Hiranya-garbha ; when it is thought of as a personal God creating, protecting and destroying the universe, it is called Isvara. Isvara becomes Brahma, Visnu and Siva when his three functions are taken separately.1 The real is not a sum of these. It is an ineffable unity in which these conceptual distinctions are made. These are fourfold to our mental view, separable only in appearance. If we identify the real with any one definable state of being, however pure and perfect, we violate the unity and divide the indivisible. The different standpoints are consistent with each other, complementary to each other and necessary in their
unknowable Absolute is mediated to us through the Divine Intelligence. This Intellectual principle of Plotinus is the ISvara of the Upanisads. This universal intelligence makes possible the multiple universe. For Plotinus this principle is the totality of divine thoughts or Ideas in Plato’s sense. These Ideas or Thoughts are real beings, powers. They are the originals, archetypes, intellectual forms of all that exists in the lower spheres. All the phases of existence down to the lowest ultimate of material being or the lowest forms of being in the visible universe are ideally present in this realm of divine thoughts. This divine intellectual principle has both being and non-being. It has, for Plotinus, two acts, the upward contemplation of the One and generation towards the lower, (iii) One and Many. The soul of the All is the third, which fashions the material universe on the model of divine thoughts, the Ideas laid up within the Divine Mind. It is the eternal cause of the cosmos, the creator and therefore the vital principle of the world. God is envisaged as something apart from the world, its creator or artificer. Human ideas of God are centred round him. Plotinus does not make the sensible world a direct emanation from the Intelligible World. It is the product or the creation of the World-soul, the third person of the Neo-Platonic trinity, herself an emanation from the Intelligible World, the Nous. Our souls are parts or emanations of the World-soul. The three hypo¬ stases form collectively, for Plotinus, the one transcendent being. The All-Soul is the expression of the energy of the Divine, even as the Intel¬ lectual principle is the expression of the thought or vision of the godhead, (iv) The many alone. It is the world-body, the world of matter without form. It is the possibility of manifested form.
1 See also Paingala U.
Introduction
totality for an integral view of life and the world. If we are able to hold them together, the conflicting views which are emphasised exclusively by certain schools of Indian Vedanta become reconciled.
Absolute being is not an existing quality to be found in the things. It is not an object of thought or the result of production. It forms an absolute contrast to, and is fundamentally different from, things that are, as is in its way nothingness. It can be expressed only negatively or analogically. It is that from which our speech turns back along with the mind, being unable to comprehend its fullness.1 * 3 4 It is that which the tongue of man cannot truly express nor human intelligence conceive, ^amkara in his commentary on the Brahma Sutra 1 refers to an Upanisad text which is not to be found in any of the extant Upanisads. Bahva, asked by Baskali to expound the nature of Brahman, kept silent. He prayed, ‘Teach me, sir.' The teacher was silent, and when addressed a second and a third time he said: ‘I am teaching but you do not follow. The self is silence. '3
We can only describe the Absolute in negative terms. In the words of Plotinus, ‘We say what he is not, We cannot say what he is.' The Absolute is beyond the sphere of predication. It is the sunyata of the Buddhists. It is ‘not gross, not subtle, not short, not long, not glowing, not shadowy, not dark, not attached, flavourless, smell-less, eye-less, ear-less, speech-less, mind-less, breath-less, mouth-less, not internal, not external, consuming nothing and consumed by nothing. '4 It cannot be
1 T.U. II. 4; see also Kena. I. 3, II, 3; Katha I. 27.
* S.B. III. 2. 17.
3 upaianlo’yam atma. Cp. the Madhyamika view —
paramarthatas tu dryanam tusnlm-bhdva eva.
‘Then only will you see it, when you cannot speak of it; for the knowledge of it is deep silence and the suppression of all the senses.’ Hermes Trismegistus, Lib. X. 5.
4 See B.U. II. 8. 8; see also II. 3. 6; III. 9. 26; IV. 2. 4; IV. 4. 22; IV. 5. 15. Ma. 7. The Buddha, according to Amara, is an advaya-vadin. I. 1. 14.
There was something formless yet complete.
That existed before heaven and earth,
Without sound, without substance.
Dependent on nothing, unchanging,
All-pervading, unfailing,
The Principal Upanisads
truly designated. Any description makes It into something. It is nothing among things. It is non-dual, advaita. It denies duality. This does not mean, however, that the Absolute is non- being. It means only that the Absolute is all-inclusive and nothing exists outside it.
Negative characters should not mislead us into thinking that Brahman is a nonentity. While it is non-empirical, it is also
One may think of it as the mother of all things under heaven,
Its true name we do not know;
Tao is the by-name we give it.
Tao Te’Ching. 25. A. Waley's E.T.
The Way and its Power. (1934)
Plato says that the unfathomable ground of the universe, the absolute, is ‘beyond essence and truth.’ Plotinus describes the utter transcendence of the One thus: ‘Since the Nature or Hypostasis of The One is the engenderer of the All, it can Itself be none of the things in the All; that
is, It is not a thing; It does not possess quality or quantity; It is not an Intellectual Principle, not a soul; It is not in motion and not at rest; not in space, not in time; It is essentially of a unique form or rather of no-form, since it is prior to form, as it is prior to movement and to rest; all these categories hold only in the realm of existence and constitute the multiplicity characteristic of that lower realm.’ Enneads VI. 9. 3. ‘This wonder, this One, to which in verity no name may be given.’ ibid. VI. 9. 5.
‘Our way then takes us beyond knowing; there may be no wandering from unity, knowing and knowable must all be left aside. Every object of thought, even the highest, we must pass by, for all that is good is later than this. . . . No doubt we should not speak of seeing; but we cannot help talking in dualities, seen and seer, instead of boldly, the achieve¬ ment of unity. In this seeing, we neither hold an object nor trace dis¬ tinction; there is no two. The man is changed, no longer himself nor self belonging; he is merged with the supreme, sunken into it, one with
it. Only in separation is there duality. That is why the vision baffles telling. We cannot detach the supreme to state it; if we have seen something thus detached, we have failed of the supreme.’ Enneads. VI. 9. 4 and 10.
Pseudo-Dionysius, whose utterances were once accepted as almost apostolic authority, observes: ‘For it is more fitting to praise God by taking away than by ascription. Here we take away all things from Him, going up from particulars to universals, that we may know openly the unknowable which is hidden in and under all things that may be known. And we behold that darkness beyond being, concealed under all natural light.’
Chuang Tzu’s vision of the boundless world has this: ‘You cannot explain the sea to a frog in a well — the creature of a narrow sphere. You cannot explain ice to a grasshopper — the creature of a season. You cannot explain Tao to a pedant— This view is too limited.’ Waley:
Introduction
inclusive of the whole empirical world. The Absolute is des¬ cribed as full both of light and not light, of desire and not desire, of anger and not-anger, of law and not-law, having verily filled all, both the near and the far off, the this and the that.’1 Negative and positive characterisations are given to affirm the positivity of being.
To say that the nature of Brahman cannot be defined does not mean that it has no essential nature of its own. We cannot define it by its accidental features, for they do not belong to its essence. There is nothing outside it. As no inquiry into its nature can be instituted without some description, its svarupa or essential nature is said to be sat or being, cit or consciousness and ananda or bliss.2 These are different phrases for the same being. Self-being, self-consciousness and self-delight are one. It is absolute being in which there is no nothingness. It is absolute consciousness in which there is no non-consciousness. It is absolute bliss in which there is no suffering or negation of bliss. All suffering is due to a second, an obstacle; all delight
Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China (1939), pp. 55-6. H. A. Giles: Chuang-Tzu, Mystic Moralist and Social Reformer (1926). Ch. XVIII.
Anandagiri begins his commentary on Katha Upanisad with this verse :
dharmd dharmadyasamsrstam karya-karana-varjitam kaladibhir avicchinnam brahma yat tan narndmy aham.
Paul speaks of a vision which was not to be told and had heard words not to be repeated. II Corinthians 12 ff. Cp. Hymn of Gregory of Nyasa, 'O Thou entirely beyond all being.’ 'O Lord, My God, the Helper of them that seek Thee, I behold Thee in the entrance of Paradise, and I know not what I see, for I see naught visible. This alone I know, that I know not what I see, and never can know. And I know not how to name Thee, because I know not what Thou art, and did anyone say unto me that Thou wert called by this name or that, by the very fact that he named it I should know that it was not Thy name. For the wall beyond which I see Thee is the end of all manner of signification in names. . . .’ Nicholas of Cusa: The Vision of God. E. T. Salter’s E.T. (1928). Ch. XIII. ‘No monad or triad can express the all-transcending hiddenness of the all- transcending super-essentially super-existing super-deity.’ ‘God, because of his excellence, may rightly be called Nothing,’ says Scotus Erigena.
1 B.U. IV. 4. 5. Isa 4, 5. Katha x. 2. 20-21; I. 3. 15; II. 6. 17. M.U. I. 1. 6; 1. 7. S.U. V. 8-10.
J They are not so much qualities of Brahman as the very nature of Brahman. Commenting on the passage Brahman is truth, wisdom and infinity, satyarh jhanam anantam brahma, S. writes:
satyadini hi trini visesanarthdni padani viiesyasya brahmanah.
70 The Principal Upanisads
arises from the realisation of something withheld, by the over¬ coming of obstacles, by the surpassing of the limit. It is this delight that overflows into creation. The self-expression of the Absolute, the creation of numberless universes is also traced to Brahman. All things that exist are what they are, because of the nature of Brahman as sat, cit and ananda. All things are forms of one immutable being, variable expressions of the invariable reality. To describe Brahman as the cause of the world is to give its tatastha or accidental feature.1 The defining characteristics are in both cases due to our logical needs.2 When the Absolute is regarded as the basis and explanation of the world, he is conceived as the lord of all, the knower of all, the inner controller of all. 3 God has moved out everywhere: sa paryagat. The Svetasvatara Upanisad speaks of the one God, beside whom there is no second, who creates all the worlds and rules with His powers, and at the end of time rolls them up again. 4 He lives in all things5 and yet transcends them. The Universal Self is like the sun who is the eye of the whole universe and is untouched by the defects of our vision.6 He is said to fill the whole world and yet remain beyond its confines. ‘Verily motionless like a lone tree does the God stand in the heaven, and yet by Him is this whole world filled. '7
The distinction between Brahman in itself and Brahman in the universe, the transcendent beyond manifestation and the transcendent in manifestation, the indeterminate and the determinate, nirguno gum, is not exclusive.8 The two are like two sides of one reality. The Real is at the same time being realised.
In the metrical Upanisads, as in the Bhagavad-gita , the per-
1 tatasthatvarh ca laksya-svarupa-bahir-bhutatvam. Siddhanla-leia-sam- graha (Kumbhakonam ed.), p. 53.
1 They are said to be kalpita or constructed, as the non-dual Brahman is said to possess these qualities on account of its association with antafikarana. They are manifestations through an imperfect medium and therefore limited revelations of Btahman.
3 Ma.U. 6. 4 III. 2. 3; VI. 1-12. 5 B.U. I. 4. 7. S.U. II. 17.
6 Katha II. 5. n. 7 S.U. III. 9.
8 Cp. Eckhart: 'The Godhead gave all things up to God. The Godhead is poor, naked and empty as though it were not; it has not, wills not, wants not, works not, gets not. It is God who has the treasure and the bride in him, the Godhead is as void as though it were not.’
Introduction
sonal is said to be superior to the superpersonal:1 puru§an na param kihcit, there is nothing beyond the person. It is doubtful whether the author of the Brahma Sutra accepted the dis¬ tinction of saguna and nirguna in regard to Brahman. Even the nirguna Brahman is not without determinations. The Sutrakara makes a distinction between the super-personal (apurusa-vidha) and the personal (purusa-vidha) , i.e. between Brahman and Isvara. The latter is not a human fancy or a concession to the weak in mind. The nirakara (formless), and the sakara (with form) , are different aspects of the same Reality. The seeker can choose either in his spiritual practices. In III. 3 we find that the author maintains that the aksara texts which describe Brahman negatively as ‘not this, not this’ are ‘not useful for meditation.’2 He holds that Brahman is unaffected by the different states, of waking, dream, sleep. The view that Brahman undergoes changes is refuted on the ground that they relate to the effects due to the self-concealment of Brahman. Badarayana denies reality to a second principle.
Hiranya-garbha, the World-soul is the divine creator, the supreme lord Isvara at work in this universe. A definite possi¬ bility of the Absolute is being realised in this world. In the Upanisads the distinction between livara and Hiranya-garbha, between God and the World-soul is not sharply drawn. If the World-soul is ungrounded in Isvara, if he is exclusively tem¬ poral, then we cannot be certain of the end of the cosmic process When the Upanisads assert that the individual ego is rooted in the universal self or atman, it would be preposterous to imagine that the World-soul is unrelated to Hvara or Brahman.i
1 Katha I. 3. 11. M.U. II. 1. 1-2.
a adhyanaya prayojanabhavat. III. 3. 14; see also III. 3. 33.
3 Valentinus whose activity may be assigned to a.d. 130-150, teaches a similar view. The primordial essence is the Deep ( Byihos ). With it dwelt a thought called ' also Grace (for it was not conditioned) and Silence (for it made no sign of its existence). Professor Burkitt writes: ‘Somehow the immeasurable Deep made its own thought fecund and so Mind (Nous) came into being; although it was called unique, it had a correlative side to it called Truth . . . Nous, Mind is an intelligent understanding, the inevitable counterpart of which is Truth; for, if there be nothing true to understand, there can be no intelligent under¬ standing.’ Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. XII (1939), p. 470.
Eckhart refers to the World-soul and not to the Supreme God in the passage, where he asserts that ‘God becomes and disbecomes.’
The Principal Upanisads
Hiranya-garbha who has in him the whole development in germ acts on the waters. As we have seen, the image of waters is an ancient one by which human thought attempts to explain the development of the universe. The waters are initially at rest and so free from waves or forms. The first movement, the first disturbance, creates forms and is the seed of the universe. The play of the two is the life of the universe. When the de¬ velopment is complete, when what is in germ is manifest, we have the world-consummation. Hiranya-garbha creates the world according to the eternal Veda, which has within itself eternally the primary types of all classes of things; even as the God of the mediaeval scholastics creates according to the eternal archetype of Ideas which He as the eternal Word eternally possesses. Brahman is the unity of all that is named.1 Hiranya-garbha or Brahma is the World-soul2 and is subject to changes of the world. He is karya Brahma or effect Brahman as distinct from Isvara who is karana Brahman or causal Brahman. Hiranya-garbha arises at every world-beginning and is dissolved at every world-ending. Isvara is not subject to these changes. For both ^arhkara and Ramanuja, Hiranya-garbha has the place of a subordinate and created demi-urge. Isvara is the eternal God who is not drawn into but directs the play of the worlds that rise and perish and is Himself existing transcendentally from all eternity. The Vedic deities are subordinate to Isvara and hold a similar position to Him in the formation and control of the world that the angelic powers and directors maintain in the heavenly hierarchy of scholasticism and of Dante.
We have thus the four sides of one whole: (i) the transcen¬ dental universal being anterior to any concrete reality; (ii) the causal principle of all differentiation ; (iii) the innermost essence of the world; and (iv) the manifest world. They are co-existent and not alternating poises where we have either a quiescent Brahman or a creative Lord. These are simultaneous sides of the one Reality.
« b.u. r. 5. 17.
1 For Atman as 'the World-soul, see Atharva Veda X. 8. 44.
Introduction
The word ‘atman’ is derived from an ‘to breathe.’ It is the breath of life.1 Gradually its meaning is extended to cover life, soul, self or essential being of the individual, ^arhkara derives atman from the root which means 'to obtain’ ‘to eat or enjoy or pervade all.’2 Atman is the principle of man’s life, the soul that pervades his being, his breath, prana, his intellect, prajha, and transcends them. Atman is what remains when everything that is not the self is eliminated. The Rg Veda speaks of the unborn part, ajo bhagahA There is an unborn and so immortal element in man, 4 which is not to be confused with body, life, mind and intellect. These are not the self but its forms, its external expressions. Our true self is a pure existence, self-aware, unconditioned by the forms of mind and intellect. When we cast the self free from all outward events, there arises from the inward depths an experience, secret and wonderful, strange and great. It is the miracle of self-knowledge, atma-jndna. 5 Just as, in relation to the universe, the real is Brahman, while name and form are only a play of manifestation, so also the individual egos are the varied expressions of the One Universal Self. As Brahman is the eternal quiet underneath the drive and activity
1 atma te vatah. R.V. VII. 87. 2.
2 apnoter alter atater va. § on A.U. I. 1.
Cp. also yac capnoti yad adatte yac catti visayan iha
yac cdsya santato bhavas tasmad atmeti klrtyate.
■» Sayana says: ajah janana-rahitah, tarirendriyabhagavyatiriktah, antara-purusa-laksano-yo’bhago’sti. Eckhart quotes with approval an unnamed heathen philosopher as saying ‘Discard all this and that and here and there and be thyself what thou art in thine inner not-being', which he adds is mens.
5 Annapurna U. asks us to inquire into the nature of our inward being :
Who am I ? How came this world ? What is it ?
How came death and birth? Thus inquire
Within yourself; great will be the benefit (you will derive from such inquiry). ko’ham, kalham idam, him vd, hatharn marana-j anmanl vicarayantare vettham mahat tat phalam esyasi.
74 The Principal Upanisads
of the universe, so Atman is the foundational reality under¬ lying the conscious powers of the individual, the inward ground of the human soul. There is an ultimate depth to our life below the plane of thinking and striving. The Atman is the super¬ reality of the jtva, the individual ego.
The Chandogya Upanisad gives us a story, where gods and demons both anxious to learn the true nature of the Self approach Praja-pati who maintains that the ultimate self is free from sin, free from old age, free from death and grief, free from hunger and thirst, which desires nothing and imagines nothing. It is the persisting spirit, that which remains constant in all the vicissitudes of waking, dream and sleep, death, rebirth and deliverance. The whole account assumes that there is consciousness even in the apparently unconscious states, when we sleep, when we are drugged or stunned. The gods sent Indra and the demons Virocana as their representatives to learn the truth. The first suggestion is that the self is the image that we see in the eye, in water or in a mirror. The con¬ ception of the self as the physical body is inadequate. To indicate that what we see in another’s eye, a pail of water or a mirror is not the true self, Praja-pati asked them to put on their best clothes and look again. Indra saw the difficulty and said to Praja-pati that as this self (the shadow in the water) is well adorned when the body is well adorned, well dressed when the body is well dressed, well cleaned when the body is well cleaned, so that self will also be blind if the body is blind, lame if the body is lame, crippled if the body is crippled, and will perish in fact as soon as the body perishes. Such a view cannot be accepted. If the self is not the body, rnay it be the dreaming self? The second suggestion is that the true self is “he who moves about happy in dreams.' Again a difficulty was felt. Indra says that, though it is true that this dreaming self is not affected by the changes of the body, yet in dreams we feel that we are struck or chased, we experience pain and shed tears. We rage in dreams, storm with indignation, do things perverted, mean and malicious. Indra feels that the self is not the same as dream-consciousness. The self is not the composite of mental states, however independent they may be of the accidents of the body. Dream states are not self-existent. Indra again approaches
Introduction
Praja-pati who gives him another suggestion that the self is the consciousness in deep sleep. Indra feels that, in that state, there is consciousness neither of the self nor of the objective world. Indra feels that he does not know himself nor does he know anything that exists. He is gone to utter annihilation. But the self exists even in deep sleep. Even when the object is not present, the subject is there. The final reality is the active universal consciousness, which is not to be confused with either the bodily, or the dreaming consciousness or the consciousness in deep sleep. In the state of deep, dreamless sleep, the self wrapped round by the intellect has no consciousness of objects, but is not unconscious. The true self is the absolute self, which is not an abstract metaphysical category but the authentic spiritual self. The other forms belong to objectified being. Self is life, not an object. It is an experience, in which the self is the knowing subject and is at the same time the known object. Self is open only to self. The life of the self is not set over against knowledge of it as an objective thing. Self is not the objective reality, nor something purely subjective. The subject-object relationship has meaning only in the world of objects, in the sphere of discursive knowledge. The Self is the light of lights, and through it alone is there any light in the universe. It is perpetual, abiding light. It is that which neither lives nor dies, which has neither movement nor change and which endures when all else passes away. It is that which sees and not the object seen. Whatever is an object belongs to the not-self. The self is the constant witness-consciousness.1
The four states stand on the subjective side for the four kinds of soul, Vaiivanara, the experiencer of gross things, Taijasa, the experiencer of the subtle, Prajna, the experiencer of the unmanifested objectivity, and the Turly a, the Supreme Self. The Mandukya Upanisad, by an analysis of the four modes of consciousness, waking, dream, deep sleep and illumined con¬ sciousness, makes out that the last is the basis of the other three.
1 Through all months, years, seasons and kalpas, through all (divi¬ sions of time) past and future the consciousness remains one and self- luminous. It neither rises nor sets.
masabda-yuga-kalpesu gatagamyesv anekathd nodeti nastam ety ekd samvid esd svayam-prabha.
Panca-dail I. 7.
76 The Principal Upanisads
On the objective side we have the cosmos, Viraj, the World-soul Hiranya-garbha, the Supreme God, Isvara, and the Absolute, Brahman.1 By looking upon Isvara as prajha, it is suggested that the supreme intelligence who dwells in the sleeping state holds all things in an unmanifested condition. The divine wisdom sees all things, not as human reason does in parts and relations, but in the orginal reason of their existence, their primal truth and reality. It is what the Stoics call spermatikos or the seed Logos which is manifested in conscious beings 'as a number of seed logoi.
In treatises on Yoga, the potential all-consciousness of the state of sleep is represented in the form of a radiant serpent called Kundalini or Vag-devi. We come across this representation in earlier treatises also. In the Rg Veda, Vac is said to be the serpent queen, sarpa-rajhi.2 The process of Yoga consists in rousing the radiant serpent and lifting it up from the lowest sphere to the heart, where in union with prana or life-breath its universal nature is realised and from it to the top of the skull. It goes out through an opening called brahma-randhra to which corresponds in the cosmic organism the opening formed by the sun on the top of the vault of the sky.
1 Cp. William Law: ‘Though God is everywhere present, yet He is only present to thee in the deepest and most central part of thy soul. The natural senses cannot ppssess God or unite thee to Him; nay, thy inward faculties of understanding, will and memory can only reach after God, but cannot be the place of His habitation in thee. But there is a root or depth of thee from whence all these faculties come forth, as lines from a centre, or as branches from the body of the tree. This depth is called the centre, the fund or bottom of the soul. This depth is the unity, the eternity — I had almost said the infinity of thy soul; for it is so infinite that nothing can satisfy it or give it rest but the infinity of God.’ Quoted in Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley (1944), p. 2. Again, 'My Me is God, nor do I recognise any other Me except my God Himself.’ St. Catherine of Genoa {ibid., p. 11.)
Eckhart : ‘To gauge the soul we must gauge it with God, for the Ground of God and the Ground of the soul are one and the same.’ {ibid., p. 12) Again ‘The highest part of the soul stands above time and knows nothing of time.’ ‘There is a principle in the soul altogether spiritual. I used to call it a spiritual light or a spark. But now I say that it is free of all names, void of all forms. It is one and simple, as God is one and simple.’
1 1. X. 189; X. 125. 3. Atharva Veda IV. 1.
Introduction
In the early prose Upanisads, atman is the principle of the individual consciousness and Brahman the superpersonal ground of the cosmos. Soon the distinction diminishes and the two are identified. God is not merely the transcendent numinous other, but is also the universal spirit which is the basis of human personality and its ever-renewing vitalising power. Brahman, the first principle of the universe, is known through atman, the inner self of man. In the Satapatha Brahmana 1 and the Chdndogya Upanisad 2 it is said: ‘Verily this whole world is Brahman,’ and also ‘This soul of mine within the heart, this is Brahman.’ ‘That person who is seen in the eye. He is atman, that is Brahman .’3 God is both the wholly other, transcendent and utterly beyond the world and man, and yet he enters into man and lives in him and becomes the inmost content of his very existence. 4
Narayana is the God in man who lives in constant association with nara, the human being. He is the immortal dwelling in the mortals. 5 The human individual is more than the universe. He lives independently in his own inexpressible infinity as well as in the cosmic harmonies. We can be one with all cosmic existence by entering into the cosmic consciousness. We become superior
1 X. 6. 3. 1 2 * 4 5 III. 14. 1.
3 B.U. I. 4. 10. Cp. Keith: ‘It is impossible to deny that the Atman- Brahman doctrine has a long previous history in the Brahmanas and is a logical development of the idea of unity of the Rg Veda.' The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and the Upanisads, p. 494. Heraclitus says ‘I searched myself.’ The Logos is to be sought within, for man’s nature is a microcosm and represents the nature of the whole.
Cp. Plotinus: ‘One that seeks to penetrate the nature of the Divine Mind must see deeply into the nature of his own soul, into the Divinest point of himself. He must first make abstraction of the body, then of the lower soul which built up that body, then of all the faculties of sense, of all desires and emotions and every such triviality, of all that leans towards the mortal. What is left after this abstraction is the part which we describe as the image of the Divine Mind, an emanation preserving some of that Divine Light.’ Enneads V. 3. 9.
4 C.U. IV. is. Also atmaiva devatah sarvdh sarvarii hy atmany avaslhitam.
78 The Principal Upanisads
to all cosmic existence by entering into the world-transcending consciousness. Answering to the four grades of consciousness, waking, dream, deep sleep, spiritual consciousness, we have the four states of the individual, sthula (gross), siiksma (subtle), karana (causal) and the pure self. As Isvara is the cause of the world, so the causal self is the source of the development of the subtle and the gross bodies.1
The ecstasy of divine union, the bliss of realisation tempts one to disregard the world with its imperfections and look upon it as a troubled and unhappy dream. The actual fabric of the world, with its loves and hates, with its wars hnd battles, with its jealousies and competitions as well as its unasked helpfulness, sustained intellectual effort, intense moral struggle seems to be no more than an unsubstantive dream, a phantas¬ magoria dancing on the fabric of pure being. Throughout the course of human history, men have taken refuge from the world of stresses, vexations and indignities in the apprehension of a spirit beyond. The prayer to ‘lead us from unreality to reality, from darkness to light, from death to immortality’ assumes the distinction between reality, light and immortality and unreality, darkness and death. The Katha Upanisad warns us not to find reality and certainty in the unrealities and uncertainties of this world.2 The Chandogya Upanisad tells us that a covering of untruth hides from us the ultimate truth even as the surface of the earth hides from us the golden treasure hidden under it. 3 The truth is covered by untruth, anrta. The Brhad-aranyaka and the Isa Upanisads speak to us of the veiling of truth by a disc of gold and invoke the grace
1 The first tattva is the root of manifestation, called mahat or the great principle. In ahamkdra we find individual consciousness which proceeds from the intellectual principle by an individualising deter¬ mination. Sometimes, citta is said to be the first product of prakrti, with its triple character of buddhi or discrimination, ahamkdra or self-sense and manas or mind.
* II. 4. 2.
3 VIII. 3. I-3.
Introduction
of God for removing the veil and letting us see the truth.1 According to the Svetatvatara Upani§ad, we can achieve the cessation of the great world -illusion, viiva-maya-nivrttih by the worship of God.J If this aspect of spiritual experience were all, the world we live in, that of ignorance, darkness and death would be quite different from the world of underlying reality, the world of truth, light and life. The distinction would become one of utter opposition between God and the world. The latter would be reduced to an evil dream from which we must wake, up as soon as possible. 3
Indifference to the world is not, however, the main feature of spiritual consciousness. Brahman, the completely trans¬ cendent, the pure silence has another side. Brahman is appre¬ hended in two ways. £amkara says: dvirupam hi hrahma- vagamyate, ndma-rupa-vikara-bhedopddhi-visistam, tad vip art tarn sarvopadhi-varjitam. Both the Absolute and the Personal God are real; only the former is the logical prius of the latter. The soul when it rises to full attention knows itself to be related to the single universal consciousness, but when it turns outward it sees the objective universe as a manifestation of this single consciousness. The withdrawal from the world is not the conclusive end of the spiritual quest. There is a return to the world accompanied by a persistent refusal to take the world as it confronts us as final. The world has to be redeemed and it can be redeemed because it has its source in God and final refuge in God.
There are many passages where the world of duality is suggested to be only seeming.4 The existence of duality is not admitted to be absolutely real. In the passage of the Chandogya Upanisad regarding the modifications of the three fundamental constituents of being, fire, water and food, it is said that just as all that is made of clay, copper or iron is only a modification, a verbal expression, a simple name, the reality being clay, copper or iron, even so all things can be reduced to three
1 2. 15. * I. IO.
3 Cp. Atma-bodha 7:
tavat satyarh jagad bhaiim Suktika-rajaiam yatha yavan na jnayate brahma sarvadhisfhanam advayam.
4 'Where there is a duality as it were ( iva ).' B.U. II. 4. 14; see also
8o
The Principal U panisads
primary forms of reality. It is suggested that all things are reducible to reality, being mere modifications. All this is to be understood as meaning that the Absolute stands above becoming and passing away which it transcends.
In the Maitri Upanisad, the Absolute is compared to a spark, which, made to revolve, creates apparently a fiery circle, an idea expanded by Gaudapada in his Karika on the Mandukya Upanisad. This may suggest that the world is a mere appear¬ ance. Even here the intention may well be to contrast the reality of the Absolute with empirical reality without making the latter an illusion.
The assertion that with the knowledge of the Self all is known1 does not exclude the reality of what is derived from the Self. When the Aitareya Upanisad asserts that the universe is founded in consciousness and guided by it, it assumes the reality of the universe and not merely its apparent existence. To seek the one is not to deny the many. The world of name and form has its roots in Brahman , though it does not con¬ stitute the nature of Brahman .2 The world is neither one with Brahman nor wholly other than Brahman. The world of fact cannot be apart from the world of being. From one being no other being is born. It exists only in another form, samsthanan- tarena.i
Maya in this view states the fact that Brahman without losing his integrity is the basis of the world. Though devoid of all specifications, Brahman is the root cause of the universe. 4 'If a thing cannot subsist apart from something else, the latter is the essence of that thing.’ The cause is logically prior to the effect. 5 Questions of temporal beginning and growth are sub¬ ordinate to this relation of ground and consequent. The world does not carry its own meaning. To regard it as final and ultimate is an act of ignorance. So long as the erroneous view
> B.U. II. 4. 5, 7, 9. C.U. VI. 1. 2. M.U. I. 1. 3.
5 ato nama-rupe sarvavasthe brahmanaivatmavali, na brahma tad atmakam. $. on T.U. II. 6. 1.
3 S. on C.U. VI. 2. 2. krtsnasyajagato brahma-karyatvat tad-ananyatvac ca. S.B. II. 1. 20.
■t sarva-visesa-rahito’ pi jagato mulam. S', on Katha II. 3. 12.
5 S. on B.U. II. 4. 7.
atah siddhah prak karyotpatteh karana sadbhavah. S. on B.U. I. 2. 1.
Introduction 81
of the independence of the world does not disappear, our highest good will not be realised.
The world is the creation of God, the active Lord. The finite is the self-limitation of the infinite. No finite can exist in and by itself. It exists by the infinite. If we seek the dynamic aspect we are inclined to repudiate the experience of pure conscious¬ ness. It is not a question of either pure consciousness or dynamic consciousness. These are the different statuses of the one Reality. They are present simultaneously in the universal awareness.
The dependence of the world on God is explained in different ways. In the Chandogya Upanisad, Brahman is defined as tajjalan as that {tat) which gives rise to (ja) , absorbs {It) and sustains {an) the world.1 The Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad argues that satyam consists of three syllables, sa, ti,yam, the first and the last being real and the second unreal, madhyato anrtam. The fleeting is enclosed on both sides by an eternity which is real.2 3 4 The world comes from Brahman and returns to Brahman. Whatever exists owes its being to Brahmans The different metaphors are used to indicate how the universe rises from its central root, how the emanation takes place while the Brahman remains ever-complete, undiminished. 4 ‘As a spider sends forth and draws in (its thread), as herbs grow on the earth, as the hair (grows) on the head and the body of a living person, so from the Imperishable arises here the universe. ’5 Again, ‘As from a
1 III. i4.
1 V. i . i . Bede tells of the Anglo-Saxon Council summoned to decide on the question of the acceptance of the Christian faith in 627. One of the dukes compared the life of man on earth with the flight of a sparrow through a banquet hall in winter, ‘a good fire in the midst, whilst the storms of rain and snow prevail abroad ; the sparrow, I say, flying in at one door, and immediately out at another, whilst he is within, is safe from the wintry storm; but after a short space of fair weather, he immediately vanishes out of your sight, into the dark winter from which he had emerged. So this life of man appears for a short space, but of what went before, or what is to follow we are utterly ignorant.’ Bede the Venerable, Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation (1916), pp. 91 ff. see B.G. III. 28.
3 See T.U. Ill; B.U. III. 8.
4 Cp. Plotinus: 'Imagine a spring which has no commencement,
giving itself to all the rivers, never exhausted by what they take, ever tranquilly its full self.’ III. 8. 9. Enneads. 5 M.U. I. 1. 7.
The Principal Upani$ads
blazing fire sparks of like form issue forth by the thousands even so, many kinds of beings issue forth from the Immutable and they return thither too.’1 The many are parts of Brahman even as waves are parts of the sea. All the possibilities of the world are affirmed in the first being, God. The whole universe before its manifestation was there. The antecedent of the manifested universe is the non-manifested universe, i.e. God. God does not create the world but becomes it. Creation is expression. It is not a making of something out of nothing. It is not making so much as becoming. It is the self-projection of the Supreme. Everything exists in the secret abode of the Supreme.2 The primary reality contains within itself the source of its own motion and change.
The Svetasvatara Upanisad mentions the different’views of creation held at the time of its composition, that it is due to time, to nature, to necessity, to chance, to the elements, to the Person or the combination of these. It repudiates all these views and traces the world to the power of the Supreme. 3
The Svetasvatara Upanisad describes God as mayin, the wonder-working powerful Being, who creates the world by His
■ II. i. i.
2 In the Rg Veda there are suggestions that the Imperishable is the basis of the world and that a personal Lord Brahmanas-pati (X. 72. 2), Viiva-karman (literally the All-maker), Purusa (X: 90), Hiranya-garbha (X. 121. 1) produces the world. The Upanisads refer to the early cosmo¬ logical speculations, but these are not their real interest.
3 Gaudapada mentions different theories of creation. Some look upon creation as the manifestation of the superhuman power of God, vibhuti; others look upon it as of the same nature as dream and illusion, svapna-maya-svarupa ; others trace it to the will of God iccha-matram prabhoh srsfih. Still others look upon kata or time as the source; some look upon creation as intended for the enjoyment of God ( bhoga ) ; still others attribute it to mere sport (krida), but Gau^apada’s own view is that creation is the expression of the nature of the Supreme, ‘for what desire is possible for Him whose desire is always fulfilled?'
devasyaisa svabhavo’yam apta-kdmasya ka sprha. Karika I. 6-9.
The world is the revelation of God’s nature. To the question, why does perfect being instead of remaining eternally concentrated in itself suffer the accident of manifesting this world, the answer is that manifesting is of the very nature of God. We need not seek a cause or a motive or a purpose for that which is, in its nature, eternally self-existent and free. The sole object of the dance of Siva is the dance itself.
Introduction
powers.1 Here may a is used in the sense in which the Rg Veda employs it, the divine art or power by which the divinity makes a likeness of the eternal prototypes or ideas inherent in his nature. Indra is declared to have assumed many shapes by his maya.2 Maya is the power of livara from which the world arises. He has made this world, ‘formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into him a living soul.’ All the works of the world are wrought by Him. Every existence contained in time is ontologically present in creative eternity. The Supreme is both transcendent and immanent. It is the one, breathing breathless, tad ekam, anid avatam. It is the manifest and the unmanifest, vyaktavyaktah, the silent and the articulate, iabdasabdah. It is the real and the unreal, sad-asat, 3 While the world is treated as an appearance in regard to pure being, which is indivisible and immutable, it is the creation of hvara who has the power of manifestation. Maya is that which measures out, moulds forms in the formless. God has control
1 III. 10. This power or Sakti is contained in the Supreme as oil in oilseeds.
iivecchaya para iaktih iiva-tattvaikatam gata.
.tatah parisphuraty adau sarge tailarh tilad iva.
The power is Sakti or Maya. We speak in inadequate ways when we speak of Sakti as Maya. Narada tells Rama in the Devi Bhagavata, that this power is eternal, primeval, and everlasting:
irnu rama sada nitya saktir adya sanatani.
Nothing is able to stir without its aid:
tasyah iaktirh vind ko’pi spanditum na ksamo bhavet.
When we distinguish the creation, preservation and dissolution in the form of Brahma, Visnu and Siva, their power is also this Sakti:
visv-oh palana-iaktis sa kartr-iaktih pitur mama rudrasya naia-iaktis sa tvanya-iaktih para iiva.
The energy of everyone is a part of the divine iakti. The Supreme with its power created the creator Brahma, purvam samsrjya brahmddin.
In regard to Rama and Sita, Slta becomes £akti. In the Sita U. she is said to be mula-prakrti.
sita bhagavati jheya mula-prakrti-samjhita.
In the Devi U . Durga’s name is accounted for. ‘Beyond whom there is none she is called Durga. Because she saves from crisis therefore she is called Durga.’
yasyah paratararh nasti, saisd durga prakirtita durgat sarhtrayate yasmad devi durgeti kathyate.
1 VI. 47. 18; see B.U. II. 5. 19.
3 R.V. X. 5. 7. M.U. II. 2. 1. Praina II. 5. 6.
84 The Principal Upanisads
of maya; he is not subject to it. If God were subject to maya he would not be infinite supreme existence. Any being compelled to manifest itself is not free. Isvara has in him the power of manifestation, non-manifestation and other-manifestation, kartum, a-kartum, anyatha-kartum. Brahman is logically prior to Isvara who has the power of manifestation, and takes him over into His transcendental being when He is not manifesting His nature.
This dual nature of the Supreme provides the basis for the reality of personality in God and man, and so for authentic religious experience. This world, far from being unreal, is intimately connected with the Divine Reality. This complex evolving universe is a progressive manifestation of the powers of the Supreme Spirit from matter to spiritual freedom, from anna to ananda. The purpose of the cosmic evolution is to reveal the spirit underlying it. God lives, feels and suffers in every one of us, and in course of time His attributes, knowledge, beauty and love will be revealed in each of us.
When the Katha Upanisad says that the Supreme Lord experiences the results of deeds,1 it suggests that we are the images and likenesses of God, and when we experience the results of our deeds, He does also. There is an intimate con¬ nection between God and the world of souls.2
Deussen holds that the idealistic monism of Yajnavalkya is the main teaching of the Upanisads and the other doctrines of theism, and cosmogonism are deviations from it caused by the inability of man to remain on the heights of pure speculative thought. The view which regards the universe as actually real, the Atman as the universe which we know, and the theistic developments are said to be departures from the exalted idealism of Yajnavalkya. It is not necessary to look upon the theism emphasised in the Katha and the Svetasvatara Upanisads
1 I- 3- i-
2 Cp. Angelus Silesius: 'I know that without me God cannot live an instant.’
Eckhart: 'God needs me as much as I need him.’
Lady Julian: ‘We are God’s bliss, for in us He enjoyeth without end.’ When Pascal states that Jesus Christ will be in agony till the end of the world, he means that there is a side to God, the temporal, where he suffers in every innocent man who is persecuted and tortured.
Introduction 85
as a declension from the pure monistic idealism. It is in the direct line of development of Upanisad thought.
The Absolute is not a metaphysical abstraction or a void of silence. It is the absolute of this relative world of manifesta¬ tion. What is subject to change and growth in the world of becoming reaches its fulfilment in the world of the Absolute. The Beyond is not an annulling or a cancellation of the world of becoming, but its transfiguration. The Absolute is the life of this life, the truth of this truth.
If the world were altogether unreal, we cannot progress from the unreal to the Real. If a passage is possible from the empirical to the Real, the Real is to be found in the empirical also. The ignorance of the mind and the senses and the apparent futilities of human life are the material for the self-expression of that Being, for its unfolding. Brahman accepts world existence. The Ultimate Reality sustains the play of the world and dwells in it. That is why we are able to measure the distance of the things of the world from the Absolute and evaluate their grades of being.1 There is nothing in this world which is not lit up by God. Even the material objects which lack the intelligence to discover the nature of the divine ground of their being are the emanations of the creative energy of God and they are able to reveal to the discerning eye the divine within their material frames. What is not possible for inanimate and non-rational beings is open to the rational human being. He can attain to a knowledge of the divine ground of his being. He is not coerced into it, but has to attain it by the exercise of his choice. The unchangeableness of the Supreme does not mean that the universe is a perfectly articulated mechanism in which every¬ thing is given from the beginning. The world is real as based on Brahman ; it is unreal by itself.
Cosmic existence partakes of the character of the real and the
1 Cp. St. Bernard: 'God who, in his simple substance, is all everywhere equally, nevertheless, in efficacy, is in rational creatures in another way than in irrational, and in good rational creatures in another way than in the bad. He is in irrational creatures in such a way as not to be comprehended by them; by all rational ones, however, he can be comprehended through knowledge; but only by the good is he to be comprehended also through love.’
The Principal Upanisads
unreal. It is aspiring to become completely real.1 The Chandogya Upanisad rejects the view that the world was originally a-sat or non-being, and from it all existence was produced.2 * 4 5 It affirms: 'In the beginning this world was just being, one only without a second. ’3
The Supreme is described as a kavi, a poet, an artist, a maker or creator, not a mere imitator. Even as art reveals man’s wealth of life, so does the world reveal the immensity of God’s life. The Brahma Sutra refers to the creation of the world as an act of lila, play, the joy of the poet, eternally young.
If immutability is the criterion of reality, then the world of manifestation has no claim to reality. Change is the pervading feature of the world. Changing things imply non-existence at the beginning and non-existence at the end. 4 They are not constantly present. Mortality is imprinted on all beings who are subject to birth, decay, dissolution and death. This very planet will decline and dissolve. While change is the mark of the relative world, this changing world reaches its fulfilment in the Absolute. What is incomplete in the relative world of becoming is completed in the absolute world of being.
Maya is also used for prakrti, the objective principle which the personal God uses for creation. All nature, even in the lowest, is in ceaseless movement, aspiring to the next higher stage, of which it is itself an image or lower manifestation. Prakrti, not-self, matter all but cast out from the sphere of being, is tending feebly to get back to the self, receives form and is thus linked up with Absolute Being. Even matter is Brahman. 5 Prakrti by itself is more a demand of thought than a fact of existence. Even the lowest existence has received the impress of the Creative Self. It is not utter non-existence. Abso-
1 Cp. V akya-sudha:
asti bhaii priyam ruparn nama cety amia-pancakam. ddyam trayam brahma-rupam jagad-rupam ato dvayam.
1 VI . 2 . x . 3 VI. 2. 2. sad-aspadam sarvam sarvatra. S.
4 dddv ante ca yan nasti vartamane 'pi tat tatha. Gautjapada: Karikd II. 6.
Milarepa, the Tibetan mystic says: ‘All worldly pursuits end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation, births in death.’
5 annam brahmeti vyajandt. T.U. III.
Introduction
lute non-being is non-existent. It is impossible in a world which flows freely from the bounty of being. Prakrti is called non- being. It is not strictly correct. This description indicates its distance from being. It is the ultimate possibility on the side of descent from the Divine, almost non-being, but not utter non-being.
While prakrti is said to be the maya of God, its forms seem to us individual souls to be external to us. It is the source of our ignorance of its real nature.
While the world is created by the power of maya of Hvara , the individual soul is bound down by maya in the sense of avidya or ignorance. The manifestation of Primordial Being is also a concealment of His original nature. The self-luminous moves about clothed in the splendours of the cosmic light which are not His real nature. We must tear the cosmic veil and get behind the golden brightness which Savitr has diffused. The Upanisad says: ‘Two birds, inseparable friends cling to the same tree. One of them eats the sweet fruit, the other looks on without eating. On the same tree man sits, grieving, immersed, bewildered by his own impotence ( an-isa ). But when he sees the other lord ( isa ), contented and knows his glory, then his grief passes away.’1 We mistake the multiplicity for ultimate reality. If we overlook the unity, we are lost in ignorance.
When we get to the concept of prakrti we are in the realm of Hiranya-garbha. The similes employed by the Upanisads, salt and water, fire and sparks, spider and thread, flute and sound assume the existence of an element different from being. Into the original stillness of prakrti, Hiranya-garbha or Brahma sends sound, nada-brahma. By his ecstatic dance the world evolves. This is the meaning of the symbol of Nata-raja. His dance is not an illusion. It is a timeless fact of the Divine Reality. The forms are manifestations of the Real, not arbitrary inventions out of nothing. Form, rupa, is the revelation of the formless a-rupa. Nama, name, is not the word by which we describe the object, but it is the power or the character of reality which the form of a thing embodies. The Infinite is nameless for it includes all names. The emphasis right through is on the dependence of
1 S.U. IV. 6 and 7.
88 The Principal Upanisads
the world on Brahman. The relative rests in the Absolute. There can be no echo without a noise. The world is not self- explanatory; it is not the cause of itself. It is an effect. The Isa Upanisad indicates that the basic reality is the One, and the derivative and dependent reality is the many.1 When the Kena Upanisad says that Brahman is the mind of mind, the life of life, it does not assert the unreality of mind and life, but affirms the inferiority, the incompleteness of our present existence. All that we find in the world is an imperfect representation, a divided expression of what is eternally in the Absolute Being.
The world depends on Brahman, and not Brahman on the world. ‘God is the dwelling-place of the universe; but the uni¬ verse is not the dwelling-place of God’ is a well-known Rabbinic dictum. The world of experience with its three states of waking, dream and deep sleep is based on the subject-object relation. This duality is the principle of all manifestation. The objects are perceived in both dream and waking and the distinction of seer and seen is present in both. The world of manifestation is dependent on the Absolute. The Absolute Spirit which transcends the distinction between the subject and the object is logically prior to the manifested world.2 The world is a process of becoming; it is not being.
The Upanisads make it clear that the waking state and the dream state are quite distinct. The objects of the dream state are illusory; not so those of waking experience. ‘There are no chariots in that state (of dreaming), no horses, no roads. He himself creates chariots, horses, roads. '3 Imaginary objects exist only during the time we imagine them, kalpana-kala , but factual objects exist not only when we perceive them but also when we do not perceive them, bahyas ca dvaya-kalahA The spatio-temporal order is a fact, not a state of mind or a phase of consciousness.
Avidya is mentioned in the Upanisads as the source of delusion. The Katha Upanisad speaks of people living in ignorance and thinking themselves wise, who move about wandering in search of reality, like blind men following the
1 4 and 5. 2 See Gaudapada: Kdrika on Ma. U . II. 4 and 5.
3 B.U. IV. 3. 9 and 10. 4 S. on Mandukya Karika II. 14.
Introduction
blind. If they had lodged themselves in vidya, wisdom, instead of avidyd, ignorance, they would easily have seen the truth.1 The Chandogya Upanisad distinguishes between vidya or knowledge which is power and avidyd or ignorance which is impotence.2 * * 5 While maya is more cosmic in significance, avidyd is more subjective. We are subject to avidyd when we look upon the multiplicity of objects and egos as final and funda¬ mental. Such a view falsifies the truth. It is the illusion of ignorance. The world of multiplicity is out there, and has its place, but if we look upon it as a self-existing cosmos, we are making an error. 3 While the world process reveals certain possibilities of the Real, it also conceals the full nature of the Real. Avidyd breeds selfishness and becomes a knot in the heart which we should untie before we can get possession of the Self in the recesses of our heart. 4 The Praina Upanisad tells us that we cannot reach the world of Brahman unless we have shaken off the crookedness in us, the falsehood ( anrtam ) in us, the illusion (maya) in us. 5
The world has the tendency to delude us into thinking that it is all, that it is self-dependent, and this delusive character of the world is also designated maya in the sense of avidyd. When we are asked to overcome maya, it is an injunction to avoid worldliness. Let us not put our trust in the things of this world. Maya is concerned not with the existence of the world but with its meaning, not with the factuality of the world but with the way in which we look upon it.
There are passages in the Upanisads which make_out that the world is an appearance, vacarambhanam vikaro namadheyam, while Reality is pure being. There are others which grant reality to the world, though they maintain that it has no reality apart from Brahman, ioamkara tells us that the former is the true teaching of the Upanisads, while the latter view is put forward only tentatively as a first step in the teaching to be later
1 Katha I. 2. 4. 5. * I. x. 10.
3 Maya is viewed as the power th'at makes for delusion
mah ca moharlha-vacanah yah ca prdpana-vdcakah tam prapayati yd nityarh, sa maya pariklrtita.
Brahma-vaivarta Parana XXVII.
90 The Principal Upani$ads
withdrawn. The reality conceded to the world is not ultimate. It is only empirical.
If we keep in mind the fourfold character of the Supreme, we shall avoid confusion in regard to the status of the world. If we concentrate attention on Brahman, the Absolute, we feel that the world is not independent of Brahman but rests in Brahman. The relationship between the two cannot be logically articu¬ lated. If we turn to the personal Isvara, we know that the world is the creation of Brahman and not its organic expression. The power of creation is called maya. If we turn to the world process which is a perpetual becoming, it is a mixture of being and non-being, sat and asat, the divine principle and prakrti. Hiranya-garbha and his world are both subject to time, and should be distinguished from the eternal. But the temporal becoming is by no means false.
As to why the Supreme has this fourfold character, why it is what it is, we can only accept it as the given reality. It is the ultimate irrationality in the sense that no logical derivation of the given is possible. It is apprehended by us in spiritual con¬ sciousness, and accounts for the nature of experience in all its aspects. It is the only philosophical explanation that is possible or necessary.
Jiva is literally, ‘that which breathes,’ fr om jiv ‘to breathe.’ It referred originally to the biological aspect of man’s nature which goes on throughout life, in waking, dream and sleep. It is called purusa in the sense of puri-iaya or ‘ that which dwells in the citadel of the heart.’ This means that the biological serves the ends of another, the soul or psyche. 'It is this soul which reaps the fruits of deeds and survives the death of the physical body. It is the bhoktr, the enjoyer, kartr, the doer.1 It is the vijhana-maya atma. The jiva consists of a material body, the
1 See Praina IV. 9. Kafka I. 3. 4.
Introduction
9i
principle of breath [prana), regulating the unconscious activi¬ ties of the individual, and the principle of conscious activities (manas) which uses the five sensory organs ( indriyas ) of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste and the five organs of action, viz. speech, hands, feet, excretory and generative organs. All these are organised by vijnana or buddhi. The basis of the indi¬ viduality of the ego is vijnana or intelligence which draws round itself mind, life and body.1 The ego belongs to the relative world, is a stream of experience, a fluent mass of life, a centre round which our experiences of sense and mind gather. At the back of this whole structure is the Universal Consciousness, Atman, which is our true being.
The human individual is a complex of five elements, anna, prana, manas, vijnana and ananda. The Highest Spirit which is the grc'ihd of all being, with which man’s whole being should get united at the end of his journey, does not contribute to his self-sense. Life and matter are organised into the gross physical body, sthula-iarira, mind and life into the subtle body, suksma-sanra, intelligence into the causal body, karana-iarxra and Atman, the Universal Self is the supreme being sustaining the others. The ego is the manifestation of the Universal Self using memory and moral being which are changing formations. Purusa is sometimes used for the Atman which is higher than buddhi. Buddhi belongs to the objective hierarchy of being. Purusa is the subjective light of consciousness that is reflected in all beings.
The natural sciences, physics and chemistry, anatomy and physiology, psychology and sociology treat man as an object of inquiry. They show that man is a link in the chain of living beings, one among many. He has a body and a mind which belong to him, but his self is not derived from any of these, though it is at the root of them all. All empirical causalities and
1 Cp. ‘He who knows more and more clearly the self obtains fuller being. In plants and trees sap only is seen, in animals consciousness. The self is more and more clear in man for he is most endowed with intelligence. He knows to-morrow, he knows the world and what is not the world. By the mortal he desires the immortal, being thus endowed. As for animals, hunger and thirst comprise their knowledge. But this man is the sea, he is above all the world. Whatever he reaches he desires to go beyond it.' Aitareya Aranyaka II. 1. 3.
92 The Principal Upanisads
biological processes of development apply to his outer being, but not to his self. The physical, the biological, the psychological and the logical aspects are aspects of his nature, his kosas, as the Taittiriya Upanisad calls them. There are great possibilities of empirical investigation, but man is more than what he knows about himself.
The ego is a unity of body, life, mind and intelligence. It is not a mere flux, as some early Buddhists and Hindus thought. Intelligence which is the unifying principle gives us the ego- consciousness. Memory is one factor which helps to preserve the continuity of the ego which is also influenced by a number of factors which are not present to our memory and are hardly grasped by our surface consciousness. The sub-conscious plays a great part in it. The nature of the ego depends on the principle of organisation and the experience to be organised. A ; we have an enormous variety of experiences with which we can identify ourselves, an infinite number of objects which we can pursue, fame, career, possessions or power, we have an infinite number of individuals marked out by their past and present experi¬ ences, their education and environment. What we are depends on what we have been. The ego is a changing formation on the background of the Eternal Being, the centre round which our mental and vital activities are organised. The ego is perpetually changing, moving up and down, up towards union with the divine godhead or down to the fiendish extremes of selfishness, stupidity and sensuality. The self-transcending capacity of the jxva is the proof that it is not the limited entity it takes itself to be.
The hierarchies of existence and value correspond. The order of phenomena which has the lowest degree of reality in the existential scale has the lowest degree of value in the ethical or spiritual scale. The human individual is higher than the animal, plant or mineral.
What is the relation of the Universal Self to the individual selves ? Different views are held on the matter. £arhkara believes that the Universal Self is identical with the individual self. The individual self is eternally one with and also different from the Universal Self, says Ramanuja. The individual self is
Introduction
eternally different from the Universal Self according to Madhva.1
When the soul is said to be an amsa or fragment of the Divine mind, it is to indicate that it is subsequent to the Divine mind, as a recipient of the Divine idea. The souls therefore serve as matter for the Divine Forms. This is the truth indicated in the Samkhya theory of the multiplicity of selves. Though the self is one in all, in the manifested world, there is an amsa, fragment, part or ray of the self which presides over the movements of our personal lives through the ages. This persistent divine form is the real individuality which governs the mutations of our being. This is not the limited ego, but the Infinite Spirit reflecting itself in our personal experience. We are not a mere flux of body, life and mind thrown on the screen of a Pure Spirit which does not affect us in any way. Behind this flux there is the stable power of our being through which the Infinite Spirit manifests itself. The Divine has many modes of mani¬ festation, and at many levels, and the fulfilment of the purposes of these modes constitutes the supreme scope of the eternal kingdom. In the world of manifestation the ground of created being is God’s idea of it, which, because it is divine, is more real than the creature itself. The soul, therefore, represents an idea of the divine mind, and the different souls are the members of the Supreme. The soul draws its idea of perfection from the Divine Creator who has given it existence. The soul's substantial existence derives from the Divine mind, and its perfection consists in the vision of the Divine mind, in its effectuating the divine pattern for it in its consciousness and character.
There does not seem to be any suggestion that the individual egos are unreal. They all exist only through the Self and have no reality apart from It. The insistence on the unity of the Supreme Self as the constitutive reality of the world and of the individual souls does not negate the empirical reality of the
1 Commenting on the sutra, arhio nana-vyapade&ad anyathd capi (the individual spirit is a part of the Lord inasmuch as it is not taught that they are different and also the contrary), S. indicates that ‘the individual and the Lord, are related as sparks to fire, jiva iivarasyamio bhavitum arhati, yathagner visphulingah, in which the heat is the same (notwith¬ standing that the sparks are distinguishable from fire)’ and concludes that ‘from these two doctrines of difference and non-difference the meaning of participation, arhiatva, follows.’ S.B. II. 3. 43.
94 The Principal Upanisads
latter. The plurality of individual souls is admitted by the Upanisads. The individuals do not resolve themselves in the Universal Absolute so long as the world of manifestation is functioning. The released individuals know themselves as the Self and not as the psycho-physical vehicles which are animated by the Self and so are incarnations of the Self. These vehicles are causally determined and are subject to change.
The individual is, in a sense, created by God after His own image and in His own likeness, but he has his creaturely form. We do not know our own possibilities. The individual ego is subject to avidya or ignorance when it believes itself to be separate and different from all other egos. The result of this separatist ego-sense, ahamkara , is failure to enter into harmony and unity with the universe. This failure expresses itself in physical suffering and mental discord. Selfish desire is the badge of subjection or bondage. When the individual shakes off this avidya, he becomes free from all selfishness, possesses all and enjoys all.1
The unity of the Self does not make the distinctions of the individual souls irrelevant. There is no mixing up of the fruits of action, as the different individual selves are kept distinct by their association with buddhi.2 Our lives become meaningful in so far as they partake of the divine logos. The logos is seen in close connection with the logical or rational element in us. The Divine Reason is immanent in our reason. The ego’s possession of intelligence gives it the capacity for moral choice. It may either turn to the Indwelling Spirit or pursue the separate interests of the ego. It may open itself to the Self or shut itself away from It. One leads to light and life, the other to darkness and death. We have the seeds of both in us. We may live a life controlled by flesh and blood and earth-born intellect or we may lay ourselves open to God and let Him work in us. As we choose the one or the other, we are led to death or immortality. 3 When
1 Cp. Boethius: ‘In other living creatures,. ignorance of self is nature,' in man it is vice.’
2 buddhi-bhedena bhoktr-bhedat. S. S.B. II. y 49.
3 Cp. M.B.:
amrtarh caiva mrtyus ca dvayam dehe pratisthitam mrtyur apadyate mohat, satyenapadyate amrtam.
‘In each human body the two principles of immortality and death are
Introduction 95
we forget our true nature and lose ourselves in the things of the world, we have evil and suffering.
Alienation from our true nature is hell, and union with it is heaven. There is a perpetual strain in human life, an effort to reach from the arbitrary into an ideal state of existence. When we divinise our nature, our body, mind and spirit work flawlessly together and attain a rhythm which is rare in life.
Without the individual there is neither bondage nor libera¬ tion. The Eternal in His transcendent form as Brahman or cosmic being as Isvara does not arrive at immortality. It is the individual who is subject to ignorance and who rises to self- knowledge. The self-expression of the Supreme through the individuals will continue until it is completed. The Divine possesses always its unity, and Its aim in the cosmic process is to possess it in an infinite experience through many conscious selves. So long as we are subject to ignorance, we stand away from God and are immersed in our limited egos. When we rise to self-knowledge, we are taken up into the Divine Being and become aware of the Infinite, Universal Consciousness in which we live.
VIDYA (KNOWLEDGE) AND AVIDYA (IGNORANCE)
If buddhi, vijhana, intelligence, has its being turned towards the Universal Self it develops intuition or true knowledge. Wisdom. But ordinarily, intelligence is engaged in discursive reasoning and reaches a knowledge which is, at best, imperfect, through the processes of doubt, logic and skilful demonstration. It reflects on the data supplied by manas or the sense-mind with its knowledge rooted in sensations and appetites. At the intellectual level we grope with an external vision of things, where objects are extrinsically opposed to one another. We are besieged by error and incapacity. Integral knowledge possesses its object truly and securely. Nothing is external to it. Nothing is other than itself. Nothing is divided or in conflict within its
established. By the pursuit of delusion we reach death; by the pursuit of truth we attain immortality.'
g6 The Principal Upanisads
all-comprehensive self-awareness. It is the means of knowledge and knowledge itself.
Intuitive knowing is immediate as distinct from the discursive and mediate knowledge. It is more immediate than sensory intuition, for it overcomes the distinction between the knower and the known which subsists in sense-intuition. It is the perfect knowledge, while all other knowledge is incomplete and imperfect in so far as it does not bring about an identification between subject and object. All other knowledge is indirect and has only symbolic or representative value. The only generally effective knowledge is that which penetrates into the very nature of things. But in lower forms of knowledge this pene¬ tration of the subject into the object is limited and partial. Scientific understanding assumes that an object can be known only if it is broken up into its simpler constituents. If anything organic is handled in this manner, its significance is lost. By employing intuitive consciousness we know the object with less distortion and more actuality. We get close to perceiving the thing as it is.
Knowledge presupposes unity or oneness of thought and being, a unity that transcends the differentiation of subject and object. Such knowledge is revealed in man’s very existence.1 It is unveiled rather than acquired. Knowledge is concealed in ignorance and when the latter is removed the former mani¬ fests itself. What we are, that we behold, and what we behold, that we are. Our thought, our life and our being are uplifted in simplicity and we are made one with truth. Though we cannot understand or describe, we taste and we possess. We become new.2 When the beatific vision of Absolute Being has
1 Eckhart says: ‘Godin the fullness of His Godhead dwells eternally \ in His image (the soul itself).’ Rudolf Otto: Mysticism.-. East and West (1932), p. 12.
1 Cp. Plotinus: ‘And one that shall know this vision — with what passion of love shall he not be seized, with what pang of desire, what longing to be molten into one with this, what wondering delight! If he that has never seen this Being must hunger for It as for all his welfare, he that has known must love and reverence It as the very Beauty; he will be flooded with awe and gladness stricken by a salutary terror; he loves with a veritable love, with sharp desire; all other loves than this he must despise, and disdain all that once seemed fair.’ Enneads E.T. MacKenna. Vol. I (1917), p. 86.
Introduction
once dawned on the dazzled beholder, the savour of the phe¬ nomenal is gone for it is seen to be steeped in the noumenal.
The report which the mind and the senses give, so long as they are unenlightened by the spirit in us, is a misleading report. Yet that report is the basis from which we have to proceed. What the world and the individual seem to be are a distortion of what they really are, and yet through that distortion we arrive at the reality. Even as the conclusions of common sense are corrected by those of scientific understanding, the conclusions of the latter require to be corrected by the light of the spirit in us. The abstractions of the intellect require to be converted into the actuality of spiritual experience and the concrete vision of the soul.
If the real is misconceived as an object of knowledge, it cannot be known. Empirical objects may be known by outer observation or inner introspection. But the self cannot divide itself into the knower and the known. Logical reasoning is incapable of comprehending the living unity of God and man, the absolute and the relative. Logical incapacity is not evidence of actual impossibility. Reality unites what discursive reason is incapable of holding together. Every atom of life is a witness to the oneness and duality of God and the world. Being can never be objectified or externalised. It is co-inherent and co-existent in man. It is unknowable because we identify existence with objectivity. This is true, to a limited extent, of purely external things like tables and chairs. They are not to be reduced to sensations or concepts arising in the knowing mind. But spiritual reality is not revealed in the way in which objects of the natural world or principles of logic are appre¬ hended. Yajnavalkya tells us that the self is its own light when the sun has set, when the moon has set, when the fire is put out, atmaivasya jyotir bhavati.1 It is our deepest being behind the vestures of body, life, mind and intellect. Objectivity is not the criterion of reality, but the criterion is reality itself revealed in our very being. We ask for a criterion of knowledge on the assumption of a duality between the knowing subject and the known object. If the object appears alien and impenetrable.
• IV. 3. 2-6.
g8 The Principal Upanisads
then the question of knowing it becomes a problem. But no object can be set in opposition to the spirit and so the question of criterion does not arise. True knowledge is an integral creative activity of the spirit which does not know anything external at all. For it everything is its own life. Here there is identity, possession, absorption of the object at the deepest level. Truth in spiritual life is neither the reflection nor the expression of any other reality. It is reality itself. Those who know the truth become the truth, brahma-vid brahmaiva bhavati. It is not a question of having an idea or a perception of the real. It is just the revelation of the real. It is the illumination of being and of life itself. It is satyam, jhanam. Knowledge and being are the same thing, inseparable aspects of a single reality, being no longer even distinguishable in that sphere where all is without duality.
Where there is duality, there one sees another, hears another. We have objective knowledge.1 While vijhana deals with the world of duality, ananda implies the fundamental identity of subject and object, non-duality. Objectification is estrange¬ ment. The objective world is the ‘fallen’ world, disintegrated and enslaved, in which the subject is alienated from the object of knowledge. It is the world of disruption, disunion, alienation. In the ‘fallen’ condition, man’s mind is never free from the compulsion exercised by objective realities. We struggle to overcome disunion, estrangement, to become superior to the objective world with its laws and determinations.
We cannot, however, become aware of the true life in its unity and multiplicity, in its absoluteness and relativity, if we do not free ourselves from the world of divided and isolated objects. In the objective world where estrangement and limitations prevail, there are impenetrable entities, but in the knowledge where we have fullness and boundlessness of life nothing is external, but all is known from within. Intellect moves from object to object. Unable to comprehend them all it retains their multiplicity. Intellectual knowledge is a scattered, broken movement of the one undivided infinite life which is all-possessing and ever satisfied. Intuitive knowing is un-
* B.U. II. 4. 14.
Introduction
imprisoned by the divisions of space, successions of time or sequences of cause and effect. Our intellectual picture is a shadow cast by the integral knowledge which possesses the object truly and securely.
Reality is a fact, and facts are apprehended by intuition, whether perceptual or non-perceptual. The divine primordial reality is not a fact of the empirical world, and yet as the central spiritual fact we must have a direct apprehension of it. Our logical knowledge can give us indirect approximation to it but not a direct grasp of it.1 The seers of the Upanisads not only have deep vision but are able to translate their visions into intelligible and persuasive speech. They can do so only through hints and images, suggestions and symbols, for they are not susceptible of adequate expression.
The Upanisads distinguish between a-para vidya, lower knowledge and para vidya or higher wisdom. While the former gives us knowledge of the Vedas and the sciences, the latter helps us to gain the knowledge of the Imperishable.2 * 4 The first principle disguises itself. 3 In the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad, the self is seen as the reality of reality. 4 The reality of the world is the empirical; the true reality is the atman, the self which the empirical reality conceals. A distinction is made between the knower of texts and the knower of the self in the Chandogya Upanisad .5 ^vetaketu cannot understand the question of
1 Cp. John Smith, the Platonist: ‘Jejune and barren speculations may unfold the plicatures of Truth’s garment but they cannot discover her lovely face.’
William Law writes: ‘To find or know God in reality by any outward proofs, or by anything but by God Himself made manifest and self- evident in you, will never be your case either here or hereafter. For neither God, nor heaven, nor hell, nor the devil, nor the flesh, can be any otherwise knowable in you or by you, but by their own existence and manifestation in you. And all pretended knowledge of any of these things, beyond and without this self-evident sensibility of their birth within you, is only such knowledge of them as the blind man hath of the light that hath never entered into him.’
2 M.U. I. i. 4-5.
Mere book knowledge is of no use.
pustake hkhita vidya yena sundari japyate siddhir na jayate tasya kalpa-koti-iatair api.
Sat-karma-dipika.
4 I. 6. 3; II. 1. 20; II. 4. 7-9. 5 VII. 1. 2-3.
ioo The Principal Upanisads
rebirth, despite much Vedic learning. The Taittiriya Upanisad reduces the knowledge of the Vedas to an inferior position by assigning it to mano-maya (mind-made) self which has to be surmounted before final truth is attained.1 The self is perceived, according to the Katha Upanisad, not by logical reason but by spiritual contemplation, adhyatma-yogayThe real is not attained by force of intellect or by much learning but is revealed to the aspirant whose will is at rest in Him. 3 We realise God by the clarity of illumination, jhana-prasadenay
The Brhad-dranyaka Upanisad teaches that, while those who put their trust in the intellect cannot attain to a knowledge of Brahman, yet there is an apprehension of His being by those who are childlike. 5 Balya includes humility, receptivity or teachableness and an earnest search. The writer asks us to give up the pride of learning, panditya. A self-denial which includes our intellectual pride and power is demanded. Purity of intellect is different from congestion of it. To attain purity of vision, we require a childlike nature which we can get by tranquillising the senses, simplifying the heart and cleaning the mind.
It is through quietening the strivings of the will and the empirical intellect that the conditions are realised for the revelation of the Supreme in the individual soul. ‘Therefore having become calm, subdued, quiet, patiently enduring and collected, one sees the Self just in the self.’6
Even as we have an intellectual discipline for the theoretical understanding of the world, we have a moral and spiritual discipline for the direct apprehension of truth. Even as we cannot understand the art of swimming by talking about it and can learn it only by getting into the water and practising swimming, so also no amount of theoretical knowledge can serve as a substitute for the practice of the life of spirit. We can know God only by becoming godlike. To become godlike is to become aware of the light in us, by returning consciously to the divine centre within us, where we have always been without our knowing it. Detachment ( vairagya ) is the essential
1 II. 3. 1 II. 12. 3 Katha II. 20 and 23.
5 III. 5. See also Subala U. 13. 6 B.U. IV. 4. 23.
Introduction ioi
means for the attainment of wisdom (jnana).1 Only the pure in heart can see God.
We must cultivate a religious disposition. God is revealed only to those who believe that He is.2 When in doubt, later tradition asks us to give the benefit of the doubt to the theist. For if there is no God, there is no harm in believing in Him; if there is, the atheist would suffer. 3 Faith, as trust in the universe, in its reliability, in its essential soundness and decency, is the starting-point of spiritual development.
Spiritual inclination is essential for the pursuit of spiritual life. In the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad, Yajnavalkya offers to divide all his earthly possessions between his two wives, KatyayanI and Maitreyi. The latter asks whether the whole world filled with wealth can give her life eternal. Yajnavalkya says: ‘No, your life will be just like that of people who have plenty of things, but there is no hope of life eternal through wealth.’ Maitreyi spurns the riches of the world remarking, ‘What shall I do with that which will not make me immortal?’ Yajnavalkya recognises the spiritual fitness of his wife and teaches her the highest wisdom.
Ethical preparation is insisted on. If we do not abstain from wrong-doing, if we are not composed in our minds, we cannot attain to spiritual wisdom. 4 Our moral being must be purged of all evil. The Svetaivatara Upanisad tells us that we should cleanse our natures to reach the goal, since even a mirror can reflect an image properly only if it is cleansed of its impurities. 5 We must renounce selfish desire, surrender material possessions, become bereft of egotism. The path is ‘sharp as the edge of a razor and hard to cross, difficult to tread.’6
A teacher who has attained the goal may help the aspiring soul. 7 Truth has not only to be demonstrated but also com¬ municated: It is relatively easy to demonstrate a truth, but it can be communicated only by one who has thought, willed and
1 Cp. Viveka-cudamani 376, which compares detachment and know¬ ledge to ‘the two wings that are indispensable for the soul, if it should soar unrestricted to its eternal home of freedom and peace.’
3 Katha II. 6. 12 and 13.
3 nasti cet nasti no hanih, asti cet nastiko hatah.
4 Katha I. 2. 24. M.U. III. 1. 5. 5 II. 14-15.
6 Katha I. 3. 14. 7 C.U. IV. 9. 3. Katha I. 2. 8-9.
102 The Principal Upanisads
felt the truth. Only a teacher can give it with its concrete quality. He that has a teacher knows, deary avan puruso veda.1 Only he must be a proper teacher who embodies truth and tradition. Only those who have the flame in them can stir the fire in others.
The individual should develop the habit of introversion, of abstracting from the outside world and looking within himself. By a process of abstraction we get behind knowing, feeling and willing to the essential Self, the God within. We must silence our speech, mind and will. We cannot hear the voice of the still spirit in us, so long as we are lost in vain talk, mental rambling and empty desires. The mind must strip away its outer sheaths in complete detachment, return to its inward quiet and fix its attention on the essential Self which is the ground and reality of the whole universe. The Mundaka Upanisad brings out the need for concentrated attention and undistracted effort.2 An ordered, disciplined training of all our powers, a change of mind, heart and will is demanded.
Several forms of meditation are advised. Symbols (pratika) are used as supports for meditation. We are free to use the symbols which are most in conformity with our personal tendencies. Meditation on the pranava is suggested in the Mandukya Upanisad.
It is said that the Self cannot be realised except by those whom the Self chooses. 3 Self-realisation is possible through the grace of the Divine. God-vision is the fruit of strenuous effort and Divine grace. 4 Only the Spirit in us can raise us to the spiritual status. The Real, which is the basis of this manifold world of things and minds, can be apprehended directly and immediately only by those who fulfil certain conditions and submit to the leadings of the spirit. We do not so much hold the idea of the Real as the idea holds us. We are possessed by it.
Vidya and avidya are two ways of apprehending Reality.
1 C.U. VI. 14. 2. 3 III. 1. 8. 3 Katha I. 2. 23. M.U. III. 2. 3.
4 Cp. St. Bernard: 'Grace is necessary to salvation, free will equally so, but grace in order to give salvation, free will in order to receive it. Therefore we should not attribute part of the good work to grace and part to free will; it is performed in its entirety by the common and inseparable action of both; entirely by grace, entirely by free will, but springing from the first in the second.'
Introduction
Both are forms of relative knowledge and belong to the mani¬ fested universe. Knowledge formulated logically is not equiva¬ lent to a direct and immediate apprehension of the Real. Whatever words we use, whatever concepts we employ, fall short of reality.1 The anubhava is beyond all manifestation and is complete in itself. Vidya stresses the harmony and interconnections of elements which make up the world; avidya the separateness, mutual independence and strife. Vidya helps us to appreciate intellectually the intelligible ideas about the nature of the Divine ground and the nature of the direct experience of it in relation to other experiences. It indicates the means by which we can attain Brahman. Such a system of theological doctrine points out that there is nothing intrinsically self-contradictory about the postulate of religion, viz. the divine reality, and that it is also empirically verifiable if only we are willing to submit to a discipline. The theological knowledge or vidya is different from the experience or anubhava of it. The experience is recorded as a pure and direct intellectual intuition in sruti. When we reflect on the experiences or their records and reduce them to a rational order we have smrti. While the first is the domain of metaphysical principles, the second applies these principles to individual and social conduct. Vidya is nearer the truth than avidya.
But vidya is also understood as jhana which is of the essential nature of the Divine Reality. It is then eternal wisdom which is not the knowledge possessed by any individual. It is the wisdom hidden beneath the sheaths of ignorance. It is one with the Supreme Self, which is self-evident and needs no proof, svatah-siddha, self-valid certainty.
Though intuitive wisdom is different from knowledge of the senses or anything we can achieve by logical reflection, it is not to be confused with occultism, obscurantism, or extravagant emotion. It is not magical insight or heavenly vision, or special revelation obtained through supernatural powers. What we
1 When A1 Ghazzali or, two centuries later, Thomas Aquinas refused to proceed with the consideration of truths about God, when once they attained direct apprehension of the Divine Reality, they refer to this inadequacy of verbal or logical expressions.
104 The Principal Upanisads
attain by vision, empirical or trans-empirical, belongs to the objective world. It is a distinction within the objective world, between the physical and the super-physical, between what we reach by the five senses and a sixth sense. Wisdom is pure reason, capacity for fundamental truth. It is the possession of the soul or it is the soul that penetrates into its own ground and depth and becomes essential being. It springs from it of necessity when it meditates on itself. This wisdom is eternal, universal and necessary for £arhkara. It cannot be destroyed though it may be obscured.
All the same, the tradition of thought has been strong in the Upanisads. We lead up to experience through intellectual knowledge. For those who are incapable of integral insight, perception and inference are the only available means.1 Even men of experience do not contradict rational thought, though they go beyond it.
The Upanisads insist on the importance of ethical life.2 They repudiate the doctrine of the self-sufficiency of the ego and emphasise the practice of moral virtues. Man is responsible for his acts. Evil is the free act of the individual who uses his freedom for his own exaltation. It is fundamentally the choice which affirms the finite, independent self, its lordship and acquisitiveness against the universal will. Evil is the result of our alienation from the Real. If we do not break with evil, we cannot attain freedom. 3
1 Cp. Vakya-padlya. ‘For those who cannot see, the reason which is not in contradiction with the Vedas and the scriptures is the eye.'
veda-kdstrdvirodhi yas tarkas-caksur a-pasyatam. I. 137.
’ M.U. III. 2. 4. B.U. IV. 4. 23.
3 Commenting on Katha I. 2. 2-3, Ramanuja writes: 'This verse teaches that meditation which should become more perfect day by day, cannot be accomplished without the devotee having broken with all evil.’ R.B. IV. 1. 13.
'The Vedas do not purify the ethically unworthy.’
acdra-hinam na punanti vedah. Vasistha-Dharma-Sastra. VI. 3.
Introduction
Man is of the divine race, but he has in him the element of non-being, which exposes him to evil. As a spiritual being he can burst the revolving circle of nature and become a citizen of another world in unity with Absolute Being who is his creative source. Man is the mediator between God and nature and has to complete the work of creation by the in¬ carnation of wisdom. He must illumine what is dark and strengthen what is weak in him. His entire being should labour to become one with the Divine. Our fallen nature, sunk in sin, is felt as contrary to the Real and yet as existent. The self feels itself to be in contradiction to all that is supremely real. There is the pain of discord between the existent and the Real. In moral life the self feels itself divided against itself. And yet the struggle itself is impossible unless we look upon the desire for the divine and the consciousness of rebellion as belonging to the same self. The felt contradiction is possible only through the reality which is above the discord. The antithesis between what we wish to be and what we are is implicitly their unity. The divine consciousness and will must become our conscious¬ ness and will. This means that our actual self must cease to be a private self; we must give up our particular will, die to our ego, by surrendering its whole nature, its consciousness and character to the Divine.1
The freedom of the human individual is assumed, though the limitations of karma are mentioned. ‘He fetters himself by himself, as a bird by its nest.’* The freedom of the individual increases to the extent to which he identifies himself with the Absolute in him, the antar-yamin. If we leave the world after having known the true self, then our life in all worlds is the life of freedom.
Some theistic Upanisads say that the inner power, the Divine, caused the man whom He will lead on high from these worlds to do good works and He causes the man whom He will lead downwards to do evil works. 3 In theism the stress is on Divine providence. In the Svetasvatara Upanisad, the Self is the overseer of all actions, who apportions to each person his qualities, who executes justice, who restrains the evil, allots
1 anuragad virdgah.
1 Maitrl III. 2.
106 The Principal Upanisads
good fortune and brings to maturity the actions of the indi¬ vidual souls.1
The general impression that the Upanisads require world- denial is not quite correct. They insist on a spirit of detachment, vairagya, which is not indifference to the world. It is not abandonment of objects but non-attachment to them. We do not raise ourselves above the world by contempt for the world. It is the spirit of equanimity which is insisted on. To be tranquil is to envy no man, to have no possessions that another can take from us, to fear none. When the Hindu thinkers ask us to adopt sariinyasa or relinquishment of home and possessions, to accept the three great renunciations, consecrated in the three vows, evangelical counsels of poverty, obedience and chastity, they point to self-denial as the root of spiritual life.
Spirit of renunciation does not mean neglect of social duties. Sariinyasa does not mean that we owe no duties to the world; we free ourselves only from ritualistic duties. Rare fruits of spirit ripen on the soil of detachment.2 There is a popular verse which makes out that one should give up attachment, but if one is not capable of it, let him cultivate attachment; only it should be attachment to all. 3
We should release ourselves from selfish likes and dislikes. The Divine cannot use our mind and body so long as we wish to use them for our own ends. 4
Detachment is opposed to attachment, not to enjoyment.
> VI. ii, 12, 4; v. 5ff.
1 When Ernest Renan described St. Francis as 'the one perfect Christian’ it was felt to be an exaggeration. Hardly anyone else in the Christian world comes so close to the ideal set forth in the Gospels. 'He that renounceth not everything that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.’ We feel that these demands are excessive and even fantastic. We excuse ourselves by saying that Jesus did not mean all that he is reported to have said or that his words were not of general application. We make compromises, while St. Francis did not allow any compromises.
3 tyaktavyo mama-karah, tyaktum yadi iakyate ndsau kartavyo mama-karah ktmlu sarvatra kartavyah.
4 Cp. St. John of the Cross: ‘The soul that is attached to anything, however much good there may be in it, will not arrive at the liberty of divine union. For whether it be a strong wire rope or a slender and delicate thread that holds the bird, it matters not, if it really holds it fast; for until the cord be broken the bird cannot fly. So the soul, held by the bonds of human affections, however slight they may be, cannot, while they last, make its way to God.’
Introduction
Enjoy through renunciation is the advice of the Ha Upanisad.1 Good and evil do not depend on the acts one does or does not, but on the frame of mind one has. The good man is he who concurs with the divine purpose, and the bad man is he who resists it. If one’s mind is good, one’s acts will be good. Our attempt should be not so much external conformity as inward cleansing. From goodness of being good will and good works flow.2 3 4 When the soul is at peace, the greatest sorrows are borne lightly. Life becomes more natural and confident. Changes in outer conditions do not disturb. We let our life flow of itself as the sea heaves or the flower blooms.
Work by itself does not give us liberation. It cleanses the mind, purifies the heart and produces the illumination which is the immediate condition of salvation. Samkara argues that the knowledge of Brahman, as it relates to an existent being, cannot be contingent on what a person does or does not. 3
Contemplation is the way to cleanse one’s mind and heart. It means rest, suspension of mental activity, withdrawal into the interior solitude in which the soul is absorbed in the fruitful silence of God. We cannot stop there; we must overflow with a love that communicates what it knows to others. Saints with abundant power and tireless energy work for the transfiguring of men and the changing of the course of secular history. Different methods are suited for different temperaments, and they are all permitted. 4
1 Eckhart tells us: 'It is permissible to take life’s blessings with both hands, provided thou dost know thyself prepared in the opposite event to leave them just as gladly.'
2 Cp. Eckhart: ‘Men should not think so much of what they ought to do, as of what they ought to be. Think not to lay the foundation of thy holiness upon doing, but rather upon being. For works do not sanctify us, but we should sanctify the works. Whoever is not great in his essential being will achieve nothing by works, whatever he may do.’ Rudolf Otto: Mysticism: East and West, p. 126.
3 a-purusa-tantratvad brahma-vijnanasya.
4 See B.G. V. 5. Vasistha says:
a-sadhyah kasyacid yogah kasyacit jndna-niicayah: ittharn vicarya margau dvau jagada parameivarah.
To some yoga is impossible; to others the ascertainment of truth. Viewing thus God has revealed two paths.
Cp. St. Thomas Aquinas: ‘A thing may belong to the contemplative life in two ways essentially or as a predisposition. The moral virtues
108 The Principal Upanisads
The ethical virtues we are called upon to adopt are mentioned in several passages. Life is compared to a sacrifice where the fee shall be asceticism, liberality, integrity, non-injury to life and truthfulness.1 The Taittinya Upanisad gives a list of students’ duties. He should not be negligent of truth, virtue, welfare, prosperity, study and teaching. He should perform only those acts which are irreproachable. In case of doubt concerning any act of conduct, the student should follow the practice of those Brahmanas who are competent to judge, apt, devoted, not harsh lovers of virtue. In one passage all the virtues are brought together under the three da’s which are heard in the voice of the thunder, namely, dama, or self- restraint, dana or self-sacrifice, and day a or compassion. Praja-pati conveys it to the three classes of his creation, gods (i deva ), men ( manusya ) and demons ( asura ).2 £arhkara makes out that gods have desires ( kama ), men suffer from greed
belong to the contemplative life as a predisposition. For the act of contemplation, in which the contemplative life essentially consists, is hindered both by the impetuosity of the passions and by the outward disturbances. Now the moral virtues curb the impetuosity of the passions and quell the disturbance of outward occupations. Hence moral virtues belong to the contemplative life as a predisposition.’ St. Thomas taught there were three vocations, that to the active life, that to the con¬ templative and a third to the combination of both and the last is superior to the other two. There are statements to the effect that the contemplative life in itself by its very nature is superior to the active life. Vita contemplaiiva, he remarks, simpliciter est melior quam activa, for the contemplative life directly and immediately occupies itself with the love of God than which there is no act more perfect or more meri¬ torious. The contemplative life establishes man in the very heart of all spiritual fecundity. When St. Thomas admits that the active life can be more perfect in certain circumstances, he qualifies it a great deal, (i) Action will only be more perfect than the joy and rest of contem¬ plation, if it is undertaken as the result of an overflow of love for God in order to fulfil His will, (ii) It is not to be continuous but only an answer to a temporary emergency, (iii) It is purely for God’s glory, it does not dispense us from contemplation. It is an added obligation and we but return as soon as we can to the fruitful silence of recollection that disposes our souls to the Divine Union.
' C.U. III. 17.
* B.U. V. 2.
In the Bhagavata the Lord says that anyone who does not care for the people who are in need of care and simply takes to the worship of God, his effort is wasted.
yo mark sarvesu bhutesu santam atmanam iivaram
hitvarcdm bhajate maudhydd, bhasmany eva juhoti sah.
Introduction
(lobha) and demons from anger ( krodha ). By the practice of the three injunctions we free ourselves from the sway of craving, greed and anger. When the Buddha asks us to put out in our hearts the monstrous fires of infatuation, greed and resent¬ ment, he is emphasising the three virtues enjoined by the Upanisads.
Dama is self-control. We should reduce our wants and be pre¬ pared to suffer in the interests of truth.1 Austerity, chastity, solitude and silence are the ways to attain self-control.
Tapas is severe self-discipline undertaken for spiritual ends. It is exercised with reference to the natural desires of the body and the distractions of the outer world. It consists of exercises of an inward kind, prayers offered in the heart, self-analysis and outer acts like fasting, self-mortification, sexual abstinence or voluntary poverty. Strength is developed by a resisting force. The power gained by resisting one temptation helps us in over¬ coming the next. To evade discipline is to empty life of its significance. Nothing is more tranquil than to be unshaken by the troublous motions of the flesh. Renunciation, nyasa, is superior to tapas or austerity or asceticism. The latter is a means to the former. It is not to be made into an end in itself.* Ethical
1 ‘The wise man overcomes anger through mind-control, lust through the renunciation of desire. He can attain mastery over sleep by develop¬ ing the quality of sattva. Through steadfastness he should protect the organ of generation and the stomach. With (the help of) the eyes he should protect the hands and the feet. Through (the power of) mind he should protect the eyes and the ears and through conduct he should protect mind and speech. Through constant vigilance he should shed fear and through the service of the wise, he should overcome pride.’
krodham iamena jayati, kamam sarhkalpa-varjandt sattva-samsevanad dhiro nidram ucchettum arhati. dhrtya sisnodaram rakset, pani-padam ca caksusa caksuh irotram ca manasa, mano vacant ca karmana. a-pramadad bhayarh jahyad, dambham prajhopasevanat .
Brahma Purana 235. 40-42.
Cp. Confucius: ‘With only coarse rice as meal and only plain water as drink, and only my arm as pillow, I still find joy in the midst of these conditions. Wealth and honour acquired contrary to righteousness are to me like the passing cloud.’ Lunyu Ft. VIII. Ch. XV. See F. T. Cheng: China Moulded by Confucius (1947), P- 92-
1 ‘Do the frogs, fish and others who live from their birth to death in the waters of the Ganges, do they become yogis?’
d-janma-maranantam ca gahgddi-latini-sihudh manduka-matsya-pramukhah yoginas te bhavanti him ?
no The Principal Upanisads
life includes moral uprightness though many minds feel only the need for mechanical ritual.
Brahmacarya is not sex-destruction. There is no gulf between flesh and spirit, but only between the fallen and the trans¬ figured flesh. Ancient Indian thinkers were of the opinion that the seed within man and woman is intended for the purpose of creating a body by which another soul may come into physical embodiment. When thus controlled, brahmacarya helps creative work of every description. When the seed is wasted in sex excesses, the body becomes weak and crippled, the face lined, the eyes dull, hearing impaired and the brain inactive. If brahmacarya is practised, the physical body remains youthful and beautiful, the brain keen and alert, the whole physical expression becomes the image and likeness of the Divine.
Mauna or silence is advised as leading the soul forward to contemplation.1 By the discipline of silence we curb the ex¬ cesses which flow from the tongue, heresy, backbiting, flattery. We cannot listen to the voice of God when our minds are dissipated, given to restless activity and are filled externally and internally with noise. Progress in silence is progress to the realisation of spirit. When silence descends on the soul, its activities are joined to the silent creative power of God.2 3
Dana enjoins gifts. It is negatively freedom from greed and positively assistance to those in need. ‘There is no hope of immortality by wealth. ’3 Possessiveness is condemned. The
1 Cp. Isaiah: ‘The tillage of righteousness is silence.' ‘In silence and in hope shall be your strength.’
1 ‘While all things were in quiet silence and the night was in the midst of her course the Word leapt down from heaven.'
3 B.U. II. 4. 2. Cp. Jalal-Uddin RumI:
Once the noble Ibrahim, as he sat on his throne,
Heard a clamour and noise of cries on the roof,
Also heavy footsteps on the roof of his palace.
He said to himself, ‘Whose heavy feet are these?’
He shouted from the window, ‘Who goes there?’
The guards, filled with confusion, bowed their heads, saying, ‘It is we going the rounds in search.’
He said, ‘What seek ye? ‘They said ‘Our camels.’
He said, 'Whoever searched for camels on a housetop?' They said, ‘We follow thy example,
Who seekest union with God, while sitting on a throne.'
Introduction
in
Taittiriya Upanisad regulates the art of giving.1 One should give with faith, one should not give without faith, one should give liberally, with modesty, with fear, with sympathy.
Daya is karuna, compassion. We should try to be at peace with all, abhor all cruelty and ill-will.2 3 4 Enmity means misunder¬ standing. A forgiving attitude frees the individual. We should grudge none, forgive all. So long as we remember an injustice, we have not forgiven either the person or the action. If only we know that there is more suffering than wickedness in the world, we would be kindly. It is by compassion, which shrinks from no sacrifice, that we can overcome the ravages of selfishness. We must be patient. God himself is unimaginably patient. 3 Tolerance, long suffering, patience are the fruits of spirit.
The ethical individual is required to become like a child. 4 The perfect man is a divine child, accepting the divine play, without fear or reserve, care or grief, in utter purity. A child is not entangled with things that seem important to grown-ups, whose occupations are mainly paltry and whose professions petrified. A child’s wise incomprehension is linked with living and is more than defensiveness or disdain. We cannot return to childhood. We have to gain the state which is un¬ constricted by temporal purpose, but purposeful, a state in which time and eternity coincide.
When it is said that the Upanisads adopt a spiritual view of life, it does not mean that they despise body, life and mind. The latter are the conditions or instruments for the life of spirit in man. They are not ends in themselves, but are means
i Devi Bhagavata says:
There is no virtue like compassion and no vice like the use of violence. dayd-samam nasti puny am, paparit himsa-samam na hi.
3 ‘The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving the guilty transgression and sin.’ Exodus XXXIV. 6. 7. 'The long suffering of our Lord is salvation.’ 2 Peter III. 15.
4 For Heraclitus: ‘The Kingdom is of the child.’ 'Except ye be con¬ verted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.’ Jesus. For Mencius: ‘A great man is one who has not lost the child’s heart.' Nietzsche says: ‘The] child is innocence and oblivion, a new beginning, a play, a self-rolling wheel, a primal motion, an holy yea-saying.’ Thus Spake Zarathustra I. 2,
1 12 The Principal Upanisads
or opportunities for the expression of the Universal Spirit in us. Spirit and life are not to be separated.
The ritualistic practices are reinterpreted. They are to prepare the mind for spiritual realisation, to spur it on to pierce the veil of the finite and to seek deliverance in identifica¬ tion with the Supreme Reality. If rites are performed without the knowledge of their meaning, they are not only useless but dangerous.1 The presumptuous performer may have his head cut off.2 * * * He who knows a particular rite and he who knows it not both perform a rite, but when performed with knowledge the act becomes more effective. 3 Meditation on the meaning of the sacrifice sometimes took the place of the actual sacrifice. ‘Suppose,' Janaka asks Yajnavalkya, ‘you had no milk or rice or barley to perform the fire-sacrifice, agnihotra, with what would you sacrifice ?' ‘With the fruits of trees and whatever herbs there were.’ ‘If there were none?’ ‘Then with water.’ ‘If there were no water?’ ‘Then, indeed, there would be nothing here, yet, this would be offered, the truth in faith. ’4 When the heart is fully persuaded, there is little sense of sacrifice. Sacrificial life becomes a natural manifestation of the new spirit. Self-conscious sacrifice, with its burden of self-righteousness and expectation of reward, is not of much use. 5
The caste divisions are mentioned in some of the Upanisads.6 They did not, however, harden into a rigid social system. In the Chandogya Upanisad five learned Brahmanas who approach Uddalaka Aruni for instruction in regard to VaKvanara Atman are taken by him to King Asvapati Kaikeya, who gives them instruction after first demonstrating the imperfections of their views. Ajatasatru of Kasi teaches Gargya Balaki the nature of Brahman, after pointing out the defects of the twelve views
1 C.U. V. 24. 1. 1 C.U. I. 8; I. 10-11. 3 C.U. I. 1-10.
4 Satapatha Brahmana XI. 3. 1.
5 Yahweh says (Amos V. 21): ‘I hate, I despise your feast days, and
I will not dwell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.'
Again Yahweh speaks (Hosea VI. 6): ‘For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.’
Introduction
ii3
which Gargya Balaki sets forth. Ajata£atru observes that it is not usual for a Brahmana to approach a Ksatriya for instruc¬ tion. The doctrine of rebirth is taught by Pravahana Jaivali to Aruni with the remark that the Brahmanas had never before had this knowledge.1 Among the students of the Upanisads is Satyakama, of unknown origin, whose mother Jabala could not tell who his father was.2
The four airamas or stages of life are recognised. While the usual rule is that one has to pass through successive stages of life, exceptions are permitted. Jabala Upanisad asks us to renounce whenever we feel a call to it. Besides, even in a house¬ holder’s stage one can attain spiritual freedom. 3
Until we negate the ego and get fixed in the Divine Ground we are bound to the endless procession of events called samsara.4 The principle which governs this world of becoming is called karma. There are moral and spiritual laws as well as physical
1 See also K.U. I, where the teacher is the King Citra Gangyayani.
* C.U. IV. 4.
3 In the Bhagavata Purana it is said that a house is no prison for one who has controlled his senses, delights in spirit and is eager for knowledge.
jitendriyas atmarater budhasya grhasramah kith tu karoty avadyam.
Abhinavagupta says that irutis and smrtis hold that he who has right knowledge attains salvation in all stages of life and quotes: ‘He that worships God, has established himself in the knowledge of truth, attends devotedly to his quest, performs rites, offers gifts, he is liberated though a house-holder.'
tattva-jhaninam sarvesv diramesu muktir iti smartesu irutau ca: yathoktam. devarcana-ratas tattva-jhana-nistho'tithi-priyah iraddham krtvd dadad dravyam grhastho' pi hi mucyate.
4 Cp. Boethius: Consolations of Philosophy. ‘The temporal world seems to emulate in part that which it cannot fully obtain or express, tying itself to whatever presence there is in this exiguous and fleeting moment, a presence which, since it carries a certain image of that abiding presence, gives to whatever may partake of it the quality of seeming to have being. But because it could not stay, it undertook an infinite journey of time ; and so it came to pass that, by going, it continued that life, whose plenitude it could not comprehend by staying.’
1 14 The Principal Upanisads
laws. If we neglect the laws of health, we injure our health; if we neglect the laws of morality, we wreck our higher life. Any rational conception of the universe, any spiritual con¬ ception of God requires us to recognise the utter and unques¬ tionable supremacy of law in shaping our conduct and character.
The law of Karma is not external to the individual. The judge is not without but within. The law by which virtue brings its triumph and ill-doing its retribution is the unfolding of the law of our being.1 The world order is a reflection of the Divine Mind. The Vedic gods were regarded as the maintainers of the order, rta of the world. They were the guardians oirta. God, for the Svetasvatara Upanis,ad, is the ordainer of karma, karmadhyaksah, God is law as well as love.2 3 His love is through law. The working of karma is wholly dispassionate, just, neither cruel nor merciful. Though we cannot escape from the workings of this principle, there is hope, for if man is what he has made himself, he may make himself what he will. Even the soul in the lowest condition need not abandon all hope. If we miss the right path, we are not doomed to an eternity of suffering. There are other existences by which we can grow into the knowledge of the Infinite Spirit with the complete assurance that we will ultimately arrive there. If there is a fundamental difference between Christianity .and Hinduism, it is said that it consists in this, that while the Hindu to whatever school he belongs believes in a succession of lives, the Christian believes that ‘it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment. '3
1 Cp. the words of a fine fragment of the lost Melanippe of Euripides. Dream you that men’s misdeeds fly up to Heaven And then some hand inscribes the record of them Upon God’s tablets; and God, reading them,
Deals the world justice? Nay, the vault of Heaven Could not find room to write the crimes of earth,
Nor God himself avail to punish them:
Justice is here on earth, had ye but eyes.
1 Cp. St. Paul: ‘Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God.’ Romans XI. 22.
3 John McKenzie: Two Religions (1950), p. 112. Some Western philosophers and early Christian theologians accept the principle of rebirth.
Introduction
ii5
Belief in rebirth has persisted, at any rate, from the time of the Upanisads. It is a natural development from the views of the Vedas and the Brahmanas and receives articulate expression in the Upanisads.1 After mentioning the dispersal of the mem¬ bers of the human body at death — the eye of man goes to the sun, the breath to the wind, speech to fire, the mind to the moon, the ear to the quarters of heaven, the body to the earth, the soul to the ether, the hair to the plants and trees, the blood and seed to the waters — Yajnavalkya is asked as to what remains of the individual. He takes the questioner apart, discusses with him in secret about the nature of work. In truth, a man becomes good by good works and evil by evil works.2 Our lives incarnate our characters.
The future of the soul is not finally determined by what it has felt, thought and done in this one earthly life. The soul has chances of acquiring merit and advancing to life eternal. Until the union with the timeless Reality is attained, there will be some form of life or other, which will give scope to the individual soul to acquire enlightenment and attain life eternal. Even as non-being is only an abstract lower limit of the existential order, absolute evil is also such a lower limit. Non-being, if it existed in itself diametrically opposed to being, would be completely destroyed. Such non-being is non-existent. Therefore as every existent thing has the form of the Divine, it has also the promise of good.
The Upanisads give us detailed descriptions of the manner in which a man dies and is born again. 3 The transition is illus¬ trated by certain examples. As a grass-hopper, when it has come to the end of a blade of grass, finds another place of support, and then draws itself towards it, similarly this self, after reaching the end of this body, finds another place of support and then draws himself towards it. As a goldsmith, after taking a piece of gold, gives it another, newer and more beautiful shape, similarly does this self, after having thrown off this body, and dispelled ignorance, take another, newer and more beautiful form, whether it be of the manes, or demigods or gods or of
1 See R.V. X. 16. 3. Satapatha Brahmana I. 5. 3. 4; X. 3. 3. 8.
> B.U. III. 2. 13.
3 See B.U. IV. 3. 37-38; IV. 4. 1-5 and 9. 7. See Katha I. 1. 5-6.
n6 The Principal Upanisads
Praja-pati or Brahma or of any other beings.1 These passages bring out several aspects of the theory of rebirth. The soul finds out its future body before it leaves the present one. The soul is creative in the sense that it creates a body. At every change of body, the soul takes a newer form. The state of each existence of the soul is conditioned and determined by its knowledge (vidya), its conduct (karma)2 * * 5 in the previous existence. From the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad it appears that all the organs accompany the departing soul, which enters into the samjhana and becomes possessed of knowledge and consciousness?, vijhana. The results of learning and conduct cling to the soul. 4
The ignorant, the unenlightened go after death to sunless demoniac regions. 5 The good are said to go up to regions which are sorrowless, through the air, sun, and moon.6 * The Chandogya Upanisad speaks of two ways open to mortals, the bright and the dark, the way of the gods7 and the way of the fathers.8 9 Those who practise penance and faith enter the path of light, and they never return to the cycle of human existence. Those who are only ethical, performing works of public utility, travel by the path of smoke, dwell in the world of the fathers till the time comes for them to fall down, then they are bom again according to their deserts. 9 The descriptions may be fictitious, but the principle of the ascent and the descent of the soul is what the Upanisads insist on. Beautiful characters attain covetable births and ugly ones miserable births.10 Heaven and hell belong to the world of time.
1 B.U. IV. 4. 3-5. ‘As a man puts on new clothes in this world, throwing away those which he formerly wore, even so the soul of man puts on new bodies which are in accordance with its acts in a former life.’ Visnu Smrti XX. 50. See B.G. II. 13, 22.
2 B.U. IV. 4." 2. 3 IV. 4. 3.
4 Cp. with this the Buddhist view that the migrating soul consists of
vijnana and the other four skandhas of vedana, feeling, samjnd, per¬ ception, sariiskdra or dispositions and rupa or corporeal form.
5 Ha 3. Katha I. 1.3. B.U. IV. 4. n.
^ B.U. V. 10. 1. 7 See R.V. X. 19. 1. B.G. VIII. 24-26.
8 C.U. IV. 15. 5-6. There are minor variations in the accounts of
C.U. and B.U. and K.U. I
9 C.U. V. 10. 1-6.
Introduction
ii 7
Rebirth is the lot of man until he obtains true knowledge. By virtuous acts he furthers his evolution. The reward of goodness is to grow in goodness. The reward of growing in purity of heart is to gain a clearer vision of reality. Knowledge of Reality leads to salvation.
It is sometimes suggested that the soul before undergoing rebirth experiences reward or punishment for its deeds in appropriate places. The original Vedic belief of reward in heaven or punishment gets mixed up with the doctrine of rebirth.1
The soul is said to be a very minute entity residing in the cavity of the heart and resembling in every respect, except size, the visible man.
The fact that the individual consciousness has for its essential reality the Universal Self implies the possibility that every human being can rend the veil of separateness and gain recog¬ nition of his true nature and oneness with all beings. The Upanisads develop this character of life eternal.
In the Rg Veda, what is aimed at is length of days on earth and life in the world of heaven in the company of gods. In the Brahmanas, the performers of various rites are promised the reward of community of being, companionship and fellowship with the gods.2 When the Absolute Brahman was recognised, the gods became intermediaries through whose influence the end of unity with the Absolute is obtained. When Brahman and Atman are identified, the highest goal is declared to be unity with the Self. Deliverance is different from existence in svarga or paradise. The latter is a part of the manifested world. The soul may live there for ages and yet return to earth, a heir to its deeds. Deliverance, on the other hand, is a state of permanent union with the Highest Self. Life in paradise is a prolongation
i B.U. VI. 2. C.U. V. 3-10.
1 Satapatha Brdhmana II. 6. 4. 8; XI. 4. 4. 1. 21; VI. 1. 2. 3.
n8 The Principal Upanisads
of self-centred life, while life eternal is liberation from it. While the former is time extended, the latter is time transcended.
Enlightenment does not mean a departure in space to a new abode. Arrival and departure have no meaning in the context of liberation. The passages where the soul is said to go by the veins to the rays of the sun and to the sun1 or from the moon through the worlds of fire, wind, Varuna, Indra and Praja-pati, to Brahman 2 speak of the soul on the pathway to perfection. The Chandogya Upanisad states that the soul of the emancipated, at death, goes out by the hundred and first vein through the crown of the head, fire, wind and sun to Brahman. 3
He who knows Brahman becomes Brahman. 4 Perfection is a state of mind, not contingent on change of time or place. It is an experience of the present, not a prophecy of the future. Temporal distinctions do not apply to it, but if any temporal terms are to be used, they will be words like ‘now,’ ‘presently,’ ‘When all desires that dwell in the human heart are cast away, then a mortal becomes immortal and (even) here he attaineth to Brahman.’ 5 Freedom is not a future state on whose coming we wait in expectation. It is life in the spirit, in God who is the foundation and power of life.6
• Katha III. n. 8. 1 K.U. I. 2.
3 C.U. VIII. 6. 6. K.U. VI. 16. Maitrl VI. 21.
4 B.U. IV. 4. 9. M.U. III. 2. 9. 5 Katha VI. 14.
6 The Christian scriptures say that ‘the Kingdom of God is among you.’ It lives and moves secretly here and now as the hidden ground overcoming Satan and the world.
Cp. moksasya na hi vaso’sti na gramantaram eva va ajhana-hrdaya-granthi-naso moksa iti smrtah.
Siva-gita XIII. 32.
Freedom is not in a particular place nor has one to go to some other village in order to obtain it; the destruction of the knot of ignorance round our hearts is known as freedom.
M.B. also tells us that the knower of Brahman has neither movement nor departure.
sarva-bhutatma-bhutasya samyag-bhutani paiyatah. devapi marge muhyanty a-padasya padaisinah.
‘He who has attained the state of the self of all beings, who has attained the perfect vision of all beings — about the path of such a person the gods themselves are perplexed, seeking to discover the place of one who has no place at all.’
Katha VI. 14. Cp. Kabir;
O Friend, hope for Him whilst you live, understand whilst you live;
for in life deliverance abides.
Introduction
Is moksa or liberation life with the Supreme Person whom we love and worship in this life?1 Is it personal immortality with absolute likeness to God in the world of Brahma?2 Is it an impersonal absorption in the Divine Transcendent ?3 All these views are to be found in the Upanisads. There are four aspects of release distinguished as samipya or intimacy with the divine, sarupya or sadharmya, similarity of nature with the divine, reflecting his glory, salokya or conscious co¬ existence with the divine in the same world and sdyujya or communion with the divine bordering on identity.
There are certain general characteristics of the state of moksa or freedom. It is conceived as freedom from subjection to time. 4 As birth and death are the symbols of time, life eternal or moksa is liberation from births and deaths. It is the fourth state of consciousness beyond the three worlds, what the Bhagavad-gita calls para-mam brahma or brahma-nirvana. 5 It is freedom from subjection to the law of karma. The deeds, good or bad, of the released cease to have any effect on him.6 Even as a horse shakes its mane, the liberated soul shakes off his sin; even as the moon comes out entire after having suffered
If your bonds be not broken, whilst living, what hope of deliverance in
death ?
It is but an empty dream that the soul shall have union with Him
because it has passed from the body;
If He is found now, He is found then;
If not, we do but go to dwell in the city of Death.
E.T. by Rabindranath Tagore.
‘What then is our course, what the manner of our flight (to the Fatherland whence we have come?’) asks Plotinus and answers: ‘This is not a journey for the feet; the feet bring us only from land to land; nor need you think of coach or ship to carry you away; all this order of things you must set aside and refuse to see ; you must close the eyes and call instead upon another vision which is to be waked within you, a vision, the birthright of all, which few turn to use.’ Enneads I. 6. 8.
* C.U. III. 20. 2. * M.U. III. 1. 3; III. 2. 6-8.
3 Pra6na VI. 5. 4 Atharva Veda X. 8. 44.
5 In Buddhist texts it is nirvana dhatu beyond the three worlds. In the Atharva Veda IV. 14. 3, the fourth sphere is svar, the light beyond the triad of prthivi, antariksa and dyaus. The Brahmanas are concerned only with the sphere of the gods. On the matter of the fourth transcen¬ dent sphere they sometimes adopt an agnostic attitude.
anadhva vai tad yad iman lokan ati caturtham asti va na va. Satapatha Brahmana I. 2. 1. 12; 4. 21.
120 The Principal Upanisads
an eclipse from Rahu, so does the liberated individual free himself from mortal bondage.1 His works consume themselves like a reed stalk in the fire.2 As water does not stop on the lotus leaf, works do not cling to him. 3 Works have a meaning only for a self-centred individual. Liberation is the destruction of bondage, which is the product of ignorance. 4 Ignorance is destroyed by knowledge and not by works. 5 Freedom is not a created entity; it is the result of recognition.
Knowledge takes us to the place where desire is at rest, a-kdma, where all desires are fulfilled, dpta-kama, where the self is the only desire, atma-kamap He who knows himself to be all can have no desire. When the Supreme is seen, the knots of the heart are cut asunder, the doubts of the intellect are dispelled and the effects of our actions are destroyed. 7 There can be no sorrow or pain or fear when there is no other. The freed soul is like a blind man who has gained his sight, a sick man made whole. He cannot have any doubt for he is full and abiding knowledge. He attains the highest bliss for which a feeble analogy is married happiness. He can attain any world he may seek.8
The law of Karma prevails in the world of samsara, where our deeds lead us to higher or lower stations in the world of time. If we obtain knowledge of the eternal reality, Brahman or Atman, deeds have no power over us. The state of life eternal is said to be beyond good and evil. The knower of the self ceases to be stained by action. 9 He goes beyond the ethical, though rooted in it,10 anyatra dharmat, anyatradharmat. The
■ C.U. VIII. * C.U. V. 24. 3. 3 C.U. IV. 14. 3.
4 bandhana-nasa eva hi moksah na karyabhutah. $. on B.U. III. 3. 1.
5 ntokso na karma-sadhyah avidyastamayaivat. A. on B.U. III. 3. 1.
6 Satapatha Brahmana X. 5. 4. 15. B.U. III. 4. 2; IV. 4. 12.
7 M.U. II. 2. 8. '8 M.U. III. 1. 10.
9 Taittiriya Brahmana III. 12. 9. 8.
>0 Katha, II. 14; see also C.U. VIII. 4. 1; M.U. III. 1. 3; K.U. I. 4.
Cp. The Buddha. Majjhima Nikaya I. 135. ‘If you understand the parable of the raft, you must discard dharma, and adharma.’
John III. 9. 'Whoever is born of God, cannot sin.’
Galatians V. 18. ‘If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.'
Eckhart. ‘There neither vice nor virtue ever entered in.’ Dr. W. R. Inge, writing on Christian Mystics, pointed out that the illumination of
Introduction
path of virtue and vice is a means, not an end. The end is beyond the law of injunction and prohibition of good and evil.1 Our activities, being inspired by the divine cannot be wrong’; ‘Nous is never wrong,’ says Aristotle.2 The life of a free spirit is not bound by any formulas. It breaks its bonds and finds its own way to a development of its own which could never have been charted in advance. The liberated spirit conforms spon¬ taneously to the ethical rules. ‘To one who has knowledge of the self, non-hatred and other virtues come off naturally without any effort’. 3 Every religion sets before us the goal of liberation, which has a sense of exaltation, a sense of freedom and victory over the world, over evil and death.
When we are delivered in life, our condition is that of the jivan-mukta , who is freed from the bonds of conditioned exist¬ ence^ His appearance continues without much outer change. His embodied state does not affect the being whom it clothes, as he has complete control over the bodily frame and knows its externality. Though tossed in the welter he retains his vision. While jlvan-mukti is deliverance during life, videha-mukti is
the mystic, has ‘strictly speaking no moral side; for morality, in the ordinary sense, is left behind. As the anonymous French mystic who wrote The Mirror of Simple Souls puts it: “Virtues, I take leave of you. Henceforth I shall be more free and more at peace. Once I was your servant, now I am delivered from your thraldom!’’ . . . What he means is that in the higher stage morality has become autonomous and spon¬ taneous. . . . God’s service has become perfect freedom.’ Church Family Newspaper. July 6, 1923.
1 In Majjhima-Nikaya (II. 22 ff.) it is said that arrival ( patipanna ) in¬ volves a destruction without residue of good and bad conduct ( kusala and akusala sila). It is an eradication of all ethical values. In the parable of the raft ( Majjhima I. 135, 260 and Sutta Nipata 21) the distinction of right and wrong, the exercise of the discriminatory consciousness are of no more use to one who has crossed to th£ other shore than a boat would be to one who has reached shore. These values are for crossing over, not for possession, nittkaranatthaya, na gahanatthaya. St. Augustine points out that one should ‘no longer use the law as means of arrival when one has arrived.’ De Spir. et Lit. 16.
1 De Anima III. 10. 433. A.
3 utpannatma-prabodhasya tv advestrtvadayo gunah. ayatnato bhavanty asya na tu sadhana-rupinah .
Suresvaracarya’s Naiskarmya-siddhi IV. 69.
4 As the slough of a snake might lie on an ant-hill dead and cast away, even so does his body lie. Being verily bodiless, he becomes immortal, says the Upanisad.
122 The Principal Upanisads
deliverance after death, when out of bodily form. In either case the soul is freed from conditioned existence.
There is the suggestion about krama-mukti or gradual release. When the release is only partial and temporary, the individual soul descends again into the egoistic life and the higher con¬ sciousness is withdrawn from him. The memory of that experi¬ ence, however, will work its way, until the impurities are removed.
The different emphases we find in the Upanisads, in regard to the state of freedom, can be understood if we bear in mind the integral or fourfold character of Brahman. In some passages oneness with Brahman is stressed; in others communion with the Supreme Person and in still others devotion to the Cosmic Spirit and participation in the work of the world. Union with God may take many forms. When the outer self is hushed, the deeper layers of consciousness are released into activity, the self may enter into the silence of the Absolute Brahman or into communion with the Eternal Person or be transported into the beatific embrace of the Cosmic Spirit. The soul may pass through various realms of spirit, bathing in their light and feeding on their bliss.
Yajnavalkya centres his attention on oneness with the Absolute Brahman, a state where there is no desire, there is no passion, not even any consciousness, pretya samjha nasti.1 When honey is prepared by the collection of various juices, the latter cannot discriminate from which trees they were drawn; even so when the souls are merged in the Real, they cannot discriminate from which bodies they come.2 The self rises above the distinction of subject and object which characterises all empirical consciousness. It is altogether time-transcending. This is impersonal immortality where the soul achieves abso¬ luteness, unconditioned being. 3 It is illumined consciousness
1 B.U. II. 4. 12; IV. 5. 13. * C.U. VI. 6. 10. B.U. IV. 3. 21.
3 Cp. Viveka-cudamani, ascribed to S. It also occurs in Gaudapada’s Karika, on Md.U.
na nirodho na cotpattir na baddho na ca sadhakah na mumuksur na vai mukta ity esa paramarthata.
There is no destruction, nor is there origination. There is no one bound nor is there one practising discipline. There is no seeker of freedom nor is there the freed. Such is the highest state.
Introduction
and not oblivion of consciousness. It is not a void of immobile peace where all is lost and everything is extinct. This is only one aspect of deliverance.
There is also the account where the self becomes one with the Supreme Person. He who knows ‘I am Brahman,’ becomes the universe. Even the gods cannot prevent him from becoming the universe for he is its soul.1 Man has potential universality which he actualises in the state of liberation. We are one with the indeterminate pure silence in essence and with the personal Lord in the liberty of cosmic manifestation. Out of the peace and poise of Brahman arises the free activity of the liberated individual. Essential unity with God is unity with one another through God. In the sense of heightened awareness we do not forget the world, which seems strangely of one piece. We are lifted out of provincialism into perspective, as we become aware of something vaster, profounder, more ultimate than the world.2
‘When the mind returns to its natural abode there is neither the path nor anyone who traverses it.’
citte tu vai pardvrtte na yanarh no ca yayinah.
Lankavatara Sutra. Sylvain Levi’s ed., p. 322.
Nirvana is defined as the absence of the distinction of knower and knowable, grahya-grahaka-rahitata. Negative descriptions of nirvana abound in Madhyamaka-Vrtti.
aprahinam asampraptam anucchinnam aiasvatam aniruddham anutpannam etat nirvanam ucyate.
Cp. Buddhatvam,
na bhdvo napi cabhavo buddhatvam tena kathyate tasmad buddha-tatha-prasne avyakrtamayo matah.
Mahaydna Sutrdlarhkara. See also 22 and 26.
na iuddha nasuddha buddhata naikata na bahuta.
See also
yasmin sarvam idam protarh jagat sthavara jangamam tasminn eva lay am yati budbudah sagare yatha. 1 1 .
All this universe, movable and immovable is interwoven in him. They all merge in him like bubbles in the sea. Culika U. 17.
"To be refunded into Brahman as an earthen vessel is refunded into its own causal substance, i.e. clay, means nothing else but complete annihilation.” R.B. I. 3. 21. 1 B.U. I. 4. 10.
2 Cp. Plotinus: ‘We see all things, not in process of becoming, but in being and see themselves in the other. Each being contains in itself the whole intelligible world. Therefore All is everywhere. Each is there All, and All is each. Man, as he now is, has ceased to be the All. But when he ceases to be an individual, he raises himself again and penetrates the whole world.’
124 77^ Principal Upanisads
Rule over oneself, svarajya, becomes rule over the world, samrajya. Salvation is sarvatma-bhava.1
When the mind assumes the form of the Supreme through the power of meditation we have samprajhata-samadhi, when the individual is aware that his consciousness has assumed the nature of Brahman P But when all consciousness of external objects in the waking state due to the functioning of the senses, of internal objects in the dream state due to the functioning of mind, or of the unmanifested in the state of dreamless sleep is absent, we have a-samprajhata-samadhi. 3 While in the former our awareness is of God, in the latter it is of the Absolute.
There are passages'* which suggest that the released self retains its own form freed from the imperfections of the empirical ego and' untouched by worldly pleasure and pain. 5 Yet other pas¬ sages affirm the presence of such qualities. They cannot there¬ fore be incompatible with pure intelligence. Such is the view of Badara.yafia-6 The liberated self’s desires are fulfilled by its mere will. 7 The self is spoken of as sinless and one with the highest Person. Non-separation or avibhaga from Brahman is
Referring to the desire of Eckhart to be the one, undivided, eternal, imperishable Godhead which is wholly being, wholly spirit, wholly joy, Rudolf Otto observes, ‘this differs fundamentally and essentially from the simpler Christian conception of salvation to which it must always seem an extravagance, a Titanic pride and a transgression of the impos¬ sible limitations of the creature, a Faustian urge as we call it to-day.’ Mysticism: East and West, p. 181.
1 ‘This (universe) is myself who am all this, identity with all is his highest state, the self’s own natural, supreme state.’
aham evedarn sarvo'smiti manyate so yah sarvatma-bhavah, so’syatmanah paramo lokah, parama atma-bhavah svabhavikah. S.B. on B.U. IV. 3. 20. sarvaikatvam evasya rupam. IV. 3. 21. yat svarupam purnatvam para- matma-bhavam. V. 1. 1.
2 brahmakara-mano-vrtti-pravaho’hamkrtim vina samprajhata-samadhis syad dhyanabhyasa-prakarsatah
Muktika U. II. 53.
3 prabha-sunyam manah-sunyam buddhi-sunyam cid-atmakam.
atad-vyavrtti-rupo’ sau samadhir muni-bhdvitah.
ibid. II. 54.
4 C.U. III. 14. 1 ; see also VII. 1. 5; VII. 2. 2; VII. 3. 1.
5 Though endowed with divine qualities Audulomi contends that the
nature of the liberated self is pure intelligence and it cannot have the qualities which are dependent on limiting adjuncts. B.S. IV. 4. 6, upadhi-sambandhadhinatvat tesam na caitanyavat svarupatva-sambhavah. S.B. IV. 4-6. 6 B.S. IV. 4. 7. 7 B.S. IV. 4. 8. C.U. VIII. 2. 1.
Introduction
suggested in many passages.1 Non-separation is not absolute identity. The liberated self has no other overlord, anyadhipatih.2 There are passages where the self is said to possess adjuncts, which make for individuality and others where these are denied. Badarayana reconciles the two views by affirming that the assumption or non-assumption of individual form is entirely a matter of option for the released soul. 3 It can, if it so chooses, enter into many bodies created by its own will even as the flame of a lamp can convert itself into several flames. 4
In the Aitar ey a Ar any aka it is said that Vamadeva ascended from this world and attained immortality in yonder world of heaven. 5 The Kausitaki Upanisad gives us an account of the world of Brahma with the Aparajita palace, the tree Ilya, the Salajya city and the sea Ara. The passages of the Upanisads which make out that the reward of enlightenment is heaven in one form or another have in mind co-residence with Brahma or Hiranya-garbhap The Brahma Sutra discusses the question whether those who go by the path of the gods reach the world of Hiranya-garbha Brahma or become one with Isvara. Badari holds that they reach the world of Hiranya-garbha, for only to his world is going possible. £amkara says, 'The created Brahma has a specific locality and so can be the goal of a journey but not the Supreme Brahman who is present everywhere and is the inner self of the travelling individual selves. ’7 When we reach brahma-loka, we continue to function there until the end of the process, when along with Brahma, we enter the Supreme Brahman. 8 Sarhkara thinks that all this refers to gradual
> B.S. IV. 4. 4. S.B. IV. 4-6. * B.S. IV. 4-9.
3 B.S. IV. 4-12 . yada sasariratarh samkalpayati tada. sasariro bhavati , yada tu a-sariratam tada asarirah iti bhavah. S.B. IV. 4. 12.
4 B.S. IV. 4. 15. yatha pradipah ekah aneka-pradipa-bhavam apadyate vikara-sakti-yogat, evam ekah. api san muktdtmd aisvarya-yogat aneka- bhdvam apadya sarvani samkalpa-srstani sarirani avisaii. S.B. IV. 4. 15.
5 II. 5. «' See B.U. IV. 3. 15. C.U. VIII. 12. 3.
7 karya-brahmanah eva gantavyatvam upapadyate pradesavatvat, na tu parasmin brahmani tasya sarva-gatatvdt gantrnarh pratyagatmatvdc ca. S.B. IV. 3. 7.
8 See PraSna. V. 5. Cp. also:
brahmand saha te sarve sampraple pratisahcare, parasyante krtatmdnah pr avis anti par am padam.
When the dissolution of the world takes place the selves with their natures fulfilled enter the highest plane along with Brahma.
126 The Principal Upanisads
release, krama-mukti.1 Jaimini holds that the liberated souls enter the highest Brahman ? Badarayana is of the view that those who meditate on symbols go to the world of the symbols and not to the world of Brahma.
Even as we have the fourfold nature of the Supreme, the liberated individual has different aspects of utter peace, pure energy, devotion to the Cosmic Spirit and participation in the world. He looks at the world and is lost in it, as it is a perpetual striving to raise itself above itself.3
When we refer to Absolute Brahman, we emphasise the illumined quiescence, the non-objective consciousness in which there is a total extinction of sorrow and evil, the pure bliss infinitely surpassing all human joys, far exceeding the power of man to conceive. This very insight makes the self one with the Supreme and all existences. Only we are no more bound to them in a false relation. In our transfigured consciousness where our egoistic individuality is absent, we are not divided from others but feel one with them. Our real self is no more the individual, mental being, but is one with the Self behind the mental forms of all other selves. Our body, life, mind are no more binding, but become the transparent vehicle of our divine consciousness. When that end is reached we are a true becoming of the Divine, a free movement of the Universal Spirit. Our body, life and mind, we feel, are one with the cosmic body, life and mind. 4 Our spirit fills the whole world. By knowing the eternal we understand the true nature of God, the world and the individual.
Spiritual wisdom ( vidyd ) does not abolish the world, but removes our ignorance ( avidyd ) of it. When we rise to our true being, the selfish ego falls away from us and the true integral
1 S.B. IV. 3. 11. 2 B.S. IV. 3. 12-14.
3 Communing in this sort through earth and heaven With every form of creature, as it looked Towards the Uncreated with a countenance Of adoration, with an eye of love.
Wordsworth.
4 Cp. Traherne: ‘You never enjoy the world aright till the sea itself floweth in your veins, till you are clothed with the heavens and crowned with the stars; and perceive yourself to be the sole heir of the whole world, and more than so, because men are in it who are everyone sole heirs as well as you. . .
Introduction
self takes possession of us. We continue to live and act in the world, though with a different outlook. The world also continues, though it is no more alien to us. To live permanently in this new consciousness is to live in eternity.
Possessing the immortality of non-birth, the redeemed self still assumes, by free volition an individual form in the mani¬ fested world. Birth is a becoming of the Supreme in the cosmic being. This becoming is not inconsistent with Being. It becomes a means and not an obstacle to the enjoyment of life eternal. To be released from the chain of birth and death is not to flee from the world of becoming. Bondage does not consist in the assumption of birth or individuality, but in the persistence of the ignorant sense of the separate, selfish ego. It is not the embodiment that creates the bondage but the frame of mind. To the free spirit life has no terrors. He wishes to conquer life for God. He uses the world as the mould and condition for the manifestation of his spiritual freedom. He may assume birth for the purpose of helping the world.1 There will be individualisa¬ tion without an ego-sense. The play of the individual conscious¬ ness can take many forms, assume many aspects and poises. All through, however, he lives in the truth of the cosmic play with no delusion, released from ego, in full control of the manifested being.
The individual soul is eternal. It endures throughout the cosmic process. It commences at birth as the inheritor of the previous person and survives physical death in an altered form. For the self that has realised perfection the body ceases to be a burden. He lives in the flesh but not after the flesh.
The individual is an aspect of the Transcendent in the universe and when liberated from all limitations, he acts with his centre in the Supreme. The inner peace is manifested in the joyous freedom of outer activity. He will be at work in the world though he cannot wish to do any evil.1 He can do any action, for he does it disinterestedly.3 The desires of those whose thoughts are fixed on the Supreme do not bind. 4 The freed soul
1 lokanugraha evaiko hetus te janma-karmanoh. Kalidasa: Raghu-vamsa X. 31. ‘God so loved the world that he gave.’ John: III. 16.
2 B.U. IV. 4. 23. 3 lia. 2.
na mayy avesita-dhiyam kamah kdmaya kalpait.
The Principal Upanisads
does not aim at the improvement of humanity, but his life itself is a service. His renunciation has become the natural consequence of his wisdom. The Chandogya Upanisad dis¬ tinguishes desires that bind from the desires that liberate, and speaks of the Supreme Self as desiring and purposing truth.1
Samkara argues that the co-existence of karma or work, in¬ volving, as it does, the distinction of doer and the thing done, with the knowledge of the identity of the individual self with the Supreme, which negatives all such distinctions, is incon¬ ceivable.2 It is only self-centred action that becomes impossible. The liberated individual becomes active in God. God is born in us, i.e. becomes active in us, when all powers of the soul, which hitherto have been bound and imprisoned, become liberated and set free. ‘For we are his offspring. ’3 God becomes the centre of the free man’s life so that love is radiated and good works spring forth spontaneously. He is as unconscious of the power of his life as life itself, which springs, blossoms and puts forth its life’s work in a free outpouring with no reflection on the why or the wherefore. He lives out of his own depths, and life wells up out of itself. In a sense, he is not the doer. He has become one with the Universal Self, possessed by the Trans¬ cendent; he is udasina or unattached. The Universal Self has taken sovereign possession of the individual soul. When the individual soul ascends into the silence it becomes’ vast, tran¬ quil, actionless. It observes the actions of prakrti without taking part in them. There is no personal factor, and therefore there is no bondage.
Those who have attained life eternal live and wander about
1 satyak-amah, satya-amkalpah. VIII. i. 5. 6. ‘This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God.’ Richard of St. Victor says: ‘The soul utterly puts off itself (i.e. its self-centred desires) and puts on divine love ; and being conformed to that beauty which it has beheld, it utterly passes into that other glory.’
2 Introduction to Kena.
3 ‘I do nothing of myself’ (John VIII. 18). ‘Not what I will but what thou wilt’ (Mark XIV. 36). Bcehme said: ‘Thou shalt do nothing but forsake thy own will, viz. that which thou callest “I” or “thyself.” By which means all thy evil properties will grow weak, faint and ready to die ; and then thou wilt sink down again into that one thing, from which thou art originally sprung.’ Discourse between Two Souls.
Introduction
in the world, to all appearance, like ordinary mortals. They wear no special signs. Only their activities are centred in the highest being and are completely under their control, which is not so for those who live in the world of samsara. They are tolerant, sympathetic and respectful to the unliberated who are struggling with unsatisfied minds to diminish the evil and imperfection in the world. These are helped by the seers who accept the conventions with the idea of refining them. They live and suffer and rejoice and die as other mortals do, but they have no doubt in their minds, no fear in their hearts. For the liberated soul, samsara and moksa or nirvana as the Buddhists call it, time and eternity, the phenomenal and the real, are one. Though the liberated soul lives in the world of becoming, he lives with his consciousness centred in the Divine ground of all being. As a matter of fact, his consciousness, because it is centred in God, is intensified, and so his life in the world is more vital. Holy calm, supreme self-mastery and righteous action charac¬ terise the lives of saints. They become a light, a power of the Truth to which they have struggled and attained, and help the development of others.1 They will be engaged in the work of the world,2 sustained by their rare vision, until the struggle with evil and imperfection is altogether overcome and the world is restored to spirit.
Whether after liberation one takes an active interest in the world or renounces it is a matter of temperament. Yajnavalkya chooses to retire to the forest, while Janaka rules a state. Whatever they do, they help those like us who are lost in the world of sorrow and suffering. Though embodiment or dis¬ embodiment makes no difference to the liberated souls, as they are filled with compassion, they take up the burden of the world. According to Viveka-cudamani , ‘Themselves having crossed over, they remain out of compassion for men and in
1 Aryadeva in his Citta-visuddhi-prakarana says that the great souls who have won the tierce battle of life attempt to save others :
mahd-sattvo maho-payah sthira-buddhir atantritah jitva dustara-samgramam idrayed aparan api.
1 For Kabir the true saint is one 'who requireth thee not to close the doors, to hold the breath, and to renounce the world . . . who teacheth thee to be still amidst all thine activities.’
130 The Principal Upanisads
order to help them also to make the crossing.’1 Until all people are redeemed, the liberated work in the world assuming indi¬ vidual forms which are the vestures of spiritual life. Spirit and material existence, dnanda and anna, are the highest and lowest rungs of a continuous series. There is a link between the two. Even as the eternal Divine is able to hold the whole universe within itself while remaining pure spirit, the soul that is one with the Eternal possesses the same poise, with reference to the indi¬ vidual setting. It is no more ignorantly immersed in the mutable creation. It exists consciously in its true being while using the psycho-physical apparatus, which it does not any more mistake for its true being. While the liberated retain the con¬ sciousness of the transcending, self-existent, timeless, they identify their being with the Infinite God in whom all existences dwell.
Again and again, the Upanisads stress that we should see all existences in the Self and the Self in all existences. Even as the Supreme is all these existences, we also should acquire the right relation to the world. Perfect fulfilment of our indi¬ viduality means the perfect fulfilment of our relations with the world and the other individuals. We are called upon to over¬ come not only our separate egoistic existence but also our life in a paradise of self-absorbed bliss. The perfected soul cannot look with indifference on the sufferings of the imperfect, for they are also his own self. He would work to lift them into freedom. It is not now a function of altruism but is the life divine, the integral way. He will work until all beings in the manifested world are fulfilled. The liberated individuals are released from their individuality at the close of creation.
Brahma-loka is the widest possible integration of cosmic experience, the farthest limit of manifested being. Brahma is the soul that ensouls this great dwelling. He is the true life of every being. He endures during the whole period of the cosmos. Beyond it there is nothing in the manifested world. It is not
1 According to Vyasa’s Yoga Bhasya (1. 24), God is permanently associated with iuddhantah-karana. If God who is the eternally free can have an inner organ, the freed men can also have it.
Cp. Chuang Tzu: ‘The sages of old first got Tao for themselves, then got it for others. ’
Introduction
the eternal beyond the empirical. It is the farthest limit of manifestation. When the world receives its consummation, when it is delivered from time to eternity, then there is the flight of the alone to the Alone. The plan of God for the world, which was before creation is carried out, for He is the beginning and the end of the world.1 The Cosmic Lord has his exteriorised existence and his interior life. When he turns outward the cosmos is evolved; when he turns his attention inward, the cosmos retreats into latency and the manifested world ter¬ minates. When the world is redeemed, the Supreme Lord becomes the Absolute One, alone, and knows nothing else.
In the 'Bralima-loka the liberated individuals present to each other as one. They are manifold in the cosmic process. Their consciousness of the Supreme which is lodged in the buddhi is one and not divided among the bodily forms. This identical consciousness is associated with different bodies. This mani¬ foldness does not take away from the unity of the divine being. Until the final return of the whole universe into the Abso¬ lute, until the purpose of God before the creation is carried out, the individuals, freed from bondage to matter, will retain their distinctiveness without being sundered by boundaries. When the two poles of being are reconciled, when all individuals rise above the plane of quality, with its ego sense, struggling aspiration and imperfect love, the world lapses into the Absolute.2
The Upanisads use the inherited forms of religious worship as means for the realisation of the Supreme. The Vedic mantras are addressed to various powers, symbolic of important aspects, of the Supreme Reality. They teach the religion of sraddha,
1 Cp. The Cosmic Christ speaking through Jesus, ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last; for what was first comes at last and the last is the first.’
2 In another place I have said that the universe is not an illusion utterly devoid of reality but the working out of a possibility of the Divine which is infinite possibility. This world of ours is not the only possibility and other possibilities will unfold themselves when this is worked out. An Idealist View of Lite, Fourth Impression, 1951, p. 343.
132 The Principal Upanisads
faith and upasana, worship. The Brahmanas deal with rites, and by their performance we are said to gain our ends. Both these methods are taken up by the Upanisads and reinterpreted.
While the Upanisads recognise that deliverance is the supreme end of life, they are aware that many are not ready for the supreme sacrifice, the dying to their ego. They need some preparation for it. They ask for emotional satisfactions, and for their sake devotional and ritualistic practices are tolerated. They are not useless, for they lead us on by the upward path by directing our minds and hearts to the reality of the Eternal Being and gradually take us out of ourselves into the true religion of the spirit.1 Till the goal is reached, the law of Karma works, and we get the rewards for our worship and piety according to the intensity of our faith and devotion.
The different forms of sraddha or faith, upasana or worship, and practices of yoga are treated as means to the supreme end of self-knowledge or atma-darsana, which is at once a union with the one transcendent Being beyond all the worlds and a union with all beings in the world.
Again and again the Upanisads speak of the God who is hidden, nihitam guhayam. God is not easily comprehended. There is a certain element of reserve in God as distinct from His revelation. The reserve is there because man has to put forth effort to know the Divine. God does not wish to relieve us of our responsibility. As His purpose is the development of free human personalities, He does not disclose himself to us easily and openly. He remains shrouded in mystery, and yields only when our total self yearns for God.2
1 A second century Christian apologist said: ‘Among us you will find uneducated persons and artisans and old women, who, if they are unable in words to prove the benefit of our doctrine, yet by their deeds exhibit the benefit arising from their persuasion of its truth; they do not rehearse speeches but exhibit good works; when struck they do not strike again; when robbed they do not go to law ; they give to those that ask of them, and love their neighbours as themselves.’ Quoted in Cambridge Review. February 14, 1948, p. 348.
1 'O Rama, the Supreme is pleased with him who is ever endowed with non-violence, truthfulness, compassion and kindness to all creatures.’
ahmsa satya-vacanam daya bhiitesv anugrahah, yasyaildni sada rama, tasya tusyati kesavah.
Visnu-dharmottara I. 38.
Introduction
Three stages are mentioned as preparatory to God-vision (brahma-sdksdtkdra) , sravana or hearing, manana or reflection, and nididhyasana or contemplation. The first step is to learn what has been thought and said about the subject from teachers. We should listen to them with sraddha or faith.1 Faith is an act of will, a yearning of the heart rather than an intellectual disposi¬ tion. It is faith in the existence of the beyond, astikya-buddhi as Samkara calls it.2 We should have faith in the integrity of the seers whose selflessness has enabled them to know the nature of Ultimate Reality by direct acquaintance. The propositions they have formulated from out of their personal experience give us knowledge by description, as we do not yet have direct vision of the truth. Yet the knowledge we acquire by hearsay or report is not unverifiable. The truth of the Vedic propositions can be verified by us, if we are prepared to fulfil the necessary conditions.
In the second stage of manana or reflection we attempt to form clear ideas by the logical processes of inference, analogy, etc. So long as faith is firm, the need for philosophy is not felt. With the decline of faith, the spirit of inquiry increases. Un¬ questioning belief in the inherent power of knowledge underlies the whole intellectual fabric of the Upanisads. The truth of the Vedic propositions can, however, be inferred by us by logical processes. Hearing of the scriptures is not devoid of intellectual content. He who hears understands up to a point. But when he reflects on what he hears, he adds to faith a knowledge which increases faith. There is great insistence on the need for logical inquiry. 3 Without it faith will degenerate into credulity. Without the material supplied by faith, logical reason may become mere speculation. While the scriptures declare the truth by enunciation, philosophy establishes it by argument.
^arhkara says, ‘When the two, scripture and reasoning,
1 guru-vedanta-vakyesu visvdsah. 2 S. on Katha I. 1. 2.
3 Wisdom cannot be attained by any means other than inquiry.
nolpadyate vina jnanam vicar enany asadhanaih . S.
Vasistha says: 'The word even of a child, if it is reasonable, should be accepted. All else should be rejected even if it be said by the Creator.’ yukii-yuktam apadeyam vacanam balakad api. any at trnam iva lyajyam apy uktam padma-janmand.
134 The Principal Upanisads
demonstrate the unity of the self it is seen clearly as a bael fruit in the palm of one’s hand.’1 There are many for whom the Supreme is not an immediately experienced fact; nor are they willing to accept its validity on the authority of the scriptures. For them logical arguments are necessary.
The distinction between iruti, what is heard, and smrti, what is remembered, between direct experience and traditional interpretation, is based on the distinction between sravana and manana. The deposit of experience is not the same as the conclusions of theology. The primary data are the sruti : they are experiential; the formulated conclusions are secondary interpretations. The one represents the evidence, the other records a doctrine. When there is a dispute between the two we get back to the evidence. It is always open to review the evi¬ dence afresh. The doctrinal statements are conditioned by the historical situations in which they are produced. We must be able to get behind the propositions to the events they describe, stand in the tension between the data and the interpretations, if we are to understand the significance of the doctrines. The defect of all scholasticism, Indian or European, is that it tends to regard itself as a cold, bloodless logic which moves from one position to another with a remorseless rigour. Life is the master of thought and not thought of life.
Logical knowledge acquired by a study of the scriptures and reflection on their teaching is only indirect knowledge. It is not a direct grasp of reality. Thought must pass into realisa¬ tion. The ideas of the Upanisads should be imaginatively and inwardly apprehended. They should be allowed to sink deep and simmer before they are re-created in life. Nididhyasana is the process by which intellectual consciousness is transformed into a vital one. We give up the pride of learning and concentrate on the truth.2 Faith becomes
1 agamopapatll hyatmaikatva-prakdsanaya pravrtte saknutah karatala- gata-bilvam iva darsayitum. §>. on B.U. III. i. i.
1 vihdya sarva-sdstrdni yat satyarn tad upasyatam. Uttara Gita.
Even if we study the Vedic texts and all the scriptures we cannot know the truth of reality if we are the victims of intellectual pride.
adhltya caturo vedan sarva-sastrany anekasah brahma-taltvam na jdnanti darpopahata-cetasah.
Muktikd U. II. 65.
Introduction 135
reality in us by the steady concentration of mind on the real.1
Nididhyasana or contemplation is different from upasana or worship. Worship is an aid to contemplation, though it is not itself contemplation. In worship there is the distinction between the worshipping self and the worshipped object, but in con¬ templation this distinction is held in suspense. There is a still¬ ness, a calm, in which the soul lays itself open to the Divine. Intellect, becomes like a calm sea without a ripple on its surface.
Meditation is not argument. It is just holding oneself steadily in front of the truth.2 The whole energy of the mind is centred on the object to the exclusion of all else. We let the full flavour of the idea meditated on expand in the mind. Even upasana is defined as the continued flow of an identical current of thought. 3 It is also of the nature of meditation. 4 We can practise meditation in any direction, place or time in which we can concentrate our mind. 5 Here the process of abstraction, isolating the self from the objective, is employed. Concentration, is the condition of prayer. More than condition it is itself prayer In prayer we must dismiss all distracting ideas, disturbing influ¬ ences and retire within oneself. We are asked to retire to a field or a forest where the world and its noise are out of sight and far away, where the sun and the sky, the earth and the water all speak the same language, reminding the seeker that he is here to develop like the things that grow all around him.
In all the three stages, a teacher may be found useful. Only
Cp. also Bunyan:
Seest thou a man wise in his own eyes.
There is more hope of a fool than of him.
1 nididhyasanam sad-ekartha-vrtti-pravciham.
1 In ancient Greek thought, theory meant not hypothesis but con¬ templation, the act not of a speculator but of a spectator. It is not the result of investigation as that of the process of investigating, the beholding itself. Theory provides the necessary basis for effective realisation. The Greek usage brings out that no realisation can be attempted without an adequate theoretical preparation.
3 samana-pratyaya-pravaha-karanam upasanam. S.B. IV. 1, 7.
4 dhyana-rupa. S.B. IV. 1. 8.
5 yatra diii dese kale va sadhakasya ekagrata bhavali tatra eva upaslta. S B. IV. 1. 11.
136 The Principal Upanisads
those who act in the right way are th e deary as.1 fsamkarananda distinguishes three kinds of disciples. He who understands what is taught along with the proof, when he hears only once, is the good pupil ; he who understands it only after hearing many times and after giving himself and his teacher much trouble is the bad pupil. He who understands what the teacher says but cannot control his own mind, he is the middling. The last are to be led to firm conviction by various means.2
The truth can be taught only up to a point. It has to be assimilated by personal effort, by self-discipline. Yoga is a term that signifies the method of concentrations by which we attain to unity with the Eternal. 4 The practice of yoga is mentioned in the Upanisads. In the Katha we are asked to suppress speech and mind, merge the latter in the knowledge self, that in the great self, that in the tranquil self, the Absolute. The highest stage is attained when the five senses, mind and intellect are at rest. 5 The Svetasvatara Upanisad gives detailed directions on
1 svayarn dcarate yas tu acaryas so’bhidhiyate.
Cp. Chaucer’s poor parson of a town:
This noble ensample to his sheep he yaf
That first he wroghte, and afterwards he taughte.
The Bhagavata says: ‘The seeker of the highest truth and supreme good should seek guidance from a teacher who has mastered the Vedic texts and realised the self.
tasmad gururn prapadyeta jijnasuh Sreya uttamam sabde pare ca nisndtarh brahmany upasamasrayam.
2 yah sakrd-uktarh sopapattikarh grhnati sa uttamah, yas tu anekaia ucyamanam atmanam gururn ca sarhklesya grhnati sa mandah, yas tu guruktarh grhnan sva-cittarh niroddhum a-iaktah sa madhyamah, sa tu gurunoktasya vdnyasya va upadesena citta-dhairyam vividhair vaidikair up ay air netavyah. On K.U. II. 1.
3 jnanam yogatmakam viddhi. Know that knowledge has yoga for its essence.
4 aikyarh jivatmanor ahur yogam yoga-viiaradah. Devi Bhagavata.
5 Cp. with this the Confucian fasting of the heart. 'May I ask,’ said Yen Hui, ‘in what consists the fasting of the heart?’
‘Cultivate unity,’ replied Confucius. ‘You do, your hearing, not with your ears, but with your mind ; not with your mind, but with your very soul. But let the hearing stop with the ears. Let the working of the mind stop with itself. Then the soul will be a negative existence, passively responsive to externals. In such a negative existence, only1 Tao can abide. And that negative state is the fasting of the heart.'
‘Then,’ said Yen Hui, ‘the reason I could not get the use of this method is my own individuality. If I could get the use of it, my individuality
Introduction
the practice of yoga.1 When the awakening takes place scripture ceases to be authoritative,’2 sruter apy abhavah prabodhe.'i
In the Vedas we have vivid belief in powerful gods who are not mere abstractions. Adoration of personal gods, along with a sense of dependence on and trust in them, which is a marked tendency in the religion of the Veda, becomes prominent in the Katha and the Svetasvatara Upanisads. The Katha Upanisad makes out that saving knowledge is not a matter of learning but is revealed to the fortunate man by the highest Reality itself. Even the doctrine of predestination is suggested.
Unfortunately different aspects have been exclusively emphasised so as to give rise to the impression that the Upani¬ sads do not give us any single coherent view. It is suggested that in the Upanisads the true doctrine is that the Real, the thing-in- itself, is empty of content and all positive views are deviations from it caused by the inability of man to remain at the high level of abstract thought, postulated by the distinction between the thing-in-itself and the appearance and the natural tendency to apply empirical categories to the thing-in-itself. The absolu¬ tists and theistic views of the Upanisads are not exclusive of each other, ^arhkara and Ramanuja emphasise different aspects of the teaching of the Upanisads.
Upasana or worship is the basis of the doctrine of bhakti or devotion. As Brahman is not described in the early Upanisads in sufficiently personal terms, the later ones like the Katha and the Svetasvatara look upon the Supreme as personal God who bestows grace. Devotion to the personal God is recommended as a means for attaining spiritual enlightenment. 4
would have gone. Is this what you mean by the negative state?' ‘Exactly so,’ replied the Master.
1 II. See also Maitri VI. 18-27. Appaya Diksita in his Yoga Darpana asks us to concentrate on the self-shining self between the two brows, listen to the text ‘That art thou,' conceive oneself as absorbed in it and practise meditation.
pratyag atmanam alokya bhruvor madhye svayam-prabham srutvd tat-tvam-asity aikyarn matvasmiti tad abhyaset.
2 S.B. IV. 1. 3. 3 g. on B.U. VI. 1.
4 S.U. VI. 21 and 23. Images, pilgrimages, ceremonies are all acces¬ sories to devotion.
The Bhagavata asks us to love the Supreme with all our being, ‘Lord
138 The Principal Upanisads
The Upanisads give us different modes of devotional exer¬ cises, by which we are trained to fix our minds on a single object. Gradually we get prepared for the contemplation of absolute truth.1
The prevalent theistic creeds were assimilated to the teaching of the Upanisads. The later sectarian Upanisads identify the Supreme with Visnu, £iva or £akti, which are regarded as different phases of the One Reality. The Supreme is conceived as a person in relation to persons, and symbols taken from social life, lord, father, judge are employed. Sometimes dynamic symbols like the power of life, the spirit of truth, the glowing fire that penetrates and pervades are used.
Symbols belong to an order of reality different from that of the Reality which they symbolise. They are used to make the truth intelligible, to make the unhearable audible. They are meant to be used as tangible supports for contemplation. They help us to reach awareness of the symbolised reality. Some of these symbols employed by religions are common. Fire and light are usually adopted to signify the Ultimate Reality. It means that the minds of people are formed similarly and experiences of people do not differ much from one part of the world to another. Even conceptions about the origin and nature of the world often agree, though they arise quite independently. The images are all framed to mediate between the Supreme Absolute and the finite intelligence. The individual is free to select for worship any form of the Supreme. This freedom of choice ista-devataradhana means that the different forms are all
may our speech be engaged in recounting your qualities, our ears in hearing your stories, our hands in doing service for you, our mind in the remembrance of your feet, our head in bowing to this world which is your dwelling-place and our eyes in gazing at the saints who are your living images on earth.
vani gundnukathane sravanau kathayam hastau ca karmasu manas tava padayor nah smrtyam iiras tava nivasa-jagat-praname drstih satarh darsane’ stu bhavat-tanunam.
1 Rabi’a, a woman mystic of the 8th century, says: ‘Oh my Lord, if I worship Thee from fear of Hell, burn me in hell; and if I worship Thee from hope of paradise, exclude me thence; but if I worship Thee for Thine own sake, then withhold not from me Thine eternal beauty.’
Introduction
included in the Supreme. The acceptance of one form does not mean the rejection of others.
The Supreme is to be comprehended only by a supreme effort of consciousness. This knowledge cannot be expressed at the level of thought except through symbols. The symbols are not entirely subjective. The relativity of the symbols does not destroy either our capacity to discover the truth or our faith in the existence of objective reality. It is true that different objects appear differently from different points of view, but the validity of the different points of view need not be denied. Statements about reality are definitions of the relationship between those making them and the reality which they are describing. Symbols have a meaning, and this meaning is objective and shared. The bearers of the meaning may be psychological states, separate existences, not even identical in their qualita¬ tive content, but meanings can be studied and understood.
The Upanisads do not speak to us of limited dogmas. The life of spirit is wider than any particular religious formulation. Religion deals with man’s seeking for the eternal, the sources of truth and joy, and particular formulations are but approxima¬ tions to the Unutterable. Our minds are not detached from the circumstances of time and place. Full truth can be known only by a mind of transcendent rationality. The conception and expression by men of the reality which is universal, can only be partial according to the diversities of race and character. As the Upanisads lay stress on spiritual experience and psychological discipline, they do not insist on any one set of dogmas, rites or codes. They are also aware that we may touch different aspects of the spiritual experience when we attempt to define it. We may use any symbols and methods which help to bring about a change of consciousness, a new birth.1
The one Supreme who dwells in us is conceived externally. ‘The vulgar look for their gods in water, men of wider know-
1 Gandhi included from Guru Govind Singh’s writings the following in his public prayers:
isvara alia tere nama mandira masdija tere dhama sabko san-rnati de bhagavan
O God, Uvara and Allah are Thy names; temples and mosques are Thy places of abode. Grant to all right understanding (of this).
The Principal Upanisads
ledge in celestial bodies, the ignorant in (images made of) wood or stone but the wise see the Supreme in their own self.’1 ‘The yogins see the Supreme in the self, not in the images. The images are conceived for the sake of contemplation by the ignorant.’2 The soul of man is the home of God. God is in every one of us ready to help us though we generally ignore Him. 3 Whatever be the form we start with, we grow to the worship of the one Universal Spirit immanent in all. 4 The worship of the determinate form is recommended as a preparation for the apprehension of non-determined Reality.5 Narada Bhakti Sutra
1 apsu deva manusyanam, divi deva manisinam balanam kastha-losthesu buddhesv atmani devata 1 iivam atmani pasyanti pratimdsu na yoginah ajhdnam bhdvanarthdya pratimah parikalpitah.
Darianopanisad ; see also Siva-dharmottara.
The Bhagavata says that ‘fire is the god of the twiceborn, the (innermost) heart is the god of the wise, the image of the ignorant, for the wise. God is everywhere.
agnirdevo dvijdtindm, hrdi devo manisinam pratimasv alpa-buddhinam, jnanindm sarvato harih.
3 ‘Though really companion and co-dweller, man does not understand the friendship of Him who dwells within the same body.* na yasya sakhyam puruso’vaiti sakhyuh sakha vasan samvasatah pure’ smin.
Bhagavata.
Pingala, the public woman, got disgusted with her life and said, ‘Casting aside this eternal lover who is near (in my own heart), is my beloved, gives me joy, gives me wealth, I foolishly seek another (from outside), who does not fulfil my desires, who gives me only sorrow, fear and blind infatuation and is petty.’
santarh samipe ramanam rati-pradam vitta-pradam nityam imam vihdya
a-kamadam duhkha-bhayddhi-soka-moha-pradam tuccham aham bhaje’jha.
Bhagavata XI. 8. 31.
She resolved:
‘He is the friend, most beloved Lord and one’s own self to all embodied beings. I shall earn Him by offering myself to Him and play with Him as Goddess Laksmi does.
suhrt presthatamo natha, atma cdyam saririnam tarn vikriydtmanaivaham rame’nena yatha rama.
Bhagavata XI. 8. 35.
4 yasmin sarvam, yatah sarvam, yah sarvam, sarvatas ca yah.
In whom is everything, from whom is everything, who is everything, who is everywhere.
5 Cp. Kalpataru I. 1. 20.
nir-visesam param brahma sdksdt kartum anisvarah. ye mandas te'nukampyante sa-visesa-nirupanaih.
Introduction
tells us that the true devotee becomes a fulfilled being, im¬ mortal and content.1 Even the released perform image worship by way of sport.2 There is a danger that the emotions of awe and reverence are likely to be treated as ends in themselves. They prepare for spirituality. 3 Devotion ultimately leads to the knowledge of one’s essential nature. 4 For Ramanuja bhakti is a type of knowledge. 5
Spiritual training begins with the external, with word and gesture in order to produce the answering spiritual content, but we should not stop at any stage short of life in God.6 There are those who regard the forms they worship as final, though the Upanisads make out that the Real has aspects of both
Commenting on Brahma Sutra III. 3. 59, £. argues that each one is at liberty to choose the form of worship according to his liking and perform it. The direct union with the object of meditation is the result of each of these meditations.
1 yal labdhva pumdn siddho bhavati, amrto bhavati, trpto bhavati.
1 muktd api lllaya vigrahadikam krtvd bhajante.
3 Gopikas become one with the Supreme by fixing their minds on Him, by singing His songs, by doing His deeds.
tan-manaskdh tad-alapah tad-vicestah tad-dtmikah.
There is utter abandonment to God or prapatti. pati-sutanvaya bhratr-bandhavan ati vilarhghya te’nty acyutdgatah.
The glory of meditation on the name of God is mentioned after l^he whole Bhagavata is related to Pariksit.
patitah skhalitah artah ksutvdvdvivaso bruvan haraye nama ity uccair mucyate sarva-patakat.
4 sva-sva-rupanusandhanam bhaktir ity abhidhly ate: atma-tattvanusand- hdnam bhaktir ity apare jaguh. In Bhakti-martanda, bhakti is defined as that form of love in which when the lovers are together they are afraid of being separated and when they are not together they have a painful longing for union.
a-drste darsanotkanthd, drste vislesa-bhiruta nadrstena na drstena bhavata labhyate sukham.
5 dhruvdnusmrti.
6 uttamo brahma-sad-bhavo, dhyana-bhavas tu madhyamah stutir jap o’dhamo bhdvo, bahih-puja adhamadhamah
Mahanirvana Tantra XIV. 122.
The highest form of worship is the realisation of the Supreme in all, the meditation of the Supreme is the middling state; prayers to and praises of him with the silent repetition of his name is the lowest and external worship is the lowest of all. Again:
bala-kridanavat sarvarh rupa-namadi-kalpanam .
ibid. XIV. 1 17.
All the imagined names and forms are as playthings for the children.
The Principal Upanisads
tranquil transcendence and cosmic universality. The advocates of bhakti look upon the worship of the personal God as the highest bliss,1 though those who regard the Absolute as super¬ personal declare that it is somewhat lower than the highest, that those who do not get beyond the stage of the worship of the Personal God, enter, on death, into a heavenly state of existence. This survival in the worlds of the blessed belongs to the process of time or samsara. It is not emancipation from time or timeless union with reality.
Any form of worship which falls short of complete self- naughting will not take us to the unitive life. Faith, devotion, surrender are the means to it. Each individual has to achieve insight by his own effort after long and persistent practice.1 When the veil of intellectual knowledge, of avidya, is swept aside, a flood of light breaks upon the awakened soul and a vision of the Universal Self is achieved. This self is present, real and concrete even as a physical object is present to the physical eye. The Supreme is not so much an immanent God as an experi¬ enced God, felt as an inward principle of power and new being in life. When we rise in contemplation, when there is the vision of the Supreme which is entirely beyond the power of the soul to prepare for or bring about, we feel that it is wholly the opera-
1 Cp. Vedanta Desika.
O Lord, if Thou art gracious, if I am (always) by Thy side, if there is in me pure devotion to Thee, if I am in the company of those who are Thy servants, then this samsara is itself salvation. tvam cet prasldasi tavasmi samlpatas cet tvayy asti bhaktir anagha kari-saila-natha samsrjyate yadi ca dasajanas tvadlyah samsara esa bhagavan apavarga eva.
1 Cp. St. Pqul: 'Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.’ Epistle to the Philippians II. 12-13.
The seventeeth-century Platonist, Norris, writes: ‘The solitary and contemplative man sits as safe in his retirement as one of Homer’s heroes in a cloud, and has this only trouble from the follies and extrava¬ gances of men, that he pities them. I think it advisable for every man that has sense and thoughts enough to be his own companion (for certainly there is more required to qualify a man for his own company than for other men’s), to be as frequent in his retirements as he can, and to communicate as little with the world as is consistent with the duty of doing good, and the discharge of the common offices of humanity.’
Introduction
tion of God working on the soul by extraordinary grace. In a sense all life is from God, all prayer is made by the help of God’s grace, but the heights of contemplation which are scaled by few are attributed in a special degree to divine grace. After the vision the light may fade, darkness may afflict the soul, but the soul can never lose altogether what it has once seen. Our effort thereafter shall be to renew the experience, make it the constant centre of all our activities until the completely real is completely known.
There are references to visions and auditions which sometimes accompany the soul’s ascent to God. They are really an em¬ barrassment to the aspiring soul. They distract its attention and sometimes tempt it to remain on the wayside without pressing forward to the goal. These visions and auditions are not an essential part of the religious intuition. These are symbols on the natural and historical plane of the mysteries of spiritual life. All objects in the natural world are reflections of the happenings in the spiritual world. The events of the life of spirit are reflected symbolically in the world of space, time and matter.
The paradoxes of mystical language are resolved when they are taken over into vital consciousness. The mystery-filled figures of the Upanisads are abstractions to those who look upon them from outside. The Upanisads speak to us of different forms of genuine religious experience. Whether it is contempla¬ tion of the Absolute, or meditation on the Supreme Person or worship of the Cosmic Spirit, or absorption in the world of nature, they are all genuine forms, as they aim at the same ultimate conclusion of self-transcendence. Man must be sur¬ passed. There are different regions in the realm of spirit in which the consciousness of man freed from the finitude of self and enlarged finds fulfilment.
In other religions, too, we have these varieties of mystic experience. There are some who wish to establish contact with God regarded strictly as a person, and live a life in ever com¬ plete accord with the divine will and at long last reach the most intimate union with God. There are others who wish to go beyond union to unity, a state of consciousness which is above subject-object relationship. Naturally the Upanisads do
The Principal Upanisads
not adopt an attitude of dogmatism.1 This attitude of accept¬ ance of all forms of worship has been a persistent character of India’s religious life.2 The word of God is not bound by lan¬ guages in which it is spoken. 3 It is the one voice that is heard in all religions.
We are heirs of a richer heritage than most of us are aware of. The life of the people of spirit, from the beginning until now, has a great deal to offer us. If we cut ourselves away from the rich treasury of wisdom about man’s aspirations on this earth which is available to us from our own past, or if we are satisfied
1 St. Paul’s remarkable words that all nations ‘seek the Lord if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he be not far from everyone of us’ (Acts of the Apostles XVII. 27) indicate the right attitude.
Eckhart: ‘He who seeks God under settled forms lays hold of the form, while missing the good concealed in it.’
2 ‘The Supreme is pleased with him who listens to all discourses on dharmas, who worships all gods, who is free from jealousy and has subdued anger.’
srnute sarva-dharmams ca sarvan devan namasyati anasuyur jita-krodhas tasya tusyati keiavah.
Visnu-dharmottara I. 58.
Cp. the popular verse :
At heart a Sakta, outwardly a Saiva and in gatherings a Vaisnava.
antah iakto bahih saivo, sabha-madhye ca vaisyavah.
As we use these symbols, we find that some are more adequate than others.
Uddhava said ( Pandava Gita 17):
vdsudevam parityajya yo’nyarh devam upasate trsito jdhnavi-tire kuparh vanchati durbhagah.
That unfortunate one, who, rejecting Vasudeva, worships another god is like a thirsty person searching for a well on the bank of the Ganges,
Bardosa writes of Krishnadeva Raya of Vijayanagar empire: ‘The King allows such freedom that any man may come and go and live according to his own creed without suffering any annoyance and without enquiring whether he is a Christian, Jew, Moor or Hindu.’ An Advanced History of India by R. C. Majumdar, H. C. Ray Chaudhuri and K. Datta (1946), p. 379.
3 Cp. Virgil’s passionate outburst: ‘Blessed is he who has won to the heart of the universe; he is beyond good and evil. But that is too much for ordinary humanity to attain; it is a very good second best to know the gods of the country, to live the life of the country.’ Georgies II. 490 ff.
‘If any born in barbarous nations, do what lieth in him, God will reveal to him that which is necessary to salvation either by inspiration or by sending him a teacher.’ St. Thomas Aquinas 2. Sent Dist 28 q, i, aq, ad 4*
Introduction
with our own inadequate tradition and fail to seek for ourselves the gifts of other traditions, we will gravely misconceive the spirit of religion. Loyalty to our particular tradition means not only concord with the past but also freedom from the past. The living past should serve as a great inspiration and support for the future. Tradition is not a rigid, hidebound framework which cripples the life of spirit and requires us to revert to a period that is now past and beyond recall. It is not a memory of the past but a constant abiding of the living Spirit. It is a living stream of spiritual life.
brhad-Aranyaka up an I sad
The Brhad-aranyaka-Upanisad which is generally recognised to be the most important of the Upanisads forms part of the Satapatha Brdhmana. It consists of three Kandas or sections, the Madhu Kdnda which expounds the teaching of the basic identity of the individual and the Universal Self, the Yajhavalkya or the Muni Kdnda which provides a philosophical justification of the teaching and the Khila Kdnda, which deals with certain modes of worship and meditation, upasana, answering roughly to the three stages of religious life, sravana, hearing the upadesa or the teaching, manana, logical reflection, upapatti and nididhyasana or contemplative meditation. Of the two rescensions of the Satapatha Brdhmana, the Kdnva and the Madhyandina, £amkara follows the former, and the text adopted here is the same.
\
Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad
1. aum. usa va asvasya medhyasya sir ah, suryas caksuh,yatah pranah, vyattam agnir vaisvanarah; samvatsara atmasvasya medhyasya, dyauh prstham, antariksam udaram, prthivi pajasyam, disah pdrsve, avantaradisah parsavah, rtavongani, masas cardhamasds ca parvani, ahoratrani pratisthah, naksa- -trany asthini, nabho mamsani; uvadhyam sikatah, sindhavo gudah, yakrc ca klomdmas ca parvatah, osadhayas ca vanaspatayas ca lomani. udyan purvardhah, nimlocah jaghanardhah, yad vijrmbhate tad vidyotate, yad vidhunute tat stanayati, yan mehati tad varsati; vag evasya vdk.
1. Aum, the dawn, verily, is the head of the sacrificial horse, the sun the eye, the wind the breath, the open mouth the V aisvanara fire; the year is the body of the sacrificial horse, the sky is the back, the atmosphere is the belly, the earth the hoof, the quarters the sides, the intermediate quarters the ribs, the seasons the limbs, the months and the half-months the joints, days and nights the feet, the stars the bones, the clouds the flesh; the food in the stomach is the sand, the rivers are the blood-vessels, the liver and the lungs are the mountains, the herbs and the trees are the hair. The rising (sun) is the forepart, the setting (sun) the hind part, when he yawns then it lightens, when he shakes himself, it thunders, when he urinates then it rains; voice, indeed, is his voice.
The first chapter of the Upanisad is the third chapter of the Aranyaka.
asvamedha: In this sacrifice a horse is let loose and a guard of three hundred follows his track. If any one hinders the horses’ progress, the guard will have to fight. When the horse completes a victorious circuit of the earth and returns to the capital, he is offered as a sacrifice and the king who performs the sacrifice assumes the title of sovereign, emperor.
The horse sacrifice described at length in Satapatha Brahmana (XIII, 1-5) is given here a cosmic interpretation. It is used as a vehicle of religious truth.
The idea of sacrifice as a means to account for creation goes back to the Purusa Sukta of the R.V. (X. 90. 129), where from each
150 The Principal Upanisads
of the members of the primeval person, Purusa, some part of the world is made.
asvasya medhyasya: of the sacrificial horse, medharhasya. S. v yattam: open mouth, vivftam mukham. S. atma: body, sarirarii catma. S.
pajasyam: hoof, pddasyam, padasana-sthanam. See M.U. II. 1. 4. The earth is his footing. The supra-physical can be reached only when we have a firm hold of the physical. The thinkers of the Upanisads reach their conclusions by a study of the sensible fact, of the concrete realities of the physical world. parvani: joints, sandhayah. $. nabhah: clouds, nabhastha meghah-
uvadhyam : half-digested food in the stomach, udarastham ardha-
jirnam asanam. S.
gudah: blood-vessels, nadyah. £.
vijfmbhate: yawns, gatrani vinamayati, viksipa ti.§. vijrmbhanam mukha-vidaranam .
vidhunute: shakes, gatrani kampayati. £. mehati: urinates, mutram karoti. S.
2. ahar va asvam purastan mahima nvajayata. tasya piirvc samudre yonih, ratrir enam pascan mahima nvajayata, tasyapare samudre yonih, etau va asvam mahimanav abhitah sambabhuvatuh hayo bhutva devan avahat, vaji gandharvan, arvasuran, asvo manusyan; samudra evasya bandhuh, samudro yonih.
2. The day, verily, arose for the horse as the vessel called mahiman appeared in front (of the horse). Its source is in the eastern sea. The night, verily, arose for the horse as the vessel called mahiman appeared behind (the horse). Its source is in the western sea. These two vessels, verily, arose on the two sides of the horse as the two sacrificial vessels. Becoming a steed he carried the gods, as a stallion the Gandharvas, as a runner the demons, as a horse men. The sea, indeed, is- his relative, the sea is his source.
At the horse sacrifice, asva-medha, two vessels are placed one in front of and the other behind the horse, made of gold and silver, to hold the sacrificial libations. They are here interpreted cosmically as the eastern (Bay of Bengal) and the western (the Arabian sea). mahima: greatness, mahattvam. S.
The two vessels are made of gold and silver. The gold vessel is the day because both are bright, dipti-samanydt\ the silver vessel is the night, both the words rajata and ratri begin with the same syllable ra. Silver and night may have a common nature if the night is a moonlit one, candrika-dhavalatva-samyat.
The sea is taken by S as the Supreme Self : paramatma, samutpadya bhutani dravanty asminn iti vyutpattya parama-gambhtrasy esvarasya samudra-sabdatam aha. See A.
Second Brahmana
1. naiveha kimcand.gr a asit. mytyunaivedam avrtam asit, asanayayd, asanaya hi mrtyuh; tan mano’ kuruta, atmanvi syam iti. so’rcann acarat, tasyarcata. apo’jayanta arcate vai me kam abhud iti ; tad evarkasya arkatvam; kam ha va asmai bhavati, ya evam etad arkasya arkatvam veda.
1. There was nothing whatsoever here in the beginning. By death indeed was this covered, or by hunger, for hunger is death. He created the mind, thinking ‘let me have a self’ (mind). Then he moved about, worshipping. From him, thus worshipping, water was produced. ‘Verily,’ he thought, ‘while I was worshipping water appeared, therefore water is called arka (fire). Water surely comes to one who thus knows the reason why water is called arka (fire).’
All this was non-being covered by death who is Hiranya-garbha. By his thought the universe is produced.
Death is Hiranya-garbha. It is the matter with which he interacts. It is tamas or darkness which is represented as his body: cp. Subala U.
yasyavyaktarh sarlram yasyaksaram sarlrarh, yasya mrtyus sariram
esa sarva-bhutantaratma apahata-pdpma divyo devah eko narayanah.
Hiranya-garbha is tamas sarlraka-paramatma, the Supreme Self with the body of darkness.
He thought, ‘let me have a self,’ i.e. let me develop a world of conscious and unconscious objects:
cetanacetana-prapanca-sarirakas-syam iti sarhkalpa manah kftavdn. R. kam: water or happiness, kam udakam sukham va. S.
2. apo va arkah. tad yad apam sara asit, tat samahanyata, sa prthivy abhavat, tasyam asramyat. tasya srantasya taptasya tejo raso niravartatagnih.
2. Water, verily, is arka. That which was the froth of the water became solidified; that became the earth. On it he rested. From him thus rested and heated (from the practice of aus¬ terity) his essence of brightness came forth (as) fire.
152 The Principal Upanisads I. 2. 5.
After the production of the earth Praja-pati rested : sarvo hi lokah karyarh krtva sramyati, prajapates ca tan mahat karyam yat prthivi- sargah. §.
tejo-rasah: essence of brightness, tejas-sara-bhutah. R.
3. sa tredhatmanam vyakuruta, adityam tytiyam, vayurii trtlyam, sa esa pranas trcdha vihitah. tasya praci dik sirah, asau casau cairmau; atha asya pratici dik puccham, asau cdsau ca sakthyau; daksina codici ca parsve, dyauh prstham, antariksam udaram, iyain urah, sa eso’psu pratisthitah, yatra kva caiti tad eva pratitisthaty evam vidvdn.
3. He divided himself threefold (fire is one-third), the sun one-third and the air one-third. He also is life divided threefold, the eastern direction is his head and his arms are that and that (the left and the right sides). Likewise the western direction is his tail and his two hip-bones are that and that. The southern and the northern directions are his sides. The sky is the back, the atmosphere the belly. This (earth) is the chest. Thus he stands firm in the waters. He who knows this stands firrp wherever he goes.
pratitisthati: stands firm, or obtains a resting-place, sthitim labhate. $>.
4. so’ kamayata, dvitiyo ma atma jayeteti, sa manasa vacam mithunam samabhavad asandya mrtyuh, tad yad reta asit, sa samvatsaro ’bhavat; na ha purd tatah samvatsara asa. tam etavantam kalam abhibhah. yavdn samvatsarah , tam etavatah, kalasya parastad asrjata; tam jdtam abhivyadadat sa bhan akarot saiva vdg abhavat.
4. He desired, let a second self (body or form) be born of me. He, hunger or death, brought about the union of speech by mind. What was the seed there became the year. Previous to that there was no year. He reared him for as long as a year and after that time he sent him forth. When he was born he (Death) opened his mouth (to devour him). He (the babe) cried, bhan. That, indeed, became speech.
Life is the result of previous knowledge and conduct, reto bijam jndna-karma-rupam janmantara-krtam. S.
5. sa aiksata: yadi va imam abhimamsye, kaniyo’nnam karisya iti: sa taya vaca tenatmancdam sarvam asrjata yad idam kirk ca, rco yajumsi samani chanddmsi yajhan prajah pasun. sa yad yad evdsrjata, tat tad attum adhriyata; sarvam vd attiti tad
aditer adititvam, sarvasyaitasyatta bhavati, sarvam asyannam bhavati, ya evam etad aditer adititvam veda.
5. He thought, ‘If I kill him I shall make very little food.’ With that speech, with that self he brought forth all this whatsoever exists here, (the hymns of) the Rg Veda, (the formulas of) the Yajur Veda and (the chants of) the Sama Veda, the metres, the sacrifices, men and cattle. Whatever he brought forth that he resolved to eat. Verily, because he eats every¬ thing, therefore the aditi- nature of Aditi (i.e. Aditi is so called). He who knows thus the aditi- nature of Aditi becomes an eater of everything here, and everything becomes food for him.
aiksata: thought, acintayat. R.
In the previous passage, it is said that Death brought forth, by the union of speech and mind, year &c; here it is said that he again brought forth Vedas &c. S. explains that while the previous union was of an unmanifested character, avyakta, the present one is manifested, bahya.
$>. quotes R.V. (I. 59. 10) ‘Aditi is the sky, Aditi is the atmosphere, Aditi is the mother, she is the father.’
6. so’kamayata, bhuyasa yajnena bhuyo yajeyeti; so’sramyat, sa tapo’tapyata: tasya srantasya taptasya yaso viryam ud- akramat. prana vai yaso viryam; tat pranesutkrantesu sariram svayitum adhriyata, tasya sarira eva mana asit.
6. He desired: ‘let me sacrifice again with a greater sacrifice.’ He rested himself, he practised austerity. While he was thus rested and heated, fame and vigour went forth. The vital breaths, verily, are fame and vigour. So when the vital breaths departed, his body began to swell, but the mind was set on the body,
bhuyah: again, punar api. S. explains that Praja-pati had performed a horse sacrifice in his previous life and those thoughts were in his mind now.
sa tapo’tapyata: He practised austerity, tapas is literally ‘burning.’ It is the glow caused by the concentration of mental energy. Through tapas is all creation effected. The ardour of mind, restrained and concentrated, has power over things. (See R.V. X. 190.) Slowly it is extended to cover the practice of austerities. To make ourselves pure metal we have to pass through fierce fires. We cannot be made anew unless we first become ashes. God strips us of everything that we possess that we may draw near to him.
154 77ze Principal Upanisads I. 3. 1.
Hi; tato’svah samabhavat, yad asvat, lan medhyam abhud iti tad evasva-medhasyasva-medhatvam; esa ha va asva-medharh veda, ya enam evarh veda. tam anavarudhyaivamanyata ; tarn sarhva- tsarasya parastad aimana alabhata: pasiin devatabhyah pratyau- hat. tasmat sarva-devatyam proksitam prajapatyam alabhante; esa ha va asva-medho ya esa tapati: tasya samvatsara atma, ayam agnir arkah, tasyeme loka atmanah ; tav etav arkasvamedhau. so punar ekaiva devata bhavati, mrtyur eva; apa punar-mrtyurh jayati, nainam mrtyurm apnoti; mrtyur asyatma bhavati, etasarh devatanam eko bhavati.
7. He desired, let this (body) of mine be fit for sacrifice and let me have a self (body) through this. Thereupon it became a horse, because it swelled, it has become fit for sacrifice (he thought). Therefore the horse-sacrifice came to be known as asva-medha. He who knows it thus, verily, knows the asva-medha. Letting it remain free, he reflected ; and at the end of a year he offered it to himself (sacrificed him for himself). He gave up the (other) animals to the divinities. Therefore (men, priests) offer to Praja-pati the sanctified (horse) dedicated to all the gods. Verily, that (sun) which gives forth heat is the horse- sacrifice. His body is the year. This (earthly) fire is the arka and these worlds are his bodies. So these are two, the sacrificial fire (arka) and the horse-sacrifice. Yet again they are one divinity, even death. He (who knows this) overcomes repeated death, death cannot get hold of him, death becomes his body, and he becomes one with these divinities.
dtmanvl: becomes embodied, atmavan, sanravan. S. alabhata: offered, sacrificed it to himself, alambham krtavan. proksitam: sanctified, mantra-samskrtam. A.
He overcomes death, assumes the body of death. He becomes superior to time.
Third Brahmana
1. dvaya ha prajapatyah, devas casuras ca. tatah kanlyasa eva devah, jyayasa asurah, ta esu lokesv aspardhanta, te ha deva iicuh, hantdsuran yajha udgithenatyayameti.
the gods and the demons. Of these, the gods were the younger and the demons the elder ones. They were struggling with each other for (the mastery of) these worlds. The gods said, come, let us overcome the demons at the sacrifice through the udgltha.
dvayah: two classes, dvi-prakarah.
The gods and the demons refer to the organs, speech and the rest. They are inclined to sacred or worldly objects, to good or evil, then become divine or demoniac, sdstra-janita-jhana-karma-bhavitah dyotanat deva bhavanti, ta eva svabhavika-pratyaksanumana-janita- drsta-prayojana-karma-jndna-bhdvitd asurah. S. They become gods when they shine under the influence of thoughts and actions as taught by the scriptures. These very organs become demons when they are influenced by their natural thoughts and actions based (only) on perception and inference and directed to visible (secular) ends. It is a distinction of life, not of beings. $ also says that the gods were less numerous and less strong than the demons. aspardhanta: struggled with each other, vied with each other: paraspara-vijigisam krtavantah .
Cp. Plato’s Sophist, where a stranger from southern Italy who has studied the Eleatic logic of Parmenides likens the philosophy of his own and earlier times to the mythical battle of the gods and the giants. ‘What we shall see is something like a battle of gods and giants going on between them over their quarrel about reality. One party is trying to drag everything down to earth, out of heaven and the unseen, literally grasping rocks and trees in their hands; for they lay hold upon every stock and stone and strenuously affirm that real existence belongs only to that which can be handled and offers resistance to the touch. They define reality as the same thing as body, and as soon as one of the opposite party asserts that anything without a body is real, they are utterly contemptuous and will not listen to another word. Accordingly their adversaries are very wary in defending their position somewhere in the heights of the unseen, maintaining with all their force that true reality consists in certain intelligible and bodiless forms. In the clash of argument they shatter and pulverise those bodies which their opponents wield, and what those others allege to be true reality they call, not real being, but a sort of moving process of becoming. On this issue an interminable battle is always going on between the two camps.’ E.T. by F. M. Cornford. See his Plato’s Theory of Knowledge (1935). The dispute between idealists and materialists is still with us. See C.U. VIII. 7-12.
2. te ha vacant ucuh, tvam na udgaya iti, tatheti: tebhyo vag udagayat. yo vaci bhogas tarn devebhya agayat, yat kalyanam
156 The Principal Upanisads I. 3. 5.
vadati tad atmane; te vidur, anena vai na udgdtratyesya ntiti tam abhidrutya papmandvidhyan , sa yah sa papma yad evedam apratirupam vadati sa eva sa papma.
2. They said to speech, chant (the udgitha) for us; ‘So be it/ said speech and chanted for them. Whatever enjoyment there is in speech, it secured for the gods by chanting: that it spoke well was for itself. The demons knew, verily, by this chanter, they will overcome us. They rushed upon it and pierced it with evil. That evil which consists in speaking what is improper, that is that evil.
3. atha ha pranam ucuh, tv am na udgaya iti, tatheti: tebhyah prana udagayat. yah prane bhogas tam devebhya agayat, yat kalyanam jighrati tad atmane; te vidur anena vai naudgatr atye- syantiti. tam abhidrutya papmandvidhyan, sa yah sa papma yad evedam apratirupam jighrati sa eva sa papma.
3. Then they said to the life-breath, chant (the udgitha) for us. ‘So be it,’ said the life-breath and chanted for them. What¬ ever enjoyment there is in the life-breath, it secured for the gods by chanting ; that it smelt well was for itself. The demons knew, ‘verily, by this chanter, they will overcome us.’ They rushed upon it and pierced it with evil. That evil which consists in smelling what is improper, that is that evil.
pranam: life-breath, here used for ghranam, the organ of smelling, the nose.
4. atha ha caksur ucuh, tvarh na udgaya iti, tatheti: tebhyas caksur udagayat. yas caksusi bhogas tam devebhya agayat, yat kalyanam pasyati tad atmane; te vidur anena vai na udgatratye- syantiti. tam abhidrutya papmandvidhyan, sa yah sa papma yad evedam apratirupam pasyati, sa eva sa papma.
4. Then they said to the eye: Chant (the udgitha ) for us. ‘So be it,’ said the eye and chanted for them. Whatever enjoy¬ ment there is in the eye it secured for the gods by chanting; that it saw well was for itself. The demons knew, ‘verily, by this chanter they will overcome us.’ They rushed upon it and pierced it with evil. That evil which consists in seeing what is improper, that is that evil.
5. atha ha srotram ucuh, tvarh na udgaya iti, tatheti: tebhyah srotram udagayat. yah srotre bhogas tarn devebhya agayat, yat kalyanam srnoti tad atmane; te vidur anena vai na udgatratye-
syantiti. tam abhidrutya papmanavidhyan; sa yah sa papma yad evedarn apratirupam srnoti, sa eva sa papma.
5. Then they said to the ear: Chant (the udgltha) for us. ‘So be it,’ said the ear and chanted for them. Whatever enjoy¬ ment there is in the ear, it secured for the gods by chanting; that it heard well was for itself. The demons knew, ‘verily, by this chanter, they will overcome us.’ They rushed upon it and pierced it with evil. That evil which consists in hearing what is im¬ proper, that is that evil.
6. atha ha mana ucuh, tvam na udgdya iti, tatheti: tebhyo mana udagayat. yo manasi bhogas tam devebhya agayat, yat kalyanam samkalpayati tad' atmane; te vidur anena vai na udgatratye- syantlti. tam abhidrutya papmanavidhyan; sa yah sa papma yad evedarn apratirupam samkalpayati, sa eva sa papma; evam u khalv eta devatah papmabhir upasrjan, evam enah papmana- vidhyan.
6. Then they said to the mind: Chant (the udgltha) for us. ‘So be it,’ said the mind and chanted for them. Whatever enjoyment there is in the mind, it secured for the gods by chant¬ ing; that it thought well was for itself. The demons knew, ‘verily, by this chanter, they will overcome us.' They rushed upon it and pierced it with evil. That evil which consists in thinking what is improper, that is that evil. Likewise they also affected these (other) divinities with evil, they pierced them with evil.
All these organs were found to be incapable of chanting the udgltha as they had contracted evil on account of their attachment to doing well (seeing well, hearing well or thinking well), for them¬ selves: kalyana-visaya-visesatma-sambandha-sanga-hetoh. S.
7. atha hemam asanyam pranam ucuh, tvam na udgdya iti, tatheti: tebhya esa prana udagayat; te vidur anena vai na udga- tratyesyantlti. tam abhidrutya papmanavitsan; sa yatha asmanam rtva losto vidhvamseta, evam, haiva vidhvarhsamand visvahco vinesuh, tato deva abhavan, parasurah; bhavaty atmana parasya dvisan bhratrvyo bhavati ya evam, veda.
7. Then they said to the vital breath in the mouth: ‘Chant (the udgltha ) for us.’ ‘So be it,’ said this breath and chanted for them. They (the demons) knew, ‘verily, by this chanter, they will overcome us.' They rushed upon him and desired to pierce him with evil. But as a clod of earth would be scattered by striking against a rock, even so they were scattered in all
158 The Principal Upanisads I. 3. 13.
directions and perished. Therefore the gods became (increased) and the demons were crushed. He who knows this becomes his true self and the enemy who hates him is crushed.
avitsan: desired to pierce him, vedhanam kartum istavantah. S. parah: crushed, parabhutah , vinatdh. S.
8. Then they said, what, pray, has become of him who struck to us then? Here he is within the mouth. He (the vital breath) is called Ayasya Ahgirasa (rasa) for he is the essence, of the limbs ( anga , members of the body).
9. That divinity, verily, is dur by name, because death is far (dura) from it. From him who knows this, death is far off.
10. sa va esa devataitdsam devatanam pdpmdnam mrtyum apa- hatya, yatrasam disam antah, tad gamayamcakara , tad asam papmano vinyadadhat, tasmdn na janam iyat, nantam iyat, net pdpmdnam mrtyum anvavayamti.
10. That divinity, verily, after having struck off the evil of these divinities, even death, made this go to where the end of the quarters is. There he set down their evils. Therefore one should not go to people (of that region), one should not go to the end (of the quarters), lest he meet there with evil, with death.
atha: next, tad-anantaram.
12. sa vai vacam eva prathamam atyavahat, sd yada mrtyum atyamucyata, so’gnir abhavat, so yam agnih parena mrtyum atikrdnto dipyate.
12. Verily, it carried speech across first. When that (speech) was freed from death it became fire. This fire, when it crosses beyond death, shines forth.
13. atha pranam atyavahat, sa yada mrtyum atyamucyata, sa vayur abhavat , so’ yarn vayuh parena mrtyum atikr antah pavate
13. Then it carried across (the organ of) smell. When that was freed from death, it became air. This air, when it crosses beyond death, blows
prano ghranah. S.
14. atha cak$ur atyavahat, tad yada mrtyum atyamucyata, sa adityo’bhavat, so’sav adityah parena mrtyum atikrantas tapati.
14. Then it carried across the eye. When that was freed from death, it became the sun. This sun, when it crosses beyond death, glows.
15. Then it carried across the ear. When that was freed from death, it became the quarters. These quarters have crossed beyond death.
16. atha mano’tyavahat, tad yada mrtyum atyamucyata, sa candrama abhavat, so’sau candrah parena mrtyum atikranto bhati, evarh ha va enam esa devata mrtyum ativahati, ya evarh veda.
16. Then it carried across the mind. When that was freed from death, it became the moon. That moon, when it crosses beyond death, shines. Thus, verily, that divinity carries beyond death him who knows this.
Cp. $atapatha Brahmana. X. 5. 2. 20. One becomeswhat one meditates on : tam yatha yathopasatc, tad eva bhavati.
1 7. Then it (the breath) chanted food for itself (obtained food by chanting). For whatever food is eaten is eaten by him alone. In it (breath) is established.
adyam: eatable, adanarham, bhaksanarham. R.
anenaiva: by him alone, by the vital breath alone. £ refers to the meaning of the word ana as vital breath, ana iti pranasyakhyd prasiddha.
18. te devd abruvan, etavad va idarh sarvam yad annam, tad atmana agasth, anu nosminn anna abhajasveti, te vai ma’ bhisamvisateti; tatheti: tam samantam parinyavisanta, tasmad yad adanenannam atti, tenaitas trpyanti; evarh ha va enam sva abhisamvisanti , bharta svanarh sresthah, pura eta bhavaty
i6o
The Principal Upanisads I. 3. 21.
annado dhipatih, ya evam veda; ya u haivamvidam svesu prati- pratir bubhusati, na haivdlam bhdryebhyo bhavati; atha ya evaitam anubhavati, yo vaitam ana bharyan bubhursati, sa haivdlam bhdryebhyo bhavati.
18. These divinities said, ‘Verily, just this much is whatever food there is and that you have obtained for yourself by chanting. Now let us have a share in this food.’ He said, ‘then sit around, facing me (or enter into me). ‘So be it.’ They sat around (entered into) him on all sides. Therefore, whatever food one eats by this breath, they are satisfied by it. So do his relations come to him who knows this, he becomes the supporter of his people, their chief, their foremost leader, an eater of food and their lord. Whoever among his people desires to be the equal of him who has this knowledge, he is not able to support his own dependents. But whoever follows him and whoever, following him, desires to support his dependents, he, indeed, will be able to support his dependents.
desires to be the equal or rival: pratikulo bubhiisati, pratispardhl bhavitum icchati. 8.
desires to support : bubhursati, bhartum icchati. S.
19. so’yasya ahgirasah, anganarh hi rasah, prdno va anganarh rasah, prdno hi va anganarh rasah, tasmad yasmat kasmdc cahgat prana utkramati, tad cva tat susyati; esa hi va anganarh rasah.
19. He is (called) Ayasya Angirasa for he is the essence of the limbs. Verily, life-breath is the essence of the limbs, yes, life-breath is the essence of the limbs. Therefore, from whatever limb life-breath departs, that, indeed, dries up; for, it is, verily, the essence of the limbs.
brhati: The metre with 36 syllables used in the R.V. Here it is us'ed for the R.V. itself.
Brahman refers to the Yajur Veda.
22. esa u eva sama, vag vai sama, esa sa camasceti, tat samnah samatvam; yad veva sarnah plusina, samo masakena, samo nagena, sama ebhis tribhir lokaih, samo’nena sarvena, tasmad veva sama, asnute samnah sdyujyam salokatdm, ya evam etat sama veda.
22. And this is also the Sama Veda ; speech, verily, is the chant. It is sa (she) and ama (he). That is why sdman is called sdman or because he is equal to a white ant, equal to a mosquito, equal to an elephant, equal to these three worlds, nay, equal to this universe, therefore indeed is it the Sama Veda. He who knows this Sama Veda to be such, attains union with it or lives in the same world with it.
See C.U. V. 2. 6.
sa is speech, and ama is vital breath.
23. And this is also the udgitha. The vital breath, verily, is ut, for by vital breath is this whole (world) upheld. Song, verily, is speech. This is udgitha, for it is ut and gltha.
24. taddhapi brahmadattas caikitaneyo rajanam bhaksayann uvaca, ayam tyasya raja murdhanam vipatayatat, yad ito’yasya dhgiraso’ nyenodagayad iti, vaca ca hy eva sa prdnena codagayad iti.
24. As to this also, Brahmadatta Caikitaneya, while drinking King (Soma) said: Let this King strike off this man’s (my) head (if I say) that Ayasya Angirasa chanted the udgitha with any other means than this (vital breath and speech) ; for, said he, only with speech and with vital breath did he chant the udgitha.
Caikitaneya: the great grandson of Cikitana. rajanam: yajhe somam. S.
25. tasya haitasya samno yah svam veda, bhavati hasya svam; tasya vai svara eva svam; tasmad artvijyam karisyan vaci svaram iccheta; taya vaca svara-sampannayartvijyarh kuryat; tasmad yajhe svaravantarh didrksanta eva; atho yasya svam bhavati; bhavati hasya svam, ya evam etat samnah, svam veda.
The Principal Upanisads I. 3. 28
wealth. Its wealth, indeed, is tone. Therefore, one who is about to perform the duties of a Rtvij priest desires to have a rich tone in his voice. Being possessed of such a voice, he performs the duties of a Rtvij priest. Therefore, people desire to see at a sacrifice a priest with a good voice, as one who has wealth. He who knows the wealth of Saman to be such attains wealth.
26. tasya haitasya samno yah suvarnam veda, bhavati hasya suvarnam, tasya vai svara eva suvarnam, bhavati hasya suvarnam, ya evam etat samnah suvarnam veda.
26. He who knows what is the gold (correct sound) of this Saman obtains gold. The tone, verily, is its gold. He who thus knows the gold of that Saman obtains gold.
suvarna: correct sound or gold: su, varna.
27. tasya haitasya samno yah pratistham veda, prati ha tisthati, tasya vai vag eva pratistha, vaci hi khalv esa etat pranah pra- tisthito giyate. anna ity u haika ahuh.
27. He who knows the support of this Saman is, indeed, supported. Speech, verily, is its support; for, when supported on such, the vital breath chants. But some say it is (supported) on food (body).
28. athatah pavamandnam evabhyarohah, sa vai khalu prastotd sama prastauti, sa yatra prastuyat, tad etani japet: ‘asato ma sad gamaya, tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, mrtyor mamrtam gamaya’ iti, sa yad aha, asato ma sad gamaya iti, mrtyur vd asat, sad amrtam, mrtyor mamrtam gamaya, amrtam ■ ma kurv ity evaitad aha; tamaso ma jyotir gamaya iti, mrtyur vai tamah, jyotir amrtam, mrtyor ma amrtam gamaya, amrtam kurv ity evaitad aha; mrtyor mamrtam gamaya iti, natra tirohitam ivasti. atha ydnitarani stotrani, tesv atmanennadyam agayet; tasmad u tesu vararh vrnita, yam kamam kamayeta, tarn, sa esa evam-vid udgatatmane vd yajamanaya vd yam kamam kamayate, tarn agayati; taddhaital loka-jid eva; na haiva lokyataya asasti, ya evam etat sama veda.
28. Now next the repetition only of the purificatory hymns, verily, the Prastotr priest recites the chant and while he recites it, let the sacrificer recite these (three yajus verses): ‘from the unreal lead me to the real, from darkness lead me to light, from death lead me to immortality.’ When he says ‘from the unreal lead me to the real,’ the unreal, verily, is death, the real is immortality. ‘From death lead me to immortality’; ‘make me immortal,’ that is what he says. ‘From darkness lead
me to light’ ; darkness, verily, is death, the light is immortality. From death lead me to immortality, make me immortal, that is what he says. ‘From death lead me to immortality,’ there is nothing here that is hidden (or obscure and so requires explana¬ tion). Now whatever other verses (there are) in the hymns of praise, in them one should secure food by chanting. And therefore in them he should choose a boon whatever desire he may desire. That udgatr priest who knows this, whatever desire he desires, either for himself or for the sacrificer, that he obtains by chanting. This, indeed is (called) world-conquering. He who thus knows this chant, for him there is no fear of his being without a world.
abhyaroha: ascension. It is so called because the performer reaches the divinity he worships.
Fourth Brahmana
1. atmaivedam agra asit purusavidhah, so’nuviksya nanyad dtma.no pasyat, so’ham asmity agre vyaharat; tato’ham nama- bhavat, tasmad apy etarhy amantritah; aham ayam ity evagra uktva, athanyan nama prabrute yad asyabhavati. sa yat purvo’smat sarvasmat sarvan papmana ausat, tasmat purusah; osati ha vai sa tam, yo’smat purvo bubhusati, ya evarh veda.
1. In the beginning this (world) was only the self, in the shape of a person. Looking around he saw nothing else than the self. He first said, ‘I am.’ Therefore arose the name of I. There¬ fore, even to this day when one is addressed he says first ‘This is I’ and then speaks whatever other name he may have. Because before all this, he burnt all evils, therefore he is a person. He who knows this, verily, burns up him who wishes to be before him.
aham: derived from the root as ‘to be’ means the existence of I. anuviksya: the person who sees and creates himself ( sfstva ), in the very act of seeing enters into the creation (anupravisat) , into all things, beings and selves.
2. so’bibhct, tasmad ekakl bibheti, sa hayam Iksam cakre, yan mad anyan nasti, kasmdn nu bibhcmlti, tata evasya bhayam vlyaya kasrnad hy abhcsyat, dvitlyad vai bhayam bhavati.
164 The Principal Upanisads I. 4. 4.
2. He was afraid. Therefore one who is alone is afraid. This one then thought to himself, ‘since there is nothing else than myself, of what am I afraid?’ Thereupon his fear, verily, passed away, for, of what should he have been afraid ? Assuredly it is from a second that fear arises.
3. sa vai naiva reme; tasmad ekakt na ramate; sa dvitiyam aicchat; sa haitavan asayathd stri-pumamsau samparisvaktau; sa imam evdtmdnam dvedhapdtayat, tatah patis ca patni cabhavatam; tasmdt idam ardha-brgalam iva svah, iti ha smdha yajhavalkyah; tasmad ayani akasah striya puryata cva. tarn samabhavat, tato manusyd ajayanta.
3. He, verily, had no delight. Therefore he who is alone has no delight. He desired a second. He became as large as a woman and a man in close embrace. He caused that self to fall into two parts. From that arose husband and wife. There¬ fore, as Yajnavalkya used to say, this (body) is one half of oneself, like one of the two halves of a split pea. Therefore this space is filled by a wife. He became united with her. From that human beings were produced.
samabhavat: became united, maithunam upagatavan. £.
Hiranya-garbha or Praja-pati divided himself into two. Both are his elements. The two are not separate and the theory is not one of final dualism. Cp. Visnu Pur ana.
sata-rupam ca tarn ndrlrii tapo-nirdhuta-kalmasam svayambhuvo manur devah patnitve jagrhe prabhuh.
Because the woman was born of Viraj, she is said to be his daughter also : prajdpatir manvakhyas sata-riipdkhydm atmano duhitaram pat- nitvena kalpitam. £.
The original being, atman or self looks around and sees nothing else but himself. When he realises his loneliness, he has two feelings, one of fear and the other of a desire for companionship. His fear is dispelled when he realises that there is nothing else of which he has to be afraid. His desire for companionship is satisfied by his dividing himself into two parts which are then called husband and wife.
Compare this with Plato’s myth of the androgynous man in Symposium 189c.
From the union of the two, the race of human beings is produced. A series of transformations of the original human pair into animal forms is mentioned in the next passage.
4. sa heyam iksarh cakre, katham nu matmana eva janayitva sambhavati , hanta tiro' saniti; sa gaur abhavat, rsabha itaras tarn sam evdbhavat, tato gavo’ jayanta; vadavetar abhavat , asva-vrsa
itarah, gardhabhltara gardabha itarah, tam sam evabhavat, tata eka-iapham ajayata; ajetarabhavat, vasta itarah, avir Hard, mesa itarah, tam sam evabhavat, tato javayo jayanta; evam eva yad idam him ca mithunam, a-pipilikabhyah tat sarvam asrjata.
4. She thought, ‘How can he unite with me after having produced me from himself?’ Well, let me hide myself. She became a cow, the other became a bull and was united with her and from that cows were born. The one became a mare, the other a stallion. The one became a she-ass, the other a he-ass and was united with her; and from that one-hoofed 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 and from that goats and sheep were born. Thus, indeed, he produced everything whatever exists in pairs, down to the ants.
5. so’vet, aharh vdva srstir asmi, aharh hidam sarvam asrksiti; tatah srstir abhavat, srstyam hasyaitasyam bhavati ya evam veda.
5. He knew, I indeed am this creation for I produced all this. Therefore he became the creation. He who knows this as such comes to be in that creation of his.
He who knows this becomes himself a creator like Prajd-pati: etasmin jagati sa prajapativat srasta bhavati.
In the next verse we have the creation of the gods, Agni, Fire, and Soma, Moon.
6. athety abhyamanthat, sa mukhac ca yoner hastabhyam cagnim asrjata, tasmdd etad ubhayam alomakam antaratah, alomaka hi yonir antaratah, tad yad idam ahur amurh yaja, amurh yajety ekaikarh devam, etasyaiva sa visrstih, esa u hy eva sarve devah. atha yat kirn cedam ardram, tad retaso asrjata, tad u somah. etdvad va idam sarvam annam caivannddas ca, soma evannam, agnir annddah. saisa brahmano’tisrstih, yac chreyaso devan asrjata: atha yan martyah sann amrtan asrjata, tasmdd atisrstih. atisrstyam hasyaitasyam bhavati y a evam veda.
6. Then he rubbed back and forth and produced fire from its source, the mouth and the hands. Both these (mouth and the hands) are hairless on the inside for the source is hairless on the inside. When they (the people) say ‘sacrifice to him,’ ‘sacrifice to the other one,’ all this is his creation indeed and he himself is all the gods. And now whatever is moist, that he pro¬ duced from semen, and that is ^oma. This whole (world) is just food and the eater of food. Soma is food and fire is the eater of
1 66 The Principal Upanisads I. 4. 7.
food. This is the highest creation of Brahma, namely, that he created the gods who are superior to him. He, although mortal himself, created the immortals. Therefore it is the highest creation. Verily, he who knows this becomes (a creator) in this highest creation.
soma: moon, the lord of medicinal plants, osadhlpati. Cp. Deuteronomy XXXIII. 14: ‘The precious fruits brought forth by the sun and the precious things put forth by the moon.’
5 refers to two views of Hiranya-garbha, that he is the trans¬ cendent Brahman and that he is the transmigrating ‘self,’ para eva hiranya-garbha ity eke, samsarlty apare. S accounts for it by the difference of the presence and absence of limitations, upadhi-vasat samsaritvam, paramdrthatas svato samsdry eva.
7. taddhedam tarhy avyakrtam asit, tan nama-rupabhyam eva vyakriyata, asan nama, ayam idam rupa iti; tad idam apy etarhi nama-rupabhyam eva vydkriyate, asau nama, ayam idam rupa iti. sa esa iha pravvsta anakhagrebhyah yatha, ksurah ksuradhane’ vahitah sydt, visvam-bharo va visvam-bhara-kulaye, tarn na pasyanti. a-krtsno hi sah, pranann eva prano nama bhavati, vadan vdk, pasyams caksuh, srnvan srotram, manvano manah, tany asyaitani karma-namany eva. sayo’ta ekaikam updste, na sa veda, akrtsno hy eso’ta ekaikena bhavati, atmety evopasita, atra hi ete sarva ekam bhavanti. tad etat padaniyam asya sarvasya yad ayam atma, anena hy etat sarvarn veda yatha ha vai padendnu- vindet. evam kirtim slokam vindate ya evarn veda.
7. At that time this (universe) was undifferentiated. It became differentiated by name and form (so that it is said) he has such a name, such a shape. Therefore even today this (universe) is differentiated by name and shape (so that it is said) he has such a name, such a shape. He (the self) entered in here even to the tips of the nails, as a razor is (hidden) in the razor-case, or as fire in the fire-source. Him they see not for (as seen) he is incomplete, when breathing he is called the vital force, when speaking voice, when seeing the eye, when hearing the ear, when thinking the mind. These are merely the names of his acts. He who meditates on one or another of them (aspects) he does not know for he is incomplete, with one or another of these (characteristics). The self is to be meditated upon for in it all these become one. This self is the foot-trace of all this,
for by it one knows all this, just as one can find again by foot¬ prints (what was lost). He who knows this finds fame and praise.
nama-rupa: name and shape which together make the individual. The nama is not the name but the idea, the archetype, the essential character, and the rupa is the existential context, the visible em¬ bodiment of the idea. In every object there are these two elements, the principle which is grasped by the intellect and the envelope which is apprehended by the senses. While nama is the inner power, rupa is its sensible manifestation. If we take the world as a whole, we have the one nama or all-consciousness informing the one rupa, the concrete universe. The different nama-rupas are the differentiated conditions of the one nama, the world consciousness. While the world form is murta, its soul is a-murta. The former is shaped corporeal, sa-sariram, the latter is incorporeal a-sarlram. B.U. II. 3; C.U. VIII. 12. 1. In B.U. III. 2. 12, the part that does not leave the individual soul at death is nama, which is not accessible to the senses. Akasa is nama, and in the human individual the space in the heart hrdy-akasa, is the domain of nama, the principle of consciousness. as a razor in a razor case : He is hidden in all things as a razor in its case or as fire in wood. The ignorant do not know him who is hidden behind all names and forms. See R.V. I. 164. 5. visvam-bhara: He who sustains the world. Vaisvanara visvam bibharti vaisvanaragni-rupeneti visvam-bharah. R.
karma-namani: names of his acts. These are functional names which conceal his undivided nature. We must realise the self not in its several aspects but as these are unified in the self. akrtsnah: incomplete, a-purna-svarupah. R. Sense or intellectual knowledge which does not involve the functioning of the whole self is incomplete knowledge. Wholeness is integral insight.
We trace out lost cattle by following their footsteps, so will we find everything if we know the Self.
8. tad etat preyah putrat, preyo vittat, preyo’nyasmat sarvasmdt, antarataram, yad ayam atmd. sa yo’nyam atmanah priyam bruvdnam bruyat, priyam rotsyatiti, isvaro ha tathaiva syat. atmanam eva priyam upasita, sa ya atmanam eva priyam updste na hasya priyam pramayukam bhavati.
8. That self is dearer than a son, is dearer than wealth, is dearer than everything else and is innermost. If one were to say to a person who speaks of anything else than the Self as dear, he will lose what he holds dear, he would very likely do so. One should meditate on the Self alone as dear. He who
168 The Principal Upanisads I. 4. 10.
meditates on the self alone as dear, what he holds dear, verily, will not perish.
isvarah: able, capable, samarthah. S. pramayukam: perishable, pramaranasltam. 5.
9. tad dhuh, yad brahma-vidyaya sarvam bhavisyanto manusyd manyante , kim u tad brahmavet, yasmdt tat sarvam abhavad iti.
9. They say, since men think that, by the knowledge of Brahman, they become all, what, pray, was it that Brahman knew by which he became all?
10. brahma vd idam agra dsit, tad dtmanam evdvet, aham brahmasmiti: tasmdt tat sarvam abhavat, tad yo yo devanam pratyabudhyata, sa eva tad abhavat, tatha rsinam, tatha manu- syanam. taddhaitat pasyan rsir vama-devah pratipede ,aham manur abhavam suryas ceti, tad idam api etarhi ya evarh veda, aham brahmasmiti sa idam sarvam bhavati; tasya ha na devas ca nabhiitya isate, atma hy esarh sa bhavati. atha yo anyarh devatam updste, anyo’sau anyo’ ham asmiti, na sa veda; yatha pasur, evam sa devanam; yatha ha vai bahavah pasavo manusyam bhuhjyuh, evam ekaikah puruso devdn bhunakti; ekasminn eva pasav adiyamane' pr'iyam bhavati, kim u bahusu? tasmad esam tan na priyam yad etan manusyd vidyuh.
10. Brahman, indeed, was this in the beginning. It knew itself only as ‘I am Brahman.’ Therefore it became all. Whoever among the gods became awakened to this, he, indeed, became that. It is the same in the case of seers, same in the case of men. Seeing this, indeed, the seer Vama-deva knew, ‘I was Manu and the Sun too.’ This is so even now. Whoever knows thus, ‘I am Brahman,’ becomes this all. Even the gods cannot prevent his becoming thus, for he becomes their self. So whoever worships another divinity (than his self) thinking that he is one and [Brahman) another, he knows not. 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 displeasure, what should one say of many (animals) ? Therefore it is not pleasing to those (gods) that men should know this.
See R.V. IV. 26. 1. Vama-deva is the seer of the fourth book of the R.V. Being is self-knowledge.
pratyabudhyata'. became awakened. Cp. Buddhist bodhi sambodhi ; Kena 12.
The gods are not pleased that men should know the ultimate
truth, for then they would know the subordinate place the gods hold and give up making them offerings.
11. brahma va idam agra asit, ckam eva; tad ekarh san na vyabhavat. tac chreyo rupam atyasrjata ksatram, yany etani devatra ksatrani, indro varunah somo rudrah parjanyo yamo mrtyur isana iti. tasmdt ksatrat param nasti, tasmat brahmanah ksatriyam adhastad upaste rajasilye, ksatra eva tad yaso dadhati; saisa ksatrasya yonir yad brahma, tasmad yady api raja paramatam gacchati, brahmaivdntata upanisrayati svam yonim. ya u enarh hinasti, svam sa yonim rcchati, sa pdpiyan bhavati, yathd sreyamsam himsitva.
11. Verily, in the beginning this (world) was Brahman, one only. That, being one, did not flourish. He created further an excellent form, the Ksatra power, even those who are Ksatras (rulers) among the gods, Indra, Varuna, Soma (Moon), Rudra, Parjanya, Yama, Mrtyu (Death), Isana. Therefore there is nothing higher than Ksatra. Therefore at the Rajasuya sacrifice the Brahmana sits below the Ksatriya. On Ksatrahood alone does he confer this honour. But the Brahmana is nevertheless the source of the Ksatra. Therefore, even if the king attains supremacy at the end of it, he resorts to the Brahmana as his source. Therefore he who injures the Brahmana strikes at his own source. He becomes more evil as he injures one who is superior.
ek '.am eva: one only.
At the beginning there was only one caste or class, the Brahmana : differentiations were not, naslt-ksatradi-bhedah. 5. ksatra: power or dominion, used to designate the princely or the military class.
raja-suya : the ceremonial anointing of a King.
12. sa naiva vyabhavat. sa visam asrjata, yany etani deva- jatani ganasa akhyayante, vasavo rudra dditya visvedeva maruta iti.
12. Yet he did not flourish. He created the vis (the com¬ monalty), these classes of gods who are designated in groups, the Vasus, Rudras, Adityas, Visvedevas and Maruts.
The Brahmana represents knowledge, the Ksatriya temporal power. They are not enough. We require a class for increasing pro¬ duction and acquiring wealth.
170 The Principal Upanisads I. 4. 15.
13. sa naiva vyabhavat, sa saudram varnam asrjata pusanam; iyam. vai pusd, iyam hidam sarvam pusyati yad idarh kirk ca.
13. He did not still flourish. He created the £udra order, as Ptisan. Verily, this (earth) is Pusan (the nourisher), for she nourishes everything that is.
Society requires, in addition to wisdom, power, and wealth, service and work. Wisdom conceives the order, power sanctions and enforces it, wealth and production provide the means for carrying out the order, and work carries out. These are the different functions essential for a normal well-ordered society. These distinctions are found among both gods and men.
14. sa naiva vyabhavat. tac chreyo-rupam atyasrjata dharmam : tad ctat ksatrasya ksatram yad dharmah, tasmdd dharmad param ndsti: atho abaliyan baliyamsam asamsate dharmena, yatha rdjha evam. yo vai sa dharmah satyarh vai tat: tasmat satyam vadantani ahxih, dharmarh vadatiti, dharmam va vadantam, satyam vadatiti: dad hy cvaitad ubhayam bhavati.
14. Yet he did not flourish. He created further an excellent form, justice. This is the pow'er of the Ksatriya class, viz. justice. Therefore there is nothing higher than justice. So a weak man hopes (to defeat) a strong man by means of justice as one does through a king. Verily, that which is justice is truth. Therefore they say of a man who speaks the truth, he speaks justice or of a man who speaks justice that he speaks the truth. Verily, both these are the same.
dharma: law or justice is that which constrains the unruly wills and affections of people.
Even kings are subordinate to dharma, to the rule of law. Law or justice is not arbitrary. It is the embodiment of truth. ‘That which is known and that which is practised are justice.’ jhayamanam anusthiyamdnam ca tad dharma eva bhavati. §. hopes to defeat : jetnm asamsate. R.
From early times kings are said to act out the truth, satyam krnvanah. R.V. X. 109. 6, or take hold of the truth satyam grhnanah. Atharva Veda V. 17. 10; satya and dharma, truth and justice are organically related.
15. tad dad brahma ksatram vit siidrah. tad agninaiva devesu brahmabhavat, brdhmano manusyesu, ksatriyena ksatriyah, vaisyena vaisyah, sudrena siidrah; tasmdd agnav eva devesu lokam icchante, brdhmanc manusyesu, etabhyam hi rupabhyam brahmabhavat. atha yo ha va asmdl lokat svarh lokam adrstva
praiti , sa enam avidito na bhunakti, yatha vedo vananuktah anyad va karmakrtam. yad iha va apy anevamvid mahat-punyam karma karoti, taddhdsyantatah ksiyata eva, atmanam eva lokam upasita; sa ya atmanam eva lokam upaste, na hasya karma ksiyate, asmadd hy eva atmano yad yat kamayate tat tat srjate.
15. So these (four orders were created) the Brahmana, the Ksatriya, the Vaisya and the £udra. Among the gods that Brahma existed as Fire, among men as Brahmana, as a Ksatriya by means of the (divine) Ksatriya, as a Vaisya by means of the (divine) Vaisya, as a Sudra by means of the (divine) Sudra. Therefore people desire a place among the gods through fire only, and among men as the Brahmana, for by these two forms (pre-eminently) Brahma existed. If anyone, however, departs from this world without seeing (knowing) his own world, it being unknown, does not protect him, as the Vedas unrecited or as a deed not done do not (protect him). Even if one performs a great and holy work, but without knowing this, that work of his is exhausted in the end. One should meditate only on the Self as his (true) world. The work of him who meditates on the Self alone as his world is not exhausted for, out of that very Self he creates whatsoever he desires.
See C.U. VIII. 2.
S quotes Manu II. 87 that a Brahmana is one who is friendly to all, to justify the aspiration of human beings to attain to the order of Brahmanahood : sarvesu btutesu abhaya-pradah. A.
A Brahmana grants freedom from fear to all beings.
"It is a common saying in mediaeval writers that society consists of those who work, those who guard, and those who pray. It is worth while to note in passing that these writers mean by the workers those who work on the land, and that the classification omits entirely the merchant and the dweller in the towns.” Legacy of the Middle Ages, 1926, p. 11, C. G. Crump.
16. atho ayam va atma sarvesam bhutanam lokah. sa yaj juhoti yad yajate, tena devanam lokah; atha yad anubrute, tena rsinam; atha yat pitrbhyo niprnati yat prajdm icchate, tena pitrnam; atha yan manusyan vasayate, yad ebhyo’ sanarh dadati, tena manu- syanam; atha yat pasubhyas trnodakam vindati, tena pasunam; yad asya grhesu svapada vayarhsy dpipilikdbhya upajivanti , tena tesam lokah. yatha ha vai svaya lokayaristim icchet, evarn haivarh vide ( sarvada ) sarvani bhutany aristim icchanti. tad va etad viditam mimamsitam.
172 The Principal Upanisads I. 4. 17.
as he makes offerings and sacrifices, he becomes the world of the gods. In so far as he learns (the Vedas), he becomes the world of the seers. In so far as he offers libations to the fathers and desires offspring, he becomes the world of the fathers. In so far as he gives shelter and food to men, he becomes the world of men. In so far as he gives grass and water to the animals, he becomes the world of animals. In so far as beasts and birds, even to the ants find a living in his houses he becomes their world. Verily, as one wishes non-injury for his own world, so all beings wish non-injury for him who has this knowledge. This, indeed, is known and well investigated.
lokah: world, object or enjoyment, loko hi nama prani-bhoga- sthana-visesah. R.
anubrute: learns the Vedas, svadhyayam adhlte. S.
The interdependence of man and the world including deities, seers, fathers, animals, is brought out. The same idea is elaborated in the theory of the five great sacrifices, pahca-mahayajhah, bhuta-yajria, manusya-yajha, pitr-yajha, deva-yajha and brahma- yajha for animals, men, manes, gods and seers. investigated: vicaritam. S.
aristam: non-injury, ristam: nasah, aristam, anasam. R.
17. atmaivedam agra asit, eka eva; so’ kamayata, jaya me syat atha prajayeya ; atha vittam me syad, atha karma kurviyeti. etavan vai kamah: necchams ca na ato bhuyo vindet. tasmad apy etarhy ekaki kamayate, jaya me syat, atha prajayeya, atha vittam me syad atha karma kurviyeti. sa yavad apy etesam ekaikam na prapnoti, a-krtsna eva tavan manyate. tasyo krtsnata: mana evdsya dtmd, vag jaya, pranah praja, caksur manusam vittam, caksusa hi tad vihdate, srotram daivam, srotrena hi tac chrnot. atmaivasya karma, atmana hi karma karoti. sa esa pahkto yajhah, pahktah pasuh, pahktah purusah, pdhktam idarn sarvam yad idarh kim ca. tad idarh sarvam apnoti, ya evarh veda.
17. In the beginning this (world) was just the self, one only. He desired, ‘would that I had a wife, then I may have offspring. Would that I had wealth, then I would' 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 who is single desires, ‘would that I had a wife, then I may have offspring. Would that I had wealth, then I would perform rites.’ So long as he does not obtain each one of these, he thinks himself to be incomplete. Now his completeness (is as follows),
mind truly is his self, speech his wife, breath is his offspring, the eye is his human wealth, for he finds it with the eye, the ear his divine wealth, for he hears it with his ear. The body, indeed, is his work, for with his body he performs work. So this sacrifice is fivefold, fivefold is the animal, fivefold is the person, fivefold is all this world, whatever there is. He who knows this as such obtains all this.
The ignorant man thinks that he is incomplete without wife, children and possessions. a-krtsnah: incomplete, a-sampurnah. S.
Fifth Brahmana
PRAJA-PATI’S production of the world as
1. yat saptannani medhaya tapasa janayat pita, ekam asya sadharanam, dve devan abhajayat; triny atmane’ kuruta, pasubhya ekam prayacchat. tasmin sarvam pratisthitam, yac ca praniti yac ca na. kasmat tani na ksiyante adyamanani sarvada ? yo vaitam aksitim veda, so'nnam atti pratikena; sa devan apigacchati, sa urjam upajivati. iti slokdh.
1. When the Father (of creation) produced by knowledge and austerity seven kinds of food, one of his (foods) was common to all beings, two he assigned to the gods, three he made for himself, one he gave to the animals. In it everything rests, whatsoever breathes and what does not. Why then do they not decline when they are being eaten all the time? He who knows this imperishableness, he eats food with his mouth. He goes to the gods, he lives on strength. Thus the verses.
medhaya: by knowledge, prajhayd.
tapasa: by austerity or the performance of rules, karmana ; jhana- karmanl eva hi medha-tapas-sabda-vacye.
2. ‘yat saptannani medhaya tapasa janayat pita iti medhaya hi tapasajanayat pita, ‘ekam asya sadharanam’ iti, idam evasya tat sadharanam annam, yad idam adyate, sa ya etad updste na sa papmano vyavartate, misram hy etat. 'dve devan abhajayat’ iti,
174 I he Principal Upanisads I. 5. 2.
hutarh ca prahutam ca; tasmad devebhyo juhvati ca pra ca juhvati, atho ahuh, darsapurnamasav iti; tasman nesti-yajukah syat.
1 pasubhya ekam prayacchat’ iti. tat payah, payo hy evagre manusyas ca pasavas copajivanti. tasmat kumaram jatarn ghrtam vai vagre pratilehayanti, stanarn vanudhapayanti: atha vatsam jatarn ahuh, ‘atrnada iti; ‘tasmin sarvam pratisthitam yac ca praniti yac ca na' iti, payasi hidam sarvam pratisthitam, yac ca praniti yac ca na. tad yad idam ahuh samvatsaram payasa juhvad apa punarmrtyum jayatiti, na tatha vidyat. yad ahar eva juhoti, tad ahah punarmrtyum apajayaty evam vidvan; ‘sarvam hi devebhyo ’nnadyam prayacchati. ’kasmat tani na ksiyante adyamanani sarvada ‘iti, puruso va aksitih, sa hidam annam punah punar janayate. ’yo vai tarn aksitim veda ’iti, puruso va aksitih, sa hidam annam dhiya dhiya janayate karmabhih, yaddhaitan na kuryat ksiyeta ha. ‘so’nnam atti pratikena’ iti, mukham pratikam, mukhenety etat. sa devan apigacchati, sa iirjam upajivati ’iti prasamsa.
2. ‘When the Father produced by knowledge and austerity seven kinds of food’ means that the Father produced them by knowledge and austerity. ‘One of his foods was common to all beings’ means that the food of his which is eaten is that which is common to all. Fie who worships (eats) that (common food) is not freed from evil for, verily, that (food) is mixed. ‘Two he assigned to the gods’ means they are the fire sacrifice {hut a) and the offering. Therefore one sacrifices and offers to the gods. But they also say that they are the new-moon and the full- moon sacrifices. Therefore one should not offer sacrifice for material ends. ‘One who gave to the animals’ ‘that is milk’ for, at first, men and animals live on milk alone. Therefore they make a newborn babe first lick clarified butter or put it to the breast; likewise they speak of a newborn calf as one that does not eat grass. 'In it everything rests whatsoever breathes and what does not’ means that on milk everything rests what¬ soever breathes and what does not. This is said that by making offerings with milk for a year one conquers further death. One should not think so. For he who knows this conquers further death the very day he makes the offering, for he offers all his food to the gods. ‘Why then do they not decline when they are being eaten all the time,’ means verily, the person is imperishable, for he produces this food again and again. ‘He who knows this imperishableness’ means that the Person is imperishable, for he produces this food as his work by his con-
tinuous meditation. Should he not do this, his food would be exhausted. ‘He eats food with his mouth.’ The pratTka is the mouth, he eats it with his mouth.’ He goes to the gods; he lives on strength; this is praise.
$ makes out that desire is possible only when we are ignorant of the truth of things. When we realise the truth, there can be no desire: brahma-vidya-visaye ca sarvaikatvat kamanupapatteh.
The eater is the subject which is constant, imperishable: the food eaten is the object, it is changing.
mukham: mouth, pre-eminence, mukhyatvam, prddhdnyam $.
R. makes out that the Supreme Person produces food for the needs of creatures, paramatma praty ahamannani punah punah prani-kar- manusarena janayati.
3. 'tuny atmane kuruta iti, mano vacant pranam, tany atmane 'kuruta : anyatra mana abhuvam nadarsam, anyatra mand abhuvam nasrausam iti, manasa hy eva pasyati, manasa srnoti, kamah samkalpo vicikitsa, sraddha 'sraddha, dhrtir adhrtir hrir dhir bhtr ity etat sarvarn mana eva. tasmad api prsthata upasprsto manasa vijanati; yah kai ca sabdo, vag eva sa; esa hi antam ayatta, esa hi na prano ’pano vyana udanah samanona ity etat sarvarn prana eva. etanmayo va ayam atma, vah-mayah, mano-mayah, prana-mayah.
3. ‘Three he made for himself.’ Mind, speech, breath, these he made for himself. ' (They say) my mind was elsewhere, I did not see it, my mind was elsewhere, I did not hear.’ It is with the mind, truly, that one sees. It is with the mind that one hears. Desire, determination, doubt, faith, lack of faith, steadfastness, lack of steadfastness, shame, intellection, fear, all this is truly mind. Therefore even if one is touched on his back, he discerns it with the mind. Whatever sound there is, it is just speech. Verily, it serves to determine an end (object), but is not itself (determined or revealed). The in-breath, the out-breath, the diffused breath, the up-breath, the middle-breath, all that breathes is breath only. Verily, the self consists of speech, mind and breath.
See Maitri VI. 30.
Mere presentation is not enough for perception. Mind must be attentive. We often say that we did not see it or hear it because we were absent-minded. It is through the mind that we see and hear. samkalpa: determination, determining the nature of a thing presented to us, whether it is white or blue, etc. pratyUpasthita-visaya-
176 The Principal Upanisads I. 5. 9.
vikalpanam snkla-mlddibhedena. 5. According to Amara, it is a mental act, manasahi karma.
Prana is the general term for breath, in or out.
Apana is the downward breath, Vyana is the bond of union of the two. It is the breath which sustains life when there is neither expiration nor inspiration. Samana is common to both expiration and inspiration. Udana leads the soul in deep sleep to the central Reality or conducts the soul from the body on death.
Speech reveals things but is not revealed by others of the same class.
4. These same are the three worlds. Speech is this world (the earth), Mind is the atmospheric world (the sky), Breath is that world (heaven).
7. These same are father, mother and offspring, Mind, verily, is the father. Speech is the mother. Breath is the offspring.
8. vijhdtam vijijhasyam avijhatam eta eva; yat kirk ca vijhatam, vacas tad rupam, vagg hi vijhata, vdg enarh tad bhutvavati.
8. These same are what is known, what is to be known and what is unknown. Whatever is known is a form of speech, for speech is the knower. For speech by becoming that (which is known) protects him (the knower).
The mind protects him by becoming that which is to be known.
11. Of this speech, the earth is the body. Its light-form is this (terrestrial) fire. As far as speech extends, so far extends the earth, so far (extends) this fire.
12 . athaitasya manaso dyauh sariram, jyoti-rupam asdv adityah, tad yavad eva manas, tavati dyauh, tavan asdv adityah. tail mithunam samaitam: tatah prano ajayata sa indrah, sa eso’sapa- tnah: dvitiyo vai sapatnah: nasya sapaino bhavati, ya cvarh veda.
12. Now of this mind, heaven is the body and its light -form is that sun. As far as the mind extends, so far extends the heaven, so far (extends) that sun. These two (the fire and the sun) entered into union and from that was born breath. He is Indra (the supreme lord). He is without a rival. Verily, a second person is a rival. He who knows this has no rival.
Indra: the supreme lord, paramesvarah. S.
13. athaitasya pranasydpah sariram, jyoti-rupam asau candrah, tad yavan eva pranah, tavatya apah, tavan asau candrah, ta ete sarva eva samdh, sarve'nantah: sa yo haitan antavata upaste antavantam sa lokarh jayati. atha yo haitan anantan upaste, anantam sa lokarh jayati.
13. Next, of this breath, water is the body. Its light-form is that moon. As far as the breath extends so far extends water and so far (extends) that moon. These are all alike, all endless. Verily, he who meditates on them as finite, wins a finite world. But he who meditates on them as infinite wins an infinite world.
PR A J A -PAT I
14. sa esa samvatsarah praja-patih, sodasa-kalah; tasya rdtraya eva pahcadasa-kalah, dhruvaivasya sodasi kala. sa rdtribhir eva ca puryate, apa ca ksiyate; so’mavdsydrh ratrim etaya sodasya kalaya sarvam idarh pranabhrd anupraviiya, tatah prdtar jayate. tasmad etarh ratrim prana-bhrtah pranarh na vicchindyad api krkatd sasya, etasya eva. devataya apacityai.
178 The Principal Upanisads I. 5. 16.
14. That Praja-pati is the year and has sixteen parts. His nights, indeed, have fifteen parts, the fixed point his sixteenth part. He is increased and diminished by his nights alone. Having on the new-moon night entered with that sixteenth part into everything here that has breath, he is born thence in the (following) morning. Therefore on that night let no one cut off the breath of any breathing things, not even of a lizard, in honour of that divinity.
apacityai: in honour of, pujartham. 8.
15. yo vai sa samvatsarah prajapatih sodasa-kalah, ayam eva sa yo’yam evam-vit purusah. tasya vittam eva pahcadasa-kalah, atmaivasya sodasi kala, sa vittenaiva ca puryatc apa caksiyate. tad etan nabhyam yad ayam atmd, pradhir vittam. tasmdd yady api sarvajydnim jiyate, dtmand ccj jivati, pradhindgdd ity evahuh.
15. Verily, the person here who knows this is himself that Praja-pati with the sixteen parts who is the year. His wealth is the fifteen parts, the sixteenth part is his self. In wealth alone is one increased and diminished. That which is the self is a hub, wealth a felly. Therefore even if one loses everything but he himself lives, people say that he has lost only his felly (which can be restored again).
Wealth is compared to the spokes of a wheel. It is something external. If one loses wealth he loses only his outer trappings. He can regain wealth. It is the distinction between being and having, to use Gabriel Marcel’s words.
The superscription at Delphi, 'Know thyself’ is, according to Plutarch, an injunction addressed by God to all who approach him: Moralia 384 D.f. In Alcibiades I. 130 E.f. Socrates says that he who orders ‘Know thyself’ bids us 'Know the soul,’ and he who knows only what is of the body ‘knows the things that are his but not himself.’
16. atha trayo vava lokdh, manusya-lokah, pitr-lokah. deva-loka iti. so’ yam manusya-lokah putrenaiva jayyah, ndnycna karmana. karmana pitr-lokah, vidyaya deva-lokah, deva-loko vai lokanam sresthah: tasmdd vidydm prasamsanti.
16. Now, there are, verily, three worlds, the world of men, the world of the fathers, and the world of the gods. This world
of men is to be obtained through the son alone, not by any other work, the world of the fathers by works (rites), the world of the gods by knowledge. The world of gods is, verily, the best of worlds. Therefore they praise knowledge.
vidya: knowledge, vidya-sabdasya brahma-vidya-paratvam. R.
FATHER’S BENEDICTION AND TRANSMISSION OF
17. athatah samprattih. yada praisyan manyate, atha putram aha, tvam brahma tvam yajhah, tvam loka iti. sa putrah praty aha, aham brahma, aham yajhah, aham loka iti. yad vai kim canuktam, tasya sarvasya brahmety ekata. ye vai ke ca yajhah, tesam, sarvesam, yajha ity ekata; ye vai ke ca lokdh, tesam sarvesam, loka ity ekata; etavad va idam sarvam, etanma sarvam sann ayam ito’bhunajad iti, tasmat putram anusistam lokyam ahuh. tasmad enam anusasati, sa yadaivam vid asmal lokat praiti. athaibhir eva pranaih saha putram avisati. sa yady anena kim cid aksnaya krtam bhavati, tasmad enam sarvasmat putro muhcati. tasmat putro nama sa putrenaivasmiml loke pratitisthati, athainam ete daivah prana amrta avisanti.
1 7. Now therefore the transmission. When a man thinks that he is about to depart, he says to his son, ‘you are Brahman, you are the sacrifice and you are the world.’ The son answers, ‘I am Brahman, I am the sacrifice, I am the world.’ Verily, whatever has been learnt, all that taken as one is knowledge (Brahman). Verily, whatever sacrifices have been made, all those, taken as one are the world. All this is indeed, this much. Being thus the all, let him (the son) preserve me from (the ties of) this world, thus, (the father thinks). Therefore they call a son who is instructed ‘world-procuring’ and therefore they instruct him. When one who knows this departs from this world he enters into his son together with his breaths. Whatever wrong has been done by him, his son frees him from it all, therefore he is called a son. By his son a father stands firm in this world. Then into him enter those divine immortal breaths.
See K.U. II. 15.
samprattih: transmission. It is so called because the father in this manner transmits his own duties to his son : putre hi svatma-vyapara- sampradanarh karoty anena prakarena pita. S.
putra: from pur, ‘to fil,’ and tra ‘to deliver,’ a deliverer who fills the
180 The Principal Upanisads I. 5. 20.
holes left by the father: yah pitus chidram purayitva trayati. §. Others derive it from put ‘a hell,’ and tra, ‘to save.’ See Manu IX. 138.
In the R.V. a son is called rnacyuta, one who removes debts. See Taittirlya Samhitd VI. 3. 10. 5.
18. From the earth and from the fire the divine speech enters him. Verily, that is the divine speech by which whatever one says comes to be (is fulfilled).
His speech becomes infallible and irresistible : amogha pratibaddha asya vag bhavati. £.
ig. divas cainam adityac ca daivam mana avisati, tad vai daivam mano yendnandy eva bhavati, atho na socati.
19. From the heaven and the sun the divine mind enters him. Verily, that is the divine mind by which one becomes only joyful and sorrows not.
He sorrows not because he is not connected with the sources of grief: sokadi-nimittasamyogat. $
20. adbhyas cainam candramasas ca daivah prana avisati: sa vai daivah prano, yah samcararhs casamcararhs ca na vyathate, atho na risyati. sa evam-vit sarvesam bhutanam atma bhavati. yathaisa devata, evarh sah. yathaitarh devatam sarvani bhutdny avanti, evarh haivam-vidam sarvani bhutany avanti. yad u kirn cemah prajnh socanti, amaivasdrh tad bhavati, punyam evdmurh gacchati. na ha vai devan paparh gacchati.
20. From water and the moon the divine breath enters him. Verily, that is the divine breath, whether moving or not moving, is not perturbed nor injured. He who knows this becomes the self of all beings. As is this divinity (Hiranya-garbha) , so is he. As all beings regard that divinity, so do all beings regard him who knows this. Whatever sufferings creatures may undergo, these remain with them. But only merit goes to him. No evil ever goes to the gods.
Individuals suffer because one causes suffering to another, but in the Universal Spirit where all individuals are one, the sufferings of the individuals do not affect the whole.
21. athato vrata-mxmamsd. praja-patir ha karmani sasrje, tani srstani anyo’nyenaspardhanta. vadisydmy evaham iti vag dadhre; draksyamy aham iti caksuh; srosyamy aham iti srotram; evam anyani karmani yatha karma; tani mrtyuh sramo bhutva upayeme; tany apnot; tany aptva mrtyur avarundha; tasmat sramyaty eva vak, sramyati caksuh, sramyati srotram. athemam eva napnot yo’yarh madhyamah prdnah. tani jhatum dadhrire. ay am vai nah srestho yah samcarams casamcarams ca na vyathate, atho na risyati, hantasyaiva sarve rupam asameti: ta etasyaiva sarve rupam abhavan, tasmad eta etainakhyayante prana iti. tena ha vdva tat kulam acaksate, yasmin kule bhavati ya evam veda. ya u haivam vidd spardhate, anususyati, anususya haivantato mriyate, iti adhyatmam.
21. Now next a consideration of the observances. Prajd-pati produced the active senses. They, when they were produced, quarrelled with one another. Speech resolved ‘I will go on speaking.’ The eye ‘I will go on seeing.’ The ear ‘I will go on hearing.’ And thus the other organs, each according to its function. Death, having become weariness, laid hold of them. It took possession of them; having taken possession of them, death held them back from their work. Therefore speech becomes weary (gets tired), the eye becomes weary, the ear becomes weary. But death did not take possession of him who was the middle breath. They (the senses) sought to know him and said, ‘This is, verily, the greatest among us, since (it) whether moving or not moving, is not perturbed, is not injured, let us all assume his form’ : of him indeed they became a form. Therefore they are called after him ‘breath.’ In whatever family there is a man who knows this they call that family after him. And whoever strives with one who knows this shrivels away and after shrivelling dies in the end. This, with reference to the self.
vrata: observance, meditative worship, updsana. karmani: active senses, instruments of activity. dadhre resolved, dhrtavan R.
The Principal Upanisads THE UNFAILING AIR
I- 5- 23.
22. athadhidaivatam: jvalisyamy evaham ity agnir dadhre; tapsyamy ahant ity adityah; bhdsydmy aham iti candramah; evam anya devata yatha-devatam; sa yathaisam prananam madhyamah pranah, evam etasarn devatanam vayuh. nimlocanti hy anya devatah, na vayuh. saisanastamita devata yad vayuh.
22. Now with reference to the gods. Fire resolved ‘I will go on burning.’ The sun ‘I will go on warming.' The moon ‘I will go on shining’. So said the other gods each according to his divine function. As breath holds the central position among the vital breaths, so does air among these divinities; for other divinities have their decline but not air. Air is the divinity that never sets (never goes to rest).
yatas codeti suryah astam yatra ca gacchati iti pranad va esa udeti, prane’ stam eti, tarn devas cakrire dharmarh sa evadya sa u svah.
iti yad va etemurhy adhriyanta tad evapy adya kurvanti. tasmad ekam eva vratam caret, pranyac caiva, apdnyac ca, nen ma papma mrtyur apnuvad iti; yady u caret samapipayiset. teno etasyai devatayai sayujyarh salokatam jayati.
23. On this there is this verse: ‘From whom the sun rises and in whom it sets; in truth from breath it rises and in breath it sets. Him the divinities made the law, he only is today and he tomorrow also. (Whatever the divinities observed then they observe till today.)’ Verily, what those (functions) undertook of old, even that they accomplish today. Therefore let a man perform one observance only. He should breathe in and breathe out wishing, ‘Let not the evil of death get me.' And when he performs it, let him try to complete it. Thereby he wins com¬ plete union with that divinity and residence in the same world with him.
Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad
Sixth Brahmana
THREE-FOLD CHARACTER OF THE WORLD
1. tray am va idam, nama rupam karma; tesam namnam vag ity etad esam uktham, ato hi sarvani namany uttisthanti; etad esam sama; etadd hi sarvair namabhih samam; etad esam brahma, etadd hi sarvani namani bibharti.
1. Verily, this (world) is a triad of name, shape and work. Of these as regards names, speech is the source, for from it all names arise. It is their common feature for it is common to all names. It is their Brahman, for it sustains all names.
§ distinguishes the world of name, shape, work as non-self from Brahman the self : natma yat sdksdd aparoksad brahma, vak: speech, sound in general, sabda-samanyam. §. sama: common, samatvat sama samanyam. S.
2. atha rupanam caksur ity etad esam uktham, ato hi sarvani rupdny uttisthanti, etad esam sama, etadd hi sarvai rupaih samam, etad esam brahma; etadd hi sarvani rupani bibharti.
2. Now, of shapes eye is the source, for from it all shapes arise. It is their common feature for it is common to all shapes. It is their Brahman, for it sustains all shapes.
3. atha karmanam atmety etad esam uktham, ato hi sarvani karmany uttisthanti, etad esam sama, etadd hi sarvaih karmabhih samam, etad esam brahma, etadd hi sarvani karmani bibharti. tad etad trayarn sad ekam ayam atma, atma ekah sann etat trayam. tad etad amrtam satyena channam, prano va amrtam, nama-rupe satyam; tabhyam ayam pranas channah.
3. Now of works, the body is the source for from it all works arise. It is their common feature for it is common to all works. It is their Brahman, for it sustains all works. These three together are one, this self; the self, though one, is this triad. This is the immortal veiled by the real. Breath, verily, is the immortal, name and shape are the real. By them this breath is veiled.
The Principal Upanisads
1. drpta-balakir hdnucano gargya asa, sa hovaca ajatasatrum kasyam, brahma te bravaniti, sa hovaca ajatasatruh, sahasram etasyam vaci dadmah. janakah, janaka iti vai jana dhavantiti.
1. There lived formerly Drpta-balaki of the Gargya clan, who was an expositor. He said to Ajatasatru of Kail, T will tell you about Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said, ‘I give you a thousand (cows) for this proposal.' People, indeed, rush, saying Janaka, Janaka.
See K.U. IV.
In this dialogue Drpta-balaki, though a Brahmana, represents the imperfect knowledge of Brahman, while Ajatasatru, though a Ksatriya, represents advanced knowledge of Brahman. While Drpta-balaki worships Brahman as the sun, the moon, etc., as limited, Ajatasatru knows Brahman as the self. drptah: proud, garvitah. £.
Kail: Kail is one of the seven sacred places reputed to confer final emancipation.
ayodhya. mathura rndyd hast kahcl avantika purl dvaravati caiva saptaita moksa-dayikah. anucanah : expositor, anuvacana-samarthah, vakta. S. Being ex¬ ceedingly vain, Gargya accosted Ajatasatru with boastful speech. In accepting his kind proposal Ajatasatru offers a reward of a thousand cows.
Janaka was a well-known learned king. Ajatasatru feels that he has also some of his qualities.
2. sa hovaca gargyah, ya evasav aditye purusah, dam cvaham brahmopasa iti. sa hovaca ajatasatruh; ma maitasmin samva- disthah. atisthah sarvesam bhutanam murdha rajeti va aham darn upasa iti, sa ya dam upaste, atisthah sarvesam bhutanam murdha raja bhavati.
2. Gargya said: ‘The person who is yonder in the sun, on him, indeed, do I meditate as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said, ‘Please do not talk to me about him. I meditate on him as all-surpassing, as the head and king of all beings. He who meditates on him as such becomes all-surpassing, the head and king of all beings.’
atisthah: all-surpassing, atitya sarvani bhutanl tisthati. §. raja: king, resplendent; dlpti-gunopetatvat. $>.
The results of meditation correspond to the forms meditated upon according to the view, tam yatha yathopdsate tad eva bhavati. Satapatha Brahmana. X. V. 2. 20.
3. sa hovaca gdrgyah; ya evasau candre purusah, etam evdham brahmopasa iti. sa hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samva- disthah. brhan pandara-vasah somo rajeti va aham etam updsa iti. sa ya etam evam upaste, ahar ahar ha sutah prasuto bhavati, nasyannam ksiyate.
3. Gargya said: ‘The person who is yonder in the moon, on him, indeed, do I meditate as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Please do not talk to me about him. I meditate on him as the great white-robed king Soma. He who meditates on him as such, for him soma is poured out (in the principal) and poured forth (in the subsidiary sacrifices) every day. His food does not get short.’
Soma is the name for the moon and the juice from the creeper which is used in the sacrifices, yajha-sadhana-bhuta-somaraja-iabdita- lata-visesa. R.
Pandara-vasah: white-robed. The white rays of the moon flood the earth. R. quotes Vyasarya, pandarair amsubhir jagac-chddakatvat pandara-vasastvam
4'. sa hovaca gdrgyah; ya evasau vidyuti purusah, etam evdham brahmopasa iti. sa hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samva- disthah, tejasviti va aham etam updsa iti. sa ya etam evam upaste, tejasvi ha bhavati, tejasvini hasya praja bhavati.
4. Gargya said: ‘The person who is yonder in lightning, on him, indeed, do I meditate as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Please do not talk to me about him. I meditate on him, verily, as the radiant. He who meditates on him as such becomes radiant, and his offspring, too, become radiant.'
5. sa hovaca gdrgyah, ya evayam akase purusah, etam evdham brahmopasa iti. sa hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samva- disthah, purnam apravartiti va aham etam updsa iti, sa ya etam evam upaste, puryate prajaya pasubhih nasyasmal lokat prajo- dvartate.
5. Gargya said: ‘The person who is here in the ether, on him indeed, do I meditate as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Please do not speak to me about him. I meditate on him, verily, as the
i86
The Principal Upanisads II. i. 9.
full and the unmoving. He who meditates on him as such is filled with offspring and cattle, and his offspring does not depart from this world.’
The continuity of his line is preserved in this world.
6. sa hovaca gargyah, ya evdyam vayau purusah, etam evaham brahmopasa iti. sa hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin sarhva- disthah, indro vaikunthoparajita seneti va aham etam upasa iti, sa ya etam evam upaste, jisnur haparajisnur bhavaty anyata- stya-jdyi.
6. Gargya said: ‘The person who is here in air, on him, indeed, do I meditate as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Please do not talk to me about him, I meditate on him, verily, as the lord, as the irresistible and as the unvanquished army. He who meditates on him as such becomes, indeed, victorious, uncon¬ querable, and a conqueror of enemies.’
7. sa hovaca gargyah, ya evdyam agnau purusah, etam evaham brahmopasa iti. sa hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samva- disthah, visasahir iti va aham etam upasa iti, sa ya etam evam upaste visasahir ha bhavati, visasahir hasya praja bhavati.
7. Gargya said: ‘The person who is here in fire, on him, indeed, do I meditate as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Please do not talk to me about him. I meditate on him, verily, as the forbearing. He who meditates on him as such becomes, indeed, forbearing and his offspring, too, becomes forbearing.’
visasahih: forbearing, marsayita paresam. £.
8. sa hovaca gargyah, ya evdyam apsu purusah, etam evaham brahmopasa iti. sa hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samva- disthah, pratirupa iti va aham etam upasa iti, sa ya etam evam upaste, pratirupam haivainam upagacchati , napratirupam, atho pratirupo’ smaj jayate.
8. Gargya said: ‘The person, who is here in water, on him, indeed, do I meditate as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Please do not talk to me about him. I meditate on him, verily, as the likeness. He who meditates on him as such, to him comes what is like (him), not what is unlike (him), also from him is born what is like (him).’
pratirupah: likeness, reflection, pratibimbah.
Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad 187
disthah. rocisnur iti va aham etam upasa iti. sa ya etam evarn upaste rocisnur ha bhavati, rocisnur hasya praja bhavati, atho yaih samnigacchati , sarvams tan atirocate.
9. Gargya said: The person who is here in a mirror, on him, indeed, do I meditate as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said : ‘Please do not talk to me about him. I meditate on him, verily, as the shining one. He who meditates on him as such becomes shining indeed. His offspring, too, becomes shining. He also outshines all those with whom he comes in contact.’
rocisnuh: shining, dipti-svabhavah. $.
10. sa hovaca gargyah; ya evayam yantam pascdt sabdo nudeti; etam evaham brahmopasa iti. sa hovaca ajatasatruh; ma maitasmin samvadisthah, asur iti va aham etam upasa iti, sa ya etam evam upaste, sarvam haivasmiml loka ayur eti, nainam pura kdlat prano jahati.
10. Gargya said: ‘The sound here which follows one as he walks, on that, indeed, do I meditate as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Please do not talk to me about that. I meditate on him, verily, as life. He who meditates on him as such attains a full term of life in this world. Breath does not depart from him before (the completion of) his time.'
11. sa hovaca gargyah, ya evayam diksu purusah, etam evaham brahmopasa iti. sa hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samva- disthah, dvitiyo’napaga iti va aham etam upasa iti, sa y a etam evam upaste, dvitiyavan ha bhavati, ndsmad ganas chidyate.
11. Gargya said: ‘The person who is here in the quarters (of heaven) on him, indeed, do I meditate as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Please do not talk to me about him. I meditate on him, verily, as the second who never leaves us. He who meditates on him as such becomes possessed of a second. His company is not cut off from him.’
His friends do not desert him. He is never lonely.
12. sa hovaca gargyah, ya evayam chayamay ah purusah, etam evaham brahmopasa iti. sa hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samvadisthah, mrtyur iti va aham etam upasa iti, sa ya etam evam upaste, sarvam haivasmiml loka ayur eti, naivam pura kalan mrtyur agacchati.
1 88 The Principal Upanisads
‘Please do not talk to me about him. I meditate on him, verily, as death. He who meditates on him as such attains a full term of life in this world. Death does not come to him before (the completion of) his time.’
13. sa hovdca gargyah, ya evayam atmani puru^ah, etam evdham brahmopasa iti. sa hovdca ajatasatruh, md maitasmin samvadisthah, atmanviti va aham etam upasa iti, sa ya etam evam upaste, atmanvi ha bhavati atmanvini hasya praja bhavati. sa ha tusnim asa gargyah.
13. Gargya said: ‘The person here who is in the self, on him, indeed, do I meditate as Brahman.’ Ajatasatru said: ‘Please do not talk to me about him. I meditate on him, verily, as self-possessed. He who meditates on him as such he becomes self-possessed. His offspring becomes self-possessed.’ Gargya became silent.
Self-possession is the quality of those who are cultivated: dtma- vattvam vasyatmakatvam. A.
14. Ajatasatru said: ‘Is that all?’ ‘That is all’ (said Gargya). (Ajatasatru said) ‘With that much only it is not known.’ Gargya said, ‘Let me come to you as a pupil.’
15. sa hovdca ajatasatruh, pratilomam cai tad y ad brahmanah ksatriyam upeyat, brahma me vaksyatiti, vy eva tvajhapayisya- miti; tarn panav adayottasthau. tau ha purusam suptam ajagma- tuh, tarn etair namabhir amantrayam cakre, brhan pandara-vasah soma rajann iti: sa nottasthau; tarn panina pesam bodhayam cakara, sa hottasthau.
15. Ajatasatru said: ‘Verily, it is contrary to usual practice that a Brahmana should approach a Ksatriya, thinking that he will teach me Brahman. However, I shall make you know him clearly.’ Taking him by the hand he rose. The two together came to a person who was asleep. They addressed him with these names: Great, White-robed, Radiant, Soma. The man did not get up. He woke him by rubbing him with his hand. He then got up.
pratilomam: contrary to usual practice, vipantam. $.
16. sa hovdca ajatasatruh, yatraisa etat supto’bhut, ya esa vijhanamayah purusah, kvaisa tadabhut, kuta etad agad iti. tad u ha na mene gargyah.
16. Ajatasatru said: ‘When this person who consists of in¬ telligence fell asleep thus, where was it and whence did it come back.’ And this also Gargya did not know.
The fact that a man recovers his consciousness after deep sleep means that it was present even in sleep, though we are not conscious of it. In deep sleep the self perceives nothing whatever and is of the nature of inactive consciousness.
17. sa hovaca ajatasatruh, yatraisa etat supto’bhut esa vijhdna- mayah purusah, tad esam prananam vijhanena vijhanam adaya ya eso’ntar-hrdaya akasah tasmin chete, tani yada grhnati atha haitat purusah svapiti nama. tad grhita eva prano bhavati, grhita vak, grhitam caksuh, grhitam srotram, grhitam manah.
17. Ajatasatru said: ‘When this being fell asleep thus, then the person who consists of intelligence, having by his intelli¬ gence taken to himself the intelligence of these breaths (sense organs) rests in the space within the heart. When the person takes in these (senses), he is said to be asleep. When the breath is restrained, speech is restrained, the eye is restrained, the ear is restrained, the mind is restrained.
akasa: space. $ identifies it with the Supreme Self: akasa-sabdena para eva sva atmocyate.
prana: breath. S means by it nose, prana iti ghranendriyam.
When the organs are restrained, the self rests in its own self: tasmad upasamhrtesu vagadisu kriya-kdraka-phalatmatabhavat svdt- mastha evatma bhavatity avagamyate. 8. karanavastha svasariraka paramatmany aplta iti svapiti sabdartho’bhipretah. R.
18. sa yatraitaya svapnayacarati, te hasya lokah: tad uta iva maharajo bhavati, uta iva maha-brahmanah, uta iva uccavacam nigacchati: sa yada maharajo, janapadan grhitva sve janapade yatha-kamam parivarteta, evam evaisa etat pranan grhitva sve sarire yatha-kamam parivartate.
18. ‘When he moves about in dream these are his worlds. Then he becomes as it were a great king, a great Brahmana as it were. He enters, as it were, states, high and low. Even as a great king, taking his people, moves about in his country as he pleases, so also here, this one, taking his breaths (senses), moves about in his own body as he pleases.
19. atha yada susupto bhavati, yada na kasya cana veda,- hita nama nadyo dva-saptatih sahasrani hrdayat puritatam abhipratisthante, tabhih pratyavasrpya puritati sete, sa yatha
190 The Principal Upanisads II. 2. I.
kumaro va maharajo va maha-brahmano vatighnim anandasya gatva sayita, evam evaisa etac chete.
19. ‘Again, when one falls sound asleep, when he knows nothing whatsoever, having come through the seventy-two thousand channels called hita which extend from the heart to the pericardium, he rests in the pericardium. Verily, as a youth or a great king or a great Brahmana might rest when he has reached the summit of bliss, so does he then rest.’
Round the heart are the veins 72,000 in number. These are of five colours uniting with the rays of the sun similarly coloured. The sun and the heart are said to be connected with each other. In deep sleep the soul glides into the veins and through them it becomes one with the heart. At death the soul is said to pass out by the veins and the rays of the sun which the wise find open to them while they are closed to the ignorant. See also IV. 2. 3; IV. 3. 20. C.U. VIII. 6. 1 ; M.U. I. 2. 11. There is another suggestion that only one vein leads to the sun out of 101, the vein in question leading to the head. This refers to the suture, the brahma-randhra (A.U. I. 3. 12) through which in the process of creation Brahman is said to enter the body as spirit. The two versions of 72,000 and 101 are mixed up in later accounts.
maha-brahmanah: great Brahmana, anavarata-brahmananda-paro- brahma-vit. R.
20. sa yathornanabhis tantunoccaret, yathagneh ksudra visphu- lihga vyuccaranti, evam evasmad atmanah sarve pranah, sarve lokah, sarve devah. sarvani bhutdni vyuccaranti: tasyopanisat, satyasya satyam iti prana vai satyam, tesam esa satyam.
20. ‘As a spider moves along the thread, as small sparks come forth from the fire, even so from this Self come forth all breaths, all worlds, all divinities, all beings. Its secret meaning is the truth of truth. Vital breaths are the truth and their truth is It (Self).’
See Maitrl Up. VI. 32.
satyasya satyam: the truth of truth. The world is not to be repudiated as false. It is true, but it is true only derivatively. It is sustained by the Ultimate Truth.
Second Brahmana
vava sisur yo’yam madhyaniah pranah , tasyaidam evadhanam , idarh pratyadhanam, pranah sthuna, annarh dama.
1. Verily, he who knows the new-born babe with his abode, his covering, his post and his rope keeps off his seven hostile kinsmen. Verily, this babe is breath in the middle. His abode is this (body). His covering is this (head). His post is breath, His rope is food.
The babe is the subtle body ( lihgatman ) which has entered the body in five ways.
madhyamah: in the middle, sarira-madhy-avarti ayam, pahca-vrttir yah pranah. R.
Seven hostile kinsmen are said to be the seven organs, the eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth. They are said to be hostile, because they hinder the perception of the inner self. See Katha. IV. 1. By these man becomes attached to the world.
dama: rope, pasa.
Even as a calf is bound by the rope, the subtle body is supported by food, yatha vatsah pasena baddho’ vatisthate , evam annena pasena baddho hi prano’ vatisthate. Food binds the subtle to the gross body, sthula-sarira.
2. tam etah saptdksitaya upatisthante. tad yd ima aksan lohinyo rajayah, tabhir enarh rudro’nvayattah; atha yd aksann apas tabhih parjanyah; yd kanlnaka, taya adityah; yat krsnam, tena agnih; yat suklam, tena indrah; adharayainarh vartanya prthivy anvayatta; dyaur uttaraya; nasyannarh ksiyate ya evam veda.
2. The seven imperishable ones stand near him (to serve). Thus, there are these red streaks in the eye and by them Rudra is united with him. Then there is the water in the eye, by it Parjanya (is united with him). There is the pupil of the eye, by it Aditya (the sun is united with him). By the black (of the eye), fire (is united with him), by the white (of the eye), Indra (is united with him), by the lower eyelash earth is united with him, by the upper eyelash the heaven (is united with him). He who knows this, his food does not diminish.
The seven imperishable ones are so called because they produce imperishableness by supplying food for the subtle body.
arvdg-bilas camasa urdhva-budhnah, tasmin yaso nihitarh visva-rupam: tasydsata rsayah sapta-tire, vdg astami brahmana samvidana iti.
192 The Principal Upanisads II. 3. 1.
1 arvag-bilas camasa urdhva-budhnah’ itidam tac chirah, esa hy arvagbilas camasa urdhva-budhnah. tasmin yaso nihitam visva- rupam’ iti, prana vai yaso nihitam visva-rupam, pranan etad aha. ‘tasyasata rsayah sapta-tlre' iti, prana va r say ah pranan etad aha. ‘vag astami brahmana samviddna iti, vag astami brahmana samvitte.
3. On this there is the following verse: ‘There is a bowl with its mouth below and bottom up. In it is placed the glory of manifold forms. On its rim sit seven seers, and speech as the eighth communicates with Brahman.’ What is called ‘the bowl with its mouth below and bottom up’ is the head, for it is the bowl with its mouth below and bottom up. ‘In it is placed the glory of manifold forms’ ; breaths, verily, are where the glory of manifold forms is placed: thus he says breaths. 'On its rim sit seven seers,’ verily, the breaths are the seers; thus he says breaths. 'Speech as the eighth communicates with Brahman,’ for speech as an eighth communicates with Brahman.
visva-riipam: manifold forms, ndna-rupam. S.
4. imav eva gotama-bharadvajau, ayam eva gotamah, ayam bharadvajah; imav eva visvamitra-jamadagni, ayam eva visvami- trah, ayam jamadagnih; imav eva vasistha-kasyapau, ayam eva vasisthah, ayam kasyapah; vag evatrih, vaca hy annam adyate, attir ha vai namaitad yad atrir iti; sarvasyatta bhavati, sarvam asyannam bhavati, ya evam veda.
4. These two (ears) here are Gotama and Bharadvaja. This is Gotama, and this is Bharadvaja. These two (eyes) here are Visvamitra and Jamadagni. This is Visvamitra, this is Jama- dagni. These two (nostrils) here are Vasistha and Kasyapa.This is Vasistha, this is Kasyapa. The tongue is Atri, for by the tongue food is eaten. Verily, eating is the same as the name Atri. He who knows this becomes the eater of everything : everything becomes his food.
Third Brahmana
the formless, the mortal and the immortal, the unmoving and the moving, the actual (existent) and the true (being).
See Maitri VI. 3.
2. tad etan murtam yad any ad vayos cantarik$ac ca, etan martyam, etat sthitam, etat sat, tasyaitasya murtasya, etasya martyasya etasya sthitasya, etasya sata esa raso ya esa tapati, sato hy esa rasah.
2. This is the formed Brahman, whatever is different from the air and the atmosphere. This is mortal. This is unmoving, this is actual. The essence of this formed, this mortal, this unmoving, this actual is the yonder sun which gives forth warmth, for that is the essence of the actual.
3. athamurtam vayus cantariksam ca, etad amrtam etad yat, etat tyat, tasyaitasydmurtasya, etasyamr tasya, etasya yatah etasya tasyaisa raso ya esa etasmin mandate purusah, tasya hy esa rasah, ity adhidaivatam.
3. Now the formless is the air and the atmosphere. This is immortal, this is the moving and this is the true. The essence of this unformed, this immortal, this moving, this true is this person who is in the region of the sun for he is the essence (of true). This, with reference to the divinities.
4. athadhyatmam: idam eva murtam yad any at pranac ca yas cayam antaratmann akasah, etan martyam, etat sthitam, etat sat, tasyaitasya murtasya, etasya martyasya, etasya sthitasya, etasya sata esa raso yac caksuh, sato hy esa rasah.
4. Now with reference to the self; just this is the formed, what is different from the breath and from the space which is within the self. This is mortal, this is unmoving, this is actual (existent). The essence of this formed, this mortal, this un¬ moving, this actual is the eye, for it is the essence of the actual.
5. athamurtam pranas ca yas cayam antar-atmann akasah; etad amrtam, etad yat, etat tyam, tasyaitasydmurtasya, etasya- mrtasya, etasya yatah, etasya tyasyaisa raso yo’yam daksine’ksan purusah, tyasya hy esa rasah.
5. Now the formless is the breath and the space which is within the self. This is immortal, this is moving, this is the true. The essence of this unformed, immortal, moving, true is this person who is in the right eye, for he is the essence of the true.
ig4 The Principal Upanisads II. 3. 6.
yatha pandv-avikam, yathendragopah, yathagnyarcih, yatha pundarikam, yatha sakrd-vidyuttam; sakrd-vidyutteva ha va asya srir bhavati, ya evarh veda. athdta ddesah na iti na iti, na hy etasmad iti , na ity anyat param asti; atha nama-dheyam satyasya satyam iti. prana vai satyam, tesam esa satyam.
6. The form of this person is like a saffron-coloured robe, like white wool, like the Indragopa insect, like a flame of fire, like a white lotus, like a sudden flash of lightning. He who knows it thus attains splendour like a sudden flash of lightning. Now therefore there is the teaching, not this, not this for there is nothing higher than this, that he is not this. Now the designa¬ tion for him is the truth of truth. Verily, the vital breath is truth, and He is the truth of that.
See also III. 9. 26; IV. 2. 4; IV. 4. 22; IV. 5. 15.
like a sudden flash of lightning: enlightenment is said to be instantaneous. Truth flashes suddenly like lightning. not this, not this:
Matrceta speaks of the Buddha thus ‘Only you yourself can know yourself who are beyond measure, beyond number, beyond thought, beyond comparison.’
aprameyam asamkhyeyarn acintyam anidarsanam svayam evatmanatmanam tvarn eva jhaturn arhasi 151. D. R. Shackleton Bailey’s ed. (1951), pp. 148, 180.
In the Republic, there is the impersonal form of the good and in the Timaeus there is the self-moving spirit fit to receive the name of God. This section of the Upanisad suggests that the two cannot be left unreconciled but are to be treated as two forms of one Reality.
The Fourth Gospel insists that God ‘works’ in the world, but he works through the Logos who is himself God though not the God¬ head. Plotinus though he believes in heaven as the rich intelligible or spiritual world in which our individuality is preserved, affirms that on certain rare occasions the human soul may transcend even the realm of spirit, and enter into communion with the one, ‘beyond existence,’ of whom nothing positive can be affirmed. While there is a realm which consists in the duality of subject and object, which is perceived by the intelligence to be coextensive and reciprocally necessary, there is an absolute unity from which all dualities proceed, which is itself above duality. The pseudo-Dionysius called God ‘The absolute No-thing which is above all existence’ and declares that ‘no monad or triad can express the all-transcending hiddenness of the all-transcending superessentially superexisting superdeity.’ Scotus Erigena says: ‘God because of his excellence may rightly be called Nothing.’ Hooker says wisely: ‘Dangerous it were for the feeble brain of man to wade far into the doings of the Most
High; whom although to know be life and joy to make mention of his name, yet our soundest knowledge is to know that we know him not as indeed he is . . . our safest eloquence concerning him is our silence.’ Many systems of thought distinguish between the absolutely transcendent Godhead ‘who dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto’ and the Creator God. In this famous passage, the Upanisad speaks to us of the Absolute transcendent non-empirical Godhead. This is S’s view.
Ramanuja, however, thinks that since there can be no object without qualities, this passage negates only some attributes and not all of them. For Ramanuja, knowledge is possible only of a determined or qualified object. He argues that the passage does not mean that Brahman has noqualities at all, but only that there are no evil qualities in Brahman.
Fourth Brahmana
THE CONVERSATION OF YAfNAVALKYA AND MAITREYl ON THE ABSOLUTE SELF
1. maitreyi, iti hovaca yajhavalkyah, ud yasyan va are ’ham asmat sthanad asmi; hanta, te ’naya katyayanyantam karavanlti.
1. ‘Maitreyi,’ said Yajnavalkya, 'verily, I am about to go forth from this state (of householder). Look, let me make a final settlement between you and that Katyayani.’
See IV. 5.
sthanad: from the state, i.e. the stage in his life. Yajnavalkya wishes to renounce the stage of the householder, gyhastha and enter that of the anchorite, vanaprastha.
2. sa hovaca maitreyi, yan nu ma iyam, bhagoh, sarva prthivl vittena purna syat, katham tenamrta syam iti. na, iti hovaca yajhavalkyah : yathaivopakaranavatam jivitam, tathaiva te jivitam syad amrtatvasya tu nasasti vitteneti.
2. Then said Maitreyi: 'If, indeed, Venerable Sir, this whole earth filled with wealth were mine, would I be immortal through that?’ ‘No,’ said Yajnavalkya: ‘Like the life of the rich even so would your life be. Of immortality, however, there is no hope through wealth.’
196 The Principal Upanisads II. 4. 5.
I do not become immortal? Tell me that, indeed, Venerable Sir, of what you know (of the way to immortality).’
Venerable Sir: Bharata says that gods, sages, monks and saints are to be called bhagavan:
devds ca munayas caiva lihginah sddhavds ca ye bhagavann iti te vacyah sarvaih stri-pum-napumsakaih. the way to immortality: kevalam amrtatva-sddhanam. S.
4. sa hovaca yajhavalkyah, priya bata are nah sati priyarh bhasase; ehi, assva, vydkhydsydmi te; vyacaksdnasya tu me nididhyasasva iti.
4. Then Yajnavalkya said: ‘Ah, dear, you have been dear (even before), and you (now) speak dear words. Come, sit down, I will explain to you. Even as I am explaining reflect (on what I say).’
priya: dear. You are dear because you wish to learn of that truth
which is nearest my heart.
bata: batety anukampyaha. It shows tenderness.
reflect: vakydny arthato niscayena dhyatum iccheti. S.
Those who recite the Vedas without understanding their meaning are compared by Sayana to lifeless pillars which bear the weight of the roof:
sthanur ayam bhara-hdrah kildbhud,adhitya vedamnavijdndti yo’rtham. Cp. what Krsna says to Arjuna in the Uttar a-gitd :
ya ha kharas candana-bhara-vdhi bharasya vetta na tu saurabhasya
tatha hi viprah sruti-sastra-purnah, jhanena hxnahpasubhihsamdnah .
Just as a donkey bearing the weight of sandal-wood knows its weight but not its fragrance, so also is a Brdhmana who knows the texts of the Vedas and scriptures but not their significance.
There is another version of this verse: yatha kharas candana-bhara-vahi bharasya vetta na tu candanasya, tathaiva sastrani bahuny adhltya, saram na janan kharavad vahet sah.
It is said that some people are clever only at expounding, while others have the ability .to practise what they learn. The hand carries the food to the mouth but only the tongue knows the flavours. vydkhyatum eva kecit kusatah, sdstram prayoktum alam anye upanamayati karo’nnam rasams tu jihvaiva jdndti.
5. sa hovaca: na va are patyuh kam'dya patih priyo bhavati, atmanas tu kamaya patih priyo bhavati; na va are jayayai kamaya jaya priya bhavati, atmanas tu kamaya jdyd priya bhavati; na va are putranam kamaya putrah priya bhavanti, atmanas tu kamaya putrah priya bhavanti; na va are vittasya kamaya vittam priyam bhavati, atmanas tu kamaya vittam priyam bhavati; na va are brahmanah kamaya brahma priyam bhavati, atmanas tu
kamaya brahma priyam bhavati; na vd are ksatrasya kamaya ksatram priyam bhavati atmanas tu kamaya ksatram priyam bhavati; na vd are lokanam kamaya lokah priya bhavanti, atmanastu kamaya lokah priya' bhavanti; na vd are devanam kamaya devdh priya bhavanti, atmanas tu kamaya devah priya bhavanti; na vd are bhutandm kamaya bhutani priyani bhavanti, atmanas tu kamaya bhutani priyani bhavanti; na vd are sarvasya kamaya sarvam priyam bhavati, atmanas tu kamaya sarvam priyam bhavati; atma va are drastavyah srotavyo mantavyo nididhyasitavyah: maitreyi atmano vd are darsanena sravanena matyd vijndnenedam sarvam viditam.
5. Then he said: ‘Verily, not for the sake of the husband is the husband dear but a husband is dear for the sake of the- Self. Verily, not for the sake of the wife is the wife dear but a wife is dear for the sake of the Self. Verily, not for the sake of the sons are the sons dear but the sons are dear for the sake of the Self. Verily, not for the sake of wealth is wealth dear but wealth is dear for the sake of the Self. Verily, not for the sake of Brahminhood is brahminhood dear but brahminhood is dear for the sake of the Self. Verily, not for the sake of ksatriya- hood is ksatriyahood dear but ksatriyahood is dear for the sake of the Self. Verily, not for the sake of the worlds are the worlds dear but the worlds are dear for the sake of the Self. Verily, not for the sake of the gods are the gods dear but the gods are dear for the sake of the Self. Verily, not for the sake of the beings are the beings dear but the beings are dear for the sake of the Self. Verily, not for the sake of all is all dear but all is dear for the sake of the Self. Verily, O Maitreyi, it is the Self that should be seen, heard of, reflected on and medi¬ tated upon. Verily, by the seeing of, by the hearing of, by the thinking of, by the understanding of the Self, all this is known.
All objects of the world, earthly possessions, romantic delights, provide opportunities for the realisation of the Self. the Self should be seen, heard of, reflected on and meditated upon: srotavyah sruti-vakyebhyah, mantavyas copapattibhih. matva ca satatarh dhyeya, ete darsana-hetavah. Vivarana- prameya-sariigraha .
The Sruti, the text, is the basis for intellectual development, manana. It is a means subordinate and necessarjf to true knowledge; nididhyasana is the opposite of thoughtless diffusion. It prepares for integral purity.
Contemplation is not mere philosophic thought. It is a higher
198 The Principal Upanisads II. 4. 8.
stage of spiritual consciousness. It secures the direct conviction of the reality. While a teacher can help, personal effort alone can take us to the goal of realisation.
The Jaina and the Buddhist systems also recognise the three stages of religious development. The three jewels of the Jainas, ratna-traya, are right belief, right knowledge and right conduct. Matrceta says in Satapancasatka (90) :
dgamasyartha-cintaya bhdvanopasanasya ca kala-traya-vibhago' sti nanyatra tava sasanat.
Nowhere except in your teaching is there the threefold division of time into hearing the Scriptures, reflection on their meaning and the practise of meditation.
6. brahma tam paradad yo’ nyatratmano brahma veda. ksatram lam paradad yo ’nyatratmanah ksatram veda. lokas tam paradur yo ’nyatratmano lokan veda. devas tam paradur yo’ nyatratmano devdn veda. bhutani tam paradur yo’nyatratmano bhutani veda. sarvarh tam paradad y o’ nyatratmano sarvam veda. idam brahma, idarh ksatram, ime lokah, ime devah, imani bhutani, idam sarvam, yad ayam atma.
6. ‘The Brahmana ignores one who knows him as different from the Self. The Ksatriya ignores one who knows him as different from the Self. The worlds ignore one who knows them as different from the Self. The gods ignore one who knows them as different from the Self. The beings ignore one who knows them as different from the Self. All ignores one who knows it as different from the Self. This Brahmana, this Ksatriya, these worlds, these gods, these beings and this all are this Self.
The various particular notes are not heard apart from the whole, but they are heard in the total sound.
7. sa yatha dundubher hanyamanasya na bahyan sabddn saknuyad grahanaya, dundubhes tu grahanena dundubhy-dgha- tasya va sabdo grhitah.
7. ‘As when a drum is beaten, one is not able to grasp the external sounds, but by grasping the drum or the beater of the drum the sound is grasped.
aghatasya va: or the beater of the drum, tadahanty-purusasya nirodhena va. R.
8, sa yatha sahkhasya dhmdyamanasya na bahyan sabddn
saknuydd grahanaya, sahkhasya tu grahaenan sahkha-dhmasya va sab do grhitah.
8. ‘As when a conch is blown, one is not able to .grasp its external sounds, but by grasping the conch or the blower of the conch the sound is grasped.
9. sa yatha vinayai vadyamanayai na bahyan sabdan saknuydd grahanaya, vinayai tu grahanena vina-vadasya va sabdo grhitah.
9. ‘As when a vina (lute) is played, one is not able to grasp its external sounds, but by grasping the vina or the player of the vina the sound is grasped.
10. sa yathardra-edhdgner abhyahitdt prthag dhuma vinis- caranti, evarh va are’sya mahato bhutasya nihsvasitam, etad yad rgvedo yajurvedah samavedo tharvahgirasa itihdsah puranam vidya upanisadah slokah sutrany anuvyakhyandni vyakhyanani: asyaivaitani sarvani nihsvasitani .
10. ‘As from a lighted fire laid with damp fuel, various (clouds of) smoke issue forth, even so, my dear, the Rg Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Santa Veda, Atharvangirasa, history, ancient lore, sciences, Upanisads, verses, aphorisms, explanations and commentaries. From this, indeed, are all these breathed forth.
See Maitri VI. 32.
All knowledge and all wisdom are the breath of the eternal Brahman. mahad bhutam: the great reality. It is great because it is greater than everything else and is the source of all else.
breathing: As a man breathes without effort, so all these come out of the Supreme without effort : yatha aprayatnenaiva purusa-nisvdso bhavati. S.
anuvyakhyandni: explanations, bhdsya-vyakhydnani. vyakhyanani: commentaries, bhasya-rupani.
11. sa yatha sarvasam apam samudra ekayanam, evarh sarvesam sparsanam tvag ekayanam, evarh sarvesarh gandhanam nasike ekayanam, evarh sarvesarh rasanarh jihva ekayanam, evarh sarvesarh rupdnarh caksur ekayanam, evarh sarvesarh sabdanarh srotram ekayanam, evarh sarvesarh sarhkalpanarh mana ekayanam, evarh sarvasam vidyanarh hr day am ekayanam, evarh sarvesarh karmanarh hastav ekayanam, evarh sarvesam anandanam upastha ekayanam, evarh sarvesarh visarganam payur ekayanam, evarh sarvesarh adhvanam padav ekayanam, evarh sarvesarh vedanarh vdg ekayanam.
11. ‘As the ocean is the one goal (uniting place) of all waters, as the skin is the one goal of all kinds of touch, as the nostrils
The Principal Upanisads II. 4. 13.
are the one goal of all smells, as the tongue is the one goal of all tastes, as the eye is the one goal of all forms, as the ear is the one goal of all sounds, as the mind is the one goal of all determinations, as the heart is the one goal of all forms of knowledge, , as the hands are the one goal of all acts, as the organ of generation is the one goal of all kinds of enjoyment, as the excretory organ is the one goal of all evacuations, as the feet are the one goal of all movements, as speech is the one goal of all Vedas.
12. sa yatha saindhava-khilya udake prasta udakam evanuvi- llyeta, na hasya udgrahanayeva syat, yato yatas tv adadlta lavanam eva, evarn va ara idarn mahad bhutam unantam aparam vijhana-ghana eva; etebhyo bhutebhyah samutthaya, tany evanu- vinasyati; na pretya sarhjhasti, iti are bravimi, iti hovaca yajhavalkyah.
12. ‘As a lump of salt thrown in water becomes dissolved in water and there would not be any of it to seize forth as it were, but wherever one may take it is salty indeed, so, verily, this great being, infinite, limitless, consists of nothing but knowledge. Arising from out of these elements one vanishes away into them. When he has departed there is no more know¬ ledge. This is what I say, my dear’: so said Yajnavalkya.
saindhava: salt, sindhor vikarah saindhavah, sindhusabdenodakam abhidhlyate , syandanat sindhur udakam. S, samjha: detailed knowledge, visesa-samjha S.
13. sa hovaca maitreyi, atraiva ma bhagavan amumuhat, na pretya samjhastiti. sa hovaca, na va are'ham moharn bravlmi, alarh va ara idam vijhanaya.
13. Then said Maitreyi: ‘In this, indeed, you have bewil¬ dered me, Venerable Sir, by saying that, “when he has departed there is no more knowledge.’’’ Then Yajnavalkya said: ‘Cer¬ tainly I am not saying anything bewildering. This is enough for knowledge (or understanding).’
The confusion is due to the seeming contradiction that the Self is pure intelligence, and, again, when one has departed there is no more knowledge. The same fire cannot be both hot and cold. S points out that Brahman, the pure intelligence, remains unchanged, that it does not pass out with the destruction of the elements, but the individual existence due to avidya is overcome : katham vijhana-ghana e va, katham va na pretya samjhastiti , na 'hy usnas sltas cagnir evaiko bhavati . . . sa atma sarvasya jagatah paramarthato bhuta-nasan na vinasl, vinasl tv avidya-krta-khilyabhavah. S.
The goal seems to be like the state of dreamless sleep a state of utter annihilation. Maitreyi protests against such a bewildering prospect.
14. yatra hi dvaitam iva bhavati, tad itara itaram jighrati, tad itara itaram pasyati, tad itara itaram srnoti, tad itara itaram abhivadati, tad itara itaram manute, tad itara itaram vijanati. yatra tv asya sarvam atmaivabhut, tat kena kam jighret, tat kena kam pasyet, tat kena kam srnuyat, tat kena kam abhivadet, tat kena kam manvita, tat kena kam vijaniyat? yenedam sarvam vijanati, tarn kena vijaniyat, vijhataram are kena vijaniyad iti.
14. ‘For where there is duality as it were, there one smells another, there one sees another, there one hears another, there one speaks to another, there one thinks of another, there one understands another. Where, verily, everything has become the Self, then by what and whom should one smell, then by what and whom should one see, then by what and whom should one hear, then by what and to whom should one speak, then by what and on whom should one think, then by what and whom should one understand ? By what should one know that by which all this is known ? By what, my dear, should one know the knower?’
See C.U. VII. 24. 1. The reference here is to the Absolute Brahman.
Whatever is known is an object. As the Self is the subject, it cannot be known.
This section indicates that the later subjection of women and their exclusion from Vedic studies do not have the support of the Upanisads.
Fifth Brahmana
1. iyam prthivi sarvesam bhutanam madhu, asyai prthivyai sarvani bhutani madhu; yas cayam asyam prthivyam tejomayo’ mrtamayah purusah, yas cayam adhyatmam sartras tejomayo’ mrtamayah purusah, ayam eva sa yo’yam atma, idam amrtam, idam brahma, idam sarvam.
1. This earth is (like) honey for all creatures, and all creatures are (like) honey for this earth. This shining, immortal person who is in this earth and With reference to oneself, this shining, immortal person who is in the body, he, indeed, is just this self. This is immortal, this is Brahman, this is all.
The Principal Upanisads II. 5. 5.
The earth and all living beings are mutually dependent, even as bees and honey are. The bees make the honey and the honey supports the bees: parasparam upakaryopakar aka-bhave phalitam aha. A.
Brahman is the self in each, in the earth and in the individual.
2. ima apah sarvesam bhutanam madhu, asam apam sarvani bhutani madhu, yas cayam asv apsu tejomayo’ mrtamayah purusah, yas cayam adhyatmam, raitasas tejomayo’ mrtamayah purusah; ayam eva sa yo’ yam atma, idam amrtam, idam brahma, idam, sarvam.
2. This water is (like) honey for all beings, and all beings are (like) honey for this water. This shining, immortal person who is in this water and with reference to oneself, this shining, immortal person existing as the seed (in the body), he is,- indeed, just this self, this is immortal, this is Brahman, this is all.
In the body it exists, specially in the seed: adhyatmam retasy apam visesato ’vasthanam. S. retaso jala-vikaratvat. R.
3. ayam agnih, sarvesam bhutanam madhu; asyagneh sarvani bhutani madhu; yas cayam asminn agnau tejomayo ’mrtamayah purusah, yas cayam adhyatmam. vah-mayas tejomayo ’mrtamayah purusah, ayam eva sa yo’ yam atma, idam amrtam, idam brahma, idam sarvam.
3. This fire is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey for this fire. This shining, immortal person who is in this fire and with reference to oneself, this shining, im¬ mortal person who is made of speech, he is just this self, this is immortal, this is Brahman, this is all.
4. ayam, vayuh sarvesam bhutanam madhu; asya vayoh sarvani bhutani madhu; yas cayam asmin vayau tejomayo ’mrtamayah Purusah, yas cayam adhyatmam pranas tejomayo ’mrtamayah purusah, ayam eva sayo’yam atma, idam amrtam, idam brahma, idam sarvam.
4. This air is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey for this air. This shining, immortal person who is in this air and with reference to oneself this shining, immortal person who is breath (in the body), he is 'just this Self, this is immortal, this is Brahman, this is all.
See I. 5. 11.
5. ayam adityah sarvesam bhiitanam madhu; asyadityasya sarvani bhutani madhu; yas cayam asminn aditye tejomayo’ mrtamayah purusah, yas cayam adhyatmam caksusas tejomayo'
mrtamayah purusah, ayam eva sa yo’ yam atma, idam amrtam, idam brahma, idam sarvam.
5. This sun is (like) honey for all beings and all beings, are (like) honey for this sun. This shining, immortal person who is in this sun and with reference to oneself, this shining, immortal person who is in the eye, he is just this Self, this is immortal, this is Brahman, this is all.
6. ima disah sarvesam bhutanam madhu; asarh disarh sarvani bhutani madhu; yas cayam asu diksu tejomayo ’mrtamayah purusah, yas cayam adhyatmam srotrah pratisrutkas tejomayo’ mrtamayah purusah, ayam eva sa yo’ yam atma, idam amrtam, idam brahma, idam sarvam.
6. These quarters are (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey for these quarters. This shining, immortal person who is in these quarters and with reference to oneself, this shining, immortal person who is in the ear and the time of hearing, he is just this Self, this is immortal, this is Brahman, this is all.
time of hearing: sabda-prati-sravana-velayam sannihito bhavatili pratiiruthah. S.
7. ayam candrah sarvesam bhutanam madhu; asya candrasya sarvani bhutani madhu; yas cayam asmims candre tejomayo’ mrtamayah purusah, yas cayam adhyatmam manasas tejomayo’ mrtamayah purusah, ayam eva sa yo’ yam atma, idam amrtam, idam brahma, idam sarvam.
7. This moon is like (honey) to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey for this moon. This shining, immortal person who is in this mbon and with reference to one self, this shining, immortal person who is in the mind, he is just this Self, this is immortal, this is Brahman, this is all.
8. iyam vidyut sarvesam bhutanam madhu, asyai vidyutah sarvani bhutani madhu; yas cayam asyarh vidyuti tejomayo’ mrtamayah purusah, yas cayam adhyatmam taijasas tejomayo’ mrtamayah purusah, ayam eva sa yo’yam atma, idam amrtam, idam brahma, idam sarvam.
8. This lightning is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey for this lightning. This shining, immortal person who is in this lightning and with reference to this self, this shining, immortal person who is in the light, he is just this Self, this is immortal, this is Brahman, this is all.
204 The Principal Upanisads II. 5. 11.
9. ayam stanayitnuh sarvesam bhutanam madhu; asya stanayitnoh sarvani bhutani madhu; yas cay am asmin stanayitnau tejomayo 'mrtamayah purusah, yas cayam adhyatmam, sabdah sauvaras tejomayo’ mrtamayah purusah, ayam eva sayo’yam atma, idam amrtam, idam brahma, idam, sarvam.
9. This cloud is (like) honey to all beings, and all beings are (like) honey for this cloud. This shining, immortal person who is in this cloud and with reference to one self, this shining, immortal person who is in the sound and in tone, he is just this Self, this is immortal, this is Brahman, this is all.
stanayitnu: cloud, parjanya or thunder, megha-garjanam. R.
sound: sabde bhdvah sabdah. S.
tone: svare visesato bhavatiti sauvarah. S.
10. ayam akasah sarvesam bhutanam madhu; asyakasasya sarvani bhutani madhu; yas cayam asminn dkd.se tejomayo’ mrtamayah, purusah, yas cayam adhyatmam hrdyakasah tejo¬ mayo’ mrtamayah purusah, ayam eva sa yo’yam atma, idam amrtam, idam brahma, idam sarvam.
10. This space is (like) honey for all beings and all beings are (like) honey for this space. This shining, immortal person who is in this space and with reference to one self, this shining, immortal person who is in the space in the heart, he is just this Self, this is immortal, this is Brahman, this is all.
11. ayam dharmah sarvesam bhutanam madhu; asya dhar- masya sarvani bhutani madhu; yas cayam asmin dharme tejo¬ mayo ’mrtamayah purusah, yas cayam adhyatmam dharmas tejomayo ’mrtamayah purusah, ayam eva sa yo’yam atma, idam amrtam, idam brahma, idam, sarvam.
11. This law is (like) honey for all beings and all beings are (like) honey for this law. This shining, immortal person who is in this law and with reference to one self, this shining, immortal person who exists as lawabidingness, he is just this Self, this is immortal, this is Brahman, this is all.
this law: though law is not directly perceived, it is described by the word ‘this,’ as though it were directly perceived, because the effects produced by it are directly perceived: ayam ity apratyakso’ pi dharmah karyena tat-prayuktena pratyaksena, vyapadisyate; ayam dharma iti pratyaksavat. S. The self and dharma or righteousness are regarded as equivalent. Cp. ‘Live you ( viharatha ) having self as light and refuge and none other, having dharma as light and refuge and none other.’ Dlgha Nikaya II. 100. The end of the way is to
become what we are, to become Brahman or the Buddha. The arhats are said to become one with Brahman, brahma-bhuta.
12. idam, satyam sarvesam bhutanam madhu; asya satyasya sarvani bhutani madhu; yas cayam asmin satye tejomayo’ mrtamayah purusah, yas cayam adhyatmam satyas tejomayo’ mrtamayah purusah, ayam eva sa yo’yam atma, idam amrtam, idam brahma, idam sarvam.
12. This truth is (like) honey for all beings, and all beings are (like) honey for this truth. This shining, immortal person who is in this truth and with reference to oneself, this shining, immortal person who exists as truthfulness, he is just this Self, this is immortal, this is Brahman, this is all.
13. idam manusam sarvesam bhutanam madhu; asya manu- sasya sarvani bhutani madhu; yas cayam asmin manuse tejomayo’ mrtamayah purusah, yas cayam adhyatmam mdnusas tejomayo' mrtamayah purusah, ayam eva sa yo’yam atma, idam amrtam, idam brahma, idam sarvam.
13. This mankind is (like) honey for all beings, and all beings are like honey for this mankind. This shining, immortal person who is in this mankind and with reference to oneself, this shining, immortal person who exists as a human being, he is just this self, this is immortal, this is Brahman, this is all.
14. ayam atma sarvesam bhutanam madhu; asyatmanah sarvani bhutani madhu; yas cayam asminn atmani tejomayo’ mrtamayah purusah, yas cayam atma tejomayo’ mrtamayah purusah, ayam eva sa yo’ yam atma, idam amrtam, idam brahma, idam sarvam.
14. This self is (like) honey for all beings and all beings are (like) honey for this self. This shining, immortal person who is in this self and the shining, immortal person who is in this (individual) self, he is just this Self, this is immortal, this is Brahman, this is all.
The cosmic self and the individual self are referred to.
15. sa v a ayam atma sarvesam bhutanam adhipatih; sarvesam, bhutanam raja; tad yatha ratha-nabhau ca ratha-nemau carah sarve samarpitah, evam evasminn atmani sarvani bhutani sarve devah sarve lokah sarve pranah sarva eta atmanah samarpitah.
15. This self, verily, is the lord of all beings, the king of all beings. As all the spokes are held together in the hub and felly of a wheel, just so, in this self, all beings, all gods, all worlds, all breathing creatures, all these selves are held together.
The Principal Upanisads II. 5. 17.
MADHU-VIDYA: THE HONEY DOCTRINE
tad vam nara sanaye darhsa ugram. avis krnomi, tanyatur na vrstim. dadhyah ha yan madhv atharvano vam. asvasya sirsna pra yad im uvaca iti.
16. This, verily, is the honey which Dadhyah, versed in the Atharva Veda, declared unto the two Asvins. Seeing this the seer said: ‘O Asvins in human form, I make known that terrible deed of yours which you did out of greed, even as thunder (makes known) the coming rain, even the honey which Dadhyah, versed in the Atharva Veda, declared to you through the head of a horse.’
See R.V. I . 116. 12. Satapatha Brahmana. XIV. I. 1 and 4. The two Asvins desired instruction from Dadhyah, but he was unwilling to impart it as Indra had threatened Dadhyah that he would cut off his head, if he taught this madhu-vidya, honey doctrine to any one else. So the Asvins took off Dadhyan’s head and sub¬ stituted for it a horse’s head. Dadhyah declared the honey doctrine. Indra carried out his threat, and the Asvins restored to Dadhyah his own head. This story illustrates the extreme difficulty which even the gods had to secure the knowledge originally possessed by Indra. Asvins in human form, narakarau asvinau. S.
sanaye: out of greed, labhaya: labha-lubdho hi loke’pi kruram karma- carati. S.
uvaca.
tad etad rsih pasyann avocat: atharvanay asvina dadhice asvyam sirah praty airayatam. sa vam madhu pra vocad rtayan, tvastram yad dasrav api kaksyam vam iti.
17. This, verily, is the honey which Dadhyah, versed in the Atharva Veda, declared unto the two' Asvins. Seeing this, the seer said, ‘O Asvins, you set a horse's head on Dadhyah, versed in the Atharva Veda, ye terrible ones: to keep his promise he declared to you the honey of Tvastri which is your secret.’
See R.V. I. 117. 22.
Keeping one’s solemn promise is more important than the life itself, jivitad api hi satya-dharma-paripalana gurutareti. S.
kaksyam: secret, gopyam, rahasyam paramdtma-sambandhi yad vijhdnam. $.
tvastram: of Tvastr, the sun: tvasta adiiyah tasya sambandhi. £.
The head of yajha or sacrifice became the sun ; to restore the head the rite called pravargya was started, yajnas siras chinnam tvasta- bhavat, tat pratisandhandrtham pravargyarh karma.
puras cakre dvipadah, puras cakre catuspadah. purah sa paksl bhutva purah purusa avisat iti.
sa va ayam purusah sarvd.su pursu purisayah, nainena kith ca ndndvrtam , nainena kim ca nasamvrtam.
18. This, verily, is the honey which Dadhyan, versed in the Atharva Veda, declared unto the two Asvins. Seeing this the seer said: ‘He made bodies with two feet and bodies with four feet. Having first become a bird, he the person entered the bodies.’ This, verily, is the person dwelling in all bodies. There is nothing that is not covered by him, nothing that is not per¬ vaded by him.
purah: bodies, purani, iarlrani. $. paksl: bird, subtle body, lihga-sarlram.
Cp. pura-samjhe sariresmin sayanat puruso harih, quoted by R. There is nothing which is not filled by the Supreme, inside or outside.
sa eva nama-rupdtmandntar-bahir-bhavena karya-karana-rupena vyavasthitah. S.
Cp. This city {pur) is these worlds, the person ( purusa ) is the spirit {yo'yam pavate, vayu), who because he inhabits ( sete ) this city is called the citizen ( puru sa).’ Satapatha Brahmana XIII. 6. 2. 1.
See also Atharva Veda X. 2. 30, where ‘he who knoweth Brahma’s city, whence the Person ( purusa ) is so called, him neither sight nor the breath of life desert ere old age.’ Philo says: 'As for lordship, God is the only citizen.’ Cher. 121.
rupam rupam pratiriipo babhiiva, tad asya rupam, praticaksanaya; indro mayabhih puru-rupa iyate. yuktd hy asya harayah sata dasa iti.
ayam vai harayah, ayam vai dasa ca sahasrani, bahiini canantani ca, tad etad brahmdpurvam, anaparam, anantaram, abahyam ayam dtma brahma sarvdnubhuh, ity anusdsanam.
The Principal Upanisads
19. This, verily, is the honey which Dadhyari, versed in the Atharva Veda, declared unto the two Asvins. Seeing this the seer said: ‘He transformed himself in accordance with each form. This form of him was meant for making him known. Indra (the Lord) goes about in many forms by his may as (magical powers), for to him are yoked steeds, hundreds and ten. He, verily, is the steeds. He, verily, is tens and thousands, many and countless. This Brahman is without an earlier and without a later, without an inside, without an outside. This Brahman is the self, the all-perceiving. This is the teaching.’
See R.V. VI. 47. 18.
praticaksanaya: for making him known. Creation is for the mani¬ festation of the glory of god. indrah: lord, paramesvarah.
mayabhih: prajhabhih. S. By his wisdom he manifests himself. samkalpa-rupa-jhanaih. R. The Lord reveals himself through many forms by his maya, to reveal his thoughts. Indra assumes one form after another, makes round himself wonderful appearances: Sayana says, yad rupam kdmayate tad rupatmako bhavati. nana-vidhani sarirani nirmimite.
harayah: steeds, sense-organs, indriyani.
Sixth Brdhmana
1. atha varhsah: pautimasyo gaupavanah, pautimasyat, pauti- mdsyo gaupavanat, gaupavanah kausikat, kausikah kaundinyat, kaundinyah sandilyat, sdndilyah kausikac ca gautamac ca, gautamah. —
1. Now the line of tradition (of teachers): Pautimasya (received the teaching) from Gaupavana, Gaupavana from (another) Pautimasya. (This) Pautimasya from (another) Gaupavana. (This) Gaupavana from Kausika, Kausika from Kaundinya, Kaundinya from £andilya, £andilya from Kausika and Gautama. Gautama.—
2. agnivesyat, t dgnivesyah sandilyac ca anabhimlatac ca, anabhimlata anabhimlatat, anabhimlata dnabhimlatdt , anabhim- lato gautamat, gautamah saitava-pracinayogyabhyam, saitava- prdcinayogyaii parasaryat, pdrasaryo bharadvajat, bhdradvajo
bharadvajac ca gautamac ca, gautamo bharadvajat, bharadvajah parasaryat, parasaryo baijavapayanat, baijavapayanah, kausi - kayaneh, kausikayanih.
2. From Agnivesya. Agnivesya from ^andilya and Anabhi¬ mlata, Anabhimlata from (another) Anabhimlata. Anabhimlata from (still another) Anabhimlata. (This) Anabhimlata from Gautama. Gautama from Saitava and Praclnayogya, Saitava and Praclnayogya from Parasarya, Parasarya from Bharadvaja. Bharadvaja from Bharadvaja and Gautama, Gautama from (another) Bharadvaja, Bharadvaja from Parasarya, Parasarya from Baijavapayana, Baijavapayana from Kausikayani, Kausi- kayani. —
3. ghrtakausikat, ghrtakausikah parasaryayanat, parasarya- yanah parasaryat, parasaryo jatukarnyat, jdtukarnya asura- yanac ca yaskac ca, asurayanas traivaneh, traivanir aupajandha- neh, aupajandhanir asureh, asurir bharadvajat, bharadvaja atreyat, atreyo manteh, mantir gautamat, gautamo gautamat, gautamo vatsyat, vatsyah sandilyat, sandilyah kaisoryat kapyat, kaisoryah kapyah kumaraharitat, kumaraharito galavat, galavo vidarbhl-kaundinyat, vidarbhi-kaundinyo vatsanapato babhravat, vatsanapad babhravah pathah saubharat, panthah saubharo ’yasyad ahgirasat, ayasya ahgirasa abhutes tvastrat, abhutis tvastro visvarupat tvastrat, visvarupas tvastro ’ svibhyam, asvinau dadhica atharvanat, dadhyahh atharvano ’tharvano daivat, atharva daivo mrtyoh pradhvamsanat, mrtyuh pradhvamsanah pradhvam- sanat, pradhvamsana ekarseh, ekarsir vipracitteh, vipracittir vyasteh, vyastih sanaroh, sanaruh sanatanat, sandtanah sanagat, sanagah paramesthinah, paramesthi brahmanah, brahma svaya- mbhu, brahmane namah.
3. From Ghrtakausika, Ghrtakausika from Parasaryayana, Parasaryayana from Parasarya, Parasarya from Jatukarnya. Jatukarnya from Asurayana and Yaska. Asurayana from Traivani. Traivani from Aupajandhani. Aupajandhani from Asuri. Asuri from Bharadvaja. Bharadvaja from Atreya. Atreya from Manti .Manti from Gautama. Gautama from Vatsya. Vatsya from ^andilya. £andilya from Kaisorya Kapya. Kaisorya Kapya from Kumaraharita. Kumaraharita from Galava. Galava from Vidarbhikaundinya. Vidarbhlkaundinya from Vatsanapat Babhrava. Vatsanapat Babhrava from Pathah Saubharat. Pathi Saubhara from Ayasya Ahgirasa, Ayasya Ahgirasa from Abhuti Tvastra, Abhuti Tvastra from
210 The Principal Upanisads II. 6. 3.
Visvarupa Tvastra. Visvarupa Tvastra from the two Asvins. The two Asvins from Dadhyanc Atharvana. Dadhyanc Athar¬ vana from Atharvan Daiva. Atharvan Daiva from Mrtyu Pra- dhvarhsana. Mrtyu Pradhvamsana from Pradhvamsana. Pradhvamsana from Ekarsi. Ekarsi from Vipracitti. Vipracitti from Vyasti. Vyasti from Sanaru. Sanaru from Sanatana^ Sanatana from Sanaga. Sanaga from Paramesthin. Para- mesthin from Brahma. Brahma is self-born. Salutation to Brahma.
Paramesthin is Viraj. Brahma is Hiranya-garbha.
The tradition of the Veda is traced to the Supreme. It is expressed or formulated by individuals but they are not its authors. The tradition belongs to the supra-individual order and is said to be apauruseya or non-personal. It is timeless though its apprehension is possible at any time.
Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad
i. janako ha vaideho bahu-daksinena yajheneje. tatraha kuru- pdhcdlanam brahmana abhisameta babhuvuh. tasya ha janakasya vaidehasya vijijhasa babhuva: kah svid esam brahmananam anucanatama iti. sa ha gavam sahasram avarurodha: dasa dasa pada ekaikasyah irhgayor dbaddhd babhuvuh.
1. Janaka (King) of Videha performed a sacrifice at which many presents (were offered to the priests). Brahmanas of the Kurus and the Pancalas were gathered together there. In this Janaka of Videha arose a desire to know which of these Brahmanas was the most learned in scripture. He enclosed (in a pen) a thousand cows. To the horns (of each cow) were fastened ten coins (of gold).
Though this states the same doctrine as the previous madhuvidya, £ makes out that while the previous section depended on scripture, dgama-pradhanam, the present one is based on reasoning, upapatti- pradhanam. When the two, scripture and reasoning, demonstrate the unity of the Self, it is seen clearly as a bael fruit in the palm of one’s hand: agamopapatti hy dtmaikatva-prakdianaya pravytte iaknutah kara-tala-gata-bilvam iva darsayitum. S.
2. tan hovaca: brahmana bhagavantah, yo vo brahmi§thah, sa eta ga udajatam iti. te ha brahmana na dadhrsuh. atha ha yajha- valkyah svam eva brahmacarinam uvaca : etah, saumya, udaja, samasrava iti. td hodacakara, te ha brahmanai cukrudhuh: katham nu no brahmistho bruviteti. atha ha janakasya vaidehasya hotasvalo babhuva: sa hainam papraccha, tvarh nu khalu nah, yajhavalkya, brahmistho ’siti. sa hovaca: namo vayam brahmist- haya kurmah; gokdma eva vayam sma iti. tarn ha tata eva prastum dadhre hotasvalah.
2. He said to them: ‘Venerable Brahmanas, let him of you who is the wisest Brahmana among you, take away these cows.’ Those Brahmanas did not dare (to take the cows). Then Yajna- valkya said to his pupil ‘Sama£ravas, my dear, drive them away.' He drove them away. The Brahmanas were enraged (and said) : ’How can he declare himself to be the wisest Brahmana among us?’ Now, there was A£vala, the hoty priest of Janaka
212 The Principal Upanisads III. i. 5.
of Videha. He asked him, ‘Yajnavalkya, are you, indeed, the wisest Brahmana among us?’ He replied, ‘We bow to the wisest Brahmana but we just wish to have these cows.’ Therefore, Asvala, the hotr priest, decided to question him.
Yajnavalkya is a teacher of the Yajur Veda but his pupil chants the Saman which is the Rg Veda set to music, and the Atharva Veda is subsidiary to the other three. So Yajnavalkya is learned in all the four vedas.
3. Yajnavalkya, iti hovaca. yad idam sarvam mrtyunaptam, sarvahi mrtyunabhipannam , kena yajamano mrtyor aptim atimu- cyata iti: hotra rtvija, agnina, vdca: vag vai yajhasya hota, tad yeyam vak. so’ yam agnih, sa hota, sa muktih, satimuktih.
3. ‘Yajnavalkya,’ said he, ‘since everything here is pervaded by death, since everything is overcome by death, by what means does the sacrificer free himself from the reach of death?’ (Yajnavalkya said) ‘By the hotr priest, by fire, by speech. Verily, speech is the hotr of sacrifice. That which is this speech is this fire. This (fire) is hotr. This is freedom, this is complete freedom.'
aptam: pervaded, vyaptam. S. abhipannam: overcome, swayed, vaslkrtam. £.
By the knowledge of the identity of the sacrificer, the fire and the ritual speech one gets beyond death.
4. yajnavalkya, iti hovaca, yad idam sarvam ahoratrabhyam aptam, sarvam ahoratrabhyam abhipannam, kena yajamano 'horatrayor aptim atimucyata iti. adhvaryuna rtvija, caksusa, adityena, caksur vai yajhasya adhvaryuh, tad yad idam caksuh, so’ sav adityah; so ’ dhvaryuh , sa muktih satimuktih.
4. ‘Yajnavalkya,’ said he, ‘since everything here is pervaded by day and night, since everything is overcome by day and night, by what means does the sacrificer free himself from the reach of day and night?' ‘By the adhvaryu priest, by the eye, by the sun. Verily, the eye is the adhvaryu of the sacrifice. That which is his eye is the yonder sun. This is the adhvaryu. This is freedom. This is complete freedom.’
Day and night are symbolic of time, which is the source of all change: viparinama-hetuh kalah. £.
5. yajnavalkya, iti hovaca, yad idam sarvam purva-paksa- apara-paksabhyam aptam, sarvam purvapaksa-aparapaksabhyam abhipannam. kena yajamdnah purvapaksa-aparapaksayor aptim
atimucyata iti: udgdtra rtvija, vayuna, pranena, prano vai yajnasya udgata, tad yo yam pranah. sa vayuh, sa udgata, sa muktih satimuktih.
5. ‘Yajnavalkya,’ said he, ‘since everything here is overtaken by the bright and dark fortnights, since everything is overcome by the bright and dark fortnights, by what means does the sacrificer free himself from the reach of the bright and the dark fortnights?’ ‘By the udgatr priest, by the air, by the breath. Verily, the breath is the udgatr priest of the sacrifice. That which is this breath is the air. This is the udgatr priest. This is freedom. This is complete freedom.’
6. Yajnavalkya, iti hovdca, yad idam antariksam anaramba- nam iva kenakramena yajamdnah svargam lokam akramata iti: brahmana rtvija, manasa, candrena; mano vai yajnasya brahma, tad yad idam manah, so’ sau candrah, sa brahma, sa muktih, satimuktih ity atimoksah, atha sampadah.
6. ‘Yajnavalkya,’ said he, ‘since the sky is, as it were, without a support, by what means of ascent does a sacrificer reach the heavenly world?’ By the Brahma priest, by the mind, by the moon. Verily, mind is the Brahma of the sacrifice. That which is this mind is the yonder moon. This is the Brahman. This is freedom. This is complete freedom. This is concerning freedom; and now the achievements.
sampadah: achievements of results acquired, phala-prdptih.
7. yajnavalkya, iti hovdca, katibhir ayam adya rgbhir hotasmin yajhe karisyatiti: tisrbhir iti: katamas tas tisra iti. puro nuvdkya ca yajyd ca sasyaiva trtiyd: kirk tabhir jayatiti: yat kim cedam pranabhrd iti.
7. ‘Yajnavalkya,’ said he, ‘how many (kinds of) Rg. verses will the hotr priest use today in this sacrifice?’ ‘Three.’ ‘Which are these three?’ ‘The introductory verse, the verse accompanying the sacrifice and the benedictory as the third.’ ‘What does one win by these?’ ‘Whatever that is here that has breath.’
8. yajnavalkya, iti hovdca, katy ayam adyadhvaryur asmin yajha ahutir hosyatiti: tisra iti: katamas tas tisra iti: yd huta ujjvalanti, yd huta atinedante, yd huta adhiserate: kim tabhir jayatiti: yd huta ujjvalanti deva-lokam eva tabhir jayati, dipyata iva hi deva-lokah; yd huta atinedante, pitr-lokam eva tabhir jayati,
214 The Principal Upanisads III. i. io.
ativa hi pitr-lokah; yd huta adhiserate, manusya-lokam eva tabhir jayati, adha iva hi manusya-lokah.
8. ‘Yajnavalkya,’ said he, ‘how many (kinds of) oblations will the Adhvaryu priest offer today in this sacrifice?’ ‘Three.’ ‘Which are these three.’ ‘Those which, when offered, blaze upward, those which, when offered, make a great noise and those which, when offered, sink downward.’ ‘What does one win by these?’ ‘By those which, when offered, blaze upward, one wins the world of the gods for the world of the gods burns bright, as it were. By those which, when offered, make a great noise one wins the world of the fathers for the world of the fathers is excessively (noisy). By those which, when offered, sink downwards, one wins the world of men for the world of men is down below, as it were.’
The three kinds of oblations are said to be wood and clarified butter, flesh, milk and soma juice. £. The first flares up, the second makes a hissing noise, the third sinks down into the earth.
Those who are in the world of the fathers cry to be delivered out of it.
atinedante: make a great noise, ativa sabdam kurvanti. £.
9. yajnavalkya, iti hovdca, katibhir ayam adya brahma y a jham dak$inato devatabhir gopayatiti: ekayeti: katama saiketi: mana eveti, ananlarh vai manah ananta visve-devah, anantam eva sa tena lokam jayati.
9. ‘Yajnavalkya,’ said he, ‘with how many divinities does the Brahma priest on the right protect the sacrifice today?’ ‘With. one.' ‘Which is that one?’ ‘The mind alone.’ Verily, the mind is infinite; the Visve-devas are infinite. An infinite world he wins thereby.
Through mind we meditate and it is said to be infinite on account of its modifications.
10. yajnavalkya, iti hovdca, katy ayam adyodgatasmin yajhc stotriyah stosyatiti: tisra iti: katamas tas tisra iti: puro' nuvdkya ca yajya ca sasyaiva trtiya: katamas td yd adhyatmam iti: prana eva puro’ nuvakyd, apdno yajya, vyanah sasyd: kim tabhir jay atiti: prthivi-lokam eva puro 'nuvdkyayd jayati, antariksa-lokam yajyaya, dyu-lokarh sasyayd. tato ha hotdsvala uparardma.
10. ‘Yajnavalkya,’ said he, ‘how many hymns of praise will the udgatri priest chant today in the sacrifice?' ‘Three.’ ‘Which are these three?’ ‘The introductory hymn, the hymn accom¬ panying the sacrifice and the benedictory as the third.’ ‘Which
are these three with reference to the self?’ ‘The introductory hymn is the inbreath, the hymn accompanying the sacrifice is the outbreath. The benedictory hymn is the diffused breath.’ ‘What does one win by these?’ ‘By the introductory hymn one wins the world of the earth, by the accompanying hymn the world of the atmosphere, by the benedictory hymn one wins the world of heaven.’ Thereupon the Hotr priest Asvala kept silent.
upararama: kept silent, tusnim babhiiva. R.
Second Brahmana
1. atha hainarh jaratkarava artabhagah papraccha: yajhavalkya iti hovaca, kati grahah katy atigraha iti. astau grahah astav atigraha iti. ye te’ stau grahah, astav atigrahah, katame ta iti.
1. Then Jaratkarava Artabhaga questioned him, ‘Yajna¬ valkya,' said he, ‘how many perceivers are there, how many over-perceivers ? ’ ‘Eight perceivers. Eight over-perceivers.’ ‘Those eight perceivers and eight over-perceivers, which are they ? ’
The grahas are the organs of perception, graspers or apprehenders and the atigrahas are the objects of perception.
2, prd.no vai grahah, so 'panenatigrahena grhitah, apanena hi gandhan jighrati.
2. ‘The nose is the organ of perception. It is seized (controlled) by the outbreath as an over-perceiver, for by the outbreath one smells an odour.
prana iti ghranam ucyate. S.
3. ‘Speech, verily, is the organ of perception. It is seized by name as an over-perceiver, for by speech one utters names.
4. ‘The tongue, verily, is the organ of perception. It is seized by taste as an over-perceiver, for by tongue one knows tastes.
216 The Principal Upanisads III. 2. ii.
5. ‘The eye, verily, is the organ of perception. It is seized by form as an over-perceiver, for by the eye one sees forms.
6. ‘The ear, verily, is the organ of perception. It is seized by sound as an over-perceiver, for by the ear one hears sounds.
7. ‘The mind, verily, is the organ of perception; it is seized by desire as an over-perceiver, for through the mind one desires desires.
8. ‘The hands, verily, are the organ of perception. They are seized by action as an over-perceiver, for by the hands one performs actions.
9. ‘The skin, verily, is the organ of perception, it is seized by touch as an over-perceiver, for by the skin one feels touch. These are the eight organs of perception, and the eight over-perceivers.’
10. yajhavalkya iti hovaca, yad idarh sarvam mrtyor annam, kd svit sa devata,yasya mrtyur annam iti: agnir vai mrtyuh, so’pam annam, apa punar mrtyum jayati.
10. ‘Yajnavalkya,’ said he, ‘since everything here is food for death, what, pray, is that divinity for whom death is food?’ ‘Fire, verily, is death. It is the food of water. He (who knows this) overcomes further death.’
Everything is the food of death as everything is born and is imperilled by and is subject to death: sarvam jayate vipadyaie . . . mrtyuna grastam. S.
11. yajhavalkya, iti hovaca, yatrayam puruso mriyate, ud asmat pranah kramanty aho neti. na iti hovaca yajhavalkyah, atraiva samavanlyante, sa ucchvayati, adhmayati, adhmato mrtah iete.
sage) dies, do the vital breaths move up from him or do they not?’ 'No,’ replied Yajnavalkya. ‘They are gathered together in him. He (the body) swells up, he is inflated and thus inflated the dead man (body) lies.’
The liberated man, when his bondage is destroyed, does not go anywhere : bandhana-ndse muktasya na kvacid gamanam.
12. yajnavalkya, iti hovaca, yatrayam puruso mriyate, kim enam na jahatiti: nama iti, anantam vai nama, ananta visve-devdh, anantam eva sa tena lokarn jayati.
12. ‘Yajnavalkya,’ said he, ‘when such a person dies, what is it that does not leave him?’ ‘The name. The name is in¬ finite and infinite are the Visve-devas. Thereby he (who knows this) wins an infinite world.’
What remains is name, nama. It is the name which does not perish at death. Cp. with this the Buddhist doctrine that the element which is reborn is nama-rupa, nama and shape. Cp. RumI: ‘Every shape you see has its archetype in the placeless world and if the shape perished, no matter, since its original is everlasting.’ Shams-i- Tabriz: XII, Nicholson’s E.T.
13. yajnavalkya, iti hovaca, yatrasya purusasya mrtasyagnim vag apyeti, vatam pranah, caksur adityam, manas candram, disah srotram, prthivim say tram, akasam atma, osadhtr lomani, vanaspatin kesdh, apsu lohitam ca retas ca nidhtyate, kvayam tada puruso bhavatiti. ahara, somya, hastam, artabhaga; avam evaitasya vedisydvah, na ndv etat sajana iti. tau hotkramya, mantrayarh cakrate: tau ha yad ucatuh, karma haiva tad ucatuh atha yat prasasamsatuh karma haiva tat prasasamsatuh: punyo vai puny ena karmana bhavati, papah pdpeneti. tato ha jaratkarava artabhaga upararama.
13. ‘Yajnavalkya,’ said he, ‘when the speech (voice) of this dead person enters into fire, the breath into air, the eye into the sun, the mind into the moon, hearing into the quarters, the self into the ether, the hairs of the body into the herbs, the hairs on the head into the trees and the blood and the semen are deposited in water, what then becomes of this person?’ ‘Artabhaga, my dear, take my hand. We two alone shall know of this, this is not for us two (to speak of) in public.’ The two went away and deliberated. What they said was karman and what they praised was karman. Verily one becomes good by good action, bad by bad action. Therefore, Artabhaga of the line of Jaratkaru kept silent.
2l8
The Principal Upanisads
atman: self, ether ‘in the heart, hrdayakasam. $. lohitam: blood, lohito rohito raktah, Amara-kosa I. 5. 15.
What then becomes of this person? What is the support by which he again takes birth? The results of action, Karma, produce rebirth.
This view finds a parallel in the Buddhist doctrine, that while, at death, the different parts of the individual are scattered to their different sources, karma remains to cause a new existence. See also R.V. X. 16. 3.
Third Brahmana
THE RESORT OF THE PERFORMERS OF THE HORSE-
1. atha hainarh bhujyur lahyayanih papraccha: yajnavalkya, iti hovaca, madresu carakah, paryavrajama, te patancalasya kapyasya grhan aima; tasyasid duhita gandharvagrhita; tam aprcchama ko ’siti, so’bravit, sudhanvahgirasa iti, tam yada lokanam antan aprcchama, athainam abriima, kva pariksita abhavann iti, kva pariksita abhavan, sa tva prechami, yaj- navalkya, kva pariksita abhavann iti.
1. Then Bhujyu Lahyayani asked him: ‘Yajnavalkya,’ said he, ‘we were travelling around as wanderers among the Madra tribe and came to the house of Patancala Kapya. He had a daughter who was possessed by a gandharva. We asked him "Who are you?" He said, "I am Sudhanvan, a descendant of Ahgiras." When we were asking him about the ends of the earth, we said to him, "What has become of the Pariksitas? What has become of the Pariksitas?" And I ask you, Yajnavalkya, what has become of the Pariksitas?’
The questioner who obtained the knowledge of the limits of the earth from a gandharva asks Yajnavalkya about the descendants of Pariksit. The writer believes in the fact of possession. Patancala’s daughter was possessed by a gandharva, an aerial spirit, and so served as a medium. She was asked about the actual extent of the world and the place where the sons of Pariksit were.
Modern para-psychology is investigating phenomena of possession and mediumship, as these cannot be explained on principles of psychology which are generally recognised.
2. sa hovaca, uvaca vai sah agacchan vai te tad yatrasva-me- dha-yajino gacchantiti. kva nv asva-medha-yajino gacchantiti.
dvatrimsatam vai deva-ratha-ahnyany ayam lokah, tam samantam prthivi dvis tavat paryeti; tarn samantam prthivim dvis tavat samudrah paryeti, tad yavaii ksurasya dhara, yavad va maksi- kayah pattram, tavan antarenakasah; tan indrah suparno bhutva vayave prayacchat, tan vayur atmani dhitva tatragamayad, yatrasva-medha-ydjino ’bhavann iti; evam iva vai sa vayum eva prasaiamsa, tasmad vayur eva vyastih, vayuh samastih: apa punar mrtyum jayati, ya evam veda. tato ha bhujyur lahyayanir upararama.
2. Yajnavalkya said, ‘He (the gandharva) evidently told (you) that they went where those who perform horse-sacrifices go.’ ‘And where do the performers of the horse sacrifices 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 it covering twice the area is the ocean. Now there is just that much interspace as large as the edge of a razor or the wing of a mosquito. Indra, having become a bird, delivered them to the air. Air, placing them in itself led them to the place where the performers of the horse sacrifice were. Thus did he (the gandharva ) praise the air. Therefore, air is the separate individuals and air is the totality of all individuals. He who knows it as such, conquers further death.’ After that Bhujya Lahyayani kept silent.
Fourth Brahmana
1. atha hainam usastas cakrayanah papraccha: yajhavalkya, iti hovaca, yat saksad aparoksad brahma, ya atma sarvantarah, tam me vyacaksveti. esa ta atma, sarvantarah. katamah, yajha- valkya, sarvantarah. yah pranena praniti, sa ta atma sarvan- tarah yo’panendpaniti, sa ta atma sarvantarah, yo vyanena vyaniti, sa ta atma sarvantarah; ya udanena udaniti, sa ta atma sarvantarah, esa ta atma sarvantarah.
1. Then Usasta Cakrayana asked him: ‘Yajnavalkya,’ said he, ‘explain to me the Brahman that is immediately present and directly perceived, who is the self in all things?’ ‘This is your self. That is within all things.’ ‘Which is within all things,
220 The Principal Upanisads III. 5. 1.
Yajnavalkya?’ ‘He who breathes in with your breathing in is the self of yours which is in all things. He who breathes out with your breathing out is the self of yours which is in all things. He who breathes about with your breathing about is the self of yours which is in all things. He who breathes up with your breathing up is the self of yours which is in all things. He is your self which is in all things.'
2. sa hovaca usastas cdkrayanah: yatha vibruyad, asau gauh, asdv asva iti, evam evaitad vyapadistam bhavati, yad eva saksad aparoksdd brahma ya dtmd sarvantarah tam me vyacaksva iti: esa ta dtmd sarvantarah. katamah yajnavalkya, sarvantarah. na drstcr drastdram pasych, na sruter srotaram srnuyah, na mater mantdram manvithah, na vijhater vijhatdrarh vijaniyah, esa ta dtmd sarvantarah, ato’nyad artam. tato ha usastas cakrayana upararama.
2. Usasta Cakrayana said: ‘This has been explained by you as one might say “This is a cow,’’ “this is a horse.’’ Explain to me the Brahman that is immediately present and directly perceived, that is the self in all things.’ ‘This is your self that is within all things.’ ‘Which is within all things, Yajnavalkya?’ ‘You cannot see the seer of seeing, you cannot hear the hearer of hearing, you cannot think the thinker of thinking, you cannot understand the understander of understanding. He is your self which is in all things. Everything else is of evil.’ Thereupon Usasta Cakrayana kept silent.
artam: everything else perishes.
Fifth Brahmana
1. atha hainam kaholah kausttakeyah papraccha: yajnavalkya, iti hovaca, yad eva saksad aparoksdd brahma ya dtmd sarvan- tarah, tam me vyacaksva iti. esa ta dtmd sarvantarah-katamah, yajnavalkya, sarvantarah. yo’ sandy a-pipase sokam moham jar dm mrtyum atyeti. etam vai tam atmanam viditva, brdhmanah putraisanayas ca vittaisanayds ca lokaisanayas ca vyutthaya, atha bhiksdcaryam caranti. yd hy eva putraisana sa vittaisana yd vittaisana sa lokaisana, ubhe hy ete esane eva bhavatah;
tasmad brahmanah, pandityam nirvidya bdlyena tisthasct; bdlyarh ca pandityam ca nirvidya, atha munih; amaunarh ca maunarh ca nirvidya, atha brahmanah. sa brahmanah kena sydt. yena syat tena idrsa eva ato’nyad artam. tato ha kaholah kausitakeya upararama.
1. Now Kahola Kausitakeya asked him, ‘Yajnavalkya,’ said he, ‘explain to me the Brahman that is immediately present and directly perceived, that is the self in all things.’ ‘This is your self which is in all things.’ ‘Which is within all things, Yajnavalkya.’ ‘It is that which transcends hunger and thirst, sorrow and delusion, old age and death. The Brahmanas, having known that self, having overcome the desire for sons, the desire for wealth, the desire for worlds, live the life of mendi¬ cants. That which is the desire for sons is the desire for wealth; that which is the desire for wealth is the desire for the worlds for both these are but desires. Therefore let a Brahmana, after he has done with learning, desire to live as a child. When he has done (both) with the state of childhood and with learning, then he becomes silent meditator. Having done with (both) the non-meditative and the meditative states, then he becomes a Brahmana (a knower of Brahman).’ ‘How does the Brahmana behave?’ ‘Howsoever he may behave, he is such indeed. Everything else is of evil.’ Thereupon Kahola Kausitakeya kept silent.
hunger: asitum iccha asanaya. 5. thirst: patum iccha pipasa. §.
sorrow: desire, soka iti kamah. 5. Desire or hankering after desirable objects is the cause of sorrow.
delusion: mistake or confusion arising from wrong perception viparlta-pratyaya-prabhavo’viveko bhramah. §.
esana: desire, kamah. All desires are of one type, since they are directed towards results, and all means are adopted towards that end: sarvah phalartha-prayukta eva hi sarvarh sadhanam upadatte. £.
The knowers embrace the life of a monk and wander as mendicants. They give up even the signs of a monk’s life prescribed by the scriptures, which are sometimes merely the means of livelihood for those who have taken to that life: paramahamsa-pdrivrajyam pratipadya bhiksa-caryam car anti, bhiksdrthani caranam, bhiksacaryam caranti tyaktva smartam lihgarh kcvalam asrama-matra-sarandnarh jivana-sadhanam parivr ajya-vyahjakam. £.
nirvidya: having done with, having known all about: nihsesam viditva.
balya: state of the child. Deussen and Gough adopt this inter-
222 The Principal Upanisads III. 6. i.
pretation. Immediacy and lack of reflection as in a child give us the experience of the real. See Subala U. 13.
It is not a question of remaining as children, but becoming as children. It involves the sacrifice of intellectual conceit, a ' sacrificium intelledus.’ We must be able to acquire naivete. It is what Lao Tzu calls ‘returning to the root.' St. Paul says: ‘Thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad’: Acts xxvi. 24. Cp. ‘St. Francis once said that a great scholar when he joined the Order, ought in some sort to resign even his learning, in order that, having stripped himself of such a possession he might offer himself to the arms of the Crucified’: A. G. Little, Franciscan Papers. Lists and Documents (1943), p. 55.
Certain things are hidden from the learned and revealed to the babes. ‘In this hour Jesus rejoiced, saying, I thank Thee, Heavenly Father because Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes.’ ‘Except ye become like little children, ye shall not see the Kingdom of God.’ To become like little children is not easy. It takes much effort to acquire the grace and meekness of the child-like; to measure our littleness against the greatness of the Supreme.
bdlya: strength which is the total elimination of the perception of objects of self-knowledge, jhana-bala-bhava. £. This view is different from what is stated above.
Mauna is abstinence from speech. It is regarded as helpful for meditation. We must turn away from the world of noise into the inward stillness, the interior silence to become aware of the reality which transcends time and space. Cp. Kierkegaard: ‘The present condition of the world is diseased. If I were a doctor and was asked for my advice, I should answer, Create silence, bring men to silence - — the word of God cannot be heard in the world today. And if it is blazoned forth with all the panoply of noise so that it can be heard even in the midst of all other noise, then it is no longer the word of God. Therefore, create silence.’
The true knower of Brahman devotes himself exclusively to the contemplation of the self and shuns all other thoughts as distractions.
Sixth Brahmana
1. atha hainarh gdrgi vacaknavi papraccha, yajhavalkya, iti hovaca, yad idahi sarvam apsv otam ca protahi ca, kasmin nu khalv apa otas ca protas ceti. vayau, gdrgi, iti. kasmin nu khalu vayur, otas ca protai ceti. antariksa-lokesu, gdrgi, iti. kasmin
Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad 223
nu khalv antariksa-lokd otas ca protds ceti. gandharva-lokesu, gargi, iti. kasmin nu khalu gandharva-loka otas ca protds ceti. aditya-lokesu, gargi, iti. kasmin nu khalv aditya-loka otas ca protds ceti. candra-lokesu, gargi, iti. kasmin nu khalu candra-loka otas ca protds ceti. naksatra-lokesu , gargi, iti. kasmin nu khalu naksatra-loka otas ca protds ceti. deva-lokesu, gargi , iti. kasmin nu khalu deva-loka otas ca protds ceti. indra-lokesu gargi, iti. kasmin nu khalv indra-loka otas ca protds ceti. praja-pati-lokesu, gargi, iti. kasmin nu khalu praja-pati-loka otas ca protds ceti. brahma- lokcsu, gargi, iti. kasmin nu khalu brahma-loka otas ca protds ceti. sa hovaca, gargi matipraksih, ma te murdha vyapaptat, anatiprasnyam vai devatam atiprechasi, gargi, matipraksir iti. tato ha gargi vacaknavy uparardma.
1. Then Gargi Vacaknavi asked him: ‘Yajnavalkya,’ said she, ‘since all this here is woven, like warp and woof, in water, on what, pray, is water woven, like warp and woof?' ‘On air, O Gargi.’ ‘On what, then is air woven, like warp and woof?’ ‘On the worlds of the sky, O Gargi.' ‘On what then, pray, are the worlds of the sky woven, like warp and woof?’ ‘On the worlds of the gandharvas, O Gargi.’ ‘On what then, pray, are the worlds of the gandharvas woven, like warp and woof?’ ‘On the worlds of the sun, O Gargi.’ ‘On what then, pray, are the worlds of the sun woven, like warp and woof?’ ‘On the worlds of the moon, O Gargi.’ ‘On what then, pray, are the worlds of the moon woven, like warp and woof?’ ‘On the worlds of the stars, O Gargi.’ ‘On what then, pray, are the worlds of the stars woven, like warp and woof?’ ‘On the worlds of the gods, O Gargi.' ‘On what then, pray, are the worlds of the gods woven, like warp and woof?' ‘On the worlds of Indra, O Gargi.’ ‘On what then, pray, are the worlds of Indra woven, like warp and woof?’ ‘On the worlds of Praja-pati, O Gargi.’ ‘On what, then, pray, are the worlds of Praja-pati woven, like warp and woof?’ ‘On the worlds of Brahma, 0 Gargi.’ ‘On what then, pray, are the worlds of Brahma woven, like warp and woof?’ He (Yajnavalkya) said, 'Gargi, do not question too much lest your head fall off. Verily, you are questioning too much about a divinity about which we are not to ask too much. Do not, O Gargi, question too much.’ Thereupon Gargi Vacaknavi kept silent.
The basis of this whole universe is said to be brahma-loka.
ma atipraksih: S argues that the nature of the deity is to be gathered from scriptures and not inferred by logic: svam prasnam nyaya-
224 7/je Principal Upanisads III. 7. 1.
prakaram atltya agamena prastavyam devatam anumanena ma praksih.
Seventh Brahmana
1. atha hainam uddalaka arunih papraccha: ydjhavalkya, iti hovaca madresv avasama, patahcalasya kdpyasya grhesu, yajham adhiyanah. tasyasid bharya, gandharva-grhitd, tam aprcchama, ko’siti: so’bravit, kabandha atharvana iti. so’bravit, patahcalam kapyam yajhikarhs ca;vetlha nu tvam, kdpya, tat sutram yasminn (v: yena) ayarh ca lokah, paras ca lokah, sarvani ca bhutani samdrbdhani, bhavantiti. so’bravit patahcalah kapyah, naham tad, bhagavan, vedeti. so’bravit patahcalam kapyam yajhikarhs ca. vett- ha nu tvam, kdpya, tam antaryaminam, ya imam ca lokam par am ca lokam sarvani ca bhutani yo’ntaro yamayatiti. so’bravit patah¬ calah kapyah, naham tam, bhagavan, vedeti. so’bravit patahcalam kapyam yajhikarhs ca, yo vai tat, kdpya, siitram vidydt, tam c antaryaminam iti, sa brahma-vit, saloka-vit,sa deva-vit, saveda-vit, sa bhuta-vit, sa atma-vit, sa sarva-vit, iti tebhyo’bravit tad aham veda; tac cet tvam, ydjhavalkya, sutram avidvdms tam cantar- yaminam brahmagavir udajase, murdha te vipatisyatiti. veda va aham, gautama, tat sutram tam cantaryaminam iti. yo va idam kas cid bruydt, veda vedeti: yathd vettha, tatha bruhiti.
1. Then Uddalaka Aruni asked him, ‘Yajnavalkya,’ said he, ‘we lived in the house of Patancala Kapya among the Madras, studying the scriptures on the sacrifices. He had a wife who was possessed by a gandharva. We asked him, “Who are you?” He said, “I am Kabandha Atharvana.” He said to Patancala Kapya and those who studied the scriptures on the sacrifices, “Do you know, O Kapya, that thread by which this world, the other world and all beings are held together?” Patancala Kapya said: “I do not know it, Venerable Sir.” He said to Patancala Kapya and those who studied the scriptures on the sacrifices: “Do you know, Kapya, that inner controller from within who controls this world and the next and all things.” Patancala Kapya said, “I do not know it, Venerable Sir.” He said to Patancala Kapya and those who studied the scrip¬ tures on the sacrifices. “He who knows that thread, 0 Kapya,
and that inner controller, indeed knows Brahman, he knows the worlds, he knows the gods, he knows the Vedas, he knows beings, he knows the self, he knows everything.” Thus he explained it to them. I know it. If you, Yajnavalkya, do not know that thread, that inner controller and still take away the cows that belong only to the knowers of Brahman, your head will fall off.’ ‘I know, O Gautama, that thread and that inner controller.’ ‘Anyone might say, “I know, I know.” Tell us what you know.’
Here is a description of the world spirit, brahma-lokanam antara- tamam siitram. S. It is that which binds together all beings from the highest to the lowest, brahmadi-stamba-paryantani samdrbdhani samgrathitani, S. All things are strung like a garland with a thread. Reference here is to the sutratman. Cp. Maitri. I. 4. Satassloki 12, 55. Man is a bead strung on the thread of the conscious self, and just as wooden puppets are worked by strings, so the world is operated by the sutratman, the thread spirit.
2. sa hovaca vayur vai, Gautama, tat siitram; vayuna vai, Gautama, sutrenayam ca lokah paras ca lokah sarvani ca bhutani samdrbdhani bhavanti, tasmad vai, Gautama, purusam pretam ahuh vyasramsisatasyanganiti; vayuna hi, Gautama, sutrena samdrbdhani bhavantiti. evam etat, yajnavalkya, antaryaminam bruhiti.
2. He said, ‘Air, verily, 0 Gautama, is that thread. By air, verily, O Gautama, as by a thread this world, the other world and all beings are held together. Therefore, verily, O Gautama, they say of a person who dies that his limbs have been loosened, for they are held together, O Gautama, by air as by a thread.’ ‘Quite so, Yajnavalkya, describe the inner controller.’
3. yah prthivyam tisthan prthivya antarah, yam prthivi na veda, yasya prthivi sariram, yah prthivim antaro yamayati, esa ta atmdntaryamy amrtah.
3. (Yajnavalkya said,) ‘He who dwells in the earth, yet is within the earth, whom the earth does not know, whose body the earth is, who controls the earth from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal.’
‘He was in the world and the world was made by him and the world knew him not.’ — St. John I. 10. antarah: within; sometimes ‘different from.’
The Principal Upanisads III. 7. 9.
4. yo'psu tisthann, adbhy o’ ntarah, yam apo na viduh,yasyapah sanram, yo’po’ntaro yamayati, esa ta atmantaryamy amrtah.
4. ‘He who dwells in the water, yet is within the water, whom the water does not know, whose body the water is, who controls the water from within, he is your self, the inner con¬ troller, the immortal.’
5. yo’gnau tisthann, agner antarah, yam agnir na veda, yasyagnih sanram, yo’gnim antaro yamayati, esa ta atmdntar- ydmy amrtah.
5. ‘He who dwells in the fire, yet is within the fire, whom the fire does not know, whose body the fire is, who controls the fire from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal.’
6. yo’ntarikse tisthann antariksdd antarah. yam antariksam na veda, yasy antariksam sanram, yo’ntariksam antaro yamayati, esa ta atmantaryamy amrtah.
6. ‘He who dwells in the sky, yet is within the sky, whom the sky does not know, whose body the sky is, who controls the sky from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal.’
7. yo vayau tisthann vayor antarah, yam vayur na veda, yasya vayuh sanram, yo vdyum antaro yamayati, esa ta atmantaryamy amrtah.
7. ‘He who dwells in the air, yet is within the air, whom the air does not know, whose body the air is, who controls the air from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal.’
8. yo divi tisthan divo’ ntarah, yam dyaur na veda, yasya dyauh sanram, yo divam antaro yamayati, esa ta atmantaryamy amrtah.
8. ‘He who dwells in the heaven, yet is within the heaven, whom the heaven does not know, whbse body the heaven is, who controls the heaven from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal.’
9. ya dditye tisthann ddityad antarah, yam adityo na veda, yasyadityah sanram, ya adityam antaro yamayati, esa ta atmdn- taryamy amrtah.
9. ‘He who dwells in the sun, yet is within the sun, whom the sun does not know, whose body the sun is, who controls the sun from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal.’
It is not the ‘sun whom all men see’ but that ‘whom we know with the mind.’ Atharva Veda. X. 8. 14. It is the 'light of lights.’ R.V. I, 113. 1; B.G. XII. 1 7. ‘Whose body is seen by all, whose soul by none.’ Plato: Laws 898 D. ‘That was the true light of the world.’ John I. 4; I. 9; IX. 5. See C.U. I. 6.6, which speaks of an effulgent person in the solar regions who is free from evil.
10. yo diksu tisthan, digbhyo ntayah, yam diso na viduh, yasya disah sariram, yo diso antaro yamayati, esa ta atmantar- yamy amytah.
10. ‘He who dwells in the quarters (of space), yet is within the quarters, whom the quarters do not know, whose body the quarters are, who controls the quarters from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal.’
11. yas candra-tarake tisthams candra-tarakad antarah, yam candy a-tarakam na veda, yasya candr a-tarakam sariram, yas candr a-tarakam antayo yamayati, esa ta atmantaryamy amytah.
11. ‘He who dwells in the moon and the stars, yet is within the moon and the stars, whom the moon and the stars do not know, whose body the moon and the stars are, who controls the moon and the stars from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal.’
12. ya akase tisthann akdsad antarah, yam akaso na veda, yasyakasah sariram, ya akasam antayo yamayati, esa ta atmdn- taryamy amytah.
12. ‘He who dwells in the ether, yet is within the ether, whom the ether does not know, whose body the ether is, who controls the ether from within, he is your self, the inner con¬ troller, the immortal.’
13. yas tamasi tisthams tamaso ntarah, yam tamo na veda yasya tamah sariram, yas tamo’ntayo yamayati, esa ta atman- tayyamy amytah.
13. ‘He who dwells in the darkness, yet is within the darkness, whom the darkness does not know, whose body the darkness is, who controls the darkness from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal.’
14. yas tejasi tisthams tejaso ntayah, yam tejo na veda, yasya tejah sayuam, yas tejontayo yamayati, esa ta atmantaryamy amytah. ity adhidaivatam , athadhibhutam.
14. ‘He who dwells in the light, yet is within the light, whom the light does not know, whose body the light is, who controls
The Principal Upanisads III. 7. 19.
the light from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal. Thus far with reference to the divinities. Now with reference to beings.’
adhibhutam: pertaining to the different grades of beings from Brahma down to a clump of grass: brahmadi-stamba-paryantesu antaryami-darsanam. §.
15. yah sarvesu bhutesu tisthan, sarvebhyo bhutebhyo’ntarah, yarn sarvani bhutani na viduh, yasya sarvani bhutani sariram, yah sarvani bhutani antaro yamayati , esa ta atmantaryamy amrtah. ity adhibhutam; athadhyatmam.
15. ‘He who dwells in all beings, yet is within all beings, whom no beings know, whose body is all beings, who controls all beings from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal. Thus far with reference to the beings. Now with reference to the self.’
16. yah prane tisthan prdnad antarah, yam prano na veda, yasya pranah sariram, yah pranam antaro yamayati, esa ta atmantaryamy amrtah.
16. ‘He who dwells in the breath, yet is within the breath, whom the breath does not know, whose body the breath is, who controls the breath from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal.’
prana : breath. § means by it the nose, prdna-vayu-sahite ghrane.
17. yo vaci tisthan vdco’ntarah, yam van na veda, yasya vak sariram, yo vacam antaro yamayati, esa ta atmantaryamy amrtah.
1 7. ‘He who dwells in (the organ of) speech, yet is within speech, whom speech does not know, whose body speech is, who controls speech from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal.’
18. yas caksusi tisthams caksuso’ ntarah , yarn caksur na veda, yasya caksuh sariram, yas caksur antaro yamayati, esa ta atmantaryamy amrtah.
18. ‘He who dwells in the eye, yet is within the eye, whom the eye does not know, whose body the eye is, who controls the eye from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal.’
19. yah srotrc tisthan srotrad antarah, yam srotrarh na veda, yasya srotrarh sariram, yah srotram antaro yamayati, esa ta atmantaryamy amrtah.
19. ‘He who dwells in the ear, yet is within the ear, whom the ear does not know, whose body the ear is, who controls the ear from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal.’
20. yo manasi tisthan manaso’ntarah, yam mano na veda, yasya manah sanram, yo mano’ntaro yamayati, esa ta atman- taryamy amrtah.
20. ‘He who dwells in the mind, yet is within the mind, whom the mind does not know, whose body the mind is, who controls the mind from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal.’
21 ..yas tvaci tisthams tvaco’ntarah, yam tvah na veda, yasya tvak sanram, yas tvacam antaro yamayati, esa ta atmantaryamy amrtah.
21. ‘He who dwells in the skin, yet is within the skin, whom the skin does not know, whose body the skin is, who controls the skin from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal.’
22. yo vijhane tisthan, vijhanad antarah, yarn vijhanam na veda, yasya vijhanam sanram, yo vijhanam antaro yamayati, esa ta atmantaryamy amrtah.
22. ‘He who dwells in the understanding, yet is within the understanding, whom the understanding does not know, whose body the understanding is, who controls the understanding from within, he is your self, the inner controller, the immortal.’
§ discusses the. text in S.B. I. 2. 18-20. Both the Kanva and the Madhyandina recensions speak of the universal and the individual selves as different from each other, the former being the ruler and the latter the ruled. The Kanva speaks of the embodied self as the understanding and the Madhyandina speaks of it as the self: yo vijhane tisthan iti kdnvah, atra- vijhana-sabdena sarlrah ucyate; ya atmani tisthan iti madhyandinah, atra atma-sabdah sarirasya vacakah.
For Ramanuja this passage is important as a support for his doctrine of visistadvaita.
Madhva uses this text in support of his theory of the absolute distinction between Brahman and the individual soul.
23. yo retasi tisthan retaso’ntarah, yam reto na veda, yasya retah sanram, yo reto’ntaro yamayati, esa ta atmantaryamy amrtah: adrsto drasta, asrutah srota, amato manta, avijhato vijhdta. nanyo’to’sti drasta, nanyo’to’sti srota, nanyo’to’sti
230 The Principal Upanisads III. 8. 2.
manta, nanyo’to’sti vijhata: esa ta atmdntarydmy amrtah: ato'nyad artam. tato hoddalaka arunir upararama.
23. He who dwells in the semen, is other than the semen, whom the semen does not know, whose body the semen is, who controls the semen from within, that is your self, the inner controller, the immortal. He is never seen but is the seer, he is never heard but is the hearer. He is never perceived, but is the perceiver. He is never thought but is the thinker. There is no other seer but he, there is no other hearer but he, there is no other perceiver but he, there is no other thinker but he. He is your self, the inner controller, the immortal. Everything else is of evil. After that Uddalaka Aruni kept silent.
Everything that is not the self perishes.
Though he is free from all the empirical qualities, he still controls them all.
Cp. S. sarva-samsara-dharma-varjitah sarva-samsarinam karma - phala-vibhaga-karta.
Eighth Brahmana
1. atha ha vacaknavy uvaca, brahmana bhagavantah, hanta, aham imam dvau prasnau praksyami; tau cen me vaksyati, na vai jatu yusmakam imam kas cid brahmodyam jeteti. prccha, gargrti.
1. Then Vacaknavi said: ‘Venerable Brahm.anas, I shall ask him two questions. If he answers me these, none of you can defeat him in arguments about Brahman.’ ‘Ask, Gargi.’
Vacaknavi is also Gargi but she is not the Gargi, who is the wife of Yajnavalkya.
brahmodya: discussion about Brahman which often accompanied the sacrifices.
2. sa hovdca : aham vai tva, yajnavalkya, yatha kasyo va vaideho va ugra-putrah, ujjyam dhanur adhijyam krtvd, dvau bdnavantau sapatna-ativyadhinau haste krtvd upottisthd, evam evaham tva dvabhyam prasndbhyam upodasthdm , tau me bruhiti. prccha, gargi, iti.
and having taken in his hand two pointed foe-piercing arrows, even so, O Yajnavalkya, do I face you with two questions. Answer me these.’ ‘Ask, Gargi’ (said he)
3. sa hovaca: yad urdhvam, yajnavalkya, divah, yad avak prthivyah, yad antara dyavaprthivi ime, yad bhutam ca bhavac ca bhavisyac cell acaksate; kasmims tad otarn ca protam ceti.
3. She said: ‘That, O Yajnavalkya, of which they say, it is above the heaven, it is beneath the earth, that which is between these two, the heaven and the earth, that which the people call the past, the present and the future, across what is that woven, like warp and woof?’
avak: below, arvak.
4. sa hovaca, yad urdhvam, gargi, divah, yad avak prthivyah, yad antara dyavaprthivi ime, yad bhutam ca bhavac ca bhavisyac cety acaksate, akase tad otarn ca protam ceti.
4. He said: ‘That which is above the heaven, that which is beneath the earth, that which is between these two, heaven and earth, that which the people call the past, the present and the future, across space is that woven, like warp and woof.’
5. She said, ‘Adoration to you, Yajnavalkya, who have answered this question for me. Prepare yourself for the other.’ ‘Ask, Gargi.’
6. sa hovaca, yad urdhvam, yajnavalkya, divah, yad avak prthivyah, yad antara dyava-prthivi ime, yad bhutam ca bhavac ca bhavisyac cety acaksate: kasmims tad otarn ca protam ceti.
6. She said: ‘That, O Yajnavalkya, of which they say, it is above the heaven, it is beneath the earth, that which is between these two, the heaven and the earth, that which the people call the past, the present and the future, across what is that woven like warp and woof?'
7. sa hovaca, yad urdhvam, gargi, divah, yad avak prthivyah, yad antara dyavaprthivi ime, yad bhutam ca bhavac ca bhavisyac cety acaksate akasa eva tad otarn ca protam ceti; kasmin nu khalv akasa otas ca protas ceti.
7. He said: ‘That which is above the sky, that which is beneath the earth, that which is between these two, sky and earth, that which the people call the past, the present and the
232 The Principal Upanisads III. 8. 9
future, across space is that woven like warp and woof. Across what is space woven like warp and woof?’
It is a difficult question. If Yajnavalkya does not explain it because he thinks it inexplicable, he lays himself open to the charge of non¬ comprehension, a-pratipatti; if, on the other hand, he attempts to explain what is inexplicable he would be guilty of contradiction, vi-pratipatti.
8. sa hovaca, etad vai tad aksaram, gargi, brahmana abhiva- danti, asthulam , ananu, ahrasvam, adirgham, alohitam, asneham, acchayam, atamah, avayv anakasam, asahgam, arasam, agan- dham, acaksuskam, asrotram, avak, amanah, atejaskam, apranam, amukham, amdtram, anantaram, abdhyam; na tad asnati kirn cana, na tad asnati kas cana.
8. He said: ‘That, O Gargi, the knowers of Brahman, call the Imperishable. It is neither gross nor fine, neither short nor long, neither glowing red (like fire) nor adhesive (like water). (It is) neither shadow nor darkness, neither air nor space, un¬ attached, without taste, without smell, without eyes, without ears, without voice, without mind, without radiance, without breath, without a mouth, without measure, having no within and no without. It eats nothing and no one eats it.’
This passage brings out that the Imperishable is neither a sub¬ stance nor a possessor of attibutes.
aksara: It is not the letter but the Supreme Self, aksaram paramatma eva, na varnah. S.B. I. 3. 10. It is the changeless reality.
9. etasya va aksarasya prasasane, gargi, suryacandramasau vidhrtau tisthatah; etasya va aksarasya prasasane, gargi, dyava- prthivyau vidhrte tisthatah; etasya va aksarasya prasasane, gargi, nimesa, muhurta, ahordtrany ardhamasa, masa, rtavah, sarhvat- sara iti. vidhrtas tisthanti; etasya va aksarasya prasasane, gargi, pracyo' nya nadyah syandante svetebhyah parvatebhyah, praiicyo’ nyah, yam yam ca disam anu; etasya va aksarasya prasasane, gargi, dadato manusyah prasarhsanti; yajamanarh devah, darvirh pitaro ’nvayattah.
9. ‘Verily, at the command of that Imperishable, 0 Gargi, the sun and the moon stand in their respective positions. At the command of that Imperishable, O Gargi, heaven and earth stand in their respective positions. At the command of that Imperishable, 0 Gargi, what are called moments, hours, days and nights, half-months, months, seasons, years stand in their respective positions. At the command of that Imperishable, O
Gargi, some rivers flow to the east from the white (snowy) mountains, others to the west in whatever direction each flows. By the command of that Imperishable, O Gargi, men praise those who give, the gods (are desirous of) the sacrificer and the fathers are desirous of the darvi offering.’
Inferential evidence from the orderliness of the world is here given: anumanam pramanam upanyasyati. 8.
The maintenance of the respective positions of heaven and earth is not possible without the guidance of an intelligent transcendent ruler: cetanavantam prasdsitdram asamsarinam antarena naitad yuktam. 8.
10. yo va etad aksaram, gargi, aviditvasmiml loke juhoti, yajate, tapas tapyate, bahuni varsd-sahasrany antavad evasya tad bhavati; yo va etad aksaram, gargi, aviditvasmal lokat praiti, sa krpanah; atha ya etad aksaram, gargi, viditvasmal lokat praiti, sa brahmanah.
10. ‘Whosoever, O Gargi, in this world, without knowing this Imperishable performs sacrifices, worships, performs austerities for a thousand years, his work will have an end; whosoever, O Gargi, without knowing this Imperishable departs from this world, is pitiable. But, O Gargi, he who knowing the Im¬ perishable departs from this world is a Brahmana (a knower of Brahman).’
yad ajhanat samsdra-praptih, yad jhanac cdmrtatva-praptih. R.
11. tad va etad aksaram, gargi, adrstam drastr, asrutam, srotr, amatam mantr, avijhatam vijhatr, nanyad ato’sti drastr, nanyad ato’ sti srotr, nanyad ato’ sti mantr, nanyad ato’ sti vijhatr; etasmin nu khalv aksare, gargi, akasa otas ca protas ca.
11. ‘Verily, that Imperishable, O Gargi, is unseen but is the seer, is unheard but is the hearer, unthought but is the thinker, unknown but is the knower. There is no other seer but this, there is no other hearer but this, there is no other thinker but this, there is no other knower but this. By this Imperishable, 0 Gargi, is space woven like warp and woof.’
12. sa hovaca; brahmana bhagavantah, tad eva bahu manye- dhvam yad asman namaskarena mucyedhvam; na vai jatu yusma- kam imam kascid brahmodyam jeteti. tato ha vdcaknavy upa- rarama.
12. She said : ‘Venerable Brahmanas, you may think it a great thing if you get off from him though bowing to him. Not one
234 The Principal Upanisads III. 9. 1.
of you will defeat him in arguments about Brahman.’ Thereupon (GargI) Vacaknavi kept silent.
§ says that the same Brahman on account of the differences in limiting adjuncts, upadhibhedena is called differently: tasman nirupadhikasyatmano nirupakhyatvan nirvisesatvad ekatvac ca neti netlti vyapadeso bhavati, avidya-kama-karma-visista-karya-karano- padhir atma samsarl jlva ucyate; nitya-niratisaya-jhana-sakty-upadhir atmantaryamisvara ucyate; sa eva nirupadhih kevalah suddhah svena- svabhavenaksaram param ucyate:
Therefore the unconditioned Self, being beyond speech and mind, undifferentiated and one, is defined as ‘not this,’ ‘not this’; when it has the limiting adjuncts of the body and the organs, the products of ignorance, desire and work, it is called the individual ego ; when the self has the limiting adjunct of eternal knowledge and power, it is called the inner controller, the Supreme Lord. The same self, absolute, alone, pure is called the Imperishable Supreme Self. The self is everywhere assuming different forms. For S the differences are all traceable to limiting adjuncts and to nothing else, upadhi- bhedenaivaisam bhedah, nanyatha.
Ninth Brdhmana
1. atha hainarh vidagdhah sakalyah papraccha: kati devah, yajhavalkya, iti. sa haitayaiva nivida pratipede, yavanto vaisva- dcvasya nividy ucyante; trayas ca tri ca sata, trayas ca tri ca sahasreti. awn iti. hovdca, katy eva dev dh, yajhavalkya iti. trayai trimsad iti. A um iti. hovdca, katy eva devah, yajhavalkya, iti. sad iti. aum iti. hovdca, katy eva devah, yajhavalkya, iti. traya iti. awn iti. hovdca, katy eva devah, yajhavalkya, iti. dvav iti. aum iti. hovdca, katy eva devah, yajhavalkya, iti. adhyardha iti. aum iti. hovdca, katy eva devah, yajhavalkya, iti. eka iti. aum iti. hovdca katame te trayas ca tri ca sahasreti.
1. Then Vidagdha £akalya asked him: ‘How many gods are there, Yajhavalkya?’ He answered, in accord with the following nivid (invocation of the gods). ‘As many as are mentioned in the nivid of the hymn of praise to the Visve-devas, namely, three hundred and three, and three thousand and three.’ ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘but how many gods are there, Yajhavalkya?’ ‘Thirty three.’ ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘but how many gods are there, Yajna-
valkya?’ ‘Six.’ ‘Yes,’ said he, ‘but how many gods are there, Yajnavalkya?’ ‘Three.’ ‘Yes,’ said he, ‘but how many gods are there, Yajnavalkya?’ ‘Two.’ ‘Yes,’ said he, ‘but how many gods are there, Yajnavalkya?’ ‘One and a half.’ ‘Yes,’ said he, ‘but how many gods are there, Yajnavalkya?’ ‘One.’ ‘Yes,’ said he, ‘but which are those three hundred and three and three thousand and three?’
nivid: group of verses giving the number of the gods which are recited in the hymns of praise to the Visve-devas. devatd-samkhya-vd- cakani mantra-padani kanicid vaisva-deve sastre sasyamte. $.
2. sa hovaca, mahimana evaisam ete, tray as trimsat tv eva deva iti. katame te trayas trimsad iti. astau vasavah ekddasa rudrah, dvadasadityah, te ekatrimsat indras caiva prajapatis ca trayastrimsav iti.
2. He (Yajnavalkya) said, ‘They are but the manifestations of them, but there are only thirty-three gods.’ ‘Which are these thirty-three?’ ‘The eight Vasus, the eleven Rudras, and the twelve Adityas, these are thirty- one, Indra and Praja-pati (make up) thirty-three.’
mahimanah: manifestations: vibhutayah. $.
3. katame vasava iti. agnis ca prthivi ca vayus cantariksam cddityas ca dyaus ca candramat ca naksatrani ca, ete vasavah, etesa hidam sarvam hitam iti, tasmad vasava iti.
3. ‘Which are the Vasus?’ ‘Fire, the earth, the air, the sky, the sun, the heaven, the moon, the stars, these are the Vasus for in them all this is placed: therefore they are called Vasus.’
The Vasus transform themselves into bodies and organs of all beings which serve as the support for their work and its fruition as also into their dwelling-places. They help other beings to live and they themselves live; pranindm karma-phalasrayatvena karya- karana-samghdta-rupena tan nivasatvena viparinam anto jagad idath sarvam vasayanti vasanti ca. A
Because they help others to live they are called Vasus: teyasmad vasayanti, tasmad vasava iti. §.
4. katame rudra iti. daseme puruse pranah atmaikadasah; te yadasmat sariran martyad utkramanti, atha rodayanti, tad yad rodayanti, tasmad rudra iti.
236 The Principal Upanisads III. 9. 8.
mortal body, they make us (his relatives) weep. So because they make us weep, therefore they are called Rudras.’
ten breaths: the ten sensory and motor organs, jhana-karmendriyani dasa purusasthani. R.
5. katama aditya iti. dvadasa vai masah samvatsarasya, eta ddityah, ete htdarh sarvarn adadana yanti; te yad idarh sarvam adadana yanti, tasmad aditya iti.
5. ‘Which are_the Adityas?’ ‘Verily, the twelve months of the year, these are Adityas, for they move carrying along all this. Since they move carrying along all this, therefore they are called Adityas.’
6. katama indrah, katamah prajapatir iti, stanayitnur eve- ndrah, yajhah prajapatir iti. katamah stanayitnur iti. asanir iti. katamo yajha iti. pasava iti.
6. ‘Which is Indra? Which is Praja-patii ‘Indra is the thunder, Praja-pati is the sacrifice.’ ‘Which is the thunder?’ ‘The thunderbolt.’ ‘Which is the sacrifice?’ ‘The (sacrificial) animals.’
asanih: thunderbolt, vajram S.
Animals are called sacrifices as the latter depend on animals. yajhasya hi sadhanani pasavah. S.
7. ‘Which are the six?’ ‘Fire, the earth, the air, the sky, the sun and the heaven, these are the six, for the six are all this.’
8. katame te trayo deva iti. ima eva trayo lokah, esu himc sarve devd iti. katamau tau dvau devdv iti, annam caiva pranas ceti. katamo dhyardha iti. yo yam pavata iti.
8. ‘Which are the three gods?’ ‘They are, verily, the three worlds, for in them all these gods exist.' ‘Which are the two gods?’ ‘Food and breath.’ ‘Which is the one and a half?’ ‘This one here who blows (the air).'
The earth and the fire make one god, the sky and the air another, the sun and the heaven a third: prthivlm agnirh caiklkrtyaiko devah, antariksam vdyuhi caiklkrtya dvitlyah, divam ddityam caikikrtya trtlyah, ta eva trayo devd iti. S.
Out of matter and life the rest develops: annam caiva pranascaitau devau, anayos sarvesam uktdnam antarbhdvah. S.
9. tad ahuh, yad ayam eka ivaiva pavate, atha katham adhy- ardha iti. yad asminn idam sarvam adhyardhnot, tenadhyardha iti, katama eko deva iti. prana iti, sa brahma, tyad ity acaksate.
9. ‘Regarding this, some say, since he who blows is like one, how then is he one and a half? (The answer is) because in him (when he blows) all this grew up.’ ‘Which is the one God?’ ‘The Breath. He is Brahman. They call him tyat (that).’
adhyardhnot: grew up, attains great growth, adhiruddhim prapnoti. §.
The one God has different names, forms, activities, attributes and powers owing to differences of function: devasyaikasya ndma-riipa-karma-guna-sakti-bhedo’ dhikara-bhedat. 5.
10. prthivy eva yasyayatanam, agnir lokah, mano jyotih, yo vai tarn purusam vidyat sarvasyatmanah parayanam, sa vai vedita syat, yajhavalkya. veda vd aharh tarn purusam sarvasya- tmanah parayanam, yam attha; ya evayam sarlrah purusah, sa esah. vadaiva sakalya, tasya ka devata iti. amrtam iti hovaca.
10. ‘Verily, he who knows that person whose abode is the earth, whose world is the fire, whose light is the mind, who is the ultimate support of every soul, he, verily, would be a knower, 0 Yajnavalkya. Verily, I know that person, who is the ultimate support of every soul, of whom you speak.’ This very person who is in the body is he. Tell me, Sakalya, who is his god?’ ‘The immortal,’ said he.
ayatanam: abode: asrayah. S. adharah. R.
parayanam: ultimate support: par am ayanam para asrayah. S. parama-prdpya-bhutah purusa-sabditah paramatma. R.
11. kama eva yasyayatanam, hrdayam lokah, mano jyotih, yo vai tarn purusam vidyat sarvasyatmanah parayanam, sa vai vedita syat, yajhavalkya. veda vd aharh tarn purusam sarvasya atmanah parayanam, yam attha; y a evayam kamamayah purusah sa esah. vadaiva, sakalya, tasya ka devata iti. striyah, iti hovaca.
11. ‘Verily, he who knows that person whose abode is desire, whose world is the heart, whose light is the mind, who is the ultimate support of every soul, he, verily, would be a knower, O Yajnavalkya.’ ‘Verily, I know that person who is the ultimate support of every soul, of whom you speak. This very person who is made of desire is he. Tell me, Sakalya, who is his god?' ‘Women,’ said he.
238 The Principal Upanisads III. 9. 14.
kdma: desire, desire for sex pleasures, stri-vyatikarabhilasah kamah. hr day am, lokah: We see through the intellect: hrdayena buddhya pasyati. S.
women: for men’s desire is inflamed through them: strlto hi kamasya diptir jayate. §.
12. rupany eva yasyayatanam, caksur lokah, mano jyotih, yo vai tarn purusam vidyat sarvasyatmanah parayanam, sa vai vedita syat, yajhavalkya. veda va aham tam purusam sarvasyat- manah parayanam, yam attha. ya evasav aditye purusah, sa esah. vadaiva, sakalya, tasya kd devata Hi. satyam iti hovdca.
12. ‘Verily, he who knows that person whose abode is forms, whose world is the eye, whose light is the mind, who is the ultimate support of every soul, he, verily, would be a knower, O Yajnavalkya.’ ‘Verily, I know that person who is the ultimate support of every soul, of whom you speak. This very person who is in the sun is he. Tell me, Sakalya, who is his god?’ ‘Truth,’ said he.
forms: colours like white and black : sukla-kysnadlni.
13. dkasa eva yasyayatanam, srotram lokah, mano jyotih, yo vai tarn purusam vidyat sarvasyatmanah parayanam, sa vai vedita syat, yajhavalkya. veda va aham tam purusam sarvasyat- manah parayanam, yam attha; ya evayam srautrah prdtisrutkah purusah sa esah. vadaiva, sakalya, tasya kd devata iti. disah iti hovdca.
13. ‘Verily, he who knows that person, whose abode is space, whose world is the ear, whose light is mind, who is the ultimate support of every soul, he, verily, would be a knower, O Yajnavalkya.' ‘Verily, I know that person who is the ultimate support of every soul, of whom you speak. This very person who is in hearing and who is in the echo is he. Tell me, Sakalya, who is his god?’ ‘The quarters of space,’ said he.
prdtisrutkah: pratidhvani-visistah. R.
14. tama eva yasyayatanam, hrdayam lokah, mano jyotih, yo vai tarn purusam vidyat sarvasyatmanah parayanam, sa vai vedita syat, yajhavalkya. veda va aham, tam purusam sarvasyat- manah, parayanam, yam attha; ya evayam chayamayah purusah sa esah. vadaiva, sakalya, tasya kd devata iti. mrtyur iti hovdca.
14. ‘Verily, he who knows that person, whose abode is darkness, whose world is the heart, whose light is the mind, who is the ultimate support of every soul, he, verily, would be a
knower, O Yajnavalkya.’ ‘Verily, I know that person who is the ultimate support of every soul, of whom you speak. This very person who is made of shadow is he. Tell me, Sakalya, who is his god?’ ‘Death,’ said he.
15. rupany eva yasyayatanam, caksur lokah, mano jyotih, yo vai tam purusam vidyat sarvasyatmanah parayanam, sa vai vedita sydt, yajnavalkya. veda va aham tam purusam sarvasyat- manah parayanam, yam attha. ya evayam adarse purusah, sa esah. vadaiva, sakalya, tasya ka devata iti, asur iti hovaca.
15. ‘Verily, he who knows that person, whose abode is forms, whose world is the eye, whose light is the mind, who is the ultimate support of every soul, he, verily, would be a knower, O Yajnavalkya.’ ‘Verily, I know that person who is the ultimate support of every soul, of whom you speak. This very person who is in the looking-glass is he. Tell me, Sakalya, who is his god?’ ‘Life,’ said he.
16. apa eva yasyayatanam, hrdayam lokah, mano jyotih, yo vai tam purusam, vidyat sarvasyatmanah, parayanam, sa vai vedita sydt, yajnavalkya. veda va aham tam purusam sarvasyat- manah parayanam, yam attha. ya evayam apsu purusah sa esah. vadaiva, iakalya, tasya ka devata iti. varuna iti hovaca.
16. ‘Verily, he who knows that person, whose abode is water, whose world is the heart, whose light is the mind, who is the ultimate support of every soul, he, verily, would be a knower, O Yajnavalkya.’ ‘Verily, I know that person who is the ultimate support of every soul, of whom you speak. This very person who is in water is he. Tell me, Sakalya, who is his god?’ ‘Varuna,’ said he.
varuna: rain.
1 7. reta eva yasyayatanam, hrdayam, lokah, mano jyotih yo vai tam purusam vidyat sarvasyatmanah parayanam sa vai vedita sydt, yajnavalkya. veda va aham tam purusam sarvasyat- manah, parayanam, yam attha. ya evayam putramayah purusah, sa esah. vadaiva, sakalya, tasya ka devata iti. prajapatih iti hovaca
17. ‘Verily, he who knows that person, whose abode is semen, whose world is the heart, whose light is the mind, who is the ultimate support of every soul, he, verily, would be a knower, O Yajnavalkya.' ‘Verily, I know that person who is the ultimate support of every soul, of whom you speak. This
240 The Principal Upanisads III. 9. 21 •
very person who is made of a son is he. Tell me, £akalya, who is his god?’ ‘Prajd-pati,’ said he.
18, Sakalya, iti hovaca yajhav alky ah, tvam svid ime brahmana ahgdravaksayanam akrata u iti.
'Have these Vedic scholars thrown you to me to be burnt or consumed by me?’
19. yajnavalkya, iti hovaca sakalyah, yad idarh kuru-pahca- landm brahmanan atyavadih, kim brahma vidvan iti, diso veda sadevah sapratistha iti. yad diso vettha sa dev ah sapratisthah.
19. ‘Yajnavalkya,’ said Sakalya, ‘What is the Brahman you know, that you have talked down the Brahmanas of the Kuru-pancalas?’ ‘I know the quarters with their deities and supports.' ‘If you know the quarters with their deities and supports,
20. kim-devato’ syam pracyam disy asiti. aditya-devata iti. sa adityah kasmin pratisthita iti. caksusiti. kasmin nu caksuh pratisthitam iti. rupesv iti. caksusa hi riipdni pasyati. kasmin nu rupani pratisthitdnlti. hrdaye iti hovaca, hrdayena hi rupani janati, hrdaye hy eva riipdni pratisthitani bhavantiti. evam evaitat, yajnavalkya.
20. ‘What deity have you in this eastern quarter?’ (Yajna¬ valkya said) : ‘the deity sun.’ ‘That sun, on what is it supported ?’ ‘On the eye.’ ‘On what is the eye supported?’ ‘On forms, for one sees forms with the eye.' ‘On what are forms supported?’ ‘On the heart,’ said he (Yajnavalkya), ‘for one knows the forms through the heart; on the heart only are the forms supported.’ ‘Even so, Yajnavalkya.’
Whatever forms we meditate upon, we become identified with them: yam yarn devatam upaste ihaiva, tad bhutas tarn tam pratipad- yate. £.
hrdaya: heart. It refers to the intellect and the mind taken together: hrdayam iti buddhi-manasl eklkrtya nirdesah. S.
21. kim-devato’ syam daksinayam disy asiti. yama-devata iti sa yamah kasmin pratisthita iti. yajha iti. kasmin nu yajhah
pratisthita iti. daksinayam iti. kasmin nu daksina pratisthita iti. sraddhayam iti. yada hy eva iraddhatte atha daksinam dadati; sraddhayam hy eva daksina pratisthita iti. kasmin nu sraddha pratisthita iti. hrdaye iti. hovaca hrdayena hi sraddham janati, hrdaye hy eva sraddha pratisthita bhavatiti. evam evaitat, yajhavalkya.
21. ‘What deity have you in this southern quarter?' (Yajhavalkya said) ‘The deity Yama,’ ‘That Yama, on what is he supported?’ ‘On the sacrifice.’ ‘On what is the sacrifice supported?’ ‘On the offerings to the priests.’ ‘And on what are the offerings to the priests supported?' ‘On faith, for when one has faith, he gives offerings to the priests. Therefore it is on faith that the offerings to the priests are supported.’ ‘On what is faith supported?’ ‘On the heart,' he (Yajnavalkya) said, ‘for through the heart one knows faith; verily, on the heart alone is faith supported.’ ‘Even so, Yajnavalkya.’
faith: faith in the Vedas accompanied by devotion, astikya-buddhir bhakti-sahitd. S.
22. kirh-devato’ syam praticyam disy asiti. varuna-devata iti, sa varunah kasmin pratisthita iti. apsv iti. kasmin nv apah pratisthita iti. retasiti, kasmin nu retah pratisthitam iti. hrdaye iti, hovaca; tasmad api pratirupam jdtam ahuh, hrdayad iva srptah, hrdayad iva nirmita iti, hrdaye hy eva retah pratisthitam bhavatiti. evam evaitat, yajhavalkya.
22. ‘What deity have you in this western quarter?’ ‘The deity Varuna.’ ‘That Varuna, on what is he supported?’ ‘On water.’ ‘On what is water supported?’ ‘On semen.’ ‘On what is semen supported?’ ‘On the heart,’ he said. ‘Therefore they say of a new-born child who resembles (the father) that he seems as if he slipped out of his heart, he is built out of his heart; for on the heart alone is semen supported.' ‘Even so, Yajnavalkya.’
Semen is said to be an effect of the heart, for sex desire is a modification of the heart and semen issues when the heart of man is under the influence of sex desire: hrdayasya karyam retah, kamo hrdayasya vrttih, kamino hi hrdayad reto’ dhiskandati. S.
23. kirh-devato’ syam udicyam disy asiti. soma-devata iti. sa somah kasmin pratisthita iti. diksayam iti. kasmin nu diksa pratisthita iti. satya iti. tasmad api diksitam ahuh, satyarh vada iti: satye hy eva diksa pratisthita iti. kasmin nu satyam
242 The Principal Upanisads III. 9. 26.
Pratisthitam iti. hrdaye iti hovaca, hrdayena hi satyahi jdnati hr day e hy eva satyam pratisthitam bhavatiti. evam evaitat, yajnavalkya.
23. ‘What deity have you in this northern quarter?’ ‘The deity Soma.’ ‘That Soma, on what is he supported?’ ‘On the initiatory rite.’ ‘On what is initiation supported?’ ‘On truth, therefore, they say to one who is initiated, “speak the truth’’ for on truth alone is the initiation supported.' ‘On what is truth supported?’ ‘On the heart,’ he (Yajnavalkya) said, ‘for through the heart one knows truth, therefore it is on the heart that the truth is supported.’ ‘Even so, Yajnavalkya.’
24. kim-devato syarh dhruvayam disy asiti. agni-devata iti. so’gnih kasmin pratisthita iti. vaci iti. kasmin nu vak pratisthita iti. hrdaya iti. kasmin nu hrdayam pratisthitam iti.
24. ‘What deity have you in this fixed quarter (zenith)?’ ‘The deity, fire.’ ‘On what is fire supported?’ ‘On speech.’ ‘On what is speech supported?’ ‘On the heart.’ ‘On what is the heart supported?’
25. ahallika iti hovaca yajhavalkyah, yatraitad anyatrasman manyasai, yaddhy etad anyatrasmat sydt, svdno vainad adyuh vayamsi vainad vimathnirann iti.
25. 'You ghost,’ said Yajnavalkya, ‘that you think that it (the heart) would be elsewhere than in ourselves, for if it were anywhere else than in ourselves, the dogs might eat it (the body) or the birds tear it to pieces.’
Cp. Sumsumara Jataka.
ahallika '. ghost, that which disappears by day, ahani llyate. A.
Madhva means a fool, one who has his knowledge, ahar, in a potential, lika, condition. His knowledge is not developed.
When the heart leaves the body, the body becomes dead.
26. kasmin nu tvarh catma ca pratisthitau stha iti. prana iti. kasmin nu prdnah pratisthita iti. apana iti. kasmin nv apanah pratisthita iti. vyana iti. kasmin nu vyanah pratisthita iti. udana iti. kasminn udanah pratisthita iti. samdna iti. sa esa, na iti. na ity atmd, agrhyah, na hi grhyate, asiryah na hi siryate, asahgah na hi sajyate, asito na vyathate, na risyati. etdny astav ayatanani, astau lokdh, astau devah, astau purusah. sa yas tan purusan niruhya pratyuhyalyakrdmat, tarn tv a aupanisadam
purusam prcchami, tam cen me na vivaksyasi murdha te vipatis- yatlti. tam ha na mene sakalyah, tasya ha murdha vipapata, api hdsya parimosino’ sthlny apajahruh, anyan manyamanah.
26. £akalya said: ‘On what are you (your body) and yourself (the heart) supported?’ (Yajnavalkya said): 'On the prana (life-breath — inbreath).’ ‘On what is prana supported?’ ‘On the apana (the outbreath).’ ‘And on what is the outbreath sup¬ ported?’ ‘On the vydna (the diffused breath). ‘And on what is the diffused breath supported?’ ‘On the samana (the equalising or middle breath). That self is not this, not this. It is incom¬ prehensible for it is not comprehended. It is indestructible for it is never destroyed. It is unattached for it does not attach itself. It is unfettered. It does not suffer. It is not injured. These are the eight abodes, the eight worlds, the eight gods, the eight persons. He who takes apart and puts together these persons and passes beyond them, that is the person taught in the Upanisads about whom I ask you. If you do not explain him to me your head will fall off.’ £akalya did not know him, and his head fell off. Indeed robbers took away his bones, thinking they were something else.
Brahman is incomprehensible because it goes beyond the attri¬ butes of effects: sarva-karya-dharmatitah. S. asitah: unfettered, abaddhah. S. na risyati: not destroyed na vinasyati. 8.
parimosinah: robbers, taskarah, S. See Satapatha Brahmana. XI. 6. 3. 11.
27. atha hovaca, brahmana bhagavanto, yo vah kamayate sa ma prcchatu, sarve va ma prcchata, yo vah kamayate, tam vah prcchami, sarvdn va vah prcchamiti. te ha brahmana na dadhr§uh.
27. Then he (Yajnavalkya) said: ‘Venerable Brahmanas whosoever among you wishes to do so, may question me or you may all question me or I will question him of you who wishes (to be questioned) or I will question all of you.’ Those Brahmanas, however, did not dare (to say anything).
244 The Principal Upanisads III. g. 28.
7. jata eva najayate, konvenarh janayet punah; vijhanam anandam brahma, ratir datuh parayanam, tisthamanasya tadvidah.
2. ‘From his skin blood flows forth and sap from the skin (of the tree). Therefore when a man is wounded blood flows as sap from a tree that is struck.
3. ‘His flesh is its inner bark, his nerves are tough like inner fibres. His bones are the wood within and the marrow is made resembling the pith.
4. ‘A tree when it is felled springs up from its root in a newer form; from what root does man spring forth when he is cut off by death?
5. ‘Do not say “from the semen’’ for that is produced from what is alive (men). A tree springs also from the seed. After it is dead it certainly springs again.
6. ‘If a tree is pulled up with the root, it will not spring again. From what root does a mortal spring forth when he is cut off by death ?
7. ‘When born, he is not born (again) for who should create him again? Brahman who is knowledge, bliss is the final goal of him who offers gifts as well as of him who stands firm and knows {Brahman).’
See T.U. I. 10; II. 1. amrsa: indeed, satyam.
From what root does man spring forth when he is cut off by death? See also Job XIV. 7-10. A man struck down by death does not come to life from seed, because human seed comes from the living only while trees springing from grain are seen to come to life after the tree is dead.
jivatas: what is alive. Philo Judaeus says: ‘Are not the parents, as it were, concomitant causes only, while Nature is the highest,
elder and true cause of the begetting of children?’ Quis return divinarum heres. 115. Cp. St. Thomas Aquinas, ‘The power of the soul which is in the semen through the spirit enclosed therein fashions the body.’ Summa Theologica. III. 32. 11. dhanah : seed, bijam , bijarulio'pi vrkso bhavati, na kevalam kanda-ru- ha eva. S.
ahjasa : certainly, saksat. R. tisthamanasya: brahma-samsthasya .
tadvidah, brahmavidah. R. Brahman is the principle or the root of a new life both for those who practise works and for those who, having relinquished works, stand hrm in knowledge.
The Principal Upanisads
1. janako ha vaidcha asarh cakre. atha ha yajhavalkya avav- raja. tarn hovaca: yajhavalkya, kim artham acarih, pasun icchan, anvantan-iti. ubhayam eva, samrad iti hovaca.
1. Janaka (King) of Videha was seated (to give audience). Then Yajhavalkya came up. He (Janaka) said to him: ‘Yajhavalkya, for what purpose have you come, wishing for cattle or for subtle questions?’ He (Yajhavalkya) said (in reply) 'for both, Your Majesty.’
asarh cakre: was seated, asanam kftavdn, asthayikam dattavan ity arthah, darsana-kamebhyo raja. S. acarih: agatosi. S.
anvantan: subtle questions, suksmantan, suksma-vastu-nirnayantan prasnan attah srotum icchan. S. anoh suksmasya vastunah pratya- gatmader antan niscayan kartum iti arthah. R. sahirat: emperor of India, bharatasya varsasya raja. S. himavat-setu-paryantasyeti yavat. A.
2. yat te kas cid abravit tat srnavamcti. abravin me jitva sailinih, vdg vai brahmeti. yatha matrmdn pitrmdn acaryavan bruyat, tathd. tat sailinir abravit: vdg vai brahmeti, avadato hi kirn sydd iti. abravit tu te tasyayatanam pratistham. na me 'hr avid iti. eka-pad va ctat, samrat, iti. sa vai no bruhi , yajhavalkya. vdg evayatanam, akasah pratistha, prajhety enad updsita. ka prajhata, yajhavalkya. vdg eva, samrat, iti hovaca. vdea vai, samrat, bandhuh prajhdyatc; rg-vedo yajur-vedah, sama-vedo’ tharvahgirasa, itihasah, puranam, vidyd upanisadah, slokdh, sutrany anuvydkhydnani, vydkhyandnistam hutam dsitarh payi- tam, ayarh ca lokah, paras ca lokah, sarvani ca bhutdni vacaiva, samrat, prajhdyante; vdg vai, samrat, paramam brahma; nainarh vdg jahati, sarvany enam bhutdny abhiksaranti, devo bhutva devan apyeti, ya evarh vidvdn ctad updstc. hasty-rsabharh sahasrarh dadami, iti hovaca janako vaidchah. sa hovaca ydjhavalkyah, pita me’manyata, nananusisya hareteti.
2. ‘Let me hear what any (of your teachers) may have told you.’ ‘Jitvan Jsailini told me that “speech, verily, is Brahman.” As one who has a mother, father and teacher should say, so
did £ailini say that speech is Brahman, for what can one have who cannot speak?’ ‘But did he tell you the abode and the support (of the Brahman) ?’ ‘He did not tell me.’ ‘This Brahman is only one-footed, Your Majesty.’ ‘Verily, Yajnavalkya, do tell us.’ ‘Its abode is just speech, its support space. One should worship it as intelligence.’ ‘What is the nature of that intelli¬ gence, Yajnavalkya?’ ‘Just speech, Your Majesty,’ said he (Yajnavalaya). ‘Verily, by speech, Your Majesty, a friend is recognised. By speech alone, Your Majesty", are the Rg Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda, the Atharvangirasa, history, ancient lore, arts, the upanisads, verses, aphorisms, explana¬ tions, commentaries, (the effects of) sacrifices, oblations, food and drink, this world and the other and all beings are known. The higher Brahman, Your Majesty, is, in truth, speech. Speech does not desert him who, knowing thus, worships it as such. All beings approach him. Having become a god he goes even to the gods.’ Janaka (King) of Videha said, ‘I shall give you a thousand cows with a bull as large as an elephant.’ Yajna¬ valkya said, ‘My father thought that one should not accept gifts without having instructed.’
prajha: intelligence. Vak is Logos, wisdom.
Vijhana is discrimination, thought, excogitation. It is logical know¬ ledge which is a preparation for prajha or intuitive wisdom. Prajha is the wisdom that sets free, that shatters the bondage of suffering and desire. It is related to the Greek prognosis, knowledge a priori as distinct from sarhjha or knowledge by observation. Cp. the Buddhist Prajhaparamita .
sarhjha: means for S, consciousness of one’s personality: visesajhana:
See S on B.U. IV. 5. 13.
abode: ayatanam nama sariram. S.
support: trisv api kalesu ya asrayah. S.
eka-pad: one-footed, the instruction is partial only, not complete. as one who has a mother , father , teacher : As one who has been taught well at home by his mother, then by his father and then by a teacher. without having instructed: sisyarh krtartham akftvd sisyad dhanarh na hareteti mama pita many ata.
3. yad eva te kas cid abravit tat srnavameti. abravin ma udahkah saulbayanah, prano vai brahmeti: yatha matrmdn pitrman acaryavan bruyat, tatha tat saulbayano’bravit, prano vai brahmeti, apranato hi kirn syad iti. abravit tu te tasy ayatanam pratistham. na me’ br avid iti. eka-pad va etat, samrad, iti. sa vai no briihi, yajnavalkya, prana evdyatanam, dkdsah pratistha,
248 The Principal Upanisads IV. 7. 4.
priyam ity enad upasita, ka priyata, yajnavalkya, prana eva, samrad, iti hovaca: pranasy a vai, samrat, kdmaydyajyam yajayati, apratigrhyasya pratigrhnati, api tatra vadhdsahkam bhavati, yam disam eti, pranasyaiva, samrat, kamaya, prano vai, samrat, paramam brahma, nainam prano jahati, sarvany enarn bhutany abhiksaranti, devo bhutva devan apyeti, ya evam vidvan etad upaste. hasty-rsabham sahasram dadami, iti. hovaca, janako vaidehah. sa hovaca yajhavalkyah, pita memanyata nananuiisya hareteti.
3. ‘Let me hear whatever any one (of your teachers) may have told you!' Udanka £aulbayana told me that the vital breath, verily, is Brahman. As one who has a mother, father, teacher should say, so did that £aulbayana say that the vital breath is Brahman, for what can one have who has not the vital breath?’ ‘But did he tell you the abode and the support?’ ‘He did not tell me.’ ‘This Brahman is only one-footed, Your Majesty.’ ‘Verily, Yajnavalkya, do tell us.’ ‘Life, verily, is its abode and space its support. Verily, one should worship it as the dear.’ ‘What is the nature of that dearness, Yajna¬ valkya?’ ‘The vital breath itself, Your Majesty,’ said he. ‘Verily, out of love for life, Your Majesty, one offers sacrifices for him for whom one should not offer sacrifices, one accepts gifts from one from whom they should not be accepted. Out of just love for life, Your Majesty, there arises fear of being in whatever direction one goes. Life is, in truth. Your Majesty, the highest Brahman. Life does not desert him, who, knowing thus, worships it as such. All beings approach him. Having become a god, he goes even to the gods.’ Janaka (King) of Videha said, ‘I shall give you a thousand cows with a bull as large as an elephant.' Yajnavalkya said, ‘My father thought that one should not accept (gifts) without having instructed.'
pratigraha: that which is received, a gift.
life does not desert him: he will live long, dirghayur bhavati. R.
4. yad eva te kas cid abravit tat srnavameti. abravin me barkur varsnah caksur vai brahmeti: yatha matrman pitrman acaryavan briiydt, tatha tad varsno’bravit. caksur vai brahmeti, apasyato hi kim syad iti. abravit tu te tasyayatanam pratistham. na me’ bravid iti. eka-pad va etat, samrad., iti. sa vai no bruhi, yajna¬ valkya. caksur evayatanam, akasah pratistha; satyam iti etad upasita. ka satyata, yajnavalkya. caksur eva, samrad, iti hovaca, caksusa vai, samrat, pasyantam ahuh; adraksir iti, sa aha;
adraksam iti tat satyam bhavati. caksur vai, samrat, paramam brahma, nainam caksur jahati, sarvany enam bhutany abhik- saranti, devo bhutva devan apyeti, ya evarh vidvan etad upaste. hasty-rsabham sahasram dadami, iti hovaca janako vaidehah. sa hovaca yajhavalkyah. pita me’manyata, nananusisya hareteti.
4. ‘Let me hear what any one (of your teachers) may have told you.’ ‘Barku Varsna told me that the eye, verily, is Brahman. As one who has a mother, father, teacher should say, so did that Varsna say that the eye, verily, is Brahman for what can one have who cannot see?’ ‘But did he tell you the abode and the support ?’ ‘He did not tell me.’ ‘This Brahman is only one-footed, Your Majesty.’ ‘Verily, Yajnavalkya, do tell us.’ ‘The eye, verily, is its abode and space its support, verily one should worship it as truth.’ ‘What is the nature of truth, Yajnavalkya?’ ‘The eye itself. Your Majesty,’ said he (Yajnavalkya). ‘Verily, Your Majesty, when they say to a man who sees with his eyes, “have you seen?” and he answers, “I have seen”: that is the truth; verily, Your Majesty, the eye is the highest Brahman. The eye does not desert him, who knowing thus, worships it as such. All beings approach him. Having become a god, he goes even to the gods.’ Janaka (King) of Videha said, ‘I shall give you a thousand cows with a bull as large as an elephant.’ Yajnavalkya said, ‘My father thought that one should not accept (gifts) without having instructed.’
What is seen with the eye is regarded as more authoritative than what is perceived by the other senses, so it is said to be true: yat tu caksusa dr stark tad avyabhicarat satyam eva bhavati. S; caksusa dr stark na vismarati. R.
5. yad eva te kas cid abravit, tat srnavameti. abravin me gardhabhivipito bharadvajah: srotram vai brahmeti. yatha matr- man pitrman deary avan bruyat, tathd tad bharadvajo’bravit. srotrarh vai brahmeti, asrnvato hi kirk syad iti. abravit tu te tasyayatanam pratistham. na mebravid iti. eka-pad va etat, samrad, iti. sa vai no bruhi, yajnavalkya. srotram evayatanam, akasah pratistha, ananta ity enad upasita. ka anantata, yajha- valkya. diia eva, samrad, iti hovaca. tasmdd vai, samrad, api yam karh ca disam gacchati, naivasya antam gacchati, ananta hi disah diso vai, samrat, srotram. srotram vai, samrat, paramam brahma nainam srotram jahati, sarvany enam bhutany abhik- $aranti, devo bhutva devan apyeti, ya evam vidvan etad upaste.
250 The Principal Upanisads
hasty-rsabham sahasram dadami iti. hovaca janako vaidehah, sa hovaca yajhavalkyah, pita me’manyata, ndnanusisya hareteti.
5. ‘Let me hear what any one (of your teachers) may have told you.’ ‘Gardhabhivipita Bharadvaja told me that the ear, verily, is Brahman. As one who has a mother, father, teacher should say, so did that Bharadvaja say that the ear, verily, is Brahman ; for what can one have who cannot hear?’ ‘But did he tell you the abode and the support?’ ‘He did not tell me.’ ‘This Brahman is only one-footed, Your Majesty.' ‘Verily, Yajnavalkya, do tell us.’ ‘The ear verily, is its abode and space its support; verily, one should worship it as the endless.’ ‘What is the nature of endlessness, Yajnavalkya.’ ‘The quarters themselves, Your Majesty,’ said he (Yajnavalkya). ‘Therefore, Your Majesty, to whatever quarter one goes, he does not come to the end of it for the quarters are endless. Verily, Your Majesty, the quarters are the ear and the ear, Your Majesty, is the highest Brahman. The ear does not desert him, who, knowing this, worships it as such. All beings approach him. Having become a god he goes even to the gods.’ Janaka (King) of Videha said, ‘I shall give you a thousand cows with a bull as large as an elephant.’ Yajnavalkya said, ‘My father thought that one should not accept (gifts) without having instructed.'
6. yad eva kas cid abravxt tat srnavameti. abravxn me satyakamo jabalah, mano vai brahmeti: yatha matrman pitrman acaryavan bruyat, tatha taj jabdlobravxt, mano vai brahmeti, amanaso hi kirn syad iti. abravxt tu te tasyayatanam pratistham. na mebravxd iti. eka-pdd va etat samrad iti. sa vai no bruhi, yajnavalkya. mana evayatanam, akasah pratistha, ananda ity enad upasxta, ka anandata, yajnavalkya. mana eva, samrad, iti hovaca, manasa vai, samrat. striyam abhiharyate, tasyam pratirUpah putro jayate, sa anandah, mano vai, samrat, paramam brahma, nainam mano jahati, sarvany enam bhutany abhiksaranti, devo bhxitva devdn apyeti, ya evam vidvan etad upaste. hasty-rsabham sahasram dadami, iti hovaca janako vaidehah. sa hovaca yajha- valkyah, pita me’manyata nananxisisya hareteti.
6. ‘Let me hear what any one (of your teachers) may have told you.’ ‘Satyakama Jabala told me that the mind, verily, is Brahman. As one who has a mother, father and teacher should say, so did that Jabala say that the mind, verily, is Brahman, for what can one have who is without a mind?’ ‘But did he tell you the abode and the support?’ ‘He did not
tell me.' ‘This Brahman is only one-footed, Your Majesty.’ 'Verily, Yajnavalkya, do tell us.’ ‘The mind, verily, is its abode and the space its support. Verily one should worship it as the blissful.’ ‘What is the nature of blissfulness, Yajnavalkya?’ ‘Just the mind, Your Majesty,’ said he. ‘Verily, Your Majesty, by the mind one takes to a woman. A son resembling him is born of her. He is (the source of) bliss. Verily, mind, Your Majesty, is the highest Brahman. The mind never deserts him who knowing thus worships it as such. All beings approach him. Having become a god he goes even to the gods.’ Janaka (King) of Videha said, ‘I shall give you a thousand cows with a bull as large as an elephant.’ Yajnavalkya said: ‘My father thought that one should not accept (gifts) without having instructed.’
7. yad eva kas cid abravlt, tat srnavameti. abravln me vidagdhah sakalyah, hrdayam vai brahmeti, yatha matrman pitrman acaryavan bruyat, tatha tat sakalyo’bravlt, hrdayam vai brahmeti, ahrdayasya hi kim syad iti. abravlt tu te tasyayatanam pratis- tham. na me’ br avid iti. eka-pad va, etat, samrad, iti. sa vai no bruhi, yajnavalkya. hrdayam evayatanam, akasah pratistha, sthitir ity enad upaslta. ka sthitita, yajnavalkya. hrdayam eva samrad, iti hovdca, hrdayam vai, samrat, sarvesam bhutanam ayatanam, hrdayam vai, samrat, sarvesam bhutanam pratistha, hr day e hy eva, samrat, sarvdni btutani prati$ihitani bhavanti. hrdayam vai, samrat, paramam brahma, nainam hrdayam jahati, sarvany enam bhutany abhiksaranti , devo bhutva devan apyeti, ya evarh vidvan etad upaste. hasty rsabham sahasram dadami, iti hovdca janako vaidehah. sa hovdca yajhavalkyah, pita me’manyata nananusi$ya hareteti.
7. 'Let me hear what any one (of your teachers) may have told you.' ‘Vidagdha £akalya told me that the heart, verily, is Brahman. As one who has a mother, father, teacher should say, so did that Sakalya say that the heart, verily, is Brahman for what can one have who is without a heart?’ ‘But did he tell you the abode and the support?' ‘He did not tell me.’ ‘This Brahman is only one-footed, Your Majesty.’ ‘Verily, Yajnavalkya, do tell us.’ ‘The heart, verily, is its abode and the space its support. One should worship it as the stable.' ‘What is the nature of stability, Yajnavalkya?’ ‘Just the heart, Your Majesty,’ he (Yajnavalkya) said; ‘the heart, Your Majesty, is the abode of all things and the heart, Your Majesty,
252 The Principal Upanisads
is the support of all beings. On the heart, Your Majesty, all beings are supported. The heart, verily, Your Majesty, is the Supreme Brahman. The heart never deserts him who knowing thus, worships it as such. All beings approach him. Having become a god, he goes even to the gods.’ Janaka (King) of Videha said, ‘I shall give you a thousand cows with a bull as large as an elephant.’ Yajnavalkya said, ‘My father thought that one should not accept (gifts) without having instructed.’
See III. 9. 24.
Second Brahmana CONCERNING THE SOUL
1. janako ha vaidehah kurcad upavasarpann uvaca: namas te’stu yajnavalkya, anu ma sadhiti. sa hovaca: yatha vai, samrat, mahantam adhvanam esyan ratham va navarn va samadadita, evarh evaitabhir upanisadbhih samdhitatmasi , evam brndaraka adhyah sann adhita-veda ukta-upanisatkah, ito vimucyamanah kva gamisyasiti. naharh tad, bhagavan, veda, yatra gamisydmiti; atha vai te’harn tad vaksyami, yatra gamisyasiti, bravitu, bhagavan, iti.
1. Janaka (King) of Videha, descending from his lounge and approaching said: ‘Salutations to you, Yajnavalkya, please instruct me.’ He (Yajnavalkya) said: ‘As one who wishes to go a long distance, Your Majesty, would secure a chariot or a ship, even so you have a mind well equipped with the teachings of the Upanisads. You are likewise honoured and wealthy, you have studied the Vedas and heard the Upanisads. Where will you go when you are released (from this body)?’ (Janaka said) ‘Venerable Sir, I do not know where I shall go.' (Yajnavalkya said) ‘Then truly I shall tell you that, where you will go.’ (Janaka said) ‘Tell me, Venerable Sir.’
kurcat: from the lounge, asana-visesat. S. bynddrakah: honoured, pujyah. adhyah: wealthy, isvarah, na daridrah. S.
The theoretical knowledge of the Vedas and the Upanisads is not enough, for it does not remove fear. We require knowledge of Self or Brahman for salvation : evam sarva-vibhiiti-sampanno’pi san bhaya-madhya-stha eva paramatmajhdnena vina akrtartha eva tdvat. S.
va etam indham santam indr a ity acaksate paroksenaiva, parok- sa-priya iva hi devah, pratyaksa-dvisah.
2. ‘Indha by name is this person who is in the right eye. Him, verily, who is that Indha people call Indra, indirectly, for the gods are fond of the indirect, as it were, they dislike the direct (or the evident).
Indha is the self, identified with the physical self.
3. athaitad vameksani purusa-rupam, esasya patni virat, tayor esa samstavo ya eso’ntar-hrdaya akasah, athainayor etad annamya eso’ ntar-hrdaye lohita-pindah, athainayor etat pravaranam yad etad antar-hrdaye jalakam iva; athainayor esa srtih samcarani yaisa hrdayad urdhva nady uccarati. yatha kesah sphasradha bhinnah evam asyaita hita nama nady o’ ntar-hrdaye pratisthitd hhavanti; etabhir va etad asravad asravati ; tasmad esa pravivikta- haratara ivaiva bhavaty asmac carirad atmanah.
3. Now that which is in the form of a person in the left eye is his wife Viraj. Their place of union is the space within the heart. Their food is the red (of blood) lump in the heart. Their covering is the net-like structure in the heart. Their path for moving is that channel which goes upward from the heart; like a hair divided a thousandfold, so are the channels called hita which are established within the heart. Through these flows that which flows on. Therefore that (self composed of Indha and Viraj) is, as it were, an eater of finer food than the bodily self.
Indra is Vaisvanara and Viraj or matter is said to be his wife» for it is the object of enjoyment, bhogyatvad eva. §. samstava: place of union, literally the place where they sing praises together, the meeting-place. srtih: path, margah. S.
The subtle body is nourished by finer food than the gross: tasmdc charlrad atmanah vaisvanarat taijasah suksmannopacito bhavati.
In the dream state the self is identified with the subtle body.
4. tasya prdci dik prahcah pranah, daksina dig daksine pranah, pratici dik pratyahcah pranah, udici dig udahcah pranah, urdhva dig urdhvdh pranah, avaci dig avahcah pranah; sarva disah, sarve pranah, sa esa neti nety atma agrhyah na hi grhyate; asiryah, na hi siryate; asahgah na hi sajyate; asito na vyathate; na risyati abhayam vai, janaka, prapto’si, iti hovaca yajhavalkyah. sa hovaca janako vaidehah, abhayam tvd gacchatat, yajhavalkya,
254 The Principal Upanisads IV. 3. 1.
yo nah, bhagavan, abhayam vedayase ; namas te’stu; ime videhah ay am aham asmiti.
4. ‘Of him the eastern direction is the eastern breaths, the southern direction is the southern breaths, the western direction is the western breaths, the northern direction is the northern breaths, the upper direction is the upper breaths, the lower direction is the lower breaths, all the quarters are all the breaths. But the self is not this, not this. He is incompre¬ hensible for he is never comprehended. He is undestructible for he cannot be destroyed. He is unattached for h$ does not attach himself. He is unfettered, he does not suffer, he is not injured. Verily, Janaka, you have reached (the state of) fearlessness,’ thus said Yajnavalkya. Janaka (King) of Videha said: ‘May fearlessness come unto you, Yajnavalkya, to you, Venerable Sir, who make us to know (the state of) fearlessness. Salutations to you. Here are the people of Videha, here am I (at your service).’
See III. 9. 26.
abhayam: janma-maranadi-nimitta-bhaya-sunyam. S.
Third Brahmana
1. janakam ha vaideham yajhavalkyo jagama: sa mene: na vadisya iti. atha ha yaj janakas ca vaideho yajhavalkyas cagni- hotre samuddte, tasmai ha yajhavalkyo vararh dadau: sa ha kama-prasnam eva vavre, tarn hasmai dadau. tarn ha samrad eva purvah papraccha.
1. Yajnavalkya came to Janaka (King) of Videha. He thought (to himself) ‘I will not talk.’ But when (once) Janaka (King) of Videha and Yajnavalkya discussed together at an agnihotra ceremony, Yajnavalkya granted the former a boon. He chose to ask any question he wished. He granted it to him. So (now) His Majesty first asked him.
Though Yajnavalkya did not wish to say anything, Janaka asked him a question, for on a former occasion Yajnavalkya per¬ mitted Janaka to ask him any questions he liked. See Batapatha Brahmana. XI. 6. 2. 10.
Sometimes sa mene na vadisya iti is read as sam enena vadisya
iti. Yajnavalkya came to Janaka intending to speak with him. This is only an ingenious conjecture.
2. yajnavalkya, kim-jyotir ayam purusa iti. aditya-jyotih, samrat, iti hovaca, adityenaivayam jyotisaste, palyayatc, karma kurute, vipalyetiti. evam evaitat, yajnavalkya.
2 ‘What light does a person here have? (What serves as the light for man?)’ ‘He has the light of the sun, Your Majesty,' he said, ‘for with the sun indeed as the light, one sits, moves about, does one’s work and returns.’ ‘Just so, Yajnavalkya.’
3. astam ita aditye, yajnavalkya, kim-jyotir evayam purusa iti. candrama evasya jyotir bhavati, candramasaivay am jyotisaste, palyayate, karma kurute, vipalyetiti. evam evaitat, yajnavalkya.
3. When the sun has set, Yajnavalkya, what light does a person here have?’ ‘The moon, indeed, is his light, for with the moon indeed as the light, one sits, moves about, does one’s work and returns.’ ‘Just so, Yajnavalkya.’
4. astam ita aditye, yajnavalkya, candramasy astam ite, kim- jyotir evayam purusa iti. agnir evasya jyotir bhavati, agni- naivayam jyotisaste, palyayate, karma kurute, vipalyetiti. evam evaitat, yajhavalkya.
4. When the ’sun has set, Yajnavalkya, and the moon has set, what light does a person here have?’ The fire, indeed, is his light, for with the fire, indeed as the light, one sits, moves about, does one’s work and returns.’ ‘Just so, Yajnavalkya.’
5. astam ita aditye, yajnavalkya, candramasi astam ite, sante agnau, kim-jyotir evayam purusa iti. vag evasya jyotir bhavati, vacaivayam jyotisaste, palyayate, karma kurute, vipalyeti, tasmad vai, samrad, api yatra panir na vinirjhayate, atha yatra vag uccarati, upaiva tatra nyetiti. evam evaitat, yajhavalkya.
5. ‘When the sun has set, Yajnavalkya, and the moon has set and the fire has gone out, what light does a person here have?’ ‘Speech, indeed, is his light for with speech, indeed, as the light, one sits, moves about, does one’s work and returns. Therefore, Your Majesty, even where one’s own hand is not discerned there when speech is uttered one goes towards it.’ ‘Just so, Yajnavalkya.’
speech: sound, vag iti sabdah parigrhyate. S.
6. astam ita aditye, yajhavalkya, candramasy astam ite, sante agnau, santayam vaci, kim-jyotir evayam purusa iti. atmaivasya
256 The Principal Upanisads IV. 3. 8.
jyotir bhavati, atmanaivayam jyotisaste, palyayate, karma kurute, vipalyeti iti.
6. ‘When the sun has set, Yajnavalkya, and the moon has set, and the hre has gone out and speech has stopped, what light does a person here have?’ ‘The self, indeed, is his light,’ said he, ‘for with the self, indeed, as the light, one sits, moves about, does one's work and returns.'
This self is present in all the states of waking, dream and sleep. It is the light different from one’s body and organs and illumines them though it is itself not illumined by anything else: karya-kara- na-svdvayava-samghata-vyatiriktam, karya-karanavabhasakam, ddit- yadi bahya-jyotirvat svayam anyenanavabhasyamanam abhidhiyate jyotih. 8.
7. katama atmeti. yo’yam vijhanamayah pranesu, hrdy antar jyotih purusah, sa samanah sann ubhau lokav anusahcarati, dhyayativa lelayativa, sa hi svapno bhutva, imam, lokam atik- ramati, mrtyo rupani.
7. ‘Which is the self?’ ‘The person here who consists of knowledge among the senses, the light within the heart. He remaining the same, wanders along the two worlds seeming to think, seeming to move about. He on becoming asleep (getting into dream condition), transcends this world and the forms of death.
seeming to think: he does not really think but only witnesses the acts of thought.
seeming to move about'. Thought and action do not belong to the real nature of the self. The universal self appears limited on account of the conjunction of the self, with buddhi or understanding, with its modifications of desire and aversion, pleasure and pain. In the state of liberation the connection with understanding terminates, yavad ayam dtrnd samsarl bhavati, tavad eva asya buddhi-samyogah , na tu paramarthatah, atmanah samsdritvam buddhi-samyogad iva. S. B. IT 3- 3°-
who consists of knowledge. S argues that the self is so called because we fail to discriminate its association with the limiting adjunct: buddhi-vijhdnopadhi-samparkdvivekdd vijhanamaya ity ucyate. svapno bhutva: svapnavastho bhutva. R.
8. sa vd ayam puruso jayamanah, sariram, abhisampadyama- nah papmabhih samsrjyate, sa utkraman, mriyamanah papmano vijahati.
8. ‘Verily, this person, when he is born and obtains a body, becomes connected with evils. When he departs, on dying he leaves all evils behind.
evils: sources of good and evil, body and the organs: papmasama- vayibhir dharmadharmasrayaih kdrya-karanaih. 8. samsrjyate: becomes connected, samyujyate. $. vijahati: leaves behind, parityajati. S.
9. tasya va etasya purusasya dve eva sthane bhavatah: idam ca para-loka-sthanam ca; sandhyam trtiyam svapna-sthdnam; tasmin sandhye sthane tisthann, ubhe sthane pasyati, idam ca paraloka- sthanam ca atha y atha kramo’ yam para-loka-sthane bhavati, tam akramam akramya, ubhayan papmana anandams ca pasyati. sa yatra prasvapiti, asya lokasya sarvavato matram apadaya, svayam vihatya, svayam nirmaya, svena bhasa, svena jyotisa prasvapiti; atrayam purusah svayam-jyotir bhavati.
9. ‘Verily, there are just two states of this person (the state of being in) this world and the state of being in the other world. There is an intermediate third state, that of being in sleep (dream). By standing in this intermediate state one sees both those states, of being in this world and of being in the other world. Now whatever the way is to the state of being in the other world, having obtained that way one sees both the evils (of this world) and the joys (of the other world). When he goes to sleep he takes along the material of this all-embracing world, himself tears it apart, himself builds it up; he sleeps (dreams) by his own brightness, by his own light. In that state the person becomes self-illuminated.
sandhyam: intermediate state: literally, the junction, sandhi, of the two.
akrama: the way, that by which one proceeds, support or outfit. akramaty anenety akramah asrayah, avastambhah. £. He provides himself with whatever knowledge, work and previous experience he may have for the attainment of the next world, para-loka-pratipatti- sddhanena vidya-karma purva-prajhd-laksanena yukto bhavati. §. prasvapiti: sleeps, dreams, svapnam anubhavati. R.
10. na tatra rathah, na ratha-yogah, na panthano bhavanti; atha rathan, ratha-yogan, pathah srjate; na tatranandah, mudah pramudo bhavanti, athanandan, mudah, pramudah srjate; na tatra vesantah puskarinyah sravantyo bhavanti; atha vesantan, puskarinih sravantih srjate. sa hi karta.
258 The Principal Upanisads IV. 3. 12.
them, no roads but he creates (projects from himself) chariots, animals to be yoked to them and roads. There are no joys there, no pleasures, no delights, but he creates joys, pleasures and delights. There are no tanks there, no lotus pools, no rivers, but he creates tanks, lotus-pools and rivers. He, indeed, is the agent (maker or creator).
According to $ the agency attributed to the self is only figurative. The light of the self, which is pure intelligence, illumines the body and organs through the internal organ and they perform their functions being illumined by it : yac caitanydtmajyotis-antahkarana- dvarenavabhasayati kdrya-karanani . . . tatra kartrtvam upacaryata atmanah.
According to R, the agent is the Supreme Lord, sakala-prapan- ca-nataka-sutradharah sarvesvarah khalu tatra karta.
svapnena sariram abhiprahatyasuptah suptan abhicakaslti;
sukram ddaya punar aiti sthanam, hiranmayah purusa eka-hamsah.
11. ‘On this there are the following verses. Having struck down in sleep what belongs to the body, he himself sleepless looks down, on the sleeping (senses). Having taken to himself light he goes again to his place, the golden person, the lonely swan (the one spirit).
While one is in the state of dream, the self makes the body to sleep but the self remains awake and notices the impressions of the deeds, that have been left upon the mind. By associating himself with the consciousness of the sense-organs, the self causes the body to awake. the golden person : the light that is pure intelligence, hiranya-maya iva caitanya-jyotis svabhavah. $.
Sleep is the indispensable condition of physical health and mental sanity. In sound sleep there is a respite from craving and aversions, fears and anxieties. In that state the individual is obscurely at one with the divine ground of all being.
the lonely swan : he moves alone in the waking and dream states, in this world and the next, eko jdgrat svapnehaloka-para-lokadin gacchatlty eka-hamsah. £. sah aham so'ham. ‘That I am’, hamsa, a swan, the symbol of the spirit of the universe.
caritva,
sa iyate amrto yatra kamam, hiran-mayah purusa eka- hamsah.
12. Guarding his low nest with the vital breath, the immortal moves out of the nest. That immortal one goes wherever he likes, the golden person, the lonely bird.
avaram: low, nikrstam. anekdsuci-samghdtatvad atyanta-blbhatsam. £. kulayam: nest, ntdam, sarlram. £.
lyate: goes, gacchati. §. The eternal self goes wherever he desires.
pasyan.
13. ‘In the state of dream going up and down, the god makes many forms for himself, now as it were enjoying himself in the company of women or laughing or even beholding fearful sights.
svapnante: in the state of dream, svapna-sthane. §. in the middle of a dream, svapna-madhye, anta-sabdo madhya-vacanah. R.
iti. tam nayatam bodhayed ity ahuh; durbhisajyam hasmai bhavati, yam esa na pratipadyate. atho khalv ahuh, jagarita-desa evasyaisah; yani hi eva jagrat pasyati, tani supta iti. atrayam purusah svayam-jyotir bhavati. so’ham bhagavate sahasram dadami; ata urdhvam vimoksaya briihiti.
14. ‘Everyone sees his sport but himself no one ever sees. There¬ fore they say that one should not wake him (the sleeping person) suddenly; for it is difficult to cure if he does not get back (rightly to his body). Others, however, say that (the state of sleep) is just his waking state for whatever objects he sees when awake, those too, he sees, when asleep; (not so) for in the dream state the person is self-illuminated.’ Janaka said, ‘I give you a thousand (cows), Venerable Sir, please instruct me further, for the sake of my liberation.’
himself no one ever sees: everyone is aware of the experiences but no one sees the experiencer; regret is expressed that the self so near to us is yet unperceived by us: yac-chakya-darsanam apy atmanam tam na pasyati, lokam praty anukrosam darsayati srutih. S. one should not wake the sleeping person suddenly : this has reference to the popular belief that the self leaves the body in the dream state. ayatam: sleeping, gadha-suptam. R.
To disprove the theory of self-illumination it is said that the state of dream is the same as that of waking as we see in dreams what we see in the waking state. This is wrong because in dreams the senses cease to function; so only the light inherent in the self is active in the dream state.
260 The Principal Upanisads IV. 3. 17.
15. sa va esa etasmin samprasade ratva caritva drstvaiva punyarh ca pap am ca, punah pratinyayam pratiyony adravati svapnayaiva; sa yat tatra kirn cit pasyati ananvagatas tena bhavati; asahgo hy ayarh purusa iti. evam evaitat, yajhavalkya. so’ham bhagavate sahasram. dadami, ata urdhvam vimoksayaiva briihiti.
15. ‘After having tasted enjoyment in this state of deep sleep, after having roamed about and seen good and evil, he returns again as he came to the place from which he started (the place of sleep) to dream. Whatever he sees in that state, he is not followed (affected) by it for this person is not attached (to anything).’ (Janaka said) ‘Just so, Yajnavalkya, I give you a thousand (cows) Venerable Sir, please instruct me further, for the sake of my liberation.
samprasadd: deep sleep, the state of highest serenity, samyak prasldaty asminn iti samprasadah. S. The true nature of the self remains unaffected.
pratinyayam — yathdnydyam, yathagatam, ni ayah, nyayah, ayanam ayah, nigamanam, punah purva-gamana-vaipantyena yad agamanam, sa pratinyayah, yathagatam punar agacchatity arthah. S.
16. sa va esa etasmin svapne ratva caritva drstvaiva punyarh ca papam ca, punah, pratinyayam pratiyony adravati buddhan- tayaiva sa yat tatra kirk cit pasyati, ananvagatas tena bhavati: asahgo hy ayam, purusa iti. evam evaitat, yajhavalkya. so’ham bhagavate sahasram dadami, ata urdhvam vimoksayaiva bruhiti.
16. ‘After having tasted enjoyment in this state of dream, after having roamed about and seen good and evil, he returns again as he came to the place from which he started to the state of waking. Whatever he sees in that state he is not followed (affected) by it for this person is not attached (to anything).’ (Janaka said) ‘Just so, Yajnavalkya, I give you a thousand (cows). Venerable Sir, please instruct me further for the sake of my liberation.’
buddhdntayaiva: the state of waking, jagarita-sthanaya. S.
17. sa va esa etasmin buddhante ratva caritva drstvaiva punyarh ca papam ca, punah pratinyayam pratiyony adravati svapnan- tayaiva.
17. ‘After having had enjoyment in this state of waking, after having roamed about and seen good and evil, he returns again as he came to the place from which he started, the state of dream (or that of deep sleep).
$ says that svapnanta may also be interpreted as deep sleep susupti. The self is unaffected in all the three states of waking, dream and sleep, avasthd-traye’pi, asangatvam ananvagatatvam catmanah siddharh cet. A.
18. tad yatha mahamatsya ubhe kule anusamcarati, purvarh caparam ca, evam evayam purusa etav ubhav antav anusamcarati, svapnantam ca buddhantam ca.
18. ‘Even as a large fish moves along both banks of a river, the hither and the further, so also this person moves along both these states, the state of dream (or sleep) and the state of waking.
The self is different from the body and the organs. In the waking state it appears, through ignorance, as connected with attachments and death ; in the dream state as connected with desire but free from the forms of death; in the state of deep sleep it is perfectly serene and unattached. The sense of this passage is that the Self is by nature, eternal, free, enlightened and pure. S. Even as a large fish moves from one bank of a river to another, so does the self move between dreaming and waking.
19. tad yathasminn akase syeno va suparno va viparipatya srantah samhatya paksau samlayayaiva dhriyate, evam evayam purusa etasma antaya dhavati yatra na kam cana kamarh kdmayate, na kam cana svapnam pasyati.
19. ‘As a falcon or any other (swift) bird having flown around in the sky becomes weary, folds its wings and is borne down to its nest, even so this person hastens to that state (of self) where he desires no desires and sees no dream.
samlayah: nest, nidah. S.
The fatigue theory of sleep is suggested here.
20. ta va asyaita hita nama nadyah, yatha kesah sahasradha bhinnah, tavatanimna tisthanti, suklasya, nilasya, pihgalasya, haritasya, lohitasya purnah; atha yatrainam ghnativa, jinantlva, hastwa vicchdyayati, gartam iva patati, yad eva jagrad bhayam pasyati, tad atravidyaya manyate, atha yatra deva iva rajeva ; aham evedam, sarvo ’smiti manyate; so’sya paramo lokah.
20. ‘In him, verily, are those channels called hita, which are as fine as a hair divided a thousandfold and filled with white, blue, yellow, green and red (fluids). Now when (he feels) as if he were being killed, as if he were being overpowered, as if he
The Principal Upanisads IV. 3. 21.
were pursued by an elephant, as if he were falling into a well, he thinks (imagines) through ignorance whatever fear he has seen (experienced) in the waking state. But when he thinks that he is a god, as it were, that he is a king, as it were, that I am all this, that is his highest world.
hita: See II. 1. 19; IV. 2. 3. The subtle body is said to be in these channels.
The place where the two selves unite is the heart. They have a path in common. The vein susumna leads upwards from the heart to the top of the skull. See C.U. VIII. 6. 6. When their union takes place, self-consciousness disappears as well as the distinction between the outer and the inner world. The highest reality, the all-conscious¬ ness, free from fear and grief is reached.
Dream states are traced to impressions of waking experiences. Ignorance avidya is not natural to the self; if so it cannot be removed even as heat and light cannot be removed from the sun: na atma-dharmo’ vidya na hi svabhavikasyocchittih kadacid apy upapadyaie savitur ivausnya-prakasayoh. S.
21. tad va asyaitad aticchando’ pahatapdpmabhayam rupam. tad yatha priyaya striya samparisvakto na bahyam, kirit cana veda ndntaram, evam'evayam purusah prdjhenatmana samparis¬ vakto na bahyam, kim cana veda ndntaram. tad va asyaitad apta-kamam, atma-kamam, a-kamam rupam sokantaram.
21. This, verily, is his form which is free from craving, free from evils, free from fear. As a man when in the embrace of his beloved wife knows nothing without or within, so the person when in the embrace of the intelligent self knows nothing without or within. That, verily, is his form in which his desire is fulfilled, in which the self is his desire, in which he is without desire, free from any sorrow.
beyond desires: chandah kamah atigatah chando yasmat rupat tad aticchandam rupam. S.
sokantaram: free from any sorrow, ioka-varjitam S.
The analogy of man and wife is given to show that it is not a state of unconsciousness.
We get on earth to the Kingdom of heaven. In sex intercourse when it is rightly conceived, we have an act of pure delight which is not mere physical satisfaction but a psycho-spiritual communion. The rich deep fulfilment of love between a man and a woman is a condition of earthly beatitude so simple, so natural and so real, that it is the happiest of all earthly conditions and many mystics employ this as the symbol of divine communion. The mystic union of the finite and the divine is compared in this passage to the self-
oblivion of earthly lovers where each is the other. It is a fuller identity than the mere sympathetic understanding of two individuals.
In Vaisnava literature the soul pining for union with God is said to be the bride and the divine love which sanctifies, purifies and elevates the soul to itself is said to be the bridegroom.
St. Bernard speaks of the highest contemplation as spiritual marriage which impels the soul to go forth to bear spiritual offspring to the Lord. Richard of St. Victor, St. Bernard’s contemporary, dwells upon four phases of spiritual marriage — espousals, marriage, wedlocks, child-bearing. John Ruysbroeck’s chief work is called The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage. St. John of the Cross says: ‘The end I have in view is the divine embracing, the union of the soul with the divine substance. In this loving obscure knowledge God unites Himself with the soul eminently and divinely. ’ A scent of Carmel. 1 1 . 24.
God, for some Sufis, is the Eternal Feminine. The Muslim poet Wali of Delhi composed love poems in which the lover is God and the loved one sought is the human soul invited to unite with God.
22. atra pita’ pita bhavati, matd’mata, lokah alokah, deva adevdh, veda avedah; atra steno’steno bhavati bhrunahabhrunaha , candalo candalah, paulkaso’paulkasah, sramano’ sramanah, tapaso’tdpasah, ananvagatarh punyena, ananvagatam papena, tlrno hi tada sarvan sokan hrdayasya bhavati.
22. ‘There (in that state) a father is not a father, a mother is not a mother, the worlds are not the worlds, the gods are not the gods, the Vedas are not the Vedas. There a thief is not a thief, the murderer is not a murderer, a candala is not a candala, a paulkasa is not a paulkasa, a mendicant is not a mendicant, an ascetic is not an ascetic. He is not followed (affected) by good, he is not followed by evil for then he has passed beyond all the sorrows of the heart.
The state is beyond empirical distinctions, avidya-kama-karma- vinirmuktah. £.
It exceeds the limitations of caste and stages of life. bhrunaha: murderer of a noble Brahmana, varistha-brahma-hanta. A.
It also refers to one who kills an embryo, one who produces an abortion.
The Self is untouched either by good or by evil and the sorrows of the heart cease to be sorrows and are turned into joy.
23. yad vai tan na pasyati, pasyan vai tan na pasyati; na hi drastur drster viparilopo vidyate, avinasitvat; na tu tad dvitiyam asti, tato’nyad vibhaktam yat pasyet.
264 The Principal Upanisads IV. 3. 27.
not see, he is, verily, seeing, though he does not see for there is no cessation of the seeing of a seer, because of the imperish¬ ability (of the seer). There is not, however, a second, nothing else separate from him that he could see.
Even in the state of deep sleep when the eye and the other senses are at rest, the self is the seer, though he does not see with the eyes. The seer can never lose the character of seeing, even as fire cannot lose the character of burning so long as it is fire. The self sees, by its own light, like the sun, even when there is no second, no object but the self that could be seen, the seer is.
svayam-jyotih: self-light viparilopah : destruction, vindsah; atma avindsi. S.
R adopting the views of Ramanuja says, ‘jhatur dharmabhuta- jhanasya nityatvat vinaso ndsti.
24. yad vai tan na jighrati, jighran vai tan na jighrati : na hi ghratur ghrater viparilopo vidyate, avinasitvat; na tu tad dvitiyam asti, tato’nyad vibhaktam yaj jighret.
24. ‘Verily, when there (in the state of deep sleep) he does not smell, he is, verily, smelling, though he does not smell for there is no cessation of the smelling of a smeller, because of the im¬ perishability (of the smeller). There is not, however, a second, nothing else separate from him that he could smell.
25. yad vai tan na rasayati, rasayan vai tan na rasayati na hi rasayitu rasayater viparilopo vidyate, avinasitvat, na tu tad dvitiyam asti, tato’ nyad vibhaktam yad rasayet.
25. ‘Verily, when there (in the state of deep sleep) he does not taste, he is, verily, tasting though he does not taste, for there is no cessation of the tasting of a taster, because of the im¬ perishability (of the taster). There is not, however, a second, nothing else separate from him that he could taste.
26. yad vai tan na vadati, vadan hai tan na vadati, na hi vaktur vakter viparilopo vidyate, avinasitvat; na tu tad dvitiyam asti, tato’nyad vibhaktam yad vadet.
26. ‘Verily, when there (in the state of deep sleep) he does not speak, he is, veyly, speaking though he does not speak, for there is no cessation of the speaking of a speaker, because of the imperishability (of the speaker). There is not, however, a second, nothing else separate from him to which he could speak.
srotuh sruter viparilopo vidyate, avinasitvat; na tu tad dvitlyam asti, tato’nyad vibhaktam yat srnuyat.
27. ‘Verily, when there (in the state of deep sleep) he does not hear, he is, verily, hearing, though he does not hear, for there is no cessation of the hearing of a hearer, because of the imperishability (of the hearer). There is not, however, a second, nothing else separate from him which he could hear.
28. yad vai tan na manute, manvano vai tan na manute, na hi mantur mater viparilopo vidyate, avinasitvat; na tu tad dvitlyam asti, tato’nyad vibhaktam yan manvlta.
28. ‘Verily, when there (in the state of deep sleep) he does not think, he is, verily, thinking, though he does not think, for there is no cessation of the thinking of a thinker, because of the imperishability (of the thinker). There is not, however, a second, nothing else separate from him of which he could think.
29. yad vai tan na sprsati, sprsan vai tan na sprsati, na hi sprastuh sprster viparilopo vidyate, avinasitvat , na tu tad dvitlyam asti, tato’nyad vibhaktam yat sprset.
29. ‘Verily, when there (in the state of deep sleep) he does not touch, he is, verily, touching, though he does not touch, for there is no cessation of the touching of a toucher, because of the imperishability (of the toucher). There is not, however, a second, nothing else separate from him which he could touch.
30. yad vai tan na vijanati, vijanan vai tan na vijandti, na hi vijhatur vijhater viparilopo vidyate, avinasitvat; na tu tad dvitlyam asti, tato’nyad vibhaktam yad vijanlyat.
30. ‘Verily, when there (in the state of deep sleep) he does not know, he is, verily, knowing though he does not know for there is no cessation of the knowing of a knower, because of the imperishability (of the knower). There is not, however, a second, nothing else separate from him which he could know.
31. yatra vanyad iva syat, tatranyo’nyat pasyet, anyo’ nyaj jighret, anyo’nyad rasayet, anyo’nyad vadet, anyo'nyat srnuyat, anyo’nyan manvlta, anyo’nyat sprset, anyo’nyad vijanlyat.
31. ‘Verily, when there is, as it were, another there one might see the other, one might smell the other, one might taste the other, one might speak to the other, one might hear the other, one might think of the other, one might touch the other, one might know the other
266 The Principal Upanisads IV. 3. 33.
He does not see or smell or taste or speak or hear or think or touch or know, for there is nothing separate from him, there is no second to him; yet he sees, smells, tastes, speaks, hears, thinks, touches, knows for he is one with seeing, smelling, tasting, speaking, hearing, thinking, touching and knowing.
32. salila eko drastddvaito bhavati, esa brahma-lokah, samrad, iti. hainam anusasasa yajhavalkyah; esasya paramo, gatih, esasya parama sampat, eso’sya paramo lokah, eso’sya parama anandah; etasyaivanandasyanyani bhutani mdtrdm upajivanti.
32. ‘He becomes (transparent) like water, one, the seer without duality. This is the world of Brahma, Your Majesty.’ Thus did Yajnavalkya instruct (Janaka): ‘This is his highest goal; this is his highest treasure; this is his highest world; this is his greatest bliss. On a particle of this very bliss other creatures live.’
like water: salila iva salilah. transparent: svacchlbhutah. £.
one: because there is no second, dvitlyasyabhavat. §.
the seer: the vision which is identical with the light of the self is
never lost: drster avipariluptatvat, dtma-jyoti-svabhdvayd.
33. sa yo manusyanam, raddhah samrddho bhavati, anyesam adhipatih, sarvair manusyakair bhogaih sampannatamah, sa manusyanam parama anandah; atha ye satam manusyanam anandah, sa ekah pitrnam jitalokanam anandah; atha ye satam pitfnam jita-lokanam anandah, sa eko gandharva-loka anandah; atha ye satam, gandharva-loka anandah, sa eka karma-devanam anandah, ye karmana devatvam abhisampadyante; atha ye satam karma-devanam anandah, sa eka ajana-devanam anandah, yas ca strotriyo’ vrjino ’ kdma-hatah; atha ye satam ajana-devanam anandah, sa ekah praja-pati-loka anandah, yas ca srotriyo’ vrjino ’ kdma-hatah; atha ye satam, praja-pati-loka anandah, sa eko brahma-loka anandah, yas ca srotriyo’ vrjino’ kdma-hatah; athaisa eva parama anandah, yas ca srotriyo’ vrjino’ kdma-hatah; athaisa eva parama anandah. esa brahma-lokah, samrad, iti hovaca yajhavalkyah. so ‘ham bhagavate sahasram dadami; ata urdhvam vimoksayaiva bruhiti. atra ha ydjhavalkyo bibhayam cakara; medhdvi raja, sarvebhyo mdntebhya udarautsid iti.
33. ‘If one is healthy in body, wealthy, lord over others, lavishly provided with all human enjoyments, that is the highest bliss of men. This human bliss multiplied a hundred times makes one unit of the bliss for the fathers who have won
their world. The bliss of these fathers who have won their world multiplied a hundred times makes one unit of the bliss of th egand- harva world. The bliss of ihegandharva world multiplied a hundred times makes one unit of the bliss of the gods by action, those who attain their divine status by (meritorious) action. The bliss of the gods by action multiplied a hundred times makes one unit of the bliss of the gods by birth as well as of one who is versed in the Vedas, who is without sin and not overcome by desire. The bliss of the gods by birth multiplied a hundred times makes one unit of the bliss in the world of Praja-pati, as well as of one who is versed in the Vedas, who is without sin and not overcome by desire. The bliss in the world of Praja-pati multiplied a hundred timf s makes one unit of the bliss in the world of Hiranya- garbha as well as of one who is versed in the Vedas, who is without sin and not overcome by desire. This is the highest bliss. This is the world of Brahma, Your Majesty,’ said Yajnavalkya. (Janaka said) ‘I will give you, Venerable Sir, a thousand (cows) please instruct me further for the sake of my liberation.’ At this Yajnavalkya was afraid that this intelligent king should drive him to (the exposition of) the ends of his convictions.
See T.U. II. 8. Those who live within the bonds of ignorance experience but a small portion of the infinite bliss raddhah: healthy, perfect of body, samsiddhah, avikalah, sama- grdvayavah. S.
srotriya: one versed in the sruti, the Veda. Samkara, the com¬ mentator of Kalidasa’s Sdkuntala quotes: ‘Birth gives the title of Brahmana, the sacramental rites the title of the twice-born, knowledge the title of vipra and the three together make a srotriya.’ janmana brahmano jneyah, samskarair dvija ucyate, vidyaya yati vipratvam, tribhith srotriya ucyate:
Vedic learning, sinlessness and freedom from selfish desire are essential for the enjoyment of the higher forms of bliss. Cp. ‘The sense-pleasures of the world and the great joys of heaven are not worth one-sixteenth part of the bliss that comes from the cessation of desire.’
yac ca kama-sukham loke yac ca divyam mahat sukham
trsna-ksaya-sukhasyaite narhatah sodasirh kalam.
was afraid: bhitavan. S. not because he was lacking in ability or knowledge but because he felt that under the pretext of the boon he had to ask me, he raises new problems every time and wishes to gain all my knowledge, sarvam madiyarh vijnanam kama-prasna-vyajeno- paditsaiiti. S.
268 The Principal Upanisads IV. 3. 36.
34. sa va esa, etasmin svapnante ratva caritva drstvaiva punyarii ca paparh ca, punah pratinyayam pratiyony adravati buddhantayaiva.
34. ‘After having had enjoyment in this state of dream (or sleep), after having roamed about and seen gpod and evil, he returns again as he came to the place from which he started to the state of waking.
See IV. 3. 16.
35. tad yatha ‘nah su-samahitam utsarjad yayat, evam evayarh sarira atma prdjhendtmananvarudha utsarjam yqti, yatraitad urdhva ucchvast bhavati.
35. ‘Just as a heavily loaded cart moves creaking, even so the self in the body mounted by the self of intelligence moves creaking, when one is breathing with difficulty (i.e. when one is about to expire).
the self in the body: the subtle body which moves between this and the next world as between the waking and the dream states, through birth and death consisting respectively in the association with and dissociation from the body and its organs: yas svapna-buddhantav iva janma-maranabhydm ihaloka-paralokav anusahcarati. S. breathing with difficulty, gasping for breath. The body groans as a heavily laden cart groans under its burden.
36. sa yatrayam animanam nyeti, jaraya vopatapata vani- manam nigacchati, tad yathamram va udumbaram va pippalam va bandhanat pramucyate, evam evayam purusa ebhyo’ hgebhyah
36. ‘When this (body) gets to thinness, whether he gets to thinness through old age or disease, just as a mango or a fig or a fruit of the peepul tree releases itself from its bond (gets detached from its stalk), even so this person frees himself from these limbs and returns again as he came to the place from which he started back to (new) life.
The dying man separates himself from his gross body even as a fruit separates itself from its stalk. He goes back to his new abode the same way he came and there assumes another body in which to begin a new life.
The subjection of the body to old age and disease is mentioned to induce the spirit of renunciation, vairagyartham. §.
37. tad yatha rajanam ayantam ugrah, pratyenasah, suta - gramanyo’ nnaih panair avasathaih pratikalpante: ayam ayati, ayam agacchatlti, evam haivam-vidarh sarvani bhutani pratikal¬ pante, idam brahmayati, idam agacchatlti.
37. ‘Just as for a king who is coming, policemen, magistrates, chariot drivers, leaders of the village wait for him with food, drink and lodgings, saying, “here he comes, her,e he comes,’’ even so for him who knows this, all beings wait for him saying, “here comes Brahman, here he approaches.’’ ’
ugrah: policemen, jati-visesah, krura-karmano va. S. pratyenasah: magistrates, taskaradi dandanadau niyuktah. S. leaders of the village: grama-netaro gramanyah.
38. tad yatha rajanam prayiyasantam, ugrah pratyenasah, suta- gramanyo’ bhisamay anti, evam evaimam atmanam, antakale sarve prana abhisamayanti, yatraitad urdhvocchvasl bhavati.
38. Just as policemen, magistrates, chariot-drivers, leaders of the village gather round a king who is departing, even so do all the breaths (or senses) gather round the self at the end, when one is breathing with difficulty (when he is about to die).
Fourth Brahmana
1. sa y air ay am atma-abalyam nyetya sammoham iva nyeti, athainam ete prana abhisamayanti; sa etas tejomatrah sama- bhyadadano hrdayam evdnvavakramati, sa yatraisa caksusah purusah par an paryavartate, atharupajno bhavati.
1. ‘When this self gets to weakness, gets to confusedness, as it were, then the breaths gather round him. He takes to himself those particles of light and descends into the heart. When the person in the eye turns away, then he becomes non-knowing of forms.
When his body grows weak and he becomes apparently un¬ conscious, the dying man gathers his senses about him, completely withdraws their powers and descends into the heart. gets to weakness : it is the body that becomes weak. Weakness is figuratively applied to the self, which, being formless, cannot become weak: yad dehasya daurbalyam, tad atmana eva daurbalyam ity upacaryate: na hy asau svato’ murtatvad abala-bhavarh gacchati. §.
270 The Principal Upanisads IV. 4. 2.
So also the self does not get confused for it is the eternal self- luminous intelligence, nitya-caitanya-jyotis-svabhavatvat. S.
At the moment of death the person in the eye, i.e. prana, departs. So one ceases to perceive forms. The dying man becomes single. The principle of intelligence {vijhana) after having absorbed all the functions of consciousness proceeds to continue in a new life.
2. eki-bhavati , na pasyati, ity ahuh; eki-bhavati, na jighrati ity ahuh; eki-bhavati na rasayati, ity ahuh; eki-bhavati , na vadati, ity ahuh; eki-bhavati na srnoti, ity ahuh; eki-bhavati, na manute, ity ahuh; eki-bhavati , na sprsati, ity ahuh; eki-bhavati, na vijanati, ity ahuh. tasya haitasya hrdayasyagram pradyotate, tena pradyotenaisa dtma niskramati, caksuso va murdhno va anyebhyo va sarira-desebhyah; tam utkramantam prano’nutkra- mati, pranam anutkrdmantam sarve prana anutkramanti; sa vijhd.no bhavati, sa * vijhanam evanvavakrdmati; tarn vidya- karmani samanvarabhete purva-prajha ca.
2. ‘He is becoming one, he does not see, they say; he is becoming one, he does not smell, they say; he is becoming one, he does not taste, they say; he is becoming one, he does not speak, they say; he is becoming one, he does not hear, they say; he is becoming one, he does not think, they say; he is becoming one, he does not touch, they say; he is becoming one, he does not know, they say. The point of his heart becomes lighted up and by that light the self departs either through the eye or through the head or through other apertures of the body. And when he thus departs, life departs after him. And when life thus departs, all the vital breaths depart after it. He becomes one with intelligence. What has intelligence departs with him. His knowledge and his work take hold of him as also his past experience.
Every organ becomes united with the subtle body, lihgatman. S. piirva-prajhd: past experience, former intelligence, the results of his past life, Purvanubhuta-visaya-prajha, atita karma-phalanubhava- vasana. S. S refers to those who are clever in painting though they had no practice in this life and traces their skill to past experience. These impressions of the past, under the control of knowledge and work, stretch out like a leech from the body and build another body in accordance with past work, vidya-karma-purva-vasand-laksanam etat tritayam sakatika sambhara-sthaniyarh para-loka-patheyam. R.
The individual is born according to the measure of his under¬ standing. Aitareya Ar any aka II. 3. 2. See also Prasna IV. 11.
Kalidasa in his Sakuntala, Act IV, says that when a being who is
(in all other respects) happy becomes conscious of an ardent longing, when he sees beautiful objects or hears sweet sounds, then in all probability, without being aware of it, be remembers with his mind the friendships of former lives, firmly rooted in his heart.
ramyani vlksya madhurams ca nisamya sabdan paryutsuki bhavati
yat sukhino’pi jantuh
tac cetasa smarati nunam abodhapurvam bhavasthirani jananantara
sauhrdani.
3. tad yatha trnajalayuka, trnasyantam gatva, anyarn akramam akramya, atmanam upasamharati, evam evayam atma, idam sariram nihatya, avidam gamayitva, anyam akramam akramya, atmanam upasamharati.
3. Just as a leech (or caterpillar) when it has come to the end of a blade of grass, after having made another approach (to another blade) draws itself together towards it, so does this self, after having thrown away this body, and dispelled ignorance, after having another approach (to another body) draw itself together (for making the transition to another body).
4. tad yatha pesaskan pesaso matram upadaya, any an navataram kalyanataram rupam, tanute, evam evayam atma, idam sariram nihatya, avidyam gamayitva, anyan navataram kalyanataram rupam kurute, pitryam vd, gandharvam va, daivarh vd, prajapatyam vd, brahmam vd anyesam vd bhutanam.
4. ‘And as a goldsmith, taking a piece of gold turns it into another, newer and more beautiful shape, even so does this self, after having thrown away this body and dispelled its ignorance, make unto himself another, newer and more beautiful shape like that of the fathers or of the gandharvas, or of the gods or of Praja-pati or of Brahma or of other beings.
goldsmith: pesah suvarnam, tat karotlti pesaskari. §. another form: samsthana-visesam, dehantaram. S. kalyanataram: more beautiful. Beauty of form indicates beauty of soul. We cannot have beauty of form with an evil nature. papa-vrttaye na rupam: Kalidasa’s Kumar a-sambhava V. 36. Malli- natha cites other passages. Beauty of form and good qualities go to¬ gether: yatra akrtih tatra guna bhavanti. Those of good form do not behave in evil ways, na surilpah pdpa-samacara bhavanti. In Dasa- kumara-carita, it is said: seyam akrtih na vyabhicarati silam, such is the form, the character cannot be different.
Beauty is a symbol of the divine. Ananda, the beloved disciple of the Buddha, said to the Master: ‘Half of the holy life, O Lord, is friendship with the beautiful, association with the beautiful.
272 The Principal Upanisads IV. 4. 6.
communion with the beautiful.’ ‘It is not so, Ananda, it is not so,’ said the Master. ‘It is not half of the holy life; it is the whole of the holy life.’ Samyutta Nikaya. V. 2.
5. sa va ayam atmd brahma, vijhanamayo manomayah prdna- mayas caksurmayah, srotramayah, prthivimaya apomayo vdy'u- maya akasamayas tejomayo’ tejomayah kamamayo' kamamayah, krodhamayo ’krodhamayo dharmamayo’ dharmamayah sarva- mayah tad yad etat; idam-mayah adomaya iti. yathakarl yathacdn tatha bhavati, sadhukarl sadhur bhavati, papakarl papo bhavati; punyah punyena karmana bhavati, papah papena; athau khalv ahuh; kamamaya evayam purusa iti, sa yathakamo bhavati, tat kratur bhavati, yat kratur bhavati, tat karma kurute, yat karma kurute, tat abhisampadyate.
5. ‘That self is, indeed, Brahman, consisting of (or identified with) the understanding, mind, life, sight, hearing, earth, water, air, ether, light and no light, desire and absence of desire, anger and absence of anger, righteousness and absence of righteousness and all things. This is what is meant by saying, (it) consists of this (what is perceived), consists of that (what is inferred). According as one acts, according as one behaves, so does he become. The doer of good becomes good, the doer of evil becomes evil. One becomes virtuous by virtuous action, bad by bad action. Others, however, say that a person consists of desires. As is his desire so is his will; as is his will, so is the deed he does, whatever deed he does, that he attains.
See Manu II. 4. Cp. Plato: ‘Such as are the trend of our desires and the nature of our souls, just such each of us becomes.' Laws. 904. C.
kratuh: will, resolve, adhyavasayah, niscayah. S.
attains: gains the fruit thereof, tadlyam phalam abhisampadyate. S.
tasya phalam ca prapnoti. R.
tad eva saktah saha karmanaiti lihgam mano yatra nisaktam asya;
prapydntam karmanas tasya yat kirn ceha karoty ayam.
tasmal lokat punar aiti asmai lokaya karmane iti nu kamayamanah; athakamayamanah, yo’kamo niskama apta-kama atma-kdmah, na tasya prana utkramanti, brahmaiva san brahmapyeii.
6. ‘On this there is the following verse: "The object to which the mind is attached, the subtle self goes together with the
deed, being attached to it alone. Exhausting the results of whatever works he did in this world he comes again from that world, to this world for (fresh) work." This (is for) the man who desires. But the man who does not desire, he who is without desire, who is freed from desire, whose desire is satisfied, whose desire is the self; his breaths do not depart. Being Brahman he goes to Brahman.
Desire is the root of empirical existence: sarhsara-mula.
The subtle body is called mind because mind is the chief factor of the subtle body, manah pradhanatvdt lihgasya mano lihgam ity ucyate. S.
He who has desires continues subject to rebirth.
The man free from desires realises Brahman even here: sa ca vidvan apta-kamah atma-kamataya ihaiva brahmabhutah. S. What the blind need is to receive sight. Sight is not change of place or trans¬ porting into another world. One need not wait for the death of the body, na sarlra-patottara-kalam. Freedom is the cessation of ignorance, avidya-nivrtti. He in whom desire is stilled suffers no rebirth.
yada sarve pramucyante kdma ye’sya hrdi sritdh, atha martyo’mrto bhavati, atra brahma samasnute iti tad yathahinirvlayani valmike mrta pratyasta sayita, evam evedarh sanram sete. athayam asariro’ mrtah prano brahmaiva, teja eva; so’ ham bhagavale sahasram daddmi, iti hovaca janako vaidehah.
7. ‘On this there is the following verse: ‘‘When all the desires that dwell in the heart are cast away, then does the mortal become immortal, then he attains Brahman here (in this very body)." Just as the slough of a snake lies on an anthill, dead, cast off, even so lies this body. But this disembodied, immortal life is Brahman only, is light indeed, Your Majesty.’ ‘I give you, Venerable Sir, a thousand cows,’ said Janaka (King) of Videha.
See Katha VI. 14. pratyasta: cast away, pratiksipta.
When we identify ourselves with the body under the influence of desires and past work, we are embodied and mortal. When we become disembodied we become immortal, as we are no longer committed to embodiment, kama-karma-pr ayukta-sanr atma-bhdvena hi purvarh sasanro martyas ca, tad viyogad atheddnim asarirah, ata eva cdmrtah. S.
light indeed: ajhana-laksanandhakara-pratibhata eva. R.
274 The Principal Upanisads
anuh pantha vitatah puranah; mam sprsto’nuvitto mayaiva, tena dhira api yanti brahmavidah svargam lokam ita urdhvam vimuktah.
8. ‘On this there are the following verses: “The narrow ancient path which stretches far away, has been touched (found) by me, has been realised by me. By it, the wise, the knowers of Brahman go up to the heavenly world after the fall of this body, being freed (even while living).
anuh: narrow, being difficult to comprehend, suksmah durvijhey- atvat. $.
vitatah: stretching far away, vistlrnah vispasta-tarana-hetutvad va. V is vitarah. leading across.
The teachers are the path-finders. The Buddha speaks of the ancient way, the wayfarer bound for home ‘from which there is no coming back again.' Rum! attributes to Jesus, the Logos, ‘For the true believers I become a bridge across the river.’ Mathnawi IV. io. 70. The Bodhisattva makes of himself a bridge, attanarh samkamahi katva, by which we cross. Having first crossed over himself, he serves as a bridge for others. ‘I am the way.’ John XIV. 6. touched by me: found by me, mayd-labdhah. §. it ah: asmac charira-pdtdd 8.
They are freed even while in the body: jivanta eva vimuktas santah. 8.
Cp. Taittiriya Brahmana: ‘He who makes the self (atman) his wayfinder is no longer stained by evil action.' III. 12. 9. 8.
Sometimes the verse is interpreted differently. They go beyond the heavenly world. There is a reading to this effect: tena dhira api yanti brahma-vida utkramya svargam lokam ito vimuktah .
ca
esa pantha brahmana hanuvittah tenaiti brahmavit punyakrt taijasas ca
9. ‘ “On that path they say there is white, blue, yellow, green and red. That path was found by a Brahmana and by it goes the knower of Brahman, the doer of right and the shining one.’’
These colours do not affect the path of realisation darsana-mdrgasya ca sukladi-varnasambhavat. These paths belong to the world of empirical existence, na te moksa-margah, samsara-visaya eva hi te. brahmana: by a Brahmana. paratma-svarupenaiva brahmanena tyak- ta-sarvaisanena. $.
the doer of right: § finds it difficult to uphold his view that spiritual
wisdom and practical activity are incompatible. He cites a number of passages from M.B., which support his view:
apunya-punyo parameyam punar-bhava-nirbhayah santas samhyasino yanti tasmai moksatmane namah. XII. 46. 56. ' Salutation to that embodiment of liberation whom serene monks, fearless about rebirth, attain after the cessation of the effects of their good and bad deeds.’
nirasisam, anarambham, nirnamaskaram, astutim aksinam, ksina-karmanam , tarn deva brahmanam viduh. XII. 269. 34.
‘The gods consider him to be a knower of Brahman who has no desires, who undertakes no work, who does not bow (to others) or praise (any one), who remains unchanged, whose work is exhausted.’ naitadrsam brahmanasyasti vittam yathaikata, samata, satyata ca silam, sthitim, danda-nidhdnam , arjavam, tatas tatas coparamah kriyabhyah. XII. 174. 37.
‘For a knower of Brahman, there is no wealth comparable to the sense of oneness, the sense of equality, truthfulness, virtue, stead¬ fastness, non-injury, integrity and withdrawal from all activities.’
That the knowers of Brahman are doers of good is said by way of eulogy. This view of § is not the obvious meaning of the text which seems to suggest jhdna-karma-samuccaya.
10. ‘Into blind darkness enter they who worship ignorance; into greater darkness than that, as it were, they that delight in knowledge (enter).’
See Isa 9. § means by avidya works, and by knowledge the ritual part of the Vedas.
vidyayam: avidya-vastu-pratipadikayam karmarthayarh trayyam. £.
11. Those worlds covered with blind darkness are called joyless. To them after death go those people who have not knowledge, who are not awakened.
See Katha I. 3: Isa 3.
not awakened: devoid of the knowledge of the self, atmavagama- varjitah. £. pratyag-atma-vidya-sunyah. R.
276 The Principal Upanisads IV. 4. 14.
should suffer: santapyet, sarira-tdpam anutapyeta. §.
What craving can be left in him that he should take to himself another body, full of suffering, to satisfy it ?
pravistah,
sa visva-krt, sa hi sarvasya karta, tasya lokah sa u loka eva.
13. Whoever has found and has awakened to the self that has entered into this perilous inaccessible place (the body), he is the maker of the universe, for he is the maker of all. His is the world; indeed he is the world itself.
anuvittah: found, anulabdhah. S.
pratibuddah: awakened, directly realised, saksdtkrtah. S. samdehye: perilous, subject to many dangers: anekanartha-samkato- pacaye. S.
gahane: inaccessible, with hundreds and thousands of obstacles to obtaining enlightenment through discrimination: aneka-sata-saha- sra-viveka-vijhana-pratipaksa-visame. S. loka: world. According to $ the Self, the Universal Self.
vinastih.
ye tad viduh, amrtas te bhavanti, athetare duhkham evapi- yanti.
14. Verily, while we are here we may know this: if (we know it) not we would be ignorant, great is the destruction. Those who know this become immortal while others go only to sorrow.
avedih: ignorant, ajhanam bhavati R.
The Eternal may be realised even while we live in the ephemeral body. To fail to realise him is to live in ignorance, to be subject to birth and death. The knowers of Brahman are immortal; others continue in the region of sorrow.
Cp. the words in the Homeric hymn to Demeter written about the beginning of the sixth century b.c. in Attica: ‘Blessed among men who dwell on earth is he who has seen these things; but he who is uninitiated and has no part in the rites has never an equal lot when he has died and passed beneath the dank darkness.’ Lines 480 ff. Plutarch quotes from Sophocles: ‘Thrice blessed are those mortals who have seen these mysteries before they come to Hades, for to them alone is granted true life. All that is evil besets the rest.’ W. K. C. Guthrie: The Greeks and their Gods (1950), p. xiii.
15. If one clearly beholds him as the self, as God, as the lord of what has been and what will be, he does not shrink away from him.
he does not shrink: he is not afraid, he does not wish to hide himself from the Supreme.
16. That in front of which the year revolves with its days, that the gods worship as the light of lights, as life immortal.
ayuh: life-principle, sarva-prani-pranana-hetu-bhutam. R.
1 7. That in which the five groups of five and space are established, that alone I regard as the self. Knowing that immortal Brahman I am immortal.
The five groups are the Gandharvas or celestial singers, the fathers, the gods, the demons and the Raksasas or Titans. space: the unmanifested principle, avydkrtakhyah, 5.
srotram,
manaso ye mano viduh, te nicikyur brahma puranam agryam.
18. They who know the life of life, the eye of the eye, the ear of the ear and the mind of the mind, they have realised the ancient primordial Brahman.
Kena I. 2.
The different organs do not function if they are not inspired by the energy of Brahman. ‘Divested of the light of the self which is pure intelligence they are like wood or clods of earth.’ svatah kastha-losta-samani hi tani caitanyatma-jyotis-sunyani. fs. nicikyuh: have realised, niscayena jhatavantah. £.
19. Only by the mind is it to be perceived. In it there is no diversity. He goes from death to death, who sees in it, as it were, diversity.
278 The Principal Upanisads IV. 4. 22.
The mind purified by the knowledge of the Supreme Truth and the instructions of the teacher directly realises Brahman, paramartha-jhana-samskrtendcaryopadesa-purvakarh ca. Again, ‘the mind refined by the subjugation of the body, the mind and the senses and equipped with the teaching of the scriptures and the teacher forms the instrument by which the self may be seen: sastracdryopadesa-janita-sama-damadi-samskrtam mana atma-darsane karanam. S.B.G. II. 21.
See Katha IV. 10-11.
from death to death', from birth to birth, samsarat samsaram. R.
20. This indemonstrable and constant being can be realised as one only. The self is taintless, beyond space, unborn, great and constant.
as one only: as homogeneous pure intelligence without any break in it, like space: vijhana-ghanaikarasa-prakdrendkdsavannirantarena. S.
Duality is essential for knowledge; as the self is one and there is nothing beside it, it is not an object of demonstration: anyena hanyat pramiyate, idarn tv ekam eva, ato ’prameyam. S. dhruvam: constant, nityam, kutastham avicali. S. virajah: taintless, vigata-rajah. §. r agadi-dosa-r ahitah. R.
21. Let a wise Brahmana after knowing him alone, practise (the means to) wisdom. Let him not reflect on many words, for that is mere weariness of speech.
vijhaya: knowing by means of the study of the scriptures and logical reflection: sravana-mananabhyam jhdtva. R. prajham nididhyasanam. R.
viglapanam: weariness, visesena glani-kararh srama-karam hi.
The Real cannot be known by vain and idle arguments.
22. sa va esa mahan aja atma yo’yam vijhanamayah pranesu; ya eso'ntar-hrdaya akasah tasmin sete, sarvasya vast, sarva- sycsanah, sarvasyadhipatih; sa na sadhuna karmana bhuyan no evasadhuna kaniyan. esa sarvcsvarah, esa bhutadhipatih, esa bhutapalah. e$a setur vidharana esam lokanam asambheddya. tam etam vedanuvacanena brahmana vividisanti, yajhena, danena, tapasandsakena; etam eva viditva munir bhavati, etam eva pravrajino lokam icchantah pravrajanti. etadd ha sma vai tat piirve vidvdmsah prajarh na kdmayante: kirk prajaya
karisyamah; yesam no’yam atmayarh loka iti. te ha sma putraisanayas ca vittaisanayas ca lokaisanayas ca vyutthaya, atha bhiksa-caryam caranti; yd hy eva putraisana sa vittaisana, yd vittaisana sa lokaisana; ubhe hy ete esane eva bhavatah sa esa neti nety atmd; agrhyah, na hi grhyate; asiryah, na hi siryate; asahgah, na hi sajyate; asito na vyathate, na risyati; etarn u haivaite na tarata iti, atah papam akaravam iti, atah kalyanam akaravam iti; ubhe u haivaisa ete tarati, nainam krtakrte tapatah.
22. Verily, he is the great unborn Self who is this (person) consisting of knowledge among the senses. In the space within the heart lies the controller of all, the lord of all, the ruler of all. He does not become greater by good works nor smaller by evil works. He is the bridge that serves as the boundary to keep the different worlds apart. Him the Brahmanas seek to know by the study of the Veda, by sacrifices, by gifts, by penance, by fasting. On knowing Him, in truth, one becomes an ascetic. Desiring Him only as their worlds, monks wander forth. Verily, because they know this, the ancient (sages) did not wish for offspring. What shall we do with offspring (they said), we who have attained this Self, this world. They, having risen above the desire for sons, the desire for wealth, the desire for worlds, led the life of a mendicant. For the desire for sons is the desire for wealth and the desire for wealth is the desire for worlds; both these are, indeed, desires only. This Self is (that which has been described as) not this, not this. He is incomprehensible for He is never comprehended. He is indestructible for He cannot be destroyed. He is unattached for He does not attach himself. He is unfettered, He does not suffer, He is not injured. Him (who knows this) these two (thoughts) do not overcome, for some reason he has done evil or for some reason he has done good. He overcomes both. What he has done or what he has not done does not burn (affect) him.
See III. 5. 1 ; in. 9. 26; IV. 2. 4.
setu: bridge. Agni (Fire) is spoken of as bridge: tvan nas tantur uta setur agne: Taittirlya Brahmana. II. 4. 2. 6. Agni becomes the path of deva-yana.
Ceremonial observances are treated as means for purification. See B.G. XVIII. 5.
Fasting is restraint, not abstinence, not starvation which will mean death: kamanasanam anasakam, na tu bhojana-mvfttih bhoja- na-nivrttau mriyata eva. $.
The monastic orders which developed in Buddhism and Jainism are forecast here.
28o
The Principal Upanisads
esa nityo mahima brahmanasya na vardhate karmana no kantyan
tasyaiva syat pada-vit, tarn viditva na lipyate karmana papakena,
iti tasmad 'evam-vit, santo danta uparatas titiksuh samahito bhutva, atmany evatmanam pasyati, sarvam atmanam pasyati ; nainam papma tarati, sarvam papmanarh tarati; nainam papma tapati, sarvam papmanarh tapati; vipapo virajo ’vicikitso brah- mano bhavati ; esa brahma-lokah, samrat; enam prapito’si iti hovaca yajhavalkyah; so’ham bhagavate videhan dadami, mam capi saha ddsyayeti.
23. This very (doctrine) has been expressed in the hymn. This eternal greatness of the knower of Brahman is not in¬ creased by work nor diminished. One should know the nature of that alone. Having found that, one is not tainted by evil action. Therefore he who knows it as such, having become calm, self-controlled, withdrawn, patient and collected sees the Self in his own self, sees all in the Self. Evil does not overcome him, he overcomes all evil. Evil does not burn (affect) him, he burns (consumes) all evil. Free from evil, free from taint, free from doubt he becomes a knower of Brahma. This is the world of Brahma, Your Majesty, you have attained it, said Yajnavalkya. Janaka (King) of Videha said, ‘Venerable Sir, I give you the (empire of) Videhas and myself also to serve you.’
pada-vit: he who knows the nature: padasya vetta, padyate gamy ate jhayata iti mahimnas-svarupam eva padam. S.
having become calm: the Bhagavata defines the state of tranquillity as one in which there is not grief nor happiness, nor worry, nor hatred, nor longing, not even any desire.
nay air a duhkham na sukham na cinta, nai dvesa-ragau na ca kacid iccha.
rasah sa santah kathito munindraih sarvesu bhavesu samah pramanah.
24. This is that great unborn Self, who is the eater of food and the giver of wealth. He who knows this obtains wealth.
the eater of food: sarva-bhutasthas sarvanndnam atta. S. He dwells in all beings and eats all food which they eat.
the giver of wealth : the giver of the fruits of actions. He enables all beings to obtain the results of their actions, dhanarh sarvaprani-
karma-phalam, tasya data, praninam yatha-karma-phalena yojayitety arthah
25. sa va esa mahan ajatma, ajaro, amaro’ mrto’bhayo brahma; abhayam vai brahma, abhayam hi vai brahma bhavati ya evam veda.
25. This is that great unborn Self who is undecaying, undying, immortal, fearless. Brahman. Verily, Brahman is fearless. He who knows this becomes the fearless Brahman.
Fifth Brahmana
1. atha ha yajhavalkyasya dve bharye babhuvatuh, maitreyl ca katyayanl ca. tayor ha maitreyl brahma-vadinl babhuva, strl-prajhaiva tarhi katyayanl. atha yajhavalkyo’nyad-vrttam upakarisyan.
1. Now then, Yajnavalkya had two wives, Maitreyl and Katyayani. Of these (two) Maitreyl was a discourser on Brahma- knowledge, while Katyayam possessed only such knowledge as women have. Now then, Yajnavalkya when he wished to get ready for another mode of life —
See II. 4.
S holds that in this dialogue between Yajnavalkya and Maitreyl, logical argument is advanced in support of scriptural statements: tarka-pradhanarh hi yajhavalkyiyarh kandam. discourser on Brahma-knowledge: brahma-vadana-stla. S.
2. maitreyi, iti hovaca ydjhav alky ah, pravrajisyan va are’ ham asmat sthanad asmi; hanta te’naya katyayanyantam karavanlti.
2. ‘Maitreyi,’ said Yajnavalkya, ‘lo, verily, I am getting away from this state (into the forest). Forsooth, let me make a settlement for you and that Katyayanl,
3. sa hovaca maitreyl: yan nu ma iyam, bhagoh, sarva prthivl vittena purna syat, syam nv aham tenamrta: aho na iti, na iti, hovaca yajhavalkyah; yathaivopakaranavatam jivitam, tathaiva te jivitam syat; amrtatvasya tu nasasti vitteneti.
3. Then said Maitreyl: ‘My Lord, if, indeed, this whole earth filled with wealth were mine, do I become immortal by it or
The Principal Upanisads IV. 5.6.
not?’ ‘No,’ replied Yajnavalkya. ‘As the life of people who have plenty of things will your life be, but there is no hope of immortality through wealth.’
4. Then Maitreyi said: ‘What shall I do with that by which I do not become immortal? What you know (of the way to immortality). Venerable Sir, that, indeed explain to me.’
5. sa hovaca yajhavalkyah: priya vai khalu no bhavati satl priyam avrdhat. hanta tarhi, bhavati, etad vyakhydsyami te, vyacaksanasya tu me nididhyasasveti.
5. Then Yajnavalkya said: ‘You have been truly dear to me (even before) , now you have increased your dearness. Therefore, if you wish, my dear, I will explain it to you. As I am expounding to you, seek to meditate on it.’
priyaiva purvarh khalu nah, asmabhyam bhavati, bhavanti satl priyam ev avrdhat, vardhitavati, nirdharitavaty asi. S.
6. sa hovaca: na va are patyuh kamaya patih priyo bhavati, atmanas tu kamaya patih priyo bhavati; na va are jayayai kamaya jaya priya bhavati, atmanas tu kamaya jaya priya bhavati; na va are putranam kamaya putrah priya bhavanti, atmanas tu kamaya putrah priya bhavanti; na va are vittasya kamaya vittam priyam bhavati, atmanas tu kamaya vittam priyam bhavati; na va are pasunam kamaya pasavah priya bhavanti, atmanas tu kamaya pasavah priya bhavanti; na va are brahmanah kamaya brahma priyam bhavati, atmanas tu kamaya brahma priyam bhavati; na va are ksatrasya kamaya ksatram priyam bhavati, atmanas tu kamaya ksatram priyam bhavati; na va are lokanam kamaya lokah priyah bhavanti, atmanas tu kamaya lokah priya bhavanti; na va are devanam kamaya devdh priya bhavanti, atmanas tu kamaya devdh priya bhavanti; na va are vedanam kamaya vedah priya bhavanti, atmanas tu kamaya vedah priya bhavanti. na va are bhutanam kamaya bhutani priyani bhavanti, atmanas tu kamaya bhutani priyani bhavanti; na va are sarvasya kamaya sarvam priyam bhavati, atmanas tu kamaya sarvam priyam bhavati. dtma va are drastavyah srotavyo mantavyo nididhyasitavyah, maitreyi; atmani khalv are drste, srute> mate, vijhate, idam sarvam viditam.
6. Then, he (Yajnavalkya) said: ‘Verily, not for the sake of the husband is the husband dear but for the sake of the Self
is the husband dear. Verily, not for the sake of the wife is the wife dear but for the sake of the Self is the wife dear. Verily, not for the sake of the sons are the sons dear but for the sake of the Self are the sons dear. Verily, not for the sake of wealth is wealth dear but for the sake of the Self is wealth dear. Verily, not for the sake of the cattle are the cattle dear but for the sake of the Self are the cattle dear. Verily, not for the sake of the Brahmana is the Brahmana dear but for the sake of the Self is the Brahmana dear. Verily, not for the sake of the Ksatriya is the Ksatriya dear but for the sake of the Self is the Ksatriya dear. Verily, not for the sake of the worlds are the worlds dear but for the sake of the Self are the worlds dear. Verily, not for the sake of the gods are the gods dear but for the sake of the Self are the gods dear. Verily, not for the sake of the Vedas are the Vedas dear but for the sake of the Self are the Vedas dear. Verily not for the sake of the beings are the beings dear but for the sake of the Self are the beings dear. Verily, not for the sake of all is all dear but for the sake of the Self is all dear. Verily, the Self, Maitreyi, is to be seen, to be heard, to be reflected on, to be meditated upon; when, verily, the Self is seen, heard, reflected on and known, then all this is known.
to be heard: from the teacher and the scriptures, deary dgamabhy dm. S. to be reflected on: through argument and reasoning, tarkenopapattya. S.
7 brahma tam paradat, yo’nyatratmano brahma veda; k$atram tarn paradat, yo’nyatratmanah ksatram veda; lokas tam paraduh, yo’nyatratmano lokan veda; devas tam paraduh, yo’nyatratmano devan veda; vedas tam paraduh, yo’nyatratmano vedan veda; bhutani tam paraduh, yo’nyatratmano bhutani veda; sarvarn tam paradat, yo’nyatratmanah sarvarn veda; idam brahma, idarn ksatram, ime lokah, ime devah, ime vedah, imani bhutani, idarn sarvarn, yad ayam atma.
7 Brahmanahood deserts him who knows Brahmanahood in anything else than the Self. Ksatriyahood deserts him who knows Ksatriyahood in anything else than the Self. The worlds desert him who knows the worlds in anything else than the Self. The gods desert him who knows the gods in anything else than the Self. The Vedas desert him who knows the Vedas in anything else than the Self. The beings desert him who knows the beings in anything else than the Self. All deserts him who knows all in anything else than the Self. This Brahmanahood,
284 The Principal Upanisads IV. 5. 12.
this Ksatriyahood, and these worlds, these gods, these Vedas, all these beings, this all are the Self.
8. sa yatha dundubher hanyamdnasya na bahyan sabdan saknuyad grahanaya, dundubhes tu grahanena dundubhy-aghata- sya vd sabdo grhitah.
8. Just as when a drum is beaten, one cannot grasp the external sounds but by grasping the drum or the beater of the drum, the sound is grasped;
9. sa yatha sahkhasya dhmdyamanasya na bahyan sabdan saknuyad, grahanaya, Sahkhasya tu grahanena sahkha-dhmasya vd sabdo grhitah.
9. Just as when a conch is blown one cannot grasp the external sound but by grasping the conch or the blower of the conch, the sound is grasped;
10. sa yatha vinayai vadyamanayai na bahyan sabdan saknuyad grahanaya, vinayai tu grahanena vina-vadasya vd sabdo grhitah.
10. Just as when a Vina (or lute) is played one cannot grasp the external sounds but by grasping the vind or the player of the vina, the sound is grasped;
11. sa yathardraidhagner abhyahitasya prthag dhuma vinis- caranti, evam vd are’sya mahato bhutasya nihsvasitam etad yad rg vedo, yajur vedah, sama vedo ’tharvdhgirasa itihasah puranarh vidyd upanisadah slokdh sutrani, anu-vydkhyanani vyakh- yananistam hutam asitam payitam ayarn ca lokah paras ca lokah sarvani ca bhiitdni, asyaivaitani sarvani nihsvasitani.
11. As from a fire kindled with damp fuel various kinds of smoke issue forth, so, verily, from this great being has been breathed forth that which is the Rg Veda, the Yajur Veda the Sama Veda, the hymns of the Atharvans and the Aiigirasas, legend, ancient lore, sciences, sacred teachings, verses, aphor¬ isms, explanations, commentaries, sacrifice, oblation, food, drink, this world and the other and all beings. From it, indeed, have all these been breathed forth.
12. sa yatha sarvasam apam samudra ekdyanam, evam sarvesam sparsanam tvag ekdyanam, evam sarvesam gandhanam nasike ekdyanam, evam, sarvesam rasanam jihvaikayanam, evam sarvesam riipdndm caksur ekdyanam, evam sarvesam sabdanam srotram ekdyanam, evam, sarvesam samkalpanam mana ekdyanam, evam, sarvasam, vidyanam hrdayam ekdyanam, evam, sarvesam,
karmanam hastav ekdyanam, evarii sarvesam anandanam upastha ekdyanam, ei writ sarvesam visarganam payur ekayanam, evam sarvesam adhvanam padav ekdyanam, evam sarvesam vedanam vag ekdyanam.
12. As the ocean is the one goal (meeting-place) of all waters, as the skin is the one goal of all kinds of touch, as the nose is the one goal of all smells, as the tongue is the one goal of all tastes, as the eye is the one goal of all forms, as the ear is the one goal of all sounds, as the mind is the one goal of all inten¬ tions, as the heart (intellect) is the one goal of all knowledge, as the hands are the one goal of all kinds of work, as the genera¬ tive organ is the one goal of all forms of delight, as the anus is the one goal of all evacuations, as the feet are the one goal of all movements, as the (organ of) speech is the one goal of all the Vedas.
13. sa yatha saindhava-ghanah anantaro’bdhyah, krtsno rasa- ghana eva, evam va areyam atma, anantaro’bdhyah, krtsnah prajhana-ghana eva ; etebhyo bhutebhyah samutthaya, tany eva- nuvinasyati na pretya samjhasti, iti are bravimi, iti hovaca. yajhavalkyah.
13. ‘As a mass of salt is without inside, without outside, is altogether a mass of taste, even so, verily, is this Self without inside, without outside, altogether a mass of intelligence only. Having arisen out of these elements (the Self) vanishes again in them. When he has departed there is no more (separate or particular) consciousness. Thus, verily, say I’, said Yajnavalkya.
Particular consciousness is due to association with elements; when this association is dissolved through knowledge, knowledge of oneness is obtained and particular consciousness disappears.
14. sa hovaca maitreyi: atraiva ma bhagavan mohantam apipipat; na va aham imam vijdnamiti. sa hovaca; na va are’ ham moham bravimi, avinasi va areyam atma, an-ucchitti- dharma.
14. Then Maitreyi said: ‘Here, indeed, Venerable Sir, you have caused me to reach utter bewilderment. Indeed, I do not at all understand this (the Self).’ He replied, ‘I do not say anything bewildering. This Self, verily, is imperishable and of indestructible nature.
indestructible nature: it is not subject to destruction either in the form of change or extinction, napi vikriya-laksano, ndpy uccheda- laksano vinaso’sya vidyate. S.
The Principal Upanisads IV. 5. 15.
15. yatra hi dvaitam iva bhavati, tad itara itaram pasyati, tad itara itaram jighrati, tad itara itaram rasayate, tad itara itaram abhivadati, tad itara itaram srnoti, tad itara itaram vijanati; yatra tv asya sarvam atmaivabhut, tat kena kam pasyet, tat kena kam jighret, tat kena kam rasayet, tat kena kam abhivadet, tat kena kam srnuyat, tat kena kam manvita, tat kena kam sprset, tat kena kam, vijdmydt; yenedam sarvam vijanati, tarn kena vijdmydt. sa esa neti nety atma; agrhyah, na hi grhyate, asiryah na hi siryate; asahgah, na hi sajyate, asito, na vyathate, na risyati. vijhdtaram are kena vijdmydt, ity uktanusasanasi , maitreyi; etavad are khalv amrtatvam, iti hoktva, yajhavalkyo vijahara.
15. ‘For where there is duality as it were, there one sees the other, one smells the other, one tastes the other, one speaks to the other, one hears the other, one thinks of the other, one touches the other, one knows the other. But where every¬ thing has become just one’s own self, by what and whom should one see, by what and whom should one smell, by what and whom should one taste, by what and to whom should one speak, by what and whom should one hear, by what and of whom should one think, by what and whom should one touch, by what and whom should one know? By what should one know him by whom all this is known? That self is (to be described as) not this, not this. He is incomprehensible for he cannot be comprehended. He is indestructible for He cannot be destroyed. He is unattached for He does not attach himself. He is unfettered, He does not suffer, He is not injured. Indeed, by what would one know the knower? Thus you have the in¬ struction given to you, O Maitreyi. Such, verily, is life eternal.’ Having said this, Yajnavalkya went away (into the forest).
See III. 9. 26; IV. 2. 4; IV. 4. 22. vijahara: went into the forest, pravrajitavan. S. by what would one know the knower? The suggestion is that the knower cannot be known in the usual way. He can only be experienced.
S makes out that all the four chapters had the one end in view, knowledge of Brahman culminating in renunciation: brahma-vidyd samnyasa-paryavasana, etavan upadesa, etad vedanusasanam, esa parama-nistha, esa purusartha-kartavyatanta iti. $.
This is the instruction, this is the teaching of the Vedas, this is the ultimate goal, this is the end of man’s effort to achieve his highest good.
Different views are expressed according to the B.S., about the relation of the individual and the universal Self. Asmarathya holds
that the unity of the two is emphasised to indicate that when the Universal Self is seen all else is seen. I. 4. 20. Audulomi thinks that the identity taught here refers to the state which the individual finally attains when he is released from all limitations. I. 4. 21. Kasakrtsna holds that the identity is taught because the individual is the form in which the Universal exists. I. 4. 22.
Sixth Brahmana
1. atha vamiah. pautimasyo gaupavanat, gaupavanah pauti- mdsyat, pautimasyo gaupavanat, gaupavanah kauiikat, kauiikah kaundinydt, kaundinyah iandilydt, idndilyah kauiikac ca gautamac ca, gautamah —
1. Now the line of tradition. Pautimasya (received the teaching) from Gaupavana, Gaupavana from Pautimasya, Pautimasya from Gaupavana, Gaupavana from Kausika, Kausika from Kaundinya, Kaundinya from £andilya, Sandilya from Kausika and Gautama, Gautama —
2. agniveiyat, agnivesyo gargyat, gdrgyo gargyat, gargyo gautamat, gautamah saitavat, saitavah par diary ay anat, para- saryayano gargyayanat, gargyayana uddalakayanat, uddalaka- yano jabalayandt, jabalayano madhyandinayanat, madhyan- dinayanah saukarayanat, saukarayanah kasayanat, kasayanah sayakayanat, sayakayanah kausikayaneh, kausikayanih —
2. From Agnivesya, Agnivesya from Gargya, Gargya from Gargya, Gargya from Gautama, Gautama from Saitava, Saitava from Parasaryayana, Parasaryayana from Gargyayana, Gargya¬ yana from Uddalakayana, Uddalakayana from Jabalavana, Jabalayana from Madhyandinayana, Madhyandinayana from Saukarayana, Saukarayana from Kasayana, Kasayana from Sayakayana, Sayakayana from Kau£ikayani, Kausikayani —
3. ghrtakausikat, ghrtakausikah par asary ay anat, para- iaryayanah paraiaryat, paraiaryo jatukarnyat, jatukarnya asurdyanac ca yaskac ca, asurayanas traivaneh, traivanir aupajandhaneh, aupajandhanir asureh, asurir bharadvajat, bharadvaja atreyat, atreyo manteh, mantir gautamat, gautamo gautamat, gautamo vatsyat, vatsyah sandilyat, iandilyah kaiioryat kapyat, kaiioryah kdpyah kumara-haritat, kumara-
The Principal Upanisads IV. 3
harito galavat, gdlavo vidarbhi-kaundinyat, vidarbhi-kaundinyo vatsanapato bdbhravat, vatsanapad bdbhravah pathah saubharat, panthah saubharo’yasyad ahgirasat, ayasya ahgirasa abhutes tvastrat, abhutis tvastro visva-rupat tvastrat, visva-rupas tvastro ’ svibhyam, asvinau dadhica atharvanat, dadhyahh atharvano ’tharvano daivat, atharva daivo mrtyoh prddhvamsanat, mrtyuh pradhvamsanah pradhvamsanat , pradhvamsana ekarseh, ekarsir vipracitteh, vipracittir vyasteh, vyastih sanaroh, sanaruh sana- tandt, sanatanah sanagat, sanagah paramesthinah, parameslhi brahmanah, brahma svayambhu, brahmane namah.
3. from Ghrtakausika, Ghrtakausika from Parasaryayana, Parasaryayana from Parasarya, Parasarya from Jatukarnya, Jatukarnya from Asurayana and Yaska, Asurayana from Traivani_, Traivani from Aupajandhani, Aupajandhani from Asuri, Asuri from Bharadvaja, Bharadvaja from Atreya, Atreya from Manti, Manti from Gautama, Gautama from Gautama, Gautama from Vatsya, Vatsya from £andilya, Sandilya from Kaisorya Kapya, Kaisorya Kapya from Kumara- harita, Kumara-harita from Galava, Galava from Vidarbhi- kaundinya, Vidarbhi-kaundinya from Vatsanapat Babhrava, Vatsanapat Babhrava from Pathin Saubhara, Pathin Saubhara from Ayasya Ahgirasa, Ayasya Ahgirasa from Abhuti Tvastra, Abhuti Tvastra from Visva-rupa Tvastra, Visva-rupa Tvastra from the two Asvins, the two Asvins from Dadhyahh Atharvana, Dadhyahh Atharvana from Atharvan Daiva, Atharvan Daiva from Mrtyu Pradhvamsana, Pradhvamsana from Ekarsi,. Ekarsi from Vipracitti, Vipracitti from Vyasti, Vyasti from Sanaru, Sanaru from Sanatana, Sanatana from Sanaga, Sanaga from Paramesthin, Paramesthin from Brahma; Brahma is the self-existent. Salutation to Brahma.
the line of tradition: Udyotakara defines sampraddya as uninterrupted succession of pupils and teachers by which scriptural knowledge is conserved and transmitted, sampradayo nania sisyopadhyaya- sambandhasya avicchedena sastra-praptih. A living culture preserves the treasures of the past and creates those of the future.
Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad
Aum kham brahma, kham puranam, vayuram kham, iti ha smaha kauravyayani-putrah, vedo’yam brahmana viduh; vedainena yad veditavyam.
1. That is full, this is full. From fullness fullness proceeds. If we take away the fullness of fullness, even fullness then remains. (The syllable) Aum is Brahman (who) is the ether, the primeval ether, the ether that blows. Thus, verily, the son of KauravyayanI used to say. This is the Veda which the knowers of Brahman know; through it one knows what is to be known.
that is full : the reference is to the Absolute.
this is full : the reference is to the manifested world presided over by the Personal Lord.
While this world in infinite, it has its roots in the Absolute. The manifestation of this world does not take away from the fullness or integrity of the Absolute.
veda\ the knowledge by which whatever is to be known is known, vijanaty anena yad veditavyam tasmad vedah. S.
Second Brahmana
1. tray ah prajdpatyah prajapatau pitari brahma-caryom usuh, deva manusya asurah, usitva brahmacaryam deva ucuh; bravitu no bhavan iti; t'ebhyo. haitad aksaram uvaca; da iti, vyajhasista iti; vyajhasisma iti hocuh, damyata, iti na attheti, aum iti hovdca, vyajhasisteti.
1. The threefold offspring of Praja-pati, gods, men and demons, lived with their father Praja-pati as students of sacred knowledge. Having completed their studentship the gods said, ‘Please tell (instruct) us, sir.’ To them then, he uttered the syllable da (and asked) ‘Have you understood?’ They (said) ‘We have understood, you said to us "damyata,” “control yourselves’’.’ He said, ‘Yes, you have understood.’
2go The Principal Upanisads V. 2. 3.
The gods are said to be naturally unruly and so are asked to practise self-control, adanta yuyam svabhavatah ato danta bhavateti. S. iisuh: usitavantah. R.
aunt: yes, samyak. §, anujham eva vibhajate. A, satyam. R.
2. atha hainam manusya ucuh: bravitu no bhavan iti ; tebhyo haitad evaksaram uvaca; da iti; vyajhasista iti, vyajnasisma iti hocuh, datta iti na attheti; aum iti hovaca vyajhasisteti.
2. Then the men said to him, ‘Please tell (instruct) us, sir.’ To them he uttered the same syllable da (and asked) ‘Have you understood?’ They said, ‘We have understood. You said to us “give”.’ He said, ‘Yes, you have understood.’
Men are naturally avaricious and so they should distribute their wealth to the best of their ability.
svabhavato lubdhd yuyam, ato yathdsaktya samvibhajata. $.
3. atha hainam asura ucuh, bravitu no bhavan iti; tebhyo haitad evaksaram uvaca; da iti, vyajhasista iti, vyajnasisma iti hocuh, dayadhvam iti na attheti, aum iti hovaca vyajhasisteti. tad etad evaisa daivi vdg anuvadati stanayitnuh — da, da, da iti, damyata, datta, dayadhvam iti. tad etat trayam sikset, damam, danam, dayam iti.
3. Then the demons said to him, ‘Please tell (instruct) us, sir.’ To them he uttered the same syllable da and asked, ‘Have you understood?’ They said, ‘We have understood, you said to us, “dayadhvam,” “be compassionate.” He said, ‘Yes, you have understood.’ This very thing the heavenly voice of thunder repeats da, da, da, that is, control yourselves, give, be com¬ passionate. One should practise this same triad, self-control, giving and compassion.
The demons are cruel, given to inflicting injury on others, they should have compassion and be kind to all: krura yuyam, himsadi- parah, ato dayadhvam pranisu dayam kuruteti. §.
It is suggested that there are no gods or demons other than men. If they are lacking in self-control while endowed with other good qualities, they are gods; if they are particularly greedy they are men; if they are cruel and given to inflicting injury on others, they are demons, Men themselves are distinguished into these three classes according to their lack of self-control and the possession of other defects or according to the tendencies of the three gunas. na deva asura va nye kecana vidyante manusyebhyah. manusydnam evadanta ye 'nyair uttamair gunais sampannah, te devah; lobha- pradhdna manusyah, tatha hirhsaparah krurah asurah. ta eva manusya adantatvadi-dosa-trayam apeksya devadi-sabda-bhajo bhavanti, itarams
ca gunan sattva-rajas-tamahisy apeksya ato manusyair eva hi siksitav- yarh etat trayam iti. $.
See B.G. XVI. 21.
Cp. Yajhavalkya Smyti. 1. 4. 122.
ahirnsd satyam asteyam saucatn indriya-nigrahah danarn damo day a santih sarvesam.
Gautama the Buddha is described as the embodiment of com¬ passion, karuna, and non-injury, ahirnsd. Matrceta in his Sata- pahcasatka says:
kam nu pralhamato vande tvam maha-karunam uta yayaivam api dosajhas tvam samsare dhytas ciram.
Which shall I first extol, you or the great compassion by which you are held so long in samsara, though knowing its faults so well? 59. viruddhesu api vatsalyam pravrttih. patitesvapi raudresv api kypdlutvam kd nameyam tavdryata.
You have affection even for the hostile, benevolence even to the fallen, tenderness even to the cruel, wonderful is your greatness. 105. akrostaro jitah ksantya drugdhah svastyayanena ca, satyena capavaktaras tray a maitrya jigharhsavah.
You overcame the revilers by forbearance, the malicious by blessing, the slanderers by truth, the wicked by kindness. 122.
The three injunctions require us to go about doing good even though we find ourselves in a world of evil. Self-control is necessary for we must not be elated by success or deterred by failure. Daya or compassion is more than sympathy or intellectual and emotional feeling. It is love in action, fellowship in suffering. It is feeling as one’s own the circumstances and aspirations to self-perfection which we find in others. The practice of these virtues will preserve, promote and enhance the values of life.
Third Brahmana
1. esa praja-patir yad hrdayam, etad brahma, etat sarvam. tad etat try-aksaram; hr-da-yam iti. hr ity ekam aksaram; abhiharanty asmai svas canye ca, ya evarh veda; da ity ekam aksaram, dada- tyasmai svas canye ca ya evarh veda; yam, ity ekam aksaram; eti svargam lokam ya evarh veda.
1. This is Praja-pati (the same as) this heart. It is Brahman. It is all. It has three syllables, hr, da, yam. Hr is one syllable. His own people and others bring (presents) to him who knows this. Da is one syllable. His own people and others give to
292 The Principal Upanisads V. 5. 1.
him who knows this. Yam is one syllable. He who knows this goes to the heavenly world.
hrdayam: heart, that is the seat of intelligence, hrdayastha buddhir ucyate. £.
Fourth Brahmana
1. tad vai tat, etad eva tad asa, satyam eva. sa yo haitan mahad yaksam prathamajam veda; satyam brahmeti, jayatimarhl lokan. jita in nv asdv asat, ya evam etan mahad yaksam prathamajam veda; satyam brahmeti. satyam hy eva brahma.
1. This, verily, is that. This indeed was that, the true. He who knows that wonderful being, the first born as the Brahman, conquers these worlds, and conquered likewise may that (enemy) be and become non-existent he (for him) who knows that wonderful being, the first born as the true Brahman.
satya: the true, the real, sat and tyat, the formed and the formless elements.
jitah: conquered, vaslkrtah. S. and R. asau: of the enemy, satrur upasakasya. R.
Fifth Brahmana THE REAL EXPLAINED
I. apa evedam agra asuh, ta apah satyam asrjanta, satyam brahma, brahma prajapatim, prajapatir devan. te devah satyam evopasate, tadetat try-aksaram: sa-ti-yam iti. sa ity ekam aksaram; ti ity ekam aksaram, yam iti ekam aksaram: prathama uttame aksare satyam, madhyato nrtam; tad etad anrtam ubhayatah satyena parigrhitam satyabhuyam eva bhavati. naivam vidvamsam amrtam hinasti.
1. In the beginning this universe was just water. That water produced the true (or the real), Brahman is the true. Brahman (produced) Praja-pati and Praja-pati (produced) the gods. Those gods meditated on the real. That consists of three syllables, sa, ti, yam: sa is one syllable, ti is one syllable, and
yam is one syllable. The first and the last syllables are the truth; in the middle is untruth. This untruth is enclosed on both sides by truth; it partakes of the nature of truth itself. Him who knows this, untruth does not injure.
Water is the seed of the universe and in the beginning it is in an undifferentiated form: apo blja-bhutd jagato vyakftdtmana ’vas- thitah. b.
In commenting on Thales’ choice of water as the first principle, Aristotle suggests that ‘he got the notion perhaps from seeing that the nutriment of all things is moist, and that heat itself is generated by the moist and kept alive by it . . . and that the seed of all creatures has a moist nature, and water is the origin of the nature of moist things.’ See W. K. C. Guthrie: The Greeks and their Gods (1950), P- I34-
There is a play on the letter, sa and ya have nothing in common with mrtyu and anrta whereas t occurs in the syllable ti. Untruth leads to death.
2. tad yat tat satyam asau sa adityah. ya esa etasmin mandate puruso yas cayarh daksine ksan purusah. tdv etav any o’ nyasmin pratisthitau; rasmibhir eso’smin pratisthitah prdnair ayam amusmin, sa yadotkramisyan bhavati. suddham evaitan mandalam pasyati. nainam ete rasmayah pratyayanti.
2. Now what is the true that is the yonder sun. The person who is there in that orb and the person who is here in the right eye, these two rest on each other. Through his rays that one rests in this one; through the vital breaths this one on that. When one is about to depart, he sees that orb as clear. Those rays no more come to him.
suddham: clear, rasmi-pratighata-rahitam. R.
3. ya' esa etasmin mandate purusah, tasya bhur iti sirah; ekam sirah, ekam etad aksaram; bhuva iti bahu; dvau bahu, dve ete aksare; svar iti pratistha; dve prathisthe dve ete aksare. tasyopanisad ahar iti; hanti papmanarh jahati ca,ya evarh veda.
3. Of the person in that orb, the syllable bhuh is the head; for the head is one and this syllable is one. Bhuvah is the arms. There are two arms and these are two syllables. Svah is the feet. There are two feet and these are two syllables. His secret name is day. He who knows this destroys evil and leaves it behind.
pratistha: feet, pada. R.
upanisat: secret name, rahasya-nama. R.
294 The Principal Upanisads V. 7. i.
4. yo'yam daksine ksan purusah, tasya bhur iti sirah, ekarn sirah, ekam etad aksaram; bhuva iti bahii; dvau bahu, dve ete aksare; svar iti pratistha; dve pratisthe, dve ete aksare. tasyo- panisad aham iti; hanti papmanam jahati ca ya evarn veda.
4. Of this person who is in the right eye, the syllable bhuh is the head. The head is one and the syllable is one. Bhuvah is the arms. There are two arms and these are two syllables. Svah is the feet. There are two feet and these are two syllables. His secret name is T.’ He who knows this destroys evil and leaves it behind.
In some cosmogonic hymns Satyam or Skambha is represented as turned upside down, his head being bhuh, his arms bhuvas and his feet svah.
Sixth Brahmana THE PERSON
1. manomayo’ yam purusah, bhah satyah tasminn antar-hrdaye yatha vrthir va yavo va. sa esa sarvasyesanah, sarvasyadhipatih, sarvam idarh prasasti yad idarh kirn ca.
1. This person who consists of mind is of the nature of light, is within the heart like a grain of rice or of barley. He is the ruler of all, the lord of all and governs all this whatever there is.
of the nature of light: bha eva satyam, sad-bhavah, svariipam yasya so yam bhah satyah, bhasvarah. £.
By meditating on Brahman in the form of mind, we attain identity with Him as such, for one becomes what one meditates on: tarn yatha yathopdsate tad eva bhavati. Satapatha Brahmana. X. V. 2. 20.
Seventh Brahmana
1. vidyud brahma ity dhuh; vidanad vidyut, vidyaty enam papmanah, ya evam veda, vidyud brahmeti, vidyud hy eva brahma. 1. Lightning is Brahman, they say. It is called lightning
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.
scatters: destroys, avakhandayati, vinasayati. Lightning cuts through the darkness of clouds as the knowledge of Brahman cuts through the darkness of ignorance and evil.
Eighth Brahmana
1. vacam dhenum upasita. tasyas catvarah stanah; svaha-karo vasat-karo hanta-karah svadha-karah; tasyai dvau stanau deva upajivanti, svahd-karam ca, vasat-karam ca; hanta-karam manu- syah, svadha-karam pitarah. tasyah prana rsabhah, mano vatsah.
1. One should meditate on speech as a milch cow. She has four udders which are the sounds, svaha, vasat, hanta and svadha. The gods live on two of her udders, the sounds svaha and vasat ; men on the sound hanta, and the fathers on the sound svadha. The vital breath is her bull, and mind the calf.
Ninth Brahmana THE UNIVERSAL FIRE
1. ay am agnir vaisvanaro yo’yam antah puruse, yenedam annam pacyate yad idam adyate; tasyaisa ghoso bhavati yam etat karnav apidhaya srnoti, sa yadotkramisyan bhavati, nainam ghosam srnoti.
1. This fire which is here within a person is the Vaisvanara (the universal fire) by means of which the food that is eaten is cooked (digested). It is the sound thereof that one hears by covering the ears thus. When one is about to depart (from this life) one does not hear this sound.
thus: by closing with the fingers, ahgulibhyam apidhdnam krtva. £.
296 The Principal Upanisads V. n. i.
Tenth Brahmana
I. yada vai puruso’smal lokat praiti, sa vayum agacchati; tasmai sa tatra vijihite yatha ratha-cakrasya kham; tena sa urdhva akramate, sa adityam agacchati; tasmai sa tatra vijihite yatha lambarasya kham; tena sa urdhva akramate, sa candramasam agacchati, tasmai sa tatra vijihite yatha dundubheh kham; tena sa urdhva akramate. sa lokam dgacchaty asokam ahimam; tasmin vasati sasvatih samah.
i. Verily, when a person departs from this world, he goes to the air. It opens out there for him like the hole of a chariot wheel. Through that he goes upwards. He goes to the sun. It opens out there for him like the hole of a lambara. Through that he goes upwards. He reaches the moon. It opens out there for him like the hole of a drum. Through that he goes upwards. He goes to the world free from grief, free from snow. There he dwells eternal years.
lambara: a kind of musical instrument, vaditra-visesa. $.
asokam: free from grief, free from mental troubles, mdnasa duhkhena
mvarjitam. S.
ahimam : free from snow, free from physical sufferings, sarira-duh- kha-varjitam. S.
eternal years: He lives there during the lifetime of Hiranya-garbha: anantan samvatsardn. R.
Eleventh Brahmana
i. etad vai paramarh tapo yad vyahitas tapyate; paramarh haiva lokam jayati, ya evam, veda; etad vai paramam tapo yam pretam aranyarh haranti; paramarh haiva lokam, jayati, ya evam veda etad vai paramam tapo yam pretam agnav abhyadadhati. paramarh haiva lokam jayati, ya evam veda.
i. Verily, this is the supreme austerity which a man laid up with illness suffers. He who knows this wins the supreme world. Verily, this is the supreme austerity when they carry a dead person into the forest. He who knows this wins the supreme world. Verily, this is the supreme austerity when they lay a dead person on the fire. He who knows this wins the supreme world.
laid up with illness: vyathitah, jvaradi-parigrhitas san. $.
Suffering is to be endured. We do not condemn it, anindato ’visidatah. sa esa ca tena vijnana-tapasa dagdha-kilbisah. 5.
Retirement to the forest from the village is also an austerity, gramad aranya-gamanam paramarii tapa iti hi prasiddham. S.
Twelfth Brahmana
1. annam brahma ity eka ahuh, tan na tatha, puyati va annam rte pranat; prano brahma ity eka ahuh, tan na tatha, susyati vai prana rte’nnat, ete ha tv eva devate, ekadhabhuyam bhutva, paramatam gacchatah tadd ha smaha pratrdah pitaram, kim svid evaivarh viduse sadhu kuryam, kim evasma asadhu kuryam iti. sa ha smaha panina: ma pratrda, kas tv enayor ekadha bhuyam bhutva paramatam gacchatiti. tasma u haitad uvaca; vi, iti; annam, vai vi; anne himani sarvani bhutani vistdni; ram iti, prano vai ram, prane himani sarvani bhutani ramante; sarvani ha va asmin bhutani visanti, sarvani bhutani ramante, ya evarh veda.
1. 'Brahman is food’ say some. This is not so, for, verily, food becomes putrid without life. ‘Life is Brahman’ say some. This is not so, for life dries up without food. But these two deities when they become united attain their highest state. So Pratrda said to his father: ‘What good, indeed, can I do to one who knows this, or what evil, indeed, can I do to him?’ The father said to him with (a gesture of) his hand, ‘Oh, no, Pratrda, who attains the highest state (merely) by entering into unity with these two?’ Then he said to him this. ‘This is vi. Food is vi, for all these beings rest in food. This is ram. The vital breath is ram, for all these beings delight in life. Verily, indeed, all beings enter into him, all beings delight in him who knows this.’
The mutual dependence of life and matter, prana and anna, is brought out.
Thirteenth Brahmana
MEDITATION ON LIFE-BREATH
1. uktham. prano va uktham, prano hidarh sarvam utthapayati. uddhasmad uktha-vid viras tisthati, ukthasya sdyujyarh salokatarh jayati, ya evarh veda.
298 The Principal Upanisads V. 13. 4.
1. The uktha. The life breath, verily, is the uktha for it is the life breath that raises up all this. From him there rises up a son who knows the uktha. He who knows this wins union with and abode in the same world as the uktha.
uktha: a hymn of praise, sastram. S. One should meditate on the life-breath as the uktha.
For uktha as the principal part of the maha-vrata sacrifice, see Aitareya Aranyaka II. 1. 2 and K.U. III. 3.
No man without life ever rises: na hy apranah kascid uttisthati. £.
2. yajuh. prd.no vai yajuh, prane himani sarvani bhutani yujyante; yujyante hasmai sarvani bhutani sraisthyaya. yajusah sayujyam salokatam jayati, ya evarh veda.
2. The Yajus : The life-breath, verily, is the yajus for in life-breath are all beings here united. United, indeed, are all beings for (securing) his eminence. He who knows this wins union with and abode in the same world as the Yajus.
One should meditate on the life-breath as the yajus. It is the name of one of the Vedas, but here is used for the principle of union. No one without life has the strength to unite with another: na hy asati prane kenacit kasyacid yoga- samar thy am. S.
3. sama: prano vai sama, prane himani sarvani bhiitani samyahci; samyahci hasmai sarvani bhutani sraisthyaya kalpante. samnah sayujyam salokatam. jayati, ya evarh veda.
3. The Saman: The life-breath, verily, is the saman for in life do all these beings meet. All beings here m$et for securing his eminence. He who knows this wins union with and abode in the same world as the Saman.
kalpante: samarthyante. S.
4. ksatram: prano vai ksatram. prano hi vai ksatram; trayate hainam pranah ksanitoh. pra ksatram atram apnoti. ksatrasya sayujyam salokatam jayati, ya evarh veda.
4. The Ksatra: The life-breath, verily, is the rule, for verily, life-breath is rule. The life-breath protects one from being hurt. He attains a rule that needs no protection. He who knows this wins union with and abode in the same world as the Ksatra.
ksanitoh: Life protects the body from wounds. It has the property of self-repair, sastr adi-hirhsitdt punar marhsenapurayati yasmat. A ksatram atram: V ksatramatram, obtains identity with the ksatra or becomes the life-breath, prano bhavati. £.
Fourteenth Brdhmana THE SACRED GAYATRl PRAYER
1. bhumir antariksam dyauh ity astav aksarani; astdksaram ha va ekarh gdyatryai padam, etad u haivasya etat, sa yavad esu trisu lokesu, tavaddha jayati, yo’sya etad evam padam veda.
1. The earth, the sky and heaven (make) eight syllables. Of eight syllables, verily, is one foot (line) of the Gdyatri. This (one foot) of it is that. He who knows the foot of the Gdyatri to be such wins as far as the three worlds extend.
The Gdyatri (or Savitri ) is a sacred verse of the R.V. It reads: — tat savitur varenyam, bhargo devasya dhimahi, dhiyo yo nah praco- dayat: ‘We meditate on the adorable glory of the radiant sun; may he inspire our intelligence, ’ III. 57. 10. There is a metre called Gdyatri which has three feet of eight syllables each. The Gdyatri verse is in this metre.
2. rco yajumsi samani, ity astav aksarani; astdksaram ha va ekam gayatrai padam. etad u haivasya etat. sa yavatiyam trayi vidya, tavad ha jayati. yo’sya etad evam padam veda.
2. Rea h (verses) Yajumsi (sacrificial formulas) Samani (chants) (make) eight syllables. Of eight syllables, verily, is one foot of the Gdyatri. This (one foot of it) is that (series). He who knows the foot of the Gdyatri to be such wins as far as this threefold knowledge extends.
The three Vedas constitute the second foot of the Gdyatri.
3. prano’pano vyanah, ity astav aksarani; astdksaram ha va ekam gayatrai padam. etad u haivasya etat. sa yavad idam prani, tavad ha jayati, yo’sya etad evam padam, veda. athasya etad eva turiyam darsatam padam paroraja ya esa tapati; yad vai catur- tham tat turiyam; darsatam padam iti, dadrsa iva hy esah; paroraja iti, sarvam u hy evaisa raja upari upari tapati. evam haiva sriyd, yasasa tapati, yo’sya etad evam padam veda.
3. Prana (in-breath), apdna (out-breath), vyana (diffused breath) (make) eight syllables. Of eight syllables, verily, is one foot of the Gdyatri. This (one foot of it) is that series. He who knows the foot of the Gdyatri to be such wins as far as his breathing extends. Of this (the Gdyatri) this, indeed, is the fourth, the visible foot, above the dark skies (the sun) who glows yonder. This fourth is the same as the turiya. It is called the visible foot because it has come into sight as it were.
300 The Principal Upanisads V. 14. 5.
He is called above the dark skies, because he glows yonder far higher and higher than everything dark. He who knows that foot of it to be such, he glows with prosperity and fame.
darsatam: visible, dadrsa iva, drsyata iva.
4. saisa gayatry etasmims turiye darsate pade parorajasi pratisthita, tad vai tat satye pratisthitam; caksur vai satyam, caksur hi vai satyam; tasmad yad idanim dvau vivadamanav eyatam aham adarsam, aham asrausam iti. ya evarh bruyat; aham adarsam iti, tasma eva sraddadhyama. tad vai tat satyam bale pratisthitam; prd.no vai balam; tat prane pratisthitam; tasmad ahuh: balam satyad ogiya iti. evarh vesa gayatry adhyatmam. pratisthita sa haisd gayams tatre; prana vai gayah; tat pranams tatre; tad yad gayams tatre, tasmad gayatri nama. sa yam evamurn savitrim anvaha, esaiva sa. sa yasma anvaha, tasya pranams tray ate.
4. That Gayatri rests on that fourth, the visible foot, above the dark skies. That again rests on truth. Verily, truth is sight; for, verily, truth is sight. Therefore, if now, the two persons come disputing, one saying, ‘I saw,’ and the other ‘I heard,’ we should trust the one who says, ‘I saw.’ Verily, that truth rests on strength. Life-breath, verily, is strength. Truth rests on life- breath. Therefore they say that strength is more powerful than truth. Thus is that Gayatri based with regard to the self. The Gayatri protects the gay as ; the gay as are the life-breaths and it protects the life-breaths. Now because it protects the life- breath, therefore it is called the Gayatri. That Savitri verse which (the teacher) teaches, it is just this. And whomsoever he teaches, it protects his life-breaths.
The three-footed Gayatri consisting of the gross and the subtle worlds, rests with its three feet on the sun : yatha murtamurtatmakarh jagat tri padd gayatri dditye pratisthita. ogiyah: ojiyah, more powerful, ojastaram.
gayah: life-breaths, prandh. or the organs such as that of speech which produce sound: gayantiti gayah vag upalaksitas caksur-adayah. A. gaya-tranat gayatri.
5. tarn haitam eke savitrim anustubham anvahuh: vag anustup; etad vacam anubruma iti. na tatha kuryat. gayatrim eva savitrim anubriiyat. yadi ha va apy evam-vid bahv iva pratigrhnati , na haiva- tad gayatry a ekarn cana padam prati.
metre (saying) that speech is anustubh and that we impart (teach) that speech to him. One should not do like that. One should teach the Savitrl which is the Gayatri. Verily, if one who knows thus receive very much (as gifts) that is not at all equal to a single foot of the Gayatri.
There is no such thing as too much for him for he is identified with the universe: na hi tasya sarvatmano bahu-namasti kirn cit. S.
6. sa ya imams trln lokan purnan pratigrhnlyat, so’sya etat prathamam padam apnuyat; atha yavatlyam trayl vidya, yas tavat pratigrhnlyat, so’sya etad dvitlyam padam apnuyat; atha yavad idam prani, yas tavat pratigrhnlyat, - so’sya etat trtlyam padam apnuyat, athasya etad eva turlyarh darsatarh padam, paroraja ya esa tapati, naiva kenacanapyam; kuta u etavat pratigrhnlyat.
6. If one receives these three worlds full (of wealth) he would accept the first foot of it (the Gayatri). If he receives as much as in this threefold knowledge (of the Vedas) he would receive the second foot of it. If he receives as much as there is breathing here, he would receive the third foot of it. But that fourth, the visible foot, above the dark skies, who glows yonder is not attainable by anyone whatsoever. How could anyone receive such (a gift) ?
The purport is that the Gayatri should be meditated upon in its entire form, tasrndd gayatry ervam-prakaropasyety arthah. S.
7. tasya upasthanam: gayatri, asy eka-padl dvi-padl tri-padl catus-pady a-pad asi, na hi padyase. namas te turlyaya darsataya padaya parorajase; asdv ado ma prapad iti; yam dvisyat, asav asmai kamo ma samrddhlti va; na haivasmai sa kamah sam- rddhyate yasma evam upatisthate; aham adah prapam iti va.
7. The salutation of it: O Gayatri, you are one-footed, two- footed, three-footed, four-footed. You are footless for you do not go about. Salutation to you, the fourth, the visible foot, above the dark skies. May he not attain this (may the enemy never attain his object). (Should the knower of the Gayatri) bear hatred towards anyone (he should) either (use this verse) ‘may his wish not prosper.’ Indeed that wish is not prospered for him in regard to whom one salutes thus or ‘may I attain that (cherished wish) of his.’
upasthana: salutation, upetya sthanam;namas-karanam. S, going near
302 The Principal Upanisads V. 15. 1.
and staying or saluting. The act of approaching the gods with a request. The request may be imprecatory against another or auspicious for oneself, dvi-vidham upasthanam, abhicarikam, abhyu- dayikam ca. A.
footless: in his own unconditioned form, atah param-parena niru- padhikena svenatmana padasi . S.
8. etadd ha vai taj janako vaideho budilam asvatarasvim uvaca: yan nu ho tad gdyatrl-vid abruthah, atha katham hastl bhuto vahasiti. mukharh hy asydh, samrat, na vidam cakara, iti hovaca; tasyd agnir eva mukham: yadi ha va api bahu ivagnau abhyadadhati, sctrvam eva tat samdahati; evarh haivaivam-vid yady api bahv iva papam kurute, sarvarn eva tat sampsaya suddhah puto’jaro’mrtah sambhavati.
8. On this point, verily, Janaka (King) of Videha said to Budila Asvatarasvi: ‘Ho, how is it that you who spoke of yourself as the knower of Gayatri, have come to be an elephant and are carrying?’ ‘Because, Your Majesty, I did not know its mouth,’ said he. Fire is, indeed, its mouth. Verily, indeed, even if they lay a large quantity of fuel on the fire it burns it all. Even so, (though) one who knows this commits very much evil, burns it all and becomes clean and pure, ageless and immortal.
‘Why then being a fool like an elephant dost thou carry (the burden of sin of accepting gifts)?’ Madhva.
Fifteenth Brahmana
tat tvam, pusan, apavrnu, satya-dharmaya drstaye.
See Maitri VI. 35.
apihitam: hidden, for no one whose mind is not concentrated can see it, a-samahita-cetasam ad^syatvat. S. ‘Verily, thou art a god that hidest thyself.’ Isaiah. XLV. 15.
mukham: face, essential nature; mukha-sadxsam mana ity arthah. Kuranarayana.
Pusan: the sun, the god of light, who is the protector of the world:
jagatah posanat piisd ravih. S. asrita-posana-svabhdva , whose nature is the protection of those who seek refuge in him. Vedanta Desika. apavrnu: remove the cause of obstruction to the vision, darsana- pratibandha-karanam apanayet. §. Reality, Heraclitus observed, likes to hide. Fragment 123. Being remains essentially concealed and hidden. It is the primary mystery. We are said to behold the truth when the real stands naked before us. When we break down the surface of appearances, reality is uncovered.
satya-dharmaya : to me who have been worshipping truth or who have been practising virtue as enjoined. $. to me whose principle is truth. The connection of truth with liberation is traditional in Indian thought.
The many, if it is divorced from the one, becomes the obscuring veil of the one. We must get rid of the opposition of the one and the many, look upon the one as the manifold one which is itself the expression of the Absolute One.
yat te rupam kalyanatamam, tat te pasyami yo sav asau purusas, so’ham asmi.
2. O Pusan, the sole seer, 0 Controller, 0 Sun, offspring of Praja-pati, spread forth your rays and gather up your radiant light that I may behold you of loveliest form. Whosoever is that person (yonder), that also am I.
ekarsih: One who travels alone, eka eva rsati gacchati ity ekarsih. S. The sun moves alone, siirya ekaki carati. Taittiriya Samhita VII. 4. 18. 1.
yama: the controller, sarvasya samyamanad yamah. S. rupam kalyanatamam : of loveliest form. St. John of the Cross. ‘The soul prays to see the Face of God, which is the essential com¬ munication of His Divinity to the soul, without any intervening medium, by a certain knowledge thereof in divinity.’ Dom Cuthbert Butler: Western Mysticism (1922), p. 72.
so'ham asmi: refers to a form of worship in which the worshipper contemplates the immanent God as one with himself. He who dwells in the Sun is one with the light in one’s deepest nature. In these verses, the seeker wishes to have God-realization, a direct perception of the Reality. ‘Like as a hart desireth the water-brooks, so longest my soul after thee, O God.’ Psalm XLI.
aum krato smara, krtarn smara, krato smara, krtarn smara. 3. May this life enter into the immortal breath; then may this body end in ashes. 0 Intelligence, remember, remember
304 The Principal Upanisads V. 15. 4.
what has been done. Remember, O Intelligence, what has been done. Remember.
amrtam anilam: immortal breath.
Now that I am dying, may my life ( vayu ) abandoning its bodily adjunct enter the immortal breath. B.U. III. 2. 13. R.V. X. 16. 3. Satapatha Brahmana X. 3. 3. 8. Aitareya Brahmana II. 6. According to his physician Eustochius, the last words of Plotinus which he heard were: ‘I was waiting for you, before the divine principle in me departs to unite itself with the divine in the universe.’ krato: O Intelligence — the Intelligence has purposes and plans: samkalpatmaka: Cp. ‘ Now verily, a person consists of purpose.’ kratu-maya. C.U. III. 14. 1. At the hour of death, we have to remem¬ ber our past and also meditate on the Supreme. krtam: what has been done; may mean the perfected. ‘Remember perfection.’
kratu: is also sacrifice. The Supreme is the lord of sacrifice.
By meditating on the Supreme who is the lord of sacrifice, by surrendering to Him, we pray for the revelation of His Supreme presence: kraturupinam bhagavantam jhana-yajha-gocaram abhimukhi kurvann tad-anugraham ydcate: Vedanta Desika.
yuyodhy asmaj juharanam eno: bhiiyisthdm te nama-uktirh vidhema.
4. 0 Agni (Fire), lead us, along the auspicious path to prosperity, 0 God, who knowest all our deeds. Take away from us deceitful sin. We shall offer many prayers unto thee.
See R.V. I. 189. 1.
who knowest all our deeds: It is an expression of humility born of the sense that we are always in God’s presence, that all our thoughts and actions are open to His sight. He is at all times present with us. take away from us deceitful sin: It is an imploring or supplication concerning sins. God is a searcher not of words but of hearts.
Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad
OF LIFE-BREATH
I. yo ha vai jyestham ca srestham ca veda, jyesthas ca iresthas ca svanam bhavati, prano vai jyesthas ca, sresthas ca, jyesthas ca Sresthas ca svanam bhavati; api cayesam bubhusati, ya evam veda.
1. Verily, he who knows the oldest and the greatest becomes the oldest and the greatest of his own people. Life-breath is, indeed, the oldest and the greatest. He who knows this becomes the oldest and the greatest of his own people as well as of those of whom he wishes so to become.
See C.U. V. 1; K.U. III. 3; Prasna II. 3.
Oldest and greatest are the attributes of priority in age and excellence. The oldest is not necessarily the greatest. The vital force is, however, the first in time as well as in importance.
2. yo ha vai vasistham veda, vasi$thah svanam bhavati. vag vai vasi?tha. vasisthah svanam bhavati. api cayesam bubhusati ya evam veda.
2. Verily, he who knows the most excellent becomes the most excellent of his own people. Speech is, indeed, the most excellent. He who knows this becomes the most excellent of his own people as well as of those of whom he wishes so to become.
vasistha: literally, that which helps one to dwell or covers one splendidly. S. atisayena vasumattvam vasisthatvam. R.
3. yo ha vai pratistham veda, pratitisthati same, pratitisthati durge; cak$ur vai pratistha; caksusa hi same ca durge ca prati¬ tisthati. pratitisthati same, pratitisthati durge, ya evam veda.
3. Verily, he who knows the firm basis has a firm basis on even ground, has a firm basis on uneven ground. The eye, indeed, is the firm basis for with the eye one has a firm basis on even and on uneven ground. He who knows this has a firm basis on even ground, has a firm basis on uneven ground.
4. yo ha vai sampadam veda, sam hasmai padyate, yam kamarh kamayate; srotram vai sampat; srotre htme sarve veda abhisam- pannah. sam hasmai padyate, yam kamarh kamayate, ya evam veda.
306 The Principal Upanisads
4. Verily, he who knows prosperity, for him, indeed is attained whatever desire he desires. The ear, indeed, is pros¬ perity for in the ear are all these Vedas attained. For him who knows this, whatever desire he desires is attained.
Only he who has the organ of hearing can study the Vedas.
5. yo ha va ayatanam, veda, ayatanam, svanam, bhavati, ayatanam, jananam. mano va ayatanam, ayatanam svanam bhavati, ayatanam jananam, ya evam veda.
5. Verily, he who knows the abode becomes the abode of his own people as well as of (other) people. The mind, indeed, is the abode. He who knows this becomes the abode of his own people as well as of (other) people.
6. yo ha vai prajatim veda, prajayate ha prajaya pasubhih. reto vai prajatih, prajayate ha prajaya pasubhih, ya evam veda.
6. Verily, he who knows procreation procreates himself with offspring and cattle. Semen, verily, is procreation. He who knows this, procreates himself with progeny and cattle.
By semen is meant the organ of generation ; retasa prajananen- driyam upalaksyate. S.
7. te heme pranah, aham sreyase vivadamanah brahma jagmuh; tadd hocuh; ko no vasistha iti. tadd hovaca, yasmin va utkranta idarn sartram papiyo manyate, sa vo vasistha iti.
7. These vital breaths, disputing among themselves about their self-superiority went to Brahma and said, ‘Which of us is the most excellent?’ He then said, that one of you is the most excellent after whose departure this body is thought to be worse off.
vasistha: V, srestha.
8. vag ghoccakrama: sa samvatsaram prosya, agatya, uvaca. katham asakata mad rtejivitum iti; te hocuh; yatha kalah avadanto vaca, pranantah pranena, pasyantas caksusa, srnvantah srotrena, vidvdmso manasa, prajayamana retasa, evam ajivismeti. pravivesa ha vak .
8. (The organ of) speech departed and having remained absent for a year came back and said, ‘How have you been able to live without me?’ They said, ‘As the dumb, not speaking with speech but breathing with the breath, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear, knowing with the mind, procreating with the semen. Thus have we lived.’ Then speech entered in.
9. caksur hoccakrama. tat samvatsaram prosya, agatya, uvaca katham asakata mad rte jlvitum iti. te hocuh yathandhah, apasyan- tas caksusa, pranantah pranena, vadanto vaca, srnvantah srotrena, vidvamso manasa, prajayamana retasa, evam ajlvismeti. pravi¬ vesa ha caksuty.
9. The eye departed and having remained absent for a year came back and said, ‘How have you been able to live without me?’ They said: ‘As the blind not seeing with the eye, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the speech, hearing with the ear, knowing with the mind, procreating with the semen. Thus have we lived.’ Then the eye entered in.
10. srotram hoccakrama. tat samvatsaram prosya, agatya, uvaca, katham asakata mad rte jlvitum iti. te hocuh; yatha badhirah asrnvantah srotrena, pranantah pranena, vadanto vaca, pasyantai caksusa, vidvamso manasa, prajayamana retasa, evam ajxvismeti. pravivesa ha srotram.
10. The ear departed and having remained absent for a year came back and said, ‘How have you been able to live without me?’ They said, ‘As the deaf not hearing with the ear, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the speech, seeing with the eye, knowing with the mind, procreating with semen. Thus have we lived.’ Then the ear entered in.
11. mano hoccakrama. tat samvatsaraxh prosya, agatya, uvaca, katham asakata mad rte jlvitum iti. te hocuh. yatha mugdhah avidvamso manasa, pranantah pranena, vadanto vaca, pasyantah caksusa, srnvantah srotrena, prajayamana retasa, evam ajlvismeti. pravivesa ha manah.
11. The mind departed and having remained absent for a year came back and said: ‘How have you been able to live without me?’ They said, ‘As the stupid not knowing with the mind but breathing with the breath, speaking with the speech, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear, procreating with the semen. Thus have we lived. Then the mind entered in.
12. reto hoccakrama. tat samvatsaram prosya, agatya, uvaca: katham asakata mad rte jlvitum iti. te hocuh, yatha kllbah, aprajayamana retasa, pranantah pranena, vadanto vaca, pasya- ntas caksusa, srnvantah srotrena, vidvamso manasa, evam ajlvi$meti pravivesa ha retah.
308 The Principal Upanisads VI. I. 14.
have you been able to live without me?' They said, ‘As the impotent not procreating with semen, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the speech, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear, knowing with the mind. Thus have we lived.’ Then the semen entered in.
13. atha ha prana utkramisyan, yatha maha-su-hayah saindha- vah padvisa-sahkhun samvrhet, evam haiveman pranan sarhva- varha. te hocuh: ma bhagavah utkramih, na vai saksyamas tvad rte jivitum iti, tasyo me balirh kuruteti, tatheti.
13. Then as the life breath was about to depart, even as a large fine horse of the Sindhu land might pull up the pegs to which his feet are tied, even so did it pull up those vital breaths together. They said: ‘Venerable Sir, do not go out, verily, we shall not be able to live without you.’ ‘If I am such make me an offering.’ ‘So be it.’
saindhavah: sindhu-desa-prabhavah. R.
to which his feet are tied: pada-bandhana-sahkhun. R.
14. sa ha vag uvaca: yad va aharh vasisthasmi, tvam tad vasistho’siti. yad va aham pratisthasmi, tvam tat pratistho ’si ti caksuh. yad va aham sampad asmi, tvam tat sampad asi, iti srotram. yad va aham ayatanam asmi, tvam, tad ayatanam asi, iti manah; yad va aham prajatir asmi, tvam, tat prajatir asi, iti retah. tasyo me kirn annam, kirk vasa iti. yad idam kirn ca, a svabhyah, a krimibhyah, a kita-patahgebhyah, tat te annam; apo vasa iti. na ha va asyan annam, jagdham bhavati, nanannam pratigrhitam, ya evam etad anasyannam veda. tad vidvamsah srotriya asisyanta dcamanti, asitvacamanti, etam eva tad anam anagnam kurvanto manyante.
14. Speech said, ‘Verily, that in which I am most excellent in that are you the most excellent.’ ‘Verily that in which I am a firm basis in that are you a firm basis,’ said the eye. ‘Verily, that in which I am prosperity; in that are you prosperity,’ said the ear. ‘Verily, that in which I am an abode, in that are you an abode,’ said the mind. ‘Verily, that in which I am pro¬ creation, in that are you procreation,’ said the semen. ‘If such I am, what is my food, what my dwelling?’ ‘Whatever there is here, even unto dogs, worms, insects and birds, that is your food; water is your dwelling. He who knows that as the food of breath, by him nothing is eaten that is not food, nothing is received that is not food.’ Therefore wise men who are versed
in the Vedas when they are about to eat, take a sip (of water); after they have eaten they take a sip. So indeed, they think they make that breath not naked (they remove its nakedness).
my excellence is yours: mama vasisthatvam tvad-adhlnam.
even unto dogs: whatever is food for the dogs, etc., is food for you.
yat him cit pranibhir adyamanam annam, tat sarvam tavannam. S.
Second Brahmana
1. svetaketur ha va aruneyah pahcalanam parisadam ajagama. sa ajagama jaivalim pravahanam paricdrayamanam. tam udiksya, abhyuvada, kumdra iti. sa, bhoh, iti pratisusrava anusisto nv asi pitreti, aum iti hovdca.
1. Verily, ^vetaketu Aruneya went up to an assembly of the Pancalas. He went up to Pravahana Jaivali who was having his servants wait on him. Seeing him, he addressed him, ‘Young man.' He answered, ‘Sir.’ Then (the King said) ‘Have you been taught by your father?’ ‘Yes,’ he said.
See C.U. V. 3. 10.
2. vettha yathemah prajah prayatyo vipratipadyante, iti. na iti hovdca. vettho yathemam lokam punar apadyante, iti. na iti haivovaca. vettho yathasau loka evam bahubhih punah punah prayadbhir na sampuryate iti. na iti haivovaca. vettho yatithyam ahutyam hutayam apah purusa-vaco bhutva samutthaya vadanti, iti. na iti haivovaca. vettho deva-yanusya va pathah pratipadam pitr-yanasya va, yat krtva deva-yanam va panthanam pratipa- dyante pitr-yanam va. api hi na rser vacah srutam.
dve srti asrnavam pitrnam aham devanam uta martydnam; tabhyam idam visvam ejat sameti yad antara pitaram mata- ram ca.
iti. naham ata ekam cana veda, iti hovdca.
2. ‘Do you know how people here on departing (from this life) separate in different-directions?’ ‘No,’ said he. ‘Do you know how they come back again into this world?’ ‘No,’ said he. ‘Do you know why the yonder world is not filled up with the many who, again and again, go there?’ ‘No,’ said he. ‘Do you know in which oblation that is offered the water becomes the voice
310 The Principal Upanisads VI. 2. 4.
of a person, rises up and speaks?’ ‘No,’ said he. 'Do you know the means of access to the path leading to the gods or of the one leading to the fathers ? i.e. by doing what the people go to the path of the gods or the path of the fathers? For we have heard even the saying of the seer: I have heard of two paths for men, the one that leads to fathers and the one that leads to the gods. By these two all that lives moves on, whatever there is between father (heaven) and mother (earth).’ ‘Not a single one of them do I know,’ said he.
srtl: gatl.
visvam: all, samastam. S.
This (earth) is the mother and that (heaven) is the father iyam vai mata asau pita : Satapatha Brahmana XIII. 2. 9. 7; Taittirlya Brahmana III. 8. 9. 1. Heaven and earth are the two halves of the shell of the universe, dyava-pythivyav anda-kapdle. A
3. athainam vasatyopamantrayarh cakre. anadrtya vasatirh kumarah pradudrava. sa ajagama pitaram, tarn hovaca. iti vava kila no bhavan puranusistan avocad iti; katham sumedha, iti. pahca ma prasnan rajanya-bandhur apraksit; tato naikaht cana vedeti: katame ta iti. ima iti ha pratikany udajahara.
3. Then he (the King) gave him an invitation to stay. Disregarding the invitation to stay the young man ran off. He went to his father. To him he said, ‘Verily, you have, before, spoken of me as well instructed.’ ‘What then, wise one?’ (said the father). ‘Five questions, that fellow of the princely class asked me. Not a single one of them do I know.’ ‘What are these (questions) ?’ ‘These,’ and he repeated the topics.
4. sa hovaca: tatha nas tvam, tata, janitha, yatha yad ahaht kirn ca veda sarvarn ahath tat tubhyam avocam. prchi tu tatra pratitya, brahmacaryarh vatsyava iti. bhavan eva gacchatu iti. sa ajagama gautamo yatra pravahanasya jaivaler asa. tasma asanam ahrtya udakam aharayam cakara; atha hasma arghyam cakara; tarn hovaca, varam bhagavate gautamaya dadma iti.
4. He (the father) said: ‘My child, you should know me as such, that whatsoever I myself know, all that I have told you. But come, let us go there and live as students of sacred know¬ ledge.' ‘You may go, sir,’ said the son. Then Gautama went forth to where (the place) Pravahana Jaivali was. (The King) brought him a seat and had water brought for him. He gave him a respectful welcome. Then he said to him. ‘A boon we offer to the revered Gautama.’
Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad 31 1
5. Then he said: ‘You have promised me this boon. Please tell me the speech you uttered in the presence of the young man.’
7. sa hovaca: vijhayate ha asti hiranyasyapdttam, go-asvanam daslnam pravaranam paridhanasya; ma no bhavan bahor anan- tasydparyantasydbhyavaddnyo bhud iti. sa vai, gautama, tlrthenec- chasa iti. upaimy aham bhavantam. iti vaca ha smaiva purva upayanti. sa hopayana-klrtyovdsa.
7. Then he said: ‘It is well known that I have abundance of gold, of cows and horses, maid servants, retinue and apparel. Be not ungenerous towards me, sir, in regard to that which is the abundant, the infinite, the unlimited.’ ‘Then, verily, O Gautama, you should seek it in the usual form.’ ‘I come to you, sir, as a pupil.’ With this declaration, verily, indeed, the ancients approached as pupils. So with the announcement of coming as a pupil he remained.
pravaranam: retinue, parivaranam. S.
tirthena: in the usual prescribed form, nyayena sastr a-vihitena .
Tlrtha is a place of pilgrimage generally on the bank of a sacred stream or near a holy spring. It is derived from the root, ‘to cross over.’ Those who cross over the stream wash their sins and become purified.
According to the tradition, seekers belonging to higher castes have become pupils to teachers of a lower caste, by living with them. It is not necessary for them to touch the feet of the teacher or serve them. A simple declaration will do.
8. sa hovaca: tatha nas tvam, gautama, maparadhas tava ca pitamahah yatha, iyam vidyetah purvarh na kasmirhi cana brahmana uvasa; tarn tv aham tubhyam vaksyami. ko hi tvaivam bruvantam arhati pratydkhyatum iti.
8. Then he (the King) said: ‘Please do not be offended with us even as your paternal grandfathers did not (with ours). This knowledge has never hitherto dwelt with any Brahmana whatsoever. But I shall teach it to you, for who can refuse you when you speak like this.’
The Principal Upanisads
g. asau vai loko agnih, gautama. tasyaditya eva samit, rasmayo dhumah, ahar arcih, diso’hgarah, avantaradiso visphulihgah; tasminn etasminn agnau devah sraddham juhvati; tasya ahutyai somo raja sambhavati.
g. ‘Yonder world, Gautama, is (sacrificial) fire. The sun itself is its fuel, the rays its smoke; the day the flame, the quarters the coals, the intermediate quarters the sparks. In this fire the gods offer faith. Out of that offering King Soma arises.
yonder world: heaven, dyu-loka.
the fuel: because of kindling, samindhanat. S. Heaven is illumined by the sun.
king: of the manes and brahmanas: pitfnam brahmananam ca. S.
io. parjanyo va agnih gautama. tasya samvatsara eva samit, abhrani dhumah, vidyud arcih, asanir ahgdrdh, hradunayo visphulihgah, tasminn etasminn agnau devah somarn rajanarh juhvati; tasya ahutyai vrstih sambhavati.
10. ‘Parjanya (the god of rain), Gautama, is fire. The year itself is its fuel, the clouds its smoke, the lightning the flame, the thunder-bolt the coals, the thundering the sparks. In this fire the gods offer the king Soma. Out of that offering rain arises.
parjanya: rain god vrsti-pr avartako devah. R.
the clouds its smoke: A quotes Kalidasa’s Meghaduta. asti khalv abhranahi dhuma-prabhavatve gatha, dhuma-jyotis-salila-marutdrh sannipatah kva meghah.
11. ayam vai loko’gnih, gautama. tasya prthivy eva samit, agnir dhumah, ratrir arcih, candrama ahgdrdh, naksatrdni visphulihgah; tasminn etasminn agnau deva vrstirh juhvati; tasya ahutyd annam sambhavati.
11. ‘This world, verily, Gautama, is fire. The earth itself is its fuel, fire the smoke, night the flame, the moon the coals, the stars the sparks. In this fire the gods offer rain. Out of that offering food arises.-
this world: the abode where all creatures are born, experience the results of their past work, which consists of action, its factors and its results, prani-janmopabhogasrayah kriya-kdraka-phala-visistah. A
12. puruso va agnih, gautama. tasya vyattam eva samit, prano dhumah, vag arcih, caksur ahgdrdh, srotram visphulihgah, tasminn etasminn agnail deva annam juhvati, tasya ahutyai retah sambhavati.
12. ‘The person (man) verily, Gautama, is fire. The open mouth itself is its fuel, vital breath the smokes, speech the flame, the eye the coals, the ear the sparks. In this fire the gods offer food. Out of that offering semen arises.
open mouth: vivrtarh mukham. S.
13. yosa va agnih, gautama. tasya upastha eva samit, lomani dhumah, yonir arcih, yad antah karoti te’hgarah, abhinanda visphulingah; tasminn etasminn agnau deva veto juhvati, tasya ahutyai purusah sambhavati. sa jivati yavaj jivati. atha yada mriyate.
13. ‘The woman, verily, Gautama, is fire. The sexual organ itself is its fuel; the hairs the smoke, the vulva the flame, when one inserts, the coals ; the pleasurable feelings the sparks ; In this fire the gods offer semen. Out of this offering a person arises. He lives as long as he lives. Then when he dies,
Sexual intercourse is treated as a kind of soma sacrifice, where the household fire is identified with the wife. The sacrificial fire is the divine womb into which one pours ( sihcati ) himself and from which a solar rebirth ensues.
inserts: antah-karanam, maithuna-vyaparah. S.
The question about the number of offerings before water rises up possessed of a human voice and speaks is answered.
14. athainam agnaye haranti. tasyagnir evagnir bhavati, samit samit, dhumo dhumah, arcir arcih, ahgara ahgarah, visphulihga visphulingah. tasminn etasminn agnau devah purusam juhvati; tasya ahutyai puruso bhasvara-varnah sambhavati.
14. ‘They carry him to (be offered in) fire. His fire itself becomes the fire, fuel the fuel, smoke the smoke, flame the flame, coals the coals, sparks the sparks. In this fire the gods offer a person. Out of this offering the person, having the colour of light, arises.
bhasvara-varnah: having the colour of light, radiant, exceedingly bright, having been purified by the rites performed from conception to cremation : atisaya-diptiman nisekadibhir antyahuty antyaih karmabhis sarhskrtatvat. $.
15. te ya evam etad viduh, ye cami aranye sraddham satyam updsate, te’rcir abhisambhavanti, arciso’hah, ahna apuryama- na-paksam, apuryamana-paksdd ydn san masan udahh aditya eti, masebhyo deva-lokam, deva-lokdd adityam, ddityad vaidyutam; tan vaidyutdn puruso manasa etya brahma-lokdn gamayati, te
314 The Principal Upanisads VI. 2. 16.
tesu brahma-lokesu parah paravato vasanti. tesam na punar avrttih.
15. ‘Those who know this as such and those too who meditate with faith in the forest on the truth, pass into the light, from the light into the day, from the day into the half-month of the waxing moon, from the half-month of the waxing moon into the six months during which the sun travels northward, from these months into the world of the gods, from the world of the gods into the sun, from the sun into the lightning (fire). Then a person consisting (born) of mind goes to those regions of lightning and leads them to the worlds of Brahma. In those worlds of Brahma they live for long periods. Of these there is no return.
who with faith meditate on the truth: sraddha-yuktas santah. S. manasah : consisting (born) of mind. A person living in the world of Brahma sent forth, created by Brahma, by the mind, brahma- loka-vasi puruso brahmana manasa srstah.
Parah: exalted, niratisayanandaisvarya-salinah. R.
Paravato: V paravanto. R.
16. atha ye yajhena ddnena tapasa lokah jayanti te dhumam abhisambhavanti, dhumad ratrim, ratrer apaksiyamana-paksam, apaksiyamana-paksad yan san masan daksinaditya eti, masebhyah pitr-lokam , pitr-lokac candram, te candram prapyannam bhavanti; tarns tatra deva yatha somam rajanam apyayasva, apaksiyasveti, evam enams tatra bhaksayanti; tesam yada tat paryavaiti, athemam evakasam abhinispadyante, akasad vayum, vayor vrstim, vrsteh prthivim; te prthivhn prapyannam bhavanti; te punah purusagnau huyante, tato yosagnau jayante. lokan pratyu- tthayinas ta evam evanuparivartante. atha ya etau panthanau na viduh, te kitah, patahgah, yad idam dandasukam.
16. ‘But those who by sacrificial offerings, charity and austerity conquer the worlds, they pass into the smoke (of the cremation fire), from the smoke into the night, from the night into the half-month of the waning moon, from the half¬ month of the waning moon into the six months during which the sun travels southward, from these months into the world of the fathers, from the world of the fathers into the moon. Reaching the moon they become food. There the gods, as they say to king Soma, increase, decrease, even so feed upon them there. When that passes away from them, they pass forth into this space, from space into air, from air into rain, from rain
into the earth. Reaching the earth they become food. Again, they are offered in the fire of man. Thence they are born in the fire of woman with a view to going to other worlds. Thus do they rotate. But those who do not know these two ways, become insects, moths and whatever there is here that bites.’
This Brahmana, C.U. III. 10; K.U. I give different versions of the two ways after death, but they all agree that there is repeated return to rebirth in forms determined by the deeds of the past. This process will continue until saving knowledge is attained, which frees the soul from the necessity of rebirth.
Third Brahmana
1. sa yah kdmayeta: mahat prapnuyam iti, udagayana dpuryamana-paksasya punyahe dvadasaham upasad-vrati bhutva, audumbare karhse camase va sarvausadham phalaniti sambhrtya, parisamuhya, parilipya, agnim upasamadhaya, paristirya, avrta- jyarh sarhskrtya, pumsa naksatrena, mantharh samniya, juhoti. yavanto devas tvayi, jata-vedah, tiryahco ghnanti purusasya kaman, tebhyo’ ham bhaga-dheyam juhomi: te md trptah sarvaih kamais tarpayantu: svaha yd tirasci nipadyate aham vidharaniti tarn tva ghrtasya dharaya yaje samradhanim aham: svaha
1. Whoever may wish, ‘I would attain greatness in the northern course of the sun or on an auspicious day of the half¬ month of the waxing moon, having performed one upasad ceremony for twelve days, having collected in a dish made of the wood of the sacred fig tree or in a cup, all herbs and their fruits, having swept around, having smeared around, having built up a fire, having strewn it around, having purified the melted butter in the prescribed manner, having compounded the offering on a day presided over by a male star, makes an offering, saying: O fire (all-knower) , to all those gods under
316 The Principal Upanisads VI. 3. 3.
you who spitefully slay the desires of a person, I offer them a share. Let them, being satisfied satisfy me with all desires: Hail. To that deity who turns out spiteful under your protec¬ tion, saying I support all, I offer this stream of melted butter: Hail.
greatness: mahattvam. $.
all herbs and their fruits: sarvausadha-phala-visistam. S. all-knowing: jatarh jatarh vetti va jate jate vidyata iti.
pranaya svaha, vasisthayai svaha, ity agnau hutva manthe sarhsravam avanayati.
vace svaha, pratisthayai svaha, ity agnau hutva manthe sarhsravam avanayati.
caksuse svaha, sampade svaha, ity agnau hutva manthe sarhs- ravam avanayati.
srotraya svaha, ayatanaya svaha, ity agnau hutva manthe sarhs¬ ravam avanayati.
manase svaha, prajatyai svaha, ity, agnau hutva manthe sarhs¬ ravam avanayati
retase svaha ity agnau hutva manthe sarhsravam avanayati.
2. ‘To the oldest, hail; to the greatest, hail’: (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion. ‘To the vital breath, hail; to the richest, hail’: saying this, he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion. ‘To speech, hail; to the firm basis, hail: (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion. ‘To the eye, hail; to prosperity, hail’ : (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion. ‘To the ear, hail; to the abode, hail’ : (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion. ‘To the mind, hail ; to procreation, hail’ : (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion. ‘To the semen, hail’ : (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion.
3. agnaye svaha, ity agnau hutva manthe sarhsravam avanayati. somaya svaha, ity agnau hutva manthe sarhsravam avanayati. bhuh svaha ity agnau hutva manthe sarhsravam avanayati. bhuvah svaha ity agnau hutva manthe sarhsravam avanayati. svah svaha ity, agnau hutva manthe sarhsravam
avanayati. bhur bhuvah svah svaha ity, agnau hutva manthe samsravam avanayati. brahmane svaha ity, agnau hutva manthe samsravam avanayati. ksatraya svaha, ity, agnau hutva manthe samsravam avanayati. bhutaya, svaha ity, agnau hutva manthe samsravam avanayati. bhavisyate svaha ity, agnau hutva manthe samsravam avanayati. visvaya svaha ity agnau hutva manthe samsravam avanayati. sarvaya svaha, ity, agnau hutva manthe samsravam avanayati. prajapataye svaha, ity, agnau hutva manthe samsravam avanayati.
3. ‘To fire, hail,’ (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion. ‘To the moon, hail,’ (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion. ‘To the earth, hail,’ (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion. ‘To the atmosphere, hail,’ (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion. ‘To the sky (heaven) hail,’ (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion. ‘To the earth, atmosphere and sky, hail,’ (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion. ‘To the Brahmanahood, hail,’ (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion. ‘To the ksatrahood, hail,’ (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion. ‘To the past, hail,’ (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion. ‘To the future, hail,’ (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion. ‘To the universe, hail,’ (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion. ‘To all (things), hail,’ (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the re¬ mainder in the mixed potion. ‘To Praja-pati, hail,’ (saying this) he offers an oblation in the fire and pours the remainder in the mixed potion.
4. athainam abhimrsati, bhramad asi, jvalad asi, purnam asi, prastabdham asi, eka-sabham asi, hihkrtam asi, hihkriyamanam asi, udgitham asi, udgiyamanam asi sravitam asi, pratyasravitam asi, ardre samdiptam asi, vibhur asi, prabhur asi, annam asi, jyotir asi, nidhanam asi, samvargo’ siti.
4. Then he touches it (the mixed potion) saying: ‘you are the moving (as breath), you are the burning (as fire), you are
318 The Principal Upanisads VI. 3. 6.
the full (as the sky), you are the steadfast (as the sky), you are the one resort (as the earth), you are the sound hih that is made (at the beginning of the sacrifice by the prastotr). You are the making of the sound hih. You are the loud chant (sung by the udgdtr at the beginning of the sacrifice). You are the chanting. You are recited (by the adhvaryu) and are recited back (by the agnidhra). You are the glowing in the moist (cloud). You are the pervading, you are the ruler. You are food (as the moon). You are light (as fire). You are the end. You are that in which all things merge.’
prastabdham: steadfast, niskampam : still. A. ardre: in the cloud, meghodare. A. nidhanam: end, layah. A.
5. Then he raises it (saying), ‘You know all. We too are aware of your greatness. He is, indeed, the King, the Ruler, the Highest Lord. May he make me the king, the ruler and the highest lord.’
See C.U. V. 2. 6.
amarhsi: You know all, tvarh sarvam vijanasi. A. he: the vital breath, prano rajadi-gunah. A.
6. athainam acamati: tat savitur varenyam: madhu vata rtayate, madhu ksaranti sindhavah, madhvir nah santv osadhih; bhiih svaha; bhargo devasya dhimahi; madhu naktam utosasah, madhumat pdrthivam rajah, madhu dyaur astu nah pita; bhuvah svaha; dhiyo yo nah pracodayat: madhumdn no vanaspatih, madhuman astu suryah, madhvir gavo bhavantu nah, svah svaheti. sarvam ca savitrim anvaha, sarvas ca madhumatih aham evedam sarvam bhuyasam, bhur bhuvah svah svaheti, antata acamya, pani praksalya, jaghanenagnim prdk-sirdh samvisati: pratar adityam upatisthate: disam eka-pundarikam asi, aham manusyanam eka-pundarikam bhuyasam iti. yathetam etya, jaghanenagnim asino vamsam japati.
6. Then he sips it (saying) ‘On that adorable light: The winds blow sweetly for the righteous, the rivers pour forth honey. May the herbs be sweet unto us. To earth, hail. Let us meditate on the divine glory: May the night and the day be sweet. May the dust of the earth be sweet. May heaven, our father, be sweet to us. To the atmosphere, hail. May he inspire
(illumine) our understanding: May the tree be sweet unto us. May the sun be sweet, may the cows be filled with sweetness for us. To the heaven, hail. He repeats the whole Savitrl hymn and all the verses about the honey (saying), May I indeed be all this, hail to the earth, atmosphere and heaven. Having thus sipped all, having washed his hands, he lies down behind the fire with his head towards the east. In the morning he worships the sun (saying) of the quarters (of heaven), ‘you are the one lotus flower. May I become the one lotus flower among men.’ Then he goes back the same way (by which he came), sits behind the fire (on the altar) and recites the (genealogical) line (of teachers).
See R.V. III. 62. 10; I. 90. 6-8. varenyam: adorable, varaniyam. A. naktarn: ratrih. A. utosasah: divasah. A.
7. tarn haitam uddalaka arunir vajasaneyaya yajhavalkya- yantevasina uktvovaca; api ya enam suske sthanau nisincet, jayeran sakhah, praroheyuh palasaniti.
7. Then Uddalaka Aruni told this to his pupil, Vajasaneya Yajnavalkya and said, ‘If one should sprinkle this even on a dry stump, branches would grow and leaves spring forth.’
leaves: patrani. R.
8. etam u haiva vajasaneyo ydjhavalkyo madhukaya paihgya- yantevasina uktvovaca, api ya enam suske sthanau nisincet jayeran sakhah praroheyuh palasaniti.
8. Then Vajasaneya Yajnavalkya told this to his pupil Madhuka, the. son of Paingi and said: 'If one should sprinkle this even on a dry stump, branches would grow and leaves spring forth.’
9. etam u haiva madhukah paihgyas culaya bhdgavittaye ’ntevasina uktvovaca, api ya enam suske sthanau nisincet jayeran sakhah, praroheyuh palasaniti.
9. Then Madhuka Paiiigya told this to his pupil Cula Bhaga- vitti and said: ‘If one should sprinkle this even on a dry stump, branches would grow and leaves spring forth.’
10 etam u haiva culo bhagavittir janakaya ayasthuna- ydntevasina uktvovaca, api ya enam suske sthanau nisincet jayeran sakhah praroheyuh palasaniti.
320 The Principal Upanisads VI. 3. 13.
10. Then Cula Bhagavitti told this to his pupil Janaki Ayasthuna and said: ‘If one should sprinkle this even on a dry stump, branches would grow and leaves spring forth.’
11. etam u haiva janakir ayasthunah satyakamaya jabala yantevasina uktvovaca, api ya enam suske sthanau nisihcet, jayeran sakhah, praroheyuh paldsaniti.
11. Then Janaki Ayasthuna told this to his pupil Satyakama Jabala and said: ‘If one should sprinkle this even on a dry stump, branches would grow and leaves spring forth.’
12. etam u haiva satyakamo j abalo’ ntevasibhy a uktvovaca, api ya enam, suske sthanau nisihcet, jayeran sakhah praroheyuh paldsaniti. tam etam, naputraya vanante’ vasine va bruyat.
12. Then Satyakama Jabala told this to his pupils and said: ‘If one should sprinkle this even on a dry stump, branches would grow and leaves spring forth. One should not tell this to one who is not a son or to one who is not a pupil.’
For a similar prohibition about teaching sacred knowledge, see S.U. VI. 22; Maitri VI. 29.
§. mentions that the two, the son and the pupil are declared to be eligible to receive sacred knowledge. They are chosen out of the six qualified learners, vidyadhigame sat tlrthani.
A. mentions the six, a pupil, a knower of the Vedas, an intelligent person, one who pays, a dear son and one who exchanges another branch of learning, sisyah srotriyo medhavl dhanadayl priyah putro vidyaya vidya-dateti sat tlrthani.
13. catur audumbaro bhavati; audumbarah sruvah, audum- baras camasah, audumbara idhmah ,audumbary a upamanthanyaw, dasa gramydni dhanyani bhavanti: vrihi yavas tila-masa anu- priyamgavo godhumas ca masuras ca khalvas ca khalakhulas ca; tan pistan dadhini madhuni ghfta upasihcati, ajyasya juhoti.
13. Fourfold is the wood of the sacred fig tree (four things are made of it) ; the spoon is of the wood of the sacred fig tree, the bowl is of the wood of the sacred fig tree, the fuel is of the wood of the sacred fig tree and the two churning rods are of the wood of the sacred fig tree. There are ten cultivated grains (used), viz. rice and barley, sesasum and beans, millet, and panic seeds, wheat, lentils, pulse and vetches. They should be ground and soaked in curds, honey and clarified butter. And (he) offers melted butter as an oblation.
Fourth Brahmana PROCREATION CEREMONIES
I. esarh vai bhutanam prthivi rasah, prthivya apah, apam osadhayah, osadhmam puspani, puspanam phalani, phalanam purusah, purusasya retah.
1. The earth, verily, is the essence of all these beings; of earth (the essence is) water; of water (the essence is) plants; of plants (the essence is) flowers; of flowers (the essence is) fruits ; of fruits (the essence is) the man ; of man (the essence is) semen.
The ceremony for obtaining a son of right qualities is given here.
2. sa ha praja-patir iksam cakre: hanta, asmai pratistham kalpayamti; sa striyam sasrje; tarn srstvadha updsta; tasmat striyam adha upastta, sa etam prdhcam gravanam atmana eva samudaparayat , tenainam abhyasrjat.
2. And Praja-pati thought (within himself) : ‘Come, let me make a firm basis (abode) for him.’ So he created woman. Having created her, he revered her below. So one should revere woman below. He stretched out for himself that which projects. With that he impregnated her.
gravanam: a stone for pressing out soma juice:
somabhisavopala-sthaniyam kathinya-samanyat prajaitanendriyam. S.
3. tasya vedir upasthah, lomani barhih, carmadhisavane, samiddho madhyatastau muskau; sa yavan ha vai vajapeyena yajamanasya loko bhavati ( tavan asyaloko bhavati),ya evarh vidvan adhopahasam carati, asam strlnam sukrtam vrhkte. atha ya idam avidvdn adhopahasam carati, asya striyah sukrtam vrhjate.
3. Her lower part is the (sacrificial) altar: (her) hairs the (sacrificial) grass, her skin the soma-press. The two labia of the vulva are the fire in the middle. Verily, as great as is the world of him who performs the Vajapeya sacrifice (so great is the world of him) who, knowing this, practises sexual inter¬ course; he turns the good deeds of the woman to himself but he, who without knowing this, practises sexual intercourse, his good deeds women turn into themselves.
vedi: vedika visrama-sthanam, place of rest.
muskau: vrsanau yoni-parsvayoh kathinau mamsa-khandau. A,
adhopahasam: sexual intercourse, maithunam. R.
322 The Principal Upanisads VI. 4. 5.
These passages indicate the intimate connection between the Atharva Veda and the Upanisads. Some practices in the latter are treated in the manner of the Atharva Veda. They include even love charms to compel a woman to yield her love, charms to prevent conception or bring it about when desired. Even here the knowledge motive is dominant.
The sexual act is explained as a kind of ritual performance, the elements of which are identified with the parts of the woman’s body. We are told that if a man practises sex intercourse with the know¬ ledge of this, he gains a world as great as he who sacrifices with the Vajapeya rite and takes to himself the merit of the women; but if he practises it without this knowledge, women take to them¬ selves his merit.
4. etadd ha sma vai tad vidvan uddalaka drunir aha; etadd ha sma vai tad vidvan nako maudgalya aha; etadd ha sma vai tad vidvan kumara-harita aha; bahavo marya brahmanayana nirin- driya visukrto’ smal lokat prayanti; ya idam avidvamso’ dhopa- hasam carantiti, bahu vd idam suptasya vd jagrato vd retah skandati.
4. This, verily, is what Uddalaka Aruni knew when he said : this, verily, is what Naka Maudgalya knew when he said; this, verily, is what Kumara-harita knew when he said: many mortal men, Brahmanas by descent, go forth from this world impotent and devoid of merit, namely, those who practise sexual intercourse without knowing this. If even this much semen is spilled of one asleep or of one awake,
maryah: mortal men, marana-dharmino manusyah. S. brahmanayanah: brahmanah ayanam yesdrh. R. nirindriyah: impotent, nirvlryah jhana-karma-bala-hinah. R.
yan me’dya retah prihivim askantsit, yad osadhxr apy asarat, yad apah,
idam aharn tad reta adade, punar mam aitu indriyam, punas tejah, punar bhagah.
punar agnir dhisnyah yathasthanam kalpantam ity andmikdhgustabhydm dddya, antarena stanau vd bhruvau vd nimrjyat.
5. Then he should touch it or (without touching) recite: ‘Whatever semen of mine has spilt on earth, whatever has flowed to the plants, whatever to water, I reclaim this very semen, let vigour come to me again, let lustre (come to me) again; let glow (come to me) again. Let the fire and the altars
be found again in their usual place ; (having said this) he should take it with his ring finger and thumb and rub it between his breasts or his eyebrows.
6. atha yady udaka atmanam pasyet, tad abhimantrayeta: mayi teja indriyam yaso dravinam sukrtam iti-srir ha va esd strinam yan malodvasah. tasman malodvasasam yasasvinim abhikramyopamantrayeta.
6. Now if one should see himself (his reflection) in water he should recite (the following) hymn. In me (may the gods bestow) lustre, vigour, fame, wealth and merit. This, verily, is loveliness among women, when she has removed her soiled clothes. Therefore when she has removed her soiled clothes and is lovely, he should approach and speak to her.
7. sa ced asmai na dadyat, kamam enam avakrinlyat; sa ced asmai naiva dadyat, kamam enam yastya va panina vopahat- yatikramet, indriyena te yasasa yasa adade, ity ayasa eva bhavati.
7. If she does not grant him his desire, he should buy her (with presents). If she still does not grant him his desire he should beat her with a stick or his hand and overcome her (saying) with (manly) power and glory, ‘I take away your glory.' Thus she becomes devoid of glory.
buy her: abharanadina vasl-kuryat. R.
ahgad ahgat sambhavasi, hrdayad adhijayase sa tvam anga-kasayo si; digdha-viddham iva madaya imam amum mayi iti.
9. If one desires a woman (with the thought) may she enjoy love with me, after inserting the member in her, joining mouth to mouth and stroking her lower part, he should recite, ‘You that have come from every limb, who have sprung from the heart, you are the essence of the limbs. Distract this woman here in me, as if pierced by a poisoned arrow.’ artham: member prajananendriyam. 8. kasayah: essence, rasah. A.
324 The Principal Upanisads VI. 4. 12.
10. atha yam icchet: na garbharh dadhiteti, tasyam artharn nisthaya, mukhena mukham sarndhaya abhiprdnyapanyat, indri- yena te retasa reta adada iti; areta eva bhavati.
10. Now the woman whom one desires (with the thought) ‘may she not conceive/ after inserting the member in her, joining mouth to mouth, he should first inhale and then exhale and say, ‘with power, with semen I reclaim the semen from you.' Thus she comes to be without semen (seed).
Apparently, birth control is not a modern device.
11. atha yam icchet; garbharh dadhiteti, tasyam artharn nisthaya, mukhena mukham sarndhaya apanyabhipranyat; indri- yena te retasa reta adadhami, ity, garbhiny eva bhavati.
11. Now the woman whom one desires (with the thought) ‘may she conceive'; after inserting the member in her, joining mouth to mouth he should first exhale and then inhale and say ‘with power, with semen I deposit semen in you.’ Thus she becomes pregnant.
12. atha yasya jayayai jar ah syat, tarn ced dvisyat, amapatre ’ gnim upasamadhaya , pratilomam sarabarhis tirtva, tasminn etah sarabhrstih pratilomdh sarpisaktd juhuyat; mama samiddhe ’hausih, pranapanau na adadeasav iti. mama samiddhe’ hausih, putra-pasums ta adadeasav iti. mama samiddhe’ hausih ista- sukrte ta adade, asav iti. mama samiddhe’ hausih asd-parakasau ta adade asav iti. sa va esa nirindriyo visukrto’ smal lokat praiti, yam evam-vid brahmanah sapati. tasmat evam-vit srotriyasya darena nopahasam icchet, uta hy evam-vit paro bhavati.
12. If a man’s wife has a lover and he hate him (wishes to injure him), let him put fire in an unbaked earthen vessel, spread out a layer of reed arrows in an inverse order, and let him offer (in sacrifice) in inverse order these reed arrows soaked in clarified butter, (saying) ‘You have sacrificed in my fire, I take away your in-breath and out-breath, you so and so. You have sacrificed in my fire, I take away your sons and cattle, you so and so. You have sacrificed in my fire. I take away your sacrifices and meritorious deeds, you so and so. You have sacrificed in my fire. I take away your hope and expectation, you so and so. Verily, he departs from this world impotent and devoid of merit, he whom a Brahmana who knows this curses. Therefore one should not wish to play with the wife of one who is learned in the Vedas, who knows this, for indeed he who knows this becomes preeminent.
See Katha I. 8; Satapatha Brahmana I. 6. 1. 18; Paraskara Gyhya Sutra I. 11. 6.
Spells and incantations were familiar practices in the age when the Upanisad was composed.
13. atha yasya jay dm artavam vindet, try aham kariise na pibet ahata-vasah; nainam vrsalah na vrsaly upahanyat, trira- tranta aplutya vrihin avaghatayet.
13. Now, when the monthly sickness comes upon one's wife, for three days she should not drink from a bronze cup nor put on fresh clothes. Neither a low-caste man nor a low-caste woman should touch her. At the end of three nights after bathing she should be made to pound rice.
Sometimes it is interpreted karhsena pibet ; she should drink from a bronze cup.
aplutya: after bathing, snatva. S.
The rice is intended for the sthali-paka ceremony.
After three nights she should bathe, put on new clothes and prepare the rice for the ceremony.
14. sa ya icchet, putro me suklo jayeta, vedam anubruvita, sarvam ayur iyad iti, ksiraudanam pacayitva sarpismantam asniyatam; isvarau janayita vai.
14. If one wishes that his son should be born of a fair com¬ plexion, that he should study the Veda, that he should attain a full term of life, they should have rice cooked with milk and eat it with clarified butter, then they should be able to beget (him) .
isvarau: should be able to, samarthau. R.
15. atha ya icchet, putro me kapilah pihgalo jayeta, dvau vedav anubruvita, sarvam ayur iyad iti, dadhy-odanam pacayitva sarpismantam asniyatam; isvarau janayita vai.
15. Now if one wishes that his son should be born of a tawny or brown complexion, that he should study the two Vedas, that he should attain a full term of life, they should have rice cooked in curds and eat it with clarified butter, then they should be able to beget (him).
16. atha ya icchet, putro me syamo lohitdkso jayeta, trin vedan anubruvita, sarvam ayur iyad iti, udodanam pacayitva, sarpismantam asniyatam; isvarau janayita vai.
16. Now if one wishes that his son should be born of a dark complexion with red eyes, that he should study the three Vedas, that he should attain a full term of life, they should have rice
326 The Principal Upanisads VI. 4. 19.
cooked in water and eat it with clarified butter, then they should be able to beget (him).
17. atha ya icchet, duhita me pandita jayeta, sarvam ayur iyad iti, tilodanam pacayitva sarpismantam asniyatam, isvarau janayita vai.
17. Now if one wishes that his daughter should be bom, who is learned, that she should attain a full term of life, they should have rice cooked with sesamum and eat it with clarified butter, then they should be able to beget (her).
While the Upanisad seems to grant the privilege of learning and scholarship to women, S points out that this learning is limited to domestic affairs: duhituh pandityam grha-tantra-visayam eva, vede’ nadhikarat. S.
The other commentators follow 5 whose view conflicts with ancient beliefs and practices.
18. atha ya icchet putro me pandito vigitah, samitim-gamah, susrusitam vacant bhasita jayeta, sarvan vedan anubruvita, sarvam ayur iyad iti, mamsodanam pacayitva sarpismantam asniyatam; isvarau janayita vai, auksnena varsabhena vd.
18. Now if one wishes that a son, learned, famous, a fre¬ quenter of assemblies, a speaker of delightful words, that he should study all the Vedas, that he should attain a full term of life, they should have rice cooked with meat and eat it with clarified butter, then they should be able to beget (such a son) — either veal or beef.
vigitah: famous, vividham gitah, prakhyatah. 5.
susrusitam: delightful, srotum istdm, ramaniyam. S.
veal or beef: uksa, secana-samarthah puhgavah, rsabhah tato py
adhikavaydh. §.
Evidently meat was permitted on certain occasions. A points out that this permission was due to local conditions, desa-visesapeksaya kala-visesapeksaya vd mams a-niy amah.
Prenatal conditioning of the child’s character is advised.
19. athabhipratar eva sthdli-pdkavrtdjyarh cestitva, sthali- pakasyopaghatam juhoti : agnaye svdha, anumataye svaha, dev ay a savitre satya-prasavaya svaha, iti; hutva uddhrtya prasnati, prasyetarasyah prayacchati; praksalya pdni, udapatram purayitvd tenainam trir abhyuksati;
uttisthdto visvdvaso, anyam iccha prapurvyam, sam jayam patya saha, iti.
19. Now, toward morning, after having prepared clarified butter according to the mode of the sthali-paka he takes of the sthali-paka and makes an offering (saying), to fire, hail, to Anumati, hail, to the radiant sun, the creator of truth, hail. After having made the offering, he takes up (the remnants of the cooked food) and eats. Having eaten he offers (the rest) to the other (his wife). After having washed his hands and filled the water vessel, he sprinkles her thrice with it (water) (saying), 'Get up from here, Visvavasu; seek another young woman, a wife with her husband.’
sthali-paka: literally, a pot of cooked food. avrtd: according to the mode, vidhina .
anumati: the feminine personification of divine favour. See R.V. X. 59. 6; X. 167. 3.
visvavasu: gandharva. A. God of love. See R.V. X. 25. 22. prapurvydm: young girl, tarunim. A.
amo’ham asmi, sd tvam; sa tvam asi, amo’ham; samaham asmi, rk vam; dyaur aham, prthivi tvam; tav ehi samrabhavahai, saha reto dadhavahai pumse putraya vittaye iti.
20. Then he embraces her, (saying), ‘I am the vital breath and you are speech ; you are speech and I am the vital breath. I am the Saman and you are the Rg. I am the heaven and you are the earth. Come, let us strive together, let us mix semen that we may have a male child.’
abhipadyate : embraces, abhipattih alihganam. A. amah: vital breath, prana. A.
Saman rests on Rg. while it is chanted, rg-adhdram hi sama giyate. A. samrabhavahai: let us strive together, udyamam karavavahai. A.
21. athasya uru vihapayati: vijihitham dyavaprthivi, iti tasyam artham nisthaya, mukhena mukham samdhaya, trir enam anulomam anumarsti:
visnur yonim kalpayatu, tvasta rupdni pimsatu asihcatu praja-patih, dhata garbham dadhatu te: garbhctm dhehi, sinivali; garbham dhehi, prthustuke, garbham te asvinau devau adhattam puskara-srajau.
328 The Principal Upanisads VI. 4. 22.
selves apart, Heaven and Earth. After having inserted the member in her, after having joined mouth to mouth, he strokes her three times as the hair lies, (saying), ‘Let Visnu make the womb prepared. Let Tvastr shape the (various) forms. Let Praja-pati pour in. Let Dhatr place the germ (the seed) for you. O Sinivali, give the seed; give the seed, O broad-tressed dame. Let the two Asvins crowned with lotus wreaths place the seed.’
anulomam: as the hair lies, murdhanam arabhya padantam. kalpayatu: make prepared, putrotpatti-samartham karotu. A. sinivali: the deity delightful to see: darsanarha devatd. A.
‘When the human father thus emits him as seed into the womb, it is really the sun that emits him as seed into the womb . . . thence is he born, after that seed, that breath.’ Jaiminiya-Upanisad- Brahmana III. 10. 4. see also Pancavimsa Brahmana XVI. 14. 5. In Buddhist canonical literature three things are said to be necessary for conception, the union of father and mother, the mother’s period and the presence of the gandharva : Majjhima Nikaya. 1. 265-266; see also Pancavimsa Brahmana IX. 3. 1. The gandharva corresponds to the divine nature which is the primary cause of generation, while the parents are only the concomitant causes. See Philo: Heres. 115. For Aristotle, ‘Man and the Sun generate man.’ Physics II. 2. Rumi says: ‘When the time comes for the embryo to receive the vital spirit, at that time the sun becomes its helper. This embryo is brought into movement by the sun, for the sun is quickly endowing it with spirit. From the other stars this embryo received only an impression, until the sun shone upon it. By which way did it become connected in the womb with the beauteous sun? By the hidden way that is remote from our sense-perception.' Mathnawi I. 3775- 3779. In a very real sense, the commandment is significant, ‘Call no man your father on earth; for one is your Father, which is in heaven.’ John VI. 6. 3.
22. hiranmayi arani yabhyam nirmanthatam asvinau; tarn te garbham havamahe dasame masi sutaye: yathagni-garbha prthivi, yatha dyaur indrena garbhini vayur disam yatha garbhah, evam garbham dadhami te asav iti.
22. ‘The (two) Asvins twirl forth a flame with the (two) attrition sticks of gold. It is such a germ that we beg of you to be brought forth in the tenth month. As the earth contains the germ of fire and as the heaven is pregnant with the storm, as the air is the germ of quarters, even so I place a germ in you, so and so.’
See R.V. X. 184. also Atharva Veda V. 25. 3; V. 25. 5. asav: tasyah. patyur vd nirdesah. A. patninama grhniydt. ante bhartasav aham iti svatmano nama gyhndti, bharyaya vd. R.
yatha vayuh puskarinim samihgayati sarvatah eva te garbha ejatu sahavaitu jarayuna: indrasyayam vrajah krtah sargalah saparisrayah, tam, indra, nirjahi garbhena sdvaram saheti.
23. When she is about to bring forth he sprinkles her with water (saying) : ‘Even as the wind agitates a lotus pond on every side, even so let your foetus stir and come out along with its chorion. This Indra’s fold has been made with a covering enclosed around. O Indra, cause him to come forth the after¬ birth along with babe.
See R.V. V. 78. 7-8. Pdraskara Grhya Sutra I. 16 ff. This hymn is uttered for successful parturition, prasava-kale sukha-prasavanartham.
s.
jarayuna: with its chorion, garbha-vestana-mamsa-khandena. A. come out: nirgacchatu. A.
asmin sahasram pusyasam edhamanah sve grhe asyopasandyam ma chaitsit prajaya ca pasubhis ca, svdha: mayi pranams tvayi manasa juhomi, svaha: yat karmanatyanricam, yad vd nyunam ihakaram, agnistat svistakrd vidvan, svistam suhutam karotu nah: svaha. 24. When (the son is) born, after having prepared the fire, after having taken (the baby) in his lap and having put curds and clarified butter in a bronze cup, he makes an oblation again and again with those curds and clarified butter (saying), ‘May I increase in this (son) and nourish a thousand in my home. May fortune never depart from his line with offspring and cattle. Hail. I offer to you mentally the vital forces that are in me. Whatever in my work I have done too much or whatever I have done here too little, let Agni the all-knowing, the bene¬ ficent, make it fit and good for us. Hail.
See Asvalayana Grhya Sutra I. 13 ff: Pdraskara Grhya Sutra I. 11 ff. ; Sahkhayana Grhya Sutra I. 19 ff.
prsad-djyam: curds and clarified butter mixed, ghrta-misram dadhi
prsad-ajyam ity ucyate. A.
pusyasam: aneka-manusya-posako bhuyasam. A.
330 The Principal Upanisads VI. 4. 28.
25. athasya daksinarh karnam abhinidhaya; vag vag iti trih. atha dadhi madhu ghrtarh sarhnlya anantarhitena jata-upena prasayati; bhus te dadhami, bhuvas te dadhami, svas te dadhami bhur bhuvah svah sarvarh tvayi dadhamiti.
25. Then putting his mouth near the child’s right ear, he says thrice, ‘speech,’ ‘speech.’ Then mixing curds, honey and clarified butter he feeds him out of a spoon of gold which is not placed within (the mouth) saying, ‘I place in you the earth,
I place in you the atmosphere, I place in you the heaven. I place in you everything, earth, atmosphere and heaven.’
jata-rupena: hiranyena. §.
For a description of the two ceremonies, ayusya-karman and medha-janana, see, Paraskara Grhya Sutra I, 16. 3; I. 17. 1-4; Asva- Idyana Grhya Sutra I. 15. 1-8, Sahkhayana Grhya Sutra ; I. 24; Gobhila Grhya Sutra II. 8. 14-17; Manu II. 30-33.
yas te stanah sasayo yo mayobhuh, yo ratnadha vasuvid yah sudatraht
yena visva pusyasi varyani, sarasvati, tam iha dhatave kah.
27. Then he presents him to the mother and gives him her breast saying: ‘Your breast which is unfailing and refreshing, wealthy, abundant, generous with which you nourish all worthy beings, Sarasvati, give it here (to my wife for my baby) to suck from.’
See R.V. I. 164. 49.
sasayah: unfailing, sayah phalam, tena saha vartamanah. A.
28 athasya mataram abhimantrayate: ilasi maitravaruni; vlre viram ajljanat, sa tvarh vlravatl bhava, yasman vlravato karat, iti. tarn va etam ahuh; atipita batabhuh, atipitamaho batabhuh. paramarh bata kastham prapat, sriya yasasa brahma-varcasena, ya evarh vido brahmanasya putro jayata iti.
28. Then he addresses the mother (of the baby): ‘You are Ila, descended from Mitra and Varuna. Being a heroine, yoifi have brought forth a hero. You who have given us a hero for a
son, be you the mother of (many) heroes.’ Of such a son they say, ‘You have gone beyond your father; you have gone beyond your grandfather.' Verily, he has reached the highest point in prosperity, fame and radiance of spirit, who is bom as the son of a Brahmana who knows this.
Ila: A identifies Ila with Arundhati, the wife of Vasistha, the son of Mitra and Varuna: mitra-varundhhydm sambhuto maitra-varunah, vasisthah, tasya bharyd maitravaruni, sd carundhati. ila: adorable, stutyabhogyasi. A. viravati: bahu-putra bhava. A.
1 nre: may be taken either in vocative or locative, mayi nimitta bhute. brahmavarcasa : radiance of spirit shining in the face. No contempt for the body is indicated. Porphyry’s statement of his master: ‘Plotinus, the philosopher of our time was like one ashamed of being in a body,’ will not get the support of the Upanisads.
Fifth Brahmana
1. atha vamsah: pautimasi-putrah katyayani-putrat, katyayani- putro gautami-putrat, gautami-putro bharadvaji-putrat, bhara- dvaji-putrah pdrasari-putrat, parasari-putra aupasvasti-putrdt aupasvasti-putrah parasari-putrat, parasari-putrah katyayani-pu- trat, katyayani-putrah kausiki-putrat, kausiki-putra alambi- putrac ca vaiyaghrapadi-putrac ca, vaiyaghrapadi-putrah. kanvi- putrac ca kapi-putrac ca, kapi-putrah.
1. Now the line of teachers. The son of PautimasI (received this teaching) from the son of Katyayani ; the son of Katyayani from the son of Gautami, the son of Gautami from the son of Bharadvaji, the son of Bharadvaji from the son of Parasarl, the son of Parasarl from the son of Aupasvasti, the son of Aupasvasti from the son of Para£ari, the son of Parasari 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 —
S says that the teachers are named after their mothers because the mother holds the important place in the training of children. siri-pradhanyat gunavan putro bhavatiti hi prastutam; atah strivi- sesenaiva putra-viiesanad acarya-parampard kirtyate.
332 The Principal Upanisads VI. 5. 3.
2. atreyx-putrdt, atreyx-putro gautamx-putrat, gautami-putro bhdradvajx-putrat , bharadvajx-putrah parasari-putrdt, parasarx- putro vatsx-putrat, vatsx-putrah pdrdsarx-putrdt,pdrdsarx-putro var- karunx-putrat, varkaruni-putro varkarunx-putrat, varkarunx-putra drtabhagx-putrat, drtabhagx-putrah sauhgx-putrat, sauhgx-putrah sahkrtx-putrat , sahkrtx-putra dlambayanx-putrdt, alambayanx- putra alambx-putrat, alambx-putro jayantx-putrat, jayantx-putro mdndukayanx-putrdt, mdndukdyani-putro mandukx-putrdt, man- dukx-putrah sandilx-putrdt, sandili-putro rdthitan-putrdt, rathi- tari-putro bhaluki-putrat, bhaluki-putrah krauhciki-putrabhyam, krauhcikx-putrau vaidabhrtx-pulrat, vaidabhrtx-putrah karsakeyx- putrat, karsakeyx-putrah pracxnayogx-putrat, pracxnayogx-putrah sanjxvx-pulrdt, sahjxvx-putrah prasm-putrad dsurivasinah, prdsnx-putra asurayanat, asurayana asureh, asurih —
2. from the son of Atreyi, the son of Atreyi from the son of Gautaml, the son of Gautami from the son of Bharadvaji, the son of Bharadvaji from the son of Parasarl, the son of Parasari from the son of Vatsi, the son of Vatsi from the son of Parasari, the son of Parasari from the son of Varkaruni, the son of Varkaruni from the son of Varkaruni, the son of Varkaruni from the son of ArtabhagI, the son of Artabhagi from the son of £aungi, the son of £_aungi from the son of Sankrti, the son of Sankrti from the son of Alambayani, the son of Alam- bayani from the son of Alambi, the son of Alambi from the son of Jayanti, the son of Jayanti from the son of Mandukayani, the son of Mandukayani from the son of Manduki, the son of Manduki from the son of £andili, the son of Sandili from the son of Rathitari, the son of Rathitari from the son of Bhaluki; the son of Bhaluki from the two sons of Kraunciki, the two sons of Kraunciki from the son of Vaidabhrti, the son of Vaidabhrti from the son of Karsakeyi, the son of KarSakeyi from the son of Pracinayogi, the son of Pracinayogi from the son of Sanjivi, the son of Sanjivi from the son of Prasni, the Asurivasin, the son of Prasni from Asurayana, Asurayana from Asuri, Asuri —
3. yajhavalkyat, yajhavalkya uddalakat, udddlako’runat, aruna upaveseh, upavesih kusreh, kusrir vaja-sravasah, vaja-srava jihvavato badhyogat, jihvavan badhyogo’ sitdd varsaganat, asito varsagano haritdt kasyapat, haritah kasyapah silpat kasyapat, silpah kasyapah kasyapan naidhruveh, kasyapo naidhruvir vacah, vag ambhinyah, ambJxiny adityat, aditydnxmdni sukldni yajurhsi vajasaneyena yajhavalkyenakhydyante.
3. from Yajnavalkya, Yajnavalkya from Uddalaka, Udda¬ laka, from Aruna, Aruna from Upavesi, Upavesi from Kusri, Kusri from Vajasravas, Vajasravas from Jihvavant Badhyoga, Jihvavant Badhyoga from Asita Varsagana, Asita Varsagana from Harita Kasyapa, Harita Kasyapa from £ilpa Kasyapa, ^ilpa Kasyapa from Kasyapa Naidhruvi, Kasyapa Naidhruvi from Vac (speech), Vac from AmbhinI, Ambhini from Aditya (the sun). These white sacrificial formulas received from the sun are explained by Yajnavalkya of the Vajasaneyi school.
suklani: white, because they are not mixed up (with Brahmanas), orderly, fresh: avydmisrd.nl brahmanena, aihavd ayatayamanlmani yajumsi, tani suklani, suddhani.
4. samanam a sanjlvl-putrat, sdhjivi-putro mandukayaneh mandukayanir mandavyat, mandavyah kautsat, kautso mahittheh, mdhitthir vdma-kaksdyandt, vama-kaksayanah vacasah rajastambayanat, yajnavaca rajastambdyanah turat kavaseyat, turah kavaseyah prajdpateh, prajapatir brahmanah, brahma svayambhu: brahmane namah.
4. It is the same up to the son of Sanjivi, the son of Sanjivi from Mandukayani, Mandukayani from Mandavya, Mandavya from Kautsa, Kautsa from Mahitthi, Mahitthi from Vamakak- sayana, Vamakaksayana from ^andilya, £andilya from Vatsya, Vatsya from Kusri, Kusri from Yajnavacas Raja- stambayana, Yajnavacas Rajastambayana from Tura Kava- seya, Tura Kavaseya from Praja-pati, Praja-pati from Brahma. Brahma is the self-existent. Adoration to Brahma.
See Satapatha Brahmana X. 6. 5. 9.
CHANDOGYA upanisad
The Chandogya Upanisad belongs to the Sama Veda. Chandoga is the singer of the Saman.1 The Upanisad that belongs to the followers of the Sama Veda is the Chandogya Upanisad. It is a part of the Chandogya Brahmana which has ten chapters. The first two chapters of the Brahmana deal with sacrifices and other forms of worship. The other eight constitute the Chandogya Upanisad.
The first and the second chapters discuss the problems of liturgy and doctrine such as the genesis and significance of Aum and the meaning and names of Saman.
1 chando sama gayati iti chandogah
Chdndogya Upanisad
i. awn ity etad aksaram udgitham upasita, aum iti hrd gdyati tasyopavyakhyanam.
1. Aum. One should meditate on this syllable, the udgitha, for one sings the loud chant beginning with aum. Of this (follows) the explanation.
The syllable aum, with which every recital of the Vedic chants begins, is here represented as the symbol of the Supreme and there¬ fore the means of the meditation of the Supreme: arcadivat para- syatmanah pratikam sampadyate; evam namatvena pratlkatvena ca paramatmopasana-sadhanam srestham iti sarva-vedantesv avagatam. S. Before we attain to the supreme vision of God, the contemplative realisation, we have to resort to prayer and meditation. We may chant and sing with devout mind, with fervour of spirit, with an inmost longing for the things above, with a purity of soul. We strive to keep the soul unembarrassed and at rest from all thoughts. We direct our attention lovingly and continuously towards God.
In meditation, the soul is furnished with a symbol on which we fix our gaze, on which we concentrate all our imagination and reasoning. When meditation reaches its end, when there is no dis¬ traction or disquiet, when there is calm repose, sweet tranquillity, there is the vision. Any name may raise us to perfect contemplation. We start with prayer, we pass on to meditation. When the discursive acts cease, we have contemplation. The Upanisad opens with this instruction to concentrate on the syllable aum, to draw our thoughts away from all other subjects, to develop ekagrata or one-pointedness. Symbol cannot be taken as final. It has a number of aspects. When it is transposed into the words of ordinary language it becomes dim and rigid. We then tend to confine the meaning within narrow dogmatic frames. Even though the syllable aum like all symbols covers the reality as by a veil, to those who know how to look, the veil becomes transparent.
2. esam bhutanarh prthivi rasah, prthivya apo rasah, apam osadhayo rasah, osadhmdm puruso rasah, purusasya vag rasah, vaca rg rasah, rcah sama rasah, samna udgitho rasah.
2. The essence of these beings is the earth; the essence of the earth is water. The essence of water is plants; the essence of plants is a person. The essence of a person is speech The essence of speech is the Rk (hymn). The essence of the Rk is
338 The Principal Upanisads I. 1. 9.
the Saman (chant). The essence of the Saman (chant) is the udgitha.
rasa: essence, literally flavour.
Most of the hymns of the Sama Veda are taken from the R.V.
parardhya: highest, from para highest and ardha place.
5. Speech, indeed, is Rk] breath is Saman, the syllable aum is the udgitha. Now, this is a pair, namely speech and breath, and also the Rk and the Saman.
6. tad etan mithunam aum ity etasminn aksare samsrjyate; yada vai mithunau samagacchata , apayato vai tav anyo’nyasya kamam.
6. This pair is joined together in the syllable aum. Verily, whenever a pair come together, they fulfil each other’s desire.
8. tad va etad anujhaksaram, yaddhi kirn canujanaty aum ity eva tad aha; esa eva samrddhir yad anujha, samardhayita ha vai kamanam bhavati ya etad evam vidvan aksaram udgitham upaste.
8. Verily, this syllable is of assent, for whenever one assents to anything he says simply ‘aum.’ What is assent is fulfilment. He, who knowing this thus, meditates on the syllable as the udgitha, becomes, verily, a fulfiller of desires.
9. teneyam trayi vidya vartata, aum ity asravayati, aum iti samsati, aum ity udgayati, etasyaivak$arasycipacityai mahimna rasena.
9. By this does the threefold knowledge proceed. Saying aum, one recites: saying aum, one orders: saying, aum, one sings aloud, in honour of that syllable, with its greatness and its essence.
Threefold knowledge relates to the three orders of priests in the sacrificial rites. § thinks that the reference is to the Soma sacrifice.
10. tenobhau kuruto yaicaitad evam veda yai ca na veda: nana tu vidya cdvidya ca; yad eva vidyaya karoti baddhayo- panisada, tad eva vuyavattaram bhavatiti, khalv etasyaivaksara- syopavyakhyanam bhavati.
10. He who knows this thus, and he who knows not, both perform with it. Knowledge and ignorance, however, are different. What, indeed, one performs with knowledge, faith and meditation, that, indeed, becomes more powerful* This, verily, is the explanation of this syllable.
Vidya is right knowledge, baddha is faith and upanisad is medi¬ tative insight: upanisada yogena. S.
We must perform the sacrifice with knowledge and not ignorantly. We must understand what we are doing. God is the inspector of our hearts as much as the judge of our acts. Our acts must be accom¬ panied by the devotion of our minds.
LIFE (BREATH) AS THE UDGlTHA
1. When the gods and the demons, both descendants of Praja-pati, contended with each other, the gods took hold of the udgitha, thinking, with this, we shall overcome them.
See B.U. I. 3. 1.
devasura: gods and demons. Since the word deva is derived from a root denoting illumination, the ‘gods’ stand for such functions of the senses as are illuminated (regulated) by scriptures, iastrodbhasita indriya-vrttayah. And ‘demons,’ opposed to the former, stand for such functions of the senses as delight in activity towards all sensual objects appertaining to them and are naturally of the nature of darkness: tama atmika indriya-vrttayah. . . . Thus in the body of all
340 The Principal Upanisads I. 2. 7.
beings there is a perpetual fight between the two: sarva-pranisu prati-deharh devasura-samgramo anddi-kala-pravrtta ity abhiprdyah.
2. te ha nasikyam pranam udgitham updsamcakrire, tarn hasurah papmana vividhuh; tasmat tenobhayam jighrati surabhi ca durgandhi ca, papmana hy esa viddhah.
2. Then they meditated on the udgitha as the breath in the nose. The demons afflicted that with evil. Therefore, with it one smells both the sweet smelling and the foul smelling, for it is afflicted with evil.
3. atha ha vacam udgitham updsamcakrire, tarn hasurah, papmana vividhuh; tasmat tayobhayarh vadati satyarh canrtarh ca, papmana hy esa viddha.
3. Then they meditated on the udgitha as speech. The demons afflicted that with evil. Therefore with it one speaks both the true and the false, for it is afflicted with evil.
4. atha ha caksur udgitham updsamcakrire, taddhasurah papmana vividhuh; tasmat tenobhayam pasyati darsaniyarh cadarianiyam ca, papmana hy etad viddham.
4. .When they meditated on the udgitha as the eye, the demons afflicted that with evil. Therefore with it one sees both the sightly and the unsightly, for it is afflicted with evil.
5. atha ha srotram udgitham updsamcakrire, taddhasurah papmana vividhuh; tasmat tenobhayam srnoti sravaniyarh casravaniyarh ca, papmana hy etad viddham.
5. Then they meditated on the udgitha as the ear. The demons afflicted that with evil. Therefore with it one hears both what should be listened to and what should not be listened to, for it is afflicted with evil.
6. atha ha mana udgitham updsamcakrire, taddhasurah, papmana vividhuh, tasmat tenobhayam samkalpayate sarhkal- paniyarh casamkalpaniy am ca, papmana hy etad viddham.
6. Then they meditated on the udgitha as the mind. The demons afflicted that with evil. Therefore with it one imagines both what should be imagined and what should not be imagined, for it is afflicted with evil.
7. atha ha ya evayam mukhyah pranas tarn udgitham upasarh- cakrire, tarn hasura rtva vidadhvamsur, yathdsmdnam akhanam rtva vidhvarhseta.
mouth. When the demons hit against it they were destroyed, just as (a ball of earth) hitting against a solid stone is destroyed.
mukhya prana: breath in the mouth or the principal breath, a ball of earth : mrt-pinda.
8. evam yathasmanam akhanam rtva vidhvamsate, evam haiva sa vidhvamsate ya evamvidi paparh kamayate, yas cainam abhidasati: sa eso smakhanah.
8. Just as (a ball of earth) striking against a solid rock is destroyed, so will one be destroyed who wishes evil to one who knows this, as also one who injures him, for he is a solid rock.
9. naivaitena surabhi na durgandhi vijanaty-apahata-papma hy esa, tena yad asndti yat pibati tenetaran pranan avati, etam u evantato’vit votkramati, vyadadaty evdntata iti.
9. With this (breath) one discerns neither the sweet-smelling nor the foul smelling for this is free from evil. With this, whatever one eats or whatever one drinks, he protects the other vital breaths. And, not finding this (breath in the mouth) one finally departs; one finally leaves his mouth open.
10. Ahgiras meditated on this as the udgitha. People think that it is, indeed, Ahgiras, because it is the essence of the limbs.
11. Brhaspati meditated on this as the udgitha. People think that it is, indeed, Brhaspati, because speech is great and it is the lord thereof.
Baka Dalbhya is mentioned in the M.B. as having performed a sacrifice for punishing Dhrta-rastra for his rude behaviour: Salya Parva 41.
342 The Principal Upanisads I. 3. 3.
14. He obtains wishes by singing, who knowing this thus, meditates on the udgitha as the syllable. This, with regard to the self.
These verses relate to the body and not the self.
VARIOUS IDENTIFICATIONS OF THE UDGlTHA AND
1. athadhidaivatam. ya evasau tapati tam udgitham upasito- dyan va e$a prajabhya udgayati, udyarhs tamo-bhayam apahanti, apahanta ha vai bhayasya tamaso bhavati ya evam veda.
1. Now, with reference to the divinities. Him who glows yonder (the Sun) one should meditate as the udgitha. Verily, on rising, he sings aloud for creatures. On rising, he dispels darkness and fear. He, verily, who knows this, becomes the dispeller of fear and darkness.
‘As the sun arises, he removes the darkness of night and the fears of living beings consequent on it. One who knows the sun with these qualities, becomes the destroyer of all fears of the self in the shape of birth, death, etc., and also of the cause of fear, darkness in the shape of ignorance.’ §.
2. samana u evayam casau, cosno’yam, usno’sau, svara itimam acaksate, svara iti pratyasvara ity amum tasmad va etam imam amum codgitham upasita.
2. This (breath) in the mouth and that (sun) are alike. This is warm. That is warm. This, they call sound and that, they call sound as the reflecting sound. Verily, one should meditate on this and on that as the udgitha.
3. atha khalu vyanam evodgitham upasita; yadvai praniti sa prano, yad apaniti so’panah; atha yah pranapanayoh sandhih sa vyano, yo vyanah sa vak; tasmad apranann anapanan vacam abhivyaharati.
3. But one should meditate on the diffused breath as the udgitha. That which one breathes in, that is the in-breath; that which one breathes out, that is the out-breath. The
junction of the in-breath and the out-breath is the diffused breath. The diffused breath is the speech. Therefore one utters speech, without in-breathing and without out-breathing.
When we speak, we neither breathe in nor breathe out.
4. yd vak sark, tasmad apranan anapanan ream abhivyaharati; yd rk tat sama, tasmad apranan anapanan sama gayati; yat sama sa udglthas tasmad apranan anapanan udgayati.
4. Speech is Rk. Therefore one utters the Rk without in¬ breathing and without out-breathing. The Rk is the Saman. Therefore one sings the Saman, without in-breathing and without out-breathing. The Saman is the udgltha. Therefore one chants the udgltha, without in-breathing and without out- breathing.
5. ato yany anyani vlryavanti karmani, yathagner manthanam, djeh saranam, drdhasya dhanusa ayamanam, apranan anapanams tani karoti; etasya hetor vyanam evodgltham upaslta.
5. Therefore, whatever other actions there are that require strength, such as the kindling of fire by friction, the running of a race, the bending of a strong bow, one performs (them) without in-breathing and without out-breathing. Therefore one should meditate on the diffused breath as the udgltha.
Whenever we do an action which involves effort and attention we hold our breath.
6. atha khaludglthaksarany upasltodgltha iti prana evot- pranena hy uttisthati; vag glr vaco ha gira ity acaksate’nnam tham anne hldarh sarvarh sthitam.
6. Now one should meditate on the syllables of the udgltha, ut, gl, tha. ut is breath, for through breath one rises, gl is speech, for speeches are called giras ; tha is food, for on food is all this established.
7. dyaur evot, antariksam glh, prthivl tham; aditya evot, vayur glr, agnis tham; samaveda evot, yajurvedo glr, rgvedas tham; dugdhe’smai vag doham, yo vaco doho’nnavan annado bhavati, ya etany evarh vidvan udglthaksarany updsta, udgltha iti.
7. Heaven is ut, atmosphere is gl and the earth, tha. The sun is ut, the air, gl and the fire, tha. The Samaveda is ut, the Yajurveda, gl and the Rg Veda, tha. Speech yields milk and the milk is speech. For him, he becomes rich in food, an eater of
344 The Principal Upanisads I. 4. 1.
food, who knows and meditates on the syllables of the udgitha thus, ut, gi, tha.
8. Now then, the fulfilment of wishes : One should meditate on the places of refuge. One should reflect on the Saman with which one is about to sing a praise.
upasaranani: places of refuge. £ means by it objects contemplated. upasartavyani, upagantavyani , dhyeyani.
9. One should reflect on the Rk in which the Saman occurs, on the seer by whom it was seen, on the divinity to whom he is about to sing a praise.
10. One should reflect on the metre in which he is about to sing a praise. One should reflect on the hymn-form in which he is about to sing a praise.
12. atmanam antata upasrtya stuvita; kamarh dhyayann apra- matto’bhyaso ha yad asmai sa kamah samrdhyeta, yat-kamah stuvxteti, yat-kamah stuviteti.
12. Finally, one should enter into oneself and sing a praise, meditating carefully on one’s desire. Quickly will be fulfilled for him the desire, desiring which he may sing the praise, yea, desiring which he may sing the praise.
abhyasa: quickly. Be sure, depend on it that it will be fulfilled.
1. Aum. One should meditate on the udgitha as this syllable, for one sings the loud chant, beginning with aum. (Now follows) its explanation.
2. deva vai mrtyor bibhyatas tray ini vidyam pravisams te chandobhir acchadayan, yad ebhir acchadayams tac chandasdm chandas tvam.
2. Verily, the gods, when they were afraid of death, took refuge in the threefold knowledge. They covered themselves with metres. Because they covered themselves with these, therefore the metres are called chandas.
trayim vidyam: threefold-knowledge, the three Vedas.
3. tan u tatra mrtyur yatha matsyam udakeparipasyct; evam paryapasyad rci samni yajusi, te nu viditvordhva rcah samno yajusah, svaram eva pravisan.
3. Death saw them there in the Rg, in the Saman and in the Yajus just as one might see a fish in water. When they found this out, they rose out of the Rg, out of the Saman, out of the Yajus and took refuge in sound.
svaram: sound, the syllable aum.
4. yada va ream apnoty aum ity evdtisvaraty evam samaivam yajur esa u svaro yad etad aksaram etad amrtam abhayam tat pravisya deva amrta abhaya abhavan.
4. Verily, when one learns the Rk, one sounds out aum. (It is) the same with Saman ; (it is) the same with Yajus. This sound is that syllable, the immortal, the fearless. Having entered this, the gods become immortal, fearless.
5. sa y a etad evam vidvan aksaram pranauty etad evaksaram svaram amrtam abhayam pravisati, tat pravisya yad amrta devas tad amrto bhavati.
5. He, who knowing it thus, praises this syllable, takes refuge in that syllable, in the immortal, fearless sound, and having entered it, he becomes immortal, even as the gods become immortal.
There is no difference of degree between the immortality of the gods and that of freed men. 5.
I- 5- 5-
The Principal Upanisads Section 5
THE UDGlTHA IDENTIFIED WITH THE SUN AND THE
1. atha khalu ya udgithah sa pranavo yah pranavah sa udgltha ity asau va aditya udgltha, esa pranava, aum iti hy e$a svarann eti.
1. Now, verily, what is the udgltha is the Aum. What is Aum is the udgltha. And so verily, the udgltha is the yonder sun and the Aum, for (the sun) is continually sounding Aum.
svarann: sounding or going. S.
2. etam u evaham abhyagasisam, tasman mama tvam eko’slti ha kausltakih putram uvaca, rasmlms tvam paryavartayad bahavo vai te bhavisyantlty adhidaivatam.
2. ‘I sang praise to him alone; therefore you are my only (son).’ Thus said Kausitaki to his son. ‘Reflect on the (various) rays; verily, you will have many sons.’ This, with reference to the divinities.
3. Now with reference to the body. One should meditate on the breath in the mouth as the udgltha, for it is continually sounding aum.
4. etam u evaham abhyagasisam, tasman mama tvam eko’slti ha kausltakih putram uvaca, pranams tvam bhumanam abhigayatad bahavo vai me bhavisyantlti.
4. 'I sang praise to him alone. Therefore you are my only (son).’ Thus said Kausitaki to his son: ‘Sing praise unto the breaths as manifold; verily, you will have many (sons).’
5 . atha khalu ya udgithah sa pranavah, yah pranavah sa udgltha iti hotr-sadanadd haivapi durudgltam anusamaharatlty anusama- haratlti.
5. Now, verily, what is the udgltha is the aum. What is aum is the udgltha. (If one knows this), verily, from the seat of the Hotr priest, all wrong singing is corrected, yea is corrected.
hotr-sadana: the place from which the Hotr priest gives instructions.
1. iyam eva rg, agnih sdma, tad etad etasyam rcy adhyudham sdma, tasmad rcy adhyudham sama giyata, iyam eva sagnir amas tat sdma.
1. This (earth) is the Rk and fire is the Sdman. This Sdman rests on that Rk. Therefore the Sdman is sung as resting on the Rk. This (earth) is sa, and fire is ama and that makes sdman.
2. antariksam eva rg, vayuh sdma, tad etad etasyam rcy adhyud¬ ham sdma, tasmad rcy adhyudham sdma giyate. antariksam eva sa, vayur amas tat sdma.
2. The atmosphere is the Rk and the air is Sdman. This Sdman rests on that Rk. Therefore the Sdman is sung as resting on the Rk. The sky is sa and the air is ama, and that makes sdman.
3. dyaur eva rg adityas sdma, tad etad etasyam rcy adhyudham sdma, tasmad rcy adhyudham sdma giyate, dyaur eva sadityo’mas tat sdma.
3. The heaven is Rk and the Sun is Sdman. This Sdman rests on that Rk. Therefore the Sdman is sung as resting on the Rk. Heaven is sa and the sun is ama and that makes sdman.
4. naksatrany eva rk, candramah sdma, tad etad etasyam rcy adhyudham sdma, tasmad rcy adhyudham sdma giyate, naksatrany eva sa, candrama amas tat sdma.
4. The stars are Rk and the moon is Sdma. This Sdma rests on that Rk. Therefore the Sdman is sung as resting on the Rk. The stars are sa and the moon ama and that makes sdma.
5. atha yad etad adityasya suklam bhah saiva rg, atha yan nilam par ah krsnam tat sdma, tad etad etasyam rcy adhyudharh sdma, tasmad rcy adhyudham sdma giyate,
5. Now, the white light of the sun is Rk; the blue exceeding darkness is Sdman. This Sdman rests on that Rk; therefore this Sdman is sung as resting on that Rk.
6. atha yad evaitad adityasya suklam bhah saiva satha yan nilam parah krsnam tad amas tat samatha ya eso’ntar aditye hiranmayah puruso drsyate, hiranya-smasrur hiranya-kesa apra- nakhat sarva eva suvarnah.
348 The Principal Upanisads I. 7. 1.
exceeding darkness, is ama. That makes Saman. Nowthat golden person who is seen within the sun, has a golden beard and golden hair. All is golden to the tips of the nails. suvarna: gold, used to symbolise light, life and immortality.
7. tasya yatha kapyasam pundarikam evam aksini, tasyoditi nama; sa esa sarvebhyah papmabhya uditi; udeti ha vai sarvebhyah papmabhyo ya evam veda.
7. His eyes are even as a red lotus flower. His name is high (ut). He has risen above all evil. Verily, he who knows this, rises above all evil.
The colour of the lotus is described by a comparison with the kapyasa or the seat of the monkey.
8. tasya rk ca sama ca gesnau, tasmdd udgithah, tasmat tvevo- dgataitasya hi gdta; sa esa ye camusmat parahco lokas tesam ceste deva kamanam cety adhidaivatam .
8. His songs are the Rk and the Saman. Therefore (they are called) the udgitha. Hence the udgdtr priest (is so called) for he is the singer of this. He is the lord of the worlds which are beyond that (sun) and also of the desires of the gods. This, with reference to the divinities.
gesnau: songs. 5 means by it ‘joints.’ ‘As the God is the self of all, in as much as He is the lord of the desires of all the worlds, high and low, it is only reasonable that He should have Rk and Saman, in the shape of earth and fire, for his joints.’ &.
THE RG AND THE SAMA VEDAS {continued)
1. athadhyatmam: vag eva rk, pranah sama, tad etad etasydm rcy adhyudham sama, tasmdd rcy adhyudham sama giyate, vag eva sa prano’mas tat sama.
1. Now with reference to the body. Speech is the Rk: breath is the Saman. This Saman rests upon -that Rk. Therefore the Saman is sung as resting on that Rk. Speech is sa and breath, ama and that makes saman.
2. caksur eva rg atma sama, tad etad etasyam rcy adhyudham sama, tasmad rcy adhyudham sama giyate, caksur eva satmamas tat sama.
2. The eye is the Rk; the soul is the Saman. This Saman rests on that Rk; therefore the Saman is sung as resting on the Rk. The eye is sa and the soul ama and that makes saman.
3. srotram eva rh manah sama, tad etad etasyam rcy adhyudham sama, tasmad rcy adhyudham sama giyate, irotram eva sa mano’mas tat sama.
3. The ear is the Rk and the mind is the Saman. This Saman rests on that Rk. Therefore the Saman is sung as resting on the Rk. The ear is sa and the mind ama and that makes saman.
4. atha yad etad aksnah suklam bhah saiva rk, atha yan nilam par ah krsnam tat sama, tad etad etasyam rcy adhyudham sama, tasmat rcy adhyudham sama giyate, atha yad evaitad aksnah suklam bhah saiva satha yan nilam parah krsnam tad amas tat sama.
4. Now, the white light of the eye is Rk and the blue, exceeding darkness is Saman. This Saman rests on that Rk. Therefore the Saman is sung as resting on the Rk. The white light of the eye is sa and the blue, exceeding darkness, ama and that makes saman.
5. atha ya eso’ntar-aksini puruso drsyate saiva rk, tat sama, tad uktham, tad yajuh, tad brahma, tasyaitasya tad eva rupam yad amusya rupam, yav amusya gcsnau tau gesnau, yan nama tan nama.
5. Now, this person who is seen within the eye is the hymn (rk), the chant (the saman), is the recitation ( uktha ), is the sacrificial formula (yajus), is the prayer (brahman). The form of this one is the same as the form of that (person seen in the sun). The songs of the former are the songs of this. The name of the one is the name of the other.
6. sa esa ye caitasmad arvahco lokas tesam ceste manusya- kamanam ceti, tad ya ime vinayam gayanty etarh te gay anti, tasmat te dhana-sanayah.
6. He is the lord of the worlds which are under this one and also of men’s desires. So those who sing on the vind sing of him. Therefore they are winners of wealth.
Vina is a musical instrument which has had a long history in India.
350 The Principal Upanisads
7. atha ya etad evam vidvan sama gayaty ubhau sa gayati, so’munaiva sa esa ye camusmdt parahco lokas tarns capnoti deva-kamdrhi ca.
7. Now, he, who knowing this, sings the Saman, sings of both. Through the former (person in the sun) he obtains the worlds which are beyond that (the sun) as also the desires of the gods.
8. And through this (person in the eye) he obtains the worlds which are under the latter and also the desires of men. There¬ fore an udgatr priest, who knows this, should say (the following).
9. What desire may I win for you by singing? ‘He, truly, becomes capable of obtaining desires by singing, he, who knowing this sings the Saman, yea, sings the Saman.’
THE IDENTIFICATION OF UDGlTHA
1. trayo hodgithe kuiald babhuvuh, silakah salavatyai caikita- yano dalbhyah, pravahano jaivalir iti, te hocur udgithe vai kusalah smo hantodgithe katham vadama iti.
1. There were three persons well- versed in the udgitha, Silaka the son of Salavat, the son of Cikitana of the Dalbha clan, and Pravahana, son of JIvala. They said: ‘We are, indeed, well-versed in the udgitha. Well, let us have a discussion on the udgitha.’
2. tatheti ha samupavivisuh, sa ha pravahano jaivalir uvaca, bhagavantav agre vadatam, brahmanayor vadator vacant sros- yamiti.
2. ‘So be it’ said they and sat down. Then, Pravahana, son of JIvala, said: ‘You two, sirs, speak first. I will listen to the words of the two Brahmanas discussing.’
From this it appears that Pravahana was a Ksatriya. See C.U. V. 3.5, where he is said to be rdjanya-bandhuh. Even though he is not a
Brahmana, he happens to be the one who knows the true meaning of udgitha.
3. Then, Silaka, son of Salavat said to the son of Cikitana of the Dalbha clan, ‘Well, may I question you?’- He replied, ‘Question.’
4. ka samno gatir iti, svara iti hovaca; svarasya ka gatir iti, prana iti hovaca; pranasya ka gatir ity, annarn iti hovaca annasya ka gatir ity, apa iti hovaca.
4. He asked, ‘What is the goal of the Saman?’ He replied, ‘It is sound.’ He asked, ‘What is the goal of sound?’ He replied, ‘Breath.’ He asked, ‘What is the goal of breath?’ He replied, ‘Food.’ He asked, ‘What is the goal of food?’ He replied, ‘Water.’
gatih : goal, substratum or basis or final principle: gatir asr ay ah parayanam ity etat. S.
5. apam ka gatir iti, asau loka iti hovacamusya lokasya ka gatir iti, na svargarh lokam atinayed iti hovaca, svargam vayam lokarn samabhisamsthapayamah svarga-samstavam hi sameti.
5. (He asked) ‘What is the goal of water?’ He replied, ‘Yonder world.' (He asked) ‘What is the goal of the yonder world?’ He replied, ‘One should not lead beyond the heavenly world.’ We established the Saman in the world of heaven, for the Saman is praised in heaven.
Cp. The Sama Veda is the world of heaven: svargo vai lokah sama vedah.
6. tam ha silakah salavatyas caikitayanam dalbhyam uvaca: apratisthitarh vai kila te, dalbhya, sama; yas tv etarhi bruyan murdha te vipatisyatiti murdha te vipated iti.
6. Then £ilaka, son of Salavat said to Cikitana of the Dalbha clan: ‘Verily, indeed, your Saman, of you of the Dalbha clan, is unestablished. If now, someone were to say, your head will fall off, surely your head would fall off.’
The enormity of the error is suggested by the statement that your head will fall off if one utters a curse like that.
7. hantaham etad bhagavato vcdaniti, viddhiti hovacamusya lokasya ka gatir ity ayarn loka iti hovacasya lokasya ka gatir iti
352 The Principal Upanisads I. 9. 2.
na pratistham lokam atinayed iti hovaca pratistham, vayarh lokarh samabhisarhsthapay amah pratistha-samstavarh hi sameti.
7. He said, ‘Well, I would like to know this from you; sir, ‘Know it,’ said he. (He asked) ‘What is the goal of the yonder world?’ He replied, ‘One should not lead beyond this world- support. We establish the Saman on the world as support for the Saman is praised as the support.’
8. tarn ha pravahano jaivalir uvacantavaddhai kila te salavatya sama-yastvetarhi bruyan murdha te vipatisyatiti murdha te vipated iti. hantaham etad bhagavato vedaniti viddhiti hovaca.
8. Then Pravahana, son of Jivala, said to him, ‘Verily, indeed, your Saman, O son of Salavat, has an end. If someone now were to say, “Your head will fall off,’’ surely your head would fall off.’ He said, ‘Well, I would like to know this from you, Sir.’ He replied, ‘Know it.’
THE UDGlTHA IDENTIFIED WITH SPACE
1. asya lokasya ka gatir ity akasa iti hovaca. sarvani ha va imani bhutany akasad eva samutpadyante, akdsarh pratyastam yanty akaso hy evaibhyo jyayan, akasah parayanam.
1. ‘What is the goal of this world?’ He replied, ‘Space, for all these creatures are produced from space. They return back into space. For space is greater than these. Space is the final goal.’
See VII. 12. 1.
Space is said to be the origin, support and end of all.
The theory that space is the ultimate ground of the world is regarded as more satisfactory than the view which traces it to sound, breath, food, water, yonder world or this world.
2. sa esa paro-variyan udgithah, sa eso’nantah, paro-vanyo hasya bhavati, paro-variyaso ha lokah jayati ya etad evam vidvan parovariyam sam udgitham updste.
2. This is the udgitha, highest and best. This is endless. He who, knowing this, meditates on udgitha, the highest and best, becomes the highest and best and obtains the highest and best worlds.
3. tam haitam atidhanva saunaka udara-idndilydyoktvovdca. yavat ta enam prajdydm udgltham vedisyante, paro-varlyo haibhyas tdvad asmimlloke jivanam bhavisyati.
3. When Atidhanvan Saunaka taught this Udgltha to Udara Sandilya, he also said: ‘As long as they shall know this Udgltha among your descendants, so long their life in this world will be the highest and best.
4. tatha musmimlloke loka iti; sa ya etad evarn vidvan upaste parovarlya eva hasyasmiml loke jivanam bhavati, tatha musmiml loke loka iti, loke loka iti.
4. And so will their state in that other world be. One who thus knows and meditates— his life in this world becomes the highest and best and so his state in that other world, yea, in that other world.’
1. Among the Kurus, when they (crops) were destroyed by hailstorms,1 there lived in the village of the possessor of elephants a very poor man, Usasti Cakrayana, with his young wife, Atiki.
The story is intended to make the comprehension easier. ibhya-grdme — in the village of the possessor of elephants or in the village belonging to Ibhya.
2. He begged (food) of the possessor of elephants,' while he was eating beans. He (the possessor) said to him: T have no other than these which are set before me.'
The rich man said that the beans were in the plate from which he was eating and therefore they were impure.
1 Professor S. K. Chatterji suggests the alternative explanation of matacl, locust, an old Dravidian loan word in Sanskrit. Cp. Kannada midice, Brahmi malakh.
354 The Principal Upanisads
3. He said: 'Give me some of them.’ He gave them to him and said, ‘Here is water (to drink).’ He replied, ‘That would be for me to drink something left by another (and hence impure).’
4. Are not these (beans) also left over (and so impure) ? ‘Verily,’ said he, ‘I could not live if I did not eat these. The drinking of water is at my will.’
‘One who is endowed with knowledge and fame and capable of helping himself and others, if such a one, falling into a state of distress should do such a thing (eat unclean food), no demerit touches him. A wrong action is faulty only when it is performed while other courses that are not wrong are open and would as easily save one’s life.’ 8.
5. When he had eaten, he gave what still remained to his wife. She had eaten well even before. After taking them, she kept them safe.
6. sa ha pratah samjihana uvaca, yad batannasya labhemahi, labhemahi dhana-matram: rajasau yaksyate, sa ma sarvair artvij- yair vrniteti.
6. Next morning, he arose and said, ‘Oh, if I could get some¬ thing to eat, I might make a little money. The king over there is having a sacrifice performed for himself. He might choose (select) me to perform all the priestly offices.’
7. His wife said to him: ‘Here, my lord, are the beans.’ Having eaten them, he went over to the sacrifice that was being performed.
In addition to personal religion, the Vedas advocated public worship by means of sacrifices. In the period of the Veda, there were no temples. Public worship was needed in view of the social nature of man. In a crowd, emotions are more easily excited. In every religion, social worship of God is recognised, in which music, singing and ritual are employed to evoke religious feeling and actions. Yajhas or sacrifices are solemn and stately social acts.
Chandogya Upanisad 355
8. Then he sat down near the Udgatr priests as they were about to sing the hymn in the place (assigned) for singing. Then he said to the Prastotr priest :
9. ‘O Prastotr priest, if you sing the introductory praise without knowing the divinity that belongs to it, your head will fall off.'
10. In the same manner he said to the Udgatr priest, ‘Oh, Udgatr priest, if you chant the udgitha without knowing the divinity that belongs to it, your head will fall off.’
11. evam eva pratihartaram uvaca, pratihariar yd devata prati- haram anvayatta, tam ced avidvan pratiharisyasi, murdha te vipatisyatiti: te ha samaratas tusnlm asamcakrire.
11. In the same manner, he said to the Pratihartr priest, ‘Oh, Pratihartr priest, if you take up the response without knowing the divinity that belongs to it, your head will fall off ’ They stopped and sat down in silence.
In performing sacrifices we should have a knowledge of their meaning.
(1 continued)
1. Then, to him, the institutor of the sacrifice said, ‘Verily, I would wish to know you, sir.’ He replied, ‘I am Usasti Cakrayana.’
2. Then, he said, ‘I looked for you for all these priestly offices. Verily, not finding you, sir, I have chosen others.’
356 The Principal Upanisads I. II. 7.
3. bhagavams tv eva me sarvair artvijyair iti; tatheti; atha tarhy eta eva samatisrstah stuvatdm ; yavat tv ebhyo dhanam dadyas, tavan mama dadya iti. tatheti ha yajamana uvaca.
3. But now, sir, please take up all the priestly offices. ‘So be it,’ he said, ‘let these with my permission, sing the praises. But as much wealth as you give to them, so much give to me also.’ The institutor of the sacrifice said, ‘So be it.'
4. atha hainam prastotopasasada: prastotar yd devata prastavam anvayatta, tarn ced avidvan prastosyasi, murdhd te vipatisyatiti: ma bhagavan avocat. katama sa devateti.
4. Then the Prastotr priest approached him (and said), ‘You, sir, said unto me, “Oh Prastotr priest, if you sing the introductory praise without knowing the divinity that belongs to it, your head will fall off.’’ Which is that divinity?’
5. prana iti hovaca, sarvdni ha v a imani bhiitani pranam evabhisamvisanti , pranam abhyujjihate, saisa devata prastavam anvayatta: tarn ced avidvan prdstosyo murdhd te vyapatisyat tathoktasya mayeti.
5. ‘Breath,’ said he. 'Verily, indeed, all beings here enter (into life) with breath, and depart (from life) with breath. This is the divinity belonging to the Prastava. If you had sung the Prastava without knowing it, after you had been told so by me, your head would have fallen off.’
See T.U. III. 3.
6. atha hainam udgatopasasadodgatar yd devatodgitham anva- yattd, tarn ced avidvan udgasyasi, murdhd te vipatisyatiti: ma bhagavan avocat. katama sa devateti.
6. Then the Udgatr priest approached him (and said), ‘You, sir, said unto me: “0 Udgatr priest, if you sing the udgitha without knowing the divinity that belongs to it, your head will fall off.’’ Which is that divinity?’
7. aditya iti hovaca, sarvdni ha va imani bhutany adityam uccaih santam gay anti; saisa devatodgitham anvayatta , tarn ced avidvan udagasyah, murdhd te vyapatisyat tathoktasya mayeti.
7. ‘The sun,’ said he. ‘Verily, indeed, all beings here sing of the sun, when he is up. This is the divinity connected with the udgitha. If, without knowing this, you had chanted the udgitha, after you had been told so by me, your head would have fallen off.’
Chandogya Upanisad 357
8. atha hainam pratihartopasasada, pratihartar yd devata prati- haram anvayatta, tam ced avidvan pratiharisyasi, murdha te vipatisyatiti; ma bhagavan avocat. katama sa devateti.
8. Then the Pratihartr priest approached him (and said), ‘You sir, said unto me, "Oh Pratihartr priest, if you take up the response without knowing the divinity that belongs to it, your head will fall off." Which is that divinity?’
9. annam iti hovaca, sarvani ha va imam bhutany annam eva pratiharamanani jivanti, saisa devata pratiharam anvayatta, tam ced avidvan pratyaharisy ah, murdha te vyapatisyat tathoktasya mayeti, tathoktasya mayeti.
9. ‘Food,’ said he. ‘Verily, indeed, all beings here live, when they partake of food. This is the divinity that belongs to the Pratihara, and if, without knowing this, you had taken up the Pratihara, after you had been told so by me, your head would have fallen off.’
Cp. T.U. HI. 2.
Meditation without knowledge is barren of results.
Here are two names for one person. svadhyaya: study of the Vedas.
Cp. Patanjali’s definition of niyama: Sauca-santosa-tapah-svddhydyesvara-pranidhdnani. Yoga Sutra, II. 32.
It is the study of the scriptures and recitation of mantras which lead to purity of mind.
vedanta-iatarudriya-pranavadi japam budhah. sattva-suddhi-karam pumsam svadhyayam paricaksate. Svadhyaya is the study of the scriptures dealing with liberation or the repetition of the pranava.
svadhyayo moksasastranam adhyayanam pranava-japo va.
358 The Principal Upanisads I. 13. 2.
2. Unto him there appeared a white dog. Other dogs gathered round this (one) and said, ‘Obtain food for us by singing. Verily, we are hungry.'
4. Just as the priests, when they are about to chant with the bahispavamana hymn of praise, move along, joined to one another, so did the dogs move along. Then they sat down together and made the noise ‘him.’
5. (They sang), ‘Aum, let us eat, Aum, let us drink, Aum, may the god Varuna, Praja-pati and Savitr bring food here. O Lord of food, bring food here, yea, bring it here. Aum.’
This section is a satirical protest against the externalism of the sacrificial creed, in the interests of an inward spiritual life.
Madhva attributes the hymn to Vayu, who assumed the form of a dog.
1. This world is the syllable hau. The air is the syllable hdi, the moon is the syllable atha. The self is the syllable iha. The fire is the syllable i.
The syllables mentioned are the sounds used in the recitation of Saman hymns.
2. The sun is the syllable u. Invocation is the syllable e. The Visvedevas is the syllable au-ho-i. Praja-pati is the syllable him. Breath is sound. Food is ya. Viraj is speech.
yd vag virdt. Cp. R.V. X. 189. 3. trimsad-dhdma virajati vdk.
Her character is prajiid or prajnatman, only partially actual in the individual self-consciousness, distinguishing the I from the not-I, the inner world from the outer one. In ordering life, the potential all-consciousness lies asleep in the depths of the human body. It may be awakened by the discipline of yoga.
4. Speech yields to him the milk, which is the milk of speech itself. He becomes rich in food, an eater of food — one who knows thus this mystic meaning of the Samans, yea, who knows the mystic meaning.
The Principal Upanisads
i. aurh samastasya khalu samna upasanam sadhu , yat khalu sadhu tat samety acaksate, yad asddhu tad a-sameti.
2. tad utapy ahuh samnainam upagad iti sadhunainam upagad ity eva tad ahuh asamnainam upagad ity asadhunainam upagad ity eva tad ahuh.
2. So also people say, ‘He approached with Saman’ ; that is they say, ‘he approached him in a kindly way.’ They say, ‘He approached him with no Saman,’ i.e. they say 'he approached him in no kindly way.’
Saman is understood as the good, as the dharma.
3. athotapy ahuh sama no bateti yat sadhu bhavati sadhu batety eva tad ahuh, asama no bateti yad asddhu bhavaty asddhu batety eva tad ahuh.
3. And they say 'this, verily, is Saman for us.’ Where they say 'this is good for us’ when anything is good. And they say ‘this is a saman for us,’ where they say, ‘this is not good’ when anything is not good.
4. He who, knowing this, meditates on the Saman as good, all good qualities would quickly approach him and accrue to him.
1. lokesu pahca-vidhah samopasita: prthivi him-karah, agnih prastavo’ ntariksah udgithah, adityah pratiharo dyaur nidhanam ity urdhvesu.
1. In the worlds, one should meditate on the Saman as fivefold; the earth as the syllable him, fire as the prastava, the atmosphere as the udgitha, the sun as the pratihara and the sky as the nidhana (conclusion). This, among the higher (ascending).
The sky is said to be nidhana, inasmuch as those that depart from this world are deposited ( nidhiyante ) in the sky.
2. Now in the reverse (descending order) the sky as the syllable him, the sun as the prastava, the atmosphere as the udgitha, the fire as the pratihara and the earth as the nidhana.
The earth is the nidhana as the people that come back to the earth are deposited here.
3. The worlds, in the ascending and reverse orders, belong to him, who, knowing this thus, meditates on the fivefold Saman in the worlds.
In different ways the importance of the meditation is indicated.
I. vr^tau pahca-vidham samopasita, puro-vato him-karo, megho jayate sa prastavah, varsati sa udgithah, vidyotate stanayati sa pratiharah.
1. One should meditate on the fivefold Saman in the rain. The preceding wind as the syllable him\ the formation of the cloud is the prastava. What rains is the udgitha ; the lightning and the thunder as the pratihara.
2. The cessation as the nidhana. It rains for him and he causes it to rain, he, who knowing this thus, meditates on the fivefold Saman in rain.
The Principal JJpanisads Section 4
1. sarvasv apsu pahca-vidham samopasita, megho y at sampla- vate sa hirh-kd.ro yad varsati sa prastavo, yah pracyah syandante sa udgithah, yah pratiyah sa pratiharah, samudro nidhanam.
1. One should meditate on the fivefold Saman in all the waters. When a cloud forms, that is the syllable him, when it rains, that is a prastdva ; when (the waters) flow to the east, they are udgitha. When they flow to the west they are pratihara. The ocean is the nidhana.
2. He does not die in water, he becomes rich in water, he, who knowing this thus, meditates on the fivefold Saman in all the waters.
I. rtusu pahca-vidham samopasita vasanto him-karo, grismah prastavah, varsa udgithah, sarat pratiharah, hemanto nidhanam.
1. One should meditate on the fivefold Saman, among the seasons, the spring as the syllable him, the summer as the prastdva, the rainy season as the udgitha, the autumn as the pratihara and the winter as the nidhana.
2. The seasons belong to him and he becomes rich in seasons, he, who knowing this thus, meditates on the fivefold Saman in the seasons.
1. One should meditate on the fivefold Saman among the animals, the goats as the syllable him, the sheep as the prastava, the cows as the udgitha, the horses as the pratihara and the human being as the nidhana.
The human being is the culmination of animal development.
2. Animals belong to him and he becomes rich in animals, he, who knowing this thus, meditates on the fivefold Saman among the animals.
1. pranesu pahca-vidham paro-variyah samopasita, prano him- karo, vak prastavah, caksur udgithah, srotram pratiharah, mano nidhanam paro-vanyamsi va etani.
1. One should meditate on the most excellent fivefold Saman among the vital breaths, breath as the syllable him, speech as the prastava, the eye as the udgitha, the ear as the pratihara and the mind as the nidhana. These, verily, are the most excellent.
prana; breath. It is used to include the senses also. prana is also explained as ghrana, smell.
That which is higher than the high is called paro ( para u) . He who is higher than this is paro-varam. He who is higher than this paro-varam is called paro-vanyah. Madhva.
2. paro-variyo hasya bhavati paro-variyaso ha lokah jayati ya etad evam vidvan pranesu pahca-vidham paro-variyah samopasta, iti tu pahca-vidhasya.
2. The most excellent belongs to him, he wins the most excellent worlds, he, who knowing this thus, meditates on the most excellent Saman among the vital breaths.
The Principal Upanisads Section 8
1. atha sapta-vidhasya, vaci sapta-vidham samopasita, yat kirn ca vaco hum iti sa himkaro, yat preti sa prastavah, yad eti sa adih.
1. Now for the sevenfold. One should meditate on the seven¬ fold Saman in speech. Whatsoever of speech is hum, that is the syllable him] whatsoever is pra, that is prastava] and the syllable a as the first (or the beginning).
2. Whatsoever is ut, that is an udgitha ; whatsoever is prati, that is a pratihara ; whatsoever is upa, that is an upadrava (or approach to the end); whatsoever is ni, that is nidhana (or conclusion) .
3. For him speech yields milk, which is the milk of speech and he becomes rich in food and eater of food; he, who knowing this thus, meditates on the sevenfold Saman in speech.
1. atha khalv amum adityam sapta-vidham samopasita, sarvada samastena sama, mam prati mam pratiti sarvena samastena sama,
1. One should meditate on the sevenfold Saman in the sun. He is Sama because he is always the same. He is the same with everyone since people think ‘He faces me.’ ‘He faces me.'
2. tasminn imani sarvani bhutany anvayattaniti vidyat tasya yat purodayat sa him-karas tadasya pasavo’ nvayattas tasmat te him kurvanti him-kara-bhajino hy etasya sdmnah.
2. One should know that all beings here depend on him. What he is before rising is the syllable him. On this depend the animals. Therefore they utter the syllable him. Truly they are partakers in the syllable him of the Saman.
3. atha yat prathamodite sa prastavas tad asya manusya anvayattas, tasmdt te prastuti-kamah prasamsa-kdmah prastava- bhajino hy etasya samnah.
3. Now when it is just after sunrise, that is a prastava. On this men depend. Therefore they are desirous of praise, desirous of laudation. Truly they are partakers in the prastava of that Saman.
Men are generally lovers of name and fame.
4. atha yat sahgava-velayam sa adih. tad asya vayamsy anvaya- ttani, tasmdt tany antarikse narambanany adayd’tmdnam pari- patanty adi-bhajlni hy etasya samnah.
4. Now when it is the sahgava (cowgathering) time, that is adi. On this depend the birds. Therefore they hold themselves without support, in the atmosphere and fly about. Truly, they are partakers in the adi of the Saman.
5. atha yat samprati madhyan-dine sa udglthah, tad asya deva anvayattah, tasmdt te sattamah prajapatyanam udgltha-bhajino hy etasya samnah.
5. Now, when it is just midday, that i£ an udgltha. On this the gods depend. Therefore they are the best of Prajapati’s offspring. Truly they are partakers in the udgitha of that Saman.
6. atha yad urdhvam madhyan-dinat prag aparahnat sa prati- haras, tad asya garbha anvayattas, tasmdt te pratihrta navapady- ante, pratihara-bhajino hy etasya samnah.
6. Now when it is past midday and before the afternoon — that is a pratihara. On this all foetuses depend. Therefore they are held up and do not drop down. Truly, they are partakers in the pratihara of that Saman.
7. atha yad urdhvam aparahnat prag astamayat, sa upadravah, tad asyaranya anvayattah, tasmdt te purusam drstva kaksam svabhram ity upadravanty upadrava-bhajino hy etasya samnah.
7. Now when it is past afternoon and before sunset, that is an upadrava. On this the wild animals depend. Therefore when they see a man, they run to a hiding-place as their hole. Truly they are partakers in the upadrava of that Saman.
8. atha yat prathamastamite tan nidhanam, tad asya pitaro’ nv ay attah, tasmdt tan nidadhati nidhana-bhajino hy etasya samnah, evam khalv amum adityam sapta-vidham sdmopaste.
366 The Principal Upanisads II. 10. 5.
8. Now when it is just after sunset, that is the nidhana. On this the fathers depend. Therefore the people lay aside the fathers. Truly they are partakers of the nidhana of that Saman. Thus does one meditate on the sevenfold Saman in the sun.
1. atha khalv atma-sammitam atimrtyu sapta-vidham samo pasita; him-kara iti try-aksaram prastava iti try-aksaram tat samam.
1. Now, then, one should meditate on the sevenfold Saman which is uniform in itself and leads beyond death. The syllable him has three letters, prastava has three letters. That is the same.
Though in English they are syllables, in Sanskrit each English syllable is represented by one letter.
3. udgitha iti try-aksaram upadrava-iti catur-aksaram tribhis tribhih samam bhavati aksaram atisisyate; try-aksaram tat samam.
3. Udgitha has three letters; upadrava has four letters. Three and three, that is the same, one letter left over. Having three letters, that is the same.
What is left over is supposed to have three letters.
5. eka-vimsaty adityam apnoti, eka-vimso vd ito’sav adityo, dva-vimsena par am adityaj jay ati; tan nakam, tad visokam.
5. With the twenty first, one obtains the sun. Verily, the sun is the twenty-first from here. With the twenty-second he
conquers what is beyond the sun. That is bliss. That is sorrow¬ less.
£ quotes ‘The twelve months, the five seasons (taking the whole of winter as one) and the three worlds (earth, atmosphere and sky) (make up twenty) and the sun is the twenty-first.’
6. apnoti hadityasya jay am, paro hasyaditya-jayaj jayo bhavati, ya etad evarn vidvan atma-sammitam ati-mrtyu sapta-vidham samopaste, samopaste.
6. He obtains the victory of the sun, indeed a victory higher than the victory of the sun is his, who, knowing this thus, meditates on the sevenfold Saman, uniform in itself, which leads beyond death, yea, who meditates on the (sevenfold) Saman.
1. The mind is the syllable him, speech is the prastava, the eye is the udgitha, the ear is the pratihara, the breath is the nidhana. This is the Gayatra- chant woven in the vital breaths.
2. sa ya evam etad gayatram pranesu protam veda pram bha¬ vati, sarvam ayur eti, jyog jivati, mahan prajaya pasubhir bhavati, mahan kirtya mahamanah syat, tad vratam.
2. He who knows thus this Gayatra chant as woven in the vital breaths, becomes the possessor of vital breaths, reaches the full length of life, lives well, becomes great in offspring and in cattle, great in fame. One should be great-minded. That is the rule.
mahamanah: great-minded. He will not be petty-minded, aksudra cittah. S.
1. abhimanthati sa him karah, dhumo jay ate sa prastavah, jvalati sa udgitho’hgara bhavanti sa pratiharah, upasamyati tan
368 The Principal Upanisads II. 13. 2
nidhanam; samsamyati lan nidhanam; etad rathantaram agnau protam.
1. One rubs the fire-sticks together — that is the syllable him. Smoke is produced, that is the prastava. It blazes. That is the udgitha. Coals are produced, that is the pratihara. It becomes extinct, that is the nidhana. This is the Rathantara as woven on fire.
2. sa y a evam etad rathantaram agnau protam veda, brahma- varcasy annado bhavati, sarvam ayur eti, jyog jivati, mahan prajaya pasubhir bhavati, mahan kirtya; na pratyahh agnim acd- men na nisthivet, tad vratam
2. He who knows thus this Rathantara chant as woven on fire becomes radiant with sacred wisdoms, an eater of food, reaches the full length of life, lives well, becomes great in off¬ spring and in cattle, great in fame. One should not take a sip of water or spit before the fire. That is the rule.
1. upamantrayate sa him-karah, jhapayate sa prastavah, striya saha sete sa udgithah, prati strim saha sete sa pratiharah, kalarn gacchati tan nidhanam, par am gacchati tan nidhanam: etad vama- devyam mithune protam.
1. One summons, that is the syllable him. He makes request, that is a prastava. Along with the woman, he lies down, that is the udgitha. He lies on the woman, that is the pratihara. He comes to the end, that is the nidhana. He comes to the finish, that is the nidhana. This is the V amadevy a chant woven on sex intercourse.
2. sa y a evam etad vamadevyam mithune protam veda mithuni bhavati, mithunan mithunat prajayate, sarvam ayur eti, jyog jivati, mahan prajaya pasubhir bhavati mahan kirtya, na kahcana pariharet, tad vratam.
2. He who knows thus this V amadevy a chant as woven on sex intercourse, comes to intercourse, procreates himself from every act, reaches a full length of life, lives well, becomes great in offspring and in cattle, great in fame. One should not despise any woman. That is the rule.
1. udyan him-kdrah, uditah prastavah, madhyan-dina udgitho’ parahnah pratiharo’stam yan nidhanam: etad brhad aditye protam.
1. When the sun rises, it is the syllable him. When the sun has risen, it is the prastdva ; when it is midday, it is the udgitha. When it is afternoon, it is the pratihara. When (the sun) is set, it is the nidhana. This is the Brhat chant as woven on the sun.
2. sa y a evam etad brhad aditye protam veda, tejasvi annado bhavati, sarvam ayur eti, jyog jivati, mahan prajaya pasubhir bhavati mahan kirtya: tapantam na nindet, tad vratam.
2. He who knows thus this Brhat chant as woven on the sun becomes refulgent, an eater of food, reaches a full length of life, lives well, becomes great in offspring and in cattle, great in fame. One should not decry the burning sun. That is the rule.
1. abhrani samplavante sa himkarah, megho jay ate sa prastavah, varsati sa udgithah, vidyotate stanayati sapratiharah, udgrhnati tan nidhanam, etad vairupam parjanye protam.
1. The mists come together, that is the syllable him. A cloud is formed, that is the prastdva. It rains, that is the udgitha. It flashes and thunders, that is the pratihara. It holds up. That is the nidhana. This is the Vairupya chant woven on rain.
2. say a evam etad vairupam parjanye protam veda, virupams ca surupams capasun avarundhe, sarvam ayur eti, jyog jivati, mahan prajaya pasubhir bhavati, mahan kirtya, varsantam na nindet, tad vratam.
2. He who thus knows this Vairupya as woven on rain, acquires cattle, of various form and of beautiful form, reaches a full length of life, lives well, becomes great in offspring and in cattle, great in fame. One should not decry when it rains. That is the rule.
The Principal Upanisads Section 1 6
VAIRAJA chant
1. vasanto him-karah, grismah prastavah, varsa udgithah, sarat pratiharah, hemanto nidhanam, etat vairajam rtusu protam.
1. Spring is the syllable him, summer is the prastava, rainy season is the udgitha ; autumn is the pratihara\ winter is the nidhana. This is the Vairaja chant as woven on the seasons.
2. say a evam etad vairajam rtusu protam veda, virajati prajaya pasubhir brahma-varcasena, sarvam ayur eti, jyog jivati, mahan prajaya pasubhir bhavati mahan kirtyd; rtun na nindet, tad vratam.
2. He who knows thus this Vairaja chant as woven on the seasons shines with children, cattle and the lustre of sacred wisdom, reaches a full length of life, lives well, becomes great in offspring and cattle, great in fame. One should not decry the seasons. That is the rule.
SAKVARl CHANT
1. prthivi him-karo ntariksam prastavah, dyaur udgithah, disah pratiharah, samudro nidhanam, etah sakvaryo lokesu protdh.
1. The earth is the syllable him. The atmosphere is the prastava. The sky is the udgitha, the quarters of space are pratihara. The ocean is the nidhana. These are the verses of the Sakvari chant woven on the worlds.
2. sa ya evam etah sakvaryo lokesu prota veda, loki bhavati, sarvam ayur eti, jyog jivati, mahan prajaya pasubhir bhavati mahan kirtya; lokan na nindet, tad vratam.
2. One who knows these verses of the Sakvari chant as woven on the worlds becomes possessed of the worlds, reaches a full length of life, lives well, becomes great in offspring and cattle, great in fame. One should not decry the worlds. That is the rule.
1. The goats are the syllable him. The sheep are the prastava. The cows are the udgxtha. The horses are the pratihara. The human being is the nidhana. These are the verses of the Revatx chant woven on the animals.
2. say a evam eta revatyah paiusuprota veda, paiuman bhavati, sarvam ayur eti, jyog jxvati, mahan prajaya pasubhir bhavati mahan kxrtya; pasun na nindet, tad vratam.
2. He who knows thus these verses of the Revatx chant as woven on the animals becomes the possessor of animals, reaches the full length of life, lives well, becomes great in offspring and cattle, great in fame. One should not decry animals. That is the rule.
YAJNAYAJNlYA CHANT
1. lomahim-karah, tv ak prastavah, mamsam udgxtho’ sthi prati- harah, majja nidhanam, etad yajhayajhxyam ahgesu protam.
1. Hair is the syllable him. Skin is the prastava. Flesh is the udgxtha. Bone is the pratihara. Marrow is nidhana. This is the Y ajhayajhiy a chant woven on the members of the body.
2. sa ya evam etad yajhayajhxyam ahgesu protam vedahgx bhavati, nahgena vihurchati, sarvam ayur eti, jyog jxvati mahan prajaya pasubhir bhavati mahan kxrtya, samvatsaram majjho nasnxyat, tad vratam; majjho nasnxyat iti vd.
2. He who thus knows this Y ajhayajhxy a chant as woven on the members of the body becomes equipped with limbs; does not become defective in any limb, reaches the full length of life, lives well, great in offspring and cattle, great in fame. One should not eat of marrow for a year. That is the rule. Rather, one should not eat of marrow at all.
The plural number majjho is used to include fish also. S.
372 The Principal Upani$ads II. 21. 2
1. agnir him-karah, vayuh prastavah, aditya udgithah, nak- satrani pratiharah, candramd nidhanam: etad rajanam devatasu protam.
1. Fire is the syllable him; Air is the prastava. Sun is the udgitha. Stars are the pratihara and moon is the nidhana. This is the Rajana chant woven on the divinities.
2. sa y a evam etad rajanam devatasu protam vedaitasam eva devatanam salokatam sarstitam sayujyam gacchati, sarvam ayur eti, jyog jivati, mahan prajaya paiubhir bhavati mahan kirtya; brdhmanan na nindet, tad vratam.
2. He who knows thus this Rajana chant as woven on the divinities goes to the same world, to equality and to complete union with these very divinities, reaches the full length of life, lives well, becomes great in offspring and cattle, great in fame. One should not decry the Brahmanas. That is the rule.
He is lifted to the region of the deity whom he has loved and worshipped during life. Salvation does not consist in absorption with the Absolute or assimilation to God but in getting near His presence and participating in His glory.
1. trayi vidya him-karah, traya ime lokah sa prastavo’gnir vayur ddityah sa udgithah, naksatrdni vayamsi maricayah sa pratiharah, sarpa gandharvah pitaras tan nidhanam, etat sama sarvasmin protam.
1. The threefold knowledge is the syllable him. The three worlds here are the prastava. Fire, air and sun are the udgitha; stars, birds and the light rays are the pratihara; serpents, gandharvas and the fathers are the nidhana. This is the chant as woven in all.
3. On this, there is this verse. There are triple things which are fivefold. Greater than these, there is nothing else besides.
4. He who knows that, knows all. All the quarters of space bring him gifts. One should meditate (on the thought) 'I am the All.' That is the rule, yea, that is the rule.
I. vinardi samno vrne pasavyam ity agner udgitho’ niruktah prajdpateh, niruktah somasya, mrdu slaksnam, vdyoh, slaksnam balavad indrasya, krauhcam brhaspateh, apadhvantam varunasya: tan sarvan evopaseveta, varunam tv eva varjayet.
1. Of the Sdman, I choose the high-sounding one as good for cattle, this is the song sacred to Fire. The undefined one belongs to Praja-pati, the defined one to Soma; the soft and the smooth to Vayu, the smooth and strong to Indra; the heron-like to Brhaspati, the ill-sounding to Varuna. Let one practise all these but one should avoid that belonging to Varuna.
2. amrtatvam devebhya agayanity agayet svadham pitrbhya asam manusyebhyas trnodakam pasubhyah svargam lokam yajamanayannam atmana agay unity etani manasa dhyayann apramattah stuvita.
2. ‘Let me secure immortality for the gods by singing’ thus should one sing. ‘Let me secure offerings for the fathers by singing hope for men, grass and water for the cattle, the world of heaven for the sacrificer and food' for myself.’ Thus reflecting in his mind on all these, one should sing the praises carefully.
3. sarve svara indrasyatmanah sarva usmanah prajapater atmanah sarve sparsa mrtyor atmanah, tam yadi svaresupdlabhe- tendram saranam prapanno’bhuvam sa tv a prati vaksyatity enam bruyat.
374 The Principal Upanisads II. 23. 1.
3. All vowels are the embodiments of Indra; all spirants are the embodiments of Praja-pati; all consonants are the embodi¬ ments of Death. If one should reproach a person for his vowels, he should tell that one, ‘I have taken my refuge in Indra. He will answer you.’
4. atha yady enam usmasupalabheta, prajapatim saranam prapanno’ bhuvam, sa tva prati peksyatity enam bhuyat. atha yady enam sparsesupalabheta: mrtyum saranam, prapanno' bhuvam sa tva prati dhaksyatity enam bruyat.
4. So if one should reproach a person for his spirants he should tell that one ‘I have taken refuge in Praja-pati. He will smash you.’ And if one should reproach a person for his consonants he should tell that one, ‘I have taken refuge in Death. He will burn you up.’
5. sarve svara gho$avanto balavanto vaktavya indre balam dadaniti, sarva usmano’ grasta anirasta vivrta vaktavyah praja- pater atmanam paridadaniti , sarve sparsa lesenanabhinihitd vaktavya mrtyor atmanam pariharaniti.
5. All the vowels should be pronounced resonant and strong, (with the thought) ‘May I impart strength to Indra.’ All the spirants should be pronounced well open, without being slurred over, without being elided, (with the thought) ‘May I give myself to Praja-pati.' All the consonants should be pro¬ nounced slowly, without merging them together (with the thought) ‘May I withdraw myself from Death.’
1. trayo dharma-skandhah; yajho’ dhyayanam danam iti, pra- thamas tapa eva, dvitiyo br ahmacary deary a-kula-vasi, trtiyo’- tyantam atmanam deary akule vasadayan: sarva ete punya-loka bhavanti, brahma-samstho' mrtatvam eti.
1. There are three branches of duty, sacrifice, study and almsgiving — Austerity, indeed, is the hrst. The second is the pursuit of sacred wisdom, dwelling in the house of the teacher. Absolutely controlling his body in the house of the teacher, is the third. All these attain to the worlds of the virtuous. He who stands firm in Brahman attains life eternal.
tapah: austerity. It is used sometimes to comprehend all forms of the pursuit of self-control.
ftarii tapas, satyam tapas, srutam tapas, santarh tapo, danam tapo, yajhas tapo bhur bhuvas svar brahmaitad upasyaitat tapah. Narayaniya. 8.
brahmacarya: the practice of continence.
Brahman is also used for tapas or austerity. Cp. bhagavan kasyapah sasvate brahmani vartate. Kalidasa: Sakuntala Act I. The commen¬ tators interpret Brahman as tapas. brahma-samstha: He who stands firm in Brahman.
§ suggests that this refers to the parivrdt or the monk who alone obtains eternal life, while others who practise active virtues obtain the worlds of the virtuous. He, however, points out that there is another view held by the Vrttikara, that anyone who stands firm in the eternal obtains the life eternal. He need not be a samnyasin. § argues that the true brahma-samstha is the samnyasin who gives up all actions : karma-nivrtti-laksanam parivrajyam brahma-samsthat- vam. S.
2. praja-patir lokan abhyatapat ; tebhyo abhitaptebhyas trayl vidya samprasravat, tam abhyatapat, tasya abhitaptaya etany aksarani samprasravanta bhur bhuvah svar iti.
2. Praja-pati brooded on the worlds. From them, thus brooded upon, issued forth the threefold knowledge. He brooded on this. From it, thus brooded upon, issued forth these syllables, bhuh, bhuvah, svah.
threefold knowledge: three Vedas.
bhuh, earth; bhuvah, atmosphere; svah, sky.
3. tan abhyatapat, tebhyo’bhitaptebhya aumkarah samprasravat, tad yatha sahkuna sarvani parnani sarhtrnnany evam aumkarena sarva vak samtrnnaurhkara evedarh sarvam, aumkara evedam sarvam.
3. He brooded on them and on them, thus brooded upon, issued forth the syllable Aum. As all leaves are held together by a stalk, so is all speech held together by Aum. Verily, the syllable Aum is all this, yea, the syllable Aum is all this.
The Principal Upanisads Section 24
1. brahmavadino vadanti yad vasunam pratah savanam, rudranam madhyan-dinam savanam, ddityanam ca visvesam ca devanam trtiya-savanam.
1. The expounders of sacred wisdom declare that the morning offering belongs to the Vasus, the midday offering to the Rudras and the third (evening) offering to the Adityas and the Visve-devas.
2. Where then is the world of the sacrificer? If he knows not (this), how can he perform (sacrifices)? So, let him, who knows, perform.
3. Before the commencement of the morning litany, he sits behind the garhapatya fire, facing the north and sings the chant sacred to the Vasus.
In Srauta sacrifices, three fires are recognised, ahavaniya, daksina and garhapatya, corresponding to heaven, sky and earth. They are dedicated to the worlds of gods, ancestors and men respectively.
5. Then he makes the offering (reciting) ‘Adoration to Fire, who dwells on earth, who dwells in the world. Obtain the world for me, the sacrificer. To this world of the sacrificer, I will go.’
6. atra yajamanah parastad ayusah svaha’pajahi parigham ity ukvottisthati; tasmai vasavah pratah savanam samprayacchanti.
6. Thither will the sacrificer, after life, go. Hail, take away the bolt. Having said this, he rises. For him the Vasus fulfil the morning offering.
7. Before the commencement of the mid-day offering, he sits behind the Agnidhrxya fire, and facing the north, he sings the chant sacred to the Rudras.
9. Then he makes the offering (reciting) ‘Adoration to Air, who dwells in the sky and dwells in the world. Obtain the world for me, the sacrificer. To this world of the sacrificer I will go.’
10. atra yajamanah parastad ayusah svaha’pajahi parigham ity uktvottisthati , tasmai rudrd madhyan-dinam savanam sampra- yacchanti.
10. Thither, will the sacrificer, after life, go. Hail, take away the bolt. Having said this, he rises. For him, the Rudras fulfil the midday offering.
11. Before the commencement of the third offering, he sits behind the Ahavamya fire, facing the north, he sings the chant sacred to the Adityas and Visve-devas
13. Thus the chant to the Adityas: now the chant to the Visved-evas : Open the door to this world that we may see thee for the obtaining of sovereignty.
14. Then he makes the offering (reciting) ‘Adoration to the Adityas and to the Visve-devas, who dwell in heaven and dwell in the world, obtain the world for me, the sacrificer.’
15- esa vai yajamanasya lokah, etasmy atra yajamanah parastad ayusah svahd’pahata parigham ity uktvottisthati.
378 The Principal Upanisads II. 24. 16.
15. 'Verily, to this world of the sacrificer will I go. Thither will the sacrificer after life go. Hail, take away the bolt.’ Having said this, he rises.
16. tasma adityas ca visve ca devas trtiya-savanam sampra- yacchanti, esa ha vai yajhasya matrarh veda, ya evarh veda, ya evarii veda.
16. For him, the Adityas and the Visve-devas fulfil the third offering. He, who knows this, knows the fulness of the sacrifice, yea, he who knows this.
Chandogya Upanisad
1. Verily, yonder sun is the honey of the gods. Of this the sky is the cross-beam; the atmosphere is the honeycomb; the particles of light are the brood.
The sun is treated as the object of meditation. The sky is the crossbeam from which the honeycomb hangs.
2. tasya ye prahco rasmayah ta evasya pracyo madhunadyah rca eva madhukrtah rgveda eva puspam, ta amrta apah ta va eta rcah.
2. The eastern rays of that sun are its eastern honey cells. The Rks are the producers of honey. The Rg Veda is the flower and those waters are the nectar and those very Rks indeed (are the bees).
‘Just as the bees produce honey by extracting the juices of flowers, so do the rks make their honey by extracting the juices of actions prescribed in the Rg Veda.’
3. These brooded on the Rg Veda\ from it, thus brooded upon, issued forth as its essence, fame, splendour, (vigour of the) senses, virility, food and health.
1. athaye’ sy a daksina ra&mayas ta evasya daksina madhu-nadyo yajumsy eva madhu-krto yajur veda eva puspam, ta amrta apah.
380 The Principal Upanisads III. 3. 3.
1. Now its southern rays are its southern honey-cells. The Yajus formulae are the producers of honey. The flower is the Yajur Veda and these waters are the nectar.
2. tdni va etani yajumsy etam yajur vedam abhyatapams, tasya- bhitaptasya yasas, teja, indriyam, viryam, annadyam, raso’ jayata.
2. Verily, these yajus formulae brooded on the Yajur Veda ; from it, thus brooded upon, issued forth as its essence, fame, splendour, (vigour of the) senses, virility, food and health.
1. athaye’sya pratyahco rasmayas ta evasya praticyo madhu-na- dyah samany eva madhu-krtah sama veda eva puspam, ta amrta apah.
1. Now, its western rays are its western honey-cells. The Saman chants are the producers of honey. The flower is the Sama Veda and these waters are the nectar.
2. tdni va etani samany etam sama vedam abhyatapams tasyabhitaptasya yasas, teja, indriyam, viryam, annadyam, raso’ jayata.
2. Verily, these Saman chants brooded on the Sama Veda; from it, thus brooded upon, issued forth, as its essence, fame, splendour, (vigour of the) senses, virility, food and health.
1. atha ye syodahco rasmayas la evdsyodicyo madhu-nadyo’ tharvangirasa eva madhu-krtah, itihasa-puranam puspam, ta amrta apah.
1. Now its northern rays are its northern honey-cells. (The hymn of the) Atharvans and the Angirasas are the honey producers. The flower is legend and ancient lore. These waters are the nectar.
The stories from the Epics and the Puranas were repeated at some sacrifices. They are mentioned in the Brahmanas, and later collected in the Mahabharata and the Puranas.
2. te va ete tharvangirasa etad itihasa-puranam abhyatapams, • tasyabhitaptasya yasas, teja, indriyam, viryam, annadyam, raso’ jayata.
2. Verily, these (hymns) of the Atharvans and Angirasas brooded upon that legend and ancient lore. From them, thus brooded upon, issued forth, as their essence, fame, splendour, (vigour of the) senses, virility, food and health.
1. Now, its upward rays are its upper honey cells. The hidden teachings (the Upanisads) are the honey producers. Brahman is the flower. These waters are the nectar.
Brahman, according to S, here signifies the pranava, i.e. the syllable aum.
2. te va ete guhya ddesd etad brahmabhyatapams tasyabhita- ptasya yasas, teja, indriyam, viryam, annadyam, raso’ jayata.
382 The Principal Upanisads III. 6. 3.
2. These hidden teachings brooded on Brahman, and from it thus brooded upon, issued forth, as its essence, fame, splendour, (vigour of the) senses, food and health.
4. te va ete rasanam rasah. veda hi rasah, tesam ete rasah, tani va etany amrtanam amrtani, veda hy amrtah, tesam etany amrtani.
4. Verily, these are the essences of the essences, for the Vedas are the essences and these are their essences. Verily, these are the nectars of the nectars for the Vedas are the nectars and these are their nectars.
According to § all these are meant to emphasise the importance of eulogised actions: karma-stutir esah.
1 tad yat prathamam amrtam tad vasava upajivanty agnina mukhena, na vai deva asnanti na pibanty etad evamrtam drstva trpyanti.
1. That which is the first nectar, on that live the Vasus, through fire as their mouth. Verily the gods neither eat nor drink. They are satisfied merely with seeing that nectar.
3. sa y a etad evam amrtam veda, vasunam evaiko bhutvagnin- aiva mukhenaitad evamrtam drstva trpyati, sa etad eva rupam abhisamvisati , etasmad rupad udeti.
3. He who knows thus this nectar becomes one of the Vasus and through the fire as his mouth is satisfied merely with seeing the nectar. He retires into this form (colour) and comes forth from this form (colour).
4. As long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so long does he attain the worship and sovereignty of the Vasus.
1. atha yad dvitiyam amrtam, tad rudra upajivantindrena mukhena, na vai devd ainanti, na pibanti, etad evamrtam drstva trpyanti.
1. Now that which is the second nectar, on that live the Rudras, through Indra as their mouth, Verily, the gods neither eat nor drink. They are satisfied merely with seeing that nectar.
3. sa y a etad evam amrtam veda rudranam evaiko bhutven- drenaiva mukhenaitad evamrtam drstva trpyati, sa etad eva rupam abhisamviiati , etasmad rupad udeti.
3. Who knows thus this nectar becomes one of the Rudras and with Indra as his mouth is satisfied merely with seeing the nectar. He retires into this form (colour) and comes forth from this form (colour).
4. sa yavad- adityah purastad udeta, paicad astam eta, dvis tavad daksinata udetottarato’ Siam eta, rudranam eva tavad adhi- Patyam svarajyam paryeta.
4. As long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, twice as long does it rise in the south and set in the north and just that long does he attain the lordship and sovereignty of the Rudras.
1. atha yat trttyam amrtam, tad aditya upajivanti varunena mukhena, na vai devd asnanti, na pibanti, etad evamrtam drstva trpyanti.
384 The Principal Upanisads III. 9. 3.
1. Now, that which is the third nectar, on that live the Adityas through Vanina as their mouth. Verily, the gods neither eat nor drink. They are satisfied merely with seeing that nectar.
3 sa ya etad evam amrtam vedadityanam evaiko bhutva varun- enaiva mukhenaitad evamrtam drstva trpyati, sa etad eva rupam abhisamvisati, etasmad rupad udeti.
3. He who knows thus this nectar, becomes one of the Adityas and with Varuna as his mouth, is satisfied merely with seeing the nectar. He retires into this form (colour) and comes forth from this form (colour).
4. sa yavad adityo daksinata udetottarato’ stam eta, dvis tavat pascad udeta purastad astam eta, adityanam eva tavad adhipatyam svarajyam paryeta.
4. As long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west twice as long does it rise in the west and set in the east and just that long does he attain the lordship and sovereignty of the Adityas.
I. atha yac caturtham amrtam, tan maruta upajivanti somena mukhena, na vai deva asnanti, na pibanti, etad evamrtam drstva trpyanti.
1. Now that which is the fourth nectar, on that live the Maruts, through Soma as their mouth; Verily, the gods neither eat nor drink. They are satisfied merely with seeing that nectar.
3. sa ya etad evam amrtam veda, marutam evaiko bhutva somenaiva mukhenaitad evamrtam drstva trpyati, sa etad eva rupam abhisamvisati. etasmad rupad udeti.
3. He who knows thus this nectar, becomes one of the Maruts and through Soma as his mouth, is satisfied merely with seeing the nectar. He retires into this form (colour) and comes forth from this form (colour).
4. sa yavad adityah pascad udeta, purastad astam eta, dvis tavad uttarata udeta, daksinato’ stam eta, marutam eva tavad adhipatyam svdrajyam paryeta.
4. As long as the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, just that twice as long does the sun rise in the north and set in the south just that long does he attain the lordship and sovereignty of the Maruts.
1. atha y at pahcamam amrtam tat sadhya upajivanti brahmana mukhena, na vai dev a asnanti, na pibanti, etad ev amrtam drstva trpyanti.
1. Now, that which is the fifth nectar, on that live the Sadhyas, through Brahma as their mouth. Verily, the gods neither eat nor drink. They are satisfied merely with seeing that nectar.
3 . sa y a etad evam amrtam veda, sadhyanam evaiko bhutva brahmanaiva mukhenaitad evamrtam drstva trpyanti, sa etad eva rupam abhisamvisati, etasmad rupad udeti.
3. He, who knows thus this nectar, becomes one of the Sadhyas and through Brahma as his mouth, is satisfied merely with seeing the nectar. He retires into this form (colour) and comes forth from this form (colour).
4. sa yavad aditya uttarata udeta, daksinato’ stam eta, dvis tavad urdhva udetdrvah astam eta, sadhyanam eva tavad adhipa tyam svdrajyam, paryeta.
4. As long as the sun rises in the north and sets in the south, twice as long does it rise in the zenith and set in the nadir,
386 The Principal Upanisads III. 11. 5.
just that long does he attain the lordship and sovereignty of the Sadhyas.
1. Henceforth, after having risen in the zenith, he will no more rise nor set. He will stand alone in the middle. On this, there is this verse :
The movements of the sun are intended to help the creatures to experience the results of their actions, and when these experiences have ended the sun takes the creatures unto himself, praninam sva-karma-phala-bhoga-nimittam anugraharh tat karma-phalopabho- ga-ksaye tani prani-jatany atmani samhytya. S.
The question is raised whether the sun in the regions of Brahma moves along nights and days. The reply is given in the next verse.
2. It is not so there. The sun has not set; nor has he ever risen. O ye gods, by this truth, may I not fall from Brahma.
He calls the gods to bear witness to the truth of his statement.
3. Verily, for him, who knows thus, this mystic doctrine of Brahma, the sun neither rises nor sets. For him it is day for ever.
‘The knower becomes the eternal inborn Brahman, unconditioned by time marked by the rising and setting of the sun.’ vidvan uda- ydsta-maya-kaldparicchedyarh nityam ajam brahma bhavati.
4. tadd haitad brahma prajapataya uvaca, prajapatir manave, manuh prajabhyah, tadd haitad uddalakaya runaye jye?thaya putraya pita brahma provaca.
4. Brahma told this to Praja-pati\ Praja-pati to Manu; Manu to his descendants. To Uddalaka Aruni, the eldest son, his father declared this Brahma.
6. nanyasmai kasmai cana, yady apy asma imam adbhih parigrhitam dhanasya purnarh dadyad, etad eva tato bhuya ity etad eva tato bhuya iti.
6. And to no one else. Even if one should offer him the whole of this (earth) encompassed by water and filled with treasure. (He should say) ‘This, truly, is greater than that — yea, greater than that.’
1. Verily, the Gayatri is all this that has come to be, what¬ soever there is here. Speech, verily, is Gayatri. Verily, the Gayatri sings of and protects everything here that has come to be.
As Brahman is incomprehensible by itself, these symbols are employed. For Madhva Gayatri is not the metre of that name but Visnu.
2. Verily, what this Gayatri is, that, verily, is what this earth is, for on it everything here that has come to be is established. It does not go beyond it.
3. Verily, what this earth is, that, verily, is what the body in man here is: for on it these vital breaths are established. They do not go beyond it.
4. yad vai tat puru§e iariram idam vava tad yad idam asminn antah puru?e hrdayam, asmin hime pranah pratisthitah, etad eva natiiiyante.
4. Verily, what the body in man is, that, verily, is what the heart within man here is : for on it these vital breaths are established. They do not go beyond it.
388 The Principal Upanisads III. 13. 1.
The Gayatri is a metre with four feet, each foot having four syllables. It is sixfold in the shape of speech, creatures, earth, body, heart and vital breath. £.
6. Its greatness is of such extent, yet Purusa is greater still. All beings are one fourth of him. The three fourths, immortal, is in the sky.
The Purusa is so called because it fills everything and lies in the body: sarva-puranat puri sayanac ca. S.
7. Verily, what is called Brahman, that is what the space outside of a person is. Verily, what the space outside of a person is.
9. ayam vava sa yo’yam antar-hrdaya akasah, tad etat purnam apravarti, purnam apravartinim sriyam labhate ya evarh veda.
9. That is the same as what the space here within the heart is. That is the full, the non-active. He who knows thus, obtains full and non-active prosperity. non-active: unchanging.
i. tasya ha va etasya hrdayasya pahca deva-susayah, sayo’sya prdh susih sa pranah, tac caksuh, sa adityah, tad etat tejo’ nnadyam ity updstta, tejasvy annddo bhavati ya evarh veda.
1. Verily, indeed, this heart here has five openings for the gods. Its eastern opening is the prana (up-breath). That is
the eye; that is the sun. One should meditate on this as glow and as health. He who knows this becomes glowing and healthy.
2. atha yo’sya daksinah susih sa vyanah, tac chrotram, sa candramah, tad etac chrls ca yasas cety updslta suntan yasasvl bhavati ya evarit veda.
2. Now its southern opening is vyana (the diffused breath). That is the ear: that is the moon. One should meditate on this as prosperity and fame. He who knows this becomes prosperous and famous.
3. atha yo’sya pratyari susih so’panah, sa vak so’gnih tad etad brahma-varcasam annadyam ity updslta brahma-varcasy annado bhavati y a evarit veda.
3. Now, its western opening is apana (downward breath). That is speech, that is fire. One should meditate on it as the lustre of sacred wisdom and health. He who knows this becomes possessed of the lustre of sacred wisdom and health.
4. atha yo’syodari susih sa samanah, tan manah, sa parjanyah, tad etat klrtis ca vyustis cety updslta, klrtimdn vyustiman bhavati ya evarit veda.
4. Now, this northern opening is samana (equalised breath). That is mind, that is rain; one should meditate on it as fame and beauty. He who knows this becomes famous and beauteous.
kirtih: fame; celebrity, due to the knowledge of the mind: manaso jrianasya klrti-hetutvat, atma-paroksarii visrutatvarii kirtih, yasah sva-kar ana-saritvedyarii visrutatvam.
vyustih: beauty; self-recognised beauty of the body, vyustih kantir deha-gatarit lavanyam.
5. atha yo’syordhvah susih sa udanah, sa vayuh, sa akasah, tad etad ojas ca mahas cety upasita, ojasvl mahasvan bhavati ya evarit veda.
5. Now, the upper opening is udana (out-breath). That is air, that is space. One should meditate on it as strength and great¬ ness. He who knows this becomes strong and great.
6. te va eteparica brahma-pur us ah svargasya lokasya dvara-pdh, sa ya etan evarit parica brahma-purusan svargasya lokasya dvara-pan veda, asya kule vlro jayate, pratipadyate svargarit lokam, ya etan evarit parica-brahma-purusan svargasya lokasya dvara-pan veda.
390 The Principal Upanisads III. 13. 8.
6. These, verily, are the five Brahma-persons, the door¬ keepers of the world of heaven. He who knows these five Brahma-persons, the doorkeepers of the world of heaven, in his family a hero is born. He who knows these five Brahma- persons, the doorkeepers of the world of heaven, himself reaches the world of heaven.
By controlling the eye, ear, speech, mind and breath through meditation, by checking their outward activities, we are enabled to reach the Brahma in the heart.
7. atha yad atah paro divo jyotir dlpyate visvatah prsthesu, sarvatah prsthesv anuttamesiittamesu lokesu, idarh vava tad yad idam asminn antah puruse jyotih.
7. Now the light which shines above this heaven, above all, above everything, in the highest worlds beyond which there are no higher, verily, that is the same as this light which is here within the person.
8. tasyaisa drstih, yatraitad asmih ianre samsparsenosni- manam vijanati, tasyaisa irutih yatraitat karnav apigrhya ninadam iva nadathur ivagner iva jvalata upairnoti, tad etad drstam ca srutam cety upasita: caksusyah sruto bhavati ya evam veda, ya evam veda.
8. There is this seeing of it, as when, in this body, one perceives the warmth by touch. There is this hearing of it, as when, on closing the ears, one hears as it were a sound, as it were a noise, as of a fire blazing. One should meditate on this that has been seen and heard. One who knows this becomes one beautiful to see and heard of in renown, yea, one who knows this.
The writer here refers to visions and voices of which some mystic seers speak.
1. sarvam khalv idam brahma, tajjalan Hi, Santa upasita; atha khalu kratumayah purusah, yatha-kratur asminl loke puruso bhavati tathetah pretya bhavati, sa kratum kurvita.
1. Verily, this whole world is Brahman, from which he comes forth, without which he will be dissolved and in which he breathes. Tranquil, one should meditate on it. Now verily, a person consists of purpose. According to the purpose a person has in this world, so does he become on departing hence. So let him frame for himself a purpose.
All this is Brahman: Cp. Maitri IV. 6. brahma khalv idam vdva sarvam. Brahman is prior to all this and produces all this.
The word tajjalan is explained by S as ‘beginning, ja, ending, la, and continuing, an,’ in it: tasmat brahmano jatam — alas tajjam, tatha tenaiva janana-kramena pratilomataya tasminn eva brahmani llyate, tad-atmataya slisyata iti tallam; tatha tasminn eva sthitikale’niti praniti cestata iti.
As we will, so will our reward be: kratv-anurupam phalam. S.
2. mano-mayah prana-Sariro bha-rupah satya-samkalpa akas- atma sarva-karma sarva-kamah sarva-gandhah sarva-rasah sarvam idam abhyatto’vaky anadarah.
2. He who consists of mind, whose body is life, whose form is light, whose conception is truth, whose soul is space, con¬ taining all works, containing all desires, containing all odours, containing all tastes, encompassing this whole world, being without speech and without concern.
$ means by prana-sarira, the subtle body.
Prana-Sarirah prano lihgatma vijhdna-kriya-sakti-dvaya-sammurchu tah. £.
3. esa ma atmantar hrdaye’myan vnher va, yavad va, sarsapad va, Syamakad va, Syamaka-tandulad va; esa ma atmantar hrdaye jyayan prthivyah, jyayan antariksaj jayan divah, jyayan ebhyo lokebhyah.
3. This is my self within the heart, smaller than a grain of rice, than a barley com, than a mustard seed, than a grain of millet or than the kernel of a grain of a millet. This is myself
392 The Principal Upanisads III. 15. 2.
within the heart, greater than the earth, greater than the atmosphere, greater than the sky, greater than these worlds.
4. sarva-karmd sarva-kamah sarva-gandhah, sarva-rasah, sar- vam idam abhydtto vdky anadarah, esa ma dtmantar hrdaye etad brahma, etam itah pretydbhisambhavitasmiti, yasya syat addha na vicikitsastiti ha smaha sandilyah, sandilyah.
4. Containing all works, containing all desires, containing all odours, containing all tastes, encompassing this whole world, without speech, without concern, this is the self of mine within the heart ; this is Brahman. Into him, I shall enter, on departing hence. Verily, he who believes this, will have no more doubts. Thus used to say Sandilya, yea Sandilya.
This is the famous Sandilya vidya which affirms the oneness of the individual soul and the Supreme Brahman. For Sandilya (1) the Absolute is that from which things are born, to which they repair and by which they live, (2) our next life depends on what we do in this life, (3) Atman is both the transcendent and the immanent, and (4) the end of man is union with the Self.
1. antariksodarah koso bhumi budhno na jiryati, diso hy asya sraktayo dyaur asyottaram bilam, sa esa koso vasu-dhdnas tasmin visvam idam sritam.
1. The chest, having the atmosphere for its inside, and the earth for its bottom does not decay. The quarters of space are its corners and its upper lid is the sky. This chest is one con¬ taining wealth and within it rests everything here.
2. tasya praci dig juhur nama, sahamana nama daksina, rajhl nama pratici, subhuta namodici, tasarh vayur vatsah, sa ya etam evam vayum disam vatsarn veda, na putra-rodam roditi, so’ ham etam evam vayum disam vatsarn veda, ma putra-rodam rudam.
2. The eastern quarter is named juhu; its southern quarter is named sahamana ; its western quarter is called rajhi; its northern quarter is called subhuta. The child of these is air. He who knows this air thus as the child of the quarters of space weeps not for a son. I here know this air thus as the child of the quarters of space, let me not weep for a son.
juhu is the sacrificial ladle. sahamana is ‘the region of Yama in which people suffer the results of evil deeds.’ S.
rdjnl is so called ‘because it is lorded over by the king ( rajan ) Varuna or because it is red ( rdga ) with the colours of evening.’ S. subhuta is ‘the region presided over by Kubera, the god of wealth.’ ma putra-rodarh rudam : May I not weep for the death of my son, may I have no occasion to weep for the death of my son : putra-marana- nimittam putra-rodo mama mabhut. 3.
If the promise made in III. 13-16, in his family a hero is born is to be fulfilled, this kosa-vijhana or knowledge of the treasure chest is needed.
3. aristam kosam prapadye 'mund’mund’mund, pranam prapadye, ’mund’mund’mund; bhuh prapadye mund’mund’mund; bhuvah prapadye ’mund’mund’mund; svah prapadye’ munamuna ’ muna .
3. I take refuge in the imperishable chest with this one, with this one, with this one. I take refuge in the breath, with this one, with this one, with this one. I take refuge in bhuh, with this one, with this one, with this one. I take refuge in bhuvah, with this one, with this one, with this one. I take refuge in svah, with this one, with this one, with this one.
The son’s name, § says, is to be uttered thrice, when praying to the different deities.
4. When I said, ‘I take refuge in breath,’ breath, verily, is everything here that has come to be, whatsoever there is. So it was in this I took refuge.
5. So when I said, ‘I take refuge in bhuh,’ what I said was ‘I take refuge in earth, I take refuge in atmosphere, I take refuge in sky.’
6. So when I said, ‘I take refuge in bhuvah,’ what I said was, ‘I take refuge in Fire, I take refuge in Air, I take refuge in Sun.’
7. atha yad avocam: svah prapadya ity rg vedam prapadye, yajur vedam prapadye, sama vedam prapadya ity eva tad avocam, tad avocam.
/
394 The Principal Upanisads III. 16. 3.
7. So when I said, ‘I take refuge in svah,’ What I said was, ‘I take refuge in the Rg Veda, I take refuge in the Yajur Veda, I take refuge in the Sama Veda. That was what I said.’
This section points out how symbols are used for worship and the objects prayed for are this- worldly.
1. puruso vava yajhah, tasya yani catur-vimsati varsani , tat pratah-savanam , catur-vimiaty-aksara gayatri, gayatram pratah- savavam, tad asya vasavo’ nvayattah, prana vava vasavah, ete hidarh sarvarh vasayanti.
1. Verily, a person is a sacrifice. His (first) twenty-four years are the morning libation, for the Gayatri (metre) has twenty- four syllables and the morning libation is offered with a gayatri hymn. With this (part of the sacrifice) the Vasus are connected. Verily, the vital breaths are the Vasus, for they cause every¬ thing here to endure.
2. tarn ced etasmin vayasi kim cid upatapet, sa bruyat, prana vasavah, idam me pratah-savanam madhyan-dinam-savanam anu samtanuteti, maham prananam vasunam madhye yajho vilop- siycti, udd haiva tata ety agado ha bhavati.
2. If in this period of life any sickness should overtake him, let him say, ‘O ye vital breaths, ye Vasus, let this morning libation of mine continue over to the midday libation. Let not me, the sacrifice, be broken off in the midst of the vital breaths, of the Vasus.’ He arises from it; he becomes free from sickness.
While the previous section dealt with the long life of the son, this deals with one’s own long life.
3. atha yani catuscatvarimsad varsani, tan madhyan-dinam- savanam catid-catvarim£ad-ak$ara tristup, traistubham madhyan- dinam-savanam, tad asya rudra anvayattah, prana vava rudrah, ete hidam sarvarh rodayanti.
3. Now the (next) forty-four years are the midday libation for the Tristubh (metre) has forty-four syllables and the midday libation is offered with a Tristubh hymn. With this (part of the sacrifice) the Rudras are connected. Verily, the vital breaths are
the Rudras for (on departing) they cause everything here to weep.
4. tam ced etasmin vayasi kim cid upatapet sa bruyat, prana rudrah idam me madhyan-dinam-savanam trtlya-savanam anu sarhtanuteti , maham prananam rudranam madhye yajno vilop- slyeti, udd haiva tata ety agado haiva bhavati.
4. If, in this period of life, any sickness should overtake him, let him say, ‘O ye vital breaths, ye Rudras, let this midday libation of mine continue over to the third libation. Let not me, the sacrifice, be broken off in the midst of the vital breaths, of the Rudras.’ He arises from it; he becomes free from sickness.
5. atha yany asta-catvarimiad varsani, tat trtlya-savanam, asta-catvarimiad-aksara jagatl, jagatam trtlya-savanam, tad asya ditya anvayattah, prana vavadityah, ete hldam sarvam adadate.
5. Now the (next) forty-eight years are the third libation for the jagatl (metre) has forty-eight syllables and the third libation is offered with a jagatl hymn. With this (part of the sacrifice) the Adityas are connected. Verily, the vital breaths are the Adityas for (on departing) they take everything to themselves.
6. tam ced etasmin vayasi kim. cid upatapet sa bruyat prana aditya idam me trtlya-savanam ayur anu sarhtanuteti, maham prananam adityanam madhye yajno vilopslyety , udd haiva tata ety agado haiva bhavati.
6. If, in this period of life, any sickness should overtake him, let him say, ‘0 ye vital breaths, ye Adityas, let this third liba¬ tion of mine continue to a full length of life. Let not me, the sacrifice, be broken off in the midst of the vital breaths, the Adityas.’ He arises from it; he becomes free from sickness.
7. etadd ha sma vai tad vidvan aha mahidasa aitareyah; sa kim ma etad upatapasi, yo’ham anena na presydmlti; sa ha sodasam var$a-6atam ajlvat; pra ha $odasam varsa-iatam jlvati, ya evarh veda.
7. Verily, it was knowing this that Mahidasa Aitareya used to say, ‘Why do you afflict me with this sickness, me, who am not going to die by it?’ He lived a hundred and sixteen years. He, too, who Knows this lives to a hundred and sixteen years.
Mahidasa Aitareya was a dasa or a iudra by birth. According to Sayana’s Introduction to the Aitareya Brahmana, he was the son of
396 The Principal Upanisads III. 17. 6.
a Brahmana seer by I tar a, a low-caste woman. As he was not given the same treatment as other sons, his mother prayed to Mahl or the goddess Earth, who granted her prayers. The son was enabled to compose the Brahmanas and the Aranyakas. This story implies a protest against the injustice of the caste system.
MAN’S LIFE A SACRIFICE
The writer gives an account of a sacrifice which can be performed without any ceremonial and in spirit even by hermits.
Privation is equated with initiation, enjoyments with the sacrificial sessions and chantings, the virtues with- the offerings, generation with regeneration and death with the last ritual the final bath.
upasada: a particular class of sacrifices who are happy because thev take only milk: upasadam ca payo-vratatva-nimittam sukham asti. S.
5. Therefore they say ‘He will procreate.' He has procreated — that is his new birth. Death is the final bath (after the ceremony).
6. tadd haitad ghora ahgirasah krsnaya devaki-putrayoktvo- vaca, a-pipasa eva sa babhiiva so’ntavelaydm etat trayam prati-
padyet: aksitam asi, acyutam asi, prana-samsitam asiti: tatraite dve rcau bhavatah.
6. When Ghora Angirasa, after having communicated this to Krsna, the son of Devaki, he also said, as he had become free from desire, ‘In the final hour, one should take refuge in these three (thoughts). Thou art the indestructible; thou art the un¬ shaken, thou art the very essence of life.’ On this point, there are these two Rg verses
§ points out that the references are to the Yajus verses beginning with (i) aksitam asi, (ii) acyutam asi, and (iii) prana-samsitam asi. See Bhagavad-Gita, p. 28.
devam devatra suryam aganma jyotir uttamam iti, jyotir uttamam iti.
7. Proceeding from the primeval seed, they see the morning light that shines higher than the sky. Seeing beyond darkness, the higher light, seeing the higher light, we attain to the. sun god among the gods, the highest light, yea, the highest light.
In some texts, after retasah, we find jyotih pasyanti vasaram, paro yad idhyate diva.
‘Those that know Brahman, with their eyes turned aside, with their hearts purged by the restrictions of the ascetic life like brahma- carya see the light all round’ : nivrtta-caksuso brahma-vido brahma- caryadi-nivrtti-sadhanaih suddhantahkarana a samantato jyotih pasyanti. S.
1. mano brahmety upasitety adhyatmam, athadhidaivatam akaso brahmety (updsita), ubhayam adistam bhavaty adhyatmam cddhidaivatam ca.
1. One should meditate on the mind as Brahman — -this with regard to the self. Now with reference to the divinities one should meditate on space as Brahman. This is the twofold instruction, that which refers to the body and that which refers to the divinities.
398 The Principal Upanisads
akasa or space is used as it is ‘all-pervading, subtle and free from limitations': sarva-gatatvat suksmatvat, upddhi-hinatvat. S.
2. tad etac catuspad brahma, vak padah, pranah padas caksuh padah srotram pada ity adhyatmam; athadhidaivatam, agnih pado vayuh padah, adityah pado disah pada ity ubhayam evadistam bhavaty adhyatmam caivadhidaivatam ca.
2. That Brahman has four quarters. Speech is one quarter, breath is one quarter, the eye is one quarter, the ear is one quarter. This with reference to the self. Now with reference to the divinities. Fire is one quarter, air is one quarter, the sun is one quarter and the directions are one quarter. This is the two¬ fold instruction with reference to the self and with reference to the divinities.
3. vag eva brahmanai caturthah padah, so’gnina jyotisa bhati ca tapati ca, bhati ca tapati ca kirtya yasasa brahma-varcasena, ya evam veda.
3. Speech, verily, is a fourth part of Brahman. It shines and warms with the light of fire. He who knows this shines and warms with fame, with renown, and with the radiance of Brahma-knowledge .
4. prana eva brahmanas caturthah padah, sa vayuna jyotisa bhati ca tapati ca, bhati ca tapati ca kirtya yaiasa brahma-varca¬ sena, ya evam veda.
4. Breath, verily, is a fourth part of Brahman. It shines and warms with the light of air. He who knows this shines and warms with fame, with renown, and with the radiance of Brahma- knowledge.
5. caksur eva brahmanas caturthah padah, sa adityena jyotisa bhati ca tapati ca, bhati ca tapati ca kirtya yasasa brahma-varca¬ sena, ya evam veda.
5. The eye, verily, is a fourth part of Brahman. It shines and warms with the light of the sun. He who knows this shines and warms with fame, with renown, and with the radiance of Brahma- knowledge.
6. srotram eva brahmanas caturthah padah, sa digbhir jyotisa bhati ca tapati ca, bhati ca tapati ca kirtya yasasa brahma-varca¬ sena, ya evam veda, ya evam veda.
6. The ear is a fourth part of Brahman. It shines and warms with the light of the directions. He who knows this shines and
warms with fame, with renown, and with the radiance of Brahma-knowledge .
1. adityo brahmety adesah, tasyopavydkhyanam: asad evedam agra asit, tat sad aslt, tat samabhavat, tad andarn niravartata, tat samvatsarasya matram asayata, tan nirabhidyata, te andakapdle rajatam ca suvarnam cabhavatam.
1. The Sun is Brahman — this is the teaching. An explanation thereof (is this). In the beginning this (world) was non-existent. It became existent. It grew. It turned into an egg. It lay for the period of a year. It burst open. Then came out of the egg¬ shell, two parts, one of silver, the other of gold.
See R.V. X. 129; Manu I. 12.
asat: non-existent, it does not mean absolute non-being. It is a state in which name and form were not manifested: avyakrta-nama-rupam. S. See also T.U. II. 7.
In C.U. VI. 2, the view that in the beginning there was only non- being is combated.
2. tad yad rajatam seyam prthivi, yat suvarnam sa dyauh ; yaj jarayu teparvatah,y.ad ulbam sa megho nxhdrah,yd dhamanayas td nadyah, yad vasteyam udakam sa samudrah.
2. That which was of silver is this earth; that which was of gold is the sky. What was the outer membrane is the moun¬ tains ; that which was the inner membrane is the mist with the clouds. What were the veins were the rivers. What was the fluid within is the ocean.
In the Orphic Cosmogony, Chronos and Adrastea produce a gigantic egg which is divided into two, the upper half forming the sky and the lower the earth.
3. atha yat tad ajayata so’sav adityah ; tarn jayamanam ghosa ululavo’ nudatisthan, sarvani ca bhutani, sarve ca kamah; tasmat tasyodayam prati pratyayanam prati gho$a ululavo’ nutthisthanti, sarvani ca bhutani sarve ca kamah.
400 The Principal Upanisads III. 19. 4.
arose. Therefore at his rise and his every return, shouts and hurrays as also all beings and all desires arise.
4. sa ya etam evam vidvan adityam brahmety upaste’bhyaso ha yad enam sadhavo ghosa a ca gaccheyur upa ca nimrederan nimrederan.
4. He, who knowing thus, meditates on the sun as Brahman, pleasant shouts will come unto him and delight him, yea, delight him.
Chandogya Upanisad
THE STORY OF JANA^RUTI AND RAIKVA
1. awn. janasrutir ha pautrayanah sraddhadeyo bahudayi bahu- pakya asa, sa ha sarvqta avasathan mapayam cakre, sarvata eva me tsyantiti .
1. Aunt. There was the descendant of Janasruta, his great grandson, a pious giver, a liberal giver, a preparer of much food. He had rest houses built everywhere, with the thought ‘everywhere people will be eating of my food.’
2. atha ha hamsa nisayam atipetuh, tadd haivam hamso hamsam abhyuvada: ho ho’yi bhallaksa, bhallaksa, janasruteh pautraya- nasya samam diva jyotir atatam, tan ma prasahksts tat tvd ma pradhaksid iti.
2. Then once at night, some swans flew past and one swan spoke to another thus, ‘Hay, Ho, Shortsighted, Shortsighted. The light of Janasruti, the great grandson (of Janasruta) has spread like the sky. Do not touch it, lest it burn you.’
v. pradhakslr for pradhaksid.
3. tam u ha par ah praty uvaca kam vara enam etat santam sayugvanam iva raikvam attheti. Ko nu katham sayugva raikva iti.
3. To it, the other one replied, ‘Who is that man of whom you speak, as if he were Raikva, the man with the cart?’ ‘Pray, how is it with Raikva, the man with the cart?’
S quotes Raikva in S.B. III. 4. 36 as one of the sages who attained brahma-jhana or divine wisdom though they did not observe the rules of castes and stages of life: anasramitvena vartamano’hi vidyayam adhikriyate, kutah tad, drsteh, raikva-vacaknavi-prabhrtinam evam-bhutanam api brahmavitvasrutyupalabdheh.
4. yatha krtaya vijitayadhareyah samyanti, evam enam sarvarh tad abhisameti, yat kin ca prajdh sadhu kurvanti, yas tad vedayat sa veda, sa mayaitad ukta iti.
4. Even as all the lower throws of dice go to the winner with the highest throw, so whatever good men do, all goes to him. He also who knows what he knows, is thus spoken by me.
402 The Principal Upani$ads IV. 2. i.
hana eva k§attaram uvaca, ahgare ha sa-yugvdnam iva raikvam atlheti, ko nu katham sa-yugvd raikva iti.
5. Now, Jana^ruti, the great grandson (of Jana£ruta) over¬ heard this. Then when he rose, he said to the attendant, ‘0 friend, you speak to me in the same way as to Raikva with the cart.’ (He asked) ‘How is it with Raikva, the man with the cart?’
He overheard the conversation of the swans and spent the night brooding over it. When he woke up, listening to the eulogistic chants of the bards, he turned to his attendant and said, ‘You speak of me as of Raikva with the cart.’ £.
6. yathd krtdya vijitayddharcyah samyanli, evam enam sarvam tad abhisameti, yat kin ca prajdh sadhu kurvanti, yas tad vcda yat sa vcda, sa mayaitad ukta iti.
6. Even as all the throws of the dice go to the winner with the highest throw, so whatever good men do, all goes to him. He also who knows what he knows is thus spoken of by me.
7. The attendant searched for him and returned saying ‘I did not find him.’ Then he said to him, ‘O where a Brahmana is searched for, there look for him.’
The Brahmanas are generally to be found in solitary places in the forests or on the banks of rivers, ekante'ranye nadl-pulinadau vivi- kte deie. S. The attendant was instructed to search in such places.
8. so’dhastdc chakatasya pdmdnam kasamdnam upopavivcia, turn hdbhyuvdda, tvaht nu bhagavah sa-yugvd raikva iti; aharn hy arc; iti ha pratijajhc; sa ha k$attd, avidam iti pratycydya.
8. He approached a man scratching the itch underneath a cart, and said to him, ‘Pray, Sir, are you Raikva, the man with the cart?’ He replied: ‘Yes, I am he.’ The attendant returned saying, T have found him out.’
1. Then Jana£ruti, the great grandson (of Jana6ruta) took with him six hundred cows, a gold necklace, and a chariot with mules and said to him:
2. raikvemdni $at Satani gavam, ay am ni$koyam aivatan- rathah, anu ma etam bhagavo devatam iadhi, yam devatam upassa iti.
2. ‘Raikva, here are six hundred cows, a gold necklace and a chariot with mules. Now Sir, please teach me the deity whom you worship.’
3. tarn u ha parah pratyuvaca, ahahare tva, iudra, tavaiva saha gobhir astv iti; tad u ha punar eva janairutih pautrayanah sahasram gavam ni$kam aivatan-ratharh duhitaram tad dddya praticakrame.
3. And to him, then, the other replied, ‘Oh, necklace and carriage along with the cows be yours, O §udra.' And then again, Jana£ruti, the great grandson (of Jaria£ruta) taking a thousand cows, a gold necklace and a chariot with mules, and his daughter too, went up to him.
Sildra. The king is not a Sfidra. $ explains it thus: The old teachers have explained this point thus: by addressing him as Sttdra, the sage Raikva shows that he already knows what is passing in the king’s mind: The word Sildra meaning "one who is melting with sorrows at hearing the greatness of Raikva, as spoken of by the swans.” Or it may be that the king is addressed as Stidra because he comes for instruction with an offering of riches like a Sttdra and not with proper obeisance and attendance as befits the higher castes, and it does not mean that the king is a Sudra by caste. Others, however, explain that Raikva addressed him thus, because he was enraged at his offering him so little, because it is also said that riches are to be accepted when plenty of it is offered.'
4. tarn habhyuvadajaikvedam sahasram gavam, ay am nifko’yam aivatari-rathah, iyam jayayarh gramo yasminn asse: anv eva ma, bhagavah, iadhiti.
4. He said to him: ‘Raikva, here are a thousand cows, here is a gold necklace, here is a chariot with mules, here is a wife and here is a village in which you dwell. Pray, revered Sir, teach me.'
5. tasya ha mukham upodgrhnann uvaca: ahaharemah iudra anenaiva mukhendldpayi$yathd iti; te haite raikva-parnd nama mahavr$e$u yatrasma uvasa sa tasmai hovaca.
404 The Principal Upanisads IV. 3. 2.
he (i.e. Raikva) said, ‘He has brought these (cows) along, £udra, merely by this face you would mafce me speak.’ These are the villages called Raikva-parna, among the people of the Mahavrsas, where he lived. Then he said to him :
$ quotes a verse to the effect that a life of studentship, gift of wealth, intelligence, knowledge of the Veda, love and knowledge are the six ways to the attainment of knowledge.
brahma-carl dhana-dayl medhavl srotriyah priyah vidyaya va vidydm praha, tani tlrthani san mama.
RAIKVA’S TEACHING
1. vayur vdva samvargah, yada va agnir udvayati, vdyum evdpyeti, yada suryo’stam eti vdyum evdpyeti, yada candro' stam eti vdyum evdpyeti.
1. Air, verily, is the absorbent; for when a fire goes out, it goes into the air. When the sun sets, it goes into the air, and when the moon sets, it goes into the air.
For Anaximenes air is theos ; it is the primary substance. His follower, Diogenes of Apollonia (fifth century b.c.) makes out that air is not only the one original and permanent substance but is also in its purest form the substance of all psyche in the universe. It has special affinities with the soul in animals and human beings Simplicius quotes from his book, On Nature, 'Mankind and the other animals live on air, by breathing; and it is to them both soul and mind. The soul of all animals is the same, namely, air, which is warmer than the air outside, in which we live, though much colder than that near the sun. In my opinion that which has intelligence is what men call air, and by it everything is directed and it has power over all things; for it is just this substance which I hold to be God.’ See W. K. C. Guthrie: The Greeks and their Gods (1950), PP- 135-36.
The connection of life with breath and so with air seems obvious. The Latin word for soul, anima, means both air and breath.
3. athadhyatmam: prano vava samvargah, sa yada svapiti pranam eva vag apyeti, pranam, caksuh, pranam srotram, pranam manah, prano hy evaitan sarvan samvrhkte iti.
3. Now, with reference to the self: Breath, indeed, is the absorbent. When one sleeps, speech just goes into breath; sight goes into breath; hearing goes into breath; the mind goes into breath. For breath, indeed, absorbs all this.
5. atha ha iaunakam ca kapeyam abhipratarinarh ca.kaksa- senim parivisyamanau brahmacari bibhikse, tasma u ha na dadatuh.
5. Once upon a time, when ^aunaka Kapeya and Abhipra- tarin Kaksaseni were being served with food, a student of sacred knowledge begged of them. They did not give to him anything.
mahatmanas caturo deva ekah kah sa jagara bhuvanasya gopah. tam, kapeya, nabhipasyanti martyah abhipratarin bahudha vasantam. yasmai va etad annam, tasma etan na dattam iti.
6. Then he said, ‘The one god has swallowed up four great ones, he who is the guardian of the world. Him, O Kapeya, mortals do not see, though he abides in manifold forms, O Abhipratarin. Verily, this food has not been offered to him to whom it belongs.’
The food you have refused to me, you have really refused to Brahman.
The one god is said to be Praja-pati.
atma devanarh janita prajanam, hiranya-darhstro babhaso nasurih: mahantam asya mahimanam ahuh, anadyamano yad anannam atti
iti vai vayam brahmacarin, idam upasmahe, dattasmai bhiksam iti.
7. Then £aunaka Kapeya, reflecting on this, replied. ‘It is the self of gods, the creator of all beings, with golden teeth,
406 The Principal Upanisads IV. 4. 2.
the eater, the truly wise one. They speak of his magnificence as very great indeed, because he eats what is not food, without being eaten. Thus, verily, O student of sacred knowledge, do we meditate on this.’ (Then he said to his attendants) ‘give him food.’
hiranya: golden, undecaying, undamaged, amyta, abhagna. S. anasurih: truly wise: silrir eva. S.
8. tasma u ha daduh; te va ete pahcanye pahcanye daia santas tat krtam, tasmat sarvasu diksv annam eva dasa krtam, saisa virad annadi, tayedam sarvarh drstam, sarvam asyedam drstam bhavati, annado bhavati y a evaht veda,ya evam veda.
8. Then they gave (food) to him. These five and the other five make ten and that is the highest throw in dice. Therefore in all directions, these ten are the food and the highest throw. This is Viraj, the eater of food. Through it, this whole world becomes seen. One who knows this, sees all this and becomes an eater of food, yea, one who knows this.
The first five are air, fire, sun, moon and water. The second five are breath, speech, eye, ear and mind.
1. Once upon a time Satyakama Jabala addressed his mother Jabala, 'Mother, I desire to live the life of a student of sacred knowledge. Of what family am I?’
2. sa hainarn uvaca, naham etad veda, tata, yad gotras tvam asi, bahv aham caranti paricarini yauvane tvam alabhe, saham etan na veda yad-gotras tvam asi, jabala-tu namaham asmi, satyakamo nama tvam asi, sa satyakama eva jabalo bruvitha iti.
2. Then she said to him: ‘I do not know, my child, of what family you are. In my youth, when I went about a great deal, as a maid servant, I got you. So I do not know of what family you are. However, I am Jabala by name and you are Satyakama
by name. So you may speak of yourself as Satyakama Jabala (the son of Jabala).
S says that she had no time to ascertain about her gotya or family as she had to move about much in her husband’s house, attending upon guests.
3. Then he went to Gautama, the son of Haridrumat and said, ‘I wish to become a student of sacred knowledge. May I become your pupil, Venerable Sir.’
4. tarn hovaca, kim-gotro nu, saumya, asiti; sa hovaca, nahametad veda, bhoh, yad-gotro’ham asmi, aprccham mdtaram, sa md pratyabvavlt, bahv aham car anti paricarinl yauvane tvam alabhe, saham etan na veda yad-gotras tvam asi, jabala tu namaham asmi, satyakamo nama tvam asiti, so’ ham satyakamo jabalo’smi, bhoh, iti.
4. He said to him ‘Of what family are you, my dear?' He replied, ‘I do not know this, sir, of what family I am. I asked my mother. She answered me, “In my youth, when I went about a great deal as a maid-servant, I got you. So I do not know of what family you are. I am Jabala by name and you are Satyakama by name.’’ So I am Satyakama Jabala, Sir.'
5. tarn hovaca, naitad abrahmano vivaktum arhati; samidham, saumya, ahara, upa tva nesye, na satyad aga iti. tarn upanlya krsanam abalanam catuh-sata ga nirakrtyovaca, imah, saumya, anusamvrajeti, ta abhiprasthapayann uvaca, ndsahasrenavarte- yeti. sa ha varsa-ganam provasa, tayada sahasram sampeduh.
5. He then said to him, ‘None but a Brahmana could thus explain. Bring the fuel, my dear, I will receive you, as a pupil. Thou hast not departed from the truth. Having initiated him, he separated out four hundred lean, weak cows and said, ‘Go with these, my dear.’ While taking them away, he said, ‘I may not return without a thousand.’ He lived away a number of years. When they came to be a thousand.
The Principal Upanisads IV. 6. I.
1. atha hainam rsabho bhyuvada , satyakama iti, bhagavah iti ha pratisuirava; praptah, saumya, sahasram smah, prapaya na acarya-kulam.
.1. Then the bull spoke to him, saying, ‘Satyakama!’ He replied, ‘Revered Sir.’ ‘We have reached a thousand, my dear, take us to the teacher’s house.'
‘hint, thus equipped with faith and austerity, the deity of the air, connected with the directions, having become satisfied, entered into the bull’: tam etam sraddha-tapobhyam siddham vdyu-devatd dik-sa- mbandhini tusta saty rsabham anupravisya. S.
2. brahmanas ca te padam bravaniti, bravitu me, bhagavan, iti, tasmai hovaca: praci dik kala, praticx dik kala, daksina dik kalodici dik kalaisa vai, saumya, catus-kalah pado brahmanah prakasavan nama.
2. 'And let me declare to you a quarter of Brahman.’ ‘Tell me, Revered Sir.’ To him, it then said, ‘The east is one quarter, the west is one quarter, the south is one quarter, and the north is one quarter. This, verily, my dear, is Brahman’ s four- quartered foot named the Shining.
3. sa ya etam evam vidvams catus-kalam padam. brahmanah prakasavan ity upaste prakasavan asmiml loke bhavati, prakasavato ha lokah jayati, ya etam evam vidvams catus-kalam, padam brahmanah prakasavan ity upaste.
3. ‘He who, knowing it thus, meditates on this four quartered foot of Brahman named the Shining becomes shining in this world. Then he wins shining worlds, who, knowing it thus, meditates on the fourquartered foot of Brahman, named the Shining.’
THE FOUR QUARTERS OF BRAHMAN (continued)
I. agnis te padam, vakteti, sa ha svo bhute ga abhiprasthapa- yarh cakara, ta yatrabhi-sayam babhuvuh, tatragnim upasamad-
haya, ga uparudhya, samidham adhaya, paicad agneh pran upopavivesa.
1. ‘Fire will declare to you the other quarter of Brahman.’ He, then, when it was the morrow, drove the cows on. When they came, at evening, he lighted a fire, penned the cows, laid on fuel, and sat down to the west of the fire, facing the east.
3. brahmanah, saumya, te padarn bravaniti, bravitu me, bhaga- van iti; tasmai hovaca; prthivi kala ntariksarh kala, dyav.h kala, samudrah kala, esa vai, saumya, catus-kalah pado brahmano’ nantavan ndma.
3. ‘Let me declare to you, my dear, a quarter of Brahman.’ 'Tell me, Revered Sir.’ To him, it then said, ‘The earth is one quarter, the atmosphere is one quarter, the sky is one quarter, the ocean is one quarter. This, verily, my dear, is Brahman’s fourquartered foot, named the Endless.
4. sa ya etam evam vidvams catus-kalam padarn brahmano anantavan ity upaste, anantavan asmirhl loke bhavati, anantavato ha lokah jayati, ya etam evam vidvams catus-kalam padarn brahmano. anantavan ity upaste.
4. 'He, who knowing it thus, meditates on this fourquartered foot of Brahman as the Endless becomes endless in this world. Then, he wins endless worlds, who knowing it thus, meditates on the fourquartered foot of Brahman as the Endless.'
THE FOUR QUARTERS OF BRAHMAN (1 continued )
1. hamsas te padarn vakteti, sa ha svobhute ga abhiprastha- payam cakara, ta yatrabhisayam babhuvuh, tatragnim upasa- madhaya, ga uparudhya, samidham adhaya pascad agneh pran upopavivesa.
410 The Principal Upanisads IV. 8. i.
1. ‘A swan will tell you (another) quarter.’ He, then, when it was the morrow, drove the cows on. When they came at evening, he lighted a fire, penned the cows, laid on the fuel, and sat down to the west of the fire, facing the east.
3. brahmanah, saumya, te padam bravaniti, bravitu me bhagavan, iti, tasmai hovaca agnih kala, suryah kala, candrah kala, vidyut kala, e$a vai, saumya, catu$-kalah, pado brahmano jyotisman nama.
3. 'Let me declare to you, my dear, a quarter of Brahman.’ ‘Tell me, Revered Sir.’ To him, it then said, ‘Fire is one quarter, the sun is one quarter, the moon is one quarter and the lightning is one quarter’. This, verily, my dear, is Brahman’s four- quartered foot named the Luminous.
4. sa ya etam evam vidvami catu$-kalam padam brahmano jyotisman ity upaste, jyotisman asmiml loke bhavati, jyoti$mato ha lokah jayati ya etam evam vidvami catu$-kalam padam brahmano jyotisman ity upaste.
4. ‘He, who, knowing it thus, meditates, on this fourquartered foot of Brahman as the Luminous becomes luminous in the world. Then he wins luminous worlds, who, knowing it thus, meditates on the fourquartered foot of Brahman as the Luminous.’
(1 continued )
1. madgus te padam vakteti, sa ha ivobhute ga abhiprastha- payam cakara, ta yatrabhi sayam babhuvuh, tatragnim upasa- madhaya, ga uparudhya, samidham adhaya, paicad agneh prah upopavivesa. ■
1. ‘A diver-bird will tell you (another) quarter. He, then, when it was the morrow, drove the cows on. When they came at evening, he lighted a fire, penned the cows, laid on the fuel and sat down to the west of the fire, facing the east.
3. brahmanah, saumya, te padam bravaniti, bravitu me bhagavan iti, tasmai hovaca, pranah kala, caksuh kala srotram kala, manah, kata esa vai, saumya, catus-kalah pado brahmana ayatanavan nama.
3. ‘Let me declare to you, my dear, a quarter of Brahman.’ ‘Tell me, Revered Sir.’ To him it then said, ‘Breath is one quarter, the eye is one quarter, the ear is one quarter, and the mind is one quarter. This, verily, my dear, is the fourquartered foot of Brahman named Possessing a support.
4. sa ya etam evam vidvams catus-kalam padam brahmana ayatanavan ity upaste, ayatanavan asmirhl loke bhavati, ayata- navato ha lokah jayati, ya etam evam vidvams catus-kalam padam brahmana ayatanavan ity upaste.
4. ‘He, who, knowing it thus, meditates on this fourquartered foot of Brahman as possessing a support, comes to possess a support in this world. Then he wins worlds possessing a support, who, knowing it thus, meditates on the fourquartered foot of Brahman as ‘possessing a support.’
SATYAKAMA returns to the teacher
2. brahma-vid iva vai, saumya, bhasi, ko nu tvanusasaseti, anye manusyebhya iti ha pratijajhe, bhagavams tv eva me kame bruyat.
2. ‘Verily, my dear, you shine like one knowing Brahman. Who has taught you?’ He replied, ‘Others, than men. But I wish, Revered Sir, that you teach me.'
Cp. St. Bernard: ‘What I know of the divine sciences and Holy
412 The Principal Upanisads IV. io. 3.
Scripture, I learnt in woods and fields. I have had no other masters than the beeches and the oaks.’
One who knows Brahman has his senses tranquillised, wears a smiling face, is free from anxiety and is of fulfilled purpose: pra- sannendriyah prahasita-vadanas ca niscintah krtartho brahma-vid bhavati.
3. srutam hy eva me bhagavad-drsebhyah, deary add haiva vidya vidita sadhislham prapatiti, tasmai haitad evovaca atra ha na kin cana viyayeti, viyayeti.
3. ‘For I have heard from persons like you, Revered sir, that the knowledge which has been learned from a teacher best helps one to attain his end.' To him, he then declared it. In it nothing whatsoever was left out, yea, nothing was left out.
1. upakosalo ha vai kamalayanah satyakame j abate brahma- caryam uvasa, tasya ha dvadasa varsany agnin paricacara, sa ha smanyan antevasinah samavartayams tam ha smaiva na sama- vartayati.
1. Now, verily, Upakosala, the son of Kamala dwelt with Satyakama Jabala, as a student of sacred wisdom. He tended his fires for twelve years. But the teacher, though he allowed other pupils' (after they learnt the sacred wisdom) to return to their homes, did not allow him (Upakosala) to depart.
2. tam jayovaca, tapto brahmacari, kuialam agnin paricacarin, ma tvagnayah paripravocan, prabruhy asma iti, tasmai ha aprocyaiva pravasamcakre.
2. His wife said to him, ‘(this) student of sacred wisdom has performed his penance and tended the fires well. Let not the fires blame you. Give him the teaching.’ But he went away without teaching him.
3. saha vyadhinanasitum dadhre, tam acarya-jayovaca, brahma- carin, asana, kim nu ndsnasi iti. sa hovaca, bahava ime’smin puruse kama nanatyayah, vyadhibhih pratipurno’ smi, nasisyami iti.
Chandogya Upanisad 413
The teacher’s wife said to him. '0 student of sacred wisdom, please eat. Why, pray, do you not eat?’ Then he said, ‘Many are the desires in this person which proceed in different directions. I am filled with sicknesses (griefs). I will not eat.’
4. atha hagnayah samudire, tapto brahmacan, kuialam nah paryacarit, hantasmai prabravameti: tasmai hocuh, prano brahma, kam brahma, kham brahmeti.
4. Then the fires said among themselves: ‘This student of sacred wisdom has performed his penance and tended us well. Let us teach him then.’ They then said to him. ‘Life is Brahman, Joy is Brahman, Ether is Brahman.’
akasa: ether or space.
5. sa hovaca vijanamy aham yat prano brahma, kam ca tu kham ca na vijanamlti: te hocuh, yad vava kam tad eva kham, yad eva kham, tad eva kam iti, pranam ca hasmai tad akaiam cocuh.
5. Then he said, ‘I understand that life is Brahman. But joy and ether I do not understand.’ They said (to him), ‘Joy, verily, that is the same as ether. Ether, verily, that is the same as joy.’ Then they explained to him life and ether.
1. atha hainam garhapatyo’ nusasasa , prthivy agnir annam aditya iti, ya esa dditye puruso drsyate so’ ham asmi, sa evdham asmiti.
1. Then the Garhapatya fire instructed him, ‘Earth, Fire, Food and Sun (are forms of me), the person that is seen in the Sun, I am he, I am he, indeed.
garhapatya: the fire in the household.
2. sa y a etam evarn vidvdn upaste, apahate papa-krtydm, loki bhavati, sarvam dyur eti, jyog jivati, nasyavara-purusah ksiyante, upa vayarh tarn bhuhjamo’ smiths ca loke’musmims ca, ya etam evarn vidvdn upaste.
414 The Principal Upanisads IV. 13. 1.
sinful actions, becomes possessor of (this) world, reaches full life, lives brightly. His descendants do not perish. Both in this world and in the yonder we serve him who knowing this meditates (on the fire).’
jyog: brightly, conspicuously: ujjvalam. S.
THE SAME PERSON IS IN THE MOON AND IN THE SACRIFICIAL FIRE (INTENDED FOR THE MANES)
1. atha hainam anvdhdryapacano’ nusasasa: apo diso nak- satrani candrama iti, ya esa candramasi puruso drsyate so’ham asmi sa evaham asmiti.
1. Then, the anvahdryapacana instructed him. ‘Water, the quarters, the stars, the moon (are forms of me) ; the person that is seen in the moon, I am he, I am he, indeed.’
2. sa ya etam evam vidvdn upastepahate papakrtyam loki bhavati, sarvam ayur eti, jyog jivati, ndsyavara purusdh ksiyante, upa vayam tarn bhunjamo’ smims ca loke’musmims ca, ya etam evam vidvdn upaste.
2. ‘He who knowing this meditates (on the fire) destroys sinful actions, becomes’ possessor of (this) world, reaches full life, lives brightly. His descendants do not perish. Both in this world and in the yonder we serve him, who knowing this, meditates on (the fire).’
1. atha hainam dhavaniye nusaiasa, prana akaso dyaur vidyud iti, ya esa vidyuti puruso drsyate, so’ham asmi, sa evaham asmiti. 1. Then the dhavaniya (fire) instructed him. Breath, space,
sky and lightning (are forms of me) ; the person that is seen in the lightning. I am he, I am he, indeed.
While the anvaharya fire is that on the altar on the southern side, the ahavaniya fire is that on the altar on the eastern side.
2. sa ya etam evam vidvan upaste’pahate papakrtyam, lokl bhavati, sarvam ayur eti, jyog jlvati, nasyavarapurusah ksiyante, upa vayam tam bhuhjamo smiths ca loke’musmirhs ca ya etam evam vidvan upaste.
2. ‘He who knowing this meditates (on the fire) destroys sinful actions, becomes possessor of (this) world, reaches full life, lives brightly. His descendants do not perish. Both in this world and in the yonder we serve him, who, knowing this, meditates (on the fire).’
1. te hocuh upakosala, esa, saumya, te smad-vidyatma-vidya ca. acaryas tu te gatim vakteti. ajagama hasyacaryah, tam acaryo ’ bhyuvadopakosala iti.
1. Then they (the fires) said, ‘Upakosala dear, you have this knowledge of our selves and knowledge of the self. But the teacher will tell you the way.’ Then the teacher returned. The teacher spoke to him ‘Upakosala.’
2. bhagavah, iti ha pratisusrava; brahma-vid iva, saumya, te mukham bhati, ko nu tva’nusasaseti, ko nu manusisyad bhoh, iti iha apeva nihnuta, ime nunam idrsa, anyadrsa itihagnin abhyude. kim nu, saumya, kila tevocann iti.
2. ‘Revered Sir,’ he answered. ‘Dear, your face shines like that of one who knows Brahman. Who has instructed you?’ ‘Who should instruct me, sir,’ said he. Here he conceals it as it were. And he said (pointing' to the fires), ‘They are of this form now, but they were of a different form.’ The teacher said, ‘What dear, did they indeed tell you?’
3. idam, iti ha pratijajhe, lokdn vava kila, saumya te’vocan, aham tu te tad vaksyami yatha puskara-paldsa apo na slisyante,
416 The Principal Upanisads IV. 15. 5.
evam evam-vidi papam karma na slisyata iti, bravitu me bhagavan iti, tasmai hovaca.
3. ‘This,’ he replied. ‘They, dear, have indeed spoken to you about the worlds, but I will tell you this and as water does not cling to the lotus leaf, so evil deed does not cling to one who knows it.’ ‘Tell me, revered sir.’ To him, he then said.
I. ya eso’ksini puruso drsyate, esa atma iti hovaca, etad amrtam abhayam, etad brahmeti, tad yady apy asmin sarpir vodakarh va sihcati, vartmani eva gacchati.
1. He said, ‘The person who is seen in the eye, he is the self. This is the immortal, the fearless, this is Brahman. So even if one drops melted butter or water into this (eye), it goes away by the sides.
We can see the self in the eye, only if we are pure of heart. nivrtta-caksu-bhir brahmacaryadi-sadhana-sampannaih santaih viveki- bhir dfster drasta. S.
2. etam samyad-vama ity dcaksate, etarh hi sarvdni vamany abhisamyanti , sarvany enarh vamany abhisamyanti, ya evam veda.
vamani: desirable things: vanantyani sambhajanlyani sobhanani. £.
5. at ha yad u caivasmih chavyam kurvanti yadi ca na arcisam cvabhisambhavanti , arciso'har ahna apuryamana-paksam , apur- yamana-paksad yan sad udahh eti mdsarhs tan, mdsebhyah
samvatsaram, samvatsarad adityam, adityac candramasam, candramaso vidyutam, tat puruso’manavah, sa enarh brahma gamayati, esa deva-patho brahma-pathah, etena pratipadyamana imam manavam dvartam navartanta iti, navartanta iti.
5. Now for such a one whether they perform the cremation obsequies or not, he goes to light, from light into the day, from the day into the half-month of the waxing moon ; from the half¬ month of the waxing moon into the six months when the sun moves northwards, from the months into the year, from the year into the sun, from the sun into the moon, from the moon into lightning. Then there is a person, not human. He leads them to Brahman. This is the way to the gods, the way to Brahman. Those who proceed by it do not return to the human condition, yea they do not return.
The reference here is to Brahman who resides in the regions of satya: satya-loka-stham. £.
The followers of the ceremonial code pass along the path called pitr-yana and they return to this world. Those who live in the forests practise austerities, go along the path called deva-yana and do not return to this world.
1. esa ha vai yajho yo’yam pavate, esa ha yann idarh sarvam punati, yad esa yann idarh sarvam punati, tasmad esa eva yajhas tasya manas ca vak ca vartanl.
1. Verily, that which purifies here (i.e. the wind) is the sacrifice for he, moving along, purifies all this. And because moving along he purifies all this, he is the sacrifice. Of that mind and speech are the ways.
2. tayor anyataram manasa samskaroti brahma, vaca hota’- dhvaryur udgata anyataram; sa yatropakrte pratar-anuvake pur a paridhaniyaya brahma vyavavadati.
2. Of these the Brahma priest performs one with his mind; by speech the Hotr, the Adhvaryu and the Udgatr priests the other. When the morning litany has commenced and before the concluding recitation, the Brahma priest has to speak.
4i’8 The Principal Upanisads IV. 17. 1
Generally the Brahma priest follows the sacrifice with his mind,
1. e. in silence. When he breaks the silence, then the mental exercise is interrupted, for he also resorts to speech. The performance of the Brahma priest should be an act of meditation.
3. anyataram eva vartanim samskaroti, My ate’ nyatara, sa yathaikapad vrajan ratho vaikena cakrena vartamano risyati, evam asya yajho risyati, vajham risyantam yajamdno’nurisyati, sa istva pdpiyan bhavati.
3. He performs one way only (that by words) but the other is injured. Even as a one-footed man walking or as a one-wheeled chariot moving is injured, even so is his sacrifice injured. When the sacrifice is injured, the sacrificer is injured. By having sacrificed he becomes worse off.
samskarana: remaking, reintegration. See Aitareya Brahmana. VI. 27; Satapatha Brahmana, VII. 1. 2. 1; Aitareya Aranyaka, III,
4. atha yatropakrte prdtar-anuvake na pura paridhamydya brahma vyavavadati, ubhe eva vartani samskurvanti, na Myate' nyatardt.
4. But when after the morning litany has begun and before the concluding recitation the Brahma priest does not speak, they perform both ways and neither is injured.
5. sa yathobhayapad vrajan ratho vobhdbhydrh cakrabhyam vartamanah pratitisthati , evam asya yajhah pratitisthati , yajham pratitisthantam yajamano’ nupratitisthati, sa istva sreydn bhavati.
5. As a two-footed man walking or as a two-wheeled chariot moving is well-supported, even so is his sacrifice well supported. When the sacrifice is well supported the sacrificer is well supported. By having sacrificed he becomes better off.
The Brahma priest knows the wisdom of silence : mauna-vijhanam
1. Praja-pati brooded on the worlds. As they were brooded on, he extracted their essences, fire from the earth, air from the atmosphere, the sun from the sky.
2. On these three deities he brooded. As they were brooded on, he extracted their essences, the Rg verses from the fire, the Yajus formulas from the air, the Saman chants from the sun.
3. sa etarh traylm vidydm abhyatapat, tasyas tapyamanaya rasan pravrhat, bhur ity rgbhyah, bhuvar iti yajurbhyah, svar iti samabhyah.
3. On this threefold knowledge he brooded. As it was brooded upon he extracted its essences ; bhur from the Rg verses ; bhuvas from the Yajus formulas; svah from the Saman chants.
4. tad yady rkto risyed bhuh svaheti garhapatye juhuyat, ream eva tad rasena ream vlryena ream yajhasya viristam samdadhati.
4. If (the sacrifice) is injured from the Rg verses, one should make an oblation in the householder’s fire with the words bhuh, hail. So by the essence of the Rg verses themselves, by the power of the Rg verses, he binds together (heals) the injury to the Rg sacrifice.
5. atha yadi yajusto risyed bhuvah svaheti daksinagnau juhuyat. yajusam eva tad rasena yajusam vlryena yajusam yajhasya viristam samdadhati.
5. Again, if (the sacrifice) is injured by the Yajus formulas one should make an oblation in the southern fire with the words 'bhuvah’ hail. So by the essence of the Yajus formulas them¬ selves, by the power of the Yajus formulas he binds together (heals) the injury to the Yajus sacrifice.
6. atha yadi samato risyet, svah svahety ahavanlye juhuyat, sdmnam eva tad rasena samndm vlryena samnarh yajhasya viristam samdadhati.
6. Again, if (the sacrifice) is injured by the Sama chants, one should make an oblation in the ahavanlya fire with the words ‘svar’ hail. So by the essence of the Sama chants themselves, by the power of the Sama chants, he binds together (heals) the injury to the Saman sacrifice.
If the injury be with regard to Brahma, S says, one should make
420 The Principal Upanisads IV. 17. 10.
an oblation in all the three fires, pronouncing all the three, bhuh, bhuvah, svah, as the injury relates to all the three Vedas.
7. tad yatha lavanena suvarnam samdadhyat, suvarnena raja- tam, rajatena trapu, trapund sisam, sisena loham, lohcna dam, dam carmana.
7. Just as one would bind together gold with (borax) salt, silver with gold, tin with silver, lead with tin, iron with lead, wood with iron or wood with leather.
loha: iron or brass.
8. evam esarh lokandm asam devatanam asyds trayyd vidyaya vuyena • yajhasya viristam samdadhati , bhesaja-krto ha vd esa yajhah. yatraivam-vid brahma bhavati.
8. So does one bind together (heal) any injury to the sacrifice with the power of these worlds, of these gods, and of the three Vedas. Verily, such a sacrifice is well healed when there is a Brahma priest knowing this.
healed : bhesaja-kfto ha vd esa yajhah, rogdrta iva pumam cikitsakena susiksitenaiva yajho bhavati.
9. esa ha vd udak-pravano yajhah, yatraivam-vid brahma bhavati, evam-vidam ha vd esa brahmanam anu gatha: yato yata avartate, tat tad gacchati manavah.
9. Verily, that sacrifice is inclined to the north, in which there is a Brahma priest who knows this. And with regard to such a Brahma priest there is this song. Wherever it falls, thither the man goes.
manava: silent from niauna, silence; or thoughtful, from manana. Whenever mistakes are committed, he breaks his silence and corrects them, for it is said, ‘Whenever it fails, thither the man goes.’
10. brahmaivaika rtvik kurun asvdbhiraksati , evam vidd ha vai brahma yajham yajamanam sarvams ca rtvijo bhir aksati , tasmad evam-vidam eva brahmanam kurvita, ndnevam-vidam , ndnevam- vidam .
10. The Brahma priest as a Rtvik priest protects the sacri¬ fices like a mare, i.e. the Brahma priest knowing this protects the sacrifice, the sacrificer and all the Rtvik priests. Therefore one should make one who knows this as his Brahma priest, not one who does not know it, yea, not one who does not know it.
Chandogya Upanisad
ON BREATH, THE SOUL AND THE UNIVERSAL SELF. THE FIVE BODILY FUNCTIONS AND THE IMPORT¬ ANCE OF BREATH
1. Verily, he who knows the oldest and the best becomes himself the oldest and the best. Breath indeed is the oldest and the best.
S explains that breath is the oldest because it functions prior to the sense activities, even when the child is in the womb.
2. Verily, he who knows the most prosperous becomes the most prosperous of his own (people). Speech, indeed, is the most prosperous.
3. Verily, he who knows the firm basis becomes firm in this world and in the yonder. The eye, indeed, is the firm basis.
5 . yo ha va ayatanam vedayatanam ha svanam bhavati, mano ha va ayatanam.
manah: mind, for all objects are perceived by the mind, indri- yopahrtdnam visayanam bhoktr-arthanam pratyaya-rupanam mana ayatanam asrayah. A
422 The Principal Upanisads V. i. io.
who was superior saying (in turn) 'I am superior.’ 'I am superior.’
Cp. Prasna II. 3; A.U. II. 4; B.U. VI. 1. 1-14; K.U. III. 3.
7. te ha prdndh praja-patim pitaram etyocuh, bhagavan, ko nah srestha iti; tan hovaca, yasmin va utkrante sariram papisthataram iva drsyeta, sa vah srestha iti.
7. Those senses went to Praja-pati, (their) father and said, ‘Venerable sir, who is the best of us?’ He said to them, ‘He on whose departing the body looks the worst, he is the best among you.’
8. sa ha vag uccakrama, sa samvatsaram prosy a paryetyovaca, katham asakata rte maj jivitum iti, yatha kala avadantah pranantah pranena, pasyantai caksusa, srnvantah srotrena, dhyayanto manasaivam iti; pravivesa ha vak.
8. Speech departed and having stayed away for a year returned and said, ‘How have you been able to live without me?’ (They replied) ‘Like the dumb not speaking, but breathing with the breath, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear, thinking with the mind. Thus (we lived).’ Speech entered in.
9. caksur hoccakrdma, tat samvatsaram prosya paryetyovaca, katham asakata rte maj jivitum iti, yathandha apasyantah, pranantah pranena, vadanto vaca, srnvantah srotrena, dhyayanto manasaivam iti; pravivesa ha caksuh.
9. The eye departed and having stayed away for a year returned and said, ‘How have you been able to live without me?’ (They replied) ‘like the blind not seeing but breathing with the breath, speaking with speech (the tongue), hearing with the ear, thinking with the mind. Thus (we lived).’ The eye entered in.
10 srotram hoccakrdma, tat samvatsaram prosya paryetyovaca, katham asakata rte maj jivitum iti, yatha badhira asrnvantah, pranantah pranena, vadanto vaca, paiyantas caksusa, dhyayanto manasaivam iti; pravivesa ha srotram.
10. The ear departed and having stayed away for a year returned and said, ‘How have you been able to live without me?’ (They replied) 'like the deaf not hearing, but breathing with the breath, speaking with speech (the tongue), seeing with the eye and thinking with the mind. Thus (we lived).’ The ear entered in.
11. mano hoccakrama, tat samvatsaram prosy a paryetyovaca, katham aiakata rte maj jivitum iti, yatha bald amanasah, pranan- tah pranena, vadanto vaca, pasyantas caksusa, srnvantah srotre- naivam iti; pravivesa ha manah.
11. The mind departed and having stayed away for a year returned and said, 'How have you been able to live without me?’ (They replied) ‘Like the children mindless but breathing with the breath, speaking with speech (the tongue), seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear. Thus (we lived).’ The mind entered in.
bald amanasah: children mindless, rather undeveloped minds. aprarudha-manasah. §.
12. atha ha prana uccikramisan, sa yatha suhayah padvisa sahkun samkhidet , evam itaran pranan samakhidat ; tarn habhi- sametyocuh, bhagavann edhi, tvam nah srestho’si, motkramir iti.
12. Now when breath was about to depart, tearing up the other senses, even as a spirited horse, about to start might tear up the pegs to which he is tethered, they gathered round him and said, 'Revered Sir, remain, you are the best of us, do not depart.’
remain our lord, nah svaml. S.
13. atha hainam vag uvaca, yad aham vasistho’smi, tvam tad vasistho' siti; atha hainam caksur uvaca, yad aham pratistha’smi, tvam tat pratistha’ siti.
13. Then speech said to him, ‘If I am the most prosperous, so are you the most prosperous.’ Then the eye said to him, ‘If I am the firm basis, so are you the firm basis.’
14. atha hainam srotram uvaca, yad aham sampad asmi, tvam tat sampad asiti; atha hainam mana uvaca, yad aham dyatanam asmi, tvam tad dyatanam asiti.
14. Then the ear said to him, ‘If I am success, so are you the success.’ Then the mind said to him, ‘If I am the abode, so are you the abode.’
15. na vai vaco na caksumsi na srotrani na manarhsity acaksate, prana ity evacaksate, prano hy evaitani sarvani bhavati.
See K.U. III. 3.
424 The Principal Upanisads V. 2. 4.
1. sa hovaca, kirn me annam bhavisyatiti; yat kith cid idam a svabhya a sakunibhyah, iti hocuh: tad va etad anasyannam ano ha vai nama pratyaksam, na ha va evamvidi kimcana anannam bhavatiti.
1. He (Breath) said, ‘What will be my food?’ They said, ‘Whatever there is here, even unto dogs and birds.' So this, verily, is the food of breath. Verily, breath {ana) is his evident name. For one who knows this, there is nothing whatever that is not food.
prana: consists of pra and ana. ana is breath and pra indicates the direction of the motion.
2. sa hovaca, him me vaso bhavisyatiti; apah, iti hocuh; tasmad va etad asisyantah purastac coparistac cddbhih paridadhati; lambhuko ha vaso bhavati, anagno ha bhavati.
2. He said, ‘What will be my clothing?’ They said, ‘Water.’ Therefore it is that, when people are about to eat, they cover it (the breath) with water, both before and after. He thus obtains clothing and becomes clothed (is no longer naked).
This verse refers to the usual Indian practice of rinsing the mouth both before and after a meal.
3. tadd haitat satyakamo jabalo gosrutaye vaiyaghrapadyayokt- vovaca, yady apy etac chuskaya sthanave bruyat, jayerann evasmin-sakhah , praroheyuh palasaniti.
3. Satyakama Jabala, after telling this to Go£ruti, the son of Vyaghrapada, said to him, ‘Even if one should tell this to a dried up stump, branches would be produced on it and leaves would spring forth.’
son of Vyaghrapada: vyaghrapado’patyam. A
4. atha yadi mahaj jigamiset, amavasyayam diksitva paur- namasyam ratrau sarvausadhasya mantham dadhi-madhunor upamathya, jyesthaya sresthaya svahd, ity agnav ajyasya hutva, manthe sampatam avanayet.
4. Now if one wishes to reach greatness, let him perform the initiatory rite on the new moon night and then on the night of the full moon, let him stir with curds and honey a mash of all kinds of herbs and pour melted butter on the fire saying,
‘Hail to the oldest, hail to the best.’ And then let him throw the residue into the mash.
See B.U. VI. 3-2.
On the day of initiation, dlksa, the agent should have passed through the ethical preparation, austerity, truthfulness and chastity: bhumi-sayanadi-niyamam krtva tapo-rupam satya-vacanam brahma - caryam ity adidharmavan bhutvety arthah.
5. vasisthayai svaha, ity agnav ajyasya hutva, manthe sam- patam avanayet, pratisthayai svaha ity agnav ajyasya hutva manthe sampatam avanayet, sampade svaha, ity agnav ajyasya hutva manthe sampatam avanayet, ayatanaya svaha, ity agnav ajyasya hutva manthe sampatam avanayet.
5. ‘Hail to the most prosperous,’ with these words, let him pour melted butter on the fire and then let him throw the residue into the mash. ‘Hail to the firm basis,’ with these words let him pour melted butter on the fire and then let him throw the residue into the mash. ‘Hail to success,’ with these words let him pour melted butter on the fire and then let him throw the residue into the mash. ‘Hail to the abode,' with these words let him pour melted butter on the fire and then let him throw the residue into the mash.
6. atha pratisrpyahjalau mantham adhdya japati: amo namasi, ama hi te sarvam idam, sa hi jyesthah srestho rdjadhipatih, sa ma jyaisthyarh sraisthyam rajyam adhipatyam gamayatv aham evedarh sarvam asaniti.
6. Then moving away and holding the mash in his hands, he recites, ‘Thou art ama by name for all this rests in thee. He is the oldest and the best, the king and the overlord. May he lead me to old age, to the best (position), to kingship, to over¬ lordship. May I be all this.’
7. atha khalv etaya rca paccha acamati, tat savitur vrmmaha ity acamati, vayam devasya bhojanam ity acamati, srestham sarvadhatamam ity acamati, turam bhagasya dhxmahi iti sarvam pibati, nirnijya karhsam camasam va pascad agnch samvisati carmani va sthandile va vdcam-yamo prasdhah; sa yadi striyam pasyet samrddharh karmeti vidyat.
7. Then he takes a sip with this Rk verse at each foot, (saying) ‘we desire the Savitr’ he sips a little: (saying) ‘the food of the gods,’ he sips a little (saying) ‘the best and all sus¬ taining,’ he sips a little (saying) ‘we meditate on the strength
426 The Principal Upanisads V. 3. 3.
of the god,’ he drinks up the whole. Having cleansed the vessel or the cup, he sits down behind the fire either on a skin or on the bare ground with speech restrained and with self-possession. If he now sees a woman let him know that his effort has reached fruition.
£ says that he lies down behind the fire and if, in the dream, he sees a woman, that is a sign that his effort has succeeded.
yada karmasu kdmye$u striyam svapnesu paiyati, samrddhim tatra janiyat tasmin svapna-nidariane iti tasmin svapna-nidartane.
8. As to this, there is this verse : ‘If during rites performed for (the fulfilment of certain) wishes, he (the performer) sees a woman in a dream, let him recognise fulfilment in such a vision in a dream, in such a vision in a dream.’
The Vedic rite is enlarged in its significance.
1. svetaketur haruneyah pahcdlanam samitim eyaya, tam ha pravahano jaivalir uvdca: kumara anu tvasisat piteti; a nuhi, hhagava iti.
1. fsvetaketu Aruneya went to an assembly of the Pancalas. Then Pravahana Jaivali said to him: ‘Young man, has your father instructed you?’ ‘Yes, indeed, Venerable Sir’ (said he in answer).
aruneya: the grandson of Aruna.
2. vettha yad ito’dhi prajah prayantiti ? na, hhagava, iti; vettha yatha punar avartanta itil na, hhagava iti; vettha pathor deva-yanasya pitryanasya ca vyavartanam iti ? na, hhagava iti.
2. ‘Do you know to what place men go from here?’ ‘No, Venerable Sir.’ ‘Do you know how they return again?’ ‘No, Venerable Sir.’ ‘Do you know where the paths leading to the gods and leading to the fathers separate.’ ‘No, Venerable Sir.’
vettha yatha pahcamyam ahutav apah purusa-vacaso bhavantiti, naiva, bhagava iti.
3. ‘Do you know how that (yonder) world never becomes full?’ ‘No, Venerable Sir.’ ‘Do you know how in the fifth libation water comes to be called a person.’ ‘Indeed, Venerable Sir, no.’
4. atha nu kim anusisto’vocathah, yo himani na vidyat, katham so’ nusisto bruviteti. sa hayastah pitur ardham eyaya; tam hovaca: ananusisya vava kila ma, bhagavan, abravit anu tvasisam iti.
4. ‘Then why did you say that you had been instructed? Indeed how could any one who did not know these things speak of himself as having been instructed?’ Distressed, he went to his father’s place and said to him, ‘Venerable Sir, you said, indeed, that you had instructed me without having instructed me.’
5. pahca ma rajanya-bandhuh prasnan apraksit, tesam naikam canasakam vivaktum iti; sa hovaca: yatha ma tvam tata, etan avadah, tathaham esam naikam ca na veda yady aham iman avedisyam, katham te ndvaksyam iti.
5. ‘That fellow of the princely class asked me five questions and I could not understand even one of them.’ He (the father) said, ‘As you stated to me these (questions) I do not know even one of them. If I had known them, how should I not have told them to you?’
6. sa ha gautamo rajho’rdham eyaya, tasmai ha praptayarham cakara; sa ha pratah sabhaga udeyaya; tam hovaca: manusasya, bhagavan gautama, vittasya varam vrnitha iti, sa hovaca tavaiva, rajan, manusam vittam, yam eva kumarasyante vacam abhas- athah, tam eva me bruhiti; sa ha krcchn babhuva.
6. Then Gautama went over to the king’s place. To him, when he arrived, he (the king) had proper respect shown. In the morning he went up to the audience hall (where) the king said to him, ‘Venerable Gautama, choose a boon out of the wealth that belongs to the world of men.’ Then he replied, ‘Thine be the wealth of the world of men, 0 King; tell me that speech which you spoke to the young man.’ The king was perplexed.
7. tam ha, ciram vasety ajhapayam cakara; tarn hovaca: yatha ma tvam, gautama, avadah, yatheyam na prak tvattah pur a vidya
428 The Principal Upanisads V. 4. 2.
brahmanan gacchati, tasmad u sarvesu lokesu ksatrasyaiva prasasanam abhiid iti; tasmai hovaca.
7. ‘Stay for some time' he commanded him. Then he said to him, ‘As to what you have told me, Gautama, this knowledge has never reached the Brahmanas before you; therefore in all the worlds the rule (this teaching) belonged to the Ksatriya class only.' Then he said to him.
(1 continued )
1. asau vava lokah, gautama, agnih, tasyaditya eva samit, rasmayo dhumah, ahar arcih, candrama ahgarah, naksatrani visphulihgah.
1 ‘That world, verily, 0 Gautama, is a (sacrificial) fire, the sun itself is its fuel, the rays the smoke, the day the flame, the moon the coals, the stars the sparks.
The analogy of the heavenly region to the sacrificial fire is worked out. The sun is the fuel as the world shines only when it is lighted up by the sun. The rays are the smoke because they rise from it even as the smoke rises from the fuel. The day is the flame because it is bright and is the effect of the sun. The moon is the coals or the embers, for even as the moon becomes visible when the day has ceased, the embers become visible when the flame is put out. The stars are the sparks; they are like parts of the moon. S.
Water is offered as the offering of faith.
The king answers the last question why the water in the fifth libation is called man. V. 3. 3. The sacrifices rise through their offerings to heaven and attain there as their reward a nature like that of Sonia.
THE COURSE OF THE SOUL (1 continued )
1. parjanyo vava, gautama, agnih, tasya vayur eva samit, abhram dhumah, vidyud arcih, asanir ahgdrah, hradanayo visphulingah.
1. The god of rain, O Gautama, is the (sacrificial) fire, the air itself is its fuel, the cloud is the smoke, the lightning is the flame, the thunder the coals and the thunderings the sparks.
hradani, generally explained as ‘hail’, but here it means ‘rumblings.’
1. prthivl vava, gautama, agnih; tasyah samvatsara eva samit, akaso dhumah, ratrir arcih, diso’hgarah, avantara diso visphu- lihgah.
1. The earth, verily, O Gautama, is the (sacrificial) fire; of this the year is the fuel, space is the smoke, the night is the flame, the quarters the coals, the intermediate quarters the sparks.
430 The Principal Upanisads V. 9. I.
1. Man, verily, 0 Gautama, is the (sacrificial) fire; of this speech is the fuel, breath the smoke, the tongue the flame, the eyes the coals and the ears the sparks.
1. yosa vava, gautama, agnih; tasya upastha eva samit, yad upamantrayate sa dhumah, yonir arcih, yad antah karoti te ahgarah, abhinanda visphulihgah.
1. Woman, verily, O Gautama, is the (sacrificial) fire; of this the sexual organ is the fuel, what invites is the smoke, the vulva is the flame, what is done inside is the coals, the pleasures the sparks.
From water, through intermediate developments the foetus arises and in all these developments water is the predominating element. drava-bahulyam. S. So it is that water comes to be called man in the fifth oblation.
1 . iti tu pahcamyam ahutav apah purusa-vacaso bhavantiti, sa ulbavrto garbhah, dasa va nava va masan antah sayitva yavad va’tha jayate.
1. For this (reason) indeed, in the fifth oblation water comes to be called man. This foetus enclosed in the membrane, having
lain inside for ten or nine months or more or less, then comes to be born.
Water, by which the self is enveloped on departing from life, means the subtle parts of the elements which constitute the seed of the body: ap-sabdena sarvesam eva deha-bljanam bhuta-suksmanarh kathanam siddham. S.B. III. 1. 2.
2. When born, he lives whatever the length of his life may be. When he has departed, they (his friends) carry him to the appointed place for the fire (of the funeral pile), from which indeed he came, from which he arose.
distant: karmana nirdistam. S.
1. tad ya ittham viduh,ye ceme’ranye sraddha tapa ity upasate, te’rcisam abhisambhavanti , arciso’hah, ahna apuryamana-paksam, apuryamana-paksad yan sad udann eti masarhs tan.
1. So those who know this, and those who in the forest meditate on faith as austerity (or with faith and austerity) go to light and from light to day, from day to the bright half of the month (of the waxing moon), from the bright half of the month to those six months during which the sun moves northward.
The question as to the place to which men go from here is taken up. See C.U. IV. 15. 5.
those who know this. The doctrine of the five fires. S makes out that this refers to the householders, as the next clause refers to the recluses in the forest.
2. masebhyah samvatsaram, samvatsarad adityam, adityac candramasam, candramaso vidyutam; tat puruso’ manavah, sa enan brahma gamayati, esa deva-yanah pantha iti.
2. From these months to the year, from the year to the sun, from the sun to the moon, from the moon to the lightning. There, there is a person who is non-human. He leads them on to Brahma. This is the path leading to the gods.
432 The Principal Upanisads V. io. 5.
The earliest conception of the path of the gods is to be found in the R.V., where Agni who serves as the intermediary between gods and men, as bearing the offerings to the gods is addressed thus: 'Knowing the ways by which the gods go, thou (Agni) hast become the unwearied messenger, the bearer of oblations.' I. 72. 7; see also II. 2. 4. The path on which the sacrifices were taken to the heavenly world becomes the path by which the sacrificer himself ascended to the world of the gods. See Satapatha Brdhmana, I. 9. 3. 2. The stations on the path need not be taken literally. They represent stages of progressive knowledge and light while those of pitr-yana of progressive darkness and corruption. See IV. 15. 5. B.U. VI. 2. 15.
3. atha ya ime grama islapurle dattam ity upasate, te dhumam abhisambhavanti, dhumad ratrim, ratrer apara-paksam, apara- paksad yan sad daksinaiti masarhs tan, naite sarhvatsaram abhiprapnuvanti.
3. But those, who in the village practise (a life of) sacrifices, (and perform) works of public utility and almsgiving they pass into the smoke, from smoke to night, from night to the latter (dark) half of the month, from the latter (dark) half of the month to the six months in which the sun moves south¬ wards, but they do not reach the year.
o
4. masebhyah pitr-lokam , pitr-lokad akasam, akasac candra- masam, esa somo raja, tad devanam annam, tarn deva bhaksayanti.
4. From those months to the world of the fathers, from the world of the fathers to space, from space to the moon. That is the king Soma. That is the food of the gods. That the gods eat.
annam. — food. They become the servants of the gods: upakara- na-matram devanam bhavanti te stri-pasu-bhrtyadivat. The gods love them and they love the gods. They live with and rejoice in gods.
Three kinds of future are indicated. The performers of sacrifices reach the moon by passing along the path of the fathers, pitr-yana, and after having experienced the fruits of their works these return again with a residuum of their karma. The non-performers of sacri¬ fices go to the kingdom of Yama. Those who adopt the way of enlightenment go by the path of gods, deva-yana. There is no return for them from the latter. The distinction between the pitr-yana and the deva-yana is one of two different systems of culture, the way of works and the way of knowledge resulting in two different spiritual conditions.
nivartante yathetam akasam, akasad vayum, vdyur bhutva dhumo bhavati, dhumo bhutva’bhram bhavati.
5. Having dwelt there as long as there is residue (of good works) they return again by that course by which they came to space, from space into air; and after having become the air they become the smoke; after having become smoke, they become mist.
It is not possible, § remarks, for all actions to have their effects in one life: na-caikasmin janmani sarva-karmanam ksaya upapadyate. S.
6. abhram bhutva megho bhavati, megho bhutva pravarsati, ta iha vrihi-yava osadhi vanaspatayas tila-masa iti jayante, ato vai khalu durnisprapataram, yo yo hy annam atti yo retah sihcati, tad bhuya eva bhavati.
6. After having become mist they become cloud, after having become cloud he rains down. They are bom here as rice and barley, herbs and trees, as sesamum plants and beans. From thence the release becomes extremely difficult for whoever eats the food and sows the seed he becomes like unto him.
Release is easy from human condition.
7. tad ya iha ramaniya-caranah, abhyaso ha yat te ramaniyam yonim apadyeran, brahmana -yonim va ksatriya-yonim va, vaisya- yonirh va; athaya iha kapuya-caranah abhyaso ha yat te kapuyam yonim apadyeran sva-yonim va sukara-yonim va candala-yonim va.
7. Those whose conduct here has been good will quickly attain a good birth (literally womb), the birth of a Brahmin, the birth of a Ksatriya or the birth of a Vaisya. But those whose conduct here has been evil, will quickly attain an evil birth, the birth of a dog, the birth of a hog or the birth of a Candala.
8. athaitayoh pathor na katarena cana tanimani ksudrany asakrd-avartini bhutani bhavanti, jayasva, mriyasveti, etat trtiyam sthanam, tenasau loko na sampuryate, tasmaj jugupseta, tad esa slokah.
8. But on neither of these ways are those small creatures (which are) continually revolving (those of whom it is said), be born and die. Their’s is a third state. By this (it comes about) that that world becomes full. Therefore let one seek to guard himself. To this end, there is this verse.
434 The Principal Upanisads
If we pursue wisdom, we travel by the path of the gods. If we perform good works we travel by the path of the fathers. If we do neither, we will continually revolve like little creatures.
9. steno hiranyasya swam pibams ca gwos talpam avasan brahma ha ca-ete patanti catvarah. pahcamas cdcarams taih.
9. He who steals gold, he who drinks wine, he who dishonours the teacher’s bed, he who kills a Brahmana, these four do fall as also the fifth who consorts with them.
10. atha ha ya etan evarh pahcagnin veda, na saha tair apy acaran papmana lipyate, suddhah putah punya-loko bhavati ya evarn veda, ya evarh veda.
10. But he who knows these five fires thus is not stained by evil, even though he consorts with these people. He becomes pure, clean, obtains a virtuous world, he who knows this, yea he who knows this.'
The five questions raised in V. 3, 2-3 are answered.
1. prdcma-sala aupamanyavah, satya-yajhah paulusih, indra- dyumno bhdllaveyah , janah sarkaraksyah, budila asvatar divis te hy ete mahasala mahasrotriyah sametya mimamsam cakruh, ko na atmd, him brahmeti.
1. Praclna£ala Aupamanyava, Satyayajna Paulusi, Indra- dyumna Bhallaveya, Jana Sarkaraksya and Budila Asvatarasvi, these great householders, greatly learned in sacred lore, having come together, undertook an investigation as to what is our self and what is Brahman.
See Satapatha Brahmana, X. 6. 1. 1.
2. te ha sampadayamcakruh, uddalako vai bhagavanto’yam arunih sampratimam atmanam vaisvanaram adhyeti, tarn hantabhyagacchameti; tarn habhyajagmuh.
2. They then reflected among themselves, ‘Venerable Sirs, Uddalaka Aruni studies at present this Universal Self; well let us go to him.' Then they went over to him.
3. sa ha sampadayamcakara, praksyanti mam ime maha&ald mahasrotriyah, tebhyo na sarvam iva pratipatsye, hantaham anyam abhyanusasaniti.
3. He then reflected, ‘These great householders and greatly learned in sacred lore will question me. I shall not be able to tell them all. Therefore, I shall direct them to another (teacher).'
4. tan hovdca asvapatir vai, bhagavanto, yam kaikeyah, sampratimam atmanam vaisvanaram adhyeti, tarn hantabhya- gacchameti; tarn habhyajagmuh.
4. He said to them, ‘Venerable sirs, Asvapati Kaikeya studies at present this Universal Self, well, let us go to him.’ Then they went over to him.
na me steno janapade na kadaryo na madyapah, nanahitagnir navidvan, na svairi svairini kutah: yaksyamano vai bhagavantah, aham asmi. yavad ekaikasma rtvije dhanam dasyami, tavad bhagavadbhyo dasyami, vasantu bhaga- vanta iti.
5. Then, when they answered, he (the king) had proper attentions shown to them severally. After rising the next morning, he said. ‘In my kingdom there is no thief, no miser, no drunkard, no man without a sacrificial fire, no ignorant person, no adulterer, much less an adulteress.’ I am going to perform a sacrifice, Venerable Sirs, and as much wealth as I give to each Rtvig priest, I shall give to you, please stay, Venerable Sirs.'
Asvapati is an expert in Brahma-knowledge and also a wise adminis¬ trator. Wisdom and work go together in him.
S says that as the visitors did not accept the presents, he invited them to a sacrifice.
6. te hocuh, yena haivarthena purusas caret, tarn haiva vadet; atmanam evemarn vaisvanaram sampraty adhyesi, tarn eva no bruhiti.
6. Then they said, ‘The purpose for which a man comes, that indeed he should speak. At present, you know the Universal Self. Tell us indeed about that.’
436 The Principal Upanisads
answer.’ Therefore on the next morning, they approached him with fuel in their hands. Then, without having first received them as pupils, he said to them.
He did not insist on the preparatory rites of initiation for he was impressed by their humility. fuel in their hands. This is a token of discipleship.
1. aupamanyava, karh tvam atmanam upassa iti: divam eva bhagavo rajan, iti hovaca: esa vai sntejd atma vaisvanarah yam tvam atmanam upasse, tasmat tava sutam prasutam asutam kule drsyate.
1. Aupamanyava, on what do you meditate as the self? (He replied) ‘Heaven only, Venerable King.’ He said, ‘The self you meditate on is the Universal Self (called) the good light. Therefore in your family is seen the suta libation as also the prasuta and the a^uta.’
The Soma libation is given these names of suta, prasuta and asuta in the different sacrifices.
The good light: sobhanam tejo yasya so’ yam suteja. S.
Those born in the family will be devoted to work : ativa karminas tvat-kulina iti. S.
2. atsy annam, pasyasi priyam, atty annam, pasyati priyam, bhavaty asya brahma-varcasam kule, ya etam evam atmanam vaisvanaram upaste, murdha tv esa atmanah, iti hovaca, murdha te vyapatisyat, yan mam nagamisya iti.
2. You eat food; you see what is pleasing. He eats food; he sees what is pleasing. In the family of him who meditates on the Universal Self thus, there arises eminence in brahma- knowledge. ‘That, however, is only the head of the self,’ said he, ‘Your head would have fallen off if you had not come to me.'
The development of thought is effected gradually. Asvapati elicits from these seekers their conceptions of the Universal Self. Their conceptions of sky, sun, air, space, water and earth are accepted as partially true. The V aisvanara self is the whole, the all -comprehend-
V.14.1. Chandogya Upanisad 437
ing Infinite of which natural objects and individual selves are parts. It is wrong to identify a particular deity, one conceived as presiding over a limited part of the world, with the Universal Self.
1. atha hovaca satya-yajham paulusim: pracina-yogya, kam tvam atmanam upassa iti: adityam eva, bhagavo rajan, iti hovaca: esa vai visva-rupa atma vaisvanarah, yam tvam atmanam upasse, tasmat tava bahu visvarupam kule drsyate.
1. Then he said to Satyayajna Paulusi: ‘Pracinayogya, on what do you meditate as the self?’ (He replied) ‘The sun only, Venerable King.’ He said, ‘The self you meditate on is the Universal Self called the Universal Form. Therefore is seen in your family much and manifold (wealth).’
2. pravrtto’ svatari-ratho dasi niskah, atsy annam pasyasi priyam, atty annam, pasyati priyam, bhavaty asya brahma-var- casam kule, ya etam evam atmanam vaisvanaram upaste, caksus tv etad atmanah, iti hovaca andho bhavisyah, yan mam nagamisya iti.
2. ‘(for example) there is the chariot with mules, female servants and gold necklaces. You eat food, you see what is pleasing. He eats food, he sees what is pleasing. In the family of him who meditates on the Universal Self thus, there arises eminence in brahma-knowledge. That, however, is the eye of the self,’ said he, ‘and you would have become blind if you had not come to me.’
pravrtti: literally, a course of action, tendency.
438 The Principal Upanisads V. 15. 2.
hovaca: esa vai prthag-vartmdtma vaisvanarah yarn tvam atmanam upasse tasmat tvam prthag halaya ayanti, prthag rathasrenayo' nuyanti.
1. Then he said to Indra-dyumna Bhallaveya, ‘Vaiyaghra- padya, on what do you meditate as the self?' (He replied) ‘Air only, Venerable King.' He said, ‘The self you meditate on is the Universal Self of varied courses (prthag-vartman) . Therefore offerings come to you in various ways and rows of chariots follow you in various ways.’
2. atsy annam, pasyasi priyam, atty annam, pasyati priyam, bhavaty asya brahma ■ varcasam kule, ya etam evam atmanam vaisvanaram upaste pranas tv esa atmanah, iti hovaca, pranas ta udakramisyat, yan mam na gamisya iti.
2. ‘You eat food, you see what is pleasing. He eats food, he sees what is pleasing. In the family of him who meditates on the Universal Self thus, there arises eminence in brahma- knowledge. That, however, is only the breath of the self,’ said he, ‘your breath would have departed, if you had not come to me.’
1. atha hovaca janarn idrkaraksya: kam tvam atmanam upassa iti: akasam eva bhagavo rajan, iti hovaca: esa vai bahula dtma vaisvanarah, yam tvam atmanam upasse, tasmat tvam bahulo’si prajaya ca dhanena ca.
1. Then he said to Janam Sarkaraksya, on what do you meditate as the self?’ (He replied) 'Space only, Venerable King.' He said, ‘The self you meditate on is the Universal Self called Full (brahma). Therefore you are full of offspring and wealth.’
2. atsy annam, pasyasi priyam, atty annam, pasyati priyam, bhavaty asya brahma-varcasam kule ya etam evam atmanam vaisvanaram upaste samdehas tv esa atmanah, iti hovaca samdehas te vyasiryat, yan mam nagamisya iti.
2. ‘You eat food, you see what is pleasing. He eats food, he sees what is pleasing. In the family of him who meditates on the Universal Self thus, there arises eminence in brahma- knowledge. That, however, is only the body of the self,’ said he, ‘your body would have fallen off, if you had not come to me.’
1. atha hovaca, budilam asvatardsvim, vaiyaghrapadya, kam tvam atmanam upassa iti, apa eva bhagavo rajan, iti hovaca. esa vai rayir atma vaisvanarah, yam tvam atmanam upasse, tasmat tvam rayiman pustiman asi.
1. Then he said to Budila Asvatarasvi, ‘Vaiyaghrapadya, on what do you meditate as the self?’ (He replied) ‘Water only, Venerable King.’ He said, ‘The self you meditate on is the Universal Self called wealth ( rayi ). Therefore are you endowed with wealth and strength of body.’
2. atsy annam, pasyasi priyam, atty annam, pasyati priyam, bhavaty asya brahmavarcasarh kule ya etam evam atmanam vaisvanaram upaste, bastis tv esa atmanah, iti hovaca bastis te vyabhetsyata, yan mam nagamisya iti.
2. 'You eat food, you see what is pleasing. He eats food, he sees what is pleasing. In the family of him who meditates on the Universal Self thus, there arises eminence in brahma knowledge. That, however, is only the bladder of the self and your bladder would have burst if you had not come to me.’
1. atha hovaca uddalakam arunim: gautama, kam tvam atma- nam upassa iti: prthivim eva, bhagavo rajan, iti hovaca: esa vai pratisthatma vaisvanarah yam tvam atmanam upasse, tasmat tvam pratisthito’ si prajaya ca pasubhis ca.
1. Then he said to Uddalaka Aruni: ‘Gautama, on what do you meditate as the self?' (He replied) ‘Earth only, Venerable King.’ He said, ‘The self you meditate on is the Universal Self called support ( pratistha ). Therefore you are supported, with offspring and cattle.’
2. atsy annam, pasyasi priyam, atty annam pasyati priyam, bhavaty asya brahma-varcasam kule ya etam evam atmanam vaisvanaram upaste, padau tv etav atmanah, iti hovaca, padau te vyamlasyetam, yan mam nagamisya iti.
440 The Principal Upanisads
2. ‘You see food, you see what is pleasing. He eats food, he sees what is pleasing. In the family of him who meditates on the Universal Self thus there arises eminence in brahma-know- ledge. That, however, is but the feet of the self,’ said he, ‘your feet would have withered away, if you had not come to me.’
1. tan hovaca: ete vai khalu yuyarn prthag ivemam atmanarh vaisvanaram vidvamso’ nnam attha, yas tv etam evam pradesa- matram abhivimanam atmanam vaisvanaram upaste, sa sarvesu lokesu sarvesu bhutesu sarvesv atmasv annam atti.
1. Then he said to them, ‘Verily indeed you eat your food knowing this Universal Self as if it were many. He, however, who meditates on the Universal Self as of the measure of the span or as identical with the self, eats food in all worlds, in all beings, in all selves.’
pradesa-matra: of the measure of the span. S gives five different renderings of which the chief are (i) that which is recognised bodily through heaven as the head and the earth as the feet, (ii) that which is measured by a measure extending from the heaven to the earth.
The self which has assumed the shape of the whole universe is the Universal Self. It is to be known as the Self of all beings. One has to realise the Self in oneself before one can comprehend Him as the Self of the whole creation. The individual ‘I’ and the universal ‘I’ are one.
Asmarathya teaches the meditation of Vaisvanara as pradesa- matra since the Supreme Being is specially manifested in the heart which is conceived as of the measure of a span : abhivyakter asmarathyah: B.S. I. 2. 29.
pratyag-dtmatayabhivimiyate' ham iti jhayata ity abhivimanah. S.
Badari is of the view that the Supreme Being is described as of the measure of a span since he is meditated upon by the mind, situated in the heart which is of the measure of a span : anusmrter badarih: B.S. I. 2. 30.
Jaimini holds that pradesa-matra is intended to teach sampatti or sampad-upasana, i.e. the realization of the non-separation of God from the objects of sense. § explains dhyanena drsya-vastuni parame- svarasya abheda-nispattih. abhivimana: the inner self behind the parts.
pratyag-atmataya abhivimiyate aham iti vijnayate : It is the Universal Self in each living being. The seeker should realise the divine in himself and in all beings.
2. tasya ha va etasyatmano vaisvanarasya murdhaiva sutejah, caksur viiva-riipah, prdnah prthagvartmatmd, samdeho bahulah, bastir eva rayih, prthivy eva padav ura eva vedih, lomani barhih, hrdayam gdrhapatyah, mano’nvaharya-pacanah, asyam aha- vantyah.
2. Of this Universal Self, the head indeed is the good light, the eye is the universal form, breath is (the air) of varied courses, the body is the full, the bladder is wealth, the feet are the earth, the chest indeed is the sacrificial area, the hair is the sacred grass, the heart is the garhapatya fire, the mind is the anvaharya-pacana fire and the mouth is the ahavaniya fire.
v. prthag-vartma.
The teacher corrects the wrong notions of the pupils who mistake parts for the whole even as blind men mistake parts of the elephant for the elephant : hasti-darsane iva jatyandhah.
This passage indicates the essential correspondence between the microcosm and the macrocosm.
THE SACRIFICE TO THE UNIVERSAL SELF IN ONE’S OWN SELF: PRANA
1. tad yad bhaktam prathamam agacchet, tad homiyam, sa yarn prathamam ahutim juhuyat tarn juhuydt, pranaya svaheti, Pranas trpyati.
1. Therefore that food which may come first should be an offering. The first offering he offers he should offer saying, ‘hail to the prana breath.’ The prana breath is satisfied.
2. prune trpyati caksus trpyati, caksusi trpyaty adityas trpyati, aditye trpyati dyaus trpyati, divi trpyantydrh yat kirk ca dyaus cadityas cadhitisthatah , tat trpyati tasydnutrptirh trpyati prajaya pasubhir annadyena tejasa brahma-varcasena.
2. The prana breath being satisfied, the eye is satisfied. The eye being satisfied, the sun is satisfied. The sun being satisfied,
442 The Principal Upanisads
the heaven is satisfied. The heaven being satisfied, whatever is under the heaven and under the sun is satisfied. Along with the satisfaction thereof, he himself is satisfied with offspring, with cattle, with food (health born of food), brightness and with eminence in sacred knowledge.
i. atha yam dvitiyam juhuyat tarn juhuyat, vyanaya svaheti, vyanas trpyati.
2. vyane trpyati srotrarh trpyati , srotre trpyati candramas trpyati, candramasi trpyati disas trpyanti, diksu trpyantisu yat kirk ca disas ca candramas cadhitisthanti , tat trpyati, tasyanu-trptim trpyati prajaya pasubhir annadyena tejasa brahma-varcasena.
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 quarters and under the moon is satisfied. Along with the satisfaction thereof he himself is satisfied with off¬ spring, with cattle, with food, with brightness and with eminence in sacred knowledge.
2. apane trpyati vdk trpyati, vaci trpyantyam agnis trpyati, agnau trpyati prthivi trpyati, prthivyam trpyantyam yat kirk ca prthivi cagnis cadhitisthatah tat trpyati, tasyanu-trptim trpyati prajaya pasubhir annadyena tejasa brahma-varcasena .
2. Apana being satisfied, speech is satisfied. Speech being satisfied, the fire is satisfied. The fire being satisfied, the earth is satisfied. The earth being satisfied, whatever is under the earth and the fire is satisfied. Along with the satisfaction thereof, he himself is satisfied with offspring, with cattle, with food, with brightness and with eminence in sacred knowledge.
2. samane trpyati manas trpyati, manasi trpyati parjanyas trpyati, parjanye trpyati vidyut trpyati, vidyuti trpyantyam yat kirn ca vidyuc ca parjanyas cadhitisthatah, tat trpyati tasyanu- trptim trpyati prajaya pasubhir annadyena tejasa brahma-var- casena.
2. Samana being satisfied, the mind is satisfied. The mind being satisfied, the rain god is satisfied. The rain god being satisfied, lightning is satisfied. Lightning being satisfied, what¬ ever is under the lightning and the rain god is satisfied. Along with the satisfaction thereof, he himself is satisfied with offspring, with cattle, with food, with brightness and with eminence in sacred knowledge.
444 The Principal Upanisads V. 24. 4.
vayau trpyaty akasas trpyati, akase trpyati yat kim ca vayus cakasas cadhitisthatah, tat trpyati, tasydnu-trptim trpyati prajaya pasubhir annadyena tejasa br ahma-varcasena .
2. Udana being satisfied, the skin is satisfied. The skin being satisfied, the air is satisfied. The air being satisfied, space is satisfied. Space being satisfied, whatever is under the air and space is satisfied. Along with the satisfaction thereof, he himself is satisfied with offspring, with cattle, with food, with brightness and with eminence in sacred knowledge.
1. If, without knowing this, one offers the fire sacrifice, that would be just as if he were to remove the live coals and pour the offering on (dead) ashes.
2. But if, knowing it thus, one offers the fire sacrifice he offers it in all worlds, in all beings, in all selves, he will perforrp sacrifices with a full knowledge of their meaning and purpose.
3. tad yathesika-tulam agnau protam praduyeta, evam hasya sarve papmanah praduyante, ya dad evam vidvan agni-hotram juhoti.
3. Even as the soft fibres of the isika reed are burned up when laid on a fire, so also are burned up the evils of one who knowing it thus offers the fire sacrifice.
4. tasmad u haivamvid yady api candalayocchistam prayacchet, atmani haivasya tad vaisvdnare hutam syad iti, tad esa slokah.
4. Therefore if one who knows this should offer the remnant of his food to a Candala, it would be offered in his Universal Self. On this there is the following verse.
Candala is symbolic of those who do not deserve the offer, anarha.
S. One is released from the observance of restrictions when one has
attained knowledge that the one Self dwells in all. One offers it to the Universal Self dwelling in the body of the Candala: candala-de- hasthe vaisvanare. S. The whole system of caste and untouchability is undermined by the perception of the Indwelling Self in all.
5. yathdiha ksudhita balah mdtaram paryupasate evarn sar- vdni bhutany agni-hotram upasate ity agni-hotram upasata iti.
5. As here hungry children sit (expectantly) around their mother, even so do all beings sit around the fire sacrifice, yea they sit around the fire sacrifice.
The Principal Upanisads
UDDALAKA’S teaching concerning the oneness
1. aunt, svetaketur hd’runeya asa, tam ha pitovaca: ivetaketo, vasa brahmacaryam, na vai, saumya, asmat-kulino’ nanucya brahma-bandhur iva bhavatiti.
1. Aum. There was Svetaketu Aruneya. His father said to him, ‘Live the life of religious student, verily, my dear, there is no one in our family who is unlearned (in the Vedas), who is a Brahmana only by birth.’
aruneya: arunasya pautrah: grandson of Aruna. S. brahma-bandhuh: he who calls Brahmanas his relatives but does not himself behave like a Brahmana. brahmanan bandhun vyapadisati na svayam brahmana-vrtta iti. S.
2. sa ha dvadasa-varsa upetya caturvimsati varsah sarvan vedan adhitya mahamana anucana-mam stabdha evaya, tam ha pitovaca, svetaketo, yan nu saumya idarh mahamana anucana- mani stabdho si uta tam ddesam aprdksyah.
2. He then, having become a pupil at the age of twelve, returned when he was twenty-four years of age, having studied all the Vedas, greatly conceited, thinking himself well read, arrogant. His father then said to him, ‘Svetaketu, since you are now so greatly conceited, think yourself well read and arrogant, did you ask for that instruction
3. By which the unbearable becomes heard, the unper- ceivable becomes perceived, the unknowable becomes known?’ ‘How, Venerable Sir, can there be such teaching?'
All learning is useless unless one knows the truth with regard to the Self, sarvan api vedan adhitya sarvam canyad vedyam adhigamydpy akrtartha eva bhavati yavad atmatattvam najandti. $.
4. yathd, saumya, ekcna mrt-pindena sarvam mrnmayam vijhatam syat, vdcarambhanam vikdro nama-dheyam, mrttikety eva satyam.
Chandogya Upanisad 447
clay becomes known, the modification being only a name arising from speech while the truth is that it is just clay.
vikara: modification, manifestation, development, change. § suggests that the change is only nominal: vdg-dlambana-md.tr am namaiva kevalam na vikaro nama vastv asti, paramarthato mrttikety eva mj'tti- kaiva tu satyam vastv asti. S. The Upanisad suggests that all modi¬ fications are based on the reality of clay and not that change rests simply on a word, that it is a mere name.
5. yatha, saumya, ekena loha-manina sarvam lohamayam vijhdtam sydt, vacdrambhanam vikaro nama-dheyam lohamity eva satyam.
5. Just as, my dear, by one nugget of gold, all that is made of gold becomes known, the modification being only a name arising from speech, while the truth is that it is just gold.
by one nugget of gold: suvarna-pindena. S. loha originally meant iron or copper but later is used for gold or any metal.
6. yatha, saumya, ekena nakha-nikrntanena sarvam karsnaya- sam vijhdtam sydt, vacdrambhanam vikaro nama-dheyam krsna- yasam ity eva satyam, evam, saumya, sa ddeso bhavatiti.
6. Just as, my dear, by one pair of nail scissors all that is made of iron becomes known, the modification being only a name arising from speech while the truth is that it is just iron: thus, my dear, is that teaching.
7. na vai nunam bhagavantas ta etad avedisuh, yadd hy etad avedisyan, katham me navaksyan iti bhagavams tv eva me tad bravitv iti; tathd, saumya, iti hovaca.
7. ‘Verily, those venerable men did not know this; for if they had known it, why would they not have told it to me? Venerable Sir, please tell me that,’ ‘So be it, my dear,’ said he.
1. sad eva, saumya, , idam agra asid ekam evaditiyam, tadd haika ahuh, asad evedam agra asid ekam evadvitiyam, tasmad asatah saj jayata.
448 The Principal Upanisads
only without a second. Some people say ‘in the beginning this was non-being alone, one only; without a second. From that non-being, being was produced.’ sad: being.
eva: without any limitation or upadhi.
idam: this, the universe of name and form, the world of manifesta¬ tion. Prior to manifestation this world was pure being.
One only without a second: There is no second to it. There is no other object than being : nasya dvitlyam vastv antaram vidyata ity advitlyam. S. See T.U. II. 7; C.U. III. 19. 1.
The logical priority of Brahman to the world is brought out by the statement that Being alone was this in the beginning.
See Maitri, VI. 17.
Cp. Pahcadasl, I. 19:
idam sarvam pur a srster ekam evadvitlyakam sad evasln nama-rupe nastam iti aruner vacah.
‘Previous to creation all this was being, one only without a second. Name and form were not: this is the statement of the son of Aruna.’
He does not have ‘being’ as other things have being. He is his own being. Being is, is God. Being is above all conceptions and conceptual differentiations. It is prior to all things. All other things are from being, live in it and end in it. What is other than being is nothing.
According to Indian logic, there are four kinds of non-existence or abhava. There is absolute non-existence or atyantabhava: anything self-contradictory like the barren woman’s son, vandhyaputra, is inconceivable and impossible. Barrenness and motherhood contra¬ dict each other. The real excludes self-contradictory non-existence. When non-being or asat is said to be the root of existence, asat does not mean absolute non-existence but only prior or antecedent non-existence or prag-abhava or potential existence. The world is non-existent before its production. It was existent potentially or as a possibility though not as an actuality. Creation is not out of absolute non-existence but out of prior non-existence or the world of possibility. This type of non-existence has no beginning but has an end when the possibility is actualised. pr adhvamsabhdva is posterior non-existence. It is the opposite of prior non-existence. It has a beginning but no end. When a jar is destroyed, its non-existence begins at the time it is destroyed, but it has no end. The mutual exclusiveness of a jar and a cloth, the fact of difference, is indicated by anyonyabhdva. A is not B. A jar is not a cloth. See Annambhatta’s T arka-samgr aha . 3.
2. kutas tu khalu, saumya, evam syat, iti hovaca, katham, asatah saj jay eteti, sat tv eva, saumya, idam agra asid ekam ev advitlyam.
2. But how, indeed, my dear, could it be thus? said he, how could being be produced from non-being? On the contrary, my dear, in the beginning this was being alone, one only, without a second.
A suggests that ekam excludes sajatiya and svagata bheda and advitlyam excludes vijatiya bheda.
Cp. Pahcadasl:
vrksasya svagata-bhedah patra-puspa-phaladibhih vrksantardt sajatlyo vijatlyah sit adit ah. II. 20.
Svagata-bheda is internal difference of a tree from its leaves, flowers and fruits. Sajatiya difference is that of one tree from other trees. Vijatiya is the difference of a tree from rock, etc. Brahman is devoid of all these three kinds of difference.
3. tad aiksata, bahu syam prajdyeyeti, tat tejo’srjata : tat teja aiksata, bahu syam prajdyeyeti, tad apo’ srjata, tasmad yatra kva ca socati svedate va purusah, tejasa eva tad adhy apo jayante.
3. It thought, May I be many, may I grow forth. It sent forth fire. That fire thought, May I be many, may I grow forth. It sent forth water. Therefore, whenever a person grieves or perspires, water is produced from the fire (heat).
aiksata: thought, literally saw. This word indicates that pure being is conscious. The reference in all such passages is not to the elements as such, but to the presiding deities.
abhimaninyah cetanah devatah S.B. II. 1. 5. § also says that the Highest Lord abiding as the selves of the various elements, produces by his power of thought, the different effects:
paramesvara eva tena tena dtmana avatisthamanah abhidhyayan tarn tarn vikaram srjate. S.B. II. 3. 13.
In other Upanisads, space, air and fire are mentioned as successive products.
The text, S suggests, has no eye to the order of creation for it is only interested in making out that all effects are derived from Being.
4. ta apa aiksanta, bahvyah syama, prajayemahiti, ta annam asrjanta, tasmad yatra kva ca varsati, tad eva bhuyistham annam bhavati, adbhya eva tad adhy annadyam jayate.
4. That water thought, May I be many, may I grow forth. It sent forth food. Therefore, whenever it rains anywhere then there is abundant food. So food for eating is produced from water alone.
The Principal Upanisads Section 3
1. Now of these (living) beings there are only three origins, those born from an egg, born from a living being, born from a sprout.
In A.U. a fourth svedaja 'born from heat’ is mentioned in addition to the three mentioned here. Cp. Atharva Veda, I. 12. 1.
2. That divinity thought, ‘Well, let me enter into these three divinities by means of this living self and let me then develop names and forms.
devata— literally divinity. It means being. By the union of sat or Being with the three elements of fire, water and earth, all the varied manifestations of the world are produced. In relation to the three elements which are called devatas, sat is called para devata, highest being. Sat is primary being. Tejas is its first product. Out of tejas water is produced, and out of water food. Sat pene¬ trates into these three as their inner soul, and by mixing them up makes each of them threefold. The red colour of fire is the colour of tejas, the white of apas and the black of anna the three are the truth and their differentiations are derived from vac, vacarambhanam. So long as vac does not differentiate, the three colours form a unity. M. Senart thinks that the three rupas are de¬ rived from the three cosmic spheres. § argues that this development does not affect the Absolute Reality. He points out that the modi¬ fications of the world are real in so far as they participate in the nature of absolute reality and unreal in themselves : sarvarh ca nama- rupadi saddtmanaiva satyam vikara-jatam svatastv anrtam eva. £. Again, sadatmana sarva-vyavaharanam sarva-vikaranam ca satyatvam sato’nyatve canrtatvam. <S.
3. tasam trivrtam trivrtam ekaikam karavaniti, seyam devatemds tisro devata anenaiva jivena’ tmana nupravisya ndma-rupe vya- karot.
3. ‘Let me make each one of the three threefold.’ The divinity entered into those three divinities by means of the living self and developed names and forms.
saumya, imas tisro devatas trivrt trivrd ekaika bhavati, tan me vijanihiti.
4. It made each of these threefold and how these three divinities become each of them threefold, that learn from me now, my dear.
THREEFOLD DEVELOPMENT — continued
1. yad agne rohitam, riipam tejasas tad riipam, yac chuklam tad apam, yat krsnam tad annasya apagad agner agnitvam, vacarambhanam vikaro nama-dheyam, trim rupanity eva satyam.
1. Whatever red form fire has it is the form of heat, whatever (is) white (is the form) of water. Whatever (is) dark (it is the form of) earth. Thus vanishes the quality of fire from fire, the modification being only a name arising from speech while the truth is that it is only the three forms.
2. yad adityasya rohitam rupam tejasas tad rupam, yac chuklam tad apam, yat krsnam tad annasya. apagad adityad adityatvam, vacarambhanam vikaro nama-dheyam, trim rupanity eva satyam.
2. Whatever red form the sun has it is the form of heat, whatever (is) white (it is the form) of water. Whatever (is) dark (it is the form) of earth. Thus vanishes the quality of the sun from the sun, the modification being only a name arising from speech while the truth is that it is only the three forms.
3. yac candramaso rohitam rupam tejasas tad rupam, yac chuklam tad apam, yat krsnam tad annasya apagac candrac candratvam, vacarambhanam vikaro nama-dheyam, trini rupanity eva satyam.
3. Whatever red form the moon has it is the form of heat, whatever (is) white (it is the form) of water. Whatever (is) dark (it is the form) of earth. Thus vanishes the quality of the moon from the moon, the modification being only a name arising from speech while the truth is that it is only the three forms.
4. yad vidyuto rohitam rupam, tejasas tad riipam, yac chuklam tad apam, yat krsnam tad annasya. apagad vidyuto vidyutvam, vacarambhanam vikaro nama-dheyam, trini rupanity eva satyam.
452 The Principal Upanisads VI. 4. 7.
4. Whatever red form the lightning has it is the form of heat, whatever (is) white, (it is the form) of water. Whatever (is) dark (it is the form) of earth. Thus vanishes the quality of lightning from the lightning, the modification being only a name arising from speech, while the truth is that it is only the three forms.
All things are ultimately modifications of pure being, sarvasya sad vikaratvat. §. The primordial being becomes three deities, fire, water and earth. The doctrine of trivrt-karana, by which each of the three original elements, fire, water and earth is to be regarded as being divided into two equal portions, of which one half is kept intact and the other half is divided into two equal parts, the two quarters of the two other elements in combination with the one half of the original element. This view is the basis of the doctrine of pahcikarana of the later Vedanta. Anaxagoras affirms that there is a portion of everything in everything.
The three colours are taken over by the Sarhkhya system to corre¬ spond to the three gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas.
5. etadd ha sma vai tad vidvarhsa ahuh piirve mahasala mahd- srotriyah na no’dya kascana asrutam, amatam, avijhatam, udaha- risyatiti hy ehhyo vidarhcakruh.
5. Verily it was just this that the great householders and great students of sacred wisdom knew when they said of old ‘no one now will mention to us what we have not heard, what we have not perceived, what we have not thought.’ For from these (three forms) they knew everything.
6. yad u rohitam ivabhud iti tejasas tad rupam iti tad vidarh cakruh, yad u snklam ivabhud ity aparh rupam iti tad vidarh cakruh, yad u krsnam ivabhud ity annasya rupam iti tad vidarh cakruh.
6. They knew that whatever appeared red was of the form of heat; they knew that whatever appeared white was of the form of water; they knew that whatever appeared dark was of the form of earth.
7. yad avijhatam ivabhud ity etasam eva devatanarh samasah, iti tad vidarhcakruh, yatha nu ■ khalu , saumya, imas tisro devatah purusam prdpya trivrt trivrd ekaika bhavati, tan me vijanihiti.
7. They knew that whatever appeared unintelligible is a combination of just these three divinities. Verily, my dear, learn from me how each of these three divinities when they reach the human, becomes threefold.
1. annam asitam tredha vidhiyate, tasya yah sthavistho dhatus tat 'purxsam bhavati, yo madhyamas tan marhsam, yo’nisthas tan manah.
1. Food when eaten becomes threefold; its coarsest portion becomes the faeces; its middle (portion) flesh and its subtlest (portion) mind.
$ argues that mind being fed by food is material, elemental and not impartible and eternal :
annopacitatvan manaso bhautikatvam eva, na vaisesika-tantrok- ta-laksanam nityarh niravayavam ceti grhyate.
2. dp ah pitas tredha vidhiyante, tasamyah sthavistho dhatus tan mutram bhavati, yo madhyamas tal lohitam, yo’nisthah sa pranah.
2. Water when drunk becomes threefold; its coarsest portion becomes the urine; its middle (portion) the blood, its subtlest (portion) the breath.
3. tejo’sitam tredha vidhiyate, tasya yah sthavistho dhatus tad asthi bhavati, yo madhyamah sa majja, yo’nisthah sa vak.
3. Heat when eaten becomes threefold; its coarsest portion becomes bone; its middle (portion) marrow, its subtlest (portion) speech.
We eat heat, in the shape of oil, butter, etc. § : taila-ghrtadi- bhaksitam.
4. annamayarh hi, saumya, manah, apomayah pranah, tejo- mayi ■ vag iti; bhuya eva ma bhagavan vijhapayatv iti; tatha saumya, iti hovaca.
4. Thus, my dear, mind consists of food, breath consists of water and speech consists of heat. 'Please, Venerable Sir, instruct me still more.' So be it, my dear, said he.
Everything is threefold and so all the three’ elements exist in everything, sarvasya trivrt-krta-tvdt sarvatra sarvopapatteh. S.
454 The Principal Upanisads VI. 7. 2.
ILLUSTRATIONS — continued
5. annamayam hi, saumya, manah, apomayah pranah, tejomayi vag iti: bhiiya eva ma, bhagavan, vijhapayatv iti; tatha, saumya, iti hovaca.
5. Thus, my dear, mind consists of food, breath consists of water, speech consists of heat. ‘Please, Venerable Sir, instruct me still more.’ So be it, my dear, said he.
1 .sodasa-kalah, saumya, purusah, pahcadasahanima sih,kamam apah piba, apomayah prano na pibato vicchetsyata iti.
1. A person, my dear, consists of sixteen parts. For fifteen days do not eat (any food), drink water at (your) will. Breath which consists of water will not be cut off from one who drinks water.
bravimi bho iti, rcah, saumya, yajumsi samaniti; sa hovaca, na vat ma pratibhanti bho iti.
2. Then for fifteen days he did not eat (any food) ; and then he approached him saying, ‘What, sir, shall I say?’ ‘The Rg. verses, my dear, the Yajus formulas and the Saman chants.’ He replied, ‘They do not occur to me, Sir.’
3. tam hovaca, yatha, saumya, mahato’bhyahitasyaiko’hgarah khadyota-matrah parisistah syat, tena tato’pi na bahu dahet, evam, saumya, te sodasanam, kalanam eka kala’tisista syat, tayaitarhi veddn nanubhavasi , asana, atha me vijhasyasiti.
3. He said to him, ‘Just as, my dear, of a great lighted fire, a single coal of the size of a firefly may be left which would not thereafter burn much, even so, my dear, of your sixteen parts only one part is left and so with it you do not apprehend (remember) the Vedas. Eat. Then you will understand me.’
5. tam hovaca, yatha, saumya, mahato’bhyahitasyaikam ahgaram khadyota-matram parisistam tam trnair upasamadhaya prajvalayet, tena tato’pi bahu dahet.
5. To him he then said, ‘Just as, my dear, of a great lighted fire if a single coal of the size of a firefly is left, and made to blaze up by covering it with straw and with it the fire would thereafter bum much.
6. evam, saumya, te sodasanam kalanam eka kala tisista’ bhut , sa nnenopasamahita prdjvalit, taya etarhi veddn anubhavasi. anna may am hi, saumya, manah, apomayah pranah, tejomayi vag iti tadd hasya vijajhav iti.
6. So, my dear, of your sixteen parts only one part was left, and that, when covered with food, blazed up. With it you now apprehend the Vedas. For, my dear, the mind consists of food, the breath consists of water and speech consists of heat. Then he understood what he said; he understood it.
In some texts the following verse is found.
pahcendriyasya purusasya yad eva syad anavrtam tad asya prajria sravati drteh padad ivodakam.
‘When the (mind of the) person consisting of the five senses is not
456 The Principal Upanisads VI. 8. 2.
supported by food, then his intelligence goes away, even as the water flows away from the mouth of a leathern bag. ' andvrtam: unprotected, uncovered by food.
i. uddalako harunih svetaketum putram uvaca, svapnantam me, saumya, vijanihiti, yatraitat purusah svapiti nama, sata, saumya, tada sampanno bhavati, svam apito bhavati, tasmad enam svapitity acaksate, svam hy apito bhavati.
1. Then Uddalaka Aruni said to his son, ^vetaketu, Learn from me, my dear, the true nature of sleep. When a person here sleeps, as it is called, then, my dear, he has reached pure being. He has gone to his own. Therefore they say he sleeps for he has gone to his own.
svapnanta: true nature of sleep, literally the end of the dream. S interprets it as the central portion of the dream vision : svapnantam svapna-madhyam susuptam. S. In the condition of deep sleep, personal consciousness subsides and the self is said to be absorbed in the Highest Self. Speech, mind and the senses rest. Only the breath is active. The jiva, the living soul returns for a while to the deeper self in order to recover from the fatigue.
In dreamless sleep, buddhi or understanding remains in a potential condition and becomes active in the dream and waking states. S.B. II. 3. 31.
2. sa yatha sakunih sutrena prabaddho disam disam pati- tvanyatrayatanam alabdhva bandhanam evopasrayate, evam eva khalu, saumya, tan mano disam dishm patitvanyatrayatanam alabdhva pranam evopasrayate, prana-bandhanam hi, saumya, mana iti.
2. Just as a bird tied by a string, after flying in various directions without finding a resting-place elsewhere settles down (at last) at the place where it is bound, so also the mind, my dear, after flying in various directions without finding a resting- place elsewhere settles down in breath, for the mind, my dear, is bound to breath.
The organic nature of the relationship between mind and life is
brought out here. The mental, while it transcends the vital, arises out of the vital and is rooted in it.
3. asana-pipase me, saumya, vijdnlhlti,yatraitatpuruso asisisati nama, apa eva tad asitam nayante: tad yatha gonayo’ svanayah purusanaya iti, evam tad apa acaksate’ sandy eti, tatraitacchuhgam utpatitam, saumya, vijanlhi, nedam amulam bhavisyatlti.
3. Learn from me, my dear, what hunger and thirst are. When a person here is hungry, as it is called, water only is leading (carrying away) what has been eaten (by him). So as they speak of a leader of cows, a leader of horses, a leader of men, so they speak of water as the leader (or carrier of food). On this, my dear, understand that this (body) is an offshoot which has sprung up, for it could not be without a root.
The person is hungry because whatever he eats is quickly digested.
4. tasya kva mulam, syad anyatrannat, evam eva khalu, saumya, annena sungenapo mulam anviccha, adbhih, saumya, sungena tejo mulam anviccha, tejasa, saumya, sungena san mulam anviccha, san mulah, saumya, imah sarvah prajah sad-ayatanah, sat- pratisthah.
4. And what else could its root be than food? And in the same manner, my dear, with food as an offshoot, seek for water as the root; with water, my dear, as an offshoot, seek for heat as the root; with heat, my dear, as an offshoot, seek for Being as its root. All these creatures, my dear, have their root in Being. They have Being as their abode, Being as their support.
Being is the ultimate root of the whole universe.
5. atha yatraitat purusah pipasati nama, teja eva tat pltarh nayate, tad yatha gonayo’ svanayah purusanaya iti, evam tat teja acasta udanyeti, tatraitad eva suhgam utpatitam, saumya, vijanlhi nedam amulam bhavisyatiti.
5. Now when a person here is thirsty, as it is called, heat only is leading (or carrying off) what has been drunk (by him). So as they speak of a leader of cows, a leader of horses, a leader of men so one speaks of heat as the leader of water. On this my dear, understand that this (body) is an offshoot which has sprung up, for it could not be without a root.
6. tasya kva mulam syad anyatra adbhyah, adbhih, saumya, sungena tejo mulam anviccha, tejasa, saumya, sungena san mulam anviccha; san mulah, saumya, imah sarvah prajah sadayatanah,
458 The Principal Upanisads VI. 8. 7.
satpratisthah, yatha nu khalu, saumya, imas tisro devatah purusam prapya trivrt trivrdekaika bhavati, tad uktam, purastad eva bhavati, asya, saumya, purusasya prayato van manasi sampadyate, manah prane, pranas tejasi, tejah parasyam devatayam.
6. And what else could its root be than water? With water, my dear, as an offshoot, seek for heat as the root; with heat, my dear, as an offshoot, seek for Being as the root. All these creatures, my dear, have their root in Being. They have Being as their abode. Being as their support. But how, verily, my dear, each of these three divinities, on reaching the human, becomes threefold has already been said.1 When, my dear, a person departs from hence, his speech merges in his mind, his mind on his breath, his breath in heat and heat in the highest divinity.
From Pure Being arises fire, from lire water and from water earth. In speech the element of fire predominates, in life-breath the element of water; in mind the element of earth. When a person deceases, his speech is merged in the mind. His voice fails though his mind continues to function. When the mind merges in life, the mental activity ceases. When life merges in heat, when we are in doubt about a man’s condition, whether he is alive or dead, we feel the body. If it is warm, he is alive; if not he is dead. Fire is then taken up in the highest Being. If we depart from this life with our thoughts merged in the Supreme we reach Pure Being; otherwise, we enter the world of becoming.
7. sa ya eso’nima ailad atmyam idam sarvam, tat satyam, sa atma: tat tvam asi, svetaketo, iti; bhuya eva ma, bhagavan, vijhdpayatv iti, tatha, saumya, iti hovaca.
7. That which is the subtle essence (the root of all) this whole world has for its self. That is the true. That is the self. That art thou, £vetaketu. ‘Please, Venerable Sir, instruct me still further.’ ‘So be it, my dear,’ said he.
tat tvam asi: that art thou. This famous text emphasises the divine nature of the human soul, the need to discriminate between the essential self and the accidents with which it is confused and the fetters by which it is bound. He who knows only what is of the body or mind knows the things that may be his but not himself. The text ‘That art thou’ applies to the inward person, antah purusa, and not to the empirical soul with its name and family descent.
‘What I am, that is he; what he is, that am I.’
See Aitareya Aranyaka, II. 2. 4. 6.
1 VI. 5.1-4.
Jdbala Up. has the following: tvam, va aham asmi bhagavo devate aham, va tvam asi. ‘I am thou, O great God, and thou art I.’
R interprets tat tvam asi as affirming that the principle of God is common to both the universe and the individual. That means God having the entire universe, as his body, thou means God having the individual soul as his body. The principle of God is common to both.
In the Jaiminiya Upanisad Brahmana (III. 14. 1-5) when the deceased reaches the Sun-door, the question is asked, Who art thou? If he answers by a personal or a family name, he is subject to the law of karma. If he responds ‘Who I am (is) the light thou (art). As such have I come to thee, the heavenly light.’ Prajd-pati replies: ‘Who thou art, that same am I; who I am that same art thou. Enter in.’
Rumi speaks to us of the man who knocked at his friend’s door and was asked, ‘Who art thou?’ He answered ‘I.’ ‘Begone,’ said his friend. After a year’s suffering and separation he came and knocked again, and when asked the same question, replied, ‘It is Thou art at the door,’ and received the reply, ‘Since thou art I, come in, O myself.’ Mathnavi, I. 3056-3065.
1. Just as, my dear, the bees prepare honey by collecting the essences (juices) of different trees and reducing them into one essence.
The son's difficulty is anticipated. If creatures reach Pure Being every day when they fall into sleep, how is it that they do not know that they attain that condition every day?
2. te yatha tatra na vivekam labhante, amusyaham vrksasya raso’ smi, amusyaham vrksasya rasosmiti, evam eva khalu, saumya, imah sarvah prajah sati sampadya na viduh, sati sampadyamaha iti.
2. And as these (juices) possess no discrimination (so that they might say) ‘I am the essence of this tree, I am the essence of that tree,’ even so, indeed, my dear, all these creatures though they reach Being do not know that they have reached the Being.
460 The Principal Upanisads VI. 10. 3.
3. Whatever they are in this world, tiger or lion or wolf or boar or worm or fly or gnat or mosquito, that they become.
In other words, as they reach Pure Being without being conscious of it they return to their special forms.
4. sa ya eso’nima aitadatmyam idam, sarvam, tat satyam, sa atma, tat tvarn asi, svetaketo, iti; bhuya eva ma, bhagavan, vijha- payatv iti; tatha, saumya, iti hovaca.
4. That which is the subtle essence, this whole world has for its self. That is the true. That is the self. That art thou, Svetaketu. ‘Please, Venerable Sir, instruct me still further.’ ‘So be it, my dear,’ said he.
THE INDWELLING SPIRIT — continued
1. imah, saumya, nadyah purastat pracyah syandante, pascal pratxcyah tdh samudrat samudram evapiyanti, sa samudra eva bhavati, ta yatha tatra na viduh, iyam aharn asmi, iyam aham asmiti.
1. These rivers, my dear, flow the eastern toward the east, the western toward the west. They go just from sea to sea. They become the sea itself. Just as these rivers while there do not know ‘I am this one,’ ‘I am that one.’
from sea to sea: the clouds lift up the water from the sea to the sky and send it back as rain to the sea.
2. evam eva khalu, saumya, imah sarvah prajah sata agamy a na viduh, sata agacchamaha iti, ta iha vyaghro va simho va, vrko va, varaho va, kito va, patahgo va, damso va, masako va, yad yad bhavanti tad abhavanti.
2. In the same manner, my dear, all these creatures even though they have come forth from Being do not know that ‘we have come forth from Being.’ Whatever they are in this world, tiger or lion or wolf or boar or worm or fly or gnat of mosquito that they become.
tat tvam asi, svetaketo, iti; bhuya eva ma, bhagavan, vijndpayatv iti; tatha, saumya, iti hovaca.
3. That which is the subtle essence, this whole world has for its self. That is the true. That is the self. That art thou, £vetaketu. ‘Please, Venerable Sir, instruct me still further.’ ‘So be it, my dear,’ said he.
THE INDWELLING SPIRIT — continued
1. asya, saumya, mahato vrksasya yo mule’ bhyahanyat , jivan sravet; yo madhye bhyahanyat, jivan sravet yo’ gre bhyahanyat, jivan sravet sa esa jivena tmananuprabhutah pepiyamano modamanas listhati.
1. Of this mighty tree, my dear, if someone should strike at the root it would bleed but still live: if someone should strike at the middle, it would bleed but still live. If someone should strike at the top, it would bleed but still live. Being pervaded by its living self, it stands firm, drinking in its moisture (which nourishes it) and rejoicing.
2. asya y ad ekarh sakharn jivo jahati, atha sa susyati, dvitiyam jahati, atha sa susyati, trtiydm jahati, atha sa susyati, sarvam jahati sarvah susyati, evam eva khalu, saumya, viddhi iti hovaca.
2. If the life leaves one branch of it, then it dries up; if it leaves a second, then that dries up; if it leaves a third, then that dries up. If it leaves the whole, the whole dries up. Even so, indeed, my dear, understand,’ said he.
According to this view trees are not insentient, cetanavantah sthavarah. S.
3. jivapetam vava kiledam mriyate, na jivo mriyata iti, sa ya eso’ nima aitad atmyam idam sarvam, tat satyam, sa atma, tat tvam asi, svetaketo, iti; bhuya eva ma, bhagavan, vijndpayatv iti; tatha, saumya, iti hovaca.
3. Verily, indeed, this body dies, when deprived of the living self, the living self does not die. That which is the subtle essence this whole world has for its self. That is the true. That is the self. That art thou, ^vetaketu. ‘Please, Venerable Sir, instruct me still further.’ ‘So be it, my dear,’ said he.
462 The Principal Upanisads VI. 13. 1.
I. nyagrodha-phalam ata aharet; idam, bhagavah, iti; bhinddhiti; bhinnam, bhagavah, iti; kim atra pasyasiti; anvya ivema dhanah, bhagavah, iti; asam ahgaikdm bhinddhiti; bhinna, bhagavah, iti; kim atra pasyasiti; na kim cana, bhagavah, iti.
1. ‘Bring hither a fruit of that nyagrodha tree.’ ‘Here it is, Venerable Sir.’ ‘Break it.’ ‘It is broken. Venerable Sir.’ ‘What do you see there?' ‘These extremely fine seeds, Venerable Sir.' ‘Of these, please break one.’ ‘It is broken, Venerable Sir.’ ‘What do you see there?’’ ‘Nothing at all, Venerable Sir.'
The teacher explains how the world which has name and form arises from Pure Being which is subtle and does not possess name and form.
2. tarn hovaca yam vai, saumya, etam animanam na nibhalayase, etasya vai, saumya, eso’nimna evam mahan nyagrodhas tisthati, srddhatsva, saumya.
2. Then he said to him, ‘My dear, that subtle essence which you do not perceive, verily, my dear, from that very essence this great nyagrodha tree exists. Believe me, my dear.
The lesson of the illustration is that the cosmic process with its names and forms arises from the subtle essence of Pure Being : sata evanimnah sthulam ndma-rupddimat karyam jagad utpannam. A
3. sa ya eso’nima, aitad atmyam idam sarvam, tat satyam, sa atma, tat tvam asi, svetaketo, iti; bhuya eva ma, bhagavan, vijha- payatv iti; tatha, saumya, iti; hovaca.
3. That which is the subtle essence, this whole world has for its self. That is the true. That is the self. That art thou £vetaketu. ‘Please, Venerable Sir, instruct me still further.’ ‘So be it, my dear,’ said he.
1. lavanam etad udake’vadhaya, atha ma pratar upasidathd iti; sa ha tatha cakara; tarn hovaca: yad dosa lavanam udake’-
vadhah, ahga tad ahareti, tadd hdvamriya na viveda; yatha villnam, evam.
1. Place this salt in the water and come to me in the morning. Then he did so. Then he said to him, ‘That salt you placed in the water last evening, please bring it hither.’ Having looked for it he found it not, as it was completely dissolved.
This section attempts an answer to the difficulty that if Pure Being is the essence of all that exists, why it is not perceived.
2. ahgasyantad acameti: katham iti; lavanam iti; madhyad acameti, katham iti; lavanam iti; antad acameti, katham iti; lavanam iti; abhiprasyaitad atha mopasidatha iti; tadd ha tatha cakara, tac-chasvat samvartate; tarn hovaca: atra vava kila sat, saumya, na nibhalayase, atraiva kila.
2. ‘Please take a sip of it from this end.’ He said, ‘How is it?’ ‘Salt.’ ‘Take a sip from the middle. How is it?’ ‘Salt.’ ‘Take a sip from the other end. How is it?’ ‘Salt!’ ‘Throw it away and come to me.’ He did so. It is always the same. Then he said to him, ‘Verily, indeed, my dear, you do not perceive Pure Being here. Verily, indeed, it is here.’
As we are able to perceive salt in the water though not by means of touch and sight even so we will be able to perceive Pure Being by other means, upayantarena, though it is not obvious to our senses.
3. sa ya eso’nima aitad atmyam idam sarvam, tat satyam, sa atma, tat tvam asi, svetaketo, iti; bhuya eva ma, bhagavan, vijhapayatv iti; tatha, saumya, iti hovaca.
3. That which is the subtle essence this whole world has for its self. That is the true. That is the self. That art thou, £vetaketu. ‘Please, Venerable Sir, instruct me still further.’ ‘So be it, my dear,’ said he.
1. yatha, saumya, purusam gandharebhyo’bhinaddhaksam aniya tarn tato’tijane visrjet, sa yatha tatra prah vodah vatharah va pratyah va pradhmdyitdbhinaddhaksa anito’ bhinaddhdkso visrstah.
464 The Principal Upanisads VI. 14. 2.
1. Just as, my dear, one might lead a person away from the Gandharas with his eyes bandaged and abandon him in a place where there are no human beings, and just as that person would shout towards the east or the north or the south or the west, ‘I have been led here with my eyes bandaged, I have been left here with my eyes bandaged.’
2. tasya yathdbhinahanam pramucya prabruyat, etam, disam gandhardh, etam disam vrajeti, sa gramad gramam prcchan pandito medhavi gandharan evopasampadyeta evam eveha- caryavan puruso veda, tasya tavad eva ciram ydvan na vimoksye, atha sampatsya iti.
2. And as, if one released his bandage and told him, ‘In that direction are the Gandharas, go in that direction; thereupon, being informed and capable of judgment, he would by asking (his way) from village to village arrive at Gandhara\ in exactly the same manner does one here who has a teacher know, “I shall remain here only so long as I shall not be released (from ignorance). Then I shall reach perfection.’”
acaryavan: one who has a teacher. See Katha II. 8.
Bhlsma says (to Yudhisthira) that the preceptor is superior even to the father or the mother:
gurur gariyan pitfto matrtas ceti me matih. M.B. $anti Parva, 108. 17. 1
A teacher is regarded as being as essential as the remover of a bandage of a blindfolded man who wishes to find his way home. On several occasions Yajnavalkya teaches persons such as his wife informally and without insisting on prior initiation. Asvapati teaches the Brahmanas who come to him freely.
§ makes out that our real home is sat or Being. Our eyes are bandaged with desires for worldly possessions which blind us. When we suddenly meet a person who knows the Self, whose own bonds have been broken, when he points the way, we feel that we are not mere creatures of the world but we belong to the ultimate reality. We are released, according to S, when the body reared by our past
1 Alexander was one day asked, ‘Why do you show greater respect and reverence to your instructor than you do to your father?’ He answered, ‘From my teacher I obtain life eternal; and from my father a perishable existence. Moreover, my father brought me down from heaven to earth but Aristotle has raised me from earth to heaven.’ History of the Early Kings of Persia, by Mir Khwand, E.T. by David Shea (1832), p. 423. According to Plutarch, ‘Aristotle was the man Alexander admired in his younger years and as he himself averred, he had no less affection for him that for his own father; from the one he derived the blessing of life; from the other the blessing of a good life.’
deeds falls off. While the deeds performed after the attainment of saving knowledge do not bind us, those acts which have resulted in this embodiment have to exhaust their consequences.
3. sa ya eso’nima aitad dtmyam idam sarvam, tat satyam, sa atma, tat tvam asi, svetaketo, iti; bhuya eva ma, bhagavan, vijnapayatv iti; tatha, saumya, iti hovaca.
3. That which is the subtle essence this whole world has for its self. That is the true. That is the self. That art thou £vetaketu. ‘Please, Venerable Sir, instruct me still further.’ ‘So be it, my dear,’ said he.
1. purusam, saumya, utopatapinam jhatayah paryupasate, janasi mam, janasi mam iti; tasya yavan na van manasi sam- padyate, manah prane, pranah tejasi, tejah parasyam devatayam, tavaj janati.
1. Also, my dear, around a sick (dying) person his relatives gather and ask, ‘Do you know me?’ ‘Do you know me?’ So long as his voice is not merged in mind, mind in breath, breath in heat and heat in the highest deity, so long he knows (them).
2. Then when his voice is merged in mind, his mind in heat, and heat in the highest deity, then he does not know (them).
See VI. 8. 6.
Both those who know the truth and those who do not know the truth reach the ultimate Reality at death. The former do not return to embodied life while the latter do.
£ denies that he who knows passes at death through the artery of the head to the sun and then to the Real. At death he reaches the Real straight.
3. sa ya eso’nima aitad dtmyam idam sarvam, tat satyam, sa atma, tat tvam asi, svetaketo, iti; bhuya eva ma, bhagavan, vijnapayatv iti; tatha, saumya, iti hovaca.
466 The Principal Upanisads VI. 16. 3.
its self. That is the true. That is the self. That art thou, Svetaketu. ‘Please, Venerable Sir, instruct me still further.’ ‘So be it,’ said he.
I. purusam, saumya, uta hasta-grhitam anayanti, apahdrsit, steyam akarsit, parasum asmai tapata iti; sa yadi tasya karta bhavati, tata evanrtam atmanam kurute, so nrtabhisandho nrte- natmanam antardhaya parasum taptam pratigrhnati , sa dahya- te’tha hanyate.
1. Also, my dear, they lead up a man seized by the hand, saying, ‘He has stolen, he has committed a theft, heat the axe for him.’ If he is the doer thereof (i.e. if he has committed the theft) then he makes himself untrue (a liar). Being given to untruth, covering himself by untruth he takes hold of the heated axe and is burnt. Then he is killed.
At the time of this Upanisad belief in ordeals should have pre¬ vailed. The guilty man is burnt and killed by grasping the heated axe while the innocent man is not affected by grasping it. So also the knower is not repelled by the Real while the non-knower returns to embodied life.
This passage gives an illustration to indicate how he who knows, when he reaches the Real, does not return to embodied life, while he who does not know, when he reaches the Real returns.
2. atha yadi tasyakarta bhavati, tata eva satyam atmanam, kurute, sa satyabhisandhah satyenatmanam antardhaya parasum taptam pratigrhnati, sa na dahyate, atha mucyate.
2. But if he is not the doer thereof, thereupon he makes himself true. Being given to truth, covering himself by truth, he takes hold of the heated axe he is not burnt. Then he is released.
It is a universal principle that the truth will make us free. John VIII. 32. Truth is not merely theoretical but practical, yatha vadl tatha kari: Devas and Asuras are distinguished by their respec¬ tive adherence to truth and untruth.
satyam, sa atma, tat tvam asi, hetaketo, iti; tadd hasya vijajndv iti vijajndv iti.
3. And as in this case he would not be burnt, thus has all this that for its self. That is the true. That is the self. That art thou, £vetaketu. Then he understood it from him, yea, he understood.
Madhva makes the text read, atat tvam asi — Thou art not that, and argues that these passages aim at establishing the difference between the individual and the Universal Self.
The Principal Upanisads
SANATKUMARA'S instruction to narada PROGRESSIVE WORSHIP OF BRAHMAN: NAME
i. adhihi, bhagavah, iti hopasasada sanatkumaram naradah, tarn hovaca: y ad vettha tena mopasida, tatas ta urdhvam vaksyamiti, sa hovaca.
1. Narada approached Sanatkumara and said, ‘Teach me, Venerable Sir,’ He said, ‘Come to me with (tell me) what you know. Then I will teach you what is beyond that.'
See T.U. III. I.
The story is introduced to show that the supreme good cannot be accomplished without a knowledge of the Self: niratisaya-prapti- sadhanatvam atma-vidyaya. S.
Narada is he who gives the knowledge of the Supreme Self, according to Sabda-kalpa-druma: naram, dadati iti naradah; naram param-atma-visayakarh jhanarh.
Sanatkumara is represented in Indian tradition as the eternal child. Brahma-vaivarta Parana makes out that he is eternally a child of five years, who did not undergo the usual samskaras, a pupil of the very God, Narayana; vayasa pahca-hayanah, acudo anupavltas ca veda-sandhya-vihinakah yasya ndrayano guruh.
Harivamsa confirms this view. ‘Know me only to be a child just as I was born and so the name sanatkumara was given to me’ : yathotpannas tathaivaham kumara iti viddhi mam, tasmat sanatkumareti mam aitan me pratisthitam.
The learned Narada goes to the unlearned Sanatkumara for in¬ struction. For self-realisation, practice of virtue and love to all creation are necessary more than scriptural lore. Vdmana Parana makes out that Sanatkumara is the son of virtue by the wife of non¬ violence :
dharmasya bharyahimsdkhyd, tasyarii putra-catustayarh jyesthah sanat- kumaro’ bhut.
2. rgvedam, bhagavah, adhyemi, yajurvedam samavcdam, athar- vanarh caturtham, itihasa-puranarh pahcamam, vedanarh vedam, pitryam, rasim, daivarh, nidhim, vakovakyam, ekayanam, deva- vidyam, brahma-vidyam, bhuta-vidyam, ksatra-vidyam, naksatra- vidyam, sarpa-devajana-vidyam, etat, bhagavah, adhyemi.
ancient lore as the fifth, the Veda of the Vedas (i.e. grammar), propitiation of the Fathers, the science of numbers (mathematics), the science of portents, the science of time (chronology), logic, ethics and politics, the science of the gods, the science of sacred knowledge, the science of elemental spirits, the science of weapons, astronomy, the science of serpents and the fine arts. This, Venerable Sir, I know.
deva-vidya: nirukta or exegetics. &; science of the worship of gods. R.
3. so’ham, bhagavah,mantra-videvasmina tma-vit; srutam hyeva me bhagavad-drsebhyah, tarati sokam atma-vid iti; so’ham, bhagavah, socami, tarn ma, bhagavah, sokasya par am tarayatv iti; tarn hovaca yad vai kin caitad adhyagisthah, namaivaitat.
3. But, Venerable Sir, I am only like one knowing the words and not a knower of Self. It has been heard by me from those like you that he who knows the Self crosses over sorrow. Such a sorrowing one am I, Venerable Sir. Do you, Venerable Sir, help me to cross over to the other side of sorrow. To him he then said, ‘Verily, whatever you have here learned is only a name/
4. nama va rg-vedo yajur-vedah sama-veda atharvanas caturtha itihasa-puranah pahcamo vedanam vedahpitryo rasir daivo, nidhir vakovakyam, ekayanam, deva-vidya, brahma-vidya, bhuta-vidya, ksatra-vidya, naksatra-vidya, sarpa-devajana-vidya, namaivaitat, namopassveti.
4. Verily, a name is Rg veda (so also) Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, Atharvana as the fourth, the epic and the ancient lore as the fifth, the Veda of the Vedas, propitiation of the fathers, the science of numbers, the science of portents, the science of time, logic, ethics and politics, the science of gods, the science of weapons, the science of serpents and the fine arts. All this is mere name. Meditate on the name.
5. sa yo nama brahmety upaste yavan namno gatam, tatrasya yatha kama-caro bhavati yo nama brahmety upaste: ’sti, bhagavah, namno bhuya iti; namno vava bhuyo’ stiti; tan me bhagavan bravitv’iti.
5. He who meditates on name as Brahman becomes inde¬ pendent so far as name goes, he who meditates on name as Brahman. ‘Is there, Venerable Sir, anything greater than the name?’ ‘There is (something) greater than the name.’ ‘Tell that to me, Venerable Sir.’
470 The Principal Upanisads
kama carin: He can pass in and out at will. See T.U. III. io. 5; John X. 9. It is possible for those who live in the spirit to assume any form they please.
1. vag vd va namno bhuyast, vag va rg-vedam vijhapayati, yajur-vedam sama-vedam atharvanam caturtham itihasa-puranam pahcamam vedanam vedam, pitryam rasirh daivam nidhim vakovakyam, ekdyanam, deva-vidyam, brahma-vidydm, bhuta- vidyam, ksatra-vidyam, naksatra-vidyam, sarpa-devaj ana-vidyam divam ca prthivim ca vayuht cdkdsam capas ca tejas ca devarhs ca manusyams ca pasums ca vayamsi ca trna vanaspatin svapadany akita-patahga-pipUakam dharmam cddharmam ca satyam cdnrtam ca sadhu casadhu ca hrdayajham cahr day ajham ca; y ad vai van na bhavisyat na dharmo nadharma vyajnapayisy at ,na satyam ndnrtam na sadhu nasddhu na hrdayajho nahrdayajno vag evaitat sarvam vijhapayati, vacant updssveti.
1. Speech assuredly is greater than name. Speech, verily, makes known the Rg Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Santa Veda, the Atharva Veda as the fourth, legend and ancient lore as the fifth, the Veda of the Vedas (i.e. grammar), the rites of the Fathers, mathematics, the science of portents, the science of time (chronology), logic, ethics and politics, the science of the gods, the science of sacred knowledge (i.e. the Vedas), the science of the elementals, the science of rulership, the science of the stars (astronomy), the science of snake charming, of the fine arts as well as heaven and earth, air and space, water and heat, gods and men, beasts and birds, grass and trees, animals together with worms, flies and ants, the right and the wrong, the true and the false, the good and the bad, the pleasing and the unpleasing. Verily, if there were no speech neither right nor wrong would be known, neither the true nor the false, neither the good nor the bad, neither the pleasing nor the unpleasing. Speech, indeed, makes all this known. Meditate upon speech.
2. sa yo vacant brahmety upaste, yavad vaco gatam, tatrasya yatha kama-caro bhavati,yo vacant brahmety upaste; asti ,bhagavah , vaco bhuya iti; vaco vava bhuyo stiti; tan me, bhagavan, bravitv iti.
2. He who meditates on speech as Brahman becomes inde¬ pendent so far as speech reaches, he who meditates on speech as Brahman. ‘Is there anything, Venerable Sir, greater than speech?’ ‘Yes, there is something greater than speech.’ ‘Do, Venerable Sir, tell me that.’
1. mano va va vdco bhuyah, yathd vai dve vamalake dve va hole dvau vaksau mustir anubhavati , evarh vacant ca ndma ca mano ’ nubhavati , sa yada manasa manasyati, mantran adhiyiyeti, athadhite, karmdni kurviyeti, atha knrute, putrams ca pas-urns ceccheyeti, athecchate, imam ca lokam, amurh ceccheycti, athecchate; mano hy atma, mano hi lokah, mano hi brahma; mana upassveti.
1. Mind, assuredly, is greater than speech. For as the closed fist holds two amalaka or two kola or two aksa fruits so does mind hold speech and name. For when one through mind has in mind to learn the sacred hymns, then he learns them. If he has mind to perform sacred works, then he performs them. When he has in mind to desire for sons and cattle, then he desires them. When he has in mind to desire this world and yonder, then he desires them. Mind is, indeed, the self, mind is, indeed, the world, mind is indeed Brahman. Meditate on the mind.
manas is the internal organ ( antah-karana ) endowed with reflection. It has for its function determination, decision, choice. It is said to be the self because the self has the character of the doer and the enjoyer only when the mind functions: dtmanah kartrtvam bhokt-ftvam ca sati manasi nanyatheti, mano hy atmety ucyate. S.
2. sa yo mano brahmety upaste, yavan manaso gatam, tatrasya yathd kdma-caro bhavati yo mano brahmety upaste; asti bhagavah, manaso bhuya iti; manaso va va bhuyo’stiti ; tan me, bhagavdn, bravitv iti.
2. He who meditates on mind as Brahman becomes inde¬ pendent so far as mind reaches, he who meditates on mind as Brahman. ‘Is there anything, Venerable Sir, greater than mind?’ ‘Yes, there is something greater than mind.’ ‘Do, Venerable Sir, tell me that.'
472 The Principal Upanisads VII. 4. 2.
1. samkalpo va va manaso bhuyan, yada vai samkalpayate atha manasyati, atha vacant irayati tarn u ndmnirayati , namni mantra ekam bhavanti, mantresu karmani.
1. Will, assuredly, is greater than mind. For when one wills, then one reflects, one utters speech and then one utters it in name. The sacred hymns are included in name and sacred works in the sacred hymns.
samkalpa: will. It is said to be an activity of mind. It is, like thinking, an activity of the inner organ: antah-karana-vrtti. S. It has also re¬ flective aspects besides the volitional. What is mechanical process in the inorganic world, stimulation in the organic is motivation in human beings: mantresu karmani. See M.U. I. 2. 1.
2. tani ha va etani samkalpaikayanani samkalpdtmakani samkalpe pratisthitani , samakalpetam dyava-prthivi, samakal- petarh vayus cakasam ca, samakalpantapas ca tejas ca, tesam samklptyai varsam samkalpate, varsasya samklptya annam samkalpate, annasya samklptyai prandh samkalpante, prdnanam samklptyai mantr ah samkalp ante , mantranam samklptyai karmani samkalpante , karmandm samklptyai lokah samkalpate, lukasya samklptyai sarvarh samkalpate, sa esa samkalpah: samkalpam updssveti.
2. All these, verily, centre in the will, have the will as their soul, abide in will. Heaven and earth were formed through will, air and ether were formed through will; water and heat were formed through will. Through their having been willed, rain becomes willed. Through rain having been willed, food becomes willed. Through food having been willed, living creatures are willed. Through living creatures having been willed sacred hymns become willed. Through sacred hymns having been willed, sacred works become willed. Through sacred works having been willed, the world becomes willed. Through the world having been willed, everything becomes willed. Such is will. Meditate on will.
2. sa yah samkalpam brahmety updste klptdn vai sa lokdn dhruvan dhruvah pratisthitdn pratisthito vyathamanan avyatha mano' bhisidhy ati , yavat samkalpasya gatam tatrasya yatha kama- caro bhavati, yah samkalpam brahmety updste; asti, bhagavah,
samkalpad bhuya iti; samkalpad vava bhuyo stiti; tan me, bhagavan, bravitv iti.
2. He who meditates on will as Brahman, he verily obtains the worlds he has willed, himself being permanent the perma¬ nent worlds, himself unwavering the unwavering worlds. As far as will goes, so far is he independent, he who meditates on will as Brahman. ‘Is there anything, Venerable Sir, greater than will?’ ‘Yes, there is something greater than will.’ ‘Do, Venerable Sir, tell me that.’
1. cittarh va va samkalpad bhuyah, yada vai cetayate’tha samkalpayate atha manasyati, atha vacam irayati, tam u namni- rayati, namni mantra ekam bhavanti, mantresu karmani.
1. Thought, assuredly, is more than will. Verily when one thinks, then he wills, then he reflects, then he utters speech and he utters it in name. The sacred hymns become one (are included) in name and sacred works in the sacred hymns.
Thought is said to be higher than will. See Maitrl VI. 30.
See Dlgha Nikaya I. 21.
2. tdni ha va etani cittaikayanani cittatmani citte pratisthitani, tasmad yady api bahu-vid acitto bhavati, nayam astity evainam ahuh, yad ayam veda, yad va ayam vidvan nettham acittah syad iti, atha yady alpa-vic cittavan bhavati, tasma evota susrusante, cittam ■ hy evaisam ekayanam, cittam atma, cittam pratistha; cittam upassveti.
2. Verily, all these centre in thought, have thought for their goal and abide in thought. Therefore, even if a man be possessed of much learning, but is unthinking, people say of him that he is nobody, whatever he may know. Verily, if he did know he would not be so unthinking. On the other hand, if he is thoughtful, even though he knows little, to him people are desirous of listening. Truly indeed thought is the centre of all these, thought is their soul, thought is their support. Meditate on thought.
474 The Principal Upanisads
dhruvah pratisthitan pratisthito’ vyathamanan avyathamano ’bhisidhyati, yavac cittasya gatam, tatrasya yatha kama-caro bhavati, yas cittam brahmety upaste; asti, bhagavah, cittad bhuya iti; cittad va va bhuyo stiti; tan me, bhagavan, bravitv iti.
3. He who meditates on thought as Brahman, he verily obtains the worlds he has thought, himself being permanent the permanent worlds, himself established, the established worlds, himself unwavering the unwavering worlds. As far as thought goes, so far is he independent, he who meditates on thought as Brahman. 'Is there anything, Venerable Sir, greater than thought?’ ‘Yes, there is something greater than thought.’ ‘Do, Venerable Sir, tell me that.’
1. dhyanam va va cittad bhuyah, dhyayativa prthivi, dhyaya- tivantariksam , dhyayativa dyauh, dhyayantivapoh, dhyayantiva parvatah, dhyayantiva deva-manusyah, tasmdd ya iha manu- syanam mahattvam prdpnuvanti dhyanapadamsa ivaiva te bhavanti, atha ye’lpah kalahinah pisuna upavadinas te atha ye prabhavah dhyanapadamsa ivaiva te bhavanti; dhyanam upassveti.
1. Contemplation, assuredly, is greater than thought. The earth contemplates as it were. The atmosphere contemplates as it were. The heaven contemplates as it were. The waters contemplate as it were, the mountains contemplate as it were. Gods and men contemplate as it were. Therefore he among men here attains greatness, he seems to have obtained a share of (the reward of) contemplation. Now the small people are quarrelsome, abusive and slandering, the superior men seem to have obtained a share of (the reward of) contemplation, Meditate on contemplation.
dhyana: contemplation. It is the concentration of all our thoughts on one subject, ekagrata. S.
Even as men who contemplate acquire repose, become firm and established, the earth, etc., are said to be firm and established, as the result of their contemplation.
deva-manusyah: gods and men or godlike men for men endowed with
inward peace are not devoid of divine qualities: deva-sama devama- nusyah samadiguna-sampanna manusya deva-svarupam na jahatity arthah. S.
2. sa yo dhyanam brahmety updste, yavad dhyanasya gatam, tatrasya yatha kdma-cd.ro bhavati yo dhyanam brahmety updste; asti, bhagavah, dhyanad bhuya iti; dhyanad va va bhuyo’stlti; tan me, bhagavan, bravitv iti.
2. He who meditates on contemplation as Brahman, so far as contemplation goes so far is he independent, he who meditates on contemplation as Brahman. ‘Is there anything, Venerable Sir, greater than contemplation?’ ‘Yes, there is something greater than contemplation.’ ‘Do, Venerable Sir, tell me that.’
1. vijhanam va va dhyanad bhuyah, vijhanena va rg-vedam vijanati, yajur-vedam sama-vedam dtharvanam caturtham, itihasa- puranam pahcamam, vedanam vedam, pitryam, rasim, daivam, nidhim, vakovakyam, ekayanam, deva-vidyam, brahma-vidyam, bhuta-vidyam, ksatra-vidyam, naksatra-vidyam, sarpa-devajana, vidyam, divam ca prthivim ca vayum cakasam, capas ca tejas ca, devams ca manusyams ca pasums ca vaydmsi ca trna-vanaspatih- svapadany akita-patanga-pipilakam dharmam cddharmam ca satyam canrtam ca sadhu casadhu ca hrdayajham cdhrdayajham cannarn ca rasam cemam ca lokam amum ca vijhanenaiva vijanati, vijhanam upassveti.
1. Understanding, assuredly, is greater than contemplation. Verily, by understanding one understands the Rg. Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sdma Veda, the Atharva Veda as the fourth, legend and ancient lore as the fifth, the Veda of the Vedas (i.e. grammar), the rites of the fathers, mathematics, the science of portents, the science of time (chronology), logic, ethics and politics, the science of the gods, the science of sacred knowledge (i.e. the Vedas), the science of the elementals, the science of rulership, the science of the stars (astronomy), the science of snake charming, of the fine arts as well as heaven and earth, air and space, water and heat, gods and men,
476 The Principal Upanisads
beasts and birds, grass and trees, animals together with worms, flies and ants, the right and the wrong, the true and the false, the good and the bad, the pleasing and the unpleasing, the food and the drink (or taste), this world and yonder, all this one understands just with understanding. Meditate on under¬ standing.
2. sa yo vijhanam brahmety upaste, vijhanavato vai sa lokah- jnanavato’ bhisidhyati , yavad vijhanasya gatam, tatrasya yathd kama-caro bhavati, yo vijhanam brahmety upaste; asti, bhagavah, vijhanad bhuya iti; vijhanad va va bhuyo stiti; tan me, bhagavan, bravitv iti.
2. He who meditates on understanding as Brahman, he verily, attains the worlds of understanding, of knowledge. As far as understanding goes, so far he is independent, he who meditates on understanding as Brahman. ‘Is there anything. Venerable Sir, greater than understanding?’ ‘Yes, there is something greater than understanding.' ‘Do, Venerable Sir, tell me that.’
1. balarh va va vijhanad bhuyah: api ha satam vijhanavatam eko balavan akampayate, sa yada bait bhavati, athotthata bhavati uttisthan paricarita bhavati, paricaran upasatta bhavati, upastdan drasta bhavati, srota bhavati, manta bhavati, boddha bhavati, karta bhavati, vijhata bhavati, balena vai prthivi tisthati, balenantariksam, balena dyauh, balena parvatah, balena deva- manusyah, balena pasavas ca vayamsi ca trna-vanaspatayah ivapadany akita-patahga-pipilakam, balena lokas tisthati; balam upassveti.
1. Strength, assuredly, is greater than understanding. One strong man, indeed, causes a hundred men of understanding to tremble. When one becomes strong, he becomes a rising man If he rises he serves (wise people). If he serves, he draws near (by becoming attached as a pupil). By drawing near, he becomes a seer, becomes a hearer, becomes a thinker, becomes a per- ceiver, becomes a doer, becomes an understander. By strength, verily, the earth stands, by strength the atmosphere, by
strength the heaven; by strength the mountains, by strength the gods and men (or god-men), by strength beasts and birds, grass and trees, animals together with worms, flies and ants. By strength the world stands. Meditate on strength. strength: spiritual power.
2. sa yo halam brahmety upaste, yavad balasya gatam, tatrasya yatha kdma-cd.ro bhavati,yo balam brahmety upaste; asti, bhagavah, balad bhuya iti; balad va va bhuyostiti; tan me, bhagavan, bravitv iti.
2. He who meditates on strength as Brahman — as far as strength goes, so far he is independent, he who meditates on strength as Brahman. ‘Is there anything, Venerable Sir, greater than strength?’ ‘Yes, there is something greater than strength.’ ‘Do, Venerable Sir, tell me that.’
I. annam va va balad bhuyah, tasmad yady api dasa ratrir na’sniyat, yady u ha jivet, atha va adrasta srota manta’ boddha ’ karta’ vijhata bhavati; atha ’nnasyay’e drasta bhavati, srota bhavati, manta bhavati, boddha bhavati, karta bhavati, vijhata bhavati; annam upassveti.
1. Food, verily, is greater than strength. Therefore, if any¬ one does not eat for ten days, even though he might live, yet, verily, he becomes a non-seer, a non-hearer, a non-thinker, a non-understander, a non-doer, a non-knower. But on the entrance of food (when he gets food), he becomes a seer, he becomes a hearer, he becomes a thinker, he becomes an under¬ stander, he becomes a doer, he becomes a knower. Meditate on food.
2. sa yo’nnam brahmety upaste, annavato vai sa lokan panavato- ’bhisidhyati. yavad annasya gatam, tatrasya yatha kama-caro bhavati yo’nnam brahmety upaste; asti, bhagavah, annad bhuya iti; annad vava bhuyo stiti; tan me, bhagavan, bravitv iti.
2. He who meditates on food as Brahman, he, verily, attains the worlds of food and drink. As far as food reaches, so far he who meditates on food as Brahman, has unlimited freedom.
478 The Principal Upanisads
‘Venerable Sir, is there anything greater than food?’ Yes, there is something greater than food.’ ‘Do, Venerable Sir, tell me that.’
1. dpo vd va anndd bhuyasyah, tasmadyadd suvrstir na bhavati, vyadhiyante prdndh, annum kaniyo bhavisyatiti, atha yada suvrstir bhavati, dnandinah prana bhavanti, annum bahu bhavisyatiti , dpa cvcmd murtdh yeyam prthivi, yad antariksam, yad dyauh, yat parvatdh, yad deva-manusyah, yat pasavas ca vaydmsi ca trna-vanaspatayah, svapaddny dkita-patahga-p ipila- kam, dpa evemd murtdh: apa updssveti.
1. Water, verily, is greater than food. Therefore when there is not good (sufficient) rain, living creatures sicken with the thought that food will become scarce. But when there is good rain, living creatures rejoice in the thought that food 'will become abundant. It is just water that assumes (different) forms of this earth, this atmosphere, this sky, the mountains, gods and men, beasts and birds, grass and trees, animals together with worms, flies and ants. Water indeed is all these forms. Meditate on wrater.
2. sa yo’po brahmety upaste, apnoti sarvdn kaman, trptiman bhavati. yavad apdm gaiam, tatrdsya yathd kdma-cdro bhavati. yo’po brahmety upaste; asti, bhagavah, adbhyo bhuya iti; adbhyo vd va bhuyo stiti; tan me, bhagavdn, bravitv iti.
2. He who meditates on water as Brahman, obtains all his desires and becomes satisfied. As far as water reaches so he wffio meditates on wrater as Brahman has unlimited freedom. ‘Venerable Sir, is there anything greater than wTater?’ ‘Yes, there is something greater than wTater.’ ‘Do, Venerable Sir, tell me that.’
1. tejo vd va adbhyo bhuyah, tasmdd vd etad vdyum digrhydkdiam abhitapati, tad ahuh, nisocati, nitapati, varsisyati vd iti, teja
eva tat purvam darsayitva tha pah srjate. tad etad urdhvabhis ca tirascibhis ca vidyudbhih ahradas caranti; tasmad ahuh: vidyotate, stanayati, varsisyati va iti, teja eva tat purvam darsayitvatha’ pah srjate: teja upassveti.
1. Heat, verily, is greater than water. For it seizes hold of the wind and warms the ether. Then people say it is hot, it is burning hot, it will rain. Thus does heat show this sign first, and creates water. So with lightnings, flashing upwards and across the sky, thunders roll. Therefore people say, there is lightning, there is thunder, therefore it will rain. Heat, indeed, first indicates this and creates water. Meditate on heat.
We see the cause of heat first and then the effect of rain. prasiddham hi loke karanam abhyudyatam dfstavatah karyam bhavisyatiti vijhdnam. S.
2. sa yas tejo brahmety upaste, tejasvi vai sa tejasvato lokan bhasvaio’ pahata-tamaskan abhisidhyati, yavat tejaso gatam , tatra’sya yatha kama-caro bhavati, yas tejo brahmety upaste; asti, bhagavah, tejaso bhuya iti; tejaso va va bhuyo stiti; tan me, bhagavdn, bravitv iti.
2. He who meditates on heat as Brahman, he, verily, radiant himself, attains radiant, shining worlds, freed from darkness’. As far as heat reaches, he who meditates on heat as Brahman, has unlimited freedom. ‘Venerable Sir, is there anything greater than heat?’ ‘Yes, there is something greater than heat.’ ‘Do, Venerable Sir, tell me that.’
1. akaso va va tejaso bhuyan: akase vai surya-candramasav ubhau vidyun naksatrany agnih, akasenahvayati , akasena srnoti, akasena pratisrnoti, akase ramate, akase na ramate, akase jayate, akasam abhijayate: akasam upassveti.
1. Ether (or space), verily, is greater than fire. For in the ether exist both sun and moon, lightning, stars and fire. Through ether one calls, through ether one hears, through ether one answers. In ether one enjoys himself and in ether one does not
480 The Principal Upanisads VII. 13. 1
enjoy himself. In space one is born and unto space one is born. Meditate on ether.
akasam abhijayate. When born, the seed grows upward and not downward.
Akasa originally meant space through which one can pass or thrust one’s finger. See Aitareya Brahmana III. 4. 2. 1 ; Satapatha Brahmana III. 3. 2. 19. The space between the sky and the earth when they separated became antariksa or atmosphere. It was empty and so got filled with air. Akasa is more than mere space. K.U. speaks of man being born from akasa as from a womb, I. 6.
2. sa ya akasam brahmety upaste, akasavato vai sa lokan prakasavato’ sambadhan urugayavato’ bhisidhyati , yavad akasasya gatam, tatrasya yatha kama-caro bhavati, ya akasam brahmety upaste; asti, bhagavah, akasad bhuya iti; akasad va va bhuyo’ stiti; tan me, bhagavan bravitv iti.
2. He who meditates on ether as Brahman, he verily attains the worlds of ether and of light, unconfined and wide extending. As far as ether goes, so far he who meditates on ether as Brahman, has unlimited freedom. ‘Venerable Sir, is there anything greater than ether?’ ‘Yes, there is something greater than ether.’ ‘Do, Venerable Sir, tell me that.’
asambadhan: unconfined, also free from pressure and pain: sambadho nyo nyapida tad-rahitdn asambadhan. S.
1. smaro va va akasad bhuyah, tasmad yady api bahava asiran asmarantah, naiva te kamcana srnuyuh, na manviran, na vijdniran yada va va te smareyuh, atha srnuyuh, atha manviran, atha vijdniran, smarena vai putran vijanati, smarena pasun: smaram upassveti.
1. Memory, verily, is more than ether, therefore if many assemble and if they have no memory, indeed they would not hear any one at all, they would not think, they would not understand. But surely, if they remember then they would hear, then they would think, then they would understand. Through
memory one discerns one’s sons; through memory, one's cattle. Meditate on memory.
Memory is a quality of the inner organ, antah-karana-dharmah.
2. sa yah smaram brahmety upaste, ydvat smarasya gatam, tatrasya yatha kama-caro bhavati, yah smaram brahmety upaste; asti, bhagavah, smarad bhuya iti; smarad va va bhuyo’ stiti; tan me, bhagavan, bravttv iti.
2. He who meditates on memory as Brahman — as far as memory reaches, so far he has unlimited freedom, he who meditates on memory as Brahman. ‘Venerable Sir, is there anything greater than memory?’ ‘Yes, there is something greater than memory.’ ‘Do, Venerable Sir, tell me that.’
1. asa va va smarad bhuyasi, aseddho vai smaro mantran adhtte karmani kurute, putrams ca pasurhs cecchate, imam, ca lokam amurh cecchate: asam upassveti.
1. Hope, assuredly, is greater than memory. When kindled by hope, memory learns the sacred hymns, performs sacrifices, desires sons and cattle, desires this world and the other. Meditate on hope.
asa, craving, desire, trsna, kama S.
aseddhah: asa-iddha asaydbhivardhitah, roused by hope. S.
2. sa y a asam brahmety upaste, asayasya sarve kamah samr- dhyanti, amogha hasyasiso bhavanti, yavad asayd gatam, tatrasya yatha kama-caro bhavati, y a asam brahmety upaste; asti, bhagavah, asayd bhuya iti; asaya va va bhuyo' stiti; tan me, bhagavan, bravttv iti.
2. He who meditates on hope as Brahman, through hope all his desires are fulfilled, his prayers do not go in vain. As far as hope reaches, so far he has unlimited freedom, he who meditates on hope as Brahman. ‘Venerable Sir, is there anything greater than hope?’ ‘Yes, there is something greater than hope.’ ‘Do, Venerable Sir, tell me that.'
dsisah: prayers, prarthanah. S.
482 The Principal Upanisads VII. 15. 3.
1. prano va va asaya bhuyan, yatha va ara nabhau samarpitah, evam asmin prane sarvam samarpitam, pranah pranena yati, pranah pranam dadati, pranaya dadati, prano ha pita, prano matd, prano bhrata, pranah svasa, prana acaryah, prano brahmanah.
1. Life-breath, verily, is greater than hope. Even as the spokes are fastened in the hub, so on this life-breath all this is fastened. Life moves by the life-breath. Life-breath gives life, it gives (life) to a living creature. Life-breath is one’s father, life-breath is one’s mother, life-breath is one's brother, life-breath is one’s sister, life-breath is one’s teacher, life- breath is the Brahmana.
According to S prana is the conscious self, prajhatman, which enters the body to reveal the whole variety of names and forms.
2. sa yadi pitaram va mataram va bhrataram va svasaramva acaryam va brahmanam va kimcid bhrsam iva pratyaha, dhik tvastvity evainam ahuh, pitrha vai tvam asi, matrha vai tvarn asi, bhratrha vai tvam asi, svasrha vai tvam asi, acaryaha vai tvam asi, brahmanaha vai tvam aslti.
2. If one answers unworthily to a father or a mother, or a brother or a sister, or a teacher or a Brahmana, people say to him, shame on you, verily, you are a slayer of your father, verily, you are a slayer of your mother, verily, you are a slayer of your brother, verily, you are a slayer of your sister, verily, you are a slayer of your teacher, verily, you are a slayer of a Brahmana.
bhrsam : ananurupam.
3. atha yady apy enan utkranta-pranan sulena samasam vyatisandahet naivainam bruyuh, pitrhasxti, na matrhasUi, na bhratrhasiti, na svasrhasiti, na acaryahasiti , na brahmanahasxti.
3. But if, when the life breath has departed from them one shoves them together with a poker and burns up every bit of them, people would not say, ‘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 teacher,’ nor ‘you are a slayer of a Brahmana.’
utkranta-prdndn: tyakta-dehan. S.
The importance of prana is brought out by positive and negative proofs, anvaya-vyatirekabhyam. S.
4. prano hy evaitdni sarvani bhavati, sa va esa evam pasyan, evam manvanah, evam vijanann ativadi bhavati, tarn ced bruyuh ativddy asiti, ativady asmiti bruyat, napahnuvita.
4. Life-breath is all this. Verily, he who sees this, thinks this, understands this, becomes an excellent speaker. Even if people should say to him, you are an excellent speaker, he should say, ‘I am an excellent speaker.’ He should not deny it.
ativadin: He goes beyond all declarations made previously beginning with name and ending with hope, and realises that prana or the conscious self is Brahman. In M.U. III. 1. 4 an ativadin is contrasted with one who really knows the highest truth.
In all this discussion Sanatkumara leads Narada step by step, tato bhiiyah, until he obtains the experience of the absolutely great, which is undefined and unmeasured. As Narada seems to be satisfied with prana and does not ask ‘Is there anything greater than pranaV the teacher leads him on to a higher view in sections 16-26. He is an ativadin who passes beyond the empirical variety and grasps the metaphysical reality, yastu bhumakhyam sarvdtikrantam tattvarh paramartha-satyam veda so’tivaditi. S.
1. esa tu va ativadati yah satyenativadati; so’ ham, bhagavah, satyenativadamti; satyam tv eva vijijhasitavyam iti; satyam, bhagavah, vijijhdsa iti.
1. But he, verily, speaks excellently, who speaks excellently of truth. ‘But I, Venerable Sir, would speak excellently of truth.’ ‘But one must desire to understand the truth.’ ‘Venerable Sir, I desire to understand the truth.’ vijijhase: visesena jhatum iccheyam tvatto'ham iti. S.
1. yccda vai vijdnati, atha satyam vadati, navijanan satyam vadati, vijanann eva satyam vadati, vijhdnam tv eva vijijha- sitavyam iti; vijhdnam, bhagavah, vijijhdsa iti.
484 The Principal Upanisads VII. 19. 1.
1. Verily, when one understands, then he speaks the truth. One who does not understand does not speak the truth. Only he who understands speaks the truth. But one must desire to understand understanding. ‘Venerable Sir, I desire to under¬ stand understanding.'
In his commentary £ distinguishes between the empirical truth (rupa-traya) and metaphysical truth ( riipa-traya-vyatirekena para - marthatah) , between factual truth and ultimate significance.
1. yada vai manute, atha vijanati, namatva vijanati, matvaiva vijanati, matis tv eva vijijhasitavyeti; matim, bhagavah, vijijnasa iti.
1. Verily, when one thinks, then he understands, one who does not think does not understand. Only he who thinks understands. But one must desire to understand thinking. ‘Venerable Sir, I desire to understand thinking.’
matir mananam, tarko mantavya-visaya adarah. £.
1. yada vai sraddhadhati, atha manute. nasraddhadhan manute, sraddhadhad eva manute, sraddha tv eva vijijhasitavyeti; sraddham, bhagavah, vijijnasa iti.
1. Verily, when one has faith, then he thinks. One who has not faith does not think. Only he who has faith thinks. But one must desire to understand faith. ‘Venerable Sir, I desire to understand faith.’
astikya-buddhih sraddha. £ : sense of religious reality.
Chandogya Upanisad
I. yadd vai nististhati , atha sraddadhati, na’nististhan sradda- dhati nististhann eva sraddadhati, nistha tv eva vijijhasitavyeti; nistham, bhagavah, vijijhasa iti.
1. When one has steadfastness, then one has faith. One who has not steadfastness does not have faith. Only he who has steadfastness has faith. But one must desire to understand steadfastness. ‘Venerable Sir, I desire to understand stead¬ fastness.’
nistha: earnest attention to and service of the spiritual guide: guru-susrusadis tatparatvam brahma-vijhanaya. S.
See B.G. III. 3.
1. yadd vai karoty atha nististhati, nakrtva nististhati, krtvaiva nististhati, krtis tv eva vijijhasitavyeti; krtim bhagavo vijijhasa iti.
1. When one is active, one has steadfastness. Without being active, one has not steadfastness. Only by activity does one have steadfastness. But one must desire to understand activity. ‘Venerable Sir, I desire to understand activity.’
activity: S refers to the duties of a student such as restraint of the senses, concentration of the mind: indriya-samyamas cittaikagra- ta-karanam ca.
1. yadd vai sukham labhate’tha karoti, nasukham labdhva karoti, sukham eva labdhva karoti, sukham tv eva vijijhasitavyam iti; sukham, bhagavah, vijijhasa iti.
1. When one obtains happiness, then one is active. One who does not obtain happiness is not active. Only he who obtains
486 The Principal Upanisads VII. 24. 1.
happiness is active. But one must desire to understand happiness. ‘Venerable Sir, I desire to understand happiness ’
1. yo vai bhuma tat sukham, nalpe sukham asti, bhumaiva sukham; bhuma tv eva vijijhasitavya iti; bhumanam, bhagavah, vijijnasa iti.
1. The infinite is happiness. There is no happiness in any¬ thing small (finite). Only the infinite is happiness. But one must desire to understand the infinite. ‘Venerable Sir, I desire to understand the infinite.'
bhuma: grand, superlative, abundant, mahat niratisayam bahvlti. It is the highest that can be reached, the infinite. In the small there is no happiness. It produces craving, trsnd, which is the seed of sorrow, duhkha-bija.
‘Thou hopest perhaps to subdue desire by the power of enjoyment, but thou wilt find it impossible for the eye to be satisfied with seeing or the ear to be- filled with hearing. If all visible nature could pass in review before thee, what would it be but a vain vision?’ Imitation of Christ.
1. yatra nanyat pasyati nanyac chrnoti nanyad vijanati sa bhuma; atha yatranyat pasyati anyac chrnoti any ad vijanati tad alpam; yo vai bhuma tad amrtam, atha yad alpam tan martyam; sa, bhagavah, kasmin pratisthita iti; sve mahimni, yadi vd na mahimmti.
I. Where one sees nothing else, hears nothing else, under¬ stands nothing else, that is the infinite. But where one sees something else, hears something else, understands something else, that is the small (the finite). Verily, the infinite is the same as the immortal, the finite is the same as the mortal. ‘Venerable
Sir, on what is the infinite established?’ ‘On its own greatness or not even on greatness.’
The empirical dualities are absent in the experience of the infinite : samsara-vyavaharo bhumni nasti. $.
martyam: perishable, vinasi. §. All empirical objects are subject to the law of change.
sve mahimni: on its own greatness, atmiye mahimni mdhdtmye vibhutau. $. It is rooted in its own greatness while things which are in the region of the little, alpa, are rooted not in themselves but in others.
yadi va: If the question is taken in an ultimate sense, we cannot even say this, for the infinite cannot be established in anything else, not even on its own greatness, for it is apratistha, anasrita.
The last line reminds us of the Nasadlya hymn of the R.V. where the expression of the highest certainty is followed by a misgiving that after all it may not be so.
2. go-asvam iha mahimety acaksate, hasti-hiranyam dasa- bhdryam, ksetrany ayatananiti; nciham evam bravimi, bravimiti hovacanyo hy anyasmin pratisthita iti.
2. Here on earth people call cows and horses, elephants and gold, slaves and wives, fields and houses ‘greatness.’ ‘L do not speak thus, I do not speak thus,’ said he, ‘for in that case one thing is established in another.’
The infinite cannot be established in anything different from itself.
Finite things are established in others, anyo hi anyasmin pratisthitah. The doctrines of para-tantra and pr atitya-samutpada are suggested by this passage.
SELF-SENSE AND THE SELF
I. sa evadhastat, sa uparistat, sa pascat, sa purastat, sa daksinatah, sa uttaratah, sa evedam sarvam iti, athato’ hamkaradesa eva, aham evadhastat, aham uparistat, ahampascat, aharn purastat, aham daksinatah, aham uttaratah, aham evedam sarvam iti.
1. That (infinite) indeed is below. It is above. It is behind. It is in front. It is to the south, it is to the north. It is indeed all this (world). Now next, the instruction in regard to the self-sense. I, indeed, am below. I am above, I am behind, I
488 The Principal Upanisads VII. 26. 1.
am in front. I am to the south, I am to the north; I, indeed, am all this (world).
2. athata atmadesa eva atmaivadhastat, atmoparistat, atma pascat, atma purastat, atma daksinatah, atmottaratah, atmaivedarh sarvam iti. sa va esa evam pasyann evam manvana evam vijanann atm'a-ratir dtma-knda atma-mithuna atmanandah. sa svarad bhavati, tasya sarvesu lokesu kama-caro bhavati, atha yenyathato viduh, anya-rajanas te ksayya-loka bhavanti. tesam sarvesu lokesv akdma-caro bhavati.
2. Now next the instruction in regard to the self. The self indeed is below. The self is above. The self is behind. The self is in front. The self is to the south. The self is to the north. The self, indeed, is all this (world). Verily, he who sees this, who thinks this, who understands this, he has pleasure in the self, he has delight in the self, he has union in the self, he has joy in the self; he is independent (self-ruler); he has unlimited freedom in all worlds. But they who think differently from this are dependent on others (have others for their rulers) . They have (live in) perishable worlds. In all worlds they cannot move at all (have no freedom).
pascat: behind, or to the west. purastat: in front or to the east.
The knowers are self-governing, autonomous ( sva-raj ) ; the non- knowers are heteronomous, subject to others ( anya-raj ).
1. tasya ha va etasyaivam pasyatah,' evarn manvanasya, evam vijanata atmatah pranah, atmata asa, atmatah smarah, atmata akasah, atmatas tejah, atmata apah, atmata dvirbhava-tirobhavau atmato’nnam atmato balam, atmato vijhanam, atmato dhyanam, atmatas cittam, atmatah samkalpah, atmato manah, atmato vak, atmato nama, atmato mantrah, atmatah karmani, atmata evedarh sarvam iti.
1. For him who sees this, who thinks this and who under¬ stands this, life-breath springs from the self, hope from the self, memory from the Self, ether from the self, heat from the
self, water from the self, appearance an.d disappearance from the self, food from the self, strength from the self, understanding from the self, meditation from the self, thought from the self, determination from the self, mind from the self, speech from the self, name from the self, sacred hymns from the self, (sacred) works from the self, indeed all this (world) from the self.
All these, life-breath, hope, memory, etc., which were traced to the real, sat, are now traced to the self, as the real and the self, sat and atman are one.
na pasyo mrtyurn pasyati, na rogarii nota duhkhatam; sarvarn ha pasyah pasyati, sarvam apnoti sarvasah. iti.
sa ekadha bhavati, tridha bhavati, pancadha saptadha navadha caiva punas caikadasah smrtah, satam ca dasa caikas ca sahasrani ca vimsatih dhara-suddhau sattva-suddhih, sattva-suddhau dhruva smrtih, smrti- larnbhe sarva-granthinam vipramoksah; tasmai mrdita-kasayaya tamasah param darsayati bhagavan sanatkumdrah: tam skanda ity acaksate, tarn skanda ity acaksate.
He who sees this does not see death nor illness nor any sorrow. He who sees this sees everything and obtains everything everywhere.
He is one, becomes threefold, fivefold, sevenfold and also ninefold. Then again he is called the elevenfold, also a hundred and elevenfold and also twenty-thousand fold.
When nourishment is pure, nature is pure. When nature is pure, memory becomes firm. When memory remains firm, there is release from all knots of the heart. To such a one who has his stains wiped away, the venerable Sanatkumara shows the further shore of darkness. Him they call Skanda, yea, him they call Skanda.
He who sees this, pasyo yathokta-darsl vidvan. S.
One — He is one before creation, prak srsti-prabhedad ekadhaiva. The various numbers, three, five, seven, nine, etc., are intended to show the endless variety of manifestations after creation: samstridhddi-bhedair ananta-bheda-prakd.ro bhavati srsti-kale. S.
See Maitrl V. 2.
490 The Principal Upanisads
sattva-suddhi: nature is pure. The reference, according to is to the inner organ, antahkaranasya sattvasya suddhir nairmalyam bhavati.
Sanatkumara is said to be ‘bhagavdn,’ as he conforms to the definition quoted by £.
utpattim pralayam caiva bhutanam agatim gatim vetti vidyarn avidyam ca sa vdcyo bhagavdn iti.
Sanatkumara points out that spiritual freedom is the basis of all action. We reach it by stages. The vision of the Divine, the Infinite, gives us happiness. Other things which fall short of it are of little consequence. The self, atman, is the source of all things, whatsoever, hope, memory, space, light and water. It is the source of all power, all knowledge, all happiness.
Chandogya Upanisad
1. harih, aum. atha yad idam asmin brahma-pure daharam pundarikam vesma, daharo’ sminn antarakasah, tasmin yad antah, tad anvestavyam, tad va va vijijhasitavyam.
1. Harih, aum. Now, here in this city of Brahman is an abode, a small lotus flower; within it is a small space. What is within that should be sought, for that, assuredly, is what one should desire to understand.
daharam: alpam, small. §.
pundarikam: pundarlka-sadrsam, like a lotus. S.
brahma-pure: sarlre, in the body. S. The body is deva-sadana or the
temple of God.
vijijhasitavyam: saksdt-karanlyam, made an object of direct appre¬ hension. S.
In introducing this chapter S points out that the speculative effort of Chapter VII, which establishes the identity of our self with the highest self is too much for ordinary people who are inclined to assume that the metaphysical reality which is free from all deter¬ minations is as good as non-being: dig-desa-guna-gati-phala-bheda sunyam hi paramarthasad advayam brahma manda-buddhinam asad iva pratibhati. Pure being,* devoid of all determinations, is often in Western thought mistaken for non-being ( asat ). Cp. Hegel’s criticism of Spinoza’s substance.
As ordinary people find it difficult to conceive of the Real as out of space and time, they are taught to think of it as an object endowed with qualities, living in the world and the human self. This know¬ ledge is to serve as a preparation for the higher knowledge.
2. tarn ced bhuyuh, yad idam asmin brahma-pure daharam pundarikam vesma, daharo’ sminn antarakasah, kirn tad atra vidyate yad anvestavyam, yad va va vijijhasitavyam iti.
2. If they should say to him, with regard to this city of Brahma and the abode and the small lotus flower and the small space within that, what is there that should be sought for, or that, assuredly, one should desire to understand?
The implication is that there is nothing there which one has to
492 The Principal Upanisads VIII. i. 5
search out or understand: kirn tad atra vidyate na kin cana vidyata ity abhiprayah. £.
3. sa bruyat: yavan va ayam akasah, tavan eso’ntarhrdaya akasah. ubhe asmin dyava-prthivi antar eva samahite, ubhav agnis’ca vayus ca surya-candramasav ubhau, vidyun naksatrani yac casyehasti yac ca nasti sarvam tad asmin samahitam iti.
3. He should say, as far, verily, as this (world) space extends, so far extends the space within the heart. Within it, indeed, are contained both heaven and earth, both fire and air, both sun and moon, lightning and the stars. Whatever there is of him in this world and whatever is not, all that is contained within it.
The individual is to be regarded as the world in miniature. The world is the individual writ large.
In Buddhist thought alaya-vijhana is the receptacle of all the latent possibilities of existence, hrd-akasa answers to the alaya-vijhana. When the concrete manifestations are overcome by decay and death, their types are not destroyed along with them. The desires out of which they arise are preserved in the hrd-akasa. what is not: What is no longer or not yet, the past and the future.
4. tarn ced bruyuh, asmims’ ced idam brahma-pure sarvam samahitam sarvani ca bhutani sarve ca kamah yadaitaj jara vapnoti pradhvarhsate va, kim tato tisisyata iti.
4. If they should say to him, if, within this city of Brahma, is contained all (that exists), all beings and all desires, then what is left of it when old age overtakes it or when it perishes ?
5. sa bruyat; nasya jarayaitaj jiryati, na vadhenasya hanyate. etat satyam brahma-puram asmin kamaJj samahitah. esa atma- pahata-papma vijaro vimrtyur visoko vijighatso’ pipasah, sat- ya-kamah satya-samkalpah. yathd hy eveha praja anvavisanti yathanusasanam, yam yam antam abhikamd bhavanti yam janapadam, yam ksetra-bhagam, tarn tarn evopajivanti.
5. He should say, it (the self within) does not age with old age, it is not killed by the killing (of the body). That (and not the body) is the real city of Brahma. In it desires are contained. It is the self free from sin, free from old age, free from death, free from sorrow, free from hunger, free from thirst, whose desire is the real, whose thought is the real. For, just as here on earth people follow in obedience to command (as they are commanded), of whatever object they are desirous, be it a country or a part of a field, on that they live dependent.
Our desires condition our future.
6. tad yatheha karma-jito lokah ksiyate, evam evamutra pun- ya-jito lokah ksiyate. tad ya ihatmanam ananuvidya vrajanty etams ca satyan kaman, tesam, sarvesu lokesv akama-caro bhavati. atha ya ihatmanam anuvidya vrajanty etams ca satyan kaman, tesam sarvesu lokesu kama-caro bhavati.
6. As here on earth the world which is earned by work perishes, even so there the world which is earned by merit (derived from the performance of sacrifices) perishes. Those who depart hence without having found here the self and those real desires, for them there is no freedom in all the worlds. But those who depart hence, having found here the self and those real desires — for them in all worlds there is freedom.
akama-caro’ svatantrata. £.
kama-caro bhavati: rajha iva sarvabhaumasyehaloke: He has like a King complete sovereignty in the world. £. ‘Seeing the self im¬ partially in all beings and all beings in the self, the atma-yaji obtains autonomy,’ Manu XII. 91; see also B.G. VI. 29.
1. If he becomes desirous of the world of the fathers, by his mere thought, fathers arise. Possessed of the world of fathers he is happy.
Out of these kamas or desires, out of samkalpas or formative tendencies, the desired spheres are fashioned. mahiyate: pujyate vardhate va mahimanam anubhavati. S.
2. And so if he becomes desirous of the world of mothers, by his mere thought, mothers arise. Possessed of that world of mothers he is happy.
3. atha yadi bhratr-loka-kamo bhavati, samkalpad evasya bhratarah samuttisthanti , tena bhratr-lokena sampanno mahiyate.
494 The Principal Upanisads VIII. 2. 10.
of his mere thought brothers arise. Possessed of that world of brothers he is happy.
4. And if he becomes desirous of the world of sisters, out of his mere thought, sisters arise. Possessed of that world of sisters he is happy.
5. And if he becomes desirous of the world of friends, out of his mere thought, friends arise. Possessed of that world of friends he is happy.
6. atha yadi gandha-malya-loka-kdmo bhavati samkalpad evasya gandhamalye samuttisthatah , tena gandha-malya-lokena sampanno mahiyate.
6. And if he becomes desirous of the world of perfumes and garlands, out of his mere thought, perfumes and garlands arise. Possessed of that world of perfumes and garlands he is happy.
7. atha yadi anna-pana-loka-kamo bhavati, samkalpad evasy an¬ na-pane samuttisthatah, tena anna-pana-lokena sampanno mahi¬ yate.
7. And if he becomes desirous of the world of food and drink, out of his mere thought, food and drink arise. Possessed of that world of food and drink he is happy.
8. atha yadi gita-vadita-loka-kamo bhavati, samkalpad evasya gita-vadite samuttisthatah, tena gita-vadita-lokena sampanno mahiyate.
8. And if he becomes desirous of the world of song and music, out of his mere thought, song and music arise. Possessed of that world of song and music he is happy.
9. And if he becomes desirous of the world of women, out of his mere thought, women arise. Possessed of that world of women he is happy.
10. Of whatever object he becomes desirous, whatever desire he desires, out of his mere thought it arises. Possessed of it he is happy.
antam: object, pradesam. A
1. ta ime satyah kamah anrtdpidhdnah, tesdm satyanam satam anrtam apidhanam: yo yo hy asyetah praiti, na tam iha darsandya labhate.
1. These same are true desires, with a covering of what is false. Although the desires are true there is a covering that is false. For whosoever of one’s (fellows) departs hence, one does not get him (back) to see here.
2. atha ye casyeha jlva ye ca preta yac cany ad icchan no, labhate, sarvam tad atra gatva vindate, atra hi asyaite satyah kamah anrtdpidhdnah, tad yathapi hiranya-nidhim nihitam aksetrajha upary upari sahcaranto na vindeyuh, evam evemah sarvahpraja ahar ahar gacchanty a etam brahma-lokam na vindanti, anrtena hi pratyudhah.
2. But those of one’s (fellows) whether they are alive or whether they have departed and whatever else one desires but does not get, all this one finds by going in there (into one’s own self); for here, indeed, are those true desires of his with a covering of what is false. Just as those who do not know the field walk again and again over the hidden treasure of gold and do not find it, even so all creatures here go day after day into the Brahma-world and yet do not find it, for they are carried away by untruth.
All desires find their fulfilment in the self. The city of Brahma is within one’s heart where we can possess all our desires.
We daily get into the Brahma- world while we are asleep: hr day a- kaiakhyam brahma-lokam ahar ahah pratyaham gacchanty 0’ pi susupta- kale na vindanti na labhante S.
anrtena: by falsehood. Ramanuja interprets rta to mean disinterested action, phala-kamana-rahita-karma and anrta as its opposite, selfish work.
496 The Principal Upanisads VIII. 3. 5.
satya and anrta are not two coexistent factors but two alternative manifestations of a common factor of the hrd-akasa or vijhana, its two orientations upward and downward.
3. sa va esa atmd hrdi, tasyaitad eva niruktam hrdy ayarn iti, tasmadd hrdayam, ahar ahar va evam-vit svargam lokam eti.
3. Verily, that self is (abides) in the heart. Of it the etymological explanation is this. This one is in the heart, thereof it is the heart. He who knows this goes day by day into the heavenly world.
In deep sleep one gets into the Brahman of the heart. One has to realise the self in one’s heart, hrdaya-nama nirvacana prasiddhyapi sva-hrdaya atmety avagantavyam. §.
4. atha ya esa samprasado’ smac-charirat samutthaya pararn jyotir upasampadya svena rupenabhinispadyate, esa atmeti hovaca, etad amrtam abhayam, etad brahmeti; tasya ha va elasya brahmano nama satyam iti.
4. Now that serene being, rising out of this body, and reaching the highest light appears in his own form. He is the self, said he (when asked by the pupils). That is the immortal, the fearless. That is Brahman. Verily, the name of that Brahman is the True.
iarirat samutthaya: rising out of the body, giving up the notion of the identity of the self with the body: sarlratma-bhavanam parit- yajyety arthah. $.
5. tdni ha va etani triny aksarani sat-ti-yam iti; tad yat sat tad amrtam, atha yat ti tan martyam, atha yad yarn tenobhe yacchati yad anenobhe yacchati tasmad yam, ahar ahar va evam vit svargam lokam eti.
5. Verily, these are the three syllables sat, ti, yam. The sat, that is the immortal. The ti, that is the mortal. The yam, with it one holds the two together. Because with it one holds the two together therefore it is yam. He who knows this goes day by day into the heavenly world.
For another explanation of the word satyam, see B.U. V. 5. 1. yacchati: holds together, yamayati, 'niyamayati, vaslkaroti. $>. The eternal and the temporal are bound together. There is no suggestion that the mortal is illusory.
1. atha ya atma, sa setur vidhrtir esam lokanam asambhedaya naitarh setum ahoratre taratah, na jara na mrtyur na soko na sukrtam, na duskrtam, sarve pdpmd.no ’to nivartante, apahata- pdpma hy esa brahma-lokah.
1. Now the self is the bridge, the (separating) boundary for keeping these worlds apart. Over that bridge day and night do not cross, nor old age nor death, nor sorrow, nor well-doing nor ill-doing. All evils turn back from it for the Brahma-world is freed from evil.
See Katha III. 2, M.U. II. 2. 5.
Day and night are the factors of time, the determinants of the mortality of all things under the sun.
2. tasmad va etarh setum tirtvandhah sann anandho bhavati, viddhah sann aviddho bhavati, upatapi sann anupatapi bhavati. tasmad va etarh setum txrtvapi naktam ahar evabhinispadyate, sakrd vibhato hy evaisa brahma-lokah.
2. Therefore, verily, on crossing that bridge, if one is blind he becomes no longer blind, if wounded, he becomes no longer wounded, if afflicted he becomes no longer afflicted. Therefore, verily, on crossing that bridge, night appears even as day for that Brahma-world is ever-illumined.
See III. 11. 3.
When one crosses the bridge and gets to the other shore, the troubles of the world cease. Eckhart says: ‘There neither virtue nor vice ever entered in.’
sak^d vibhatah: ever-illumined, sada vibhatah, sadaikarupah. S.
3. tad ya evaitam brahma-lokam brahmacaryenanuvindanti, tesam evaisa brahma-lokah, tesam sarvesu lokesu kama-caro bhavati.
3. But only they find that Brahma- world who practise the disciplined life of a student of sacred knowledge; only they possess that Brahma- world. For them there is unlimited freedom in all worlds.
498 The Principal Upanisads VIII. 5. 3.
1. atha yad yajha ity acaksate brahmacaryam eva tat, brahma¬ caryena hy eva yo jhata tarn vindate atha yad istam ity acaksate, brahmacaryam eva tat, brahmacaryena hy evestvatmanam anu- vindate.
1. Now, what people call sacrifice is really the disciplined life of a student of sacred knowledge. Only by the disciplined life of a student of sacred knowledge does he who knows obtain that (world). Now what people call ‘What has been sacrificed’ is really the disciplined life of a student of sacred knowledge, for only by sacrificing with the disciplined life of a student of sacred knowledge does one obtain the self.
2. atha yat sattrayanam ity acaksate brahmacaryam eva tat, brahmacaryena hy eva sata atmanas tranam vindate. atha yan maunam ity acaksate brahmacaryam eva tat, brahmacaryena hy evatmanam anuvidya manute.
2. Now what people call the protracted sacrifice ( sattr - ayanam) is really the disciplined life of a student of sacred knowledge. Only by the disciplined life of a student of sacred knowledge does one obtain the protection of the real self. Now what people call the vow of silence is really the disciplined life of a student of sacred knowledge, for only by finding out the self through the disciplined life of a student of sacred know¬ ledge does one (really) meditate.
protection of the self: satah parasmad atmana atmanas tranam rak- sanam. S.
manute: dhyayati. &.
3. atha yad anasakayanam ity acaksate brahmacaryam eva tat, esa hy atma na nasyati yam brahmacaryenanuvindate; atha yad aranyayanam ity acaksate brahmacaryam eva tat. tad aras’ ca ha vai nyas carnavau brahma-loke trtiyasyam ito divi, tad airam madiyam sarah, tad asvatthah soma-savanah, tad aparajita pur brahmanah, prabhuvimitam hiranmayam.
3. Now what people call a course of fasting is really the disciplined life of a student of sacred knowledge, for the self which one finds by the disciplined life of a student of sacred knowledge does not perish. Now what people call the life of a hermit is really the disciplined life of a student of sacred
knowledge. Verily, ara and nya are the two seas in the Brahma- world in the third heaven from here. And there is the lake Airammadiya and there the tree showering Soma, there is the city of Brahman Aparajita and the golden hall built by the Lord.
anasakayanam: a course of fasting. It may also mean entrance into the unperishing, a-nasaka-ayana.
In the K.U. I. 3, the sea is called ara] according to £, aparajita is not a city but a resting-place, ayatana.
This section advocates not only the need for brahmacarya but also the equivalence of certain sacrifices to brahmacarya. This equivalence is established by ingenious etymological explanations. Yajha or ' sacrifice ’ and yo jhata ‘ he who knows ’ have a certain simi¬ larity. Similarly ista, another kind of sacrifice, has something in common with esana or ‘ search. ’
sattrayana with sat, the true and trayana or protection, mauna silence with manana, meditation, anasakayana with the unperishing from nas to perish, aranyayana with ara and nya, the two seas which are said to exist in the world of Brahma.
4. tad ya evaitav aram ca nyam carnavau brahma-loke brahma- caryenanuvindanti, tesam evaisa brahma-lokah tesam sarvesu lokesu kdma-cd.ro bhavati.
4. Only they who find the two seas Ara and Nya in the Brahma- world through the disciplined life of a student of sacred knowledge, only they possess the Brahma-world. In all the worlds they possess unlimited freedom.
All these fulfilled desires mentioned in sections 2-5 are real at their own level. They are not to be dismissed as false or unreal. Even dreams are unreal only in relation to what we see when we are awake. What we see in waking experience is not altogether unreal for it is based on the real.
1. atha yd eta hrdayasya nadyas, tah pihgalasyanimnas tisthanti, suklasya nilasya pitasya lohitasyeti. asau vd adityah pihgalah, esa suklah, esa nilah, esa pitah, esa lohitah.
500 The Principal Upanisads VIII. 6. 5.
consist of a fine substance which is reddish-brown, white, blue, yellow and red. Verily, the sun yonder is reddish-brown, he is white, he is blue, he is yellow, he is red.
2. tad yatha mahapatha atata uhhau gramau gacchatimam camum ca, evam evaita adityasya rasmaya uhhau lokau gac- chantimam camum ca; amusmad adityat pratayante ta asu nadisu srptah, abhyo nadibhyah pratayante te’musminn aditye srptah.
2. Even as a great extending highway runs between two villages, this one and that yonder, even so these rays of the sun go to both these worlds, this one and that yonder. They start from the yonder sun and enter into these arteries. They start from these arteries and enter into the yonder sun.
3. tad yatraitat suptah samastah samprasannah svapnarh na vijanati asu tada nadisu srpto bhavati, tarn na kascana papma spriati, tejasa hi tada samp anno bhavati.
3. And when one is thus sound asleep, composed, serene (so that) he knows no dream, then he has entered into these channels; so no evil touches him for then he has obtained the light (of the sun).
samastah: composed, upasamhrta-sarva-karana-vrttih. S.
samprasannah: serene, bahya-visaya-samparka-janita-hdlusyabhavat
samyak prasannah samprasannah . S.
svapnam: dream, visayakarabhasam manasam. S.
tejas: light, saura-tejah: The light of the sun. S.
No evil touches him because he gets into his own nature: sva-rupa- vasthitatvat. dehendriya-visistam hi sukha-duhkha-karya-praddnena papma sprsatiti na tu satsampannam sva-rupavastham. A
4. atha yatraitad abalimanam nito bhavati, tarn abhita asina ahuh janasi mam, janasi mam, iti; sa yavad asmaccharirad anutkranto bhavati, tavaj janati.
4. And now, when one thus becomes weak (falls ill), those who sit around him say, Do you know me ? Do you know me ? As long as he has not departed from this body, he knows them.
5. atha yatraitad asmaccharirad utkramati, athaitair eva rasmibhir urdhvam akramate, sa aum iti va ha ut va miyate. sa yavat ksipyen manah, tavad adityam gacchati. etad vai khalu loka-dvaram vidusam prapadanam, nirodho’vidusam.
5. But when he thus departs from this body, then he goes upwards by these very rays or he goes up with the thought of aum. 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.
ksipyen manah: As his mind is failing: sometimes rendered 'as quickly as one could direct his mind to it’: yavata kalena manasah ksepah syat tavata kalenddityarh gacchati, ksipram gacchatity artho na tu tavataiva kdleneti vivaksitam. S.
satam caika ca hrdayasya nadyah tasam murdhanam abhinihsrtaika tayordhvam ayann amrtatvam eti
visvahh anya utkramane bhavanti, utkramane bhavanti.
A hundred and one are the arteries of the heart, one of them leads up to the crown of the head. Going upward through that, one becomes immortal: the others serve for going in various other directions, for going in various other directions.
See Katha II. 3. 6.
PRA JA-P ATI’S INSTRUCTION TO INDRA CONCERNING
1. ya dtma apahata-papma vijaro vimrtyur visoko vijighatso’ pipasah satya-kamah satya-samkalpah, so’nvestavyah, so vijijnasi- tavyah sa sarvams ca lokan apnoti sarvams ca kaman. yas tam •atmanam anuvidya vijanati: iti ha praja-patir uvaca.
1. The self which is free from evil, free from old age, free from death, free from grief, free from hunger and thirst, whose desire is the real, whose thought is the real, he should be sought, him one should desire to understand. He who has found out and who understands that self, he obtains all worlds and all desires. Thus spoke Praja-pati.
2. tadd hobhaye devasura anububudhire: te hocuh; hanta tam atmanam anvicchama, yam atmanam anvisya sarvams ca lokan apnoti sarvams ca kaman iti; indro haiva devanam abhipravavraja, virocano’ suranam. tau ha samvidanav eva samit-pani praja-pa- ti-sakasam ajagmatuh.
502 The Principal Upanisads VIII. 7. 4.
let us seek that self, the self by seeking whom one obtains all worlds and all desires.’ Then Indra from among the gods went forth unto him and Virocana from among the demons. Then without communicating with each other, the two came into the presence of Praja-pati, fuel in hand.
fuel in hand: it is the custom for pupils approaching the master.
3. tau ha dvatrimsatam varsani brahmacaryam usatuh: tau ha praja-patir uvaca, kirn icchantav avastam iti. tau hocatuh, ya atmapahatapapma vijaro vimrtyur visoko vijighatso’ pipasah satya-kamah satya-samkalpah so' nvestavyah-sa vijijhasitavyah, sa sarvams ca lokan apnoti sarvams ca kaman, yas tam atmanam anuvidya vijanati iti bhagavato vaco vedayante. tam icchantav avastam iti.
3. For thirty-two years the two lived there the disciplined life of a student of sacred knowledge. Then Praja-pati asked them, ‘Desiring what have you been living?’ The two said, ‘The self which is free from evil, free from old age, free from death, free from grief, free from hunger and thirst, whose desire is the real, whose thought is the real. He should be sought, him one should desire to understand. He who has found out, he who understands that self he obtains all worlds and all desires.’ These people declare to be your word, Venerable Sir, desiring him we have been living.
4. tau ha prajapatir uvaca, ya eso’ksini puruso drsyata esa atmeti hovaca, etad amrtam abhayam etad brahmeti; atha yo’yam, bhagavah, apsu parikhyayate yascayam adarse katama esa iti esa u evaisu sarvesv antesu parikhyayate iti hovaca.
4. Praja-pati said to the two, ‘The person that is seen in the eye, that is the self,’ said he. ‘That is the immortal, the fearless. That is Brahman.’ ‘But, Venerable Sir, he who is perceived in water and in a mirror, who is he?’ He replied, ‘The same one, indeed, is perceived in all these.’
While Praja-pati means by the self the subject of all seeing, Indra and Virocana mistake the self for the person that is seen, not the person that sees. See Yoga Sutra II. 6. The person seen in the eye is the figure imaged in the eye, and they ask whether the image that is seen in the water and in the mirror is the self. At this stage the pupils confuse the true self with the body.
1. uda-sarava atmanam aveksya yad atmano na vijanithah, tan me prabrutam iti. tau hoda-sarave ’veksamcakrate. tau ha praja- patir uvaca: kim pasyatha iti; tau hocatuh, sarvam evedam avam, bhagavah, atmanam pasyava, a lomabhya a nakhebhyahpratirupam iti.
1. Look at your self in a pan of water and whatever you do not understand of the self, tell me. Then the two looked in a pan of water. Then Praja-pati said to the two, ‘What do you see?’ Then the two said, ‘We both see the self thus altogether, Venerable Sir, a picture even to the very hairs and nails.’
The body is subject to change and cannot therefore be the self which is said to be unchanging: loma-nakhadivac charirasydpy agamapayitvam siddham. S.
2. tau ha praja-patir uvaca, sadhv alahkrtau suvasanau pariskrtau bhutvoda- sarave veksethdm iti. tau ha sadhv alahkrtau suvasanau pariskrtau bhutvoda-sarave veksarh cakrate. tau ha praja-patir uvaca: kim pasyatha iti.
2. Then Praja-pati said to the two, after you have well adorned yourselves, put on your best clothes, make yourselves tidy, look into the pan of water. Then the two adorned them¬ selves well, put on their best clothes and made themselves tidy and looked into the pan of water. Then Praja-pati said to the two, ‘What do you see?’
This illustration points out that bodily changes are as external to the true self as clothes and ornaments are. They belong to the not- self, andtman.
3. tau hocatuh, yathaivedam avam, bhagavah, sadhv alahkrtau suvasanau pariskrtau svah, evam evemau, bhagavah, sadhv alahkrtau suvasanau pariskrtdv iti; esdtmeti hovdca, etad amrtam, abhayam etad brahmeti. tau ha santa-hrdayau pravavrajatuh.
3. The two said, ‘Just as we are, Venerable Sir, well adorned, with our best clothes and tidy, thus we see both these, Venerable Sir, well adorned, with our best clothes and tidy.’ ‘That is the self,’ said he. ‘That is the immortal, the fearless, that is Brahman.' They both went away with a tranquil heart.
504 The Principal Upanisads VIII. 9. 1.
ananuvidya vrajatah. yatara etad upanisado bhavisyanti deva va asura va, te parabhavisyantiti. sa ha santa-hrdaya eva virocano’ surah jagama. tebhyo haitam upanisadarh provaca, atmaiveha mahayyah atma paricaryah, atmanam evaiha mahayann atmanam paricarann ubhau lokav apnotimam camum ceti.
4. Then Praja-pati looked at them and said, they go away without having perceived, without having known the self. Whosoever will follow such a doctrine, be they gods or demons they shall perish. Then Virocana with a tranquil heart went to the demons and declared that doctrine, one’s (bodily) self is to be made happy here, one’s (bodily) self is to be served. He who makes his own self happy here and he who serves his own self, he obtains both worlds, this world and the yonder.
5. tasmad apy adyaihadadanam asraddadhanam ayajamanam ahuh, asuro bateti; asuranam hy esopanisat pretasya sariram bhiksaya vasanenalahkareneti samskurvanti , etena hy amurh lokarh iesyanto manyante.
5. Therefore even here they say of one who is not a giver, who has no faith, who does not offer sacrifices, that he is a demon, for this is the doctrine of the demons. They adorn the body of the deceased with what they have begged, with clothes and with ornaments, and think that thereby they will win the yonder world.
bhiksaya: with perfumes, flowers, etc., which they have begged: gandha-malyannadi-laksanayd.
1. atha hendro’prapyaiva devan etad bhayam dadarsa, yathaiva khalv ayam asmin sarire sadhvalahkrte sadhv alahkrto bhavati, suvasane suvasanah, pariskrte pariskrtah, evam evayam asminn andhe’ndho bhavati, srame sramah, parivrkne parivrknah; asyaiva sarirasya ndsam anv esa nasyati, naham atra bhogyam pasyamiti.
1. But Indra, even before reaching the gods saw this danger. Even as this self (the bodily self) is well adorned when this body is well adorned, well dressed when the body is well
dressed, tidy when the body is tidy, that self will also be blind when the body is blind, lame when the body is lame, crippled when the body is crippled. It perishes immediately when the body perishes. I see no good in this.
sramah: one-eyed, eka-netra. S. bhogyam: good, literally what is enjoyable.
2. sa samit, panih punar eyaya, tarn ha prajd-patir uvaca, maghavan,yac chanta-hr day ah pravrajih sardham virocanena, kim icchan punar agama iti. sa hovaca yathaiv a khalv ay am, bhagavah: asmin sarire sadhv alahkrte sadhv alahkrto bhavati, suvasane suvasanah, pariskrte pariskrtah evam evayam asminn andhe’ndho bhavati, srame sramah, parivrkno parivrknah, asyaiva sarirasya nasam anv esa nasyati, naham atra bhogyam pasyamiti.
2. He came back again with fuel in hand. To him Praja-pati said, ‘Desiring what, O Maghavan, have you come back, since you along with Virocana went away with a tranquil heart?' Then he said, ‘Even as this self (the bodily self) is well adorned when this body is well adorned, well dressed when the body is well dressed, tidy when the body is tidy, that self will also be blind when the body is blind, lame when the body is lame, crippled when the body is crippled. It perishes immediately, when the body perishes. I see no good in this.’
Indra evidently was not satisfied with the theory of the self as body.
pravrajih: pragatavan asi.
3. evam evaisa, maghavan, itv hovaca, etam tv eva, te bhuyo ’nuvyakhydsyami', vasaparani dvatrimsatam varsaniti. sa hapa- rani dvatrimsatam varsany uvasa, tasmai hovaca.
3. ‘So is he indeed, O Maghavan.’ Said he {Praja-pati) . ‘However, I will explain this further to you. Live with me another thirty-two years.’ Then he lived with him another thirty-two years. To him he then said:
506 The Principal Upanisads VIII. io. 4.
vavraja; sa haprapyaiva devan etad bhayam dadarsa; tad yady, apidam sariram andharn bhavati, anandhah sa bhavati, yadi sramam asramah, naivaiso ’sya dosena dusyati.
1. He who moves about happy in a dream, he is the self, said he, he is the immortal, the fearless. He is Brahman. Then he went forth with a tranquil heart. But even before reaching the gods he saw this danger. Even though this self is not blind (when the body) is blind, is not lame (when the body) is lame, though he does not suffer defects from the defects (of the body).
mahiyamanah: (moves) happy.
aneka-vidhdn svapna-bhogan anubhavati. S. He experiences different kinds of satisfaction in a dream.
• The dreaming self does not suffer from the defects of the body. naivaisa svapnatmasya dehasya dosena dusyati. S.
2. na vadhenasya hanyate, nasya sramyena sramah, ghnanti tv evainam, vicchadayantivapriyavetteva bhavati, api roditiva, naham atra bhogyam pasyamiti.
2. He is not slain (when the body) is slain. He is not one-eyed (when the body) is one-eyed, yet it is as if they kill him, as if they unclothe him. He comes to experience as it were what is unpleasant, he even weeps as it were. I see no good in this.
vicchadayanti: unclothe, from the root chad, v. vicchayayanti: tear to pieces. See B.U. IV. 3. 20.
Even the dreaming self is subject to pleasure and pain.
3. sa samit-pdnih punar eyaya. tarn ha praja-patir uvaca : maghavan, yac chanta-hrdayah pravrdjih, kim icchan punar agama iti. sa hovaca, tad yady apidam, bhagavah, sariram andharn bhavati, anandhah sa bhavati, yadi sramam asramah, naivaiso’ sya dosena dusyati.
3. He came back again with fuel in hand to him. Praja-pati said, ‘Desiring what, O Maghavan, have you come back since you went away with a tranquil heart ?’ Then he said, ‘Venerable Sir, even though this self is not blind (when the body) is blind, lame (when the body) is lame, even though he does not suffer defects from the defects of the body.
4. na vadhenasya hanyate, nasya sramyena sramah, ghnanti tv evainam vicchadayantiva apriyavettaiva bhavati, api roditiva, naham atra bhogyam pasyamiti, evam evaisa, maghavan, iti hovaca etam tv eva te bhuyo nuvyakhydsyami. vasaparani
dvatrimsatam varsaniti. sa haparani dvatrimsatam varsany uvasa, tasmai hovaca.
4. ‘He is not slain (when the body) is slain. He is not lame (when the body) is lame, yet it is as if they kill him, as if they unclothe him. He comes to experience as it were what is unpleasant, he even weeps as it were. I see no good in this.’ ‘So is he indeed, 0 Maghavan,’ said he ( Praja-pati ). ‘However, I will explain this further to you. Live with me another thirty- two years.' Then he lived with him another thirty-two years. To him he then said:
In these two stages the self experiences either external or internal objects, but in the next stage the self exists without the experience of objects, external or internal.
1. tad yatraitat suptah samastah samprasannah svapnam na - vijanati, esa atmeti hovaca, etad amrtam abhayam etad brahmeti. sa ha santa-hrdayah pravavraja, sa haprdpyaiva devan etad bhayam dadarsa, naha khalv ayam evam sampraty atmanam janati, ayam aham asmiti, no evemdni bhutani, vinasam evapito bhavati, naham atra bhogyam pasyamiti.
1. When a man is asleep, composed, serene, and knows no dream, that is the self, said he, that is the immortal, the fearless. That is Brahman. Then he went forth with tranquil heart. Even before reaching the gods he saw this danger. In truth this one does not know himself that ‘I am he,’ nor indeed the things here. He has become one who has gone to annihilation. I see no good in this.
Indra feels that if there are no objects of which we are conscious, even the subject becomes destroyed.
2. sa samit-panih punar eyaya. tarn ha praja-patir uvaca, maghavan, yacchanta-hrdayah pravrajih, kirn icchan punar agama iti. sa hovaca: naha khalv ayam, bhagavah, evam sampraty atmanam janati, ayam aham asmiti, no evemdni bhutani. vinasam evapito bhavati, naham atra bhogyam pasyamiti.
508 The Principal Upanisads
said, ‘Desiring what, O Maghavan, have you come back, since you went away with a tranquil heart?’ Then he said, ‘Venerable Sir, in truth this one does not know himself that I am he, nor indeed the things here. He has become one who has gone to annihilation. I see no good in this.’
The self is not the undifferenced consciousness of deep sleep. It is the false infinite. Quietistic trance is not final freedom.
3. evam evai$a, maghavan, iti hovaca, etam tv eva te bhuyo' nuvydkhyasyami, no evanyatraitasmat, vasaparani pahca var- saniti. sa haparani panca varsany uvasa. tany eka-satam sam- peduh. etat tad yad, ahuh eka-satam, ha vai varsani maghavan prajapatau brahmacaryam uvasa. tasmai hovaca.
3. So is he, indeed, O Maghavan, said he. However, I will explain this further to you and there is nothing else besides this. Live with me for another five years. Then he lived with him for another five years. That makes one hundred and one years and so people say that, verily, for one hundred and one years Maghavan lived with Praja-pati the disciplined life of a student of sacred knowledge. To him (Indra) (. Praja-pati ) then said:
there is nothing else besides this: it is the highest self.
1. maghavan, martyam va idarh sartram attam mrtyuna, tad asydmrtasydsarirasyatmano dhisthdnam, atto vai sasarirah, priyapriyabhyam, na vai sasanrasya satah priyapriyayor apahatir asti, asanram va va santam na priyapriye sprsatah.
1. O Maghavan, mortal, verily, is this body. It is held by death. But it is the support of that deathless, bodiless self. Verily, the incarnate self is held by pleasure and pain. Verily, there is no freedom from pleasure and pain for one who is incarnate. Verily, pleasure and pain do not touch one who is bodiless.
2. asariro vayuh, abhram, vidyut, stanayitnur asarirany etani. tad yathaitany amusmad akasdt samutthaya param jyotir upa- sampadya svena svena rupenabhinispadyante.
2. Bodiless is air, clouds, lightning, thunder, these are bodi¬ less. Now as these, when they arise from yonder space and reach the highest light appear each with its own form.
3. evam evaisa samprasado smac charirat samutthaya par aril jyotir upasampadya svena rupenabhinispadyate, sa uttamah purusah, sa tatra paryeti, jaksat kridan ramamanah stnbhir vd yanair vd jriatibhir vd nopajanarii smarann idarit sariram: sa yatha prayogya acarane yuktah, evam evayam asmin iarire prano yuktah.
3. Even so that serene one when he rises up from this body and reaches the highest light appears in his own form. Such a person is the Supreme Person. There such a one moves about, laughing, playing, rejoicing with women, chariots or relations, not remembering the appendage of this body. As an animal is attached to a cart so is life attached to this body.
The self enjoys these pleasures as an inward spectator only and does not identify itself with them. The spirit is joined to the body as a horse to the cart. The relation is external, dehadivilaksanam atmano rupam. £. See S.B. IV. 4. 1.
4. atha yatraitad akasam anu ■ visannam caksuh, sa caksusah purusah darsanaya caksuh; atha yo veda: idarii jighraniti, sa atma gandhaya ghranam, atha yo veda: idam abhivyaharamti sa atma, abhivyaharaya vak, atha yo veda; idarii srnavamti, sa atma, sravanaya, srotram.
4. Now when the eye is thus turned to space, that is the seeing person, the eye is for seeing. Now he knows ‘let me smell this,’ that is the self, the nose is for smelling. Now he who knows ‘let me utter this,’ that is the self, the voice is for uttering. Now he who knows ‘let me hear this’ that is the self, the ear is for hearing.
The perceiver is the self, the sense organs are the instruments for perception.
5. atha yo veda; idam manvaniti sa atma, mano’sya daivariit caksuh, sa va esa etena daivena caksusa manasaitan kaman pasyan ramate.
5. Now he who knows, let me think this, he is the self, the mind is his divine eye. He, verily, seeing these pleasures through his divine eye, the mind rejoices.
510 The Principal Upanisads VIII. 13. 1.
tesam sarve ca loka attah sarve ca kamah, sa sarvams ca lokan apnoti sarvams ca kaman, yas tam atmanam anuvidya vijanati, iti ha prajapatir uvaca, prajapatir uvaca.
6. Verily, these gods who are in the Brahma-world meditate on that self. Therefore all worlds and all desires are held by them. He obtains all worlds and all desires who finds the self and understands it. Thus spoke Praja-pati, yea, thus spoke Praja-pati.
attah: held, obtained, praptah. §.
In this account we have a progressive spiritualisation of the idea of self. The highest knowledge is not to be snatched at one leap. It is acquired as the result of methodical endeavour, steady deepen¬ ing of the mind. The essence of the psychical self consists in a directedness to the object of consciousness, its intentionality . We begin with the physical individual, the sensuous outlook, the demoniacal view. Slowly there is the inturning of the mind, a direction to the phenomena of dream and dreamless sleep. Introspection is guided towards the idea of the self. Atman is the highest self. The journey ends in pure spirit, the subject of knowledge which is continuous despite the shutting off of consciousness, which is exalted above waking and sleeping.
A PjEAN of the perfected soul
1. syamac chabalam prapadye, sabaldc chyamam prapadye asva iva romani vidhuya papam, candra iva rahor mukhat pramucya dhutva sariram, akrtam krtatma brahmalokam abhi- sambhavdmi, abhisambhavami.
1. From the dark I pass to the vari-coloured ; from the vari¬ coloured I pass to the dark. Shaking off evil as a horse his hairs, shaking off the body as the moon frees itself from the tnouth of Rahu, I a perfected soul obtain the uncreated Brahma- world, yea, I obtain it.
The sun and the moon are treated as the dogs of Yama, Syama the moon dog and Sabala the sun dog. We must run past these two heavenly bodies coursing across the sky to get to the blessed abode of light. See also K.U. I. 2. 2. In the R.V. it is said that Yama sends forth two dogs, his messengers who search out among men those
who have to join the Fathers: X. 14. 10-12, Pluto’s house has a janitor.
In Indian mythology a lunar eclipse is caused by the demon Rahu’s attempt to swallow the moon.
1. akaso vai nama nama-rupayor nirvahita, te yad antara, tad brahma, tad amrtam, sa atma, praja-pateh sabhdm vesma prapadye, yaso ’ ham bhavami brahmananam, yaso rajham, yaso visam yaso’ ham anuprapatsi: sa haham yasasam yasah: syetam adatkam adatkam syetam lindu mabhigam, lindu mabhigam.
1. Verily, what is called space is the determined of name and form. That within which they are is the Brahman, that is the immortal, that is the self. I pass to Praja-pati’s assembly- hall and abode. I am the glory of the Brahmanas, the glory of the princes, the glory of the people. I have obtained glory. I am the glory of the glories. May I never go to the white, toothless, to the toothless, white, devouring, may I never go to it.
akasa: space. It is used as a name of the Supreme, because like space, Brahman has no body and is subtle: asariratvat suksmatvac ca. &.
Brahman is untouched by concrete existences though they are all sustained by it.
The three castes of Brahmana, raj an and vis, are mentioned here. mabhigam: mabhigaccheyam. S.
1. tadd haitad brahma prajapataya uvaca, praja-patir manave, manuh prajabhyah. dcarya-kulad vedam adhitya yathd-vidhanam, guroh karma ( krtva ) atisesena abhisamavrtya, kutumbe sthitva, sucau dese svadhyayam adhiyanah, dharmikan vidadhat, atmani
512 The Principal Upanisads VIII. 15. 1.
sarvendriyani sampratisthapya, ahimsan sarva-bhutany anyatra tirthebhyah, sa khalv evam vartayan yavad ayusam brahma-lokam abhisampadyate, na ca punar avartate, na ca punar avartate.
I. This Brahma told to Praja-pati, Praja-pati to Manu, Manu to mankind. He who has learned the Veda from the family of a teacher according to rule, in the time left over from doing work for the teacher, he, who after having come back again, settles down in a home of his own, continues the study of what he has learnt and has virtuous sons, he who concentrates all his senses in the self, who practises non-hatred to all creatures except at holy places, he who behaves thus throughout his life reaches the Brahma-world, does not return hither again, yea, he does not return hither again.
dharmika: virtuous sons and pupils: putran iisyarhs ca dharma-yuktan. $.
anyatra tirthebhyah: except at holy places. S. makes out that even travelling as a mendicant causes pain, but a mendicant is allowed to beg for alms at sacred places, bhiksa-nimittam afanadinapi paraplda syat.
The Aitareya Upanisad belongs to the Rg Veda and the Upanisad proper consists of three chapters. This is part of the Aitareya Aranyaka, and the Upanisad begins with the Fourth Chapter of the second Aranyaka, and comprises Chapters IV, V and VI. The preceding parts deal with sacrificial ceremonies like the mahavrata and their interpretations. It is the purpose of the Upanisad to lead the mind of the sacrificer away from the outer ceremonial to its inner meaning. All true sacrifice is inward. £ points out that there are three classes of men who wish to acquire wisdom. The highest consists of those who have turned away from the world, whose minds are freed and collected, who are eager for freedom. For these the Upanisad (Aitareya Aranyaka II. 4-6) is intended. There are others who wish to become free gradually by attaining to the world of Hiranya-garbha. For them the knowledge and worship of prana, life-breath is intended. (. Aitareya Aranyaka II. 1-3). There are still others who care only for worldly possessions. For them the meditative worship of the Samhita is intended. ( Aitareya Aranyaka III).1
1 See £ on Aitareya Aranyaka III. 1. 1.
i. van me manasi pratisthita, mano me vaci pratisthitam; avir avir ma edhi: vedasya ma anisthah. srutam me ma prahasih. anenadhitenahoratran samdadhamy , rtarh vadisyami. satyarh vadisyami: tan mam avatu, tad vaktaram avatu, avatu mam, avatu vaktaram, avatu vaktaram. Aum, santih, santih, sdntih.
i. My speech is well established in my mind. My mind is well established in my speech. 0 Thou manifest one, be manifest for me. Be a nail for my Veda. Do not let go my learning. By this that has been studied, I maintain days and nights. I will speak of the right. I will speak of the true. May that protect me. May that protect the speaker. Let that protect me. Let that protect the speaker. Let that protect the speaker. Aum, peace, peace, peace.
be a nail: let the spirit of the Scriptures be constantly present.
Aitareya Upanisad
1. The self, verily, was (all) this, one only, in the beginning. Nothing else whatsoever winked. He thought, ‘let me now create the worlds.’
See B.U. I. 4. 1.
idam: (all) this, the manifested universe.
one only: Everything is derived from atman to which there is no second.
‘Nothing else whatsoever winked.’ This is by way of refutation of the Sdmkhya dualism. The non-being of matter which is assumed for explaining creation is not external to the Supreme.
2. sa imaml lokan asrjata, ambho maricir mar am apo’do’mbhah parena divam; dyauh pratistha, antariksam mancayah, prthivi maro ya adhastdt td dpah.
2. He created these worlds, water, light rays, death and the waters. This water is above the heaven. The heaven is its support. The light rays are the atmosphere. Death is the earth. What are beneath, they are the waters.
Earth is called mara or death, because all beings on earth die. mriyante asmin bhutani.
‘Although the worlds are composed of the five elements, still from the preponderance of water, they are called by names meaning water such as ambhas, etc.’ £.
3. He thought, ‘Here then are the worlds. Let me now create the guardians of the worlds.’ From the waters themselves, he drew forth the person and gave him a shape.
4. tarn abhyatapat. tasydbhitaptasya mukham nirabhidyata yathdndam: mukhdd vag, vaco'gnir ndsike nirabhidyctam, nasika- bhyam prdnah, prdndd vdyuh, aksini nirabhidyetdm, aksibhyam caksuh, caksusa ddityah, karnau nirabhidyetdm, karndbhyam irotram, srotrdd disah, tvan nirabhidyata, tvaco lomdni, lomabhya osadhi-vanaspatayah, hrdayam nirabhidyata hrdaydn manah,
516 The Principal Upanisads I. 2. 3.
manasas candramah, nabhir nirabhidvata, nabhya apanah, apanan mrtyuh, sisnam nirabhidyata, sisnad retah, retasa apah.
4. He brooded over him. Of him who has thus been brooded over, the mouth was separated out, like an egg. From the mouth speech, from speech fire. The nostrils were separated out: from the nostrils breath, from breath air. The eyes were separated out: from the eyes sight, from sight the sun. The ears were separated out : from the ears hearing and from hearing the quarters of space. The skin was separated out: from the skin the hairs, from the hairs plants and trees. The heart was separated out: from the heart the mind and from the mind, the moon. The navel was separated out: from the navel, the outbreath, from the outbreath death. The generative organ was separated out : from it semen, from semen water.
like an egg: as is the case with an egg when it is hatched: yatha paksinah andarh nirbhidyate evam. S.
1. td eta devatah srsta asmin mahaty arnave prapatan tam asanayd-pipasabhyam anvavarjat; ta enam abruvann, ayatanam nah prajanihi yasmin pratisthita annam adam eti.
1. These divinities thus created fell into this great ocean. (The self) subjected that (person) to hunger and thirst. They said to him (the creator), ‘Find out for us an abode, wherein established we may eat food.’
arnave: in the ocean: samsara is generally compared to an ocean. sarhsar arnave, sarhsar a-samudre. S. prapatan: fell, patitavatyah. $.
2. For them, he brought a cow. They said, ‘Indeed this is not enough for us.' For them he brought a horse. They said, ‘Indeed this is not enough for us.’
gam: gavakrtivisistam pindam. S.
3. For them he brought a person. They said, ‘Well done indeed.’ A person verily is (what is) well done. He said to them, ‘enter into your respective abodes.’
4. agnir vag bhutva mukham pravisad, vayuh prano bhutva nasike pravisad, adityas caksur bhutvaksini pravisad, diiah irotram bhutva karnau pravisann, osadhi-vanaspatayo lomani bhutva tvacam pravisams candrama mano bhutva hrdayam pravisan, mrtyur apano bhutva nabhirn pravisad, apo reto bhutva sisnam pravisan.
4. Fire, becoming speech, entered the mouth. Air becoming breath, entered the nostrils. The sun, becoming sight, entered the eyes. The quarters of space, becoming hearing, entered the ears. Plants and trees, becoming hairs, entered the skin. The moon, becoming the mind, entered the heart. Death, becoming the outbreath, entered the navel : water becoming semen entered the generative organ.
5. tam asanaya-pipase abrutam avabhyam abhiprajanihiti. te abravtt, etasv eva vam devatdsvdbhajamy , etasu bhaginyau karo- miti: tasmad yasyai kasyai ca devatayai havir grhyate bhaginya vevasydm asanaya-pipase bhavatah.
5. To him (the creator), hunger and thirst said, ‘For us (also) find out an abode.' He said to them, ‘I assign you a place in these divinities and make you sharers with them. Therefore to whatever divinity an offering is made, hunger and thirst become partakers in it.
2. He brooded over the waters and from the waters so brooded over issued a form. That whichever was produced as that form is, verily, food.
518 The Principal Upanisads I. 3. 8.
3. tad enad abhisrstam parahtyajighamsat: tad vacajighrksat tan nasaknod vaca grahitum; sa yad hainad vacagrahaisyad abhivyahrtya haivannam atrapsyat.
3. This, so created wished to flee away. (The person) sought to seize it with speech. He was not able to take hold of it by speech. If, indeed, he had taken hold of it by speech, even with speech, one would have had the satisfaction of food.
By merely talking of food, one will not be satisfied. ajighrksat: sought to seize, grahitum aicchat. S. atrapsyat: would have had satisfaction, trpto’bhavisyat. £.
4. tat pranenajighrksat , tan nasaknot pranena grahitum; sa yad hainat pranenagrahaisyad abhipranya haivannam atrapsyat.
4. (The person) sought to seize it with breath. He was not able to take hold of it by breath. If, indeed, he had taken hold of it by breath, even with breath one would have had the satisfaction of food.
By merely breathing toward food, no satisfaction of the appetite is possible.
5. (The person) sought to seize it with sight. He was not able to take hold of it by sight. If, indeed, he had taken hold of it by sight, even with the sight (of food) one would have had the satisfaction of food.
6. tac chrotrenajighrksat, tan nasaknoc chrotrena grahitum; sa yad hainac chrotrenagrahaisyac chrutva haivannam atrapsyat.
6. (The person) sought to seize it with hearing. He was not able to take hold of it by hearing. If indeed, he had taken hold of it by hearing, even with the hearing (of food), one would have had the satisfaction of food.
7. (The peYson) sought to seize it by the skin. He was not able to take hold of it by the skin. If, indeed, he had taken hold of it by the skin, even with the skin (i.e. by touching food) one would have had the satisfaction of food.
able to take hold of it by the mind. If, indeed, he had taken hold of it by the mind, even with the mind (i.e. by thinking of food), one would have had the satisfaction of food.
9. tac chisnenajighrksat, tan ndsaknoc chisnena grahitum; sa yad hainac chisnendgrahaisyad visrjya haivannam atrapsyat.
9. (The person) sought to see it by the generative organ. He was not able to take hold of it by the generative organ. If, indeed, he had taken hold of it by the generative organ, even by emission one would have had the satisfaction of food.
10. Then, the person, sought to seize it by the out-breath. He got it. The grasper of food is what air is. This one living on food, is, verily, what air is.
annayuh: anna-bandhano anna-jivano vai prasiddhah. S.
11. sa iksata: katham nvidarhmadrte syaditi. saiksata, katarena prapadya iti. sa iksata, yadi vdcabhivydhrtam; yadi pranenabhi- pranitam, yadi caksusa drstam, yadi srotrena srutam, yadi tvaca sprstam, yadi manasa dhyatam, yady apanenabhyapanitam, yadi sisnena visrstam, atha ko’ham iti.
11. He thought, How can this food exist without me? He thought, through what (way) shall I enter it? He thought (again), If speaking is through speech, if breathing is through breath, if seeing is through the eyes, hearing is through the ears, if touching is through the skin, if meditation is through the mind, if breathing out is through the outbreath, if emission is through the generative organ, then who am I ?
Speech, etc., are effects and serve a master. The body is like a city and there must be a lord of the city : karya-kdrana-samghdta-lak- sanam puram. It is for the enjoyer, svamy-artham. So the enjoyer must enter the body. So the question is raised, ‘through what way shall I enter it?' ‘The forepart of the foot and the crown of the head are the two ways of entrance into this body, the collection of several parts. By which of these two ways shall I enter this city, this bundle of causes and effects?’ S.
520 The Principal Upanisads I. 3. 14.
sathas tray ah svapnah, ay am avasatho’yam avasatho’yam avasatha iti.
12. After opening that very end (of the head), by that way he entered. This is the opening known as vidrti. This is the pleasing. For that, there are three abodes; three kinds of dreams as: this is the abode; this is the abode; this is the abode.
siman: the very end (of the head), the saggital suture. This is the highest centre of spiritual consciousness, called the sahasra, the thousand-petalled lotus. It is said to be situated in the centre of the brain :
sa srastesvara etam eva murdhasimanam kesa-vibhagavasanam vidarya cchidram krtva etayd dvara margena imam lokam karya- karana-samghatam prapadyata pravivesa. S.
three kinds of drems: Reference is to the three conditions of waking, dream and deep sleep of the Mandukya U. The ordinary condition of waking is said to be a dream as distinguished from the state of enlightenment.
§ explains that the right eye is the abode during the waking state: the inner mind ( antar-manas ) during dream and the space of the heart ( hydayakasa ) during profound sleep. He offers an alternative interpretation. The three abodes are the body of one’s father, the womb of one’s mother and one’s own body.
13. sa jato bhiitany abhivyaikhyat kim ihanyam vavadi?ad iti, sa etam eva purusam brahma tatamam apasyat, idam adariam iti.
13. He, being born, perceived the created beings, what else here would one desire to speak ? He peraeived this very person Brahman all-pervading, ‘I have seen this,' he said.
tatamam: all-pervading, takarenaikena luptena tatatamam, vyaptata- mam paripurnam akasavat.
14. tasmad idandro namedandro ha vai ndma tarn idandram santam indr a ity acaksate paroksena h paroksa-priya iva hi dev ah.
14. Therefore his name is Idandra'. Indeed, Idandra is the name. Of him who is Idandra, they speak indirectly (cryptically) as Indr a. Gods appear indeed to be fond of the cryptic.
idandra: the perceiver of this.
indr a: is a word denoting an object beyond the range of vision.
Aitareya Upanisad
1. puruse ha va ay am adito garbho bhavati, yad etad retas tad etat sarvebhyo’hgebhyas tejah sambhutam, atmany evatmdnam vibharti, tad yatha striyam sihcaty athainaj janayati, lad asya prathamarh janma.
1. In a person, indeed, this one first becomes an embryo. That which is semen is the vigour come together from all the limbs. In the self, indeed, one bears a self. When he sheds this in a woman, he then gives it birth. That is its first birth.
2. tat striya atmabhuyarh gacchati, yatha svam ahgam tatha, tasmad enam na hinasti, sasyaitam dtmanam atra gatam bhavayati.
2. It becomes one with the woman, just as a limb of her own. Therefore it does not hurt her. She nourishes this self of his that has come into her.
bhavayati: nourishes, vardhayati, paripalayati $.
3. sa bhavayatri bhavayitavya bhavati, tarn stri garbham vibharti, so' gra eva kumaram, janmano’ gre dhi bhavayati, sa yat kumaram janmano’ gre dhibhav ay aty dtmanam eva tad bhavayaty esath lokanam samtatya evam samtata hime lokah, tad asya dvitiyam janma.
3. She, being the nourisher, should be nourished. The woman bears him as an embryo. He nourishes the child before birth and after the birth. While he nourishes the child before birth and after the birth, he thus nourishes his own self, for the continuation of these worlds; for thus are these worlds con¬ tinued. This is one’s second birth.
agre: before (birth), prag janmanah. S. adhi: after (birth), urdhvam janmanah. S.
dtmanam: his own self. The father is said to be born as the son. pitur atmaiva hi putra-rupena jayate. S.
4. so’syayam atma punyebhyah karmabhyah pratidhiyate, athasyayam itara atma krta-krtyo vayo-gatah praiti, sa itah prayann eva punar jayate, tad asya trtiyam janma. tad uktam rsina.
4. He (the son) who is one self of his (father) is made his substitute for (performing) pious deeds. Then the other self of
522 The Principal Upanisads
his (father’s) having accomplished his work, having reached his age, departs. So departing hence, he is, indeed, born again. That is his third birth. That has been stated by the seer.
prayann eva: departing, sariram parity ajann eva. S.
satam ma para ayasir araksann aghah syeno javasa nira- diyam
iti, garbha evaitac chayd.no vama-deva evam uvaca.
5. ‘While I was in the womb, I knew all the births of the gods. A hundred strongholds made of steel guarded me. I burst out of it, with the swiftness of a hawk.’ Vama-deva spoke this verse even when he was lying in the womb.
6. sa evam vidvan asmac charira-bheddd urdhva utkramy- amusmin svarge loke sarvdn kdman aptvdmrtah samabhavat, samabhavat.
6. He, knowing thus and springing upward, when the body is dissolved, enjoyed all desires in that world of heaven and became immortal, yea, became (immortal).
Aitareya Upanisad
1. ko’yarn atmeti vayam upasmahe, katarah sa dtmd, yena va pasyati, yena va srnoti, yena va gandhan ajighrati, yena va vacant vyakaroti, yena va svadu casvadu ca vijanati.
1. 'Who is this one?’ ‘We worship him as the self.’ ‘Which one is the self?’ ‘He by whom one sees, or by whom one hears, or by whom one smells odours, or by whom one articulates speech or by whom.one discriminates the sweet and the unsweet.’
Another reading will give ‘Who is he whom we worship as the self? Which one is the self? He by whom . . .’
2. yad etad hr day am manas caitat, samjhanam ajhanam vijhanam prajhanam medha drstir dhrtir matir manisa jutih smrtih samkaipah kratur asuh kamo vasa iti sarvany evaitani prajhanasya nama-dheyani bhavanti.
2. That which is heart, this mind, that is consciousness, perception, discrimination, intelligence, wisdom, insight, stead¬ fastness, thought, thoughtfulness, impulse, memory, concep¬ tion, purpose, life, desire, control, all these, indeed, are names of intelligence.
Here we find a classification of various mental functions, the different kinds of perception, conception, intuition as well as feeling and will.
3. esa brahmaisa indra, esa praja-patir ete sarve devd imani ca pahca mahabhutani, prthivi vayur akasa dpo jyothhsity etani- mdni ca ksudra-misramva, bljanltarani cetarani candajani ca jarujani ca svcdajani codbhijjani casvd gavah purusa hastino yat kin ccdam prani jahgamam ca patatri ca yac ca sthavaram, sarvam tat prajha-netram prajhanc pratisthitam, prajha-netro lokah prajha pratisthd, prajhanam brahma.
3. He is Brahma, he is Indra; he is Praja-pati, he is all these gods; and these five great elements, namely, earth, air, ether, water, light; these things and these which are mingled of the fire, as it were, the seeds of one sort and another; those born from an egg, and those born from a womb, and those born from sweat, and those born from a sprout; horses, cows, persons and elephants, whatever breathing thing there is here, whether moving or flying or what is stationary. All this is guided by intelligence, is established in intelligence. The world is guided by intelligence. The support is intelligence. Brahma is intelligence.
524 The Principal Upanisads
brahma: hiranya-garbhah pranah prajhatma. praja-patih: yah prathamajah sarirl.
Intelligence is said to be the basis of all existence and the final reality. We see here the anticipations of the Buddhist Vijhanavada.
4. He, with this intelligent self, soared upward from this world and having enjoyed all desires in that world of heaven became immortal, yea became (immortal).
he: the sage Vama-deva.
TAITTIRlY A UP AN I SAD
The Taittinya Upanisad belongs to the Taittiriya school of the Yajur Veda. It is divided into three sections called Vallis. The first is the Siksa V alii. Siksa is the first of the six Vedangas (limbs or auxiliaries of the Veda) ; it is the science of phonetics and pronunciation. The second is the Brahmdnanda V alii and the third is the Bhrgu V alii. These two deal with the knowledge of the Supreme Self, paramatma-jndna.
1. harih aum. sarii no mitras sarii varunah, sam.no bhavaty aryama, sarii na indro brhaspatih, sarii no visnur uru-kramah; namo brahmane, namas te vayo, tyam eva pratyaksam brahmasi, tvam eva pratyaksam brahma vadisyami, rtarii vadisyami, satyarii vadisyami;
tan mam avatu, tad vaktaram avatu, avatu mam, avatu vaktaram, aurii santih santih santih.
1. Aum, May Mitra (the sun) be propitious to us; may Varuna (be) propitious (to us). May Aryaman (a form of the sun) be propitious to us; May Indra and Brhaspati be propitious to us; May Visnu, of wide strides, be propitious to us.
Salutation to Brahma. Salutation to thee, 0 Vayu. Thou, indeed, art the visible (perceptible) Brahman. Of thee, indeed, the perceptible Brahman, will I speak. I will speak of the right. I will speak of the true ; may that protect me ; may that protect the speaker. Let that protect me; let that protect the speaker. Aum, peace, peace, peace.
This is the first section. It is an invocation to God to remove the obstacles in the way of attaining spiritual wisdom, para-vidydm drabhamd.no vighna-santyai devatah prarthayate. R.
See R.V. I. 90. 9.
uru-kramah: of wide strides, vistxrna-kramah. S. It is a reference to Visnu’s incarnation as T rivikrama or Vamana whose strides were wide. Sdnti or peace is repeated thrice, with reference to ddhyatmika, ddhibhautika and adhidaivika aspects. S.
528 The Principal Upanisads I. 3. 2.
quantity, force or stress, articulation, combination. Thus has been declared the lesson on pronunciation.
One must learn to recite the text of the Upanisads carefully and so a lesson in pronunciation is given. We must learn the text before we can ascertain its meaning : vastupdsanam hitva prathamatah sabdopasana-vidhane. A.
pahcasv adhikaranesu, adhilokam, adhijyotisam, adhividyam, adhiprajam, adhyatmam: eta mahasamhita ity dcaksate;
athadhilokam , prthivi purva-rupam, dyaur uttar a-rupam , akasas sandhih, vayus samdhanam: ity adhilokam.
Now next we will expound the sacred teaching of combina¬ tion under five heads, with regard to the world, with regard to the luminaries, with regard to knowledge, with regard to progeny, with regard to oneself. These are great combinations, they say.
Now with regard to the world: the earth is the prior form, the heaven the latter form, the ether is their junction, the air is the connection. Thus with regard to the world.
brahma-varcasam: the splendour of brahma-knowledge. In Lalita- vistara we are told that when the Buddha was in samadhi, a ray called the ornament of the light of gnosis moved above his head, jhana- lokalahkaram nama rasmih. Cp. B.G. XIV. 11. samhita: a conjunction of two words or letters of the text. The mind of the pupil is directed to the symbolic significance.
Master and disciple pray that the light of sacred knowledge may illumine them both, that they both may attain the glory of wisdom.
2. Now as to the luminaries; fire is the prior form, sun the latter form. Water is their junction, lightning is the connection. Thus with regard to the luminaries.
3. Now as to knowledge: the teacher is the prior form; the pupil is the latter form, knowledge is their junction; instruction is the connection. Thus with regard to knowledge.
Patanjali in his Mahabhasya (Kielhorn’s ed., p. 6) says there are four steps or stages through which knowledge becomes fruitful. The first is when we acquire it from the teacher, the second when we study it, the third when we teach it to others and the fourth when we apply it. Real knowledge arises only when these four stages are fulfilled: caturbhis ca prakdrair vidyopayukta bhavaty agama-kalena svadhyaya-kalena pravacana-kalena vyavahara-kaleneti.
4. Now with regard to progeny: the mother is the prior form, the father is the latter form: progeny is their junction, pro¬ creation is the connection. Thus with regard to progeny.
5. Now with regard to the self: the lower jaw is the prior form, the upper jaw is the latter form, speech is the junction, the tongue is the connection. Thus with regard to the self.
6. itima mahasamhitah , ya evam eta mahdsamhita vyakhydta veda sarhdhiyate prajaya pasubhih, brahma-varcasenannadyena suvargena lokena.
6. These are the great combinations. He who knows these great combinations thus expounded becomes endowed with offspring, cattle, with the splendour of Brahma— knowledge, with food to eat, and with the heavenly world.
He will prosper here and hereafter.
A TEACHER'S PRAYER
sa mcndro mcdhayd sprunotu amrtasya dev a dharano bhuyasam.
530 The Principal Upanisads I. 4. 2.
iarxram me vicar sanam, jihva me madhumattamd , karnabhyam bhuri viiruvam, brahmanah koso’si medhayapihitah, srutam me gopdya.
1. May that Indra who is the greatest in the Vedic hymns, who is of all forms, who has sprung into being from immortal hymns, may he cheer me with intelligence, O God, may I be the possessor of immortality.
May my body be very vigorous; may my tongue be exceeding sweet; may I hear abundantly with my ears. Thou art the sheath of Brahman, veiled by intelligence. Guard for me what I have heard.
This is a prayer for acquiring retentiveness and for physical and moral health.
The syllable aum is pre-eminent among the Vedic hymns. It is ‘of all forms’ as the whole universe is its manifestation. ‘Of Brahman, of the Paramatman or the Highest Self, Thou art the sheath, as of a sword, being the seat of His manifestation.’ S. madhumattamd: exceeding sweet, madhumatl, atisayena madhura- bhasinl. S.
2. avahantx vitanvana, kurvanacxram atmanah vasamsi mama gavas ca annapane ca sarvada tato me sriyam avaha lomaiam pasubhis saha svaha. a mayantu brahmacarinah svaha, vi mayantu brahmacarinas svaha, pra mayantu brahmacarinas svaha, da mayantu brahmacarinas svaha, sa mayantu brahmacarinas svaha.
2. Bringing to me and increasing always clothes and cattle, food and drink, doing this long, do thou, then, bring to me prosperity in wool along with cattle. May students of sacred knowledge come to me from every side. Hail. May students of sacred knowledge come to me variously. Hail. May students of sacred knowledge come to me well equipped. Hail. May students of sacred knowledge come to me self-controlled. Hail. May students of sacred knowledge come to me peaceful. Hail.
aciram: soon, presently, aclram, ksipram eva. S.
To the undisciplined, wealth is a source of evil: amedhaso hi srlr anarthdyaiveti. £. Not so to the disciplined. What matters is not the possession or non-possession of wealth but the attitude to it. We may possess wealth and be indifferent to it; we may possess no wealth and yet be concerned with securing it by any means. There is no worship of poverty.
Vasistha tells Rama: —
dhanam dr jay a kdkutstha dhanamulam idam jagat antaram ndbhijandmi nirdhanasya mrtasya ca.
Acquire wealth. This world has for its root wealth. I do not see the difference between a poor man and a dead one.
3. yaso jane’sani svaha, sreyan vasyaso' sdni svaha, tarn tvd bhaga pravisani svaha, sa ma, bhaga, pravisa svaha, tasmin saha- sra-sakhe ni bhagaham tvayi mrje svaha, yathapah pravata yanti, yatha masa aharjaram, evam mam brahmacarinah, dhdtardyantu sarvatas svaha, prativeso’si pra ma bhahi pra ma padyasva.
May I be more renowned than the very rich. Hail.
Into thee thyself, O Gracious Lord, may I enter. Hail.
Do thou thyself, O Gracious Lord, enter into me. Hail.
In that self of thine, of a thousand branches, 0 Gracious Lord, am I cleansed. Hail.
As waters run downward, as months into the year, so into me, may students of sacred knowledge come,
O Disposer of all, come from every side. Hail.
Thou art a refuge, to me do thou shine forth; unto me do thou come.
of a thousand branches: the different hymns and the gods meant by them are varied expressions of the Divine One.
pravisami: I enter. The knowledge of God is said to be a penetration of God into the inmost substance of the soul. When God is conceived as external to the individual, in heaven or in Olympus, when our feeling towards Him is one of love and respect, inspired by His majesty and power, our religion of fear, obedience and even love is external. When, on the other hand, we are driven by an inner lack or insufficiency, when we cry for the highest reality or God which or who comes into us, enters us, removes our dross, when we unite ourselves to Him, our religion becomes inward, mystical. The mystic longs for inner completion by participation which is the real meaning of imitation. This is not always accompanied by ecstatic rapture. It may be a quiet sense of union which may have a few high points of emotion. Cp. John Ruysbroeck: ‘In this storm of love two spirits strive together; the spirit of God and our own spirit. God, through the Holy Ghost, inclines Himself towards us; and thereby we are touched in love. And our spirit, by God’s working and by the power of love, presses and inclines itself into God; and thereby God is touched. These two spirits, that is, our own spirit and the spirit of God, sparkle and shine one into the other, and each shows to the other its face. . . . Each demands of the other all that it is; and each offers to the other all that it is, and invites it to all that it is. This makes the lovers melt into each other. . . . Thereby the spirit is burned up in the fire of love, and enters so deeply into the touch
532 The Principal Upanisads I. 5. 4.
of God, that it is overcome in all its cravings, and turned to nought in all its works, and empties itself.’ Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage, II. 54.
1. bhur bhuvas suvah iti va etas tisro vyahrtayah, tasam u ha smaitam caturthim, mahacamasyah, pravedayate, maha iti, tad brahma, sa atma, ahgany anya devatah, bhur iti va ayam lokah, bhuva ity antariksam, suvar ity asau lokah, maha ity adityah, adityena va va sarve loka mahiyante.
1. Bhuh, Bhuvah, suvah, verily these are the three utterances of them; verily, that one, the fourth, mahah, did the son of Mahacamasa make known. That is Brahman, that is the self, its limbs (are) the other gods.
Bhuh is this world; Bhuvah, the atmosphere: Suvah is the yonder world: mahah is the sun; by the sun indeed do all worlds become great.
Vyahrtis are so called because they are uttered in various rituals.
Its limbs the other gods: mahah is Brahman, the Absolute ; it is the self; all other gods are subordinate to the Absolute.
2. bhur iti va agnih, bhuva iti vayuh, suvar ity adityah, maha iti candramah, candramasa va va sarvani jyotirhsi mahiyante.
2. Bhuh, verily, is fire; Bhuvah is the air; Suvah is the sun; mahah is the moon; by the moon, indeed, do all the luminaries become great.
3. Bhuh, verily, is the Rg verses; Bhuvah is the Saman chants, Suvah is the Yajus formulas. Mahah is Brahman. By Brahman indeed, do all the Vedas become great.
4. Bhuh is the inbreath; Bhuvah is the outbreath; Suvah is the diffused breath, mahah is the food. By food, indeed, do all the vital breaths become great.
5. ta va etas catasrai caturdha, catasrai catasro vyahrtayah, tayo veda, sa veda brahma, sarvesmai deva balim avahanti.
5. Verily, these four are fourfold. The utterances are four and four. He who knows these knows Brahman. To him all the gods offer tribute.
1. sa y a eso’ntarhrdaya akasah, tasminn ay am puruso mano- mayah, amrto hiranmayah, antarena taluke, ya esa stana ivava- lambate, sendrayonih, yatrasau kesanto vivartate, vyapohya sirsa- kapale, bhur ity agnau pratitisthati , bhuva iti vayau.
1. This space that is within the heart — therein is the Person consisting of mind, immortal and resplendent. That which hangs down between the palates like a nipple, that is the birth¬ place of Indra; where is the edge of the hair splitting up the skull of the head. In fire, as Bhuh, he rests, in air as Bhuvah.
See M.U. II. 2. 6; Maitri VI. 30; VII. n. hiranmayah: resplendent, jyotirmayah. S.
Brahman who is said to be remote is here envisaged as close to us. Though the Supreme is present everywhere, here we are taught to look upon Him as residing in one’s own heart. S. says that the Supreme is said to be in the heart as a help to meditation, even as an image is used for deity, upalabdhyartham upasanartham ca hydayakasa sthanam ucyate, salagrama iva visnoh. See C.U. VIII. 1-6; III. 14. Here we find a transition from the view that the heart is the seat of the soul to the other view that the brain is the seat of the soul. While the soul is an unextended entity which cannot have a spatial locus, psychologists discuss the nature of the part or parts of the body with which the soul is closely associated.
For Aristotle, the seat of the soul was in the heart.1
1 Cp. Hammond: ‘The diseases of the heart are the most rapidly and certainly fatal; (2) psychical affections such as fear, sorrow, and joy cause an immediate disturbance of the heart; (3) the heart is the part which is the first to be formed in the embryo.’ Aristotle's Psychology quoted in Ranade: A Constructive Survey of the Upanisadic Philosophy (1926), p. 13 1. ‘If by the seat of the mind is meant not being more than the locality with which it stands in immediate dynamic relations, we are certain to be right in saying that its seat is somewhere in the cortex of the brain.’ William James: Principles of Psychology, Vol. I, p. 214.
534 The Principal Upanisads I. 7. 1.
The reference here is to the susumna nadl of the Yoga system which is said to pass upward from the heart, through the mid region of the throat up to the skull where the roots of the hair lie apart. When it reaches this spot, the nadl passes up, breaking up the two regions of the head. That is the birthplace of Indra. indrayonih indrasya brahmanah yonih margah. $. indrasya paramatmano yonih sthanam. R. It is the path by which we attain our true nature. See Maitri. VI. 21; B.U. IV. 4. 2.
2. suvar ity aditye, maha iti brahmani, apnoti svarajyam apnoti manasas-patim, vak-patis caksus-patih srotra-patih vijhana- patih, etat tato bhavati, akasa sariram brahma, satyatma prana- ramam mana anandam santi samrddham amrtam iti prdcina- yogyopdsva.
2. In the sun as Suvah, in Brahman as Mahah. He attains self-rule. He attains to the lord of manas, the lord of speech, the lord of sight, the lord of hearing, the lord of intelligence — this and more he becomes, even Brahman whose body is space, whose self is the real, whose delight is life, whose mind is bliss, who abounds in tranquillity, who is immortal. Thus do thou contemplate, O Pracinayogya.
He who contemplates in this matter becomes the lord of all organs, the soul of all things and filled with peace and perfection. This passage brings out that the end is greater existence, not death; we should not sterilise our roots and dry up the wells of life. We have to seize and transmute the gifts we possess.
1. prthivy antariksam dyaur diso va avantaradisah, agnir vayur adityas candrama naksatrani, apa osadhayo vanaspataya akasa atma ity adhibhutam.
athadhyatmam, pranovyanopana udanas samanah cak$u£ irotram mano vak tvak, carma mamsam snavasthi majja etad adhividhaya rsir avocat. pahktam va idarn sarvam pahktenaiva pahktams sprnoti.
Fire, air, sun, moon and stars.
Water, plants, trees, ether and the body.
Thus with regard to material existence.
Now with regard to the self. prana, vyana, apana, udana and sarnana sight, hearing, mind, speech, touch skin, flesh, muscle, bone, marrow.
Having ordained in this manner, the sage said: Fivefold verily, is this all. With the fivefold, indeed, does one win the fivefold.
See B.U. I. 4. 17.
1. aum iti brahma, aum itidam sarvam, aum ity etad anukrtir ha sma va apyo sravayetyasravayanti, aum iti samani gayanti, aum somiti sastrani samsanti, aum ity adhvaryuh, pratigaram pratigrnati, aum iti brahma prasauti, aum ity agnihotram anujanati, aum iti brahmanah pravaksyann aha, brahmopapna- vaniti, brahmaivopapnoti.
1. Aum is Brahman. Aum is this all. Aum, this, verily, is compliance. On uttering, ‘recite,’ they recite. With aum, they sing the saman chants. With aum, som, they recite the prayers With aum the Advaryu priest utters the response. With aum does the Brahma (priest) utter the introductory eulogy. With aum, one assents to the offering to fire. With aum, a Brahmana begins to recite, may I obtain Brahman) thus wishing, Brahman, verily, does he obtain.
‘The pranava which is a mere sound, is, no doubt, insentient in itself and cannot therefore be conscious of the worship offered to it; still, as in the case of the worship offered to an image, it is the Supreme ( Isvara ) who, in all cases, takes note of the act and dispenses the fruits thereof.’ A.
Aum is the symbol of both Brahman and Isvara. pratimeva visnoh. S. pratimady arcana iva sarvatra Isvara eva. phala-ddta. A.
The Principal Upanisads Section 9
1. rtarh ca svadhyaya pravacane ca, satyam ca svadhyaya pravacane ca, tap as ca svadhyaya pravacane ca, damas ca svadhyaya pravacane ca, samas ca svadhyaya pravacane ca, agnayas ca svadhyaya pravacane ca, agnihotram ca svadhyaya pravacane ca, atithayai ca svadhyaya pravacane ca, mdnusam ca svadhyaya pravacane ca, praja ca svadhyaya pravacane ca.
prajanal ca svadhyaya pravacane ca, prajatiS ca svadhyaya pravacane ca.
satyam iti satyavaca rathitarah, tapa iti taponityah paurusistih, svadhyaya pravacane eveti nako maudgalyah, taddhi tapas taddhi tapah.
1. The right and also study and teaching; the true and also study and teaching; austerity and also study and teaching; self-control and also study and teaching; tranquillity and also study and teaching; the (sacrificial) fires and also study and teaching ; the agni-hotra (sacrifice) and also study and teaching ; guests and also study and teaching; humanity and also study and teaching; offspring and also study and teaching; begetting and also study and teaching; propagation of the race and also study and teaching.
The true, says Satyavacas (the Truthful) the son of Rathitara: austerity says Taponitya (ever devoted to austerity), the son of Pauru£isti, study and teaching alone, says Naka (painless), the son of Mudgala. That, verily, is austerity, aye, that is austerity.
svadhyaya: adhyayanam, study. pravacana: adhyapanam, teaching. dama: bahyakaranopasamah, self-control. sama: antahkaranopasamah, (inner) tranquillity.
Knowledge is not sufficient by itself. We must perform study and also practise the Vedic teaching.
1. aham vrksasya reriva, kutih prstham girer iva, urdhva pavitro vajiniva, svamrtam asmi, dravinam savarcasam, sumedha amrtoksitah, iti trisankor vedanuvacanam .
1. I am the mover of the tree; my fame is like a mountain's peak. The exalted one making (me) pure, as the sun, I am the immortal one. I am a shining treasure, wise, immortal, inde¬ structible. Such is Trisanku’s recitation on the Veda-knowledge.
This statement is an expression of self-realization when the self, feeling its identity with the Supreme, says that he is the mover, the impeller of this world-tree of samsara. Trisariku, who realised Brahman, said this, in the same spirit in which the sage Vamadeva said. S.
The world is said to be the eternal Brahma tree, brahmavfksas sanatanah. M.B. XIV. 47. 14.
1. vedam anucy deary o’ntevasinam anusasti, satyam vada, dhar- mam car a, svadhyayan ma pramadah, deary aya priyarn dhanam ahrtya prajatantum ma vyavacchetsih, satyan na pramaditavyam, dharman na pramaditavyam, kusalan na pramaditavyam, bhutyai na pramaditavyam, svadhydya-pravacanabhyam na pramaditavyam, deva-pitr-karyabhyam na pramaditavyam.
1. Having taught the Veda, the teacher instructs the pupil. Speak the truth. Practise virtue. Let there be no neglect of your (daily) reading. Having brought to the teacher the wealth that is pleasing (to him), do not cut off the thread of the off¬ spring. Let there be no neglect of truth. Let there be no neglect of virtue. Let there be no neglect of welfare. Let there be no neglect of prosperity. Let there be no neglect of study and teaching. Let there be no neglect of the duties to the gods and the fathers.
538 The Principal Upanisads I. n. 4.
antevasin: the pupil, he who dwells near.
satyaputam vaded vdcam manah putam samacaret. VI. 46. Speak that which has been purified by truth and behave in the way in which your mind considers to be pure.
dharmam cara: — practise virtue: dharma means essential nature or intrinsic law of being; it also means the law of righteousness. The suggestion here is that one ought to live according to the law of one’s being.
2. matr devo bhava, pitr devo bhava, deary a devo bhava, atithi devo bhava, yany anavadyani karmani tani sevitavyani, no itarani, yany asmakam sucaritani tani tvayopasyani, no itarani.
2. Be one to whom the mother is a god. Be one to whom the father is a god. Be one to whom the teacher is a god. Be one to whom the guest is a god.
Whatever deeds are blameless, they are to be practised, not others. Whatever good practices there are among us, they are to be adopted by you, not others.
Even with regard to the life of the teacher, we should be dis¬ criminating. We must not do the things which are open to blame, even if they are done by the wise, savadyani sista-krtany api nokartavyani. £.
3 . ye ke casmacchreyamso brahmanah tesam tvayasanena prasvasitavyam, sraddhayd deyam, asraddhaya’ deyam sriya deyam, hriya deyam, bhiya deyam, samvida deyam.
3. Whatever Brahmanas there are (who are) superior to us, they should be comforted by you with a seat. (What is to be given) is to be given with faith, should not be given without faith, should be given in plenty, should be given with modesty, should be given with fear, should be given with sympathy.
prasvasitavyam: The good Brahmanas are to be provided with seats and refreshed after their fatigue, prasvasanam, prasvasah srama- panayah. £. Or in the presence of such Brahmanas, not a word should be breathed. We have merely to grasp the essence of what they say. na prasvasitavyam prasvaso’pi na kartavyah kevalam tad ukta sara- grahina bhavitavyam. S. We should not unnecessarily engage in discussions with them.
4. ath'a yadi te karma-vieikitsa va vrtta-vieikitsa va syat ye tatra brahmanas sammarsinah yukta ayuktah aluksa dharma kamas syuh yatha te tatra varteran tatha tatra vartethah.
4. Then, if there is in you any doubt regarding any deeds, any doubt regarding conduct, you should behave yourself in such matters, as the Brahmanas there (who are) competent to judge, devoted (to good deeds), not led by others, not harsh, lovers of virtue would behave in such cases.
The Brahmanas have a spontaneity of consciousness which expresses itself in love for all beings. Their tenderness of sentiment and en¬ lightened conscience should be our standards.
5. athabhyakhyatesu ye tatra brahmanas sammarsinah yukta ayuktah aluksa dharma-kamds syuh yathd te tesu varteran tatha tesu vartethah.
5. Then, as to the persons who are spoken against, you should behave yourself in such a way, as the Brahmanas there, (who are) competent to judge, devoted (to good deeds) not led by others, not harsh, lovers of virtue, would behave in regard to such persons.
who are spoken against: who are accused of sin.
6. This is the command. This is the teaching. This is the secret doctrine of the Veda. This is the instruction. Thus should one worship. Thus indeed should one worship.
Cp. with this the Buddha’s exhortation where the Pali word upanisa for the Sanskrit upanisad is used:
etad attha katha, etad attha mantana, etad attha upanisa, etad attha sotavadhanam. Vinaya. V.
In the Banaras Hindu University this passage is read by the Vice- Chancellor on the Convocation day as an exhortation to the students who are leaving the University. They are advised, not to give up the world but to lead virtuous lives as householders and promote the welfare of the community.
1. sam no mitras sam varunah, sam no bhavatv aryama, sam na indro brhaspatih, sarh no visnur uru-kramah, namo brahmane, namas te vayo tvam eva pratyaksam brahmasi, tvam eva prat- yaksam brahmavadisam , rtam avadisam, satyam avadisam, tan
540 The Principal Upanisads I. 12. 1.
mam avit, tad vaktaram avit, avin mam, avid vaktaram, aum tantih, sdntih, santih.
1. Aum, may Mitra (the sun) be propitious to us; may Varuna (be) propitious (to us); may Aryaman (a form of the sun) be propitious to us. May Indra and Brhaspati be propitious to us. May Visnu of wide strides be propitious to us.
Salutation to Brahman. Salutation to Vayu; Thou indeed art the perceptible Brahman. Of thee, indeed, perceptible Brahman have I spoken. I have spoken of the right. I have spoken of the true. That hast protected me; That has protected the speaker. Aye, that has protected me. That has protected the speaker. Aum, peace, peace, peace.
Taittiriya Upanisad
54i
BRAHMANANDA (BLISS OF BRAHMAN) VALLI
saha nav avatu, saha nau bhtmaktu, saha vvryam karavdvahai , tejasvinav adhitam astu, md vidvisavahai, aum sdntih, sdntih, sdntih.
May He protect us both. May He be pleased with us both. May we work together with vigour; may our study make us illumined. May there be no dislike between us. Aum, peace, peace, peace.
may our study make us illumined:
There is not a necessary connection between learning and wisdom. To be unlettered is not necessarily to be uncultured. Our modern world is maintaining the cleavage between learning and wisdom. Cp. ‘Perhaps at no other time have men been so knowing and yet so unaware, so burdened with purposes and yet so purposeless, so disillusioned and so completely the victims of illusion. This strange contradiction pervades our entire modern culture, our science and our philosophy, our literature and our art.’ W. M. Urban: The Intelligible World (1929), p. 172.
1. aum, brahma-vid apnoti param, tad esabhyukta ; satyarn jhanam anantam brahma, yo veda nihitam guhaydm parame vyoman so’snute sarvan kamdn saha brahmand vipascitd, iti.
tasmad va etasmad atmana dkdsas sambhiltah, akasdd vayuh, vayor agnih, agner apah, adbhyah prthivl, prthivya osadhayah osadhibhyo annum, annat purusah;
sa vd esa puruso anna-rasa-may ah , tasyedam eva sirah, ayam daksinah paksah, ayam uttarah 'paksah, ayam dtma, idam puccham pratistha;
tad apy esa sloko bhavati.
1. Aum. The knower of Brahman reaches the Supreme. As to this the following has been said: He who knows Brahman as the real, as knowledge and as the infinite, placed in the
542 The Principal Upanisads II. i. i.
secret place of the heart and in the highest heaven realises all desires along with Brahman , the intelligent.
From this Self, verily, ether arose; from ether air; from air fire; from fire water; from water the earth; from the earth herbs; from herbs food; from food the person.
This, verily, is the person that consists of the essence of food. This, indeed, is his head; this the right side, this the left side; this the body; this the lower part, the foundation.
As to that, there is also this verse.
the real, knowledge and infinite: the opposite of unreal, mithyatva, of the unconscious, jadatva and of the limited, paricchinnatva. akaia: ether is the ether or the common substratum from which other forces proceed.
sambhiltah: arose, emanated, not created.
The five different elements are clearly defined and described as having proceeded one after another from the Self.
Sometimes from food, semen, and from semen the person. Cp. S annad reto-rupena parinatat purusah.
Creation starts from the principle of the universal consciousness. From it first arises space and the primary matter or ether whose quality is sound. From this etheric state successively arise grosser elements of air, fire, water and earth. See Introduction. param: the supreme, that beyond which there is nothing else, i.e. Brahman.
guha: the secret place, the unmanifested principle in human nature. It is normally a symbol for an inward retreat, avyakrta akasam eva guha. antar-hrdaya akasa. S.
There are five kosas or sheaths in which the Self is manifested as the ego or the jlvatman. The first of them consists of food. Other sheaths consist of prana or life, manas or instinctive and perceptual consciousness, vijhana or intelligence and ananda or bliss. These five principles of matter, life, consciousness, thought and bliss are found in the world of non-ego. Anna or food is the radiant, the viraj, that which is perceptible by the senses, the physical. According to Suresvara, life, consciousness and intelligence constitute the subtle self, the sutratman and bliss is the causal sheath, the karana kosa.
B.U. I. i. 2 mentions five sheaths under the names, anna or matter, prana or life, manas or consciousness, vac or speech (corre¬ sponding to vijhana or intelligence) and avyakrta, the undifferen¬ tiated. The last is the karana or the ultimate cause of all.
Atman becomes the knower or the subject when associated with antahkarana. vrttimad-antahkaranopahitatvenatmano jhatrtvam, na svatah. A.
The bodily sheath is conceived in the form of a bird. Suresvara says: ‘The sacrificial fire arranged in the form of a hawk or a heron or some other bird, has a head, two wings, a trunk and a tail. So also here every sheath is represented as having five parts.’
It is an axiom of mystic religion that there is a correspondence between the microcosm and the macrocosm. Man is an image of the created universe. The individual soul as the microcosm has affinities with every rung of the ladder which reaches from earth to heaven.
1. annad vai prajdh prajayante, yah has ca prthivim sritah, atho’nnenaiva jivanti, athainadapi yanty antatah, annam hi bhutanam jyestham, tasmat sarvausadham ucyate, sarvam vai te’nnam dpnuvanti ye’nnam brahmopasate, annam hi bhutanam jyestham, tasmat sarvausadham ucyate, annad bhiitani jayante, jatany annena vardhante, adyate’tti ca bhiitani, tasmad annam tad ucyata iti;
tasmad va etasmad anna-rasa-may at anyo’ntara atma prana- mayah tenaisa piirnah, sa va esa purusa-vidha eva, tasya purusa vidhatam, anvayam purusavidhah, tasya prana eva sirah, vyano daksinah paksah, apana uttar ah paksah, akasa atma, prthivi puccharh pratistha,
tad apy esa sloko bhavati.
1. From food, verily, are produced whatsoever creatures dwell on the earth. Moreover, by food alone they live. And then also into it they pass at the end. Food, verily, is the eldest bom of beings. Therefore is it called the healing herb of all. Verily, those who worship Brahman as food obtain all food. For food, verily, is the eldest born of beings. Therefore is it called the healing herb for all. From food are beings born. When born they grow up by food. It is eaten and eats things Therefore is it called food
Verily, different from and within that which consists of the essence of food is the self that consists of life. By that this is filled. This, verily, has the form of a person. According to that one’s personal form is this one with the form of a person ; the inbreath is its head; the diffused breath the right side; the
544 The Principal Upanisads II. 3. 1.
outbreath the left side; ether the body, the earth the lower part, the foundation.
As to that, there is also this verse.
See Maitri. VI. 12.
The physical body is sustained by life.
1. pranam deva anu prananti, manusyah pasavas ca ye, prano hi bhutanam ayuh, tasmat sarvayusam ucyate, sarvam eva ta ayur yanti, ye pranam brahmopasate, prano hi bhutanam ayuh, tasmat sarvayusamucyataiti.tasyaisa evasarira dtma,yahpurvasya; tasmad va etasmat pranamayai, anyo’ntara atma manomayah, tenaisa purnah ,sa va esa purusa-vidha eva ,tasya purusa-vidhatam , anvayam purusa-vidhah, tasyayajur eva sir ah, rg daksinah paksah, samottarah paksah, adesa atma, atharvahgirasah puccham pratistha.
tad apy esa sloko bhavati.
I. The gods breathe along with life breath, as also men and beasts; the breath is the life of beings. Therefore, it is called the life of all. They who worship Brahman as life attain to a full life, for the breath is the life of beings. Therefore is it called the life of all. This (life) is indeed the embodied soul of the former (physical sheath). Verily, different from and within that which consists of life is the self consisting of mind. By that this is filled. This, verily, has the form of a person; according to that one’s personal form is this one with the form of a person. The Yajur Veda is its head; the Rg Veda the right side; the Sama Veda the left side; teaching the body; the hymns of the Atharvans and the Aiigirasas, the lower part, the foundation.
As to that, there is also this verse.
Life is the spirit of the body.
Prana originally meant breath and as breath seemed to be the life of man, prana became the life principle. On analogy, it was said to be the life of the universe.
manas: the inner organ, samkalpa-vikalpatmakam antah-karanam tan-mayo mano-mayah. S.
I. yato vaco nivartante, aprapya manasa saha, anandam brahmano vidvan, na bibheti kadacana. tasyaisa eva sarira atma, yah purvasya, tasmad va etasman mano-mayat, anyo’ntara atma vijhana-mayah, tenaisa purnah, sa va esa purusa-vidha eva, tasya purusa vidhatdm, anvayam purusa-vidhah, tasya sraddhaiva sirah, rtarn daksinah paksah, satyam uttarah paksah, yoga atma, mahah puccham pratistha;
tad apy esa sloko bhavati
I. Whence words return along with the mind, not attaining it, he who knows that bliss of Brahman fears not at any time. This is, indeed, the embodied soul of the former (life). Verily, different from and within that which consists of mind is the self consisting of understanding. By that this is filled. This, verily, has the form of a person. According to that one’s personal form is this one with the form of a person. Faith is its head; the right the right side; the true the left side; contemplation the body; the great one the lower part, the foundation.
As to that there is also this verse.
Manas is the faculty of perception. At the stage of manas we accept authority which is external; at the stage of vijhana internal growth is effected. The Vedas are our guide at the former level; at the intellectual we must develop faith, order, truthfulness and union with the Supreme. At the level of intellectuality or vijhana, we ask for proofs. When we rise higher, the truths are not inferred but become self-evident and cannot be invalidated by reason. Cp. samkhyayogah pahcaratram vedah pasupatam tatha atma-pramanany etani na hantavyani hetubhih.
Quoted by R. on Katha. II. 19.
mahah: the great one. It is the principle of Mahat, the first thing evolved out of the unmanifested ( avyakrta ) which is described as lying beyond the mahat.
anandam: bliss. See R.V. IX. 113. 6, ir. It gives to apparently abstract being an inner content of feeling.
546 The Principal Upanisads II. 5. 1.
vijhdnam brahma ced veda, tasmac cen na pramadyati iarxre papmano hitvd, sarvan kaman samasnute.
tasyaisa eva sdrira atma, yah purvasya, tasmad vd etasmad vijhana-mayat, anyo’ntara atma ananda-mayah, tenaisa piirnah, sa vd esa purusa vidha eva, tasya purusa-vidhatam , anvayam purusa-vidhah , tasya priyam eva shah, modo daksinah paksah, pramoda uttar ah paksah, ananda atma, brahma puccham pratistha,
tad apy esa sloko bhavati.
1. Understanding directs the sacrifice and it directs the deeds also. All the gods worship as the eldest the Brahman which is understanding.
If one knows Brahman as understanding and one does not swerve from it, he leaves his sins in the body and attains all desires. This (life) is, indeed, the embodied soul of the former (the mental).
Verily, different from and within that which consists of understanding is the self consisting of bliss. By that this is filled. This, verily, has the form of a person. According to that one’s personal form is this one with the form of a person. Pleasure is its head; delight the right side; great delight . the left side ; bliss the body, Brahman the lower part, the foundation.
As to that, there is also this verse.
These verses indicate the five bodies or sheaths (pahca-kosas ) material, vital, mental, intellectual and spiritual.
Manas deals with the objects perceived and vijhana with concepts. In later Vedanta, the distinction between the two diminishes. Pahcadasl ascribes deliberation to manas and decision to buddhi which is the vijhana of this U. mano vimarsa-rupam syad buddhih syan niscayatmika. I. 20.
In every order of things the lower is strengthened by its union with the higher. When our knowledge is submissive to things, we get the hierarchical levels of being, matter, life, animal mind, human intelligence and divine bliss. They represent different degrees of abstraction and the sciences which deal with them, employ different principles and methods. In ananda, the attempt to connaturalise man with the supreme object succeeds. Intelligence is successful in controlling the tangible world. As a rational instrument in the
sphere of positive sciences, its validity is justified. This attempt of the intellect to unify is not due to intellect alone. It is derived from its higher, from the breath of the divine. In ananda, earth touches heaven and is sanctified.
£ thinks that our real self is beyond the beatific consciousness, though in his commentary on III. 6 he argues that Bhrgu identifies the ultimate reality with the spirit of ananda.
evaht tapasd visuddhatma (anna) pranadisu sakalyena brahma- laksanam apasyan sanaih sanair antar anupravisya antaratamam dnandam brahma vijhatavan tapasaiva sadhanena bhrguh. S.
The author of the Brahma Sutra in I. 1. 12-19 identifies ananda- maya with the absolute Brahman and not a relative manifestation. The objection that the suffix may at is generally used for modification is set aside on the ground that it is also used for abundance. pracuryat. S.B. I. 1. 13-14.
ananda-brahmanor abhedat brahmabhidhanam eva anandabhidhanam iti manvanah. Samkar ananda.
In this beatific consciousness man participates in the life of the gods. Aristotle places the idea of a higher contemplation above metaphysical knowledge.
tasyaisa eva sarira atma, yah purvasya, athato anuprasnah, uta avidvan amum lokam pretya kascana gacchati u, aho vidvan amum lokam pretya, kascit samasnuta u;
so’kamayata, bahu syam prajayeyeti, sa tapo’tapyata, so tapas taptva, idam sarvam asrjata, yad idam kim ca, tat srstva tad evanupravisat, tad anupravisya sac ca tyac ca abhavat, niruktarh caniruktarh ca, nilayanam canilayanarh ca, vijhanam cavijhanam ca, satyarh canrtam ca, satyam abhavat, yad idam kim ca, tat satyam ity acaksate
tad apy esa sloko bhavati.
1. Non-existent, verily does one become, if he knows Brahman as non-being. If one knows that Brahman is, such a one people know as existent. This is, indeed, the embodied soul of the former.
Now then the following questions. Does anyone who knows
548 The Principal Upanisads II. 7. 1.
not, when departing from this life, go to the yonder world? Or is it that any one who knows, on departing from this life, attains that world?
He (the supreme soul) desired. Let me become many, let me be born. He performed austerity. Having performed austerity he created all this, whatever is here. Having created it, into it, indeed, he entered. Having entered it, he became both the actual and the beyond, the defined and the undefined, both the founded and the non-founded, the intelligent and the non-intelligent, the true and the untrue. As the real, he became whatever there is here. That is what they call the real. As to that, there is also this verse.
tapas: austerity. § means by it knowledge, tapa iti jhanam ucyate. tapah paryalocanam. The Supreme reflected on the form of the world to be created, srjyamdna-jagad-racanddi-visayam alocanam akarod atmety arthah. S. He willed, he thought and he created. Tapas is the creative moulding power, concentrated thinking. See B.U. I. 4. 10-11, Maitri. VI. 17 which assume that consciousness is at the source of manifestation. As we bend nature to our will by thought or tapas, tapas becomes mixed with magical control.
He desired: See C.U. VI. 2. 1. It is kama or desire that brings forth objects from primal being.
the actual and the beyond: Brahman has two aspects, the actual and the transcendental, the sat and the tyat.
1 asad va idam agra asit, tato vai sad ajayata, tad atmdnam svayam akuruta, tasmat tat sukrtam ucyate.
yad vai tat sukrtam, raso vai sah, rasarh hy evayam labdh- vdnandi bhavati, ko hy evanydt kah pranyat, yad esa akasa anando na sydt, esa hy evanandaydti, yatha hy evaisa etasmin nadrsye natmye’ nirukte’ nilayane’ bhayam pratistham vindate, atha so’bhayam gato bhavati, yada hy evaisa etasminn udaram antararh kurute, atha tasya bhayam bhavati, tattveva bhayam viduso’ manvanasya
tad apy esa sloko bhavati.
Therefrom, verily, was existence produced. That made itself a soul. Therefore is it called the well-made.
Verily, what that well-riiade is — that, verily, is the essence of existence. For, truly, on getting the essence, one becomes blissful. For who, indeed, could live, who breathe, if there were not this bliss in space? This, verily, is it that bestows bliss. For truly, when one finds fearlessness as support in Him who is invisible, bodiless, undefined, without support, then has he reached fearlessness. When, however, this (soul) makes in this One the smallest interval, then, for him, there is fear. That, verily, is the fear of the knower, who does not reflect.
As to that, there is also this verse.
asat: non-existent. The manifested universe is called sat and its unmanifested condition is said to be asat. From the unmanifested (asat) the world of names and forms (sat) is said to arise. The possible is prior to the actual. See S.B. II. 1. 17. Cp. R.V. X. 129 which tells us that, at the beginning of all things, there was neither being nor non-being and what existed was an impenetrable darkness. For the Greek Epimenides, the beginning of things was a primary void or night. ‘Existence is born of non-existence.’ Lao Tzu (Ch. 40). The Way of Life.
Brahman is invisible etc., because it is the source of all these distinctions, avikdrarh tad brahma sarva-vikara-hetutvat. suhytam: the well-made. See A.U. I. 2, 3. £ means by it the self- caused. Brahman is the independent cause for He is the cause of all. svayam eva atmanam evakuruta krtavat. S.
raso vai sah. Bliss, verily, is the essence of existence. Brahman is bliss. It is the source of things. See K.U. I. 5.
who indeed could live . . .? The passage affirms that no one can live or breathe if there were not this bliss of existence as the very ether in which we dwell. We have a feeble analogue of spiritual bliss in aesthetic satisfaction. It is said to be akin to the bliss of the realisa¬ tion of Brahman, brahmananda-sahodarah. It lifts out of the ordinary ruts of conventional life and cleanses our minds and hearts. By the imaginative realisation of feelings, tanmayatvam rasesu (Kalidasa) it melts one’s heart, dravlbhutam (Bhavabhuti) .
bhaya: fear. We have fear when we have a feeling of otherness. See B.U. I. 4. 2. where the primeval self became fearless when he found that there was no other person whom he should fear. amanvanasya: who does not reflect. He is not a true sage but thinks himself to be so.
The Principal Upanisads Section 8
i. bhisasmad vatah pavate, bhisodeti suryah, bhisasmad agnis cendras ca, mrtyur dhavati pancama iti. saisanandasya mimamsa bhavati;
yuva syat sadhu yuvadhyayakah asistho drdhistho balisthah, tasyeyam prthivi sarva vittasya purna syat, sa eko manusa anandah te ye satam manusa anandah, sa eko manusya-gan- dharvanam anandah, srotriyasya cdkamahatasya ;
te ye satam manusya-gandharvanam anandah sa eko deva- gandharvanam anandah, srotriyasya cdkamahatasya;
te ye satam deva-gandharvanam anandah, sa ekah pitrnam cira-loka-lokanam anandah, srotriyasya cdkamahatasya;
te ye satam pitrnam cira-loka-lokanam anandah, sa eka ajana- janarn devanam anandah, srotriyasya cdkamahatasya
te ye satam ajanajanam devanam anandah, sa ekah karma- devanam devanam anandah, ye karmana devan apiyanti, srotri¬ yasya cdkamahatasya;
te ye satam karma-devanam devanam anandah, sa eko devanam anandah, srotriyasya cdkamahatasya;
te ye satam devanam anandah, sa eka indr asy anandah, srotri¬ yasya cdkamahatasya;
te ye satam indr asy anandah sa eko brhaspater anandah, srotriyasya cdkamahatasya;
te ye satam brhaspater anandah, sa ekah, prajapater anandah srotriyasya cdkamahatasya;
te ye satam prajapater anandah, sa eko brahmana anandah, srotriyasya cdkamahatasya;
sa yas cayam puruse, yas casavaditye sa ekah, sa ya evam-vit asmdl lokat pretya, etam anna-mayam atmanam upasamkramati, etam prana-may am atmanam upasamkramati , etam mano-mayam atmanam upasamkramati, etam, vijhana-mayam atmanam upasamkramati, etam ananda-mayam atmanam upasamkramati. tad api esa stoko bhavati.
i. From fear of Him does the wind blow; from fear of Him does the Sun rise; from fear of Him do Agni and Indra (act) and death, the fifth doth run.
This is the inquiry concerning bliss.
Let there be a youth, a good youth, well read, prompt in action, steady in mind and strong in body. Let this whole earth be full of wealth for him. That is one human bliss.
What is a hundred times the human bliss, that is one bliss of human fairies — also of a man who is well versed in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire.
What is a hundred times the bliss of the human fairies, that is one bliss of divine fairies — also of a man who is well versed in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire. What is a hundred times the bliss of the divine fairies, that is one bliss of the Fathers in their long enduring world — -also of a man who is well versed in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire.
What is a hundred times the bliss of the fathers in their long enduring world, that is one bliss of the gods who are born so by birth, also of a man who is well versed in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire.
What is a hundred times the bliss of the gods who are born so by birth, that is one bliss of the gods by work, who go to the gods by work, also of a man who is well versed in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire.
What is a hundred times the bliss of the gods by work, that is one bliss of the gods, also of a man who is well versed in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire.
What is a hundred times the bliss of the gods, that is one bliss of Indra — also of a man who is well versed in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire.
What is a hundred times the bliss of Indra, that is the one bliss of Brhaspati — -also of a man who is well versed in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire.
What is a hundred times the bliss of Brhaspati, that is one bliss of Praja-pati, also of a man who is well versed in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire.
What is a hundred times the bliss of Praja-pati, that is one bliss of Brahma — also of a man who is well versed in the Vedas and who is not smitten with desire.
He who is here in the person and he who is yonder in the Sun — he is one. He who knows this, on departing from this world, reaches to the self which consists of food, reaches the self which consists of life, reaches the self which consists of mind, reaches the self which consists of understanding, reaches the self which consists of bliss.
As to that, there is also this verse.
For fear of Him does the wind blow: the writer sees the proof of God in the laws of the universe. The regularity expresses an intelli¬ gence and presupposes a guide. S. See Katha VI. 3.
552 The Principal Upanisads II. 9. 1.
Those who attain to the status of gods by their own work are called Karma-devas.
The bliss of delight which knowledge of Brahman occasions baffles all description. It is something completely incomprehensible. Brahman thus is blissful being and so is of the highest value. In reaching the richness of being of Brahman we reach our highest fulfilment. In describing the various degrees of happiness, the author of the Upanisad gives us an idea of the classes of human and divine beings recognised in that period, men, fathers, fairies, gods by merit and gods by birth, Praja-pati and Brahma or Hiranya-garbha.
etarh ha va va na tapati, kirn aharh sadhu nakaravam, kim aham papam akaravam iti, sa ya evam vidvan ete dtmdnam sprnute, ubhe hy evaisa ete dtmdnam sprnute ya evam veda, ity upanisat.
1. Whence words return along with the mind, not attaining. It, he who knows that bliss of Brahman fears not from anything at all.
Such a one, verily, the thought does not torment, Why have I not done the right? Why have I done the sinful? He who knows this, saves himself from these (thoughts). For, truly, from both of these he saves himself — he who knows this. Such is the secret doctrine.
The enlightened one is not afflicted by anxiety about right and wrong. The truth makes us free from all restrictions. The Apostle proclaims that we are delivered from the lawr, ‘Virtues, I take leave of you for evermore, your service is too travaillous. Once I was your servant, in all things to you obedient, but now I am delivered from your thraldom.’ Mirror of Simple Soules, quoted in Evelyn Underhill: Mysticism, p. 263. upanisat: the great mystery, parama-rahasyam. S.
T aittirlya Upanisad CHAPTER III
i. bhrgur vai varunih, varunam pitaram upasasara, adhihi bhagavo brahmeti, tasmd etat provaca, annam prdnarh caksus srotrarh mano vacant iti.
tarn hovaca, yato va imani bhutani jay ante, yena jatdni jivanti, yat prayanty abhisamvisanti , tad vijijhasasva, tad brahmeti
sa tapo' tapyata, sa tapas taptva.
i. Bhrgu, the son of Varuna, approached his father Varuna and said, ‘Venerable Sir, teach me Brahman.’
He explained to him thus: matter, life, sight, hearing, mind, speech.
To him, he said further: ‘That, verily, from which these beings are born, that, by which, when born they live, that into which, when departing, they enter. That, seek to know. That is Brahman.’
He performed austerity (of thought). Having performed austerity,
The father Varuna teaches his son Bhrgu, the sacred wisdom.
This fundamental definition of Brahman as that from which the origin, continuance and dissolution of the world comes is of Isvara who is the world-creating, world-sustaining, and world-dissolving God.
Cp. ‘I am the first and the last and the living one.’ Revelation XIII. 8.
Brahman is the cause of the world as the substratum ( adhisthana ) (S), as the material cause ( upadana ) of the world, as gold is the material cause of gold ornaments, as the instrumental cause ( nimitta ) of the world. Madhva.
Austerity is the means to the perception of Brahman, tapas is spiritual travail, brahma-vijhdna-sadhana. A Cp. Aeschylus, ‘Know¬ ledge comes through sacrifice.’ Agamemnon, 250.
554 The Principal Upanisads III. 3. 1.
1. annam brahmeti vyajanat, annadhyeva khalv imdni bhutani jayante, annena jatani jivanti, annam prayanty abhisarhvisanti.
tad vijhaya, punar eva varunam pitaram upasasara, adhihi bhagavo brahmeti.
tarn hovaca, tapasa brahma vijijhasasva, tapo brahmeti,
sa tapo’ tapyata, sa tapas taptva.
1. He knew that matter is Brahman. For truly, beings here are born from matter, when bom, they live by matter, and into matter, when departing they enter.
Having known that, he again approached his father Varuna and said, ‘Venerable Sir, teach me Brahman.'
To him he said, ‘Through austerity, seek to know Brahman. Brahman is austerity.’
He performed austerity; having performed austerity,
The first suggested explanation of the universe is that every thing can be explained from matter and motion. On second thoughts, we realise that there are phenomena of life and reproduction which require another principle than matter and mechanism. The investi¬ gator proceeds from the obvious and outer to the deeper and the inward. The pupil approaches the teacher because he feels that the first finding of matter as the ultimate reality is not satisfactory.
1. prano brahmeti vyajanat, pranadd hy eva khalv imdni bhutani jayante, pranena jatani jivanti, pranam prayanty abhisarhvisanti.
tad vijhaya, punar eva varunam pitaram upasasara, adhihi bhagavo brahmeti
tam hovaca, tapasa brahma vijijhasasva, tapo brahmeti,
sa tapo' tapyata, sa tapas taptva.
1. He knew that life is Brahman. For truly, beings here are born from life, when born they live by life, and into life, when departing they enter.
Having known that, he again approached his father Varuna, and said: ‘Venerable Sir, teach me Brahman.’
To him he said, ‘Through austerity, seek to know Brahman Brahman is austerity.'
He performed austerity; having performed austerity.
See C.U. I. 11. 5; VII. 15. 1; K.U. III. 2-9; B.U. IV. 1. 3.
While the material objects of the world are explicable in terms of matter, plants take us to a higher level and demand a different principle. From materialism we pass to vitalism. But the principle of life cannot account for conscious objects. So the pupil, dissatisfied with the solution of life, approaches the father, who advises the son to reflect more deeply.
Matter is the context of the principle of life.
1. mano brahmeti vyajanat, manaso hy eva khalv imani bhutani jayante, manasa jatani jlvanti, manah prayanty abhisam- visanti.
tad vijhaya, punar eva varunam pitaram upasasara, adhihi bhagavo brahmeti,
tarn hovaca, tapasa brahma vijijnasasva, tapo brahmeti,
sa tapo’ tapyata, sa tapas taptva.
1. He knew that mind is Brahman. For truly, beings here are born from mind, when bom, they live by mind and into mind, when departing, they enter.
Having known that, he again approached his father Varuna and said: ‘Venerable Sir, teach me Brahman.’
To him, he said, ‘Through austerity seek to know Brahman. Brahman is austerity.’
He performed austerity; having performed austerity.
When we look at animals, with their perceptual and instinctive consciousness we notice the inadequacy of the principle of life. As life outreaches matter, so does mind outreach life. There are forms of life without consciousness but there can be no consciousness without life. Mind in the animals is of a rudimentary character. See Aitareya Aranyaka II. 3. 2. 1-5. Cp. Milindapahha where manasikara, rudimentary mind is distinguished from pahha or reason. Animals possess the former and not the latter. Even mind cannot account for all aspects of the universe. In the world of man, we have the play of intelligence. Intelligence frames concepts and ideals, plans means for their realization. So the pupil finds the
556 The Principal Upanisads III. 5. 1.
inadequacy of the principle of mind and again approaches his father, who advises him to reflect further.
1. vijhanam brahmeti vyajanat, vijhanadd hy eva khalv imani bhutani jdyante, vijhanena jatani jivanti, vijhanam prayanty abhisamvisanti.
tad vijhaya, punar eva varunam pitaram upasasdra, adhihi bhagavo brahmeti;
tarn hovaca, tapasa brahma vijijhasasva, tapo brahmeti;
sa tapo’ tapyata, sa tapas taptva.
1. He knew that intelligence is Brahman. For truly, beings here are born from intelligence, when born, they live by intelligence and into intelligence, when departing, they enter.
Having known that, he again approached his father Varuna, and said, ‘Venerable Sir, teach me Brahman.’
To him, he said, ‘Through austerity, seek to know Brahman. Brahman is austerity.’
He performed austerity; having performed austerity,
Intelligence again is not the ultimate principle. The categories of matter, life, mind and intelligence take us higher and higher and each is more comprehensive than the preceding. Men with their conflicting desires, divided minds, oppressed by dualities are not the final products of evolution. They have to be transcended. In the intellectual life there is only a seeking. Until we transcend it, there can be no ultimate finding. Intellectual man, who uses mind, life and body is greater than mind, life and body but he is not the end of the cosmic evolution as he has still a secret aspiration. Even as matter contained life as its secret destiny and had to be delivered of it, life contained mind and mind contained intelligence and intelli¬ gence contains spirit as its secret destiny and presses to be delivered of it. Intelligence does not exhaust the possibilities of consciousness and cannot be its highest expression. Man’s awareness is to be enlarged into a superconsciousness with illumination, joy and power. The crown of evolution is this deified consciousness.
1. anando brahmeti vyajanat, anandadd hy eva khalv imam bhutani jayante, anandena jatani jivanti, anandam prayanty abhisamvisanti,
saisa bhargavi varum vidya, parame vyoman pratisthita, ya evarh veda pratitisthati, annavan annado bhavati, mahan bhavati, prajaya pasubhir brahma-varcasena mahan ktrtya.
1. He knew that Brahman is bliss. For truly, beings here are born from bliss, when born, they live by bliss and into bliss, when departing, they enter.
This wisdom of Bhrgu and Vanina, established in the highest heaven, he who knows this, becomes established. He becomes possessor of food and eater of food. He becomes great in off¬ spring and cattle and in the splendour of sacred wisdom ; great in fame.
The higher includes the lower and goes beyond it. Brahman is the deep delight of freedom.
The Upanisad suggests an analogy between the macrocosm, nature and the microcosm, man, an equation between intelligibility and being. The ascent of reality from matter to God as one of in¬ creasing likeness to God is brought out. While man has all these five elements in his being, he may stress one or the other, the material or the vital or the mental or the intellectual or the spiritual. He who harmonises all these is the complete man. For Aristotle the human soul is, in a certain sense, everything.
This analysis is accepted by the Buddha who speaks of five kinds of food for the physical, vital, psychological, logical and spiritual elements. The enjoyment of nirvana is the food for spirit, nibbutim bhuhjamana. Ratana Sutta. Cp. Augustine: 'Step by step was I led upwards, from bodies {anna) to the soul which perceives by means of the bodily senses {prana) ; and thence to the soul’s inward faculty which is the limit of the intelligence of animals ( manas ) ; and thence again to the reasoning faculty to whose judgment is referred the knowledge received by the bodily senses {vijhdna). And when this power also within me found itself changeable it lifted itself up to its own intelligence, and withdrew its thoughts from experience, abstracting itself from the contradictory throng of sense-images that it might find what that light was wherein it was bathed when it cried- out that beyond all doubt the unchangeable is to be preferred to the changeable; whence also it knew that unchangeable; and thus with the flash of one trembling glance it arrived at That which is’ {ananda). Confessions VII, 23.
558 The Principal Upanisads III. 7. 1.
Augustine describes the highest state as one of joy: ‘The highest spiritual state of the soul in this life consists in the vision and con¬ templation of truth, wherein are joys, and the full enjoyment of the highest and truest good, and a breath of serenity and eternity.’1
The grades of existence and of value correspond so that the class which has the lowest degree of reality in the existential sense has the lowest degree of value.
Behind all our growth is the perfection of ourselves which animates it; we are constantly becoming until we possess our being. The changing consciousness goes on until it is able to transcend change. The Beyond is the absolute fulfilment of our self-existence. It is ananda, the truth behind matter, life, mind, intelligence, that controls them all by exceeding them.
The Upanisad suggests an epic of the universe. From out of utter nothingness, asat, arises, the stellar dance of teeming suns and planets whirling through vast etheric fields. In this immensity of space emerges the mystery of life, vegetations, forests; soon living creatures, crawling, jumping animals, the predecessors of human beings. Human intelligence with its striving for ideals has in it the secret of sciences and philosophies, cultures and civilisations. We can make the world wonderful and beautiful or tragic and evil.
1. annam na nindyat, tad vratam, prano va annam, iariram annadam, prane sariram pratisthitam, sarire pranah pratisthitah, tad etad annam anne pratisthitam, sa ya etad annam anne pratisthitam veda pratitisthati, annavan annado bhavati, mahan bhavati, prajaya pasubhir brahma-varcasena mahan kirtya.
1. Do not speak ill of food. That shall be the rule. Life, verily, is food. The body is the eater of food. In life is the body established; life is established in the body. So is food established in food. He who knows that food is established in food, becomes established. He becomes an eater of food, possessing food. He becomes great in offspring and cattle and in the splendour of sacred wisdom; great in fame.
The world owes its being to the interaction of an enjoyer and an object enjoyed, i.e. subject and object. This distinction is superseded in the Absolute Brahman.
1 Dom Cuthbert Butler: Western Mysticism (1922), p. 59.
1. annam na paricaksita, tad vratam, apo va annam, jyotir annadam, apsu jyotih pratisthitam, jyotisy apah pratisthitah, tad etad annam anne pratisthitam , sa ya etad annam anne pratisthitam veda pratitisthati, annavan annado bhavati, mahan bhavati prajaya pasubhir brahma-varcasena, mahan kirtya.
1. Do not despise food. That shall be the rule. Water, verily, is food. Light is the eater of food. Light is established in water; water is established in light. Thus food is established in food.
He who knows that food is established in food, becomes established. He becomes an eater of food, possessing food. He becomes great in offspring and cattle, and in the splendour of sacred wisdom, great in fame.
1. annam bahu kurvita, tad vratam, prthivi va annam, akaso’ nnadah, prthivyam akasah pratisthitah, akase prthivi pratisthita, tad etad annam anne pratisthitam, sa ya etad annam anne pratisthitam veda pratitisthati , annavan annado bhavati, mahan bhavati prajaya pasubhir brahma-varcasena, mahan kirtya.
1. Make for oneself much food. That shall be the rule. The earth, verily, is food; ether the eater of food. In the earth is ether established, in ether is the earth established. Thus food is established in food. He who knows that food is established in food, becomes established. He becomes an eater of food, possessing food. He becomes great in offspring and cattle, and in the splendour of sacred wisdom, great in fame.
560 The Principal Upanisads III. 10. 4.
ity acaksate, etad vai mukhato’nnam raddham mukhato’ sma annam radhyate, etad vai madhyato’nnam raddham, madhy- ato’sma annam radhyate, etad va antato’nnam raddham, antato'- sma annam, radhyate.
1. Do not deny residence to anybody. That shall be the rule. Therefore, in any way whatsoever one should acquire much food. Food is prepared for him, they say.
If this food is given first, food is given to the giver first. If this food is given in the middle, food is given to the giver in the middle. If this food is given last, food is given to the giver last.
2. ya evam veda ksema iti vaci, yoga-ksema iti pranapanayoh, karmeti hastayoh, gatir iti padayoh, vimuktir iti payau, iti manusih samajhah, atha daivih, trptir iti vrstau, balam iti vidyuti.
2. For him who knows this, as preservation in speech, as acquisition and preservation in the inbreath and the outbreath, as work in the hands, as movement in the feet, as evacuation in the anus, these are the human recognitions.
Next, with reference to the deities, as satisfaction in rain, as strength in the lightning.
yoga-ksema: see B.G. II. 45; IX. 22.
3. yasa iti pasusu, jyotir iti naksatresu, prajatir amrtam ananda ity upasthe, sarvam ity akase, tat pratisthety upasita, pratisthavan bhavati, tan maha ity upasita, mahan bhavati, tan mana ity upasita manavan bhavati.
3. As fame in cattle, as light in the stars, as procreation, immortality and bliss in the generative organ, as the all in space.
Let one contemplate That as the support, one becomes the possessor of support; let one contemplate That as great, one becomes great. Let one contemplate That as mind; one becomes possessed of mindfulness.
4. tan nama ity upasita, namyam te’smai kamah, tad brahmety upasita, brahmavan bhavati, tad brahmanah parimara ity upasita, paryenam mriyante dvisantas sapatnah pari ye’priya- bhratrvyah
sa yas cay am pur use yas ca sdvaditye sa ekah.
4. Let one contemplate That as adoration; desires pay adoration to him. Let one contemplate That as the Supreme, he becomes possessed of the Supreme. Let one contemplate
That as Brahman’s destructive agent, one’s hateful rivals perish as also those rivals whom he does not like.
He who is here in the person and he who is yonder in the Sun, he is one.
See Aitareya Brahmana. VIII. 28; T.U. II. 8.
Brahma: the Supreme. Say ana interprets Brahma as Veda and brahmavan as one who has a perfect command over the Veda, bhrdtrvyah: rivals: literally it means cousins (father’s brother’s sons), who are generally supposed to be unfriendly.
5. sa ya evarh-vit asmal lokat pretya, etam anna-may am atmanam upasamkramya, etam prana-may am atmanam upasam- kramya, etam mano-mayam atmanam upasamkramya , etam vijhana-mayam atmanam upasamkramya , etam ananda-mayam atmanam upa samkramya, iman lokan kamannl kamarupy anusahcaran, etat sama gayannaste
ha vu ha vu ha vu.
5. He who knows this, on departing from this world, reaching on to that self which consists of food, reaching on to that self which consists of life, reaching on to that self which consists of mind, reaching on to that self which consists of under¬ standing, reaching on to that self which consists of bliss, goes up and down these worlds, eating the food he desires, assuming the form he desires. He sits singing this chant :
Oh Wonderful, Oh Wonderful, Oh Wonderful.
The enlightened one attains unity with the All. He expresses wonder that the individual with all limitations has been able to shake them off and become one with the All. To get at the Real, we must get behind the forms of matter, the forms of life, the forms of mind, the forms of intellect. By removing the sheaths, by shaking off the bodies, we realise the Highest. This is the meaning of vastra- paharana. ‘Across my threshold naked all must pass.’
When we realise the truth we can assume any form we choose.
aham annam, aham annam, aham annam; aham annadah, aham annadah, aham annadah; aham slokakrt, aham slokakrt, aham slokakrt; aham asmi prathamaja rtasya, purvam devebhyo amrtasya nabha i, yo ma dadati, sa id eva ma, vah, aham annam annam adantam admi, aham visvarn bhuvanam abhya- bhavam. suvarna jyotih
ya evam veda ity upanisat.
562 The Principal Upanisads III. 10. 5.
I am food, I am food, I am food. I am the food-eater. I am the foodeater. I am the foodeater. I am the combining agent. I am the combining agent. I am the combining agent. I am the first born of the world-order, earlier than the gods, in the centre of immortality. Whoso gives me, he surely does save thus. I, who am food, eat the eater of food.
I have overcome the whole world. I am brilliant like the sun.
He who knows this. Such is the secret doctrine.
prathamaja: hiranya-garbhopy aham. A.
the eater of food: anna-sabditam a-cetanam, tad-bhoktdram cetanath ca admi vyapnomi. R.
overcome the world: abhibhavami par enesv arena svariipena. S. upasarh- harami. A.
like the sun: suvar adityah ( nakara upamarthah ) aditya iva. S. kamanlyo dedipyamana sarlro bhavati. R.
This is a song of joy. The manifold diversity of life is attuned to a single harmony. A lyrical and rapturous embrace of the universe is the result. The liberated soul filled with delight recognises its oneness with the subject and the object, the foodeater and food and the principle which unites them. He feels in different poises that he is one with Brahman, with Isvara and with Hiranya-garbha.
The chant proclaims that the enlightened one has become one with all.1 The liberated soul passes beyond all limitations and attains to the dignity of God Himself. He is one with God in all His fulness and unity. It is not a mere fellowship with the chasm between the Creator and the created. Here is the exalted experience of one who not merely believes in God, or who is merely convinced of His existence by logical arguments or one who regards Him as an object to be adored and worshipped in thought and feeling but of one for whom God is no more object but personal life. He lives God or rather is lived by Him. He is borne up and impelled by the spirit of God who has become his inward power and life.
1 Hallaj expressed in the most uncompromising terms this conviction of oneness with the Supreme. Ana'l haqq, ‘I am the real.’ The Sufi theory is that man becomes one with God when he transcends his phenomenal self (fana). Ghazali believes that Hallaj ’s statement is nothing more than the conviction belonging to the highest stage of unitarianism. In order to attain to the immediate vision of the Divine, the human soul must be lifted altogether above the natural order and made to partake of the divine nature. 2 Peter I. 4. Cp. ‘Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is’ (1 John III. 2). ‘God made all things through me when I had my existence in the unfathomable ground of God.’ Eckhart, E. T. G. Evans, Vol. I, p. 589.
m. io. 5. Taittinya U pant sad 563
All distinctions of food and foodeater, object and subject are transcended. He goes up and down the worlds as he chooses, eating what food he likes, putting on what form he likes.
Suresvara says: ‘All this is divided twofold, food and foodeater. The enlightened one says, “I who am the Atman, the Real and the Infinite, am myself this twofold world.” ’
The Supreme is the subject and the object as well as the link between them.
I have overcome the whole world.
Cp. this with the Buddha’s declaration, after attaining abhisam- bodhi :
‘Subdued have I all, all-knowing am I now.
Unattached to all things, and abandoning all,
Finally freed on the destruction of all craving.
Knowing it myself, whom else should I credit ?
There is no teacher of mine, nor is one like me ;
There is none to rival me in the world of men and gods; Truly entitled to honour am I, a teacher unexcelled.
Alone am I a Supreme Buddha, placid and tranquil,
To found the kingdom of righteousness, I proceed to Kami’s capital.
Beating the drum of immortality in the world enveloped by darkness.’
Ariyaparyesana Sutta. Majjhima Nikaya.
Cp. Richard of St. Victor: ‘The third grade of love is when the mind of man is rapt into the abyss of the divine light, so that, utterly oblivious of all exterior things, it knows not itself and passes wholly into its God. In this state, while the mind is alienated from itself, while it is rapt unto the secret closet of the divine privacy, while it is on all sides encircled by the conflagration of divine love and is intimately penetrated and set on fire through and through, it strips off self and puts on a certain divine condition, and being configured to the beauty gazed upon, it passes into a new kind of glory.’ Dom Cuthbert Butler: Western Mysticism (1922), p. 7.
The Isa, also called the Isavasya Upanisad, derives its name from the opening word of the text Isavasya or Isa. It belongs to the Vajasaneyi school of the Yajur Veda. The V ajasaneya Samhita consists of forty chapters of which this Upanisad is the last. Its main purpose is to teach the essential unity of God and the world, being and becoming. It is interested not so much in the Absolute in itself, Parabrahman, as in the Absolute in relation to the world, Paramesvara. It teaches that life in the world and life in the Divine Spirit are not incompatible.
purnam adah, purnam idam, purnat purnam udacyate purnasya purnam, adaya purnam evdvasisyate.
That is full; this is full. The full comes out of the full. Taking the full from the full the full itself remains. Aum, peace, peace, peace.
Brahman is both transcendent and immanent.
The birth or the creation of the universe does not in any manner affect the integrity of Brahman.
1. (Know that) all this, whatever moves in this moving world, is enveloped by God. Therefore find your enjoyment in renunciation; do not covet what belongs to others.
All things which move and change derive their significance from their relation to the one eternal truth. ‘The invisible always continuing the same, but the visible never the same.’ Plato: Phaedo 64.
Isavasyam: enveloped by God. The world does not stand apart from God, but is pervaded by Him. Cp. the Psalmist: ‘The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein.’ The Supreme is viewed not as the Absolute Brahman but as the cosmic Lord.
Isa: isita paramesvarah. vasyam, nivasanlyam, vyapyam. Kurana- r ay ana. The world is steeped in God. It is the ‘household of God.’ God dwells in the heart of all things, isvaratmakam eva sarvam, bhrdntyd yad anlsvara-rupena grhitam. A.
jagat: The universe is a becoming, not a thing. It is a series of change¬ ful happenings.
tyaktena bhuhjlthah: enjoy through tyaga, or renunciation of self-will. Enjoy all things by renouncing the idea of a personal proprietary relationship to them. If we recognise that the world in which we live is not ours, we enjoy it. When we know that the one Real indwells all, we will get rid of the craving for acquisition. Enjoy by giving up the sense of attachment. When the individual is subject to ignorance, he is not conscious of the unity and identity behind the multiplicity and so cannot enter into harmony and oneness with the universe and thus fails to enjoy the world. When, however, he realises his true existence which is centred in the Divine, he becomes free from selfish desire and possesses, enjoys the world, being in a state of non¬ attachment. Self-denial is at the root of spiritual life. ‘If any one wish to come after me, let him deny himself.’ Matthew XVI. 24.
Sometimes this passage is interpreted as meaning: enjoy what is allotted to you by God ( tena ). Do not ask for more than what is given.
ma grdhah: covet not. Do not be greedy. When we realise that God inhabits each object, when we rise to that cosmic consciousness, covetousness disappears. Cp. Wotton’s Paraphrase of Horace which is found in Palgrave’s Golden Treasury.
This man is freed from servile bonds Of hope to rise, or fear to fall;
Lord of himself, though not of lands And having nothing, yet hath all.
568 The Principal Upanisads i.
kasyasvid dhanam. This is taken independently. Whose indeed is wealth? It belongs to the Lord. ‘What hast thou that thou hast not received.' I. Cor. IV. 7. If we have craving for wealth, we are not true believers.
paramasuhj'di bandhave kalatre suta-tanaya-pitr-matr-bhrtyavarge
sathamatir upayati yorthatrsnam purusa-pasur na vasudeva- bhaktah.
purusapasu is the animal man who is governed by hunger and thirst and not the true human being with foresight and understanding. See Aitareya Ar any aka II. 3. 2.
By contemplating the fact that the giver of all is the Supreme Lord, we cultivate the quality of detachment, vairagya. For, the meaning of this verse is to encourage all those who wish to understand the self, to devote themselves to final release and give up all worldly desires. The exterior sacrifice is representative of the interior whereby the human soul offers itself to God:
Gandhi’s comment on this verse is interesting. ‘The mantra describes God as the Creator, the Ruler and the Lord. The seer to whom this mantra or verse was revealed was not satisfied with the very frequent statement that God was to be found everywhere. But he went further and said: "Since God pervades everything, nothing belongs to you, not even your own body. God is the undis¬ puted unchallengeable Master of everything you possess. If it is universal brotherhood — not only brotherhood of all human beings, but of all living things — I find it in this mantra. If it is unshakable faith in the Lord and Master — and all the adjectives you can think of — I find it in this mantra. If it is the idea of complete surrender to God and of the faith that he will supply all that I need, then again I say I find it in this mantra. Since he pervades every fibre of my being and of all of you, I derive from it the doctrine of equality of all creatures on earth and it should satisfy the cravings of all philosophical communists. This mantra tells me that I cannot hold as mine anything that belongs to God and that, if my life and that of all who believe in this mantra has to be a life of perfect dedication, it follows that it will have to be a life of continual service of fellow creatures.’ Address at Kottayam, Harijan, 1937.
Indifference to the pains of the world, to the suffering of living creatures is due either to callousness or thoughtlessness. But when we realise that we are all the concern of the same Creator, the objects of His care, we feel within ourselves an unburdening, a release, a sense that everyone has a right to his own place in the same universe. When we envisage all that exists as having its being in the great first principle of all beings, we rush forward to help all those who come within our reach.
lia Upanisad
2 . kurvann eveha karmani jijiviset sat am, samah evarn tvayi nanyatheto’sti na karma lipyate nare.
2. Always performing works here one should wish to live a hundred years. If you live thus as a man, there is no way other than this by which karman (or deed) does not adhere to you.
kurvann eva: performing works and without desiring their fruits.
The first verse tells us that we win our way to inward freedom, by renunciation, by the withdrawal from the fortunes and mis¬ fortunes that shape the outward side of our existence. We are called upon to withdraw from the world’s work not in body but in mind, in intention, in spirit. ‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ jijiviset: should wish to live jlvitum icchet.
na karma lipyate nare: by which karma does not adhere to you. When we act by merging the individual in the cosmic purpose and by dedicating all action to God, our action does not bind, since we are no more entangled in selfish desire.
§. argues that this and the following verses refer to those who are not competent to know the self and who are called upon to perform works enjoined in the Vedas. He makes out that the way of know¬ ledge is for samnyasins and the way of action for others.
The purport of this verse, is, however, that salvation is attained by the purification of the heart resulting from the performance of works done with the notion that these are all for the sake of the Lord and dedicated to Him. Works done in this spirit do not bind the soul.
According to Samkarananda, this verse is addressed to those who desire salvation, but cannot renounce the world.
The importance of work is stressed in this verse. We must do works and not refrain from them. Embodied man cannot refrain from action, he cannot escape the life imposed on him by his em¬ bodiment. The way of true freedom is not abstention from action but conversion of spirit.
Wisdom is beautiful but barren without works. St. James: ‘Faith, apart from works, is dead.’ II. 26.
The author points out that action is not incompatible with wisdom. There is a general tendency to regard contemplation as superior to action. This judgment is not peculiar to India. In the New Testament, Martha chose the good part and Mary the better. What Martha chose, ministering to the hungry, the thirsty and the homeless will pass away, but Mary chose to contemplate, see the vision of God and it shall not be taken away from her. The Upanisad says that it is not necessary to withdraw from active life to give oneself up to the contemplative. Besides, no one can come to con¬ templation without having exercised the works of the active life.
570 The Principal Upanisads 4.
St. Gregory says, ‘We ascend to the heights of contemplation by the steps of the active life.’ Morals on Job, XXXI. 102.
tarns te pretyabhigacchanti ye ke catmahano jandh.
3. Demoniac, verily, are those worlds enveloped in blinding darkness, and to them go after death, those people who are the slayers of the self.
asurya: appertaining to the asm as, those who delight only in physical life ( asu ), those who are devoted to the nourishing of their lives, and addicted to sensual pleasures. v. asurya: sunless.
Siddhanta-kaumudl gives two derivations for the word surya : saraty akase suryah kartari kyap nipatanad u-tvam yadva su prerane tudadih suvati, karmani lokarn prerayati kyapo rut.
He is the lord who makes men work. From him are derived all incentives to work.
For S. asuras are those who are not the knowers of the Self. The term includes all persons, from men to the highest gods, who have not the knowledge of the Supreme Self.
For Sarhkarananda those who desire riches are asuras as, by so doing they slay (forget) the all-pervading Self. andhena tamasa: ignorance which consists in the inability to see one’s self.
atmahano jandh: Those who neglect the spirit, prakrta avidvarhso jana atmahana ucyante, tena hy atma-hanana-dosena samsaranti te. Such souls are destined for the joyless, demoniac regions, enveloped in darkness. See B.U. IV. 4. 11. A says that the reference is to those who do not know the Self and thus attribute to it agency, etc.
marsat
tad dhavato’nyan-atyeti tisthat tasminn apo matariivd dadhah .
4. (The spirit) is unmoving, one, swifter than the mind. The senses do not reach It as It is ever ahead of them. Though Itself standing still It outstrips those who run. In It the all- pervading air supports the activities of beings.
5-
Isa Upanisad 571
devdh: senses, dyotandd devah caksuradinindriyani. S. apah: activities — karmani. $.
matarisvan: air, because it moves, svasiti, in the sky, antarikse. matarisva vayuh, sarva-prana-bhrt kriyatmakah , yad-asrayani karya- karana-jatani yasminn otani protani ca, yat sutrasamjhakam, sarvasya jagato vidhdrayitf sa matarisva. £>.
It is that whose activity sustains all life, on which all causes and effects depend and in which all these inhere, which is called the thread which supports all the worlds (through which it runs).
For Samkarananda, matarisvan is sutratman.
The whole world has the supreme Self as its basis, sarvd hi karya-kdranddi-vikriya nityacaitanydtmasvarupe sarvaspadabhute saty eva bhavanti. §.
The Supreme is one essence but has two natures, an eternal immutability and an unceasing change. It is stillness and movement. Immovable in Itself, all things are moved from It. The unity and manifoldness are both aspects of the life divine. Unity is the truth and multiplicity is its manifestation. The former is the truth, vidya, the latter ignorance, avidya. The latter is not false except when it is viewed in itself, cut off from the eternal unity. Unity constitutes the base of multiplicity and upholds it but multiplicity does not constitute and uphold the unity.
tad antarasya sarvasya tad u sarvasyasya bahyatah.
These apparently contradictory statements are not suggestive of the mental unbalance of the writer. He is struggling to describe what he experiences through the limitations of human thought and language. The Supreme is beyond the categories of thought. Thought is symbolic and so cannot conceive of the Absolute except through negations; yet the Absolute is not a void. It is all that is in time and yet is beyond time.
It is far because it is not capable of attainment by the ignorant and it is very near to the knowing for it is their very self.
Vedanta Desika quotes two verses to show the distance and the intimacy of the Supreme to the undevout and the devout respectively :
parahmukhanam govinde, visayasaktacetasam ■tesam tat paramam brahma durdd duratare sthitam. tan-mayatvena govinde ye naranyasta-cetasah visaya-tyaginas tesam vijheyam ca tad antike.
These verses indicate the two sides of the Divine, the one and the many, the unmoving aud the moving. They do not deny the
572 The Principal Upanisads 7.
reality of either. They see the one in the many. The one is the eternal truth of things; the many its manifestatation. The latter is not a figment of the mind. It becomes so when it is divorced from the sense of its eternal background.
All things and beings are the manifestation of the One Supreme, which is described through paradoxes. It is swifter than the mind, the senses cannot grasp It; It eludes their hold. Standing, It out¬ strips all. Rooted in It, all the cosmic forces energise the whole universe. It moves and yet is motionless. It is near, yet distant. It is inside of all and outside of all.
6. And he who sees all beings in his own self and his own self in all beings, he does not feel any revulsion by reason of such a view.
See B.G. VI. 30.
vijugupsate — v. vicikitsate. He has no doubts.
He shrinks from nothing as he knows that the One Self is mani¬ fested in the multiple forms, atma-vyatiriktani na pasyati. $.
This verse speaks of the transformation of the soul, its absorption in God in whom is the whole universe. It also points out how unity is the basis of multiplicity and upholds the multiplicity. Therefore the essence of the Supreme is its simple Being. Multiplicity is its becoming. Brahman is the one self of all and the many are the becomings of the one Being.
7. When, to one who knows, all beings have, verily, become one with his own self, then what delusion and what sorrow can be to him who has seen the oneness ?
moha: delusion or the veiling of the self, avarana.
soka: sorrow due to viksepa or distraction in the manifestatidns.
s.
When the unity is realised by the individual he becomes liberated from sorrow, which is the product of dualities. When the self of the perceiver becomes all things, there can be no source of disturbance or care. The vision of all existences in the Self and of the Self in all existences is the foundation of freedom and joy. The l£a, the Lord is immanent in all that moves in this world. There is no opposition between the one and the many.
The Upanisad opens with the conception of God immanent in the world, asks us to see the creation in God and does not overlook the fact of a fundamental oneness, ekatvam which alone is Being.
Eckhart: ‘Does the soul know God in the creatures, that is merely evening light? Does she know creatures in God; that is morning light ? But does the soul know God as He who alone is Being, that is the light of midday?’ Rudolf Otto: Mysticism: East and West (1932), p. 52 n.
kavir mariisi, paribhuh, svayambhuh, ydthdtathyato’rthan. vyadadhac chasvatibhyas samabhyah.
8. He has filled all; He is radiant, bodiless, invulnerable, devoid of sinews, pure, untouched by evil. He, the seer, thinker, all-pervading, self-existent has duly distributed through endless years the objects according to their natures.
kavih: the seer. He who knows the past, the present and the future kavih kranta-darii sarva-dfk. S. He has intuitive wisdom, while manisi is the thinker, mantst manasa isita sarvajha Uvarah. paribhuh: all-pervading. As the cosmic soul He pervades the universe. S. says that the omniscient Lord allotted different functions to the various and eternal praja-patis known popularly as years. sarhvatsarakhyebhyah praja-patibhyah. §. See also B.U. I. 5. 14; PraSna I. 9.
9. Into blinding darkness enter those who worship ignorance and those who delight in knowledge enter into still greater darkness, as it were.
See B.U. IV. 4-10.
8. interprets avidya to mean ceremonial piety and vidya as knowledge of the deities. The former leads to the world of the manes and the latter to the world of gods. Cp. vidyaya deva-lokah khrmana pity-lokah . B.U. II. 5. 16. feels that vidya cannot refer to the knowledge of Brahman for it cannot lead to greater darkness. If we are lost in the world of birth, becoming, we overlook our pure being. If we con¬ centrate on the latter, we will also be onesided. We must look upon the Absolute as the one and the many, as both the stable and the moving. It is both immanent and transcendent.
The verse refers also to the dichotomy of work and wisdom and suggests that while those who are lost in works without the wisdom of the spirit enter into darkness, those who are exclusively devoted to the pursuit of wisdom, to the neglect of works, enter into still greater darkness. Selfish seekers of spiritual wisdom miss their aim.
574 DAe Principal Upanisads
The Upanisad repudiates both schools of thought — those who hold that salvation is attained only by means of works and those who hold that it is to be attained by knowledge alone. It supports Kumarila who advocates a combination of knowledge and works. Kumarila says that even as a bird cannot fly in the heaven by one wing only but only by both the wings, even so man can gain salvation only by the combined pursuit of knowledge and works. Contemplative and active lives should go together. ‘Faith without works is dead.’
It is also said that avidya applies to the selfish people who desire worldly possessions and vidya to those who say ‘I am Brahman’ without the actual realisation of this truth. §.
The state of those who are lost in ignorance and cling to external props is pitiable indeed, but the state of those who are intellectually learned but spiritually poor is worse. The darkness of intellectual conceit is worse than that of ignorance. The writer is here dis¬ tinguishing between knowledge by description and knowledge by acquaintance or experience.
io. any ad evahur vidyaya any ad ahur avidyaya iti susruma dhirandm ye nas tad vicacaksire.
10. Distinct, indeed, they say, is the result of knowledge and distinct, they say, is the result of ignorance. Thus have we heard from those wise who have explained to us these.
We cannot grasp the nature of ultimate Reality by either discursive knowledge or lack of it.
If knowledge and ignorance are both real, it is because con¬ sciousness of oneness and consciousness of multiplicity are different sides of the supreme self-awareness. The one Brahman is the basis of numberless manifestations.
ii. Knowledge and ignorance, he who knows the two together crosses death through ignorance and attains life eternal through knowledge
See Maitri. VII. 9.
Vidya is equated with knowledge of deities and avidya with karma, vidyarn cavidyam ca devatajhdnam karma cety arthah. S. § makes out that by the performance of rites we overcome death and by the meditation on deities we attain immortality, which is becoming one with the deity meditated upon, amytam devatmabhavam .
Vedanta Desika quotes a verse where it is said that by austerity we destroy sins and by wisdom we attain life eternal.
tapo vidya ca viprasya nihsreyasa karau ubhau tapasa kalmasam hanti vidyayamrtam asnute.
Isa Upanisad 575
Kuranarayana says, ' avidyaya vidyanga-rupataya coditena karmana mrtyum vidyotpatti-pratibandhaka-bhutam punya-papa-rupam prak- tanarh karma tirtva niravasesam ullanghya vidyaya paramdtmopasana- riipayd amytam a§nute moksam prapnoti.
ubhayam saha: the two together. Works though they do not by themselves lead to salvation, are helpful in preparing our hearts for it. If we imagine that we can attain the highest wisdom without such previous preparation, we are mistaken. If we give ourselves to what is not knowledge we are mistaken, if we delight altogether in knowledge despising work we are also mistaken.1
Avidya is regarded as an essential prerequisite for spiritual life. Man cannot rise to spiritual enlightenment if he has not first through avidya become conscious of himself as a separate ego. In spiritual life we transcend this sense of separateness. To reach the higher self we must do battle with the lower. The endowment of intellectuality or avidya is justified on the ground that it creates the conditions for its own transformation. If we remain at the intellectual level, look upon it not only as a means but as the end in itself, if we deny the reality of life eternal to which we have to rise, then we suffer from intellectual pride and spiritual blindness. The knowledge of discur¬ sive reason is essential, but it has to be transcended into the life of spirit. Avidya must be transcended in Vidya. Avidya has its place. Without it there is no individual, no bondage, no liberation.1
12. Into blinding darkness enter those who worship the unmanifest and into still greater darkness, as it were, those who delight in the manifest.
asambhuti: the unmanifest, the undifferentiated prakfti. We get our rewards according to our beliefs.
1 Augustine: 'Two virtues are set before the soul of man, the one active, the other contemplative; the one whereby we journey, the other whereby we reach our journey’s end; the one whereby we toil that our heart may be cleansed for the vision of God ; the other whereby we repose and see God ; the one lies in the precepts for carrying on this temporal life, the other in the doctrine of that life which is eternal. Hence it is that the one toils, and the other reposes ; for the former is in the purgation of sins, the latter in the light (or illumination) of the purgation effected.’ Quoted in Dom Cuthbert Butler's Western Mysticism (1922).
1 ' Avidy a meaning the normal run of life based upon the procreative institution of marriage is treated as a means of preventing physical discontinuity, and vidya meaning the leading of chaste life, the practice of austerities and the pursuit of higher knowledge as means of realising the immortality of soul.’ B. M. Barua: Ceylon Lectures (1945), p. 201 n.
576 The Principal JJpanisads 14.
asambhuti: non-becoming: Those who do not believe in re-birth may be referred to.
sambhuti: the manifest, the lord of the phenomenal world, karya- brahma Hiranya-garbha. S. It is sometimes said that asambhuti means that the world has no creator, that it is produced, preserved and destroyed by its own nature. Those who hold such a view are the naturalists. See B.G. XVI. 8, 9, 20.
The Supreme is neither of these in the sense that he is not also the other. If we identify the Supreme with the manifest, it would be pantheism in the sense that the whole of the Divine nature finds expression in the manifested world, leaving nothing over, and it is a wrong view. Again, if the world of becoming were not there, it would all disappear in what would seem a world of undifferenced abstraction. Within the depths of the spirit there is unfolded before us the drama of God’s dealings with man and man’s with God. Unity and multiplicity are both aspects of the Supreme and there¬ fore the nature of the Supreme is said to be inconceivable. ekatve sati nandtvam nanatve sati caikata acintyam brahmano rupam kas tad veditum arhati. quoted by R. on M.U. I. 3.
13. Distinct, indeed, they say, is what results from the manifest, and distinct, they say, is what results from the unmanifest. Thus have we heard from those wise who have explained to us these.
Those who worship the Creator Hiranya-garbha obtain super¬ natural powers: those who worship the Unmanifested principle of prakrti get absorbed into it. sambhuteh karya-brahmopasanat asam- bhiiteh avyakrtat. S. quoting from the Puranas.
14. He who understands the manifest and the unmanifest both together, crosses death through the unmanifest and attains life eternal through the manifest.
$ tells us that sambhuti here means asambhuti. vinasa is taken as effect and so sambhuti. sambhutim ca vinasam cetyatr avarnalopena nirdeso drastavyah prakrti-laya-phala-srutyanurodhat.
Vedanta Desika and Kuranarayana dispute S’ interpretation. atra sambhuti-vinasa-sabdabhyam sfsti-pralaya-vivaksaya karya-hiran- ya-garbhasya avyakrta-pradhanasya copdsanam vidhiyata iti, samkara- vyakhydnam anupapannam. tatha sati mrtyu-taranamrtatva-prapti- rupa-phala-vacananaucitydt.
i8. Isa Upanisad 5 77
To be absorbed in the world around without turning to the principle at the base of it is one extreme; to be absorbed in the contemplation of the transcendent infinite indifferent to the events of the manifested world because they are likely to disturb inward serenity and self-complacency is another extreme. This verse asks us to lead a life in the manifested world with a spirit of non¬ attachment, with the mind centred in the unmanifest. We must live in this world without being choked by it. We must centre our thoughts in the eternal remembering that the eternal is the soul of the temporal.
See B.U. V. 15. 1-3.
s’amuha tejah.
yat te ruparh kalyanatamam tat te pasyami yo sav asau purusah, so’ham asmi.
16. 0 Pusan, the sole seer, 0 Controller, O Sun, offspring of Praja-pati, spread forth your rays and gather up your radiant light that I may behold you of loveliest form. Whosoever is that person (yonder) that also am I.
17. May this life enter into the immortal breath; then may this body end in ashes. O Intelligence, remember, remember what has been done. Remember, 0 Intelligence, what has been done, Remember.
vidvan
yuyodhyasmaj juharanam eno bhuyistham te nama-uktim vidhema.
18. 0 Agni, lead us, along the auspicious path to prosperity, 0 God, who knowest all our deeds. Take away from us deceitful sins. We shall offer many prayers unto thee.
Verses 15-18 are uttered at the time of death. Even to-day they are used by the Hindus in their funeral rites. We are required to
578 The Principal Upanisads 18.
remember our past deeds as their results accompany the departing soul and determine the nature of the future life.
The Upanisad emphasises the unity of God and the world and the union of the two lives, the contemplative and the active. We cannot have the contemplative life without the active. We must cleanse our souls to ascend the heights of contemplation. The seers of the Upanisads, the Buddha, Jesus have set an example not ,to neglect the work of the world through love of contemplation. They are noted for their stability and poise. Their calm was a vigilant one. They act without selfishness and help without patronising.
The Upanisad derives its name from the first word Kena, by whom, and belongs to the Santa Veda. It is also known as the Talavakara, the name of the Brahmana of the Sama Veda to which the Upanisad belongs. It has four sections, the first two in verse and the other two in prose. The metrical portion deals with the Supreme Unqualified Brahman, the absolute principle underlying the world of phenomena and the prose part of the Upanisad deals with the Supreme as God, Isvara. The know¬ ledge of the Absolute, para vidya, which secures immediate liberation ( sadyo-mukti ) is possible only for those who are able to withdraw their thoughts from worldly objects and con¬ centrate on the ultimate fact of the universe. The knowledge of Isvara, apara vidya, puts one on the pathway that leads to deliverance eventually ( krama-mukti ). The worshipping soul gradually acquires the higher wisdom which results in the consciousness of the identity with the Supreme.
i. apyayantu mamahgani vak pranas caksuh srotram atho balam indriyani ca sarvani.
2. sarvam brahmopanisadam ma’ham brahma nirakuryarh ma ma brahma nirakarot anirakaranam astu anirakaranam me’stu.
2. All is the Brahman of the Upanisads. May I never discard Brahman. May the Brahman never discard me. May there be no discarding. May there be no discarding of me.
WHO IS THE REAL AGENT IN THE INDIVIDUAL?
kenesitam, vacam imam vadanti. caksuh irotram, ka u devo yunakti.
1. By whom willed and directed does the mind light on its objects? By whom commanded does life the first, move? At whose will do (people) utter this speech? And what god is it that prompts the eye and the ear?
The questions put in this verse by the pupil imply that the passing things of experience are not all and they depend on a permanent reality. The necessity of a ground for the existence of finite beings is assumed here. The questions assume that there is a relation between reality and these phenomena, that the real governs the phenomenal.
THE ALL-CONDITIONING YET INSCRUTABLE BRAHMAN IS THE AGENT
caksusas caksur atimucya dhirah, prety asmal lokat amrta bhavanti.
2. Because it is that which is the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, the speech, indeed of the speech, the breath of the breath, the eye of the eye, the wise, giving up (wrong notions of their self-sufficiency) and departing from this world, become immortal.
This verse contains the answers to the questions raised in the first verse.
ear of the ear: it means that the self directs the ear.
There is the Eternal Reality behind the mind, life and the senses, the mind of the mind, the life of the life. Brahman is not an object subject to mind, speech and the senses. He who knows it will gain fife eternal and not the partial satisfactions of the earthly life. Here in the world of space and time we are always seeking the Beyond which is above space and time. There, we possess the consciousness that is beyond space and time.
582 The Principal Upanisads 1. 5.
Katha. VI. 12; M.U. III. (i)-8; T.U. II. 4.
The Supreme is not dependent on mind, life and senses for its being.
‘Knowledge of a thing arises through the senses or the mind and since Brahman is not reached by either of these, we do not know of what nature it is. We are therefore unable to understand how anyone can explain that Brahman to a disciple. Whatever is perceivable by the senses, that it is possible to indicate to others, by genus, quality, function or relationship, jati-guna-kriya-visesanaih. Brahman does not possess any of these differentiating characters. Hence the difficulty in explaining its nature to disciples. S.
iti iuiruma purvesam ye nas tad vyacacaksire.
See l£a 10, 13.
4. Other, indeed, is it than the known; and also it is above the unknown. Thus have we heard from the ancients who have explained it to us.
It is above the known and the unknown, but it is not unknowable. Verse 6 says, tad eva brahma tvarh viddhi, ‘that, verily, is Brahman, know thou,' implies that the Brahman is not beyond our appre¬ hension. The writer suggests that this teaching has been trans¬ mitted by tradition. We cannot know it by logic, brahma caitanyam acaryopadesa paramparayaivadhigantavyam, na tarkatah.
‘Those who know do not speak ; Those who speak do not know.’ Tao Te’Ching. 56. A. Waley's English translation The Way and the Power .
tad eva brahma tvam viddhi nedamyad idam upasate.
5. That which is not expressed through speech but that by which speech is expressed; that, verily, know thou, is Brahman, not what (people) here adore.
S argues that the author lays stress on the distinction between the Absolute Brahman who is one with the deepest self in us and Isvara who is the object of worship.
livara as the indwelling spirit and not as an object who is external to us is what the Real is. God must cease to be a conceived and apprehended God but become the inward power by which we live. But this inward experience of God is felt only by the advanced
i. 8. Kena Upanisad 583
spirits. The simple, unreflective child-mind seeks God who is above and not within. The prayer of Solomon, ‘Hear thou in Heaven thy dwelling-place.’1
not what people here adore.- — The pure Godhead which is beyond all conceptual determinations and differentiations, when viewed con¬ ceptually and concretely becomes, as Eckhart says, an ‘idol,’ ‘Had I a God whom I could understand, I would no longer hold him for God.’2
Spirit cannot be objectified. The revelation of Spirit is in the depths of one’s life and not in the objective world. However high our conception may be, so long as it is an objective attitude, it is a form of idolatry. When we are in bondage to the objective world, we look upon God as a great external force, a supernatural power who demands to be appeased. God is life and can be revealed only in spiritual life. The relation to the Supreme is an inward one revealing itself in the depths of spiritual life. Spirit is freedom, life, the opposite of necessity, passivity, death. This and the following verses affirm that Spirit must free itself from the yoke of necessity. The more completely we live in the divine the less do we reflect on him.
Cp. Eckhart: When the soul beholds God purely, it takes all its being and its life and whatever it is from the depth of God; yet it knows no knowing, no loving, or anything else whatsoever. It rests utterly and completely within the being of God, and knows nothing but only to be with God. So soon as it becomes conscious that it sees and loves and knows God, that is in itself a departure. ’3
tad eva brahma tvam viddhi nedam yad idam upasate.
6. That which is not thought by the mind but by which, they say, the mind is thought (thinks) ; that, verily, know thou, is Brahman and not what (people) here adore.
Brahman is the pure subject and should not be confused with any object, however exalted.
tad eva brahma tvam viddhi nedam yad idam upasate.
7. That which is not seen by the eye but by which the eyes are seen (see) ; that, verily, know thou, is Brahman and not what (people) here adore.
1 I Kings, VIII. 30.
2 Rudolf Otto: Mysticism: East and West (1932), p. 25.
3 Ibid., p. 134.
584 The Principal Upanisads
8. That which is not heard by the ear but by which the ears are heard (hear) ; that, verily, know thou, is Brahman and not what (people) here adore.
tad eva brahma tvam viddhi nedam yad idam upasate.
9. That which is not breathed by life, but by which life breathes; that, verily, know thou, is Brahman and not what (people) here adore.
yadasya tvam yadasya devesu atha nu mimamsyam eva te, manye viditam.
1. If you think that you have understood Brahman well, you know it but slightly, whether it refers to you (the individual self) or to the gods. So then is it to be investigated by you (the pupil) (even though) I think it is known.
dabhram, another reading is daharam. Both mean alpam or small. Whatever is human or divine is limited by adjuncts and is thus not different from smallness or finitude. The Brahman which is free from adjuncts is not an object of knowledge. The disciple is asked to ponder over this truth and he, through reasoning and intuitive experience, comes to a decision and approaches the teacher and says, ‘I think that Brahman is now understood by me.’ evam acaryoktah sisya ekante upavistah samahitassan, yathoktam dear yena agamam arthato vicarya tar katas ca nirdharya, svanubhavam krtva, deary a-sakasam upagamya, uv.aca manye’ham athedanlm viditam brahmeti.
yo nas tad veda tad veda no na vedeti veda ca.
2. I do not think that I know it well; nor do I think that I do not know it. He who among us knows it, knows it and he, too, does' not know that he does not know.
‘It is neither that I know him not, nor is it that I know him’ is also an admissible rendering.
There is the knowledge that we obtain through philosophical processes but there is also another kind of knowledge. The founder
and model of Egyptian monachism, St. Antony, according toCassian (Coll IX. 31), delivered this judgment about prayer, ‘That prayer is not perfect in which the monk understands himself or his own prayer.’ (See Encyclopaedia of Religions and Ethics, article on Roman Catholic .)
Cp. Dionysius: ‘There is that most divine knowledge of God which takes place through ignorance, in the union which is above intelligence, when the intellect quitting all things that are, and then leaving itself also, is united to the superlucent rays, being illuminated thence and therein by the unsearchable depth of wisdom.’ Divine Names VII. 3. Louis of Blois observes: ‘The soul, having entered the vast solitude of the Godhead, happily loses itself; and enlightened by the brightness of most lucid darkness, becomes through know¬ ledge as if without knowledge, and dwells in a sort of wise ignorance.' Spiritual Mirror, Ch. XI.
3. To whomsoever it is not known, to him it is known: to whomsoever it is known, he does not know. It is not understood by those who understand it; it is understood by those who do not understand it.
This verse brings out how we struggle with the difficulties of human expression, how we confess to ourselves the insufficiency of mental utterance.
The Supreme is not an object of ordinary knowledge but of intuitive realisation. If we think that we know Brahman and we can describe Him as an object perceived in nature or as the cause inferred from nature, we do not, in reality, know Him. Those who feel that they do not and cannot know Him in this manner do have a know¬ ledge of Him. Brahman cannot be comprehended as an object- of knowledge. He can be realised as the subject in all knowledge. § says that the true knowledge is intuitive experience, samyag-darsanam. The process of abstraction employed by philosophers gives us an abstract idea, but the intuitive apprehension by which the soul is earned away above all intelligence into a direct union with God is different from intellectual abstraction and negation.
V ajracchedika Sutra, f. 38, XXVI : ‘Those who see me in any form or think of me in words, their way of thinking is false, they do not see me at all. The Beneficent Ones are to be seen in the Law, theirs is a Lawbody; the Buddha is rightly to be understood as being of the nature of the Law, he cannot be understood by any means.’
Plotinus: ‘In other words, they have seen God and they do not remember ? Ah, no : it is that they see God still and always, and that as long as they see, they cannot tell themselves they have had the
586 The Principal Upanisads II. 4
vision; such reminiscence is for souls that have lost it.’ Enneads, IV. 4. 6. Nicolas of Cusa, De Vis. Dei, Ch. XVI: ‘What satisfies the intellect is not what it understands.'
Cp. Dionysius, the Areopagite: ‘God is invisible from excess of light. He who perceives God is himself in darkness. God’s all- pervading darkness is hidden from every light and veils all recogni¬ tion. And if anyone who sees God recognises and understands what he sees, then he himself hath not seen Him.’
4. When it is known through every state of cognition, it is rightly known, for (by such knowledge) one attains life eternal. Through one’s own self one gains power and through wisdom one gains immortality.
pratibodha-viditam: through every state of cognition, bodham bodham prati viditam. $. The self is the witness of all states, sarva-pratyaya- darsi-cicchakti-svarupa-matrah. To know it as such is right knowledge. It is the absolute a priori, the certain foundation of all knowledge. If pratibodha-viditam is interpreted as leading to an inferential apprehension of the self, then self becomes a substance possessing the faculty of knowing and not knowledge itself, bodha-kriya-sak- timan atma dravyam, na bodha-svarupa eva. $. Knowledge appears and disappears. When knowledge appears, the self is inferred; when knowledge disappears, the self becomes a mere unintelligent sub¬ stance. tatha nastabodho. dravyamatram nirvisesah. §. The self is subject to changes.
If pratibodha-viditam means knowledge of self by self, the object known is the conditioned Brahman and not the unconditioned Reality. ‘Pure spirituality is bound only to interior recollection and mental converse with God. So although (one) may make use of (these interventions) this will be only for a time; his spirit will at once come to rest in God and he will forget all things of sense.’1
‘Of. all forms and manners of knowledge the soul must strip and void itself so that there may be left in it no kind of impression of knowledge, nor trace of aught soever, but rather the soul must remain barren and bare, as if these forms had never passed through it, and in total oblivion and suspension.’2
1 St. John of the Cross: Ascent of Mount Carmel, Bk. Ill, Ch. XXXI.
2 Ibid., Bk. Ill, Ch. II.
bhutesu bhutesu vicintya dhirah pretyasmal lokad amrta bhavanti.
5. If here (a person) knows it, then there is truth, and if here he knows it not, there is great loss. Hence, seeing or (seeking) (the Real) in all beings, wise men become immortal on departing from this world.
vicintya: vijhaya, saksatkrtya. v. vicitya.
The wise man sees the same Brahman in every creature. here: If here on earth, in this physical body, we arrive at our true existence, and are no longer bound down to the process, to the becoming, we are saved. If we do not find the truth, our loss is great, for we, then, are lost in the life of mind and body and do not rise above it to our supramental existence.
THE ALLEGORY OF THE VEDIC GODS' IGNORANCE
1. brahma ha devebhyo vijigye, tasya ha brahmano vijaye deva amahiyanta, ta aiksantasmakam evayam vijayo’ smakam evayam mahima iti.
1. Brahman, it is said, conquered (once) for the gods, and the gods gloried in that conquest of Brahman. They thought, ours, indeed, is this victory and ours, indeed, is this greatness.
The incomprehensible Supreme is higher than all gods, and is the source of victory for the gods and defeat, for the demons. Brahman as the Supreme Isvara vanquishes the enemies of the world and restores stability to it.
We see in this allegory the supplanting of the Vedic gods by the one Supreme Brahman.
See B.U. I. 3. 1-7.
yaksam: spirit, pujyam mahad bhutam iti. $.
The Supreme by His power appeared before the devas. svayoga-mahatmya-nirmitenatyadbhutena vismapaniyena rupena devanam indriya-gocare pradurbabhuva. 8.
588 The Principal Upanisads III. io.
jata-vedas is said to be omniscient, sarvajha-kalpam: $>. jatarh sarvam vetti iti jata-vedah. It is the name given to Agni in the R.V.
6. tasmai trnam nidadhau etad daha iti, tad upapreyaya sarva-javena, tan na iasaka dagdhum, sa tata eva nivavrte, naitad aiakarh vijhatum yad etad yaksam iti.
6. (He) placed (a blade of) grass before him saying, ‘Burn this.’ He went towards it with all speed but could not bum it. He returned thence and said. ‘I have not been able to find out what this spirit is.’
sarva-javena: with all speed, sarvotsaha-krtena vegena. S.
8. He hastened towards it, and it said to him, ‘Who art thou?’ Vayu replied, ‘I am Vayu indeed, I am Matarisvan.’ matari antarikse svayatiti matarisva.
9. (He asked Vayu) ‘What power is there in thee?’ (Vayu) replied, ‘I can blow off everything whatever there is on earth.’
sarva-javena, tan na iaiakdddtum , sa tata eva nivavrte, naitad aiakarn vijhatum yad etad yaksam iti.
10. He placed before him (a blade of) grass saying, ‘Blow off.’ Vayu went towards it with all speed but could not blow it off. He returned thence and said, ‘I have not been able to find out what this spirit is.’
11. Then they said to Indra, ‘0 Maghavan, find this out what this spirit is.’ ‘Yes’ (said he). He hastened towards it (but) it disappeared from before him.
12. When in the same region of the sky, he (Indra) came across a lady, most beautiful, Uma, the daughter of Himavat, and said to her, ‘What is this spirit?'
bahu-iobhamandm umam: most beautiful, Uma. Uma is wisdom personified.
Uma: the name is said to be derived from u ma, do not practise austerities which is the exclamation addressed to Parvati by her mother.
This legend that Uma, the daughter of the Himalayas revealed the mystic idealism of the Upanisads to the gods is an imaginative expression of the truth that the thought of the Upanisads was developed by the forest dwellers in the mountain fastnesses of the Himalayas.
haimavatim: the daughter of Himavat. Holy men live there and pilgrims go there as for many centuries the striving of the human spirit has been directed towards these mountain ranges.
Wisdom is the most beautiful of all beautiful things. sarvesam hi sobhamananam iobhanatama vidyd. 8. viriipo’pi vidyavan bahu sobhate. Beauty is the expression of inward purity. Sins leave a scar on the soul or otherwise disfigure it. Uma is the Wisdom that dispels Indra's ignorance. Mere knowledge untouched by divine grace will not do. In the lives of saints we find that the sight of an angel or the hearing of its voice floods the seer with a new power and imparts illumination.
In the Devi Saptasati it is said that the Mother of the universe will descend to earth or assume incarnations whenever disturbances are caused by beings of a demoniacal nature.
ittham yada yada badha danavotthd bhavisyati, tada tadavatiryaham karisyamy ari-samksayam.
Markandeya Parana, Devi Saptasati II. 55.
590 The Principal Upanisads IV. 3.
Durga: sometimes worshipped as Katyayani, is represented to be divine wisdom, brahma-vidya. Cp. moksarthibhir munibhir asta-sa- masta-dosair vidyasi sa bhagavatl, parama hi devl: O Goddess, Thou art Wisdom, the supreme goddess worshipped by the seekers of liberation, by the sages, in whom all passions have subsided, Durga- saptasati.
Cp. Peter Abailard: ‘However long you exert yourself in dialectic, you will consume your labour in vain, unless grace fr.om heaven makes your mind capable of so great a mystery. Daily practice, can, indeed, furnish any mind with knowledge of the other science, but philosophy is to be attributed to divine grace alone, and, if this grace does not prepare your mind inwardly, your philosophy merely flogs the air outside to no avail.’1
1. She replied, ‘This is Brahman, to be sure, and in the victory of Brahman, indeed, do you glory thus.’ Then only did he (Indra) know that it was Brahman.
The object of the story is to illustrate the superiority of Brahman to all the manifestations including the divine ones.
Brahman here is Isvara or personal God who governs the Universe.
Cp. : ‘All things cry out to Thee, pass on, I am not God.’ — Eckhart.
2. tasmad va ete deva atitaramivanyan devan yad agnir vayur indrah, te hy enan nedistham pasprsuh, te hy enat prathamo vidamcakara brahmeti.
2. Therefore, these gods, Agni, Vayu and Indra, surpass greatly other gods, for they, it was, that touched Brahman closest, for they, indeed, for the first time knew (it was) Brahman.
3. Therefore, Indra surpasses greatly, as it were, other gods. He, indeed, has come into close contact with Brahman. He, indeed, for the first time knew that (it was) Brahman.
Of the three Agni, Vayu and Indra, Indra obtained the knowledge that it was Brahman through the grace of Uma. Brahman is the 1 G. Sikes: Peter Abailard (1932), pp. 58-59.
supreme being through whose power alone the gods enjoy greatness. See Katha VI. 3.
4. Of this Brahman, there is this teaching: this is as it were, like the lightning which flashes forth or the winking of the eye. This teaching is concerning the gods.
‘like sudden lightning’: yathd sakfd vidyutam. The illustration of lightning is used to indicate the instantaneous enlightenment pro¬ duced by the union of the individual soul with the transcendental principle of universal wisdom. Like lightning Brahman showed Himself to the gods once and disappeared. There is a sudden enlarging of the mind, a flash of light enlightening the intellect, an inpouring of the spirit causing fervour and joy ineffable.
The masters of spiritual life tell us that the hidden word comes to them all on a sudden for one brief moment, when all things are hushed in a deep stillness.
Cp. The Cloud of Unknowing: ‘There will He sometimes perad- venture send out a beam of ghostly light, piercing this cloud of unknowing that is betwixt thee and Him; and shew thee some of his privity, the which man may not nor cannot speak.’ Chapter XXVI.
Cp. Augustine quoted by Eckhart: ‘In this first flash when thou art as if struck by lightning, when thou hearest inwardly the affirma¬ tion “Truth” there remain if thou canst.’— Rudolf Otto: Mysticism: East and West (1932), p. 34.
The two illustrations of the flash of lightning and the twinkling of the eye suggest the sudden glimpse, sakrd-vijhanam, into Reality which has to be transformed into permanent realization. Ultimate truth can only be taught by examples: nirupamasya brahmano yenopamdnena upadesah. S.
5. Now the teaching concerning the self. — It is this toward which the mind appears to move; by the same (mind, one) remembers constantly; volition also likewise.
The mental processes by which we remember, think and will presuppose Brahman. There is a general view that there is an analogy between the divine spirit, the cosmic world and the individual soul. In several passages, as here, it is said, ‘So with regard to the divine; now with regard to the soul.’
592 The Principal Upanisads IV. 9.
6. Brahman, the object of all desire, that, verily, is what is called the dearest of all. It is to be meditated upon as such (tadvanam) . Whoever knows it thus, him, all beings seek.
tad-vanam: dearest of all : tasya prani-jatasya pratyag-atma-bhutatvad vanamyam sambhajanlyam atas tadvanam nama prakhyatam. brahma tadvanam. S.
vahchanti: seek, yearn, prarthayanti. S.
7. (The pupil) ‘Sir, teach (me) the secret (Upanisad).’ (The teacher) : ‘The secret has been taught to thee; we have taught thee the secret relating to Brahman.’
tapah: austerity. It is derived from the root tap to burn. It signifies warmth. The saints are represented as undergoing austerities for years to attain supernatural powers. The Supreme is said to have endured austerities in order to create.
Tapas is training in spiritual life. Negatively, it is cleansing our soul of all that is sinful and imperfect; positively, it is building up of all that is good and holy. In the history of religion, the practice of bodily austerities has been looked upon as the chief means for attaining spiritual ends. The privations of food and drink, of sleep and clothing, of exposure to heat and cold are labours undertaken to wear down the body. In the story of asceticism, Hindu or Christian, excesses of bodily suffering play a large part such as the use of chainlets, spikes and pricks and scourgings.
9. Whoever knows this, he, indeed, overcoming sin, in the end, is firmly established in the Supreme world of heaven; yes, he is firmly established.
ante: in the end. v. anante, infinite, which is taken to qualify svarga or heaven. In that case svarga is not paradise but infinite bliss from which there is no return to earthly embodiments, na punas samsaram dpadyata ity abhiprayah. S.
Katha Upanisad, also called Kathakopanisad which belongs to the Taittiriya school of the Yajur Veda, uses the setting of a story found in ancient Sanskrit literature.1 A poor and pious Brahmana, Vajasravasa, performs a sacrifice and gives as pre¬ sents to the priests a few old and feeble cows. His son, Naciketas, feeling disturbed by the unreality of his father’s observance of the sacrifice, proposes that he himself may be offered as offering ( daksina ) to a priest. When he persisted in his request, his father in rage said, ‘Unto Yama, I give thee.' Naciketas goes to the abode of Yama and finding him absent, waits there for three days and nights unfed. Yama, on his return, offers three gifts in recompense for the delay and discomfort caused to Naciketas. For the first, Naciketas asked, ‘Let me return alive to my father.' For the second, ‘Tell me how my good works (ista-purta) may not be exhausted’; and for the third, ‘Tell me the way to conquer re-death ( punar mrtyu).’
In the Upanisad, the third request is one for enlightenment on the ‘great transition' which is called death.
The Upanisad consists of two chapters, each of which has three Vallis or sections.
There are some passages common to the Gita and the Katha U.
1 Taittiriya Brahmana III. i. 8; see also M. B. Anusasana Parva: 106. The first mention of the story is in the R.V. (X. 135) where we read how the boy Naciketas was sent by his father to Yama (Death), but was allowed to get back on account of his great faith, sraddha.
sa ha nav avatu, saha nau bhunaktu, saha viryarii karavavahai: tejasvi nav adhltam astu: ma vidvisavahai; aum santih, santih, iantih.
May He protect us both; may He be pleased with us both; may we work together with vigour; may our study make us illumined; may there be no dislike between us. Aum, peace, peace, peace.
See also T.U. II and III. The teacher and the pupil pray for harmonious co-operation in keen and vigorous study.
Katha Upanisad
1. Desirous (of the fruit of the VEvajit sacrifice) VajaSravasa, they say, gave away all that he possessed. He had a son by name Naciketas.
usan: desirous. Evidently, at the time of the Upanisad, the sacrificial religion of the Brahmanas was popular. Desire for earthly and heavenly gain was the prominent motive. The Upanisad leads us to a higher goal. ‘He who is free from desire beholds him.’ II. 20.
usan, is sometimes said to be the offspring of Vajairavasa.1 gave away all that he possessed. He is represented as making a volun¬ tary surrender of all that he possessed, samnyasa, in order to secure his spiritual interests.
Naciketas: one who does not know2 and therefore seeks to know.
The author attempts to distinguish between VajaSravasa, the protagonist of an external ceremonialism, and Naciketas, the seeker of spiritual wisdom. Vaj a^ravasa represents orthodox religion and is devoted to its outer forms. He performs the sacrifice and makes gifts which are unworthy. The formalism and the hypocrisy of the father hurt the son.
2 As the gifts were being taken to the priests, faith entered him, although but a (mere) boy; he thought.
Prompted by the desire to do real good to his father, the boy felt worried about the nature of the presents.
sraddha: faith. It is not blind belief but the faith which asks whether the outer performance without the living spirit is enough.
3. Their water drunk, their grass eaten, their milk milked, their strength spent, joyless, verily, are those worlds, to which he, who presents such (cows) goes.
1 ukan nama vajairavaso’ pat-yam. Bhattabhaskara MiSra.
2 Cp. R.V. ‘No knowledge of the god have I, a mortal.’ naharh devasya martyai ciketa.’ X. 79. 5.
596 The Principal Upanisads I. 1. 5.
nirindriyah: without the strength to breed, a-prajanana-samarthah. anandah: ananandah, asukhah, joyless. Isa 3; B.U. IV. 4. 11. The cows which are presented are no longer able to drink, eat, give milk or calve.
Naciketas reveals here, with the enthusiasm of youth, the utter inadequacy of a formal soulless ritualism. The idea of complete surrender ( sarva-vedasam dadau) in the first verse should be properly interpreted as utter dedication or complete self-giving.
True prayer and sacrifice are intended to bring the mind and will of the human being into harmony with the great universal purpose of God.
4. He said to his father, ‘O Sire, to whom wilt thou give me?’ For a second and a third time (he repeated) (when the father) said to him, ‘Unto Death shall I give thee.’
Dr. Rawson suggests that a mere boy should be so impertinent as to interfere with his doings, the father in anger said, ‘Go to hell.’
The boy earnestly wishes to make himself an offering and thus purify his father’s sacrifice. He does not discard the old tradition but attempts to quicken it. There can be no quickening of the spirit until the body die.
Cp. St. Paul: ‘Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die.’
mrtyave: unto Death. Mrtyu or Yama is the lord of death. When Vaja^ravasa gives away all his goods, Naciketas feels that this involves the giving away of the son also and so wishes to know about himself. When the father replies that he will give him to Yama, it may mean that, as a true sarhnyasin, personal relations and claims have henceforward no meaning for him. Naciketas takes his father’s words literally. He in the course of his teaching points out that the psychophysical vehicles animated by the spirit are determined by the law of karma and subject to death. He who knows himself as the spirit, and not as the psychophysical vehicle is free and immortal.
5. Naciketas, ‘Of many (sons or disciples) I go as the first; of many, I go as the middling. What duty towards Yama that (my father has to accomplish) today, does he accomplish through me?’
emi: gacchami , I go*.
tnadhyamah: middling, mrtandm madhye. Among many who are
dead I am in the middle. I am not the last. Many others will still follow me and there is no need for lamentation.
Naciketas in sadness reflects as to what help he has to render to Yama.
Anticipating the teacher’s or the parents’ wishes and carrying them out is the way of the best pupils or sons; promptly attending to what is ordered is the next best ; neglecting the orders is the worst form of conduct of pupils or sons. Naciketas belonged to the first type; at worst to the second; he was never negligent of his duty to his father.
yathdvasaram jnatvd susrilsane pravrtti-i"upd; ajnadivasena susriisane pravrtti-rupa; gurvadibhih kopitassan susriisdkarane pravftti-rupd. Samkarananda and A.
sasyam iva martyah pacyate sasyam ivajdyate punah.
6. ‘Consider how it was with the forefathers; behold how it is with the later (men); a mortal ripens like corn, and like corn is born again.’
S makes out that Naciketas, startled by his father’s words, reflected and told his father who was now in a repentant mood that he was much better than many sons, and there was nothing to be gained by going back on one’s word. Naciketas reminds his father that neither his ancestors nor his contemporaries who are decent ever broke their word. After all, human life is at best transitory. Like a blade of grass man dies and is born again. Death is not all; rebirth is a law of nature. The life of vegetation on which all other life depends passes through the seasonal round of birth, growth, maturity, decay, death and rebirth. The unity of all life suggests the application of this course to human beings also. This perpetual rebirth is not an escape from the wheel of becoming into a deathless eternity. Even if we do not gain life eternal, survival is inescapable. So the son persuades his father to keep his word and send him to Yama’s abode.
Possibly Naciketas wished to know what happened to his ancestors and what will happen to his contemporaries after death.
The doctrine of rebirth is assumed here.
7. As a very fire a Brahmana guest enters into houses and (the people) do him this peace-offering; bring water, 0 Son of the Sun!
598 'The Principal Upanisads I. 1. 9.
In the Brahmana account, Naciketas goes to Yama’s house, at the command of a divine voice. He waits for three nights before Death returns and shows him hospitality due to a guest.
§ says: ‘Thus addressed, the father sent his son to Yama, in order to keep his word. And going to Yama’s abode, he waited for three nights as Yama had gone out. When he returned his attendants, or perhaps his wife said to him as follows informing him (of what had taken place in his absence).’
As fire is appeased by water, so is a guest to be entertained with hospitality. The word for fire used here is V aisvanara, the universal fire, which affirms the unity of all life. The guest comes as the embodiment of the fundamental oneness of all beings.
etad vrhkte puru$asyaipamedhaso yasyanasnan vasati brah- mano grhe.
8. Hope and expectation, friendship and joy, sacrifices and good works, sons, cattle and all are taken away from a person of little understanding in whose house a Brahmana remains unfed.
sunyta: joy in Vedic Sanskrit, ‘kindly speech’ in Jaina and later
Brahmanical works.
isfapurte: sacrifices and good works.
isfam: fruit produced by sacrifice, p-urtam: fruit resulting from such works as planting gardens, etc. istarh ydgajam phalam: pur tarn, aramddi-kriydjam phalam. S. Cp. R.V. X. 14.
sarii gacchasva pitybhih, sarh yamena istapurtena parame vyoman. ‘Unite thou with the fathers and with Yama with the reward of thy sacrifices and good works in highest heaven.’
vdpi-kupa-tatdkddi-devatayatandni ca annapradanam dr amah pur tarn ity abhidhiyate.
YAMA’S ADDRESS TO NACIKETAS
namaste’stu, brahman; svasti me’stu; tasmat prati trin varan vrnisva.’
9. ‘Since thou, a venerable guest, hast stayed in my house without food for three nights, I make obeisance to thee, 0 Brahmana. May it be well with me. Therefore, in return, choose thou three gifts.
'When the disciple is ready, the Master appears.’ tasmat: in order to remove the evil effects of that, tasya pratlkaraya.
NACIKETAS’S FIRST WISH
tv at-prasr stam mabhivadet pratlta, etat trayanam prathamarii varam vrne.
10. That Gautama (my father) with allayed anxiety, with anger gone, may be gracious to me, O Death, and recognising me, greet me, when set free by you and this, I choose as the first gift of the three.
sumanah: gracious, prasanna-manah. S.
pratlta: recognising. It means ‘recollected, recognising that this is my own son come back again.’ pratlto labdha-smrtih, sa eva ay am putro samagatah ity evam pratyabhijanan ity arthah. £.
prasrstah
sukharh ratrls sayita vltamanyus tvarh dadrsivan mrtyu: mukhat pramuktam.
11. (Yama said): ‘As of old will he, recognising thee (thy father) Auddalaki, the son of Aruna, through my favour will he sleep peacefully through nights, his anger gone, seeing thee released from the jaws of death.’
auddalakir arunir: Uddalaka, the son of Aruna. The father of Svetaketu is also called Aruni. C.U. VI. 1. 1.
mat-prasrstah: through my favour, may a anujhatah. S. anujhdtah, anugraha-sampannah. Gopalayatlndra. It may apply to the first or the second part.
In the previous verse tvat-prasrstam is taken to mean ‘set free by you’ ; so in this verse mat-prasrstah should mean ‘set free by me.' It is in the nominative case in apposition to Auddalaki Aruni, the subject which is incorrect. So § gives a different meaning, which is, however, not the obvious meaning of the phrase. If we alter it to mat-prasrstam, the rendering will be, ‘As of old will he (thy father) Auddalaki Aruni, recognising thee, set free by me.’
Deussen retains the original reading but gives a different rendering : Auddalaki Aruni will be just as before. Happy will he be, released by me (from his words).
Charpentier identifies Naciketas with Auddalaki Aruni. He renders the verse thus:
‘As of old he will be full of joy; since the son of Uddalaka Aruni
6oo
The Principal Upanisads I. I. 14
has (already) been let loose by me.’ So too, Hillebrandt: ‘Aruni, son of Uddalaka, is (herewith) released by me.’ Indian Antiquary, (1928), pp. 205, 223.
NACIKETAS’S SECOND WISH
ubhe tirtva asanaya pipase sokdtigo modate svarga-loke.
12. (Naciketas said) : In the world of heaven there is no fear whatever; thou art not there, nor does one fear old age. Crossing over both hunger and thirst, leaving sorrow behind, one rejoices in the world of heaven.
See R.V. IX. 113; R says that svarga is moksa. svarga-iabdo moksa-sthana-parah.
leaving sorrow behind: iokarn atitya gacchati.
iraddadanaya mahyam
svarga-loka amrtatvam bhajanta, etad dvitlyena vrne varena.
13. Thou knowest, O Death, that fire (sacrifice which is) the aid to heaven. Describe it to me, full of faith, how the dwellers in heaven gain immortality. This I choose, as my second boon.
svarga-lokah: svargo loko yesam te param-pada-prdptah. amrtatvam: immortality. In svarga which is a part of the manifested universe, the immortality may be endlessness but not eternity. Whatever is manifest will sooner or later enter into that from which it emerged. Yet as the duration in svarga-loka is incalculable, the dwellers in it are said to be immortal. They may continue as long as the manifested world does.
prajanan
anantalokaptim atho prati$tham viddhi, tvam etam nihitam guhayam.
14. (Yama said): Knowing well as I do, that fire (which is) the aid to heaven, I shall describe it to thee — learn it of me, O Naciketas. Know that fire to be the means of attaining the boundless world, as the support (of the universe) and as abiding in the secret place (of the heart).
nihitam guhayam: abiding in the secret place (of the heart). It means literally, hidden in the cave. The cave or the hiding-place is
said to be in the centre of the body, guha yam iarirasya madhye: Taittirlya Brahmana I. 2. 1. 3. vidusam buddhau nivistam. S.
The central purpose of the passage is to indicate that the ultimate power of the universe is also the deepest part of our being. See also I. 2. 12. It is one of the assumptions of the Upanisad writers that deep below the plane of our empirical life of imagination, will and feeling is the ultimate being of man, his true centre which remains unmoved and unchanged, even when on the surface we have the fleeting play of thoughts and emotions, hopes and desires. When we withdraw from the play of outward faculties, pass the divisions of discursive thought, we retreat into the soul, the witness spirit within.
15 . lokadim agnim tam uvaca tasmai, yd istaka,yavatir va,yatha va.
sa cdpi tat pratyavadat yathoktam; athasya mrtyuh punar evaha tustah.
15. (Yama) described to him that fire (sacrifice which is) the beginning of the world (as also) what kind of bricks (are to be used in building the sacrificial altar), how many and in what manner. And he (Naciketas) repeated all that just as it had been told; then, pleased with him, Death spoke again.
iokadi: the beginning of the world. In the R.V., Agni is identified with Praja-pati, the Creator, and so may be regarded as the source or origin of the world. In II. 2. 9 we are told that the one Fire, having entered the universe, assumed all forms. B.U. I. 2. 7. makes out that 'this fire is the arka, the worlds are its embodiment.'
§, however, interprets Iokadi as first of the worlds, as the first embodied existence, prathama-sariritvad. Cp. C.U. where it is said that all other things evolved from fire ( tejas ) which was itself the first product of essential being (sat). VI. 8. 4.
bhuyah.
tavaiva namna bhavitayam agnih, srhkam cemam ane- ka-rupam grhana.
16. The great soul (Yama) extremely delighted, said to him (Naciketas). I give thee here today another boon. By thine own name will this fire become (known) . Take also this many¬ shaped chain.
srnka: chain. The word occurs again in I. 2. 3., where it means ‘a road.’ srnka vitta-mayi, the road that leads to wealth. $ gives two meanings: ratna-mayim malam, a necklace of precious stones; (ii) akutsitam gatirh karma-mayim, the straight way of works which is productive of many fruits, karma-vijhanam aneka-phala-hetutvat.
602 The Principal Upanisads I. i. 18.
aneka-rupam: many-shaped. While the ignorant are limited to one form, the wise, who have attained unity with the higher self, can assume many forms.
brahmajajham devam Idyam viditva nicayye’mam santim atyantam eti.
17. He who has lit the Naciketa fire thrice, associating with the three, performs the three acts, crosses over birth and death. Knowing the son of Brahma, the omniscient, resplendent and adorable and realising him, one obtains this everlasting peace.
tri-naciketah: one who has lit the Naciketa fire thrice. § suggests an alternative. One who knows about him, studies about him and practises what he has learnt, tad-vijhanas tad-adhyayanas tad-anus- fhanavan.
tribhir etya sandhim: associating with the three. $ mentions 'father, mother and teacher,’ or alternatively ‘Veda, smj'ti and good men.’ tri-karma: three acts. § suggests ‘sacrifice, study and alms-giving,’ ijya adhyayana dana.
brahmajajha, the knower of the universe born of Brahma, Agni, who is known as jata-vedas or all-knower. S, however, takes it as referring to Hiranya-garbha. For Ramanuja, the individual jiva is Brahma-born. He who knows him and rules his behaviour is Iivara. Madhva says: brahmano hiranya-garbhaj jatah brahmajah, brahmajai ca asau jhas ca brahmajajnah, sarvajnah. nicayya, realising in one’s own personal experience, tarn viditva iastratah, nicayya drstva catmabhavena. S.
imam santim: this peace. It is the peace which is felt in one’s own experience, sva-buddhi-pratyaksam santim. S.
Two tendencies which characterise the thought of the Upanisads appear here, loyalty to tradition and the spirit of reform. We must repeat the rites and formulas in the way in which they were originally instituted. These rules which derive their authority from their antiquity dominated men’s minds. Innovations in the spirit are gradually introduced.
mrtyu-pasan puratah pranodya sokatigo modate svarga-loke. 18. The wise man who has sacrificed thrice to Naciketas and who knows this three, and so knowing, performs meditation on fire throwing off first the bonds of death and overcoming sorrow, rejoices in the world of heaven.
naciketam: meditation on fire, agni-iabdena tad-visayaka-jnanam ucyate. Gopalayatindra.
etam agnim tavaiva pravaksyanti janasas; trtiyam vararh naciketo vrnlsva.1
19. This is thy fire (sacrifice) O Naciketas, which leading to heaven, which thou hast chosen for thy second boon. This fire (sacrifice) people will call by thy name only. Choose now, O Naciketas, the third boon.
Whoever sacrifices to Naciketas fire, knowing its nature as the fire born of Brahma, becomes verily of that nature and is not born again.
NACIKETAS’S THIRD WISH
20. yeyam prete vicikitsa manusye ’stity eke nayam astiti caike; etat vidyam anusistas tvaydham, varanam esa varas trtlyah.
20. There is this doubt in regard to a man who has departed, some (holding) that he is and some that he is not. I would be instructed by thee in this knowledge. Of the boons, this is the third boon.
prete: departed. Naciketas has no doubt about survival. He has already said : ‘A mortal ripens like corn and like corn is born again’ I. 6. His problem, is about the condition of the liberated soul, muktatma-svarupa, Madhva says that prete means mukte. nasti: he is not. Doubts about the future of the liberated being are not peculiar to our age. In the B.U. Yajnavalkya says, the liberated soul, having passed beyond (pretya) has no more separate consciousness ( sarhjna ). He is dissolved in the Absolute consciousness as a lump of salt is dissolved in water. He justifies the absence of separate consciousness to his bewildered wife Maitreyl. ‘Where everything has become the one self, when and by what should we
1 There is a verse on which § has not commented but Rangaramanuja mentions it:
yo vapyetam brahma-jajnatma-bhutdrhcitim viditv a cinute naciketam. sa eva bhutva brahma-jajndtma-bhutah karoti tad-yena punar na jay ate.
Whoever conceives the sacrificial structure of bricks as the body of the Fire bom of Brahma and kindles on it the sacrificial fire called Naciketa, he becomes one with the Fire born of Brahma and performs the sacrifice by which he is not born again.
604 The Principal Upanisads I. i. 23.
see, hear or think?’ He who is liberated from the limitations of name and form, who has become one with the all, cannot be said to exist in the ordinary sense. He is not limited to a particular consciousness ; nor can he be said to be non-existent, for he has attained to real being (II. 4. 12-14). The question repeatedly put to the Buddha is, ‘Does the Tathagata survive after death or does he not survive?’ The Buddha refused to answer this question, holding that to say that he continues to exist would give rise to one kind of misunder¬ standing while to deny it would lead to others.
anyarn vararh naciketo vrnisva, ma moparotsir ati ma srjainam.
21. (Yama said): Even the gods of old had doubt on this point. It is not, indeed, easy to understand; (so) subtle is this truth. Choose another boon, O Naciketas. Do not press me. Release me from this.
suvijheyam attha,
vakta easy a tvadrg-anyona labhyah;nanyo varas tulya etasya kaicit.
22. (Naciketas said:) Even the gods had doubt, indeed, as to this, and thou, O Death, sayest that it is not easy to under¬ stand. (Instruct me) for another teacher of it, like thee, is not to be got. No other boon is comparable to this at all.
Gods cannot have any doubts about survival; it is about the exact nature of the state of liberation which transcends the empirical state that there is uncertainty.
yam a&van
bhumer mahad-ayatanarh vrnisva svayarn ca jiva iarado yavad icchasi.
23. (Yama said:) Choose sons and grandsons that shall live a hundred years, cattle in plenty, elephants, gold and horses. Choose vast expanses of land and life for thyself as many years as thou wilt.
mahad-ayatanam: vast expanses. £ suggests sovereignty over vast domains of earth, bhumeh prthivya mahad vistirnam ayatanam asrayam mandalam rajyam.
maha-bhumau naciketas tvam edhi, kamanam tva kama- bhajam karomi.
24. If thou deemest (any) boon like unto this, choose (that) as also wealth and long life. O Naciketas, prosper then on this vast earth. I will make thee the enjoyer of thy desires.
edhi: prosper. Be thou king, raja bhava.
prarthayasva.
ima ramah, sarathah saturyah, na hidrsa lambhamya manusyaih.
abhir mat-prattabhih paricarayasva, naciketo, maranam manupraksih.
25. Whatever desires are hard to attain in this world of mortals, ask for all those desires at thy will. Here are noble maidens with chariots and musical instruments: the like of them cannot be won by men. Be served by these whom I give to thee. O Naciketas, (pray) ask not about death.
The story of the temptation by Mr-tyu occurs for the first time in the Upanisad and not in the account in the Taittiriya Brahmana. The temptation of Naciketas has points of similarity with that related of Gautama the Buddha.
Cp. also the temptation of Jesus.
Naciketas is unmoved by the promises of transient pleasures and obtains from the god of death the secret of the knowledge of Brahman which carries with it the blessing of life eternal. Gautama the Buddha also rejects the offers of Mara in order to obtain true wisdom. There is this difference, however, that while Yama, when once his reluctance is overcome, himself reveals the liberating truth to Naciketas, Mara is the evil one, the tempter.
yanti tejah
api sarvam jivitam alpam eva tavaiva vahas tava nrtya-gite.
26. (Naciketas said:) Transient (are these) and they wear out, O Yama, the vigour of all the senses of men. All life (a full life), moreover, is brief. Thine be the chariots, thine the dance and song.
ivobhavah: transient, existing till tomorrow, so things of a day, ephemeral. What profit has a man of these things which are evanescent ?
606 The Principal Upanisads I. i. 28.
antaka: Yama: who ends all. Even the Creator is not eternal. $ says, sarvam yad brahmano’pi jivitam ayuh alpam eva kim utasmadadi dlrgha-jivika.
Naciketas portrays the human aspiration to reach the eternal as the goal of the truest safety from the ills and anxieties of finite experience.
The Buddhist view that everything that exists is fleeting and evanescent is suggested in this verse.
jivisyamo yavad Uisyasi tvarh varastu me varaniyah sa eva.
27. Man is not to be contented with wealth. Shall we enjoy wealth when we have seen thee? Shall we live as long as thou art in power? That alone is (still) the boon chosen by me.
Man is not to be contented with wealth. The material guarantees of human security are fragile. It is an earth-bound philosophy that makes man the end and aim of life, that recognises no value of a transcendental character. What is the value of wealth or life, as they are impermanent? So long as death is in power we cannot enjoy wealth or life for the fear of death destroys the zest for living. So Naciketas asks for self-knowledge, dtma-vijhdnam, which is beyond the power of death.
Naciketas says that ‘We shall live, so long as Yama endures.’ In other words, he is certain of our continuance in this cosmic cycle presided over by Yama.
permanence till the dissolution of the primal elements is called immortality: dbhutasamplavam sthanam amftatvam hi bhasyate, quoted in Vacaspati’s Bhamatl I. 1. 1.
What Naciketas is doubtful about, what Yama says, even the gods have doubts about, is in regard to the state of liberation.
Prajdnan
abhidhydyan varnaratipramoddn, atidirghe jivite ko rameta.
28. Having approached the undecaying immortality, what decaying mortal on this earth below who (now) knows (and meditates on) the pleasures of beauty and love, will delight in an over-long life ?
Anyone who knows here below the joys of immortal life cannot be attracted by an earthly life of passion' and speed. No one who has a foretaste of that which perishes not or changes would find pleasure in earthly delights.
y o' yam varo gudham anupravisto nanyam tasmdn naciketd vrnite.
29. Tell us that about which they doubt, 0 Death, what there is in the great passing-on. This boon which penetrates the mystery, no other than that does Naciketas choose.
samparaya: passing-on. What is the great beyond? What is there after liberation? These questions lead naturally to others. What is the nature of eternal reality? What is man’s relation to it? How can he reach it? ,
Naciketas has already attained svarga-loka and is not raising the question of the post-mortal state. He is asking about the great departure, mahan samparaya, from which there is no return, which is nirupadhitesa nirvana according to Itivuttaka 44. Majjhima Nikdya II opposes sampardyika attha to the dittha-dhanwiika attha.
Knowledge of life after death is regarded as of the utmost impor¬ tance. See C.U. V. 3, 1-4 where Svetaketu is told that he is not well instructed as he does not know about where the creatures go to from this world.
tayoh ireya adadanasya sddhu bhavati, hiyate ’rthdd ya u preyo vrnite.
1. (Yama said): Different is the good, and different, indeed, is the pleasant. These two, with different purposes, bind a man. Of these two, it is well for him who takes hold of the good; but he who chooses the pleasant, fails of his aim.
After testing Naciketas and knowing his fitness for receiving Brahma-knowledge, Yama explains the great secret to him. irayah: the good, niMreyasam. S. The highest good of man is not pleasure but moral goodness.
Cp. Samyutta Nikdya I. 4. 2. 6. tasmd satan ca asatan ca nand hoti ito gati, asanto nirayam yanti santo saggapardyand.
Therefore do the paths of the good and the evil of this world divide; the evil go to hell but the final destination of the good is heaven.
608 The Principal Upanisads I. 2. 3.
In Samyutta Nikay a V. 4. 5. 2 instead of sagga-parayana, we read nibbana-parayanam.
In N. P. Chakravarti’s edition of L'Udana (Sanskrit), Paris, 1930, p. 63, we read asantas caiva santas ca nana yanti tv Has cyutah, asanto narakam yanti, santah svarga-parayanah.
Cp. Plato: ‘In every one of us there are two ruling and directing principles, whose guidance we follow wherever they may lead; the one being an innate device of pleasure, the other an acquired judg¬ ment which aspires after excellence. Now these two principles at one time maintain harmony, while at another they are at feud within us, and now one and now the other obtains mastery.’ — Phaedrus.
sreyo hi dhuo’bhipreyaso vrnite, preyo mando yoga-ksemad vrnite.
2. Both the good and the pleasant approach a man. The wise man, pondering over them, discriminates. The wise chooses the good in preference to the pleasant. The simple- minded, for the sake of worldly well-being, prefers the pleasant.
tnandah: the simple-minded. Cf. Heraclitus: ‘Oxen are happy when they have peas to eat.’ Fr. 4. ‘For the best men choose one thing above all else; immortal glory above transient things.’ Fr. 29. yoga-ksema: worldly well-being.1 He adopts a materialist view of life. The indispensable condition of spiritual wisdom is a pure heart.
§ distinguishes between the elimination of faults and the acquisi¬ tion of virtues which are the results of Karma and the contemplation of the divine which is Jnana. Cassian divides spiritual knowledge into practical and theoretic and argues that we cannot strive for the vision of God if we do not shun the stains of sin. Illumination and union follow purgation or the process of self-discipline.
naciketo, tyasrakslh;
naitarh srhkam vittamaylm avapto yasyam majjanti bahavo manusyah.
1 tarirady-upacaya-raksana-nimittam for the sake of bodily welfare, § Cf. B.G. IX. 22. Dr. A. Coomaraswamy makes out that the simple- minded prefers ksema or well-being to yoga or contemplation, yogac ca ksemdc ca, taking his stand on Sutta Nipata 2. 20: 'Unlike and widely divergent are the habits of the wedded householder and the holy man without a sense of ego.’ asama ubho dura-viharavuttino, gihl darapost, amama ca subbato. He says that this verse means that the fool prefers the ease of the householder to the hard life of the Yogi. See New Indian Antiquary, Vol. 1, pp. 85-86.
3. (But) thou, O Naciketas, hast rejected (after) examining, the desires that are pleasant and seem to be pleasing. Thou hast not taken to the way of wealth, where many mortals sink (to ruin).
srnka: see I. 16. If srnka means chain, then majjanti should read sajjanti. The meaning then is 'Thou hast not taken to the chain of wealth in which many mortals are entangled.’ The Buddha refused the wheel-jewel, cakka-ratanam, the recognised symbol of temporal power. Naciketas, by refusing all these temptations, makes out that his kingdom is not of this world. He hungers and thirsts for the eternal, in which alone he can find real satisfaction.
lolupantah.
4. Widely apart and leading to divergent ends are these, ignorance and what is known as wisdom. I know (thee) Nacike¬ tas, to be eager for wisdom for (even) many desires did not distract thee.
§ suggests that avidya or ignorance is concerned with the pleasant and vidya or wisdom with the good : avidya prey o-visay a, vidya irey.o- visaya.
avidya kama-karmatmika vidya vairagya-tattva-jhana-mayi. R.
manyamanah.
dandramyamanah pariyanti mudhah, andhenaiva niyamana yathandhah.
5. Abiding in the midst of ignorance, wise in their own esteem, thinking themselves to be learned, fools treading a tortuous path go about like blind men led by one who is himself blind.
See also M.U. I. 2-8; Maitri VII. 9.
Cp. Matthew: ‘If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.’ XV. 14.
dandramyamanah: v. dandravyamanah, visaya-kamagnina drta-cittah. R. wise in their own esteem. Their ignorance is serenely ignorant of itself and so assumes the appearance of wisdom.
mohena mudham:
ay am, loko nasti para iti mam, punah punar vaiam apadyate me.
610 The Principal Upanisads
6. What lies beyond shines not to the simple-minded, careless, (who is) deluded by the glamour of wealth. Thinking ‘this world exists, there is no other,’ he falls again and again into my power.
manl: thinking, manana-sllo manl. §.
He who is filled with selfish desires and attracted by worldly possessions becomes subject to the law of Karma which leads him from birth to birth and so he is under the control of Yama.
yam na vidyuh
ascaryo vakta kusalo’sya labdha, ascaryo jhata kusalanu- sistah.
7. He who cannot even be heard of by many, whom many, even hearing, do not know, wondrous is he who can teach (Him) and skilful is he who finds (Him) and wondrous is he who knows, even when instructed by the wise.
See B.G. VII. 3.
instructed by the wise: nipunena acaryena anusistah sah.
Naciketas is complimented by Yama as the seeker of final bliss is rare among men. The task is very difficult for subtle is the nature of the Self. The hidden depths of being are conceived as a great mystery. Not many have the earnest purpose: not many are able to find a proper teacher.
manat.
8. Taught by an inferior man He cannot be truly understood, as He is thought of in many ways. Unless taught by one who knows Him as himself, there is no going thither for it is incon¬ ceivable, being subtler than the subtle.
bahudha cintyamanah: thought of in many ways, or it may mean ‘much meditated upon’ or ‘conceived of as a plurality’ while the atman is an absolute oneness.
ananya-prokte: taught by one who knows Him as himself. This is S’s rendering. He must be taught by one who is non-different, ananya, i.e. who has realised his oneness with Brahman.1 He alone can teach with the serene confidence of conviction. As a man with experience, he is lifted above sectarian disputes. It may also mean
1 Cp. Eckhart: ‘Some there are so simple as to think of God as if He dwelt there, and of themselves as being here. It is not so. God and I are one.’ Pfeiffer’s edition, p. 206.
‘taught by one other than an inferior person,’ i.e. a superior person who knows the truth or ‘taught by another than oneself,’ i.e. some teacher.
For Ramanuja, the understanding, avagatih, which a person gets about the self when taught by one who has realised Brahman is impossible of attainment when taught by a person of inferior capacity. Madhva means by it that it is inferior teaching when taught by a learned but unintelligent person for it has been variously understood and so is not easy of understanding. But when taught by one who sees no difference at all, there is no knowledge, not even of an inferior kind. It is subtler than an atom and so cannot be perceived. It is not to be understood by reasoning. gatir atra nasti: without access to a teacher there is no way to it. ‘There is no going thither’ may mean either there is nothing beyond the knowledge of Brahman or there is no way back from samsara or worldly becoming, sarhsara-gatih.
atarkyam: inconceivable, unreachable by argument. The Supreme Self is unknowable by argument, as It is subtle, beyond the reach of the senses and the understanding based on sense data. It can be immediately apprehended by intuition.
yam tvam dpas satyadhritir batdsi; tvadrh no bhuydn naciketah prasta.
9. Not by reasoning is this apprehension attainable, but dearest, taught by another, is it well understood. Thou hast obtained it, holding fast to truth. May we find, Naciketas, an inquirer like thee.
Mere reason unassisted by faith cannot lead to illumination.
May we find an inquirer like thee. It is not only the pupil who is in search of the teacher, but the teacher is also in search of the pupil.
tato maya naciketas cito’gnir anityair dravyaih firdptavdn asmi nityam.
10. I know that wealth is impermanent. Not through the transient things is that abiding (one) reached; yet by me is laid the Naciketa fire and by impermanent means have I reached the everlasting.
612 The Principal Upanisads I. 2. n
By burning in the sacrifice all transient things is the eternal attained.
Some translators (e.g. Max Muller and Hume) attribute this verse to Naciketas. But surely Naciketas has not yet performed the sacrifice called by his name. § attributes these words to Yama, who makes out that through the sacrificial fire, he has obtained the enduring sovereignty of heaven. But this sovereignty is only relatively permanent. Through the ephemeral means of Karma including sacrifices, nothing truly permanent can be achieved. The performer of the Naciketa fire will endure as long as the cosmos lasts but such endurance is not eternity, since the cosmos with all that it contains will be absorbed into the eternal at the end of the cosmic day.
By ‘impermanent means have I reached the everlasting.’ What Yama has attained is thus stated by Gopala-yatindra : adhikarapanno, dharmadharmaphalayoh, pradanena jantundrh niyantrtvam apannah. If by the symbolic worship of so unstable a thing as fire we can attain an enduring state, then the view reminds us of a verse in Blake’s Auguries of Innocence.1
We have to use the means of the empirical world to cross it and attain to the trans-empirical. . . . brahma-prdpti-sddhana-jhdnoddefena anityair istakadi-dravyair naciketo'gnii citah, tasmadd hetor nitya- phala-sadhanath jhanam praptavan asmi. R.
ii. kamasydptim jagatah pratistham krator dnantyarh abha- yasya par am
stoma-mahad urugayam pratistham drstva dhrtya dhiro naciketo’ tyasrak$ih.
ii. (Having seen) the fulfilment of (all) desire, the support of the world, the endless fruit of rites, the other shore where there is no fear, the greatness of fame, the far-stretching, the foundation, O wise Naciketas, thou hast steadfastly let (them) go.
Before his eyes were spread out all the allurements of the world, including the position of Hiranya-garbha the highest state in the phenomenal world, obtained by those who worship the Supreme by sacrifice and meditation, according to S, and he has rejected them all. Here perhaps is suggested the contrast between the Vedic ideal of heaven and the Upanisad ideal of life eternal. The world to which the righteous go is the Brahma world. In svarga-loka or heaven there
1 To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower;
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand.
And eternity in an hour.
is no fear. See Katha I. 12. When we pass beyond fear we pass beyond duality. B.U. I. 4-2.
The fulfilment of all desire can apply to the immortal Brahman. It is the support of the world, the ultimate. M.U. III. 2. 1. If this is the way we take these words, then the reference cannot be to the Vedic heaven but to eternal life or moksa.
atyasraksih: this refers not to the rejection of eternal life but to the rejection of a false view of the objects described in this verse. kratu: rite or worship. ufiasanayah phalam anantyam.
APPREHENSION OF THE SUPREME THROUGH ADHYATMA-YOGA
adhyatma-yogadhigamena devam matva dMro harsa-sokau jahati.
12. Realising through self-contemplation that primal God, difficult to be seen, deeply hidden, set in the cave (of the heart), dwelling in the deep, the wise man leaves behind both joy and. sorrow.
gudham: deeply hidden. It is hidden because we have to get behind the senses, mind and understanding. It is the very ground of the soul. The Buddhists look upon every creature as an embryo of the tathagata, tathagata-garbha . Every creature has the possibility of becoming a Buddha. When we get into the inner being of the spirit, we are in immediate relationship with the Eternal. This basic prin¬ ciple which we recognise by immediate experience or continued contemplation is the basis of human freedom. It is the principle of indeterminacy, the possibilities of determinations which are not yet. If we identify ourselves with what is determinate, we are subject to the law of determinism. ‘If ye are led by the spirit, ye are not under the law.’
adhyatma-yoga: self-contemplation, visayebhyah pratisamhrtya ceta- satmani samadhanam. adhyatma means pertaining to the self as distinct from adhibhuta, pertaining to the material elements and adhidaiva, pertaining to the deities. Adhyatma-yoga is yoking with one’s essential self. It is the practice of meditation, a quiet, solitary sustained effort to apprehend truth which is different from the ordinary process of cerebration.
Yama answers Naciketas’s question raised in I. 29, about the mysterious divine being hidden behind the phenomenal world, in the depths of one’s own being, which is difficult of access by ordinary
614 The Principal Upanisads I. 2. 14.
means and yet is open to spiritual contemplation. Yama, in different ways and phrases, brings out the impenetrable mystery of the inmost reality which is the object of search. If the Brahma world is the fulfilment of all desires, this eternal bliss is obtained by the renunciation of all desires; while brahma-loka is the highest place of the manifested cosmos, its farthest limit, there is the eternal beyond it.
devam: God. See S.U. I. 3; Maitri VI. 23.
sa modate modaniyam hi labdhva vivrtam sadma nacike- tasam manye
13. Hearing this and comprehending (it), a mortal, extracting the essence and reaching the subtle, rejoices, having attained the source of joy. I know that such an abode is wide open unto Naciketas.
dharmyam: the essence. We must extract its essential nature, discern
its real character.
anum: subtle, suksmam. S.
modaniyam: the source of joy. The deepest being is the highest value. To attain Him is to gain supreme, abiding bliss. It is not merging in a characterless absolute, where all feeling fades out. vivrtam sadma: the abode is wide open.
Naciketas can get released from his house of life, body and mind. Cp. the words of the Buddha: ‘Never again shalt thou, O builder of houses, make a house for me; broken are all thy beams, thy ridge¬ pole shattered.'
Yama says that Naciketas is fit for salvation, moksarham. S.
It is suggested that the three steps of sravana ( srutva ), manana [samparigrhya) and nididhydsana [pravrhya] are mentioned in this verse and these lead to atma-darsana or atma-saksat-kara [apya).
14. (Naciketas asks:) Tell me that which thou seest beyond right and wrong, beyond what is done or not done, beyond past and future.
what is done or not done:
$ says effect and cause, krtam karyam, akrtam karanam.
Cp. T.U. where it is said that the knower is not vexed with the thought ‘why have I not done the good ? why have I done the evil ? ’ (II. 9).
beyond past and future: the eternal is a ‘now’ without duration.
Naciketas asks for an account of that deepest reality rid of all extraneous externalities, the real which is deeper than all the happenings of time, yad Idrsam vastu sarva-vyavahdra-gocaratitam pasyasi janasi tad vada mahyam.
15- sarve veda yat padarn amananti, tapamsi sarvani ca yad vadanti,
yad icchanto brahmacaryam caranti, tat te padarn sarhgra- hena bravimi: aunt ity etat.
15. (Yama says:) That word which all the Vedas declare, which all the austerities proclaim, desiring which (people) live the life of a religious student, that word, to thee, I shall tell in brief. That is Aunt.
See S.U. IV. 9; B.G. VIII. 11.
pada: word. S means by it goal, padaniyam, gamamyam. The Supreme is the goal of all revelation, of all religious practices and austerities. amananti: avibhagena pratipadayanti.
brahmacarya: the life of a religious student. It is referred to in R.V. X. 109 and described in Atharva Veda XI. 5. It lasts for twelve years but may be longer. Svetaketu was a brahmacarin from 12 to 24. The student is expected to live in the house of his teacher, wait on him, tend his house and cattle, beg for his own and his master’s food, look after the sacrificial fires and study the Veda. Detailed rules for brahmacarya are given in the Grhya Sutra.
Asvalayana says that a brahmacarin is required to be chaste, obedient, to drink only water and not sleep in the daytime. I. 22, 1. 2. Brahmacarya has come to mean continence and self-restraint.
Aum is the pranava, which, by the time of the Upanisads, is charged with the significance of the entire universe. Deussen is certainly incorrect when he observes: ‘Essentially it was the unknowableness of the first principle of the universe, the Brahman, and the impos¬ sibility of expressing it by word or illustration, which compelled the choice of something so entirely meaningless as the symbol Aum as a symbol of Brahman.’ The word first occurs in the Taittiriya Samhita of the Black Yajur Veda, III. 2. 9. 6, where it is called the pranava and indicates, according to Keith, the prolongation of the last syllable of the offering verse uttered by the hotr. In the Brahmanas, it occurs more frequently as a response by the adhvaryu to each Rg Vedic verse uttered by the hotr, meaning, 'yes/ so be it, answering to the Christian ‘Amen.’
In the Aitareya Brahmana V. 32, aum is treated as a mystic syllable representing the essence of the Vedas and the universe.
6i6
The Principal Upanisads I. 2. 19.
It is the symbol of the manifested Brahman (waking, dream and dreamless sleep) as well as the unmanifested beyond. See Ma.U. IV. 32.
16. This syllable is, verily, the everlasting spirit. This syllable, indeed, is the highest end; knowing this very syllable, whatever anyone desires will, indeed, be his.
§ makes out that Brahma is the lower Brahman and param, the higher. Whatever one may desire, the lower or the higher Brahman, his desire will be fulfilled.
1 7. etad alambanam irestham etad alambanam param etad alambanam jhatva brahma-loke mahiyate.
17. This support is the best (of all). This support is the highest; knowing this support, one becomes great in the world of Brahma.
He attains Brahman, the higher, brahma eva lokah, or the world of Brahman, the lower, brahmanah lokah.
kascit:
ajo nityah iaivato’yam pur an 0 na hanyate hanyamane sanre .
1 8. The knowing self is never bom; nor does he die at any time. He sprang from nothing and nothing sprang from him. He is unborn, eternal, abiding and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.
See B.G. II. 20.
The Katha vipaicit becomes in the Gita, kadacit medhavin: Sayana R.V. IX. 86. 44.
The self constitutes the inner reality of each individual. It is without a cause and is changeless. When it knows itself as the spirit and ceases to know of itself as bound up with any name or form ( nama-rupa ) it realises its true nature.
Puranah: primeval, new even in old times, pur a api navah, or devoid of growth, vrddhi-vivarjitah.
19. If the slayer thinks that he slays or if the slain think that he is slain, both of them do not understand. He neither slays nor is he slain.
See B.G. II. 19.
Here is the answer to the question of Naciketas about the mystery of death. The self is eternal and death does not refer to it.
guhaydm:
tam akratuh pasyati vita-soko dhatu-prasadan mahimanam atmanah.
20. Smaller than the small, greater than the great, the self is set in the heart of every creature. The unstriving man beholds Him, freed from sorrow. Through tranquillity of the mind and the senses (he sees) the greatness of the self.
anor aniyan: .smaller than the small, smaller than the minute atom. When the self is thought of as a psychical principle, its smallness is emphasised. See also II. 2. 3. where it is said to be ‘the dwarf’ and
II. 1. 12 where it is described as ‘thumb-sized.’ In these cases, the old animistic language is used. When it is thought of as cosmic, its vastness is emphasised.1
a-kratuh: unstriving man. He who is free from desire for external objects, earthly or heavenly, which distract the soul and distort its vision. § adopts this view. He will, however, have the desire for salvation, mumuksutva. The Upanisad insists on the absence of strife or anxiety and refers to the man whose will is at peace.2 dhatu-prasadat: through the tranquillity of the mind and the senses.
1 Cp. C.U. (III. 14. 3) where it is said to be greater than the earth, greater than the sky, greater than all these worlds. Cp. Dionysius, De Div nom. IX. 2. 3. ‘Now God is called great in his peculiar Greatness which giveth of itself to all things that are great and is poured upon all magnitude from outside and stretches far beyond it. This Greatness is infinite, without quantity and without number.’
'. . . And Smallness or Rarity is attributed to God’s nature because He is outside all solidity and distance and penetrates all things without let or hindrance. . . . This smallness is without quantity or quality, it is irrepressible, infinite, unlimited, and while comprehending all things, is itself incomprehensible.’ Quoted by Ananda Coomaraswamy in New Indian Antiquary, Vol. I, p. 97.
2 Cp. Rawson: ‘Christian ataraxia, the untroubled peace of true faith, of trust which leads to vision is taught very emphatically by Jesus in the passage in John XIV beginning “Let not your hearts be troubled,” and in the sermon on the Mount with its repeated warning against anxious striving as a hindrance in the way of entrance into the kingdom of Heaven.' Kafka Upanisad (1934), p. 107.
618 The Principal Upanisads I. 2. 22.
V. dhatuh prasadat, through the grace of the Creator. The vision comes through the tranquillity of the senses and the mind according to the reading adopted by S. According to the other reading, the vision is reached by the grace or self-revelation of the Creator God. If the second reading is adopted it will be a clear statement of the doctrine of Divine grace, which was developed in the S.U. III. 20. There the reading is
‘tam akratum pasyati vitasoko dhatuh prasadan mahimdnam Isam:
(1 dhatuh prasadat. jagato vidhata paramesvarah lasya prasado ’nugrahah. Vidyaranya.)
It does not, however, seem to be the intention of the writer here. vita-sokah: He who is freed from sorrow, vigata-sokah . . . anyatha durvijheyo’yam atma kamibhih prakrtaih purusaih. S. akratum: sarhkalpa-rahitam.
See also Mahanarayana U. VIII. 3.
kastam madamadam devam mad anyo jhatum arhati.
21. Sitting, he moves far; lying he goes everywhere. Who, save myself, is fit to know that god who rejoices and rejoices not?
See l£a 4 and 5.
By these contradictory predicates, the impossibility of con¬ ceiving Brahman through empirical determinations is brought out. v iruddha-dharmavan. S. Brahman has both the sides of peaceful stability and active energising. In the former aspect He is Brahman ; in the latter Isvara. The latter is an active manifestation of the absolute Brahman, and not an illusory one as some later Advaita Vedantins suggest.
22. Knowing the self who is the bodiless among bodies, the stable among the unstable, the great, the all-pervading, the wise man does not grieve.
The wise man who knows that his self, though now embodied and subject to change, is one with the imperishable omnipresent Self, has no cause for grief. He goes beyond all fear and sorrow.
Katha Upanisad
THE MORAL PREPARATION FOR BRAHMA-KNOWLEDGE
yamevaisa vrnute, tena labhyas tasyaisa atma vivrnute tanum svam.
23. This self cannot be attained by instruction, nor by intellectual power, nor even through much hearing. He is to be attained only by the one whom the (self) chooses. To such a one the self reveals his own nature.
See M.U. III. 2. 3.
pravacanena: aneka-veda-svlkaranena or vyakhyanena. medhaya: granthartha-dharana-saktya or svaklya-prajha-balena.
While the Supreme Self is difficult to know and is unknowable by unaided intellect, He is knowable through His own self-revelation to the man whom He chooses. This view looks upon the Supreme Self as personal God and teaches a doctrine of divine grace.
When we contemplate God in a passive condition without any images or concepts derived from authority or instruction, a super¬ natural light darts into the soul and draws it towards itself. We can acquire the fruits of the more elementary contemplation by self- discipline and prayer, by practice in recollection, introversion. When we rise in contemplation, when there is the vision of the Supreme which is entirely beyond the power of the soul to prepare for or bring about, we feel that it is wholly the operation of God working on the soul by extraordinary grace. In a sense all life is from God, all prayer is made by the help of God’s grace but the heights of contemplation which are scaled by few are attributed in a special degree to divine grace. If the indwelling of God in the souls is a reality, this very indwelling takes us to the supernatural. If man becomes aware of God’s presence in the soul, it is due to God’s own working in the soul. It is beyond the power of unassisted nature. Those who are familiar with the Pelagian controversy will know that this consciousness of divine grace is a fact of religious experi¬ ence. Human nature feels so weakened that it is helpless of itself to help itself. If a man is to escape from himself as he actually is and reach the perfection for which he is made, he needs a transforming force within. The seeker feels that this force issues not out of his own natural self but enters into him from beyond.
Here the natural is equated with the creaturely but the fulness of human nature includes the divine working in it.
Cp. ‘Thy counsel who hath known, except thou give wisdom and send thy Holy Spirit from above.’ Wisdom of Solomon IX. 17.
The Principal Upanisads I. 2. 24.
Cp. St. Paul: ‘Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling ; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.’ Epistle to the Philippians 2. 12-13. Cp. ‘If thou askest how may these things be, interrogate grace and not doctrine, desire and not knowledge, the groaning of prayer rather than study, the spouse rather than the teacher, God and not man, mist rather than clarity, not light but fire all aflame and bearing on to God by devotion and glowing affection.’ St. Bonaventura: Itinerary of the Mind, quoted from H. O. Taylor’s Mediaeval Mind, 3rd ed., Vol. II, pp. 448.
&, however, gives a different interpretation by an ingenious exegesis. 'Him alone whom he chooses by that same self is his own self obtainable.’ The self reveals its true character to one that seeks it exclusively.
yam eva svatmanam eva sadhako vrnute prarthayate tenaivatmana varitra svayam atma labhyah jhayata evam ity etat niskamas catmanam eva prarthayate, atmanaiva atma labyate ity arthah.
naianta-manaso vapi prajhanenainam apnuyat.
24. Not he who has not desisted from evil ways, not he who is not tranquil, not he who has not a concentrated mind, not even he whose mind is not composed can reach this (self) through right knowledge.
Saving wisdom cannot be obtained without the moral qualifica¬ tions here mentioned. No one can realise the truth without illumina¬ tion, and no one can have illumination without a thorough cleansing of one’s moral being. See also M.U. III. 1. 5, III. 1. 8; Cp. B.U. IV. 4. 23. So long as we are indulgent to our vices, so long as we pine away with hatred and ill-will to others, we cannot get at true knowledge. The classical division of spiritual life into purgation, illumination and union gives the first place to ethical preparation, which is essential for the higher degrees of spiritual life. Moral disorder prevents us from fixing our gaze on the Supreme. Until our mind and heart are effectively purged, we can have no clear vision of God. It follows that man’s effort is essential to grasp grace and profit by it. Grace is not irresistible. It is open to us to accept or reject it. Election by God referred to in the previous verse is not to be interpreted as fostering fatalism or predestination, though the religious seer feels that even in the first movement of the soul towards wisdom, the effort at purgation, the prime mover is God.
This verse gives the lie direct to the suggestion sometimes made that the spiritual and the ethical are not organically connected. If we wish to attain the spiritual, we cannot bypass the ethical.
Cp. R.V. XI. 129. Who knows for certain? Who shall here declare it ? Whence it was born and whence come this creation ?
Anyone lacking the qualifications mentioned in the previous verse cannot understand the nature of the Supreme which contains the whole world. Death leads to the reabsorption into the Supreme of the entire world in which the Brahmanas and the Ksatriyas hold the highest place. odanah: food for the body.
Even Death is absorbed in the Eternal. B.U. I 2. 1. upasecanam: sauce.
We cannot know where the Omnipresent Spirit is any more than we can know where the liberated individual is, for they are not in any one place.
chaya-tapau brahma-vido vadanti, pahcagnayo ye ca tri-naci- ketah.
1. There are two selves that drink the fruit of Karma in the world of good deeds. Both are lodged in the secret place (of the heart), the chief seat of the Supreme. The knowers of Brahman speak of them as shade and light as also (the householders) who maintain the five sacrificial fires and those too who perform the triple Naciketas fire.
It has been said already that the Eternal Reality which is greater than anything this world or the celestial offers can be reached by meditation on one’s own inner self and not by ordinary empirical knowledge. This section continues the account of the way in which the Supreme Self may be known. This verse makes out that medita¬ tion on the inner self leads to the knowledge of the Supreme because the latter dwells in close fellowship with the individual self in the cave of the human intelligence. R. ‘There are two drinking,’ etc. shows that, ‘asNthe object of devout meditation and the devotee abide together, meditation is easily performed.’ R.B. I. 4. 6.
622 The Principal Upanisads I. 3. 2.
Ttatn: Karma. Rta signifies the divinely established order of the universe, both natural and moral. It here refers to the divine order connecting deeds with their results. § means by it ‘the truth because it is the inescapable fruit of action.’ rtarn satyam avasyam bhavitvat karma phalam. S.
sukrtasya, of good deeds: of their own deeds, sva-krtasya.
The two referred to here are the individual soul and the Supreme self. Cp. M.U. III. 1. 10, §.U. IV. 6 and 7, which go back to R.V. I. 164. 20. Sayana, commenting on this verse, says that the reference is to the two forms of the atman, the individual soul (jivatman) and the universal (paramatman) , But how can the self which is represented as looking on without eating, be treated as experiencing the rewards of deeds? §. R, and Srinivasa in his commentary on Nimbarka argue that it is loose usage of chattri-nyaya. When two men walk under an umbrella, we say there go the umbrella-bearers. Madhva is more to the point when he quotes Brhat Samhita and says, ‘The Lord Hari dwells in the heart of beings and accepts the pure pleasure arising from their good works.’ The Supreme in its cosmic aspect is subject to the chances and changes of times. Isvara as distinct from Brahman participates in the processes of the world.
Madhva finds support in this verse for his doctrine of the entire disparateness of the individual and the universal souls. parame parardhe: the chief seat of the Supreme. The Kingdom of Heaven is within us. It is in the deepest reaches of the soul that the human soul holds fellowship with God. chaya-lapau: shade and light, shadow and glowing or light. pahcagnayah: those who maintain the five sacrificial fires.
All this indicates that while meditation is the way to saving knowledge, due performance of the ordained sacrifices gives us a measure of spiritual understanding.
2. That bridge for those who sacrifice, and which is the highest imperishable Brahman for those who wish to cross over to the farther fearless shore, that Naciketa fire, may we master.
setu: bridge. Cp. C.U. VIII. 4. 4. B.U. IV. 4. 22. aja atma. esasetuh. M.U. II. 2. 5. It is that by which we pass from time to eternity. In the beginning, it is said that the sky and earth were one. They became separated by an intervening river or sea of time and space, sarhsdra- sagara. Each one of us, here on earth, wishes to find his way to the farther shore by a ladder or a bridge. If we think of a ladder, the way ( panthd ) is upward ( urdhvam ); if we think of a bridge, the way is across. That which takes us across to the other shore is the immanent spiritual self which is at once the way and the goal. The bridge holds
the worlds apart and also unites them. See B.U. IV. 4. 22, VIII. 4. 1.
In Buddhist texts, the way from the vortex of existence, samsara to the extinction of life’s fires, nirvana is the eightfold path. ‘I am the way,’ John XIV. 6. He who calls himself the way appeared to St. Catherine of Siena ‘in the form of a bridge extending from Heaven to Earth over which all mankind had to pass.’ See Dona Luisa Coomaraswamy : The Perilous Bridge. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, August 1944.
Two ways of crossing the river of samsara are indicated, the performance of the Vedic sacrifices, which leads to the heaven of the gods and the knowledge of Brahman. The first prepares the way for the second, on the path of gradual liberation of krama-mukti. B.U. IV. 4. 22.
3. Know the Self as the lord of the chariot and the body as, verily, the chariot, know the intellect as the charioteer and the mind as, verily, the reins.
The idea of the self riding in the chariot which is the psycho¬ physical vehicle is a familiar one. See also Jataka VI. 242. The chariot with its sensitive steeds represents the psycho-physical vehicle in which the self rides. In Maitri IV. 4, the embodied self is spoken of as rathita or ‘carted’ and thus subjected to the conditions of mortality. Mind holds the reins. It may either control or be dragged by the team of the senses. Rum! in his Mathnawi says: ‘The heart has pulled* the reins of the five senses’ (I. 3275). The conception of Yoga derived from the root yuj to yoke, to harness, to join is connected with the symbolism of the chariot and the team. Yoga is the complete control of the different elements of our nature, psychical and physical and harnessing them to the highest end. See Plato: Phaedo 24-28, Phaedrus 246b In spite of difference in details, the Katha Up. and Plato agree in looking upon intelligence as the ruling power of the soul (called buddhi or vijhana by the Upanisad and nous by Plato) and aiming at the integration of the different elements of human nature. Cp. Republic (IV. 433) : ‘The just man sets in order his own inner life, and is his own master and at peace with himself; and when he has bound together the three principles within him (i.e. reason, emotion and the sensual appetites) and is no longer many but has become one entirely temperate and perfectly adjusted nature, then he will proceed to act, if he has to act, whether in state affairs or in private business of his own.’
I- 3- 9-
624 The Principal Upanisads
atmendriya-mano-yuktam bhoktety dhur manisinah.
4. The senses, they say, are the horses; the objects of sense the paths (they range over); (the self) associated with the body, the senses and the mind — wise men declare — is the enjoyer.
The atman (self) is compared to the owner of a chariot ( rathin ), the body being the chariot ( ratha ), buddhi or intellect is the driver (sarathi), the horses are said to be the senses [indriydni) , manas is the rein (pragraha) by which the intellect controls the senses.
5. He who has no understanding, whose mind is always unrestrained, his senses are out of control, as wicked horses are for a charioteer.
6. He, however, who has understanding, whose mind is always restrained, his senses are under control, as good horses are for a charioteer.
sad: good, well-trained.
7. He, however, who has no understanding, who has no control over his mind (and is) ever impure, reaches not that goal but comes back into mundane life.
samsdram: mundane life, the world of becoming characterised by life and death, janma-marana-laksanam. S.
8. He, however, who has understanding, who has control over his mind and (is) ever pure, reaches that goal from which he is not born again.
9. He who has the understanding for the driver of the chariot and controls the rein of his mind, he reaches the end of the journey, that supreme abode of the all-pervading.
visnu: all-pervading, tad visnoh vyapana-silasya brahmanah paramat- mano vasudevakhyasya. S. The name is used for the Supreme Self. The development of this idea is taken up in the B.G. and the later Bhagavata religion. See R.V. I. 154, 5; I. 22. 20, where Visnu, a deity of the solar group, is conceived as the giver of light and life.
10. Beyond the senses are the objects (of the senses) and beyond the objects is the mind; beyond the mind is the under¬ standing and beyond the understanding is the great self.
atma mahdn: the great self.
& means by it the great’ soul of the universe said to be the first¬ born of avyakta, the unmanifest. According to the R.V. (X. 121) in the beginning was the chaos of waters, floating on which appeared Hiranya-garbha , the golden germ, the first born of creation and the creator of all other human beings. Hiranya-garbha is the soul of the universe. R.V. X. 129. 2.
When the golden light of purusa is cast on all the rich content of prakfti, we have the manifestations from crude matter to the divinities in paradise.1
For R, mahan atma is the individual self kartr, which is indwelt by the highest self. R.B. I. 4. 1.
11. Beyond the great self is the unmanifest; beyond the unmanifest is the spirit. Beyond the spirit there is nothing. That is the end (of the journey) ; that is the final goal.
avyakta: unmanifest. It is beyond mahat, it is prakrti, the universal mother from out of which by the influence of the light of purusa, all form and all content emerge into manifestation.
§ calls avyakta, maya, avidya. While purusa, subject, and prakrti, object, are co-ordinate principles at the stage of cosmic creation,
1 Cp. Deussen: ‘We know that the entire objective universe is possible only insofar as it is sustained by a knowing subject. This subject as the sustainer of the objective universe is manifested in all individual subjects but is by no means identical with them. For the individual subjects pass away, but the objective universe continues to exist without them; there exists therefore the eternal knowing subject (Hiranya-garbha) also by whom it is sustained.’ The Philosophy of the Upanisads, p. 201.
The Principal Upanisads I. 3. 11.
while their inter-action is essential for all manifestation, purusa is considered to be higher as he is the source of light and his unity appears nearer to the ultimate one than the multiplicity of prakrti', strictly speaking, however, the Pure Self is beyond the descriptions of unity, duality and multiplicity.
For Ramanuja, avyakta is the body or the chariot. It is called avyakta because the subtle body and not the gross body is referred to. While there is agreement between § and Ramanuja, on the point, § proceeds to say that the subtle body has avidya or ignorance for its cause and therefore belongs to the world of maya. ‘Maya is properly called undeveloped or non-manifested since it cannot be defined as that which is or that which is not.' S.B. I. 4. 3. By avyakta, S means not the prakrti of the Samkhya but the maya-sakti which is responsible for the whole world including the personal God. For Ramanuja, avyakta denotes Brahman in its causal phase, when names and forms are not yet distinguished. It is a real mode, prakara or development, parinama of Brahman through which the universe is evolved. R.B. I. 4. 23-27.
Madhva observes that ‘the word avyakta which primarily denotes the Supreme Lord alone also denotes the other (matter), for it is dependent on Him and like unto a body of the Lord.’ Sutra Bhdsya I. 4. 1.
purusan na pararn kihcit: beyond the Spirit there is nothing.
The term purusa goes back to the Purusa Sukta (R.V. X. 90) and is distinctly personal in significance.
Purusa is the subject side of that within which are both subject and object, the light of unity and the darkness of multiplicity. We do not reach it, until the end of the cosmic day. So we can say that there is nothing beyond the purusa.
In these two verses we find a hierarchy of principles or beings which have later acquired highly technical significations. We are asked to pass from outward nature to the one world-ground, avyakta, and from it to the spirit behind. Between the two, purusa and prakrti, a certain priority is given to purusa, for it is the light of purusa’ s consciousness that is reflected on all objects of the manifested universe high or low, gross or subtle. From the sense world where the senses reveal their objects, we pass to the dream world where manas or mind operates independent of the senses. From this latter we pass to the world of dreamless sleep where the unmanifest prakrti becomes the divine mother. Those who are absorbed in prakrti, those who have attained to the state of prakHi-laya have the bliss and freedom of dreamless sleep, but it is not the illuminated freedom that we seek. For that we must get to the purusa, who is the source of all.
Cp. Pseudo Dionysius: ‘Do thou, in the intent practice of mystic contemplation, leave behind the senses and the operations of the
intellect, and all things that the senses or the intellect can perceive, and all things which are not and things which are, and strain upwards in unknowing as far as may be towards the union with Him who is above all being and knowledge. For by unceasing and absolute withdrawal from thyself and all things in purity, abandoning all and set free from all, thou wilt be borne up to the ray of the Divine Darkness that surpasseth all being.’ Mystical Theology, I.
Mahat, avyakta and purusa are terms used by the Samkhya philosophy. Avyakta is the prakrti or pradhdna. When its equilibrium is disturbed by the influence of purusa, the evolution or srsti or the manifest world starts, and this evolution consists of twenty-three principles. Mahat, the great principle, buddhi or intelligence, ahamkara self-sense, principle of individuation from which issue manas, the central, co-ordinatory sense-organ, 5-9, five buddhindriyas or sense organs, 10-14, five karmendriyas or organs of action, 15-19, five tanmatras, or subtle elements, 20-24, fiye sthula-bhutas or gross elements. Purusa, the twenty-fifth, is totally distinct in nature from all others, neither producing nor produced, though by its influence on prakrti, it causes the evolution of the manifest world.
The account in the Katha Up. is different from the classical Samkhya in many respects; there is no mention of aham-kara or self-sense, though it is true that the distinction between buddhi and aham-kara, intellect and individuation is not a material one.
While the Samkhya identifies buddhi and mahat, the Upanisad distinguishes them.
The purusa of the dualistic Samkhya is not beyond the avyakta or prakrti but is a co-ordinate principle.
It is doubtful whether avyakta refers to the prakrti of the Samkhya. See S.B. I. 4. 1. The Upanisad account gives certain Samkhya ideas in a theistic setting.
drsyate tvagryaya buddhya suksmaya suksma-darsibhih.
12. The Self, though hidden in all beings, does not shine forth but can be seen by those subtle seers, through their sharp and subtle intelligence.
We must direct a serene and straight look at the Divine object. It is samyag-darsana which is quite different from occult visions or physical ecstasies.
The Principal Ufanisads I. 3. 15.
he should restrain in the understanding self. The understanding he should restrain in the great self. That he should restrain in the tranquil self.
jhanatman is the buddhi of I. 3. 11.
Purusa answers to the Santatman. The soul must go beyond all images in the mind, all workings of the intellect, and by this process of abstraction, the soul is rapt above itself and flows into God in whom are peace and fulness. The process of recollection and intro¬ version is stated here. By shutting out all external things and emptying it of all distracting thoughts, the mind is enabled to concentrate on its own highest or deepest part. Cp. Bishop Ullathome : ‘Let it be plainly understood that we cannot return to God unless we enter first into ourselves. God is everywhere but not everywhere to us. There is but one point in the universe where God communicates with us, and that is the centre of our own soul. There He waits for us. There He meets us; there He speaks to us. To seek Him therefore we must enter into our own interior.’1
The wise disciple should discriminate the unchanging light, the atman, from the changing objects of sense and mind which it illumines, an-atman. The technique for attaining the spiritual consciousness requires the soul to stand clear of all concepts and enter into its own depth.
ksurasya dhara nisita duratyaya; durgam pathas tat kavayo vadanti.
14. Arise, awake, having attained thy boons, understand (them). Sharp as the edge of a razor and hard to cross, difficult to tread is that path (so) sages declare.
prapya varan: having attained the boons. S means by it ‘approaching the best of teachers.' prapya upagamya, varan prakrsfan deary an.
Cp. Hitopadesa: Idleness is the great enemy of man, alasyam hi manusyanam sarirastho maha-ripuh.
sharp as the edge of a razor: The way of religion is never easy. It is steep and hard. There can be no progress in religious life without self- control. Only the clean in heart shall see God. Self-discipline is the first step in spiritual training.
Cp. Jesus: ‘Strive to enter in at the strait gate, for narrow is the gate and straitened the way that leads to life, and few be they that find it.’ Matthew VII. 14.
agandhavac ca yat
1 Groundwork of Christian Virtues, p. 74.
anady anantam mahatah pararn dhruvam nicayya tarn mrtyu-mukhat pramucyate.
15. (The self) without sound, without touch and without form, undecaying, is likewise, without taste, eternal, without smell, without beginning, without end, beyond the great, abiding, by discerning that, one is freed from the face of death.
The atman is not an object of any sort but is the eternal subject. We hear, touch, see, feel and think by the atman. By withdrawing from all outward things, by retreating into the ground of our own soul, in the remotest depth of the soul, we find the Infinite. There the Self is raised above all empirical concepts of sound, touch, form, etc.
16. This ancient story of Naciketas, told by Death, telling and hearing (it), a wise man grows great in the world of Brahma.
tyaya kaipate.
17. Whoso shall cause to be recited this supreme secret before an assembly of Brahmanas or devoutly at the time of the cere¬ monies for the dead, this will prepare (for him) everlasting life, this will prepare everlasting life.
This seems to be the appropriate ending of the Upanisad and the second chapter with the three sections, is, perhaps, a later addition.
630 The Principal Upani$ads II. 1. 1.
kai cid dhirah pratyag-atmanam aik$ad avrtta-cak$ur amrtat- vam icchan.
1. The Self is not to be sought through the senses. The Self- caused pierced the openings (of the senses) outward; therefore one looks outward and not within oneself. Some wise man, however, seeking life eternal, with his eyes turned inward, saw the self.
vyatrnat: pierced. The Self-caused has so set the openings of the soul that they open outwards and men look outward into the appear¬ ances of things but the rare soul ripe for spiritual wisdom withdraws his attention from the world, turns his eye inward, sees the Self and attains immortality. § makes out that he cursed or injured them by turning them outward, hirhsitavan hananam kylavan. Such obser¬ vations which are disparaging to the legitimate use of the senses give the impression of the unworldly character of much of our best effort. S’s opinion is opposed to the view set forth in the previous section that senses are like horses, which will take us to our goal, if properly guided. The Upanisad calls for the control and not the suppression of the senses. Spiritual search has an inward movement leading to the revelation of the Divine in the inmost soul. It is this aspect which is stressed in this verse.1 We generally lead outward lives; to have a vision of truth we must turn our gaze inward. See S.U. III. 18, we must bring about an inversion of the natural orientation of our consciousness.
svayambhuh: self-caused. Cp. causa sui of Neoplatonism. That which causes itself or produces itself is different from the unproduced, the uncaused. It is the Creator God and not the uncaused Brahman. See Satapatha Brahmana I. 9. 3. 10; Taittirlya Brdhmana III. 12. 3. i.B.U. II. 6. 3; IV. 6.3; VI. 5. 4.
avrtta-caksuh: eyes turned inward. We close our eyes to the phe¬ nomenal variety and turn them inward to the noumenal reality.
1 It were a vain endeavour Though I should gaze for ever On that green light which lingers in the west;
I may not hope from outward forms to win
The passion and the life whose fountains are within.
Coleridge.
The soul is like an eye. When the eye rests on the perishing things of the world, it does not know the truth of things. When it turns inward and rests on truth and being, it perceives truth.
Plato speaks of the object of education as a ‘turning around of the soul.’ In the famous simile of the cave Plato compares those who are destitute of philosophic wisdom to prisoners in a cave who are able only to look in one direction. They are bound and have a fire behind them and a wall in front. They see shadows of them¬ selves and of objects behind them cast on the wall by the light of the fire. They regard these shadows as real and have no notion of the objects to which they are due. At last some wise man succeeds in escaping from the cave to the light of the sun. He sees real things and becomes aware that he had hitherto been deceived by shadows.
Cp. Phaedo: ‘The soul, when using the body as an instrument of perception, that is to say, when using the sense of sight or hearing or some other sense ... is then dragged by the body into the region of the changeable and wanders and is confused. But when returning into herself she reflects, then she passes into the other world, the region of purity and eternity and immortality, and unchangeableness which are her kindred and with them she ever lives, when she is by herself and is not let or hindered; then she ceases from her erring ways and being in communion with the unchanging is unchanging. And this state of the soul is called wisdom.’
Descartes points to the necessity of turning away from external appearances and rising to the spiritual realities which self-knowledge reveals. Only while the author of the Upanisad requires us to rise above intellection into insight when we will be imbued with the truth already present in the soul, Descartes asks us to strive to know the truth through reason.
The Upanisad points out that God is more manifest in the soul of man than in the world outside. It, therefore, demands a con¬ version of the spirit on itself.
atha dhlra amrtatvam viditva dhruvam adhruvesv iha na prarthayante.
2. The small-minded go after outward pleasures. They walk into the snare of widespread death. The wise, however, recog¬ nising life eternal do not seek the stable among things which are unstable here.1
1 Cp. the Christian hymn:
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day:
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou Who changest not, abide with me.
632 The Principal Upanisads II. 1. 6.
3. That by which (one perceives) form, taste, smell, sounds and touches of love, by that alone one perceives. What is there that remains (unknown to it) ? This, verily, is that.
Everything is known by the Self and there is nothing which is unknowable to it. sarvam evatvatmana vijheyam, yasyatmano ’ vijheyam na kincit parisisyate, sa atma sarvajnah. S. Though the Self is not manifest as an object, it is ever present in all experience as the subject. It is the ground of every possibility of thought, of every act of knowledge. As § says, it is self-proven, svasiddha; for even he who denies it presupposes it.
4. That by which one perceives both dream states and waking states, having known (that as) the great, omnipresent Self, the wise man does not grieve.
svapnantam,: dream states. Literally dream-end. It is sometimes suggested that at the end of a dream, before it is waking or sleeping we catch the self which is the pure subject. It is the state when we dream that we dream.
5. He who knows this Self, the experiencer as the living spirit close at hand as the lord of the past and the future — one does not shrink away from Him. This, verily, is that,
madhv-ada: experiencer. Literally, honey-eater, ‘the enjoyer of the fruit of action.’ karma-phala-bhujam. S.
vai tat.
6. He who was born of old from austerity, was born of old from the waters, who stands, having entered the secret place (of the heart) and looked forth through beings. This, verily, is that.
The text refers to Hiranya-garbha, who is mentioned in several
Upanisads. There is no suggestion here of the unreality of the cosmic evolution.
adbhyah: the waters which refer to the mula-prakrti, the aspect of the Supreme Spirit which remains when the light of purusa is withdrawn into itself. Cp. C.U. VII. 10. 1; B.U. V. 5; A.U. I. 1-3; K.U. I. 7.
guham praviiya tisthanti, yd bhutebhir vyajayata: etad vai tat.
7. She who arises with life, Aditi, the soul of the gods, who stands, having entered the secret place (of the heart), who was born with the beings. This, verily, is that.
Aditi ( a-diti , not bound, boundless) is said to be the mother of the gods; sarva-devata-mayi sarva-devatmika. S. The term is used here in the sense of mother-nature,1 prakrti, the source of all objectivity. S derives it from root ad ‘to eat’ and makes aditi the eater or experi- encer of all objects. ‘Born from the highest Brahman as prana, i.e. in the form of Hiranya-garbha.’ hiranya-garbhasya eva visesan- antaram aha. A.
etad vai tat.
8. Agni, the all-knower, hidden in the fire-sticks, like the embryo well borne by pregnant women, should be daily adored by the watchful men with oblations. This, verily, is that.
This verse is quoted from Sdma Veda I. 1. 8. 7; see also R.V. III. 29. 2.
Both purusa and prakrti, the subject and the object are identified with the Supreme Reality as they are two movements of His being. aranyoh: between the upper and the lower fire-sticks: uttar adhar- aranyoh, Madhva. nihitah: hidden, nitararh sthitah.
tam devas sarve rpitas tadu natyeti kai cana : etad vai tat.
9. Whence the sun rises and where it goes to rest; in it are all gods founded and no one ever goes beyond that. This verily, is that.
See Atharva Veda X. 18. 16; B.U. I. 5. 23.
The ancient Vedic gods are recognised by the Upanisads but
1 R.V. (I. 89. 10). ‘Aditi is the sky, Aditi the air, Aditi is mother, father and son, Aditi is all the gods and the five tribes, Aditi is whatever has been and will be born.’
634 The Principal Upanisads
they are all said to derive their being from the One Supreme Reality. In verses 5-7, the living soul, the soul of the universe, infinite nature, are identified with Brahman ; in verses 8 and 9, Fire and Sun are said to have their reality in Brahman: devas sarve atmani pratisthita iti. R.
FAILURE TO COMPREHEND THE ESSENTIAL UNITY OF BEING IS THE CAUSE OF RE-BIRTH
10. Whatever is here, that (is) there. Whatever is there, that, too, is here. Whoever perceives anything like manyness here goes from death to death.
11. By mind alone is this to be obtained. There is nothing of variety here. Whoever perceives anything like variety here, goes from death to death.
In these two verses, the Supreme is declared to be devoid of any difference. The multiplicity of the world does not touch the unity of the Supreme.
THE ETERNAL LORD ABIDES IN ONE’S SELF
Uano bhuta-bhavyasya na tato vijigupsate: etad vai tat.
12. The person of the size of a thumb resides in the middle of the body. After knowing him who is the lord of the past and the future, one does not shrink (from Him). This, verily, is that.
ahgustha-matra-purusa: the person of the size of a thumb. Taittirlya Aranyaka X. 38. 1; §.U. III. 13, V. 8; Maitri VI. 38.
In the story of Savitri, it is said that Yama, with his grim force extracted out of the body of Satyavan a person of the size of a thumb, bound in his snare and brought in his control.1 See B.U. I. 5. 23; Revelation I. 8.
1 tatah satyavatah kaydt paiabaddham vasam gatam angustha-matram purusam niicakarsa yamo balat.
— M.B. Vana Parva.
isd.no bhuta-bhavyasya sa evadya sa u ivah: etad vai tat.
13. The person of the size of a thumb resides in the middle of the body, like a flame without smoke. He is the lord of the past and the future. He is the same today and the same tomorrow. This, verily is that.
The lord of the past and the future is not a timeless Absolute but the ruler of the time order.
§ discusses this passage in his Sutra Bhasya (I. 3. 24 and 25) and argues that the soul which is said to be of the size of a thumb is in reality Brahman. Ramanuja and Nimbarka agree and hold that the highest self is called ‘thumb-sized’ since it dwells in the heart of the worshipper. In B.U. the self is said to be ‘as small as a grain of rice or barley and yet it is the ruler of all and lord of all,’ V. 5. 1. In C.U.,it is said to be of the measure of a span, pradeia-md.tr a , V. 18. 1. Maitri states all the views of the size of the soul. It tells us that a man ‘reaches the supreme state by meditating on the soul, which is smaller than an atom or else of the size of the thumb, or of a span, or of the whole body.' VI. 38.
evarn dharman prthak pasyams tan evanuvidhavati ,
14. As water rained upon a height flows down in various ways among the hills; so he who views things as varied runs after them (distractedly).
He who perceives differentiation of dharmas is condemned to the restless flowing he perceives.
15. As pure water poured forth into pure becomes the very same, so the self, 0 Gautama, of the seer who has understanding becomes (one with the Supreme).
tadrg eva: the very same. Literally just such. S affirms metaphysical identity between the individual soul and the Supreme Self. Ramanuja and Nimbarka hold that the individual soul is non- different, i.e. not separate from the Supreme Self. It attains equality with the Supreme. See M.U. III. 2. 8. manana-iilasya atmapi param-atma-jhanena viiuddhas san viiuddhena param-atmana samano bhavati. R.
Cp. the observations of the Christian mystics. Bernard of Clair-
636 The Principal Upanisads
vaux says: ‘As a drop of water poured into wine loses itself and takes the colour and savour of wine, so in the saints all human affections melt away, by some unspeakable transmutation into the will of God. For how could God be all in all if anything merely human remained in man ? The substance will endure, but in another beauty, a higher power, a greater glory.’ St. Theresa says: ‘Spiritual marriage is like rain falling from the sky into a river, becoming one and the same liquid, so that the river water and the rain cannot be divided; or it resembles a streamlet flowing into the ocean which cannot afterward be dissevered from it.’
anusthaya na socati vimuktasca vimucyate: etad vai tat.
1. (There is) a city of eleven gates (belonging to) the unborn, uncrooked intelligence. By ruling it one does not grieve and being freed is freed indeed. This, verily is that.
ekadasa-dvaram: eleven-gated. B.G. (V. 13) mentions nine gates1 which are the two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, mouth, anus and generating organ.1 Here two others are mentioned to make up eleven and they are the navel and the saggital suture, the opening at the top of the skull (A.U. III. 12), through which the liberated soul is said to escape at death.
a-vakra-cetasah: whose thoughts are not crooked, avakram: akutilam. anusthaya: ruling (the city). £ takes it to mean ‘contemplating,’ dhyatva. When the soul controls the gates and lives in peace it is free from sorrow. It is freedom which begins here ( jwan-mukti ) and leads after death to complete release (videha-mukti) .
duronasat,
nrsat, varasat, rtasat, vyomasat, abja, goja, rtaja, adrija, rtam brhat.
2. He is the swan (sun) in the sky, the pervader in the space (between earth and heaven), the priest at the altar, the guest in the sacrificial jar (house). He dwells in men, in gods, in the right and in the sky. He is (all that is) bom of water, sprung
1 Bunyan in his Holy War describes the human soul as living in a city with five gates which are the five senses.
from the earth, born of right, born of mountain. He is the true and the great.
This hamsavati mantra whose seer is Vama-deva is a prayer to the sun who illumines the world and dispels the darkness of men.
See R.V. IV. 40. 5; Vajasaneyi Samhita X. 24; XII. 14; Taittirlya Samhita III. 2. 10. 1; Satapatha Brahmana VI. 7. 3. 11. vasu: the pervading: vdsayati sarvan. S.
hold: priest. ‘Fire’ according to S. hotagnih, agnir vai hota ity sruteh.
In the Satapatha Brahmana, the triune Agni is identified with the sun in heaven, the air in the space between earth and heaven and with the priest or the guest on earth. Here, Agni, the Supreme energy is identified with Brahman or the Atman. The verse affirms that the whole universe is non-different from the Supreme Brahman, etat sarvam aparicchinna-satya-rupa-brahmatmakam. R.
3. He leads the out-breath upward, he casts inwards the in-breath, the dwarf who is seated in the middle, all the gods adore.
Originally prana meant breath and was used for the Supreme Being. In the early Upanisads, all the vital powers (i.e. speech, breath, eye, ear and manas) are called pranah. B.U. I. 5. 3; T.U. I. 7. These are looked upon as varieties of breath or as powers presiding over different parts of the body. Prana and apana stand for breaths in expiration and inspiration respectively. vamanam: the dwarf (another name for the thumb-sized person, angustha-matra purusa ).
‘Worthy to be served,’ vananlyarh sambha janlyam. S. visve devah: all the gods. § interprets as ‘the senses and the vital powers’ which are subject to the person within, who is their Lord whom they worship by their uninterrupted activity.
dehad vimucyamanasya kim atra parisisyate: etad vai tat.
4. When the embodied self that dwells within the body slips off and is released from the body, what is there that remains? This, verily, is that.
What remains is the Universal Soul.
638 The Principal Upanisads II. 2. 8.
ever live. But by another do they live on which these (life- breaths) both depend.
This verse repudiates the materialist doctrine that the soul is just an assemblage of parts. It makes out that as the house and the dweller are separate, the destruction of the house does not mean the destruction of the dweller. The loss of the body does not mean the dissolution of the soul, while desertion of the body by the soul would mean the disintegration of the body.
6. Look (here) . I shall explain to you the mystery of Brahman, the eternal, and also how the soul fares, after reaching death, 0 Gautama.
7. Some souls enter into a womb for embodiment; others enter stationary objects according to their deeds and according to their thoughts.
While the Upanisads insist on the independent reality of the Supreme Self they also affirm the reality of the individual soul.
Here the law of Karma that we are bom according to our deeds is assumed, yatha irutam yadr&am ca vijhanam updrjitam tad anurupam eva sariram pratipadyanta iti. S.
tad eva iukram tad brahma tad evdmrtam ucyate. tasmin lokah iritah sarve, tad u natyeti ka$ cana: etad vai tat .
8. That person who is awake in those that sleep, shaping desire after desire, that, indeed, is the pure. That is Brahman, that, indeed, is called the immortal. In it all the worlds rest and no one ever goes beyond it. This, verily, is that.
kamam kamam: desire after desire, really objects of desire. Even dream objects like objects of waking consciousness are due to the Supreme Person. Even dream consciousness is a proof of the existence of the self. See B.U. IV. 3.
No one ever goes beyond it: cp. Eckhart: ‘On reaching God all progress ends.'1
1 Quoted in New Indian Antiquary, Vol. I, p. 205.
ekas tatha sarva-bhutantar-atma ruparh rupam prati-rupo bahii ca.
9. As fire which is one, entering this world becomes varied in shape according to the object (it burns), so also the one Self within all beings becomes varied according to whatever (it enters) and also exists outside (them all).
Cp. R.V. where Indra, in his conflict with the demons, is said to have assumed many forms through his magic powers, becoming the counterform of every form.
rupam, rupam prati-riipo babhuva indro mayabhih pururiipa lyate. VI. 47. 18. bahii: outside. While the Self assumes many forms, it is yet outside the manifested world in its own unmodified nature, svena avikrtena riipena dkdiavat. S. This verse teaches the immanence as well as the transcendence of the Supreme Self. Cp. R.V. X. 90, where all beings are said to be a quarter of the purusa while three-quarters are immortal in heaven, tripad asyamytam divi. R.V. X. 90. 3; S.U.
babhuva,
ekas tatha sarva-bhutantar-atma ruparh ruparh prati-rupo bahii ca.
10. As air which is one, entering this world becomes varied in shape according to the object (it enters), so also the one Self within all beings becomes varied according to whatever (it enters) and also exists outside (them all).
bahya-do$aih
ekas tatha sarva-bhutantar-atma na lipyate loka-duhkena bahyah.
11. Just as the sun, the eye of the whole world, is not defiled by the external faults seen by the eye, even so, the One within all beings is not tainted by the sorrow of the world, as He is outside (the world).
The verse admits the reality of the pain of the world but denies that it touches the Supreme Self which is our inner being. The forms
640 The Principal Upanisads II. 2. 14.
which the Supreme assumes are not its modifications but are the manifestations of its possibilities. The Supreme Self is unaffected by the pain of the individual selves because the pain of the individual self is due to its identifying itself with its psycho-physical vehicle. The individual ego makes a confusion between the self and what is not the self. The Supreme, on the other hand, does not suffer because it is not subject to ignorance lavidya) and it does not identify itself with any of the accidents to which its various psycho-physical vehicles are subject.
tam dtmastham ye’nupasyanti dhiras tesdm sukham sasva- tam netaresam.
12. The one, controller (of all), the inner self of all things, who makes his one form manifold, to the wise who perceive him as abiding in the soul, to them is eternal bliss — to no others.
vast: controller. See B.U. IV. 4. 22; S.U. VI. 12.
dtmastham: abiding in the soul. The Supreme dwells in the inmost
sva-sanra-hfdaydkase buddhau caitanyakarenabhivyaktam. S. Cp. I John IV. 13. ‘Hereby know we that we abide in Him and He in us, because He hath given us of His spirit.’
who makes his one form manifold. It is one in the unmanifested condition. It becomes manifold in the manifested condition, eki-bhu- tavibhagavastham tamo-laksanam bijam mahadadi bahu-vidha-prapahca- riipena yah karoti tam. R.
hati kdman,
tam dtmastham yenupasyanti dhirdh; tesdm santis sdsvati, netaresam.
13. The one eternal amid the transient, the conscious amid the conscious, the one amid many, who grants their desires, to the wise who perceive Him as abiding in the soul, to them is eternal peace and to no others.
See S.U. VI. 13.
nityo’ nityanam, sometimes nityo nityanam the one eternal among the eternal.
The Supreme grants the desires of many. We may see here the doctrine of Divine providence.
14. This is that and thus they recognise, the ineffable Supreme bliss. How then may I come to know this? Does it shine (of itself) or does it shine (in reflection) ?
Does the Supreme shine in Himself (see III. 1. 3. 12) or does He shine in His expression ?
bhanti,-kuto’yam agnih:
tam eva bhantam anubhati sarvam tasya bhasa sarvam idarn vibhati.
15. The sun shines not there, nor the moon and the stars, these lightnings shine not, where then could this fire be? Everything shines only after that shining light. His shining illumines all this world.
The Supreme who is the source of all light, ‘the master light of all our seeing’1 cannot be known by any earthly light. Our knowledge cannot find him out.
See M.U. II. 2. 10; S.U. VI. 14; B.G. XV. 12. The symbol of light is the most natural and universal. Plato in his Seventh letter com¬ pares the sudden inspiration of the mystic to a ‘leaping spark.' In the myth of the cave, the real world is a realm of light outside the cave. The Old Testament and the Zoroastrian religion speak of the antagonism between darkness and light. In the First Epistle of John, we read, ‘God is light and in him is no darkness at all.’
THE WORLD-TREE ROOTED IN BRAHMAN
1. urdhva-mulo’vak-sakha eso’svatthas sanatanah, tad eva sukram tad brahma, tad evamrtam ucyate. tasmin lokah sritah sarve tad u natyeti has cana: etad vai tat. 1. With the root above and the branches below (stands) this ancient fig tree. That (indeed) is the pure; that is Brahman. That, indeed, is called immortal. In it all the worlds rest and no one ever goes beyond it. This, verily, is that.
tad eva: that indeed, i.e. the root of this tree. The description here has its analogue in the description of the tree Igdrasil in Scandinavian mythology.
1 Revelation XX. 1.23.
642 The Principal Upani$ads II. 3. 4.
The tree of life has its unseen roots in Brahman. The tree, roots and branches represent Brahman in its manifested form. While the tree of life is said to be imperishable Brahman, B.G., which uses this illustration, asks us to cut off the tree of existence by the potent weapon of non-attachment. XV. 1. 3. The tree grows upside down. It has its roots above and branches below. See S.U. III. 9; Maitri VI. 4. The branches below are for Madhva the lower gods: avamcah adhamah dev ah sakhah yasya asau.
mahad bhayath vajram udyatam, ya etad vidur amrtas te bhavanti.
2. The whole world, whatever here exists, springs from and moves in life. (It is) the great fear (like) the upraised thunder¬ bolt. They that know that become immortal.
The whole world trembles in Brahman, parasmin brahmani saty ejati kampate. S.
3. Through fear of him, fire bums; through fear (of him) the sun gives heat ; through fear both Indra (the lord of the gods) and wind and Death, the fifth, speed on their way.
See T.U. II. 8. 1.
The source and sustaining power of the universe is Brahman. Evolution is not a mechanical process. It is controlled by Brahman, who is here represented as prana, the life-giving power : jagato miilam prana-pada-laksyum prana-pravrttir api hetutvdt. A.
4. If one is able to perceive (Him) before the body falls away (one would be freed from misery); (if not) he becomes fit for embodiment in the created worlds.
asakat: able. It is sometimes split up into na sakat, unable, i.e. if one fails to know it. The simplest meaning would be ‘If one is not able to know (the Supreme) before the body falls away, one becomes fit for embodiment in the created worlds.’ S interprets the verse
thus: ‘If here, in this life, a man is able to know the awe-inspiring Brahman before the falling of the body, he is freed from the bond of samsara; if he is not able to know, then for lack of knowledge, he takes embodiment in earth and other created worlds.’ sargesu lokesu: created worlds. V. sarvesu kalesu, at all times.
The verse teaches that it is possible for us to attain the saving wisdom here and now.
yathapsu pariva dadrse, tatha gandharva-loke chaya-tapayor iva brahma-loke.
5. As in a mirror, so (is it seen) in the soul, as in a dream, so in the world of the manes, as (an object) is seen in water, so in the world of the gandharvas; as shade and light in the world of Brahma.
He can be seen in this life as in a glass, if his mind is pure and clear. In the region of the departed, he can be seen only as a reminis¬ cence, a remembrance of dreams. In the world of the gandharvas, he can be seen as a reflection in trembling waters. In the world of Brahma he can be seen clearly as shade and light. gandharvas: angels who live in the fathomless spaces of air. R.V. VIII. 65. 5; see also B.U. IV. 3. 33.
6. Knowing the separate nature of the senses, which spring separately (from the various subtle elements) and (knowing also) that their rising and setting (are separate), the wise man does not grieve.
The discrimination of the Self from the sense organism is here insisted on. When the wise man knows, that the material senses do not come from the Self, that their rise and fall belong to their own nature, he grieves no more.
7. Beyond the senses is the mind; above the mind is its essence (intelligence) ; beyond the intelligence is the great self ; beyond the great (self) is the unmanifest.
sattva: essence. Intelligence constitutes the essence of the mind.
See notes on I. 3. 10 and n.
644 The Principal Upanisads II. 3. 90
8. Beyond the unmanifest is the person, all-pervading and without any mark whatever. By knowing whom, a man is liberated and goes to life eternal.
alihga: without any mark. See M.U. III. 2. 4; Maitri V. 31, 35; VII. 2. ‘Without any empirical attributes.’ sarva-samsara-dharma- varjitah. S. Lihga is a distinctive mark or sign. In logic, it is an invariable sign which constitutes the basis of inference. Lihga refers to lihga-sama suksma-sartra, the entity consisting of buddhi, aham- kara, manas, indriyani, tanmatrani. S.U. VI. 9; Maitri VI. 10. 19. If lihga is taken in this sense, it means that the Supreme needs no subtle body as it is not subject to death and re-birth.
kascanainam:
hrda mamsa manasabhiklpto ya etad vidur amrtas te bhavanti.
9. Not within the field of vision stands this form. No one soever sees Him with the eye. By heart, by thought, by mind apprehended, they who know Him become immortal.
The first half points out that we cannot form a visual image of the Supreme Person and the second half urges that we can still apprehend Him by heart, by thought and by mind. The Supreme Reality is to be apprehended through the concentrated direction of all mental powers.
mamsa (reflective) thought, vikalpa-varjita buddhi. manas: mind, true insight in the form of meditation. manana-rUpena samyag-darsana. S. When the mind becomes clear and the heart pure, God-vision arises. Cp. R.V. I. 61. 2. hrda manasa manisa We must seek God in our hearts and our souls. The process is called introversion, the solitary communing of the soul with God, the thought of the alone to the Alone, as Plotinus described it. Cp. Cassian: ‘The mind will come to that incorruptible prayer which is not engaged in looking on any image, and is not articulate by the utterance of any voice or words; but with the intentness of the mind aglow, it is produced by an ineffable transport of the heart, by some insatiable keenness of spirit ; and the mind being placed beyond all senses and visible matter, pours it forth to God with groanings and sighs that cannot be uttered.’1
abhiklpta: apprehended. As the concept of God is formed by our mental nature, it cannot be identical for all. This attitude develops charity, open-mindedness, disinclination to force one’s views on other people’s attention. If the Hindu does not feel that he belongs to the
1 Collation X. 11. quoted in Dom Cuthbert Butler: Benedictine Monachism, 2nd Ed. ^924), p. 79.
chosen race, if he is relatively free from a provincial self-righteousness, it is to no small extent due to the recognition that the concepts of God are relative to our traditions and training.
10. When the five (senses) knowledges together with the mind cease (from their normal activities) and the intellect itself does not stir, that, they say, is the highest state.
Cp. Boehme: ‘When thou standest still from the thinking of self and the willing of self; when both thy intellect and will are quiet and passive to the expressions of the eternal world and spirit, and when thy soul is winged up and above that which is temporal, the outward senses and the imagination being locked up by holy abstraction, then the Eternal Hearing, Seeing and Speaking will be revealed in thee, and so God heareth and seeth through thee, being the organ of this spirit and so God appeareth in thee and whispereth to thy spirit. Blessed art thou, therefore, if thou canst stand still from thy self-thinking and self -willing and canst stop the wheel of thy imagination and senses.’
ir. tam y ogam iti many ante sthiram indriya-dharandm apramattas tada bhavati, yogo hi prabhavapyayau.
11. This, they consider to be Yoga, the steady control of the senses. Then one becomes undistracted for Yoga comes and goes.
apramattah: undistracted, pramada-varjitah samadhanam prati-nityam prayatnavan. §. See also C.U. I. 3. 12 and II. 22. 2; M.U. II. 2. 4. In Buddhism all virtues are said to be centred in apramada (Pali appamado) . Keenness is the way of eternal life and slackness the way of death, appamado amatapadam, pamado maccuno padam. Dhamma- pada 21.
prabhavapyayau: comes and goes.
Vigilant keenness is necessary in Yoga, as it comes and goes. jananapaya-dharmakah. S. pratiksandpayasalitaya avadhanam apeksitam. R. If we are careful we will acquire it; if we are careless we will lose it. Mind is liable to fluctuation and therefore we should be extremely careful.
It is sometimes interpreted as ‘beginning and end.’ ‘The world sinks down in Yoga and again is created afresh,’ says Deussen. This is later Patanjala Yoga.
The Principal Upani$ads
12. Not by speech, not by mind, not by sight can he be apprehended. How can he be comprehended except by him who says, ‘He is’?
He can be comprehended only by those who affirm that ‘He is.'
The self as the knowing subject can never become an object. It can be realised through Yoga. While He transcends the ordinary means of apprehension, He can be immediately experienced through Yoga, and for such apprehension faith in His existence is an indis¬ pensable condition. The conviction of the reality of that which is sought is the prerequisite.
Commenting on this verse, S argues that the Supreme Brahman who is conceived as the source of the universe must be regarded as existent. We cannot conceive of the world as produced from nothing. The world effect must have an existent cause.
We can at least reasonably say of God that He is. Cp. Epistle to the Hebrews: ‘He that cometh to God must believe that He is.’ Cp. St. Bernard: ‘Who is God ? I can think of no better answer than, He who is. Nothing is more appropriate to the eternity which God is. If you call God good, or great or blessed, or wise or anything else of this sort, it is included in these words, namely, He is.'
13. He should be apprehended only as existent and then in his real nature — in both ways. When He is apprehended as existent, his real nature becomes clear (later on).
The primary assertion that can be made of the Self is the declaration of existence, pure and simple.
ubhayoh: in both ways. In the conditioned and the unconditioned ways: sopadhika-nirupadhikayoh. S.
Rational faith in the existence of Brahman leads on to spiritual experience in which His nature is revealed to and understood by the believer.
In this section, the author speaks to us of the discipline of Yoga by which man’s whole being is unified and concentrated on the realization of the highest Being who is also the inner and real self.
cast away, then a mortal becomes immortal and (even) here he attaineth to Brahman.
When self-seeking desire, ignorance and doubt disappear, the vision of God is attained. The Upanisad treats fellowship with God as the consummation of spiritual experience.
15. When all the knots that fetter here the heart are cut asunder, then a mortal becomes immortal. Thus far is the teaching.
etavad anusasanam: thus far is the teaching. The original Upanisad, it was felt, ended with I. 3. 17. These words seem to mark the end of the enlarged Upanisad. The remaining verses seem to be a still later addition.
abhinihsrtaika:
tayordhvam ayann amrtatvam eti, visvahh anya utkramane bhavanti.
16. A hundred and one are the arteries of the heart; one of them leads up to the crown of the head. Going upward through that, one becomes immortal ; the others serve for going in various other directions.
See C.U. VIII. 6. 6, where it is said, that if a man has lived the disciplined life of a student and so ‘found the self,’ then at the time of death, his soul, dwelling in the heart, will pass upward by an artery known as susumna (Maitri VI. 21), to an aperture in the crown of the skull known as the brahma-randhra or vidrti, by which at the beginning of life it first entered. For there the soul rises by the sun’s rays to the sun which is a door-way to the Brahma world to those who know and a stopping-place for those who do not know. The other ways lead the unliberated to re-embodiment.
sannivistah
tarn svac charlrat pravrhen muhjad ivesikam dhairyena: tam vidyac chukram amrtam tam vidyac chukram amrtam iti.
17. The person of the size of a thumb, the inner self, abides always in the hearts of men. Him one should draw out with firmness, from the body, as (one may do) the wind from the
648 The Principal Upanisads II. 3. 18.
reed. Him one should know as the pure, the immortal, yea, Him one should know as the pure, the immortal.
dhairyena: with firmness, apramadena. S. with courage, with intel¬ lectual strength, jhana-kausalena. R.
brahmaprapto virajo 'bhud vimrtyur anyopy evam yo vid adhydtmam eva.
18. Then Naciketas, having gained this knowledge declared by Death and the whole rule of Yoga, attained Brahman and became freed from passion and from death. And so may any other who knows this in regard to the self.
PRASNA up an is ad
The Prasna Upanisad belongs to the Atharva Veda and has six sections dealing with six questions put to a sage by his disciples who were intent on knowing the nature of the ultimate cause, the power of aum, the relation of the Supreme to the constituents of the world. The Upanisad is so called as it deals with prasna or question.
sthirair angais tu$tuvariisas tanubhih, vyasema deva-hitam yad ayuh.
1. Aum. May we, O gods, hear what is auspicious with our ears. Oh ye, who are worthy of worship, may we see with our eyes what is auspicious. May we enjoy the life allotted to us by the gods, offering praise, with our bodies strong of limb.
2. svasti na indro vrddha-sravah, svasti nah pUsd visva-vedah, svasti nas tarksyo arista-nemih, svasti no brhaspatir dadhatu, Aunt iantih, sdntih, santih.
2. May Indra, of increasing glory, bestow prosperity on us; may Pusan, the knower of all, bestow prosperity on us; may Tark§ya, of unobstructed path, bestow prosperity on us. May Brhaspati bestow prosperity on us. Aum, peace, peace, peace.
Question 1
SIX QUESTIONERS SEEK BRAHMA-KNOWLEDGE FROM A TEACHER
1. sukesa ca bharadvdjah, saibyas ca satya-kamah, saury dyani ca gargyah, kausalyas cdsvalayano bhargavo vaidarbhih, kabandhi katyayanah, te haite brahma-par ah, brahma-nisthah, param brah- manvesamana, esa ha vai tat sarvarh vaksyatiti, te ha samit-panayo bhagavantam pippaladam upasannah.
1. Sukesa son of Bharadvaja, Satya-kama son of Sibi, Gargya grandson of Surya, Kausalya son of A£vala, Bhargava of the Vidarbha country, Kabandhi son of Katya, these, indeed, devoted to Brahman, intent on Brahman, seeking the highest Brahman, approached the revered Pippalada with sacrificial fuel in their hands, thinking that he would explain all to them.
2. tan ha sa rsir uvaca, bhuya eva tapasa brahmacaryena iraddhaya samvatsaram samvatsyatha, yatha-kamam prasnan prcchatha, yadi vijhdsyamah sarvarh ha vo vaksyama iti.
2. To them that seer said; live with me another year with austerity, chastity and faith. Then ask us questions according to your desire and if we know, we shall, indeed, tell you all that.
tapasa: with austerity, sense restraint, indriya-samyamena. &. brahmacaryena: with chastity, yositsmarana-kirtana-kelipreksana guhyabhdsana-samkalpddhyavasdyakriyd-nirvrtti-laksanastavidhamait- huna-varjanarupa-brahmacaryena. R.
3. Then Kabandhi, son of Katya, approached him and asked, Venerable Sir, whence, verily, are all these creatures born ?
atha: then, i.e. after a year.
4. tasmai sa hovaca praja-kamo vai praja-patih, sa tapo’ tapyata, sa tapas taptva sa mithunam utpadayate, rayim ca pranam ca, ity etau me bahudha prajah karisyata iti.
652 The Principal Upani$ads I. 7.
4. To him he said, Praja-pati (the lord of creation), verily, was desirous of offspring. He performed austerity. Having performed austerity, he produced the pair, matter and life, thinking that they would produce creatures for him variously.
rayi: matter, feminine.
prana: life, masculine. These two are interpreted also as food and its eater. Here we have a duality of primary existences answering to matter and form of Aristotle. The application of this duality in the following verses is somewhat strange.
5. The sun, indeed, is life. Matter itself is the moon. Matter is, verily, all this, whatever is formed and formless. Therefore, whatever is formed is itself matter.
Matter and life interact and produce the whole creation. Every¬ thing, gross and subtle, is matter. In the cosmic process or becoming, there is always the element of matter. Rayi is the material medium in which all forms are expressed. rayir evannam. $. sarvam api bhutajatam rayih. R.
6. athaditya udayan yat pracim disam pravisati, tena pracyan pranan raimisu sannidhatte yad daksinam yat praticim yad udicim yad adho yad urdhvam yad antara diso yat sarvam prakasayati, tena sarvan pranan rasmisu sannidhatte.
6. Now the sun, after rising, enters the eastern side. By that, he bathes in his rays all life that is in the east. When he illumines all the other sides of the south, the west, the north, below, above and in between, by that he bathes in his rays all living beings.
This is he, the Vaisvanara fire, assuming every form, life and fire who rises (every day). This very doctrine is declared in a verse of the Rg Veda.
The sun which is life in its infinite variety rises as fire.
Vaisvanara is said to be the essence of all living beings, while Visva-riipa is said to be the essence of the whole cosmos, according to A.
narah jivah visve ca te naras ca visvanarah, sa eva vaisvanarah sarva- jivatmakah, visva-rupah sarva-prapahcatmakah iti bhedah.
sahasra-rasmih satadha vartamanah pranah prajanam udayaty esa suryah.
8. Who has all forms, the golden one, the all-knowing, the goal (of all), the sole light, the giver of heat, possessing a thousand rays, existing in a hundred forms — thus rises the sun, the life of all creation.
See Maitri VI. 8.
The Sun, in many systems of ancient times, is regarded as the infinite life of all beings.
9. samvatsaro vai prajd-patih, tasyayane daksinam cottaram ca, , tad ye ha vai tad ista-purte krtam ity updsate, te candramasam eva lokam abhijayante, ta eva punar avartante, tasmad etersayah praja-kama daksinam pratipadyante, esa ha vai rayir yah pitryanah.
9. The year, verily, is the lord of creation; of it (there are) two paths, the southern and the northern. Now those, verily, who worship, thinking ‘sacrifice and pious acts are our work,’ they win only the human world. They certainly return again. Therefore, the sages, desirous of offspring, take the southern route. This, which is called the path of ancestors, is verily matter ( rayi ).
The southern route is the material path where we perform acts with selfish desires. These acts are of two kinds ista and purta. The former relates to acts of ceremonial piety, observances of Vedic ritual, the latter to acts of social service and public good.
agnihotram tapas satyam vedanam upalambhanam, atithyam vaisvadevam ca istam ity abhidhlyate; vapl-kupa-tatakadi devatayatanani ca anna-pradanam dr amah purtam ity abhidhlyate.
654 The Principal Upani$ads I. 12.
etad amrtam abhayam, etat parayanam, etasman na punar avartante, ity esa nirodhah, tad esa slokah:
10. But those who seek for the Self by austerity, chastity, faith and knowledge, they, by the northern route, gain the sun. That, verily, is the support of life breaths. That is eternal, the fearless. That is the final goal. From that they do not return. That is the stopping (of rebirth). About that, there is this verse:
Conventional piety and altruism are distinguished from ethical and spiritual development. The former do not save us from sub¬ jection to time; the latter do.
tapas is bodily control, bordering on mortification. Brahmacarya is sexual continence. Sraddha is faith in the Divine. Atma-vidya is self-knowledge, kaya-klesadi-laksanena tapasa, stri-sahga-rahitya-lak- sanena brahmacaryena, astikya-buddhi-laksanaya sraddhaya pratyag- atma-vidyaya. . . . R.
Through the Sun they attain to Brahman, brahrna-prdpti-dvara- bhutam adityam. Ibid.
puri$inam
atheme anya u pare vicaksanam sapta-cakre $adara ahur arpitam.
11. They speak of him as the father, having five feet, and twelve forms, seated in the higher half of the heavens, full of water. And others, again, speak of him as the omniscient set on (a chariot of) seven wheels and six spokes.
pahca-pddam: having five feet, i.e. five seasons.
Cp. R.V. I. 164. 12.
S says that hemanta and siiira seasons are combined into one. pitaram: father. Time is the father of all things, sarvasya jana- yitrtvat pitrtvam. S.
dvadaiakrtim: twelve forms, twelve months.
Time is ever on the move in the form of seven horses and six seasons.
12. maso vai praja-patih, tasya krsna-paksa eva rayih, iuklah pranah, tasmad eta rsayah iukla istim kurvanti, itara itarasmin.
12. The month, verily, is the lord of creation. Of this the dark half is matter, the bright half is life. Therefore, the seers perform sacrifices in the bright half, others in the other half.
The distinction between matter and form is stressed.
13. aho-ratro vai praja-patih, tasyahar eva prano ratrir eva rayih; pranarh va ete praskandanti ye diva ratya samyujyam te brahmacaryam eva tad yad ratrau ratya samyujyante.
13. Day and night are, verily, the lord of creation. Of this, day indeed is life and the night verily is matter. They who join in sexual intercourse by day spill their life; that they join in sexual intercourse by night is chastity indeed.
It is clear from this verse that brahmacarya or chastity is not sexual abstinence but sex control. With all their exaltation of celibacy the Upanisads recognise the value of married life.
14- annarh vai prajapatih, tato ha vaitad retah, tasmad imah prajah prajayante.
te?am evaisa brahma loko yesam tapo brahmacaryam yesn satyam pratisthitam.
15. Thus, those who practise this rule of the lord of creation, produce couples. To them alone is this brahma world, in whom austerity, chastity and truth are established.
The seers of the Upanisads were not blind to the natural innocence and beauty of sex life and parental love.
maya: trickery, the art of saying one thing and doing another. maya nama bahir anyathatmanam prakdsya’nyathaiva karyam karoti sa maya mithydcdra-riipd. £.
This use of the word maya has led to the view that the world is deceptive in character.
Question 2
1. atha hainam bhargavo vaidarbhih papraccha, bhagavan, katy eva devah prajam vidharayante, katara etat prakaiayante, hah punar e$am varistha iti.
656 The Principal Upanisads II. 5.
1. Then Bhargava of the Vidarbha country asked him (Pippalada) : Venerable sir, how many powers support the created world? How many illumine this? And who, again, among them is the greatest ?
2. tasmai sa hovdca, akaso ha vd esa devo vayur agnir dpah prthivi van manas caksuh srotram ca, te prakdsydbhivadanti , vayam etad banam avastabhya vidharayamah.
2. To him, he said: ‘ether verily is such a power — wind, fire, water, earth, speech, mind, eye and ear too. They, having illumined it, declare, “we sustain and support this body.” ’
bana: body, iarira, karya-kdrana-santghata.
3. Ian varisthah prana uvaca, md moham apadyatha, aham evaitat pahcadhatmanam pravibhajyaitad banam avaslabhya vidharayami iti.
3. Life, the greatest of them, said to them: ‘Do not cherish this delusion; I, alone, dividing myself fivefold, sustain and support this body.’
pahcadhd: fivefold, the five forms of breath.
4. te’ sraddadhana babhiivuh, sobhimanad urdhvam utkra- mata iva, tasminn utkramaty yathetare sarva evotkrdmante, tasmimi ca pratislhamane sarva, eva pratisthante, tad yathd maksika madhu-kara-rajanam utkramantam sarva evotkrdmante tasmims ca pratisthamane sarva eva pratisthante, evahi van manas caksuh srotram ca, te pritah pranarn stunvanti.
4. They believed him not. Through pride, he seemed to go upward (from the body). When he went up, all the others also went up. When he settled down, all others too settled down. This, as all the bees go up when the king bee goes up and as they settle down when the king bee settles down, even so, speech, mind, sight and hearing. They, being satisfied, praise life.
5. As fire, he burns; he is the sun. He is the bountiful rain- god; He is the wind. He is the earth, matter, god. He is being and non-being and what is immortal.
sad-asat: the formed and the unformed, sat miirtam, asat amurtam. §.
6. As spokes in the centre of a wheel, everything is estab¬ lished in life; the Rg (verses), the Yajus (formulas) and the sdmans (chants) as also sacrifice, valour and wisdom.
tubhyam prana prajastv ima balim haranti yah pranaih pratitisthasi.
7. As the lord of creatures, thou movest in the womb; it is then thyself that art born again. 0 life, creatures — here bring offering to thee who dwellest with the vital breaths.
Praja-pati moves in the form of the seed in the father and the son in the mother, piiur garbhe reto-riipena matur garbhe putra-rupena. A. This verse reveals the state of scientific knowledge in those days.
8. Thou art the chief bearer (of offerings) to the gods; thou art the first offering to the fathers; thou art the true practice of the seers, descendants of Atharvan and Angiras.
9. Indra art thou, O Life, by thy valour; Rudra art thou as a protector. Thou movest in the atmosphere as the sun, the lord of the lights.
10. When thou pourest . down rain, then these creatures breathe (and) live in a state of bliss (thinking) that there will be food according to their desire.
11. Thou art ever pure, O Life, the one seer, the eater, the real lord of all. We are the givers of what is to be eaten. O, all-pervading Air, thou art our father.
vratya: ever pure. ‘Being the first born and so having no one else to initiate you, you are uninitiated. The meaning is that you are by nature, pure.’ S. prathamajatvad anyasya samskartuh abhavdd asamskrto vraiyas tvam, svabhavata eva suddha ity abhiprayah. Later vratya came to mean one who lost caste by non-observance of prescribed ceremonies or otherwise, samskara-hinah. See A and R.
658 The Principal Upani$ads III. 2.
ekarsi: the one seer, the name given to Agni by the followers of the Atharva Veda. See l£a 16.
12. That form of thine which is well-established in the speech, or in the ear and in the eye, which exists continuously in the mind, make that auspicious; do not get away.
Sivam: auspicious or restful, santam. $. iobhanam. R.
13. All this is under the control of life, which is well estab¬ lished in the three worlds. Protect us as a mother her sons. Grant to us prosperity and wisdom.
For a controversy between prana or life principle and the organs of sense, see C.U. V. 1. 6-15.
as a mother to her sons: In the Devi Bhagavata, the devotee prays: ‘O noble Goddess, may this relationship of mother and son prevail unbroken between thee and me, now and for ever more.’ esa vayor avirata kila devi bhuyat vyaptih sadaiva janani sutayor ivarye.
Question 3
1. atha hainarn kausalyas caivaldyanah papraccha, bhagavan, kuta e?a prano jayate, katham ayaty asmim charlre, atmanam va pravibhajya katham prati$thate, kenotkramate, katham bahyam abhidhatte, katham adhyatmam iti.
1. Then Kausalya, the son of A£vala, asked him (Pippalada) : Venerable Sir, whence is this life born ? How does it come into this body ? And how does it distribute itself and establish itself ? In what way does it depart? How does it support what is external? How (does it support) what relates to the self?
2. To him, he then said: You are asking questions which are (highly) transcendental. Because (I think) you are most devoted to Brahman, I will tell you.
atiprainan: questions of a transcendental character such as the origin of the world, janmaditvam. S. Subtle questions, sftksma-prainam. A.
3. This life is born of the self. As in the case of a person there is this shadow, so is this (life) connected (with the self). It comes into this body by the activity of the mind.
A person’s life in this body is the appropriate result of his activities in the previous existence. As the shadow of former lives a new life arises.
4. yatha samrddevadhikrtan viniyuhkte, etan graman etan graman adhitisthasveti , evarn evaisa pranah itaran prdnan prthak Prthag eva sannidhatte.
4. As a sovereign commands his officers, saying, ‘you super¬ intend such and such villages,' even so does this life allot the other vital breaths to their respective places.
5. pdyupasthe'panam, caksuh srotre mukha-nasikabhyam pranah svayam pratisthate, madhye tu samanah esa hy etadd hutam annam samam nayati, tasmad etah saptarci$o bhavanti.
5. The out-breath is in the organs of excretion and generation, the life breath as such is in the eye and ear as also in the mouth and nose. In the middle is the equalising breath. It is this that equalises whatever is offered as food. From this arise the seven flames.
6. hrdy hy esa atma, atraitad ekasatam nadlnam, tasam satam $atam ekaikasyam dvasaptatir dvasaptatih pratisdkha nadi-sahas- rani bhavanti, dsu vyanas carati.
6. In the heart is this self. Here are these hundred and one arteries. To each one of these belong a hundred smaller arteries. To each of these belong seventy-two thousand branching arteries. Within them moves the diffused breath.
See C.U. VIII. 6-6; B.U. II. 1-19.
The self which is in the heart is the jivdtman or the lihgatman. § and A.
7. Now, rising upward through one of these the up-breath leads, in consequence of good (work) to the good world, in consequence of evil to the evil world, in consequence of both to the world of men.
66o The Principal Upanisads IV. i.
pranam anugrhnanah, prthivyamya devata saisa purusasyapanam avastabhyantara yad akasas sa samano, vayur vyanah.
8. The sun, verily, rises as the external life for it is that which helps the life breath in the eye. The divinity which is in the earth supports a person’s outbreath. What is between (the sun and the earth) is the equalising breath. Air is the diffused breath.
9. Fire, verily, is the upbreath. Therefore, he whose fire (of life) has ceased, goes to rebirth, with his senses sunk in mind.
10. Whatever is one’s thinking, therewith one enters into life. His life combined with fire along with the self leads to whatever world has been fashioned (in thought).
11. The wise one who knows life thus, to him there shall be no lack of offspring. He becomes immortal. As to this, there is this verse :
12. utpattim ayatim sthanam vibhutvam caiva pahcadha, adhyatmam caiva pranasya vijhaydmrtam asnute, vijna- yamrtam asnuta iti.
12. The birth, the entrance, the abode, the fivefold over¬ lordship and the relation to self of the life, knowing these one obtains immortality, knowing these one obtains immortality.
Anyone who knows the birth of life, its entrance into the body, how it abides there in its fivefold division and knows its relation to the inner spirit enjoys eternal life.
Question 4
devah svapndn pasyati, kasyaitat sukham bhavati, kasmin mt sarve sampratisthita bhavanti iti.
1. Then Gargya, the grandson of Surya, asked him (Pippa- lada) : Venerable Sir, what are they that sleep in this person ? What are they that keep awake in him? What is the god that sees the dreams? Whose is this happiness? In whom, pray, are all these established?
2. tasmai sa hovaca: yatha, gargya, maricayor arkasyastam gacchatah sarva etasmims tejo-mandala eki-bhavanti, tah punah punar udayatah pracaranti, evam ha vai tat sarvam pare deve manasy eki-bhavati, tena tarhy esa puruso na srnoti, na pasyati, na jighrati, na rasayate, na sprsate, nabhivadate, nddatte, nanan- dayate, na visrjate, neyayate, svapitity acaksate.
2. To him, then, he said: O Gargya, as all the rays of the setting sun become one in this circle of light and as they spread forth when he rises again and again, even so does all this become one in the supreme god, the mind. Therefore, in that state, the person hears not, sees not, smells not, tastes not, touches not, speaks not, takes not, rejoices not, emits not, moves not. (Then) they say, he sleeps.
3. pranagnaya evaitasmin pure jagrati, garhapatyo ha vd esopanah, vyano’ nvaharya-pacanah, yad garhapatyat praniyate pranayanad ahavaniyah pranah.
3. The fires of life alone remain awake in this city. The householder’s fire is the out-breath. The (southern) sacrificial fire is the diffused breath. The in-breath is the oblation fire, from being taken, since it is taken from the householder’s fire.
Life is conceived as a sacrifice and these three life breaths are symbolically identified with the fires used in the Vedic sacrifice. gdrhapatya, householder’s fire. It is the sacred home fire kept burning at home.
anvaharya-pacana: southern sacrificial fire. It is the fire of the south used for offerings to the ancestors.
4. yad ucchvdsa-nihsvasav etav ahuti samam nayatiti samanah, mano ha vd vayajamanah, ista-phalam evodanah, sa evamyajama- nam ahar ahar brahma gamayati.
4. The equalising breath is so called because it equalises the two oblations, the in-breathing and the out-breathing. The mind, indeed, is the sacrificer. The fruit of sacrifice is the up-breath. It leads the sacrificer every day to Brahman.
662 The Principal Upani$ads IV. 8.
See C.U. VI. 8. i. In deep sleep the soul is said to be at one with Brahman ; only we do not know it. See also C.U. VIII. 3. 2.
5. atrai?a dev ah svapne mahimanam anubhavati, yad drtfam dr $tam anupaiyati, irutam irutam evartham anuirnoti, deia-digan- taraii ca praty anubhutam punah punah praty anubhavati, dr$fam cadrtfam ca irutam cairutam canubhutam cananubhutam ca sac casac ca sarvam paiyati sarvah paiyati.
5. There, in sleep, that god (mind), experiences greatness. He sees again whatever object has been seen, he hears again whatever has been heard, he experiences again and again whatever has been experienced in different places and direc¬ tions. What has been seen and not been seen, what has been heard and what has not been heard, what has been experienced and what has not been experienced, what is existent and what is non-existent, he sees all; being all he sees (all).
Usually in dreams, we have reproductions of waking experiences but sometimes we have also new constructions. See B.U. IV. 3 9-18, where the creative side of dream consciousness is mentioned.
6. When he is overcome with light, then in this state, the god (mind) sees no dreams. Then here in this body arises this happiness.
The state of dreamless sleep is described here.
7. Even as birds, O dear, resort to a tree for a resting-place, so does everything here resort to the Supreme Self. They all find their rest in the Supreme Self.
8. prthivi ca prthivt-matra ca, apai capo-matra ca, tejai ca tejo-matra ca, vayui ca vayu-matra ca, akaiai cakaia-matra ca, cak$ui ca drastavyam ca, irotram ca irotavyam ca, ghranam ca ghratavyam ca, rasas ca rasayitavyam ca, tvak ca spariayitavyam ca, vak ca vaktavyam ca, hastau cadatavyam ca, upasthai canandayitavyam ca, payui ca visarjayitavyam ca, padau ca gantavyam ca, manai ca mantavyam ca, buddhii ca boddhavyam
ca, aham-karas caham-kartavyam ca, cittam ca cetayitavyam ca, tejas ca vidyotayitavyam ca, prdnai ca vidharayitavyam ca.
8. Earth and the elements of earth, water and the elements of water, fire and the elements of fire, air and the elements of air, ether and the elements of ether, sight and what can be seen, hearing and what can be heard, smell and what can be smelled, taste and what can be tasted, the skin and what can be touched, speech and what can be spoken, hands and what can be handled, the organ of generation and what can be enjoyed, the organ of excretion and what can be excreted, the feet and what can be walked, the mind and what can be perceived, the intellect and what can be conceived, the self¬ sense and what can be connected with the self, thought and what can be thought, radiance and what can be illumined, life-breath and what can be supported by it.
We have here an enumeration of the Sdmkhya principles of the five cosmic elements, the ten organs of perception and action, mind, intellect, self-sense and thought together with light and life.
9. e$a hi dra$ta, sprasta, irota, ghrata, rasayita, manta, boddha, karta, vijhanatmd, purusah, sa pare’ksara atmani samprati$thate.
9. He, verily, is the seer, the toucher, the hearer, the smeller, the taster, the perceiver, the knower, the doer, the thinking self, the person. He becomes established in the Supreme Uundecaying Self.
The subject self is established in the Spirit which transcends all duality, even the distinction of subject and object.
10. param evak$aram pratipadyate sa yo ha vai tad acchayam, aiariram, alohitam, iubhram, aksaram vedayate; yas tu, saumya, sa sarvajhah sarvo bhavati. tad esa ilokah:
10. He who knows the shadowless, bodiless, colourless, pure, undecaying self attains verily, the Supreme, Undecaying (self). He who, 0 dear, knows thus becomes omniscient, (becomes) all. As to this, there is this verse :
pratisthanti yatra,
tad. aksaram vedayate yas tu, saumya, sa sarvajhah sarvam evaviveia iti.
664 The Principal Upanisads V. 4.
breaths and the elements along with all the gods (powers) becomes, O dear, omniscient and enters all.
Question 5
1. atha hainam saibyas satya-kamah papraccha, sa yo ha vai tad, bhagavan, manusyesu prayanantam aumkaram abhidhyayita, katamam va va sa tena lokam jayatiti.
1. Then Satya-kama, son of £ibi, asked him (Pippalada) : Venerable Sir, what world does he, who among men, meditates on (the syllable) Aum until the end of his life, win by that?
£ explains abhidhyana to be intense contemplative activity free from all distractions, bahya-visayebhya upasamhrta-karanah samdhita- citto bhaktyavesita-brahmabhave aumkare atma-pratyaya-santana-vic- chedo bhinnajdtiyapratyaydntardkhilikrtonirvdtastha-dipa-sikha-samo' bhidhyana-sabdarthah.
2. tasmai sa hovaca, etad vai, satya-kama, par am caparam ca brahma yad aumkarah, tasmad vidvan etenaivayatanenaikataram anveti.
2. To him, he said: That which is the sound Aum, O Satya-kama, is verily the higher and the lower Brahman. Therefore, with this support alone does the wise man reach the one or the other.
The verse distinguishes between the Unqualified Absolute Brahman and the qualified Personal Isvara.
3. sa yady eka-matram abhidhyayita, sa tenaiva samveditas turnam eva jagatyam abhisampadyate; tarn rco manusya-lokam upanayante, sa tatra tapasa brahmacaryena sraddhaya sampanno mahimanam anubhavati.
3. If he meditates on one element (a), he, enlightened even by that, comes quickly to the earth (after death), The Reas (verses) lead him into the world of men. There, endowed with austerity, chastity and faith, he experiences greatness.
4. atha yadi dvi-matrena manasi sampadyate, so’ntariksam yajurbhir unniyate soma-lokam, sa soma-loke vibhutim anubhuya punar avartate.
4. Then, (if he meditates on this) as of two elements (au) he attains the mind. He is led by the yajus (formulas) to the intermediate space, the world of the rnoon ; having experienced greatness there, he returns hither again.
5. yah punar etam tri-mdtrena aunt ity etenaivaksarena par am purusam abhidhyaylta, sa tejasi surye sampannah; yatha pddo- daras tvaca vinirmucyata evarn ha vai sa pdpmana vinirmuktah sa samabhir unmyate brahma-lokam, sa etasmaj jlvaghanat parat-param purisay am purusam iksate: tad etauslokau bhavatah.
5. But if he meditates on the highest person with the three elements of the syllable Aum ( a , u, m), he becomes one with the light, the sun. Even as a snake is freed from its skin, even so is he freed from sins. He is led by sama (chants) to the world of Brahma. He sees the person that dwells in the body, who is higher than the highest life. As to this there are these (two verses).
§ says: The world of Brahma is the world of Hiranya-garbha who is the lord of the satya-loka. Hiranya-garbha is the self of all the jivas travelling in samsara; for he is the internal self of all living beings in the subtle form and in him, the subtle self are all the jivas strung together. So he is ‘jiva-ghana.’ sa hiranya-garbhah sarvesam sam- sarindm, jivanam atma-bhutah; sa hy antar-atma lihga-rupena sarva- bhutanam, tasmin hi lihgatmani samhatah sarve jtvah, tasmat sa jiva-ghanah.
The knower of the three elements a, u, m, sees the Supreme beyond the Hiranya-garbha. He obtains liberation and is not forced to return to mundane life. He sees the- Supreme Isvara who is beyond the worldTsoul and that vision qualifies him for liberation, jiva-ghandt par am purusam pasyati, tato mukto bhavati. A.
Prayuktah.
kriyd.su bahyabhyantara-madhyamasu samyak-prayuktasuna kampate jhah.
6. The three elements (each) leading to death (by itself), if they are united to each other without being separated and employed in actions well performed, external, internal or intermediate, the knower does not waver.
If a man meditates on the three elements, separately, it is an emblem of mortality; if he meditates on them as interconnected, he gets beyond mortality, jagrat-svapna-susupta-purusah saha sthanair matra-traya-rupena aumkdratma-rupena drstah sa hy evarn vidvan sarvdtma-bhuta aumkara-mayah kuto va calet kasmin va. S.
The interconnection of the three elements, a, u, m, indicates the inter-relatedness of the three worlds of waking, dream and sleep. See M.U.
He becomes one with the personal Supreme Isvara, obtains
The Principal Upanisads
sarvdtmatva, becomes one with the whole universe and is not disturbed as there is nothing independent of him, sva-vyatiriktabhavat. A.
tam aumkarenaivayatanenanveti vidvan yat tac chantam, ajar am, amrtam, abhayam, par am ca.
71 With the rg (verses) (one attains) this world, with the yajus (formulas) (one attains) the interspace and with the saman (chants) (one attains) to that which the seers recognise. That, the wise one attains, even by the mere sound Aum as support, that which is tranquil, unaging, immortal, fearless and supreme.
kavayah: surayah: sages.
The Supreme status is beyond the three worlds. The turlya state, though it underlies the other three states also transcends them.
Question 6
1. atha hainam sukeia bharadvajah papraccha, bhagavan, hiranya-nabhah kausalyo raja-putro mam upetyaitam prainam aprcchata; sodaia kalam, bharadvaja, purusam vettha, tam aham kumdram abruvam, naham imam veda, yady aham imam avedisam katharn te navaksyam iti, sa-mulo vd esa pari£u$yati yo’nrtam abhivadati, tasman narhamy anrtam vaktum, sa tusmm ratham aruhya pravavraja, tam tva prcchami, kvasau purusah iti.
1. Then, Suke&a, son of Bharadvaja, asked him: Venerable Sir, Hiranya-nabha, a prince of the Kosala kingdom approached me and asked this question, ‘Bharadvaja, do you know the person with sixteen parts?’ I replied to that prince, ‘I know him not. If I had known him, why should I not tell you about it. Verily, to his roots, he withers, who speaks untruth. There¬ fore, it is not proper for me to speak untruth.’ In silence, he mounted his chariot and departed. I ask you about him, where is that person ?
He who speaks an untruth withers to his roots.
minn etah sodaia kalah prabhavanti iti.
The self of the sixteen parts becomes in the Samkhya system the lihga-sanra or the subtle body (see below verse 4), with some modifications.
3. He (the person) thought (in himself) : In whose departure shall I be departing? And in whose settling down shall I be settling down ?
4. sa pranam asrjata, pranac chraddharh kham vayur jyotir apah prthivlndriyam, mano’nnam, annad viryam, tapo mantrah karma lokah, lokesu ca nama ca.
4. He created life; from life, faith, ether, air, light, water, earth, sense organ, mind and food; from food, vital vigour, austerity, hymns, works, worlds and in the worlds name.
$ means by prana, Hiranya-garbha or the world-soul, hiranya- garbhakhyam sarva-prani-kdranadharam, antar-atmanam. Sraddha or faith comes next and then the material elements.
Nama suggests individuation. The souls exist in the world-soul, in their subtle condition, and then they acquire embodiment or gross condition.
5. sa yathema nadyah syandamanah samudrayanah samudram prapyastam gacchanti bhidyete tasarh nama-rupe samudra ity evarh procyate, evam evasya paridrastur imah sodasa kalah puru- sayanah purus am prapyastam gacchanti bhidyete casam nama-rupe purusa ity evam procyate, sa eso’kalo'mrto bhavati, tad esa ilokah:
5. As these flowing rivers tending towards the ocean, on reaching the ocean, disappear, their name-shape broken up, and are called simply the ocean, even so of this seer, these sixteen parts tending towards the person, on reaching the person, disappear, their name-shape broken up, and are called simply the person. That one is without parts, immortal. As to that there is this verse:
See M.U. IV. 2. 8; C.U. VIII. 10.
As the names of the rivers are lost in the sea, so are our names and shapes lost when we reach the Divine. ‘To Tao all under heaven will come as streams and torrents flow into a great river or sea.' Tao Te Ching, XXXII. Cp. Rumi, ‘that your drop may become the sea' (Ode 12), and ‘None has knowledge of each who enters that
The Principal Upanisads
he is so and so’ (Ode 15. Nicholson: Shams-i-Tabriz). Eckhart says: ‘When I go back into the ground, into the depths, into the well-spring of the Godhead, no one will ask me whence I came or whither I went.'
Cp. Christina Rosetti:
‘Lord, we are rivers running to Thy sea,
Our waves and ripples all derived from Thee,
A nothing we should have, a nothing be Except for Thee.’
tam vedyam purusam veda yatha ma vo mrtyuh parivyathah.
6. In whom the parts are well established as spokes in the centre of the wheel, know him as the person to be known, so that death may not afflict you.
7. To them, then, he (Pippalada) said, 'only thus far do I know of that Supreme Brahman. There is naught higher than that.’
8. te tam arcayantah, tvarn hi nah pita yo’ smakam avidyayah param param tarayasi, iti; namah parama-rsibhyo namah parama-rsibhyah.
Salutation to the supreme seers.
Salutation to the supreme seers.
nah pita: our father. The teacher who helps us to know the truth is the spiritual father as distinct from the physical father, sarira-matram janayati. S.
The Mundaka Upanisad belongs to the Atharva Veda and has three chapters, each of which has two sections. The name is derived from the root niund, ‘to shave,’ as he that comprehends the teaching of the Upanisad is shaved or liberated from error and ignorance. The Upanisad states clearly the distinction between the higher knowledge of the Supreme Brahman and the lower knowledge of the empirical world. It is by this higher wisdom and not by sacrifices or worship that one can reach Brahman. Only the samnyasin who has given up everything can obtain the highest knowledge.
MUNDAKA 1 Section 1
THE TRADITION OF BRAHMA-KNOWLEDGE
sa brahma-vidyam. sarva-vidyd-pratistham atharvaya jye$tha- putraya praha.
1. Brahma arose as the first among the gods, the maker of the universe, the protector of the world. He taught the know¬ ledge of Brahman, the foundation of all knowledges, to Atharvan, his eldest son.
Brahma, the creator of the world and its governor arose, by the exercise of his own choice. His rise is unlike the birth of individuals which is determined by their past deeds. S. svatantryena na dharma- dharma-vaiat. Brahma here is Hiranya-garbha, the world-soul. brahma-knowledge: A life without philosophy is not livable for man, in the view of Socrates. See Plato’s Apology. Aristotle observes: ‘All the other sciences which are not philosophy are more necessary, but none is more important than philosophy.’
brahma-vidyam
sa bharadvajaya satyavahdya praha bharadvajo’ hgirase paravaram.
2. That knowledge of Brahman, which Brahma taught to Atharvan, and Atharvan in olden times told Aiigiras. He (in his turn) taught it to Satyavaha, son of Bharadvaja and the son of Bharadvaja to Angiras — both the higher and the lower (knowledge).
paravaram: both the higher and the lower (knowledge) or ‘know¬ ledge descended from the greater to the lesser. What permeates the objects of all knowledge, great and small.’ S. parasmat parasmad avarena prapteti pardvara, paravara sarva-vidya-visaya-vyapter va tarn paravaram.
Avidya is apara-vidya concerned with things perishable and vidya is para vidya dealing with Imperishable Being. Higher knowledge is concerned with the understanding of the nature of the supreme good, nihireyasa, and the lower knowledge deals with the disciplines relating to instrumental values.
672 The Principal Upanisads I. 1. 6
papraccha, kasmin nu bhagavo vijhate sarvam idam vijhatam bhavati Hi.
3. £aunaka, the great householder, duly approached Ahgiras and asked, through what being known, Venerable Sir, does all this become known?
‘Is there one cause of all the varieties in the world, which cause bein gknown, all will be well known?’ kim nv asti sarvasya jagad- bhedasyaika-karanam yad ekasmin vijhate sarvam vijnatam bhavati ? $.
4. To him he said, two kinds of knowledge are to be known, as, indeed, the knowers of Brahman declare — the higher as well as the lower.
apara: lower knowledge. It is also a kind of knowledge, not bhrama or mithya jhana, error or falsehood. It also aims at knowledge of the highest reality even though in a partial or imperfect manner.
5. tatrdpara rg-vedo yajur-vedah sama-vedo’tharva-vedah &iksa kalpo vyakaranam niruktam chando jyotisam—iti. atha para yaya tad aksaram adhigamyate.
5. Of these, the lower is the Rg Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda, the Atharva Veda. Phonetics, Ritual, Grammar, Etymology, Metrics and Astrology. And the higher is that by which the Undecaying is apprehended.
Cp. Sivasvarodaya. The Veda is not to be called Veda for there is no veda in Veda. That is truly the Veda by which the Supreme is known.
na vedam veda ity ahur vede vedo na vidyate. paratma vedyate yena sa vedo veda ucyate.
srotrarh tad apani-pddam,
nityarh vibhum sarva-gatam susuksmarh tad avyayam yad bhuta-yonim paripasyanti dhirdh.
6. That which is ungraspable, without family, without caste, without sight or hearing, without hands or feet, eternal, all-
pervading, omnipresent, exceedingly subtle, that is the Un¬ decaying which the wise perceive as the source of beings.
adresyam: unperceivable. adresyam adrsyam sarvesam buddhtn- driyanam agamy am. S.
vibhum: all-pervading, vividham brahmadi-sthavaranta-prani-bhedair bhavatiti vibhum.
The indescribable Absolute Brahman is also the source of beings, bhuta-yoni. For Samkara, bhuta-yoni is Isvara, for Madhva it is Visnu.
The use of the word yoni suggests that Brahman is the material cause of the world, according to R. yoni-sabdasyopadana-vacanatvam. R mentions another verse here which is not found in some editions: yasmat par aril naparam asti kihcid yasmdn naniyo na jyayo'sti kascit,
vj'ksa iva stabdho divi tisthaty ekas tenedam purnam purusena sarvam.
yatha satah purusat kesalomani tathaksarat sambhavatiha visvam.
7. As a spider sends forth and draws in (its thread), as herbs grow on the earth, as the hair (grows) on the head and the body of a living person, so from the Imperishable arises here the universe.
There is no suggestion here that the world is an illusory appearance of Brahman. The illustrations are intended to convey that Brahman is the sole cause and there is no second to Brahman which can be used by Brahman, karanantaram anapeksya svayam eva srjate. §.
annat prd.no manah satyam lokah karmasu camrtam.
8. By contemplative power Brahman expands. From that food is produced. From food, life (thence) mind, (thence) the reals (the five elements); (thence) the worlds; (thence the rituals) in the rituals, immortality.
tapas: contemplative power is the energy by which the world is produced, bahusyam iti sarhkalpa-rupena jhanena brahma srstyun- mukham bhavati. R. Tapas is derived from two roots which make out that it is austerity or meditation, tap a samtapa iti, tapa alocana iti. The Supreme works by means and ends and by gradual steps: kramena, na yugapat. S.
674 The Principal Upanisads
Brahman in relation to the cosmos is the Personal God who is self-conscious and contemplative. The first product anna is for S, the unmanifested principle of objectivity, avyakrtam. The two repre¬ sent the subject and the object and next arises prana, which § equates with the world-soul, hiranya-garbho brahmano jhana-kri- ya-sakty-adhisthiia-jagat sadhdtano’vidyd-kdma-karma-bhuta-samu- daya-bljahkuro jagad-atma. All these products are working towards immortality which is the goal of creation.
9. He who is all-knowing and all-wise, whose austerity consists of knowledge, from him are bom this Brahma ( Hiranya-garbha ), name-shape and food
The all-knowing, all-wise is Isvara or the Absolute in relation to the world. He is wisdom, His tapas is jhana. From him issues the world-soul, Hiranya-garbha or Brahma.
anadi-nidhanam brahma iabda-rupam yad aksaram, vivartate ’rtha-bhavena prakriyd agato yatah.
Vakyapadiya I. 1.
The Brahman who is without beginning and end, who is of the form of the indestructible word is apparently transformed into objects, and this is the process through which creation takes place. Sphota is the indivisible idea with its dual form of iabda, word and artha, meaning.
MUNDAKA 1 Section 2
CEREMONIAL RELIGION I. tad etat satyam:
mantresu karmani kavayo yany apasyams tani tretayam bahudha santatdni,
tdny acaratha niyatam, satyakama, esa vahpanthah sukrtasya loke.
1. This is that truth. The works which the sages saw in the hymns are variously spread forth in the three vedas. Perform them constantly, ye lovers of tmth. This is your path to the world of good deeds.
tretayam: in the three Vedas or generally performed in the treta age yuge prayasah pravrttani. S.
tad ajya-bhagav antarenahutih pratipddayec chraddhayd- hutam.
2. When the flame (which) moves after the fire has been kindled, then one should throw with faith his oblations between the two portions of melted butter.
havya-vahana : fire ; the bearer of the sacrifice.
ahutam avaiivadevam avidhina hutam d-saptamams tasya lokdn hinasti.
3. He whose agnihotra sacrifice is not followed by the sacrifice of the new moon and of the full moon, by the four months’ sacrifice, by the ritual (performed in the harvest season) is without guests, without oblations, without the cere¬ mony to all the gods or gives offerings contrary to rule, (such conduct) destroys his worlds till the seventh.
The opposition of the Upanisads to the observance of rites is greatly exaggerated. The performance of rites is unnecessary for those who are already liberated while it is necessary for attaining liberation. When performing rites we must be fully aware of what we are doing. There is a vital difference between the routine performance of rites and an understanding performance of them.
In Satapatha Brahmana (II. 2. 2. 8-20) it is said that the gods and the demons were both the children of Praja-pati both devoid of spiritual wisdom and so were subject to the law of change and death. Only Agni was immortal. Both set up their sacrificial fires. The demons performed their rites externally and the gods then set up that fire in their inward self, evatn . . . antaratman adadhata and having done so became immortal and invincible and overcame their mortal and vincible foes. Again, ‘by knowledge ( vidyaya ) they ascend to where desires have migrated (paragatah) it is not by offerings ( daksinabhih ) nor by ignorant ardour ( avidvamsah tapasvinah) . . . but only to knowers that that world belongs.’ Satapatha Brahmana X. 5. 4. 16. We must set up the sacrificial fire within our self. We must feed the flame by truthful utterance, for we quench it by speaking falsehood. The distinction between external conformity and inward purity is ultimately resolved when the whole of life is interpreted and lived sacrificially. See also Satapatha Brahmana X. 4. 2. 31 and XIII. 1. 3. 22.
sphulihginl visva-rupl ca devl lelayamand iti sapta-jihvdh.
676 The Principal Upanisads I. 2. 7.
4. The seven moving tongues of fire are the black, the terrific, the swift as mind, the very red, the very smoky-coloured, the spark blazing, the all-shaped goddess.
all-shaped: another reading v isvaruce, all-tasting.
adadayan
tam nayanty etas suryasya rasmayo yatra devanam patir eko’dhivasah.
5. Whosoever performs works, makes offerings when these (tongues) are shining and at the proper time, these (offerings) in the form of the rays of the sun lead him to that (world) where the one lord of the gods abides.
devanam, patih: the one lord of the gods. Indra according to £ and Hiranya-garbha according to R.
yajamanam vahanti
priyam vacant abhivadantyo’ rcayantya , esa vah punyas sukrto brahma-lokah.
6. The radiant offerings invite him with the words, ‘come, come,’ and carry the sacrificer by the rays of the sun, honouring him and saluting him with pleasing words: ‘This is your holy world of Brahma won through good deeds.’
karma:
etac chreyo ye’bhinandanti mudhah jard-mrtyum te punar evdpiyanti.
7. Unsteady, verily, are these boats of the eighteen sacrificial forms, which are said to be inferior karma. The deluded who delight in this as leading to good, fall again into old age and death.
astadasoktam: eighteen in number consisting of the sixteen rtviks, the sacrificer and his wife.
avaram: inferior because it is devoid of knowledge, kevalam jhana- varjitam karma. £.
Ritual is by itself not enough. Vasistha tells Rama: — kalam yajha-tapo-dana-tirtha-devarcana-bhramaih. dram adhi, satopetah ksapayanti mrga iva.
Deluded by sacrifice, austerity, almsgiving, pilgrimage and worship of gods men pass many years in misery, like unto beasts. Again, Garuda, Pur ana: —
sva-sva-varnasramdcara-niratah sarva-manavah na jdnanti par am dharmam vrthd nasyanti dambhikah.
All those who are intent on the performance of the duties of their own caste and stage of life do not know the supreme virtue and go to ruin with their pride.
Again in Garuda Pur ana, it is said: Deluded by my maya, the ignorant desire (to see me) who am hidden, by adopting the vows of single meal, fasting and the like which tend to weaken- the body. ekabhuktopavasadyair niyamaih kaya-sosanaih mudhah paroksam icchanti mama mdya-vimohitah.
See B.G. XVII. 5 and 6.
janghanyamanah pariyanti mudhah, andhenaiva niyamana yathandhah.
8. Abiding in the midst of ignorance, wise in their own esteem, thinking themselves to be learned, fools, afflicted with troubles, go about like blind men led by one who is himself blind.
See Katha I. 2. 5.; Maitrf VII. 9.
manyanti balah:
yat karmino na pravedayanti ragat tenaturah ksinalokas cyavante.
9. The immature, living manifoldly in ignorance, think 'we have accomplished our aim.' Since those who perform rituals do not understand (the truth) because of attachment, therefore they sink down, wretched, when their worlds (i.e. the fruits of their merits) are exhausted.
balah: immature, ignorant, ajhaninah. S.
pramudhah
ndkasya prsthe te sukrte’ nubhutvemam lokam hinataram vd visanti.
10. These deluded men, regarding sacrifices and works of merits as most important, do not know any other good. Having enjoyed in the high place of heaven won by good deeds, they enter again this world or a still lower one.
istd-purtam: see Prasna I. 9m.
ndkasya: of heaven or the place where sorrow is unknown, kam sukham na bhavatity akam duhkham tan navidyate yasminn asau nakah. A,
678 The Principal Upani?ads I. 2. 12.
surya-dvdrena te virajah prayanti yatramrtah sa puruso hy avyayatma.
11. But those who practise austerity and faith in the forest, the tranquil knowers who live the life of a mendicant, depart freed from sin, through the door of the sun to where dwells the immortal, imperishable person.
aranye: in the forest; spiritual life in India has solitary meditation as one of its essential stages. It has been the cherished ambition and pursuit of the lonely ascetic. It is assumed that those who are dis¬ tracted by the cares and encumbered by the possessions of the world find it hard to secure their spiritual ends. Those emanicipated from these are free to devote themselves to the highest aim. When once the end is reached, the Indian samnyasin travels at pleasure and has no fixed residence or occupation. The first Christians were homeless wanderers. The mendicant rather than the resident community of monks has been the Indian ideal. Monasteries are more temporary rest-houses or centres of learning than permanent habitations.
The Hindu system of airamas according to which every one of the twice-born towards the close of his life must renounce the world and adopt the homeless life and the ascetic’s garb has had great influence on the Indian mind. Though in intention, certain classes were not eligible to become monks, in practice monks were recruited from all castes.
The Jain and the Buddhist orders though based on the ancient Hindu custom have become more centralised and co-ordinated. Mutts or monasteries have become more popular among the Hindus also. To erect a monastery for the service of the wandering ascetics has become recognised as an act of religious piety.
In these verses the Upanisad points out the superiority of the way of knowledge to the empty and formal ritualism of the Brahmanas. The latter lead to the world of Brahma which lasts as long as this world lasts while the former takes us to the world of livara, i.e. oneness with the Supreme, where we obtain sarvatmabhava.
BRAHMA-KNOWLEDGE TO BE SOUGHT FROM A
tad vijhdnartharh sa gurum evabhigacchet samit-panih Srotriyam brahma-nistham .
12. Having scrutinised the worlds won by works, let a Brahmana arrive at non-attachment. The (world) that is not made is not (won) by what is done. For the sake of this know¬ ledge, let him only approach, with sacrificial fuel in hand, a teacher who is learned in the scriptures and established in Brahman.
Karma is a means to what is transitory and not eternal, karma anityasyaiva sadhanam. S.
irotriyam: a teacher who is learned in the scriptures, iruta vedantam. He should also be a man of realisation.
brahma-nistham: established in Brahman, brahma-saksatkaravantam.
yenaksaram purusam veda satyam provaca tarn tattvato brahma-vidyam.
13. Unto him who has approached in due form, whose mind is tranquil and who has attained peace, let the knowing (teacher) teach in its very truth that knowledge about Brahman by which one knows the Imperishable person, the true.
Cp. the Buddha: ‘The Brahmana whose self has been cleansed of sins, who is free from conceit, whose nature is not stained by passions, who is self-controlled, who has studied the Vedanta and lived a chaste life is indeed the man who can expound the doctrine of Brahman .’
yo brahmano bahita-papa-dhammo nthuhuhko nikkasava ya-tatto vedantagu vusita-brahmacariyo dhammena so brahmano brahma- vadam vadeyya
yass’ussada n’atthi kuhihci loke’ti.
Udana I. 4. Pali Text Society edition (1885) p. 3.
MUNDAKA 2 Section 1
THE DOCTRINE OF BRA HMA N — ATMAN 1. tad etat satyam:
yatha sudiptdt pavakad visphulihgah sahasraiah prabhavante sariipah
tathaksarad vividhah, saumya, bhavahprajayante tatra caivapi yanti,
68o
The Principal Upanisads II. I. 4.
1. This is the truth. As from a blazing fire, sparks of like, form issue forth by the thousands, even so, 0 beloved, many kinds of beings issue forth from the immutable and they return thither too.
See B.U. II. 1. 20.
aprano hy amanah subhro aksarat paratah parah.
2. Divine and formless is the person. He is without and within, unborn, without breath and without mind, pure and higher than the highest immutable.,
aksara, the immutable: the unmanifested, prakrti: the self is beyond this.
jayate: are born. It is not creation but emanation that is suggested. S points out that the world which issues out of him is not real. avidyd-visaya-vikara-bhutah, namadheyah anrtatmakah. It is as real as the person from whom it issues. So even the author is said to be unreal, being the manifestation of the Supreme Brahman through may a.
caitanyam nirupadhikam suddham avikalpam brahma tattvajhanad jivandm kaivalyam tad eva maya-pratibimbita-rupena karanam bhavati. A.
The whole creation is traced to the personal Lord Isvara who along with the principle of objectivity is a manifestation of the Absolute Brahman.
ca vedah;
vayuh prano hr day am visvam, asya padbhyam prthivi hy esa sarva-bhutantaratma.
4. Fire is His head, His eyes are the sun and the moon, the regions of space are His ears, His speech the revealed Vedas; air is His life and His heart the world. Out of His feet the earth (is bom) ; indeed He is the self of all beings.
We have here a description of the visva-rupa which in B.G. XI receives enlargement. It is reported of St. Benedict that he beheld a transfiguration in which he saw the whole world before him as in a
sphere all collected together. Rudolf Otto: Mysticism: East and West (1932), p- 60.
The sutrdtman, world-soul, is pictured as the world form or virat. pahca-maha-bhutanam antar-atma sthula-panca-bhuta-sarlro hi virad
iti. A.
puman retas sihcati yo$itdyam bahvih prajah purusat samprasutah.
5. From him (proceeds) fire whose fuel is the sun; from the moon, the rain; herbs on the earth, (nounshed by them) the male fire pours seed in the female, thus are creatures produced from the person.
daksinas ca,
samvatsaras ca yajamanas ca lokah somo yatra pavate yatra suryah.
6. From him are born the rc (verses) the saman (chants), the yajus (formulas), the rites of initiation, all the sacrifices, ceremonies and sacrificial gifts, the year too, and the sacrificer, and the worlds where the moon purifies and where the sun (shines).
Here is a reference to the world of the fathers and the world of the gods. See C.U. V. 10.
pasavo vayamsi
pranapanau vrihi-yavau tap as ca sraddha satyam- brahma- caryam vidhis ca.
7. From him also the gods are bom in manifold ways, the celestials, men, cattle, birds, the in-breath and the out-breath, rice and barley, austerity, faith, truth, chastity and the law.
sapta-homah
sapta ime loka yesu caranti prana guhasaya nihitas sapta sapta .
8. From him come forth the seven life-breaths, the seven flames, their fuel, the seven oblations, these seven worlds in which move the life-breaths, seven and seven which dwell in the secret place (of the heart).
S explains the seven pranas as the seven organs of sense in the
The Principal Upanisads
head, i.e. two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and the mouth. These are compared to the seven different sacrificial oblations. The per¬ ceptions produced by their activities are the flames of the sacrifice. The activities of the different senses are co-ordinated by the mind which is located in the heart.
atas ca sarva osadhayo rasai ca yenaisa bhiitais tisthate hy antar-dtmd.
9. From him, all the seas and the mountains, from him flow rivers of every kind; from him are all herbs and their juice too; by which, together with the elements, the inner soul is upheld.
While the inward way of contemplation takes us to the self, there is the other side of union with the world. The knower penetrates the whole world and becomes the All.
saumya.
10. The person himself is all this, work, austerity and Brahma beyond death. He who knows that which is set in the secret place (of the heart), he, here on earth, 0 beloved, cuts asunder the knot of ignorance.
He gets rid of ignorance. ‘The universe has no separate existence apart from the person.’ na visvam nama purusad any ad kincid asti. S.
MUNDAKA 2 Section 2
ejat pranan nimisac ca yad etat janatha sad asad varenyam param
vijhandd yad varistham prajanam,
1. Manifest, well-fixed, moving, verily, in the secret place (of the heart) such is the great support. In it is centred all this which moves, breathes and winks. Know that as being, as
non-being, as the supreme object to be desired, as the highest beyond the reach of man’s understanding.
samnihitam: well-fixed, samyak-sthitarii hrdi, 5. sarva-praninam hydaye sthitam. A.
tad etad aksaram brahma sa pranas tad u van manah, tad etat satyam, tad amrtam,tad veddhavyam, saumya,viddhi.
2. What is luminous, what is subtler than the subtle, in which are centred all the worlds and those that dwell in them, that is the imperishable Brahman. That is life, that is speech and mind. That is true, that is immortal, O beloved, that is to be known, know (that).
veddhavyam: that is to be known or penetrated, from the root vyadh, to penetrate.
nisitam samdadhlta:
ayamya tad-bhavagatena cetasa laksyam tad evaksaram, saumya, viddhi.
3. Taking as the bow the great weapon of the Upanisads, 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.
samdadhlta, v. samdhlyata. samdhanam kuryat. $>.
4. The syllable aum 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 as the arrow (becomes one with the target).
apramattena: without making a mistake, or becoming indifferent to other objects and developing a one-pointed mind, visayantara- vimukhena ekagra-cittena. R.
tanmaya: united with it; becomes one with it, ekdtmatva. S.
pranais ca sarvaih,
tarn evaikam janatha atmanam, any a vaco vimuhcatha, amrtasyaisa setuh.
684 The Principal Upanisads II. 2. 9.
5. He in whom the sky, the earth and the interspace are woven as also the mind along with all the vital breaths, know him alone as the one self. Dismiss other utterances. This is the bridge to immortality.
anya vacah: other utterances, relating to lower knowledge or not- self. apara-vidya-rupah. S. anatma-visaya-vacah. R.
In the beginning, the two worlds of heaven and earth were one. They came into separate being by the act of creation and what separates them is the river or sea of time and space. From earth we have to find our way to heaven by crossing the river of time. See Epinomis 984 E.
bahudha jayamanah,
aum ity evam dhyayathatmanam, svasti vah par ay a tamasah parastat.
6. Where the arteries of the body are brought together like the spokes in the centre of a wheel, within it (this self, moves about) becoming manifold. Meditate on aum as the self. May you be successful in crossing over to the farther shore of darkness.
pdraya. V. paraya.
tamasah: darkness, the darkness of ignorance, avidya-tamasah. S.
7. He who is all-knowing, all-wise, whose is this greatness on the earth, in the divine city of Brahma, in the ether (of the heart) is that self-established.
sannidhdya
tad vijhanena paripasyanti dhirdh ananda-rupam amrtam yad vibhdti.
8. He consists of mind and is the leader of life and body and is seated in food (i.e. the body) controlling the heart. The wise perceive clearly by the knowledge (of Brahman ) the blissful immortal which shines forth.
anne: in food, anna-parindme sarire. R.
ksiyante casya karmdni tasmin drste paravare.
9. The knot of the heart is cut, all doubts are dispelled and his deeds terminate, when He is seen — the higher and the lower.
Mundaka Upanisad
See Katha VI. 15.
When he sees the Real which comprehends himself, he asserts the non-reality of all that is opposed to it. The evil in him through his past bad acts falls away. With the change in his nature all that is not his ceases to bind him.
THE SELF-LUMINOUS LIGHT OF THE WORLD
tac chubhram jyotisam jyotih tad yad atma-vido viduh.
10. In the highest golden sheath is Brahman without stain, without parts; Pure is it, the light of lights. That is what the knowers of self know.
bhanti, kuto’yam agnih,
tarn eva bhdntam anubhati sarvam, tasya bhasa sarvam, idam vibhdti.
11. The sun shines not there, nor the moon and stars, these lightnings shine not, where then could this fire be? Every thing shines only after that shining light. His shining illumines all this world.
See Katha V. 15; S.U. VI. 14; B.G. IX. 15, 6. his shining illumines all this world. The whole objective universe is illumined by Him for it cannot illumine itself, lasyaiva bhasa sarvam any ad anatma-jatam prakasayati, na tu tasya svatah prakasana- samarthyam. S.
In the Udana I. 10, the Buddha describes nirvana in similar terms :
yattha apo ca pathavi tejo vayo na gadhati na tattha sukka jotanti, adicco nappakasati, na tattha candima bhati, tamo tattha na vijjdti.
Pali Text Society edition (1885), p. 9.
daksinatas cottarena
adhascordhvam ca prasrtam brahmaivedam visvam idam varistham.
12. Brahman, verily, is this immortal. In front is Brahman, behind is Brahman, to the right and to the left. It spreads forth below and above. Brahman, indeed, is this universe. It is the greatest.
686 The Principal Upani§ads III. i. 3.
MUNDAKA 3 Section 1
1. Two birds, companions (who are) always united, cling to the self-same tree. Of these two, the one eats the sweet fruit and the other looks on without eating.
See R.V. I. 164. 20; S.U. IV. 6; Katha I. 3. 1. sayuja : always united, sarvada yuktau. S.
pippalam: the sweet fruit. It eats or experiences the pleasant or painful fruits of its past deeds, karma-nispannam sukha-duhkha- laksanam phalam. S.
svadv atti: eats, bhaksayati upabhuhkte avivekatah. S. Cp. Agahha Suttanta where eating is said to be the cause of degradation to cruder forms of existence.
anainan: without eating. Isvara permits the processes of the world as the witness and thus impels their activities, pasyaty eva kevalam, darlana-matrena hi tasya prerayitrtvam rajavat. S.
vita-iokah.
2. On the self-same tree, a person immersed (in the sorrows of the world) is deluded and grieves on account of his help¬ lessness. When he sees the other, the Lord who is worshipped and his greatness, he becomes freed from sorrow.
See S.U. IV. 7.
brahma-yonim
tada vidvan punya-pdpe vidhuya nirahjanah paramam samyam upaiti.
3. When a seer sees the creator of golden hue, the Lord, the Person, the source of Brahma, then being a knower, shaking off good and evil and free from stain, he attains supreme equality with the lord.
See Maitri VI. 18; K.U. I. 4.
brahma-yoni: the source of Brahma. Brahma, the world-soul has l&vara for his home and birth-place.
Eternal life is said to consist in attaining an absolute likeness to God and enjoying a life of personal immortality.
atma-krida atma-ratih kriyavan e$a brahma-vidam varitfhah.
4. Truly it is life that shines forth in all beings. Knowing him, the wise man does not talk of anything else. Sporting in the self, delighting in the self, performing works, such a one is the greatest of the knowers of Brahman.
kriyavan: performing works. $, feeling the incompatibility of performing works after attaining knowledge of Brahman, suggests that it may mean only the previous performance of meditation and other acts conducive to a knowledge of Brahman. The verse, however, tells us that he who knows the atman is also a performer of works. The soul frees itself from all attachments, enters into the stillness of the self, becomes composed and yet breaks forth into temporal works without compulsion, without seeking for reward, without selfish purpose. Its life is a free outpouring of a liberated consciousness and it is incapable of resting even as the living God Himself does not rest. Deep unmoved repose at the centre and per¬ petual creativity are his features.
In the Tripur a-rahasy a the prince who has become liberated even in the present life ( jivan-mukta ) performs his royal duties like an actor on the stage, nafavad rahga-mandale, without being motivated by any selfish passions. He is not infected by what he does on the stage. He remains himself untroubled by the thought Thus I did right' or ‘thus I did wrong.' See B.U. IV. 4. 22. He will do his duty impartially, regardless of gain and loss. B.G. tells us that our concern is with action only, not with the result. ‘Battles are lost in the same spirit in which they are won.' The duty of a soldier is to fight and not to hate. The well-known story of Ali points out how we should not act in passion. Ali, engaged in single combat, was on the point of victory, but when his opponent spat in his face, he withdrew because he would not fight in anger.
brahmacaryena nityam.
antah-iarire jyotir-mayo hi iubhro yam paiyanti yatayah k?inado$ah.
5. This self within the body, of the nature of light and pure, is attainable by truth, by austerity, by right knowledge, by the constant (practice) of chastity. Him, the ascetics with their imperfections done away, behold.
688 The Principal Upanisads III. i. io.
tapasa: § quotes a line to the effect that tapas refers to the focusing of the mind and the senses on one object, i.e. the eternal Self. manasascendnyandm ca aikagryam paramam tapah.
6. satyam eva jay ate nanrtam, satyena pantha vitato deva-yanah yendkramanty rsayo hy apta-kamd yatra tat satyasya paramam nidhanam.
6. Truth alone conquers, not untruth. By truth is laid out the path leading to the gods by which the sages who have their desires fulfilled travel to where is that supreme abode of truth.
satyam eva jayate: truth alone conquers. This is the motto inscribed on the seal of the Indian nation.
jayate v. jayati.
ma-taram vibhati.
durat sudure tad ihantike ca pasyatsv ihaiva nihitam guhaydm.
7. Vast, divine, of unthinkable form, subtler than the subtle. It shines forth, farther than the far, yet here near at hand, set down in the secret place (of the heart) (as such) even here it is seen by the intelligent.
karmana vd
jhana-prasadena viiuddha-sattvas tatas tu tarn pasyate niskalam dhyayamanah.
8. He is not grasped by the eye nor even by speech nor by other sense-organs, nor by austerity nor by work, but when one’s (intellectual) nature is purified by the light of knowledge then alone he, by meditation, sees Him who is without parts.
samvivesa,
pranais cittarn sarvam otam prajanam, yasmin visuddhe vibhavaty esa atma.
9. The subtle self is to be known by thought in which the senses in five different forms have centred. The whole of men’s thought is pervaded by the senses. When it (thought) is purified, the self shines forth.
ate yams ca kaman
tarn tarn lokam jayate tarns ca kamams tasmdd atmajham hy arcayed bhuti-kamah.
10. Whatever world a man of purified nature thinks of in his mind and whatever desires he desires, all these worlds and all these desires he attains. Therefore, let him who desires prosperity worship the knower of the self.
See B.U. I. 4. 15.
The knower of the self has all his desires fulfilled and can obtain any world he may seek.
MUNDAKA 3 Section 2
DESIRE THE CAUSE OF RE-BIRTH
bhati subhram
upasate purusam ye hy akamas te sukram etad ativartanti dhirah.
1. He knows that supreme abode of Brahman, wherein founded, the world shines brightly. The wise men, who, free from desires, worship the Person, pass beyond the seed (of rebirth) .
sukram: the seed, the material cause of embodied existence, nrbljam sarlropadana-kdranam. S.
tatra tatra
paryapta-kamasya krtatmanas tu ihaiva sarve pravilxyanti kamah.
2. He who entertains desires, thinking of them, is born (again) here and there on account of his desires. But of him who has his desire fully satisfied, who is a perfected soul, all his desires vanish even here (on earth).
srutena:
yam evaisa vrnute tena labhyas tasyaisa atma vivrnute tanurn svam.
3. This self cannot be attained by instruction nor by intel¬ lectual power nor even through much hearing. He is to be attained by the one whom (the self) chooses. To such a one the self reveals his own nature.
See Katha I. 2. 23.
690 The Principal Upani?ads III. 2. 6.
etair upayair yatate yas tu vidvarhs tasyai$a atma visate brahma-dhama.
4. This self cannot be attained by one without strength nor through heedlessness nor through austerity without an aim. But he who strives by these means, if he is a knower, this self of his enters the abode of Brahman.
bala-hinena: by one without strength, which is said to be derived from concentration on the self, dtma-nisfha-janita-virya-hinena. S. Strength or energy is at the root of all great achievements. alihgat: without an aim. S equates hhga with samnyasa. lihgam samnyasah, etair updyaih baldpramada-samnydsajhanaih. S. lihga: outward badges of an ascetic, his robes, shaven head, etc.
Outward signs are not enough for salvation. We require inward realisation, alihga: samnyasa. Cp. M.B. XII. 11898-9.
kasaya-dharanam maundyam trivistabdham kamandaluh lihgany utpathabhutani na moksayeti me matih. yadi saty api lihge’smin jhanam evatra karanam. nirmoksayeha duhkhasya lihga-matram nirarthakam.
Cp. What harm has your hair done ? perform the tonsure on your sins. What earthly good is a monk’s robe to a mind besmirched? keiah kim aparadhyanti klesanam mundanam kuru sakasayasya cittasya kasayaih kim prayojanam.
te sarvagam sarvatah prapya dhira yuktatmanas sarvam evaviianti.
5. Having attained Him, the seers (who are) satisfied with their knowledge (who are) perfected souls, free from passion, tranquil, having attained the omnipresent (self) on all sides, those wise, with concentrated minds, enter into the All itself.
They have found the self in all and therefore enter into everything.
dhasattvah
te brahma-loke$u parantakale par dmrtah parimucy anti sarve.
through the path of renunciation, they (dwelling) in the worlds of Brahma, at the end of time, being one with the immortal, are all liberated.
vedanta-vijhana: the knowledge of the Vedanta. Cp. Taittirlya Aranyaka X. 12. 3; §.U. VI. 22.
parantakale: at theendof time, sarhsaravasdne deha-parity aga-kalah. S. pardmrtah: being one with the highest immortal, param amftam amarana-dharmakam brahmdtma-bhiitam esdm te pardmrtah. S.
Companionship with the highest God Brahma is the end and the soul will be liberated at the time of the great end along with Brahma. Until then they can assume any form at their will (sveccha-pari- kalpita).
In his commentary on this verse, § quotes: — sakuninam ivakase jale varicarasya ca padam yatha na dysyeta tatha jhanavatdm gatih.
7. gatah kalah pahcadaia pratistha dev as ca sarve prati-devatasu karmani vijhdnamayai ca atma pare’vyaye sarva ekt-bha- vanti.
7. Gone are the fifteen parts to their (respective) supports (the elements) and all the gods (the sense organs) into their corresponding deities. One’s deeds and the self, consisting of understanding, all become one in the Supreme Immutable Being.
eki-bhavanti: become one. Their separateness is dissolved, avi&esatam gacchanti. S. See PraSna VI. 4.
nama-rupe vihaya,
tatha vidvan nama-rupad vimuktah parat-param puru$am upaiti divyam.
8. Just as the flowing rivers disappear in the ocean casting off name and shape, even so the knower, freed from name and shape, attains to the divine person, higher than the high.
See Prasna VI. 5.
parat-param: higher than the high, the unmanifested. The souls attain universality of spirit, a-visesatma-bhavam. S. Eckhart says, ‘And here one cannot speak about the soul any more, for she has lost her name yonder in the oneness of divine essence. There she is no more called soul; she is called immeasurable being.’ R argues that they attain to equality of nature and not identity of being. parama-samya-matram, sadrysam evoktam na tu tad-bhavah.
nasydbrahma-vit kule bhavati,
692 The Principal Upanisads III. 2. 11.
tarati iokam tarati papmanam guhd-granthibhyo vimukto’- mrto bhavati.
9. He, verily, who knows the Supreme Brahman becomes Brahman himself. In his family, no one who does not know Brahman, will be born. He crosses over sorrow. He crosses over sins. Liberated from the knots of the secret place (of the heart), he becomes immortal.
kriyavantas srotriya brahmanisthas svayamjuhvata ekarsim iraddhayantah
tesam evaitdm brahma-vidyam vadeta sirovratam vidhivad yais tu cirnam.
10. This very (doctrine) is declared in the verse. Those who perform the rites, who are learned in scriptures, who are well- established in Brahman, who offer of themselves oblations to the sole seer (a form of fire) with faith, to them alone one may declare this knowledge of Brahman (to them alone), by whom the rite (of carrying fire) on the head has been performed, according to rule.
dhite.
namah parama-r$ibhyo namah parama-rsibhyah.
11. This is the truth. The seer Angiras declared it before. Let none who has not performed the rite read this. Salutation to the great seers. Salutation to the great seers.
The Mandukya Upanisad belongs to the Atharva Veda and contains twelve verses. It is an exposition of the principle of aum as consisting of three elements, a, u, m, which refer to the three states of waking, dream and dreamless sleep. The Supreme Self is manifested in the universe in its gross, subtle and causal aspects. Answering to the four states of consciousness, wake¬ fulness, dream, dreamless sleep, transcendental consciousness1 there are aspects of the Godhead, the last alone being all- inclusive and ultimately real. The Absolute of mystic con¬ sciousness is the reality of the God of religion. The Upanisad by itself, it is said, is enough to lead one to liberation.2
Gaudapada, Samkara’s teacheUs teacher wrote his famous Karika on the Upanisad, which is the first systematic exposition of Advaita Vedanta which has come down to us. Samkara has commented on both the Upanisad and the Karika.
1 See Nrsimha-purva-tapanlya U. IV. i.
1 mdndukyam ekavn evalam mumuksunum vimuhtaye. Muktika U. I. 27.
3 Mandukya Upani$ad 695
1. aum ity etad aksaram idam sarvam, tasyopavyakhyanam, bhutam bhavad bhavisyad iti sarvam aumkara eva, yac canyat trikalatitam tad apy aumkara eva.
1. Aum, this syllable is all this. An explanation of that (is the following). All that is the past, the present and the future, all this is only the syllable aum. And whatever else there is beyond the threefold time, that too is only the syllable aum.
The syllable aum, which is the symbol of Brahman, stands for the manifested world, the past, the present and the future, as well as the unmanifested Absolute.
four quarters: which are viiva, the waking state, taijasa, the dream state, prajha, the state of dreamless sleep and turlya which is the state of spiritual consciousness. ‘The knowledge of the fourth is attained by merging the (previous) three such as visva, etc., in the order of the previous one in the succeeding one.’ trayanam visva- dinam purva-purva-pravildpanena turiyasya pratipattih. §.
3. The first quarter is Vaisvanara, whose sphere (of activity) is the waking state, who cognises external objects, who has seven limbs and nineteen mouths and who enjoys (experiences) gross (material) objects.
who has seven limbs: refers to the list mentioned in C.U. V. 18. 2. nineteen mouths are the five organs of sense (hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell), the five organs of action (speech, handling, loco¬ motion, generation and excretion), the five vital breaths, the mind (manas), and the intellect ( buddhi ), the self-sense ( aham-kara ) and thought ( citta ).
Vaisvanara: He is called Vaisvanara because he leads all creatures of the universe in diverse ways to the enjoyment of various objects, or because he comprises all beings. S. visvesam naranam anekadha nayanad vaisvanarah; . yad va visvas casau naras ceti visvanarah; visvanara eva vaisvanarah.
The waking state is the normal condition of the natural man, who without reflection accepts the universe as he finds it. The same
696 The Principal Upanisads 5.
physical universe bound by uniform laws presents itself to all such men.
4. The second quarter is taijasa, whose sphere (of activity) is the dream state, who cognises internal objects, who has seven limbs and nineteen mouths, and who enjoys (experiences) the subtle objects.
The taijasa is conscious of the internal, i.e. mental states. While the vi£va, which is the subject of the waking state, cognises material objects in the waking experience, the taijasa experiences mental states dependent on the predispositions left by the waking experi¬ ences. In this state the soul fashions its own world in the imagining of the dreams. ‘The spirit serves as light for itself.’ B.U. IV. 3. 9. Here also the basis of duality operates, the one that knows and the object that is known. Though from the standpoint of the dream, the dream objects are experienced as external, they are said to be subtle because they are different from the objects of the waking state which are external.
The Upanisad makes a clear distinction between waking and dream experiences.
5. yatra supto ha kam cana kamam kamayate na karii cana svapnam pasyati tat susuptam, susupta-sthana eki-bhutah prajha- na-ghana evdnanda-mayo hy ananda-bhuk ceto-mukhah prajhas trtiyah padah.
5. Where one, being fast asleep, does not desire any desire whatsoever and does not see any dream whatsoever, that is deep sleep. The third quarter is prdjha, whose sphere (of activity) is the state of deep sleep, who has become one, who is verily, a mass of cognition, who is full of bliss and who enjoys (experiences) bliss, whose face is thought.
While the first condition is the waking life of outward-moving consciousness, .and the second is the dream life of inward-moving consciousness, the third is the state of deep sleep where the con¬ sciousness enjoys peace and has no perception of either external or internal objects. Cp. the Psalmist who says: ‘God gives truth to his beloved in sleep’ (CXXVII. 2). The transitory character of sleep shows that it is not the ultimate state. The name given to this state is prdjha. It is a state of knowledge, though the external and internal states are held in abeyance. It is the conceptual self, while the two previous selves are the imaginative and the perceptual ones. eki-bhiitah: the manifold object series, external and internal, lapses
even ‘as at night, owing to the indiscrimination produced by darkness, all percepts become a mass of darkness, as it were, so also in the state of deep sleep, all (objects) of consciousness, verily become a mass (of consciousness).’ In deep sleep no desire, no thought is left, all impressions have become one; only knowledge and bliss remain.
The apparent absence of duality has led to the view that it is the final state of union with Brahman. See B.U. IV. 3; C.U. VIII. 11. 1.
ceto-mukhah: because it is the doorway to the cognition of the two other states of consciousness known as dream and waking. prajhah: It is called prajna consciousness or knower as it is not aware of any variety as in the two other states. ananda-mayah: full of bliss.
ananda-bhuk: who enjoys bliss. It is not bliss but the enjoyer of bliss. ananda-prayah nananda eva. S.
In the waking state we are bound by the fetters of sense-perception and desire ; in the dream state we have a greater freedom as the self makes a world of its own, out of the materials of the waking world. Though, in the dream state, we take the dream images of delight and oppression as real, we produce them out of ourselves. In dream¬ less sleep the self is liberated from the empirical world, indeed from the person as a self-contained unit.
6. This is the lord of all, this is the knower of all, this is the inner controller; this is the source of all; this is the beginning and the end of beings.
Gaudapada says that ‘it is the one alone who is known in the three states,’ eka eva tridha smrtah.
§ urges that 'that which is designated as prajna (when it is viewed as the cause of the world) will be described as t-urlya separately when it is not viewed as the cause, and when it is free from all phenomenal relationship, i.e. in its absolute real aspect.’ tam abijavastham tasyaiva prajha-sabda-vacyasya turlyatvena dehadi-sam- bandha-jagradddi-rahitarh paramarthikim prthag vaksyati. $ on Gaudapada’s Kdrika I. 2.
It is the first time in the history of thought that the distinction between Absolute and God, Brahman and Isvara, turlya and prajna is elaborated. C.p. with this the Christian view of the Son as ‘the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation; for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible . . . all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things and in him all things hold together.’ Colossians I. 15. The son is the Demiurge, the heavenly architect, not the God but the
6g8 The Principal Upanisads 7.
image of the God. For Philo ‘the Sun is itself unaffected and un¬ diminished by its radiance, yet all the earth is dependent on it; so God, although in His being He is completely self-contained and self-sufficient, shoots forth a great stream of radiation, immaterial, yet on that account all the more real. This stream is God in extension, God in relation, the Son of God, not God.’ By Light, Light, p. 243, Goudenough’s E.T.
7. nantah-prajham, na bahi? prajham, nobhayatah-prajham, na prajhana-ghanam, na prajham, naprajham, adrstam, avya- vaharyam, agrahyam, alaksanam, acintyam, avyapadesyam, ekatma-pratyaya-saram, prapahcopasamam, santam, sivam, ad- vaitam, caturtham manyante, sa dtma; sa vijheyah.
7. ( Turiya is) not that which cognises the internal (objects), not that which cognises the external (objects), not what cog¬ nises both of them, not a mass of cognition, not cognitive, not non-cognitive. (It is) unseen, incapable of being spoken of, ungraspable, without any distinctive marks, unthinkable, unnameable, the essence of the knowledge of the one self, that into which the world is resolved, the peaceful, the benign, the non-dual, such, they think, is the fourth quarter. He is the self; He is to be known.
Here we get to a reality which is beyond the distinction of subject and object and yet it is above and not below this distinction. It is super-theism and not atheism or anti-theism. We cannot use here terms like all-knowing, all-powerful. Brahman cannot be treated as having objects of knowledge or powers. It is pure being. In many passages, the Upanisads make out that Brahman is pure being beyond all word and thought. He becomes Isvara or personal God with the quality of prajha or pure wisdom. He is all-knowing, the lord of the principle of mula-prakrti or the unmanifested, the inner guide of all souls. From him proceeds Hiranya-garbha who, as Demiurge, fashions the world. From the last develops Virat or the totality of all existents. The last two are sometimes mixed up.
Gaudapada says that this Brahman is ‘birthless, free from sleep and dream, without name and form, ever effulgent, all thought; no form is necessary for it.’
ajam, anidram, asvapnam, anamakam, arupakam sakrd vibhatam sarvajhath nopacarah katham cana. III. 36.
Though objective consciousness is absent in both the prajha and turiya consciousness, the seed of it is present in the state of deep sleep while it is absent in the transcendent consciousness. Empirical consciousness is present though in an unmanifested condition in the state of deep sleep while the transcendent state is the non- empirical beyond the three states and free from their interruptions
and alternations. It is present, even when we are immersed in the activities of the waking world or lost in the unconsciousness of sleep. Man’s highest good consists in entering into this, the self, making it the centre of one’s life, instead of dwelling on the surface.
Deep sleep terminates and the self returns to the dream and the waking states. In turlya there is a permanent union with Brahman. The metaphysical reality is cognised in turlya , if such an expression can be used for the transcendent state.
Plotinus portrays a gradual ascent from the world-soul to the spirit (nous) and finally from spirit to the One. The goal of spiritual ascent is a mystical ecstatic union with the Absolute. He writes: ‘Let us suppose the same rest in the body that surrounds the soul, that its movement is stilled, and that the entire surroundings are also at rest, the earth, the sea, the heaven itself above the other elements.’ In words that are echoes of Plotinus, Augustine in his Confessions describes the ascent from the changeable apprehensions and objects of sense through the intelligible world of conceptual truth to the Absolute Truth. ‘If the tumult of the flesh were hushed, hushed the images of earth, and the waters and air, hushed also the poles of heaven' man turns his spiritual vision god ward to receive the light, then he attains the absolute object of mystical union ‘the light unchangeable above the mind’ with the flash of one tremb¬ ling glance.
8. This is the self, which is of the nature of the syllable aum, in regard to its elements. The quarters are the elements, the elements are the quarters, namely the letter, a, the letter u and the letter m.
This is the self: it is the deepest essence of the soul, the image of Godhead.
The world and the world-soul are both producers and produced. The Supreme God is only the producer; Brahman is above the distinction of producer and produced. Cp. Gaudapada:
karya-karana-baddhau tav-isyete visva-taijasau prajhah karana-baddhas tu dvau tau turye na sidhyatah.
Visva and taijasa are conditioned by cause and effect. But prajha is conditioned by cause alone. These two (cause and effect) do not exist in turlya. Primal being unfolds itself as a subject-object relation. The unmeasured and undefined becomes the measured and the defined, a universe of logical discourse. Prajha or wisdom and the element ‘m’ both indicate that the function of measuring is that of logical mind. All distinctions are within the Supreme
700 The Principal Upanisads
Brahman. God is the logical being, the defined reality. It is not we that define Brahman but Brahman defines itself. The supreme logical idea is God who is the true, the good and the beautiful. Defined reality is not divided reality. The real in itself is Brahman ; the real as logically defined is Isvara who rests in Brahman who does not cease to be Brahman in becoming Isvara.
g. jagarita-sthano vaisvanaro karah prathama matrapter adi- mattvad va’pnoti ha vai sarvdn kaman adis ca hhavati ya evarh veda.
9. Vai£vanara, whose sphere (of activity) is the waking state, is the letter d, the first element, either from the root ap to obtain or from being the first. He who knows this, obtains, verily, all desires, also, he becomes first.
Vai^vanara is he who has the universe for his body.
10. svapna-sthanas taijasa ukdro dvitiya matrotkarsat ubha- yatvadvotkar$ati ha vai jnana-sarhtatirh samanas ca hhavati, nasyabrahma-vit-kule hhavati ya evarh veda.
10. Taijasa, whose sphere (of activity) is the dream state, is the letter u, the second element, from exaltation or inter¬ mediateness. He who knows this -exalts, verily, the continuity of knowledge and he becomes equal; in his family is born no one who does not know Brahman.
11. susupta-sthanah prajho makaras trtiya matrix miter apiter va minoti ha va idarh sarvam apitii ca hhavati ya evarh veda.
11. Prajna, whose sphere (of activity) is the state of deep sleep is the letter m, the third element, either from the root mi, to measure or because of merging. He who knows this measures (knows) all this and merges also (all this in himself).
In deep sleep, all waking and dream experiences disappear. Iivara is the cause of the universe as well as that of its dissolution. As the name prajna implies, the condition is one of intellection. In it we have a thinker and a thought. If this difference did not exist, it would be a silent oneness.
This verse affirms what Parmenides, Plato and Hegel assumed that the opposition of being and not-being is the original duality from the ontological standpoint. Being is a priori to non-being. The negation presupposes what it negates. Though being is a priori to non-being, being itself cannot be conceived without an opposite. Being could never be being without being opposed to not-being. But there is something which is a priori to the opposition of being and non-being and that is the unity which transcends both. Thought
cannot grasp and determine this spirit beyond the opposition. There is no concept or substance that could be thought of as being the unity without any opposition whatsoever. We cannot even call it unity for it suggests the opposite category of diversity. But we are in the sphere of oppositions, dualities and yet the positive side of the opposition brings out the content of the spirit. We have to seek the ultimate truth, goodness and beauty in its direction.
Plotinus says, ‘Before the two there is the one and the unit must precede the Dyad: coming later than the one, the Dyad has the One as the standard of its differentiation, that without which it could not be the separate differentiated thing it is.’ Enneads V. 1. 5.
‘As long as we have duality, we must go still higher until we reach what transcends the Dyad.’ Ibid. III. 8. 8.
12. amatras caturtho’ vyavaharyah prapahcopasamah sivo’dvaita evam aumkdra dtmaiva, samvisaty atmana tmdnam ya evam veda.
12. The fourth is that which has no elements, which cannot be spoken of, into which the world is resolved, benign, non-dual. Thus the syllable aum is the very self. He who knows it thus enters the self with his self.
In turiya, the mind is not simply withdrawn from the objects but becomes one with Brahman who is free from fear, who is all¬ round illumination, according to Gaudapada. liyate hi susupte tan nigrhitam na liyate tad eva nirbliayam brahma jhanalokam samantatah. III. 35.
In both deep sleep and transcendental consciousness there is no consciousness of objects but this objective consciousness is present in an unmanifested ‘seed’ form in deep sleep while it is completely transcended in the turiya consciousness. Gaudapada says: The non-cognition of duality is common to both prajha and turiya but prajha is associated with the seed (consciousness) in sleep while this does not exist in turiya.
dvaitasydgrahanam tulyam ubhayoh prdjha-turyayoh bija-nidra-yutah prajhah sa ca turye na vidyate.
£ opens his commentary on the B.G., with the verse that ‘Narayana is beyond the unmanifested principle and from this unmanifested arises the mundane egg or Hiranya-garbha.’ nardyanah paro’vyaktad andam avyakta-sambhavam. There is first the pure Brahman beyond subject and object and then Naraymm or God confronted by the object but superior to it and then the world-soul.
Lao Tze looks upon the Tao as the ultimate Reality which can be defined only in negative terms as ‘colourless,’ ‘soundless,’ ‘non¬ material.’ His conception of creation was that out of Tao, the eternal ultimate principle came the one, the great monad or the material cause of the universe. The one produced the two primary essences.
702 The Principal Upanisads
the Yang and the Yin, positive and negative, male and female, light and shade, which gave birth to the three powers of nature, heaven, earth and man, which in their combination produced all creatures.
Lao Tze’s follower Chuang-tze regarded Tien or God as the first great cause.
Plotinus says: ‘Standing transcendent above all things that follow It, existing in Itself, not mixing or to be mixed with any emanation from Itself, veritably the one, not merely possessing Oneness as an attribute of Its essence — for that would be a false oneness — a Principle overpassing all reasoning, all knowing — a principle standing over all Essence and Existence . . . only when it is simplex and First, apart from all, can it be perfectly self-sufficing.’ Enneads, V. 4. 1.
This soundless, partless, supreme Reality is the very self. In the state of deep sleep, it becomes the subject confronting the object which is yet unmanifested. We infer the presence of the object, as its developments take place on getting out of sleep. In the dream state, the object is manifested in the form of mental states; in the waking state, the object is manifested in material states. The subject- object duality is present in different forms in the states of waking, dream and dreamless sleep. It is transcended altogether in the state of turiya, while we have a pure consciousness of Self or Absolute.
No object can be set in opposition to the Spirit and so the question of validity or otherwise does not arise. It is self-validating, self¬ authenticating experience. The question of validity arises when the object appears as alien and impenetrable but in spiritual experience there is no alien object. There is knowledge of identity, by possession, by the absorption of the object at the deepest levels. In the ex¬ perience of turiya, there is neither subject nor object; neither the perception nor the idea of God. It does not reflect or explain any other reality than itself. It is reality, spirit in its inner life. Those who know the truth become the truth. It is not a state in which objects are extrinsically opposed to one another. It is the immersion of the self in reality, its participation in primary being. It is illumined life. It is pure consciousness without any trace of duality; it is unfailing light, turlyah sarva-drk sada: Karika I. 12. When the real is known there is no world of duality, jhate dvaitarh na vidyate. Karika I. 18.
Cp. Astavakra Gita:
jhata jhanath tatha jheyarh trtlyam nasti vastavam. ajhanad bhati yatredam so’ham asmi nirahjanah.
When analogically we transfer this idea from the microcosm to the macrocosm, from the individual to the world, since there is a co-relation between intelligibility and being, we have answering to the waking state, Viraf, to the dream state, Hiranya-garbha, to
the dreamless sleep state, Isvara. All these three are on the plane of duality, Isvara has facing him mula-prakrti, though in an unmani¬ fested (avyakfta) condition, as the self has the object in an unmani¬ fested condition in the state of dreamless sleep.
Plotinus who adopts a similar view puts the case thus: ‘If, then, the Divine thought-forms (The Ideas) are many, there must of necessity be something common to all and something peculiar to each to differentiate them: this particularity or specific difference is the individual shape ; but if there is shape there must be something that has taken the shape . . . that is to say there is a foundation, substratum, a matter. Further, if there is an Intellectual kosmos of which our kosmos is an image, and if ours is compound and includes matter, there must be a matter in the Intellectual kosmos as well.’ Enneads II. 4. 4.
The interaction of the universal subject and object develops the rest of the universe. Hiranya-garbha is the sutratman and plays with ideas, mental states as taijasa does in the dream world. In Rg Veda, it is said that Hiranya-garbha arose in the beginning, the lord of all created beings. X. 121. 1. hiranya-garbhas sam-avartata agre bhutasya jatah patir eka aslt. This whole world is in him in an embryo form, hiranye brahmanda-rupe garbha-rupenavasthitah praja- patir hiranya garbhah. Vidyaranya. When these are projected into space and time, we have Virat. This answers to the waking state, which is V aisvanar a s sphere of activity.
The waking and the dream states answer to the exteriorised existence and interiorised life of the world-spirit. When the world-spirit externalises its attention, we have the manifestation of the cosmos. When it turns its attention inward, the cosmos retreats into latency. When the world-spirit withdraws altogether into undisturbed still¬ ness, the object, though present, becomes a mere abstraction. When even that ceases, Isvara is Brahman.
Aum thus represents both the unmanifested Absolute and the personal Isvara. Gaudapada writes: ‘The sacred syllable aum is verily the lower Brahman and it is also said to be the higher Brahman. Aum is' without beginning, unique, without anything external to it, unrelated to any effect and imperishable.’
pranavo hy aparam brahma, pranavas ca par ah smrtah apurvo’ nantaro bahyo naparah pranavo’vyayah. (26).
If we worship Aum as Isvara, we pass beyond grief: ‘Know Aum to be Isvara, ever present in the hearts of all. The wise man, realising aum as all-pervading, does not grieve.’
pranavarh hisvaram vidydt sarvasya hrdi samsthitam sarva-vyapinam aurhkaram matva dhiro na socati. (28).
While Isvara, the personal God, is the lord of the world of manifes¬ tation, of becoming, the Supreme Brahman is beyond all becoming in pure being. ‘One who has known Aum which is (at the same time)
704 The Principal Upanisads 12.
devoid of elements and of infinite elements, in which all duality is resolved, the benign, he is the (real) sage and none other.’ amatro’ nanta-matras ca dvaitasyopasamah sivah aumkaro vidito yena sa munir netaro janah. (29).
In this Upanisad we find the fundamental approach to the attain¬ ment of reality by the road of introversion and ascent from the sensible and changing, through the mind which dreams, through the soul which thinks, to the divine within but above the soul. The truth of our intellectual knowledge presupposes a light, the Light of the Real above logical truth, the Light which is not itself but that by which it has been created and by whose illumination it shines.
In the Apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon, the immanent reason is described thus:
'For she is a breath of the power of God,
And a clear effluence of the glory of the Almighty.’ VII. 25. Wisdom becomes a personality (XVIII. 14-16) akin to the word in the Prologue of the Fourth Gospel. Though Wisdom is a potency outside God it is yet wholly in God. Philo makes a sharp distinction between God in Himself and God revealed, between God who is pure being, unknowable, outside the material universe and God who is immanent in man and the universe, who is all-penetrating, all- filling. The gap between the Infinite God and the finite man was bridged in the Old Testament by God’s angels who were regarded as emanations of the divine, offshoots of deity, parts of his very being. Philo held that the universe was filled with divine potencies. While in one sense these are attributes and self-revelations of God, in another sense they are personal beings, incorporeal souls who mediate between God and men, who ‘report the injunctions of the father to his children and the necessities of the children to the father.’ De Somniis I. 22. The unity of all these potencies is con¬ stituted by the Logos. Heaven and earth subsisted in the Logos before their material creation. The potencies which are the creators of matter emanate from the Logos. God who is the ultimate creator never works directly but through the Logos who again works through the potencies called logoi. Prajha, wisdom, Logos, Intellectual Principle, have a family likeness.
Plotinus has the transcendent triad of the Absolute One, the Intellectual Principle or God and the World-soul. ‘The one is not a Being but the source of Being which is its first offspring. The One is perfect, that is it has nothing, seeks nothing, needs nothing, but, as we may say, it overflows and this overflowing is creative; the engendered entity looks towards the One and becomes the Intel¬ lectual Principle; resting within itself, this offspring of the One is Being.’ Enneads V. 2. 1. This Intellectual Principle ATous is the image of the One. It is engendered because the One in its self-quest has vision. This seeing is Nous. The third is the soul, the author of
all living things. It made the sun the moon the stars and the whole visible world. It is the offspring of the Divine intellect. It is, in Plotinus, of a twofold nature. There is an inner soul intent on Nous and another which faces outward. The latter is associated with a downward movement in which the soul generates its image which is nature and the world of sense. For Plotinus it is the lowest sphere, something emanating from the soul when it forgets to look upward towards the Nous. We have the One, Nous, Soul and the world answering to the fourfold nature of reality in the Mdndukya U. The last two the world-soul and the world are the subtle and the gross conditions of the same being, virdt trailokya-sarirah brahma samasti-vyasti-rupah samsara-mandala-vyapi. $ on T.U. II. 8.
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The Svetasvatara Upanisad belongs to the Taittiriya school of the Yajur Veda. Its name is derived from the sage who taught it.1 It is theistic in character and identifies the Supreme Brahman with Rudra who is conceived as the material and the efficient cause of the world, not only the author of the world but its protector and guide. The elements associated with theism, Personal God and devotion to Him, which are to be met with undoubtedly in the other Upanisads, become prominent in the Svetasvatara Upanisad. The emphasis is not on Brahman the Absolute, whose complete perfection does not admit of any change or evolution but on the personal Isvara, omniscient and omnipotent who is the manifested Brahman. Terms which were used by the later Samkhya philosophy occur in the Upanisad, but the dualism of the Samkhya, purusa and prakrti, is overcome. Nature or pradhana is not an independent entity but belongs to the self of the Divine, devdtma-sakti. God is the mayin, the maker of the world which is maya or made by him.2 The Upanisad teaches the unity of the souls and the world in the one Supreme Reality. The Upanisad is an attempt to reconcile the different philosophical and religious views which prevailed at the time of its composition.
1 tveta, pure, atva, indriyas, senses. Samkarananda. See VI. 21: literally, he who has a white mule. Cp. jarad-gavah, he who has an old cow.
1 mayi srjate sarvam etat.
Svetasvatara Upanisad
CONJECTURES CONCERNING THE FIRST CAUSE 1. brahmavadino vadanti:
kith karanam brahma, kutah sma jata, jivama kena, kva ca sampratisthah,
adhisthitah kena sukhetaresu vartamahe brahma-vido vyava- stham.
1. Those who discourse on Brahman say: What is the cause? (Is it) Brahman ? Whence are we born? By what do we live? And on what are we established? 0 ye who know Brahman, (tell us) presided over by whom do we live our different conditions in pleasures and other than pleasures (pains).
cintya.
samyoga esam na tvatma-bhavad atmapy anisah sukha-duh- kha-hetoh.
2. Time, inherent nature, necessity, chance, the elements, the womb or the person (should they) be considered as the cause? It cannot be a combination of these because of the existence of the soul. Even the soul is powerless in respect of the cause of pleasure and pain.
cintya: v. cintyam.
In Atharva Veda XIX. 53. 1, we are told that ‘Time is a horse with seven reins . . . him the knowing poets mount.’ kalo asvo vahati sapta-rasmih . . . tarn drohanti kavayo vipascitah. In the same verse it is said that 'all the worlds are his wheels.’ tasya cakra bhuvanani visva.
The creative and destructive functions of Kala or time are brought out in the M.B.
kalah pacati bhutani, kalah samharate prajah kalah suptesu jdgarti, kalo hi duratikramah.
It also asserts that there is a time-transcending element which overcomes even time —
kalah pacati bhutani sarvany evatmanatmani yasmin tu pacyate kalas tarn vedeha na kas cana. atma: the soul, the living self, jiva which is not an independent cause, but is subject to the law of karma.
yonih: the womb, prakrti which is the mother of all possibilities in the world.
The different views are mentioned as they were suggested in the previous history of Indian thought. The non-conscious cannot be
710 The Principal Upanisads I. 3.
the cause of the conscious. The conscious human being cannot be the ultimate cause for he is not the determiner of his own destiny.
yah karanani nikhilani tani kalatma-yuktany adhitisthaty ekah.
3. Those who followed after (were devoted to) meditation and contemplation saw the self-power of the Divine hidden in its own qualities. He is the one who rules over all these causes from time to the soul.
dhyana-yoga: Cp. dhyana. 1. 14; again, I. 10-11. tasyabhidhyanat. It seems to foreshadow the pranidhana of the Yoga Sutra I. 23. Bhakti or devotion is a natural development of dhyana. VI. 22.
devatma-iakti: the self-power of the Divine. It is not like the prakrti of the Sarhkhya independent of God. The power, sakti of the Supreme, is the cause of the world. It is of the nature of the Supreme and not independent.
devasya dyotanadi-yuktasya mayinah paramesvarasya paramatmanah atmabhutatam asvatantram, na sdmkhya-parikalpita-pradhanddivat prthag-bhutam svatantrdm saktim. S.
See IV. 10; see B.G. IX. 10.
Cp. Brahma Parana:
esa catur-vimsati-bheda-bhinna maya para-prakrtis tat-samutthd. There is no reason, as Plotinus says, why the spirit should remain stationary in itself. It is not impotent as it is the source and poten¬ tiality of all things. Enneads V. 6. 1. Nothing is lost by its creative activity. In Plotinus, the power of Spirit penetrates the whole spiritual world and the world of souls.
sva-gunair nigudham: hidden in its own qualities. 1. The self-power of the Divine is hidden by the qualities of the Lord, devatmana, isvara-riipena avasthitdm. S. The power of manifestation ( maya-sakti ) is in the form of Isvara, the Supreme Lord. See also III. 2; IV. 1, 9 and VI. 1.
2. The self-power of the Divine is hidden by the three qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas. It is the cause of the creation, maintenance and dissolution of the world, devasya paramesvarasya atma-bhutam, jagad-udaya-sthiti-laya-hetu-bhutam, brahma-visnu-sivatmikam. S.
Cp. sarga-sthity-anta-karinim brahma-visnu-sivaimikam
sa samjham ydti bhagavan eka eva janardanah.
3. The qualities may refer to the modifications of prakrti, purusa and Isvara. brahmaparatantraih prakrtyadi-visesanaih upadhibhih nigudham. S.
dev as ca atma ca saktis ca yasya para-brahmanah avastha-bhedah tarn
prakrti-purusesvaranam sva-rupa-bhutdm brahma-rupena avasthitam parat-parataram saktirh karanam apa&yan. S.
See 1. 9 and 12.
devatmanah dyotanatmanah prakasa-svariipasya prajhana-ghana-svaru pasya param-atmanah jagad-udaya-sthiti-laya-niyamana-visayam saktirh samarthyam apasyan. S.
Brahman, the unconditioned Absolute, cannot be regarded as the cause of the world. It can only be described negatively. 5 says, na karanam napy akaranarh na cobhayam napy anubhayarh na ca nimittarh na copadanarh na cobhayam. S.
So it is that the causation of the world is traced to may a or prakrti which is the power of Brahman conceived as Isvara.
astakaih sadbhih visva-rupaika-pasarh tri-mar ga-bhedam dvi- ni-mittaika-moham.
4. (We understand) Him (as a wheel) with one felly, with three tires, sixteen ends, fifty spokes, twenty counter-spokes and six sets of eights, whose one rope is manifold, which has three different paths, whose one delusion (arises) from two causes.
In this and the following verses, the world is compared to a rotating wheel or a flowing stream. Its chief characteristic is movement and these images bring it out.
eka-nemim: with one felly. Isvara is the one source of the manifested world. The root cause of the whole world described in different ways has its locus in Isvara.
ya ekah karanani nikhilany adhitisthati tam eka-nemim, yonih karanam avyakrtam akasam parama-vyomamayd-prakrtih saktis tamo ’vidyd chdyajndnam anrtam avyaktam ity evam ddi-sabdair abhilap- yamanaika kdranavastha, nemir iva nemih sarvadharo yasyadhis- thatur advitiyasya param-atmanas tam eka-nemim. S.
Isvara uses prakrti for creation.
It is usual to describe the world as a wheel, ekam padam noksipati. Sanatsujatiya VI. 11.
trvrtam: with three tires, threefold. Reference is to the three gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas.
sodasantam: sixteen ends. Reference is to the five elements, five organs of perception (jnanendriya) , five organs of action ( karmendriya )
712 The Principal Upanisads I. 4.
and the mind ( manas ). Prakrti and its twenty-three evolutes are some¬ times divided into two groups of eight and sixteen. The group of eight is called prakrti or miila-prakrti and consists of prakrti, buddhi, aham-kara and the fi-ve elements. The group of sixteen called vikara consists of mind, the ten organs and the five objects of the senses. See M.B. XII. 7670, 11394-6; 11552 ff. Buddha-carita XII. 18-19. This view is accepted by Tattva-samasa 1 and 2; Garbha U. 4 and Bhagavata Parana VII. 7. 22.
Sarhkhya Karika divides the 24 into three groups: 1. prakrti ; 2. 7 called prakrti-vikrti\ and 3. 16 called vikrti. The last are called sodasaka gana (22).
This expression may refer to the sixteen Kalas mentioned in Prasna VI. 1.
satardharam: fifty spokes. They represent the forces which move the wheel. § mentions the five viparyayas, tamas, moha, rhaha-mohas tamisra and andhatamisra (they may also refer to ignorance, self-love, love, hatred and fear. Yoga Sutra I. 8; II. 2. Sarhkhya Sutra III. 37) ; twenty-eight asaktis or disabilities. Sarhkhya Sutra III. 28; the nine inversions of the tustis, satisfactions, Ibid III. 39; the eight inversions of the siddhis or perfections (III. 40). The various subdivisions of viparyaya, asakti, tusti and siddhi given in Sarhkhya Karika 46 ff. form a set of fifty. See E. H. Johnston: Some Sarhkhya and Yoga Conceptions of the Svetasvatara Upanisad. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, October 1940, pp. 855 ff.
pratyarabhih: counter-spokes. These are the ten organs of perception and action and their objects. Prasna IV. 8. It may also refer to the five elements with the five objects of the senses and the ten organs. See M.B. XII. 112. 38-41.
astakaih sadbhih: six sets of eights. The six are 1. prakrti'. with its eight causes of the five elements, mind {manas), intellect {buddhi), and self-sense {aham-kara), see B.G. VII. 4; 2. dhatw. with the eight constituents of the body; 3. aisvarya: lordship with its eight forms; 4. bhava: eight conditions; 5. dev a: gods with their eight classes; and 6. atma-guna: virtues which are also eight.
anima mahima caiva garima laghimd tatha praptih prdkamyam isitvam vasitvdrh ca’stabhutayah. visva-rupaika-pasam: whose one rope is manifold. It is desire or Karma visva-rupa, ndna-rupa ekah kamakhyah pasah. 5. Visva-rupa is often used for the soul which is subject to rebirth. I. 9; V. 7; Maitri II. 5. Visvakhya; V. 2, Visva and VII. 7, Visvarupa. Cp. also M.B. XIII. 112. 33, tathaiva bahu-rupatvad visva-rupa iti srutah. tri-mar ga-bhedam: which has three different paths to salvation explained as dharma, religiousness, adharma, irreligiousness, and jhana or wisdom.
moha: delusion or ignorance of self which is produced by two causes, good or bad works. Both of them commit us to the wheel of rebirth,
pancavartam panca-duhkhaugha-vegam panca-sad-bhedam paiica-parvdm adhlmah.
5. We meditate on him as a river of five streams, from five sources, fierce and crooked, whose waves are the five vital breaths, whose original source is the fivefold perception, with five whirlpools, an impetuous flood of five pains, divided into fifty kinds (of suffering) with five branches.
The reality of the world and its relation to the Supreme Tsvara are brought out here.
pahca-sroto’mbum: having for its water that which has five streams. srotas is also used for sense organ.
indriya: the stream of perceptions which each sense organ receives from the outer world. These streams flow from the senses to the mind which is said to have five streams. Cp. pahca-srotas in M.B. XII. 7890-1, where Nilakantha identifies it with mind or manas.
Yoga Sutra II. 2 mentions the five klesas as avidya, asmita, aiakti, raga, abhinivesa.
Vacaspati Misra on Samkhya Karika (47) explains pahca-viparyaya- bhedah by a quotation from Varsaganya Pahca-parva-vidya. See also Tattva-samasa 14. Buddha-carita XII. 33.
brahma-cakre.
prthag atmanam preritaram ca matva justas tatas tena- mrtatvam eti.
6. In this vast brahma-wheel, which enlivens all things, in which all rest, the soul flutters about thinking that the self in him and the Mover (the Lord) are different. Then, when blessed by him, he gains life eternal.
asmin v. t asmin.
Cp. B.U. I. 4. 10.
Katha IV. 10; T.U. II. 7. 1; B.G. XVIII. 61. Visnu Dharma has the following verses:
pasyaty atmanam any am tu yavad vai param-dtmanah tavad sambhramyate jantur mohito nijakarmana: samksinasesakarmd tu param brahma prapasyati abhedendtmanas suddham suddhatvad aksayo bhavet.
Both Isvara and the individual soul belong to the manifested world. brahma-cakram: see also VI. 1. Gaudapada gives Brahman as a synonym for prakrti. See Gaudapada on Samkhya Karika 22. The soul of man is a traveller wandering in this cycle of Brahma which is huge, a totality of lives, a totality of states, thinking itself to be
714 The Principal Upanisads I. 9.
different from the Impeller of the journey. The soul reaches its goal of immortality when it is accepted by the Supreme.
atrantaram brahma-vido’ viditva Una brahmani tat-para yoni-muktah.
7. This has been sung as the supreme Brahman and in it is the triad. It is the firm support, the imperishable. The knowers of Brahman by knowing what is therein become merged in Brahman, intent thereon and freed from birth.
supratistha: v. sapratistha, svapratistha.
brahma-vido: v. veda-vido, knowers of the Vedas.
paramam: Supreme, prapahca-dharma-rahitam. S.
tray am: the triad, the individual soul, the world and the cosmic lord.
bhokta, bhogyam, preritaram. S.
visvam isah.
anisas catma badhyate bhoktr-bhavat jhatva devam mucyate sarva-pasaih.
8. The Lord supports all this which is a combination of the mutable and the immutable, the manifest and the unmanifest. And the soul, not being the Lord, is bound because of his being an enjoyer. By knowing God (the soul) is freed from all fetters.
See B.G. XV. 16-17. The later doctrine of Saiva-siddhanta with its distinctions of pasu, pati, pasa, the creature, the lord and the bond, is here suggested.
9. jhajhau dvav ajav isamsav aja hy ekd bhoktr-bhogyartha-yukta anantas catma visva-rupo ~hy akarta trayam yada vindate
brahmam etat.
9. There are two unborn ones, the knowing and the unknowing, the one all-powerful, the other powerless. Indeed there is (another) one who is unborn, connected with the enjoyer and the objects of enjoyment. And there is the infinite self, of universal form, non-active. When one finds out this triad, that is Brahman.
The individual soul, the personal god and prakrti or nature are all contained in Brahman: jivesvara-prakfti-rupa-trayam brahma. S. The
doctrine of the triune unity elaborated later by Ramanuja is sug¬ gested here. For Ramanuja, God is the soul of nature as well as the soul of souls. See 1. 12.
The distinctions of enjoyer, enjoyment and enjoyed are contained in Brahman: bhoktr-bhoga-bhogya-rupam. S. akartr: non-active, kartrtvddi-samsdra-dharma-rahitah. S.
In commenting on this verse, § makes out that the manifested world is due to the power of mayd which is not independent of Brahman and so does not constitute a second to it. As it is responsible for the manifested world it is not a nonentity. Its nature is inde¬ scribable.
md,yayd anirvacyatvena vastutvayogat tathaha; esa hi bhagavan-maya sad-asad-vyakti-varjita. S.
tasyabhidhyanad yojanat tattva-bhavad bhuyas cante visva- mdya-nivrttih.
10. What is perishable is the pradhana (primary matter). What is immortal and imperishable is Hara (the Lord). Over both the perishable and the soul the one God rules. By medi¬ tating on Him, by uniting with Him, by reflecting on His being more and more, there is complete cessation from the illusion of the world.
hara: one of the names of Siva; § explains hara as one who removes ignorance, avidyader haranat.
Cp. Siva-mahimna Stotra:
bahula-rajase visvotpattau bhavdya namo namah prabala-tamase tat-samhare haraya namo namah jana-sukha-krte sattvodriktau mrdaya namo namah pramahasi pade nistraigunye sivaya namo namah.
Salutations tojjBhava or Brahma in whom rajas preponderates for the creation of the universe, salutation to Hara or Siva in whom tamas preponderates for the destruction (of the universe). Salutation to Mrda or Visnu in whom sattva preponderates for giving happiness to people. Salutation to Siva who is effulgent and beyond the three attributes.
by meditating on him: The way by which the soul is awakened to the divine core of his being is abhidhyana, an intense contemplation* of the Saviour God. It leads to contemplative union with the object and identification with his essential reality. This contemplation is introspection, an intimate worship, intuition of one’s own inner being. IV. 5. devam svacittastham upasya. The embodied jiva becomes one with God. II. 14. tad atma-tattvam prasamiksya debt eko bhavate.
716 The Principal Upanisads
viiva-mayd: illusion of the world, sukha-duhkha-mohatmakaSesa- prapahca-rupa-mayd. S. Cp. Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakosa: abodhim dhyanantye VI. 24. When we reach kaivalya, there is a total cessation of the world. The contemplator rises above the cosmic structure and attains brahma-nirvana.
tasyabhidhyanat trtiyarh deha-bhede visvaisvaryam kevala apta-kamah.
11. By knowing God there is a falling off of all fetters; when the sufferings are destroyed, there is cessation of birth and death. By meditating on Him, there is the third state; on the dissolution of the body, universal lordship; being alone, his desire is fulfilled.
This verse describes the different sides and stages of liberation. Negatively it is freedom from birth and death; positively it is oneness with Isvara, so long as there is the manifested world and oneness with Brahman when the manifested world ceases to exist. tasya paramesvarasya, abhidhyanad deha-bhede saruapatottara-kalam arciradina deva-yana-patha gatva paramesvara-sayujyam gatasya tftlyam virdd-rupdpeksaydvydkj'ta-parama-vyoma-karanesvardvastham vifvaisvarya-laksanam phalam bhavati, sa tad anubhuya tatraiva nirvisesam ' atmanam matva kevalo nirasta-samastaisvarya-tad- upddhisiddhir avydkj'ta-paramavyoma-karanesvardtmaka.-tj'tiydvastham visvaisvaryam hitvd, apta-kama atma-kamah purnanandadvitlya-brah- ma-rupo 'vatisthate. S. He also quotes from Siva-dharmottara:
dhyanad aisvaryam atulam, aisvaryad sukham uttamam, jhanena tat parity ajy a videho muktim apnuydt.
A distinction is made here between dhyana or meditation which leads to lordship and jhana or wisdom which leads to liberation. The former, which is the contemplation of the heart, the rapture of devotion, is a stage to the latter, which is the contemplation of intelligence, the blaze of discernment. So long as the cosmic process continues, the Personal Lord presides over it and the freed individual becomes a co-worker with Him. When the cosmic process terminates, the Personal Lord lapses into the Absolute and so does the freed individual. He knows as does the Lord that he is the manifestation of the Absolute, even when he is functioning in the world.
tavyam hi kihcit
bhokta bhogyam preritdram ca matva sarvam proktam tri-vidham brahmam etat.
Truly there is nothing beyond this to be known. By knowing the enjoyer, the object of enjoyment and the mover (of all), everything has been said. This is the threefold Brahman.
The individual soul, the object of enjoyment, prakrti and the Supreme Lord Isvara are all forms of Brahman, atma-samstham: which rests in the self.
Cp. Katha V. 12.
$ iva-dharmottara says: sivam atmani pasyanti pratimasu nayoginah. The Yogins see the Lord in the self and not in images.
sa hhuya eve’ ndhana-yoni-grhyah tad vo’bhayam vai prana- vena dehe.
13. As the form of fire when latent in its source is not seen and yet its seed is not destroyed, but may be seized again and again in its source by means of the drill, so it is in both cases. The self has to be seized in the body by means of the syllable aum.
Fire though not seen at first is there all the time ; it becomes visible by friction ; even so the Self is there all the time though unperceived by those in a state of ignorance. It is perceived when by meditation on the syllable aum, we subdue the lower self. The vision of the Self is achieved by means of the pranava, aum. indhana: the stick used for drilling. yoni: the underwood in which the stick is drilled.
14. By making one’s body the lower friction stick and the syllable aum the upper friction stick, by practising the drill (or friction) of meditation one may see the God, hidden as it were.
In overcoming the obstacles which prevent the realisation of Brahman on the part of the individual, suffering is involved.
We are asked to meditate on Godhead and bring Him out of the recesses of our heart.
Cp. Kaivalya U. I. 11.
cagnih.
evam atmdtmani grhyate’sau satyenainam tapasa yo’ nupasyati.
718 The Principal Upanisads
15. As oil in sesamum seeds, as butter in cream, as water in riverbeds, as fire in friction sticks, so is the Self seized in one’s own soul if one looks for Him with truthfulness and austerity.
srotas: river-bed. Usually a stream, here the dry bed of a stream which, if dug into, will yield water.
tapasa: by austerity. The divine in us becomes manifest only when we subject ourselves to certain disciplines. The Divine operates in us but it requires effort to make it shine forth. A later Upanisad says that the Divine dwells in us as ghee in milk but even as ghee is obtained after the process of churning, the churning of the mind is necessary to reveal the inner splendour.
ghrtant iva payasi nigudham bhute bhute ca vasati vijhdnam, satatarh manthetavyam manasa manthana-bhutena.
16. sarvavyapinam atmanam ksire sarpir ivarpitam atma-vidya-tapo-mulamtad brahmopanisat par am , tad brah¬ mopanisat param.
16. The Self which pervades all things as butter is contained in milk, which is the root of self-knowledge and austerity, that is the Brahman, the highest mystic doctrine. That is the highest mystic doctrine.
brahmopanisat: the mystic doctrine of Brahman.
Like butter hidden in milk does the eternal wisdom dwell in each and every object; let there be constant churning by the churning stick of the mind. Brahma-bindu U.
Cp. Bhagavata:
‘When men realise me as present in all beings, as latent fire is in wood, from that moment they discard confusion.’ yadd tu sarva-bhutesu darusv agnim iva sthitam praticaksita math toko jahyat tarhyaiva kasmalam.
As fragrance is in the flower, as butter in milk, as oil in sesamum seeds, as gold in the reef of gold (so God dwells in all objects). Dhyana-bindu U. 5.
puspa-madhye yatha gandham payo-madhye yatha ghrtam tila-madhye yatha tailam pasanesv iva kahcanam.
Svetaivatara Upanisad
1. Savitr (the inspirer) first controlling mind' and thought for truth discerned the light of Agni (Fire) and brought it out of the earth.
The five introductory verses are taken from Taittirlya Samhita
The Upanisads claim to continue the tradition of the Vedas. It is an established convention in Indian thought to make out that the greatest innovations are only the developments of the old. Even the Buddha said that his teaching was only a restatement of the four ancient truths, catvari arya-satyani. See Dhammapada, Intro¬ duction.
2. With mind controlled we are under the command of the divine Savitr that we may have strength for (obtaining) heaven.
suvargeyaya: for (obtaining) heaven, svarga-prapti-hetu-bhutaya.
3. May Savitr, having controlled through thought the gods that rise up to the bright heaven, inspire them to make a great light to shine.
vipascitah
vi hotra dadhe vayunavid eka in mahi devasya savituh paristutih.
4. The sages of the great all-knowing control their mind and control their thoughts. The one who knows the law has ordered the ceremonial functions. Great is the praise of the divine Savitr.
sureh
srnvantu visve amrtasya putra a ye dhdmani divyani tasthuh.
720 The Principal Upanisads
go forth like the path of the sun. May all the sons of the Immortal listen, even those who have reached their heavenly abodes.
amftasya putrah: sons of the immortal.
Cp. ‘Ye are all children of light and the children of the day.’
I Thessalonians V'. 5; Hebrews III. 6.
deho devalayah proktah jlvah sivo hi kevalah.
See B.G. X. n.
Mind is born where the routine or automatism is broken.
7. With Savitr as the inspirer, one should delight in the ancient prayer. Make your source (dwelling) there. Your work will not affect you.
See C.U. V. 24. 3; B.G. IV. 37.
samnivesya.
brahmodupena pratareta vidvan srotamsi sarvani bhayava- hani.
8. Holding the body steady with the three (upper parts, chest, neck and head) erect, causing the senses and the mind to enter into the heart, the wise man should cross by the boat of Brahman all the streams which cause fear.
See B.G. VI. 13. samnivesya v. samnirudhya.
trlni: three, urognvasirarhsi, chest, neck and head. S. At the time of meditation we must hold the trunk, the head and the neck in a straight line. The theory of asanas or postures is a development of this view. The control of the senses by means of mind answers to the later pratyahara.
Body, mind and spirit form one whole and here what is known as bodily prayer is mentioned.
Brahma: the syllable aum. brahma-sabdam pranavam varnayanti. S.
dustasva-yuktam iva vaham enam vidvan mano dharayeta pramattah.
9. Repressing his breathings here (in the body), let him who has controlled all movements, breathe through his nostrils, with diminished breath ; let the wise man restrain his mind vigilantly as (he would) a chariot yoked with vicious horses.
See B.G. V. 27. The verse refers to pranayama or breath-control.
dibhih.
mano^ukule na tu caksu-pldane guha-nivdtasrayane prayo- jayet.
10. In a level clean place, free from pebbles, fire and gravel, favourable to thought by the sound of water and other features, not offensive to the eye, in a hidden retreat protected from the wind, let him perform his exercises (let him practise Yoga).
See B.G. VI. 11; Maitri VI. 30.
The importance of physical surroundings is brought out here. Kiirma Parana mentions jantuvyapta and sasabda as unfitting a place for meditation. II. 11; M.B. says nirjane vane. XIV. 567; also nadipulinasayl , nadltiraratis ca. XIII. 6473. The place for meditation should be noiseless and not noisy, sabda is said to be a mistake for sada, a place green with young grass.
sasinam.
etani rupani purassarani brahmany abhivyaktikarani yoge.
11. Fog, smoke, sun, wind, fire, fireflies, lightning, crystal moon, these are the preliminary forms which produce the manifestation of Brahman in Yoga.
We read in the Lahkdvatara Sutra: ‘In his exercise, the Yogin sees (imaginatively) the form of the sun or the moon or something looking like a lotus, or the underworld or various forms such as skyfire and the like. When all these are put aside and there is a state of imagelessness, then a condition in conformity with suchness (bhuta-tathata) presents itself and the Buddhas will come together from all their countries and with their shining hands will touch the head of the benefactor.’
See also Mandala Brahmana JJ . II. 1.
adau tdrakavad drsyate, tato vajradarpanam, tatah paripurnacandra- mandalam, tato navaratnaprabhamandalarn, tato madhydhndrka-
722 The Principal Upanisads
mandalant tato vahnisikhamandalam . . . sphatika, dhumra, bindu, nada, kala, naksatra, khadyota, dipa, netra, suvarna nava-ratnadi-prabha dr £y ante.
At first appears a sign like that of a star, then gradually appear a diamond mirror, thereafter a full lunar circle, thereafter a circle of the lustre of the nine germs, thereafter the midday sun, thereafter a circle of flame, then a crystal, a black circle, a dot, sound, digit, star, sun, lamp, eye, the lustre of gold and nine gems are seen.
Mystics speak of visions and auditions. Truth is seen through the mirror of human reflection. The mind of man is limited by the nature of its possessor, by the kind of man he is. What thinks is the man, not the mind. Our senses make definite what is in its nature in¬ definite. We reduce the invisible to our level. As we cannot for long dwell on the heights without suffering from vertigo, we descend to the sense world and use images belonging to it. Though God trans¬ cends all forms He may still use them and convey His presence through them. These images are sent to comfort and instruct us.
This verse makes out that the images are not the subjective activities of the human self. Besides, many of these visions have a symbolic character. The words and phrases we use to describe impressions which external things make upon us are employed to describe the events of our spiritual life. It is a process of spiritual materialization. Truths of the spiritual life cannot be adequately represented except through symbols. Saint Hildegrand (1098-1180) had visions and she repeatedly assures us: ‘These visions which I saw I beheld neither in sleep nor in dream, nor in madness nor with my carnal eyes, nor with the ears of the flesh, nor in hidden places; but wakeful, alert, with the eyes of the spirit and with the inward ears I perceived them in open view and according to the will of God. And how this was compassed is hard indeed for human flesh to search out.’ Quoted in Studies in the History and Method of Science, edited by Charles Singer (1917), p. 53. Suso, Theresa, Muhammad and many others had these visions.
na tasya rogo najara namrtyuhpraptasya yogagni-mayam iariram.
12. When the fivefold quality of Yoga is produced, as earth, water, fire, air and ether arise, then there is no longer sickness, no old age, no death to him who has obtained a body made of the fire of Yoga.
This verse and the next emphasise the physical aspects of Yoga. Through Yoga we try to build up a healthy and clean body. We attempt to make the very substance of our body incorruptible.
Four stages of yoga, arambha, ghata, paricaya and nispatti are described in verses 13, 14, 15, and 16 respectively. In securing bodily health we have the commencement of the yoga, yoga-pravftti. In attaining freedom from sorrow he reaches the second stage. In the third stage the traces of duality disappear, maha-sunyarh tato bhati sarva-siddhi-samasrayam. In the fourth stage there is the identity of the individual with the Supreme Self. The Yogin does not become disembodied. The elements composing his body are elevated to the level of their subtleness, suksmatva. He leaves his gross body and attains an indefectible one. It is a consciousness-body akin to that of the Supreme with whom the contemplator has identified himself through meditation.
gandhas subho miitra-purisam aiparh yoga-pravrttim pratha- mam vadanti.
13. Lightness, healthiness, steadiness, clearness of com¬ plexion, pleasantness of voice, sweetness of odour, and slight excretions, these, they say, are the first results of the progress of yoga.
sudhantam.
tad vatmatattvam prasamiksya dehi ekah krtartho bhavate vita-sokah.
14. Even as a mirror stained by dust shines brightly when it has been cleaned, so the embodied one when he has seen the (real) nature of the Self becomes integrated, of fulfilled purpose and freed from sorrow.
prapasyet
ajam dhruvarii sarva-tattvair visuddham jhatva devam mucyate sarva-pasaih.
15. When by means of the (real) nature of his self he sees as by a lamp here the (real) nature of Brahman, by knowing God who is unborn, steadfast, free from all natures, he is released from all fetters.
antah.
724 The Principal Upanisads II. 17.
sa evajatah sajanisyamdnahpratyahjanams tisthati sarvato- mukhah.
16. He, indeed, is the God who pervades all regions, He is the first-born and he is within, the womb. He has been bom and he will be bom. He stands opposite all persons, having his face in all directions.
See Vajasaneyi Samhita, 32. 4.
purvo hi jatah: is the first born as Hiranya-garbha.
1 7. yo devo’gnau yo’psu yo visvam bhuvanam avivesa,
ya osadhisu yo vanaspatisu tasmai devaya namo namah.
17. The God who is in fire, who is in water, who has entered into the whole world (the God), who is in plants, who is in trees, to that God be adoration, yea, be adoration.
Svetdsvatara Upanisad
i. ya eko jalavan isata isanibhih sarvan lokan isata isanibhih, ya evaika udbhave sambhave ca, ya etad vidur amrtas te bhavanti.
1. The one who spreads the net, who rules with his ruling powers, who rules all the worlds with his ruling powers, who remains one (identical), while (things or works) arise and continue to exist, they who know that become immortal.
jalavan: who spreads the net. S identifies jdla or net with may a.
Isanibhih.
pratyah janan tisthati sahcukocanta-kale samsrjya visva bhuvanani gopah.
2. Truly Rudra is one, there is no place for a second, who rules all these worlds with his ruling powers. He stands opposite creatures. He, the protector, after creating all worlds, withdraws them at the end of time.
The Highest Reality is identified with Rudra who is assigned the three functions of creation, protection or maintenance and dissolution.
In R.V. Rudra is the personification of the destructive powers of nature, exemplified in storms and lightning. In the later portions of the Veda he is described as Siva, the auspicious, as Mahadeva, the great god. Even in the R.V. it is said that he dwells in mountains, that he has braided hair, that he wears a hide. pratyah: opposite. He lives as pratyag-dtman.
sarvams ca janan praty-antarah prati-purusam avasthitah. § who also quotes ‘rupam riipam pratirupo babhiiva.’
pat.
sam bahubhyam dhamati sampatatrair dyava-bhumi janay an deva ekah.
3. That one God, who has an eye on every side, a face on every side, an arm on every side, a foot on every side, creating heaven and earth forges them together by his arms and his wings.
See R.V. X. 81. 3; Atharva Veda XIII. 2. 26; Vdjasaneyi Samhitd
7 26 The Principal Upani$ads III. 6.
XVII. 19; Taittirlya Sarhhita IV. 6. 2. 4; Taittirlya Aranyaka X 1. 3. dhamati: forges. $ means by it samyojayati, he joins men with arms and birds with wings.
bdhubhydm: with arms. As it is in the dual number, Samkarananda takes it for dharma and adharma.
patatraih: with wings. Samkarananda means by it the five chief elements patana-sllaih pahclkrta-mahd-bhutaih.
bdhubhydm, vidya-karmabhyam, patatraih vasana-riipaih samdhamati dlpayati. N arayana-dlpika.
hiranya-garbham janayamasa piirvarh sa no buddhya iubhaya samyunaktu.
4. He who is the source and origin of the gods, the ruler of all, Rudra, the great seer, who of old gave birth to the golden germ {Hiranya-garbha) , may He endow us with clear under¬ standing.
See IV. 12.
Hiranya-garbha is the person endowed with clear ideas, hitam ati-ramanlyam aty-ujjvalarh jhanarh garb hah, antas-sarah yasya tarn. S. In verse 3, the stress is on the cosmic form virdt svariipa ; here on the cosmic spirit, the world-soul, Hiranya-garbha.
taya nas tanuva santamaya girisantabhicakasihi.
5. Rudra, your body which is auspicious, unterrifying, showing no evil — with that most benign body, O dweller in the mountains, look upon (manifest yourself to) us.
For this and the following verse, see Vajasaneyi Sarhhita XVI. 2-3. auspicious body: this is not identical with his absolute reality. It is analogous to the Buddhist dharmakaya.
iivdm giritra tarn kuru ma hirhsih puru$am jagat.
6. O Dweller among the mountains, make auspicious the arrow which thou holdest in thy hand to throw. O Protector of the mountain, injure not man or beast.
purusam asmadiyath jagad api krtsnam. S. the human and the other than human.
Svetaivatara Upanisad
visvasy aikam parivestitaram Isam tarn jhatvamrtd bhavanti.
7. Higher than this is Brahman, the supreme, the great hidden in all creatures according to their bodies, the one who envelopes the universe, knowing Him, the Lord, (men) become immortal.
tatah param: higher than this. This may refer to the Vedic God Rudra or the manifested world. The reference here is to Isvara who is higher than Hiranya-garbha and Virat-riipa, to the indwelling Lord, antaryamin, to the Supreme Personal God, paramesvara.
parastat
tarn eva viditva atimrtyum eti nanyah pantha vidyate’ yanaya.
8. I know the Supreme Person of sunlike colour (lustre) beyond the darkness. Only by knowing Him does one pass over death. There is no other path for going there.
See VI. 15; B.G. VIII. 9. nanyah pantha: no other path, pantha the way, the path; pathikrt, the road-maker. ayanaya: for going (to salvation). apavarga-gamanaya samsarabdheh para-gamanaya va.
The sage Svetasvatara says that he has seen the Supreme who dwells beyond all darkness, that he has crossed the world of samsara.
jyayo’sti kihcit.
vrksa iva stabdho divi tisthaty ekas tene’dam purnam purusena sarvam.
9. Than whom there is naught else higher, than whom there is naught smaller, naught greater, (the) one stands like a tree established in heaven, by Him, the Person, is this whole universe filled.
See Katha VI. 1.
divi: in heaven dyotanatmani sve mahimni, S ; established in his own greatness.
ya etad vidur amrtds te bhavanti, athetare duhkham evapiyanti.
7 28 The Principal Upanisads III. 14.
10. That which is beyond this world is without form and without suffering. Those who know that become immortal, but others go only to sorrow.
11. He who is in the faces, heads and necks of all, who dwells in the cave (of the heart) of all beings, who is all-pervading, He is the Lord and therefore the omnipresent Siva.
See R.V. X. 81. 3; X. 90. 1.
S explains Bhagavat by citing the verse :
aisvaryasya samagrasya, dharmasya, yasasah sriyah jhana-vairagyayos caiva sannam bhaga itirana.
He who has the six qualities of complete lordship, righteousness, fame, prosperity, wisdom and renunciation is Bhagavan.
12. That person indeed is the great lord, the impeller of the highest being. (He has the power of) reaching the purest attainment, the ruler, the imperishable light.
sattva: highest being. For S the internal organ, antah-karana.
sannivistah
hrda manviso manasabhiklpto ya etad vidur amrtds te bhavanti.
13. A person of the measure of a thumb is the inner self, ever dwelling in the heart of men. He is the lord of the know¬ ledge framed by the heart and the mind. They who know that become immortal.
manviso: the lord of knowledge, jhanesah. S. v. manisa, by thought. This reading ‘ hrdamanisa manasabhiklpto’ is adopted by Samka- rananda, Narayana and Vijnana-bhiksu.
14. The person has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet. He surrounds the earth on all sides and stands ten fingers’ breadth beyond.
Svetatvatara Upanisad
See R.V. X. 90. 1. daiangulam: ten fingers’ breadth, anantam, apdram. S. endless, shoreless. Though the Supreme manifests Himself in the cosmos, He also transcends it.
15. The person is truly this whole world, whatever has been and whatever will be. He is also the lord of immortality, and whatever grows up by food.
See R.V. X. 90. 2.
Sayana explains that he is the lord of all the immortals, i.e. the gods, because they grew to their high estate by means of food.
16. On every side it has a hand and a foot, on every side an eye, a head and a face. It has an ear everywhere. It stands encompassing all in the world.
See B.G. XIII. 13.
1 7. sarvendriya-gunabhasam sarvendriya-vivarjitam sarvasya prabhum Udnahi sarvasya saranam brhat.
17. Reflecting the qualities of all the senses and yet devoid of all the senses, it is the lord and ruler, it is the great refuge of all.
See B.G. XIII. 14.
18. The embodied soul in the city of nine gates sports (moving to and fro) in the outside (world), the controller of the whole world, of the stationary and the moving.
See Katha, V. 1; B.G. V. 13.
hamsa: soul. It is the Universal Spirit.
harhsah paramatma hanty avidyatmakam karyam. S.
purusam mahantam.
730 The Principal Upanisads III. 21.
be known ; of him there is none who knows. They call him the Primeval, the Supreme Person.
tarn akratum pasyati vita-soko dhatuh prasddan mahimanam isam.
20. Subtler than the subtle, greater than the great is the Self that is set in the cave of the (heart) of the creature. One beholds Him as being actionless and becomes freed from sorrow, when through the grace of the Creator he sees the Lord and His majesty.
See Taittirlya Aranyaka X. 10-1.
akratum: being actionless, visaya-bhoga-samkalpa-rahitam. S. dhatuh prasaddt: through the grace of the Creator. dhatu-prasadat: through the clarity born of sense-control. Sense organs are said to be dhatu.
vibhutvat.
janma-nirodham pravadanty yasya brahmavadino’bhiva- danti nityam.
21. I know this undecaying, ancient (primeval) Self of all, present in everything on account of infinity. Of whom they declare, there is stoppage of birth. The expounders of Brahman proclaim Him to be eternal.
janma-nirodham: stoppage of birth.
For whom the foolish think there are birth and death. yasya janma-nirodham mudhah pravadanti. Samkarananda.
Narayana Dipika suggests a reading, janma-nirodham na vadanti yasya. For whom birth and death are not spoken.
Sometimes it is used for the creation and destruction of the world yasya paramesvarasya karma jagatah janma-samharau. Vijhana- bhiksu.
This chapter makes out that the Impersonal and the Personal, Brahman and Isvara are not two different entities but the same in two aspects.
Svetasvatara Upanisad
vicaiti cd’nte visvam adau sa dev ah sa no buddhya subhay a samyunaktu.
1. He who is one, without any colour, by the manifold exercise of his power distributes many colours in his hidden purpose and into whom in the beginning and at the end the universe is gathered, may He endow us with a clear under¬ standing.
avarnah: devoid of determinations, nirvisesah. S.
nihitarthah: in his hidden purpose. Without any motive or personal
interest, agfhita-prayojanah, svartha-nirapeksah.
ante: in the end. V. sante. The world was inactive, unmanifest
before creation.
2. That indeed is Agni (fire), that is Aditya (the sun), that is Vayu (the wind) and that is the moon. That, indeed, is the pure. That is Brahma. That is the waters. That is Praja-pati (the lord of creation).
See V ajasaneyi Samhita, XXXII. 1.
This verse occurs in Mahanarayana U. in the following way: yad ekam avyaktam ananta-rupam visvam puranam tamasah parastdt
tad, eva rtam tad u satyam ahus tad etad brahma paramam kavinam istapurtam bahudha jatarh jayamanam visvam bibharti bhuvanasya nabhih
tad evagnis tad vayus tat suryas tad u candramah
tad eva sukram amrtam tad brahma tad apas sa praja-patih
This verse indicates that the different Vedic gods are not inde¬ pendent but are forms of the One Supreme. tad: that, self-nature, atma-tattvam. S. sukram: pure, alternatively the starry firmament. suddham anyad api dlptiman naksatradi.
S makes Brahma, Hiranya-garbhdtma and Praja-pati virdd-atma. Vijnanabhiksu makes" out that the Supreme through the power of maya created the manifestations and entered into them and is called by their names: svamayaya adhidaivikopadhin samasti-rupdn
732 The Principal Upanisads IV. 5.
srstva tesv anupravisya agnyddityddyakhyam labdhva sthito 'pisvara evety aha.
3. tvarh stn tvarn puman asi, tvam kumara uta vd human; tvam jirno dandena vahcasi, tvam jato bhavasi visvato- mukhah.
3. You are woman. You are man. You are the youth and the maiden too. You, as an old man, totter along with a staff. Being bom you become facing in every direction.
See Atharva Veda, X. 8. 27.
4. nilah patahgo harito lohitaksas tadid-garbha rtavas samudrah anadimat tvarn vibhutvena vartase yato jatdni bhuvanani
visva.
4. You are the dark-blue bird, you are the green (parrot) with red eyes. You are (the cloud) with the lightning in its womb. You are the seasons and the seas. Having no beginning you abide through omnipresence. (You) from whom all worlds are bom.
patahgah: bird, bhramarah, bee. §
sarupah
ajo hy eko jusamano’ nusete jahaty enam bhukta-bhogam ajo’nyah.
5. The One unborn, red, white and black, who produces manifold offspring similar in form (to herself), there lies the one unborn (male) delighting. Another unborn gives her up, having had his enjoyment.
See B.S. I. 4-8.
lohita-iukla-krsnam: red, white and black. Reference is either to fire (tajas), water \ap), and earth [anna), or the three gunas, rajas, sattva, and tamas of prakrti,
The one she-goat, red, white and black in time produces many young like herself. For the red, white and black colours see C.U. VI. 4, where everything in the universe is said to be connected with the three elements, the red of fire, the white of water, the black of food or of earth. It is the order of creation when the Absolute first produced heat, then water, then earth in the shape of food.
The first unborn is he who is ignorant and therefore subject to the influence of prakyti.
The second unborn is he who has overcome his ignorance and is therefore free from bondage to prakrti.
6. Two birds, companions (who are) always united, cling to the self-same tree. Of these two the one eats the sweet fruit, and the other looks on without eating.
See M.U. III. 1; R.V. I. 164. 20; Katha I. 3. 1.
Our being in time is an encounter of empirical existence and transcendent reality. The eternal in itself and the eternal in the empirical flux are companions. The world is the meeting-point of that which is eternal and that which is manifested in time. Man as an object of necessity, a content of scientific knowledge, is different from man as freedom.
vita-sokah.
7. On the self-same tree, a person immersed (in the sorrows of the world) is deluded and grieves on account of his helpless¬ ness. When he sees the Other, the Lord who is worshipped and His greatness, he becomes freed from sorrow.
M.U. III. 1. 2. In verse 6, the cause of sorrow is traced to the sense of helplessness induced in us when we are lost in the objective universe: in verse 7 freedom from sorrow is traced to our getting beyond object-thinking into contact with real being.
samasate.
8. For him who does not know that indestructible being of the Rg Veda, whereon in the highest heaven all the gods reside, of what avail is the Rg Veda to him? They, indeed, who know that rest fulfilled.
R.V. I. 164. 39; Taittirlya Aranyaka II. 11. 6. samasate: rest fulfilled, krtdrthas tisthanti. S.
The Vedas are intended to lead to the realisation of the Supreme. For those who study them without undergoing the inward discipline, they are not of much use.
734 The Principal TJpani§ads IV. io.
asman mayi srjate visvam etat tasmims canyo mayaya samniruddhah.
9. The Vedas, the sacrifices, the rituals, the observances, the past, the future and what the Vedas declare, all this the maker sends forth out of this, in this the other is confined by maya.
the other: the individual soul.
The whole world proceeds from the imperishable Brahman. The actual creator is Isvara, the Personal God, who is acting through his power of maya, devatma-sakti.
10. Know then that prakrti is maya and the wielder of maya is the Great Lord. This whole world is pervaded by beings that are parts of Him.
The Sarhkhya prakrti is identified with the maya of the V edanta. The Upanisad attempts to reconcile the views of the Sarhkhya and the Vedanta.
Isvara and Sakti are regarded as the parents of the universe. Cp. the following verses: —
‘Only when united with Sakti has Siva power to manifest; but without her, the God cannot even stir.’
sivah saktya yukto yadi bhavati saktah prabhavitum: na ced evam devo na khalu kusalah spanditum api.
Again, ‘O Father-Mother, this world of ours was created by the compassion of your joint protectorship to the end that, by your mutual help, your joint design may fulfil itself.’
ubhabhyam etabhyam ubhaya-vidhim uddisya dayaya sanathabhyam jajhe janaka-janani maj-jagad idam.
Anandalahari I. 1.
‘I think of the mother of all the worlds, who creates this universe of real-unreal nature, protects the same by her own energy of the three gunas, and withdraws it at the close of every aeon and remains disporting herself in her oneness.’
srstvakhilam jagad idarh sad-asad svarupam saktya svaya trigunaya (or trigunya) paripati visvam. samhrtya kalpa-samaye ramate tathaika tarn sarva-visva-jananlm manasa smarami.
Devi Bhagavata I. 2. 5.
As the Supreme brings forth the whole universe by His own power of maya, He is not in any way affected by it as others are.
tarn isanam varadam devam idyarn nicayyemam sdntim atyantam eti.
11. The One who rules every single source, in whom all this dissolves (at the end) and comes together (at the beginning of creation), who is the lord, the bestower of blessing, the adorable God, by discerning Him one goes for ever to this peace.
maharsih.
hiranya-garbham pasyata jayamanam, sa no buddhya subhaya samyunaktu.
12. He who is the source and origin of the gods, the ruler of all, Rudra, the great seer, who beheld the golden germ (Hiranya-garbha) when he was born, may He endow us with clear understanding.
See III. 4.
ya ise’sya dvi-padas catus-padah, kasmai devaya havisa vidhema.
13. He who is the overlord of the gods, in whom the worlds rest, he who is the lord of two-footed and four-footed beings, to what God shall we offer our oblations ?
kasmai, to what : v. tasmai: to that God we shall offer our oblations. See R.V. X. 121. 3.
aneka-rupam
visvasyaikam parive$iitdrarii jndtva sivarn sdntim atyantam eti.
14. More minute than the minute, in the midst of confusion, the creator of all, of manifold forms, the one embracer of everything, by knowing Him as the auspicious, one attains peace for ever.
See III. 7; V. 13.
gudhah
yasmin yukta brahmarsayo devatas ca, tarn evam jnatva mrtyu-pasams chinatti.
736 The Principal Upanisads IV. 19.
15. He indeed is the protector of the world in time, the lord of all, hidden in all things, in whom the seers of Brahman and the deities are united ; by knowing Him thus one cuts the cords of death.
The knowers of Brahman as well as the deities know that their reality is in Brahman.
bhutesu gudham.
visvasyaikam parivesiitaram jhatva devam mucyate sarva- pasaih.
16. By knowing Him, the auspicious, hidden in all beings like the film exceedingly fine that rises out of clarified butter, the one embracer of the universe, by knowing God one is released from all fetters.
J7. esa devo visva-karma mahatma, sada jananam hrdaye sannivistah.
hrda mamsa manasabhiklpto , ya dad vidur amrtas te bhavanti.
1 7. That god, the maker of all things, the great self, ever seated in the heart of creatures is framed by the heart, by the thought, by the mind, they who know that become immortal.
See III. 13.
eva kevalah,
tad aksaram tat savitur varenyam, prajha ca tasmat prasrta purani.
18. When there is no darkness, then there is neither day nor night, neither being nor non-being, only the auspicious one alone. That is the imperishable, the adorable light of Savitr and the ancient wisdom proceeded from that.
savitur varenyam: the adorable light of Savitr. Literally the choicest (splendour) of Savitr.
See R.V. III. 62. 10.
The characterisation of the Supreme which transcends the duality of subject and object can only be negative and cannot be a field of clear definition and demonstration.
na tasya pratima asti yasya nama mahad yasah.
one grasped Him. There is no likeness of Him whose name is great glory.
hrda hrdistham manasa ya enam, evam vidur amrtas te bhavanti.
20. His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye. Those who through heart and mind know Him as abiding in the heart become immortal.
God does not stand in finite form before the eyes or the mind. Finite things serve as symbols enabling us to realise the presence of the divine. These verses demand the recognition of the absolute transcendence of God in relation to the world. The deus absconditus recedes into the distance when we seek to describe him by empirical forms; yet this Upanisad emphasises the personal aspect of the transcendent God. He is Siva to whom we turn in prayer and praise.
rudra yat te daksinam mukham tena mam pahi nityam.
21. ‘You are unborn’ with this thought someone in fear approaches you. O Rudra, may your face which is gracious protect me for ever.
The attitude of bhakti is brought out here.
nrisah.
vlran ma no rudra bhamito’vadhir havismantah sadam it tva havamahe.
22. Rudra, hurt us not in my child or grandchild, hurt us not in my life, hurt us not in my cattle, hurt us not in my horses. Slay not our heroes in your wrath for we call on you always with oblations.
See R.V. I. 114. 8.
73§
The Principal Upanisads
i. dve aksare brahma-par e tv anante, vidya vidye nihite yatra gudhe
ksararh tv avidya hy amrtam tu vidya, vidyavidye isate yas tu so’nyah.
1. In the imperishable, infinite highest Brahman are the two, knowledge and ignorance, placed hidden. Ignorance is perishable while knowledge is immortal. And he who controls knowledge and ignorance is another (distinct from either).
By way of preface to this chapter Samkarananda observes that this chapter is devoted to the discussion of the nature of That in the text That art Thou, though both of them were treated in Chapter HI, more specially the nature of Thou, tat-tvam-paddrthau tftiye ’dhyaye nirupitau yady api tathapi tvam-paddrtho natyantarh niru- pitah; tad-artham ayam pahcamo’ dhyaya arabhyate. brahmapare: hir any agar bhat pare or parasmin brahmani. $. gudhe: hidden, lokair jhatum asakye. Samkarananda. ksaram: perishable. It is the cause of bondage, samsrti-karanam. while vidya is the cause of moksa, moksa-hetuh. §. anyah: another, tat saksitvat, being only the witness. S.
The one and the many are both contained in the Supreme. The knowledge of the One is vidya; the knowledge of the many detached from the One is avidya.
sarvah
rsim prasutarh kapilam yas tam agre jhanair bibharti jayamanam ca pasyet.
2. He, who being one, rules over every single source, over all forms and over all sources, He who bears in His thoughts and beholds when born the fiery (red) seer who was engendered in the beginning.
Wisdom is prior to the world-soul.
kapilam: hiranya-garbham. See IV. 12. VI. 1-2. The reference is not to the sage Kapila, the founder of the Samkhya philosophy. The Supreme is described as looking upon Hir any a- gar bha while he was being born. He was the first to be created by God and endowed by Him with all powers. III. 4. Hiranya-garbha or Brahma the creator is the intermediary between the Supreme God and the created world. He is the world-soul. See IV. 12; VI. 18. jhanaih: by thoughts. See note IV. 18.
bhuyah srstva patayas tathesas sarvadhipatyam kurute mahatma.
3. That God, who, after spreading out one net after another in various ways draws it together in that field, the Lord, having again created the lords, the great self, exercises his lordship over all.
ekaikam: pratyekam, for every creature, such as gods, men, beasts, etc.
jalam: net, samsara.
asmin ksetre: in that field, in the world.
yasmin, another reading for asmin. yatayah, another reading for patayah.
yadv anadvan
evam sa devo bhagavan varenyo yoni-svabhavan adhitisthaty ekah.
4. As the sun, illumining all regions, above, below and across, shines, so that one God, glorious, adorable, rules over whatever creatures are born from a womb.
See IV. 11, V. 2.
yoni-svabhavan: whatever creatures are born from a womb. § means by it the sources of world-existence like the elements of earth, etc. yonih karanam krtsnasya jagatah svabhavan svatmabhutam pythivyadln bhavan or karana-svabhavan karana-bhutan pythivyddin. S.
The so-called causes of the world are not in themselves causes. They operate only because God works through them.
Parinamayed yah
sarvam etad visvam adhitisthaty eko gandn ca sarvan viniyojayed yah.
5. The source of all, who develops his own nature, who brings to maturity whatever can be ripened, who distributes all qualities, He the one, rules over this whole world.
brahma-yonim
ye purvarn deva rsayas ca tad viduh, te tanmaya amrta vai babhuvuh.
740 The Principal Upanisads V. 9.
The gods and seers of old who knew that, they came to be of its nature and have, verily, become immortal.
veda-guhyopanisat: Veda is interpreted as referring to the sacrificial part which teaches sacrifices and their rewards, karma-kanda; guhya, the aranyaka part which teaches the worship of Brahman under various aspects, yoga-kanda, and the Upanisad, the part which teaches the knowledge of Brahman, the undifferenced, jhana-kanda. This is the view of Vijhana-bhiksu.
brahma-yoni: the source of the Vedas or the source of Hiranya-garbha. purve devah is another reading for purvam devah, ancient gods. tanmaya, of its nature, tad atma-bhutah. S.
sa visva-rupas tri-gunas tri-vartma pranadhipas samcarati sva-karmabhih.
7. But he who has qualities and is the doer of deeds that are to bear fruit (i.e. bring recompense), he is the enjoyer, surely, of the consequence of whatever he has done. Assuming all forms, characterised by the three qualities, treading the three paths he, the ruler of the vital breaths (the individual soul), wanders about according to his deeds.
tri-gunah: sattva, rajas and tamas.
tri-vartma: see I. 4 the paths of dharma, adharma and jhana or deva-yana, pitr-yana and manusya-yana. S.
While the first six verses speak of That (tat) or the Supreme the account of Thou (tv am), the individual soul begins here.
yah
buddher gunenatma-gunena caiva aragra-matro hy aparo’pi drstah.
8. He is of the measure of a thumb, of appearance like the sun, endowed with thought and self-sense, but with only the qualities of understanding and the self he seems to be of the size of the point of a goad.
apara, another reading avara.
atma-gunena: of the qualities of the body like old age, etc. $3.
bhago iivas sa vijheyas sa canantyaya kaipate.
9. This living self is to be known as a part of the hundredth part of the point of a hair divided a hundredfold, yet it is capable of infinity.
The individual soul is potentially infinite.
raksyate: samraksyate, tat tad dharman atmany adhyasyabhimanyate. $. Another reading is yujyate or joined, sambadyate.
The living self, jlva is vijhdnatman. $>.
vivrddhi-janma
karmanugany anukramena dehl sthanesu rupany abhi samprapadyate.
11. By means of thought, touch, sight and passions and by the abundance of food and drink there are the birth and development of the (embodied) self. According to his deeds, the embodied self assumes successively various forms in various conditions.
mohaih: v. homaih, by the sacrifices.
vrnoti
kriyd-gunair atma-gnnais ca tesam samyoga-hetur aparo’pi drstah.
12. The embodied self, according to his own qualities, chooses (assumes) many shapes, gross and subtle. Having himself caused his union with them, through the qualities of his acts and through the qualities of his body, he is seen as another.
aneka-rupam
visvasyaikam parivestitaram jhatvd devam mucyate sarva-pdsaih.
13. Him who is without beginning and without end, in the midst of chaos, the creator of all, of manifold form, who alone
742 The Principal Upanisads V. 14.
embraces the universe, he who knows God is freed from all fetters.
See IV. 14.
kalilasya: gahana-gabhlra-samsarasya. S. The wonder and mystery of the cosmic process are emphasised.
devam: jyoti-riipam paramatmanam. of the nature of light, the Supreme Self.
sarva-pdsaih: avidya-kama-karmabhih. S. The bonds of ignorance and its resultants of desire and deed.
kala-sarga-karam devam, ye vidus te jahus tanum.
14. Him who is to be grasped by the mind, who is called incorporeal, who makes existence and non-existence, the kindly (the auspicious), the maker of creation and its parts, the Divine, they who know Him have left the body behind.
anidakhyam: Samkarananda reads anilakhyam, who is called air as being the breath of the breath, pranasya pranam. nlda: body; anlda: bodiless.
kala: S. explains it to mean the sixteen kalas beginning with prana or life and ending with nama, name. Prasna VI. 4.
Vijnana-bhiksu means by it ‘inherent power,’ he who creates by his inherent power.
The Vedas and the other sciences are called kalas.
Sveta&vatara Upanisad
i. svabhavam eke kavayo vadanti, kalarii tathanye parimuhya- manah,
devasyaisa mahima tu loke yenedam bhramyate brahma-ca- kram.
1. Some wise men speak of inherent nature, others likewise, of time (as the first cause), being deluded. But it is the greatness of God in the world, by which this Brahma-wheel is made to turn.
See I. 2.
The cosmic process is generally represented by a rotating wheel. It is ever moving, thanks to the greatness of God. It is the 'moving image of eternity.’ In the national flag of India, the wheel is placed against the background of white. The wheel is represented in blue gagana-sadrsam, megha-varnam, and is placed against the background of white which is above all colours, the pure radiance of eternity.
sarvavid yah
tenesitam karma vivartate ha, prthvyapya-tejo’nila-khani cintyam.
2. He by whom this whole world is always enveloped, the knower, the author of time, the possessor of qualities and all knowledge. Controlled by Him (this) work (of creation) unfolds itself, that which is regarded as earth, water, fire, air and ether.
kalakaro: author of time; kalasyapi karta: v. is kala-kalo, the des¬ troyer of time, kalasya niyanta, upahartd. kalah sarvavinasakari, tasyapi vinasakarah.
See also VI. 16.
(knower of) all knowledge: sarvavid yah or sarva-vidyah.
yogam
ekena dvabhyam tribhir astabhir vd, kalena caivatma-gunaii ca suksmaih.
3. Having created this work and rested again, having entered into union with the essence of the self, by one, two, three or eight, or by time too and the subtle qualities of the self.
744 The Principal Upanisads
one: purusa of the Samkhya. two: purusa and prakrti.
three: the three gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas. eight: the five cosmic elements and manas (mind), buddhi (under¬ standing), and aharh-kara or self-sense. See B.G. VII. 4. atma-gunaih: the affections of the mind, love, anger, etc. antah- karana-gunaih kamadibhih. S.
tesam abhave krta-karma-nasah karma-ksaye yati sa tattvato’ nyah.
4. Who, having begun with works associated with the (three) qualities, distributes all existents. In the absence of these (qualities), there is the destruction of the work that has been done and in the destruction of the work he continues, in truth, other (different from what he has produced).
According to §, this verse tells us that if we dedicate all our works to Isvara, we will not be subject to the law of karma, ‘That person, his works being destroyed and his nature purified, moves on, different from all things, from all the results of ignorance, knowing himself to be Brahman.'
viniyojayed: Isvare samarpayet tesam Isvare samarpitattvad atma- sambandhabhavas tad-abhave purva-krta-kar mandril nasah karma-ksaye visuddha-sattvo yati. $>.
anyah v. anyat. He goes to that Brahman which is different from all things, tattvebhyo yad anyad brahma tad yati. §.
This verse is capable of different interpretations: (1) The Lord passes through different states, yet knows Himself to be above them all; (2) If we do works not out of selfish interest, but to please the Lord, our work ceases to bind us and we become free. Samkara- nanda and Vijnana-bhiksu adopt the latter view.
5. ddis sa samyoga-nimitta-hetuh paras trikalad akalo’pi drstah tarn visva-rupam bhava-bhutam idyam dev am sva-citta-stham
upasya purvam.
5. He is the beginning, the source of the causes which unite (the soul with the body). He is to be seen as beyond the three kinds of time (past, present and future), and as without parts after having worshipped first that adorable God who has many forms, the origin of all being, who abides in one’s own thoughts.
source of the causes which unite: cp. samyoga-lihgodbhavamtrailokyam. M.B. XII. 819.
akalah: without parts, trans-empirical, nis-prapahcah. £.
upasya piirvam: worshipped first. Worship is the preliminary to knowledge.
visva-rupam: who has many forms. God assumes the form which the worshippers attribute to Him.
upasakaih yad yat rupam upasyate tat-tad-rupa-dharinam.
dharmavaham pdpanudam bhagesam jhatvatmastham amrtam visva-dhama.
6. Higher and other than the forms of the world-tree and time is he from whom this world revolves who brings good and removes evil, the lord of prosperity, having known Him as in one’s own self, the immortal, the support of all (he attains Brahman).
vrksa: tree. See Katha VI. 1.
dharmavaham: dharma is the enlightening power of the Saviour God manifested in the human soul. See R.V. I. 164.
Siva is the bringer of dharma, dharmavaha.
paramam ca daivatam
patim patinam paramam par astat, vidama devam bhuvaneiam idyam.
7. He in whom is the Supreme Lord of lords, who is the highest deity of deities, the supreme master of masters, trans¬ cendent, him let us know as God, the lord of the world, the adorable.
adhikas ca drsyate
parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate svabhaviki jhana-bala-kriya ca.
8. There is no action and no organ of his to be found. There is not seen his equal or his better. His high power is revealed to be various, indeed. The working of his intelligence and strength is inherent (in him).
9. na tasya kascit patir asti loke, na cesita naiva ca tasya lihgam, na karanam karanadhipadhipo na casya kaicij janita na
cadhipah.
9. Of Him there is no master in the world, no ruler, nor is there any mark of Him. He is the cause, the lord of the lords of the sense organs; of Him there is neither progenitor nor lord.
746 The Principal Upanisads VI. 13.
lihgam: mark, any sign from which we could infer the existence of God, as fire from smoke, dhuma-sthaniyam yenanumiyeta. S. janita: progenitor, janayita. S.
svabhavatah deva ekah svam avrnot, sa no dadhad brahmapyayam.
10. The one God who, according to his own nature, covers himself like a spider with threads produced from pradhana (unmanifested matter), may He grant us entrance into Brahman.
brahmapyayam: entrance into Brahman, eki-bhavam. S. yathornanabhir atma-prabhavais tantubhir atmanam eva samavrnoti, tatha pradhanajair avyakta-prabhavair nama-rupa-karmabhis tantus- thamyaih svam atmanam avrnot. S.
As the spider covers itself with threads produced from itself, so does the one God cover Himself with the products of prakrti.
tar-atma
karmadhyaksas sarva-bhutadhivasas saksi ceta kevalo nirgunas ca.
11. The one God hidden in all beings, all-pervading, the inner self of all beings, the ordainer of all deeds, who dwells in all beings, the witness, the knower, the only one, devoid of qualities.
karoti
tarn atmastham ye’nupasyanti dhiras tesam sukham sasvatam netaresam.
12. The one controller of the many, inactive, who makes the one seed manifold. The wise who perceive Him as abiding in their self, to them belongs eternal happiness, not to others.
See Katha II. 2. 12.
niskriyanam: inactive. S makes out that the acts of living beings are due to their organs and the Higher Self remains untouched by them. sarva hi kriya natmani samavetah kith tu dehendriyesu, atma tu nis-kriyo nirgunah. S.
See B.G. III. 20.
dhati kamdn
tat karanam samkhya-yogadhigamyam jhatva dev am mucyate sarva-pasaih.
13. He is the eternal among the eternals, the intelligent among the intelligences, the one among many, who grants desires. That cause which is to be apprehended by discrimination (of samkhya) and discipline {yoga) — by knowing God, one is freed from all fetters.
See Katha II. 2. 13.
nityo nityanam: the eternal among the eternals. The living souls are eternal and He is the eternal among them or the eternal may be meant for the elements of earth, water, etc. jtvanam madhye . . . adhava prthivyadinam madhye. S.
bhanti kuto’yam agnih
tarn eva bhantam anubhati sarvam, tasya bhasa sarvam idam vibhati.
14. The sun does not shine there nor the moon and the stars, nor these lightnings, much less this fire. After Him, when He shines, everything shines, by His light all this is illumined.
See Katha II. 2. 15; M.U. II. 2. 10; B.G. XV. 6.
nivistah
tarn eva viditvatimrtyum eti, nanyah pantha vidyate' yanaya.
15. The one bird in the midst of this world. This indeed is the fire that has entered into the ocean. Only by knowing Him does one pass over death. There is no other path for going there.
harhsa: bird, the highest self which destroys the source of bondage, ignorance, etc. hanti avidyadi-bandha-karanam iti hamsah.
sarvavidyah
pradhana-ksetrajha-patih gunesah samsara-moksa-sthiti- bandha-hetuh.
16. He is the maker of all, the knower of all, the self-caused, the knower, the author of time, the possessor of qualities, the knower of everything, the ruler of nature and of the spirit, the lord of qualities, the cause of worldly existence, and of libera¬ tion, of continuance and of bondage.
atma-yonih: self-caused, alma casau yonis cet atma-yonih. S. atmanam yonih, atma-yonih: the source of all selves. kala-karo: the author of time. See VI. 2, 21.
748 The Principal Upanisads
pradhana: avyaktam, nature. ksetrajha: vijhanatmd, spirit.
The Supreme binds, sustains and dissolves worldly existence.
ya He asya jagato nityam eva-nanyo helur vidyate Handy a.
17. Becoming that, immortal, existing as the lord, the knower, the omnipresent, the guardian of this world is He who rules this world for ever, for no other cause is found for the ruling.
Ua-sarhsthah: existing as the lord, ise svamini samyak sthitih yasyasau isa-samsthah.
No other is able to rule the world, nanyo hetuh samartho vidyate. $
tasmai
tarn ha devam atma-buddhi-prakasam mumuksur vai saranam aham prapadye.
18. To Him who, of old, creates Brahma and who, verily, delivers to him the Vedas, to that God who is lighted by His own intelligence, do I, eager for liberation, resort for refuge.
atma-buddhi-prakasam: Samkarananda explains as sva-buddhi- saksinam, who is the light or witness of self-knowledge.
It can be derived in two ways: (1) atmaiva buddhir atma-buddhih saiva prakaso' syety atma-buddhi-prakasam. (2) atma-buddhim prakd- sayatity atma-buddhi-prakasam.
19. To him who is without parts, without activity, tranquil, irreproachable, without blemish, the highest bridge to immor¬ tality like a fire with its fuel burnt.
nirahjanam; nirlepam, without blemish.
20. When men shall roll up space as if it were a piece of leather, then will there be an end of sorrow, apart from knowing God.
To roll up space like a piece of leather is an impossibility but when
that impossible becomes possible, only then will sorrow cease, without knowing God. There is no other way for ending sorrow than the knowledge of God. devam: v. sivam.
atyasramibhyah paramam pavitram, provaca samyag- rsi-samgha-justam.
21. By the power of austerity and the grace of God, the wise Svetasvatara in proper manner spoke about Brahman, the Supreme, the pure, to the advanced ascetics, what is pleasing to the company of seers.
by the power of austerity and the grace of God: the grace of God does not suspend the powers of the soul but raises them to their highest activity. The super-natural intensifies the natural. There is nothing magical which interferes with the life of man. We are persons, not things. Our freedom cannot be obliterated by divine grace. By his own free action man makes his own the ideal which he seeks. Baron Von Hugel quotes from St. Bernard’s Tractatus de Gratia et Liber 0 Arbitrio, cap. XIV. 47. ‘That which was begun by Grace gets accomplished alike by both Grace and Freewill so that they operate mixedly not separately, simultaneously not successively, in each and all of their processes. The acts are not in part Grace, in part free will; but the whole of each act is effected by both in an undivided operation.’ The Mystical Element of Religion, Vol. I, pp. 69 ff.
advanced ascetics : paramahamsa-samnyasinas ta evatyasraminah. S, the highest of the four orders of ascetics.
Cp. caturvidhd bhiksavas ca bahudakau kuticakau
kamsah paramahamsas ca yo yah pascat sa uttamah.
22. This highest mystery in the Vedanta which has been declared in a former age should not be given to one whose passions are not subdued nor again to one who is not a son or a pupil.
See B.U. VI. 3. 12; Maitri VI. 29.
prasantdya,prakarsena santam sakala-ragadi-mala-rahitam cittamyasya tasmai putraya tadrsa sisyaya vd datavyam, tad viparitaya putraya sisyaya vd snehadina brahmavidya na vaktavya. £.
It should not be taught to a son or a pupil, if his passions are not subdued.
750 The Principal Upanisads
tasyaite kathita hy arthah, prakasante mahatmanah, pra- kaiante mahatmanah.
23. These subjects which have been declared shine forth to the high-souled one who has the highest devotion for God and for his spiritual teacher as for God. Yea they shine forth to the high-souled one.
KA USlTA KI-BRA HMA N A UP A NISA D
Kausitaki-Brahmana Upanisad, also called Kausitaki Upani- Sad1 does not form a part of the Kausitaki Brahmana of thirty chapters which has come down to us and the name can be accounted for by treating the Aranyaka of which it forms a part as itself included in the Brahmana literature of the Rg Veda? £amkara refers to it in several places in his com¬ mentary on the Brahma Sutra and Samkarananda has com¬ mented on it. There are various rescensions of the text and the version adopted in Samkarananda’s Dipika is followed in this work. The Upanisad has four chapters.
Dr. S. K. Belvalkar has edited the text and given an English translation of the first chapter of this Upanisad.3
1 Samkarananda explains the name thus : ku kutsitam nindyam heyam ity arthah, iitarh iitalarh samsarikam sukham yasya sa kusltah eva kusitakah tasyapatyam kausltakih. II. i.
J Brahmanas also deal with Vedanta and so sometimes include the Upanisads: brahtnanam api trividham, vidhi-rupam, arthavdda-rupam, tad-ubhaya-vilaksanam ca, vidhy-arthavadobhaya-vilaksanam tu veddnta- vakyam. Madhusudana: Prasthana-bheda.
3 Four Unpublished Upanisadic Texts and The Paryanka Vidya (1925).
Kausitaki-Brahmana Upanisad
i. citro ha vai gahgyayanir yaksyamana dntnirh vavre; sa ha putram svetaketum prajighdya yajayeti; tarn habhydgatam papraccha, gautamasya putrasti samvrtam loke yasmin ma dhasyasi, anyatamo vadhva tasya, ma loke dhdsyasiti; sa hovaca, naham dad veda, hantacaryam prcchamti: sa ha pitaram asddya papraccha ititi ma prakslt katham pratibravaniti; sa hovaca, aham apy etan na veda, sadasy eva vayam svadhyayam adhltya haramahe yan nah pare dadati, ehy ubhau gamisyava iti, sa ha samit-panis citram gahgydyanim praticakrama updydmti: tarn hovaca, brahmarho’si, gautama, yo na manam upagah, ehi vyeva tva j hapayisyamlti .
i. Citra Gangyayani, verily, wishing to perform a sacrifice chose Arum. He, then, sent his son Svetaketu saying, ‘you perform the sacrifice.’ When he had arrived, he asked of him, O son of Gautama, is there a hidden place in the world in which you will place me ? Or is there another way and will you place me in its world? Then he said, ‘I know not this. However, let me ask the teacher.’ Having approached his father, he asked, ‘thus has he asked me, how shall I answer? Then he said, ‘I, too, know not this. Let us learn the study of the Veda at his residence and obtain what others give to us. Come, let us both go, ‘Then with fuel in hand, he returned to Citra Gang- yayani and said, ‘May I come near to you (as a pupil). To him, then, he said, ‘you are worthy of the knowledge ot Brahman, 0 Gautama, for you have not gone into conceit. Come, I will make you understand’ (clearly).
See B.U. VI. i; C.U. V. 2. gangyayani: v. gargyayani. vavre: chose, varanarh cakre.
abhyagatam: has arrived, v. asinam, when he was seated. putrasti: v. putro’si, you are the son of Gautama. samvrtam: hidden place, samyag dvrtam guptam sthanam. anyatamo: v. any am aho.
acaryam: teacher, sarva-jham , sarva-sastrarthasya jhataram anustha- taram.
Worthy of the knowledge of Brahman : V. brahmdrgho' si . brahma- grahyasi:
1 See Belvalkar: The Paryanka Vidya, p. 32.
754 The Principal Upanisads 1.2.
You are to be honoured like Brahman, brahmavat mananlyah. you have not gone into conceit: you do not affect pride. ehi: come, agaccha.
jhapayisyami: will make you understand clearly.
vi jhapayisyami, spastam bodhayisyami, na • tu sandehadikam jana-
yisyami.
The reference is to the two ways deva-yana and pity -y ana. Those who travel by the former do not return to a new life on earth but attain liberation by gaining a true knowledge of Brahman ; those who travel by the latter to the world of the fathers return to earth to be born again and again.
In the notes on this Upanisad references are to ^amkarananda's Dipika.
2. sa hovaca, ye vai ke casmal lokat pray anti candramasam eva te sarve gacchanti, te$am pranaih purva-paksa apyayate tan apara-pak$ena prajanayati, etad vai svargasya lokasya dvdram, yac candramas tam yah praty aha tarn atisrjate: atha yo na praty aha tam iha vr?tir bhutva var$ati sa iha kilo va, patahgo va, matsyo va, iakunir va, simho va, varaho va, parasvan va, sardulo va, puruso va, anyo va te$u tesu sthdne$u pratyajayate, yathd- karma yatha-vidyam, tam agatam prcchati ko’slti, tam pratibruyat: vicak?anad rtavo reta abhrtam pahcadasat prasutat pitrya- vatah.
tam ma pumsi kartary er ay adhvam pumsa kartra matari ma nisihca.
sa jaya upajayamdno dvadasa-trayodatopamaso dvadasa-trayo- daiena pitrasam tad-vide’ham pratitad-vide'ham, tan ma rtavo’martya va abharadhvam tena satyena tena tapasa rtur asmy artavo’smi, ko’si, tvam asmiti, tam atisrjate.
2. Then he said, those who, verily, depart from this world, they all, in truth, go to the moon. In the earlier (bright) half, it (the moon) thrives on their breathing spirits, in the latter (dark) half, it causes them to be born (again). The moon, verily, is the door of the world of heaven. Whoever answers it (properly), him it sets free (to go to the higher worlds). But whoever answers it not, him having become rain, it rains down here. Either as a worm, or as an insect or as a fish or as a bird, or as a lion, or as a boar, or as a snake, or as a tiger, or as a person or as some other in this or that condition he is bom again according to his deeds, according to his knowledge ; when he comes thither, he asks him ; who are you ? He should answer. From the far-shining, 0 ye Seasons, the seed was gathered, produced from the fifteenfold from the home of the fathers
(the ancestors) sent me in a man as an agent and with a man as an agent, placed me in a mother.1 So was I born, being born in the twelfth or thirteenth month united to a father of twelve or thirteen months; for the knowledge of this was I, for the knowledge of the opposite of this. Therefore, O ye seasons, bring me on to immortality by this truth, by this austerity I am (like) a season. I am connected with the Seasons. Who are you? (the sage asks again) ‘I am you,' he replies. Then he sets him free.
apara-paksena: with the latter half, v. aparapakse na in the latter half. causes them to he horn again: the moon sends those who do not proceed by deva-yana (the path of the gods) to hrahma-loka, back to life on earth.
We are born in accordance with our conduct and knowledge. karma-vidyanusarena subham asubham vyamisram ca sariram hhavati.
The question 'Who are you?’ is asked by the teacher, according to Samkarananda : karuna-rasa-purna-hrdayo veddntdrtha-yathdtmya- vit guru-laksana-sampanno guruh prasnam karoti. upajayamanah: born or perhaps reborn. twelve or thirteen months: a year.
There are two kinds of knowledge, unto birth, and unto ignorance. The former takes us to the path of the gods, the latter to the path of the fathers. Heaven and hell are stages on the journey and belong to the world of time, to a succession of births. Knowledge of Brahman takes us beyond both.
THE COURSE TO THE BRAHMA-WORLD
3. sa etarn deva-yanam panthanam apadyagni-lokam agacchati, sa vayu-lokam, sa varuna-lokam,sa indra-lokam, sapraja-pati-lok- am, sa brahma-lokam. tasya ha va etasya lokasyaro hr ado muhurta yestiha vijara nadilyo vrksah salajyam samsthanam, aparajitam ayatanam, indra-prajapati dvara-gopau, vibhu-pramitam, vicak- sanasandy amitaujah paryankah, priya ca manasi, pratirupa ca caksusi, puspany adayavayato vai ca jagany ambas’ cam- bayavis capsaraso’ rnbaya nadyah, tam ittham-vid agacchati, tam brahma, habhidhavatah, mama yasasa vijaram va ayarn nadim prapan na va ay am jarayisyatiti.
1 Dr. Belvalkar’s rendering of an amended text is this: ‘From the illustrious one (the moon), the fifteenfold, the (new) born lord of the world of the manes, O ye seasons, the seed was gathered.
‘Do ye then, send me on into a male progenitor, and with the half of the male agent deposit me into the mother.'
756 The Principal Upanisads I. 4.
world of Agni, then to the world of Vayu, then to the world of Varuna, then to the world of Indra, then to the world of Praja-pati, then to the world of Brahma. This brahma world, verily, has the lake Ara, the moments yestiha, the river Vijara, the tree Ilya, the city Salajya, the abode Aparajita, the two door-keepers Indra and Praja-pati, the hall Vibhu, the throne Vicaksana, the couch Amitaujas, the beloved Manasi and her counterpart CaksusI, both of whom taking flowers, verily, weave the worlds, the mothers, the nurses, the nymphs, and the rivers. To it (to such a world) he who knows this comes. To him Brahma runs (advances towards), and says, ‘It is on account of my glory, verily, he has reached the river. Ageless, He, verily, will not grow old.’
After Vayu-loka, some texts have aditya-loka.
Brahma-loka is hiranya-garbha-loka of which an account is given. The lake ara is the first impediment to entrance into bfahma-loka. It is said to be composed of the enemies. ari: desire, wrath, etc.
muhurtah: moments which produce desire, wrath, etc., and destroy the sacrifice.
yestihdh: kama-krodhadi-pravrtyutpadanena ghnantiti yestihah: the
moments spent in subduing desires.
the river Vijara: ageless, vigata jar a.
the tree Ilya: ila prthivi tad-rupatvena ilya-iti-nama taruh.
the city Salajya: the city is so called because on the bank are bow-
strings as large as a sal tree, a place abounding with water in many
forms of rivers, lakes, wells, tanks, etc., and gardens inhabited by
many heroes.1
samsthanam: city, aneka-jana-nivasa-rupam pattanam. apardjitam: unconquerable (city), hiranya-garbhasya raja-mandiram. pramitam: hall, sabhasthalam . ahamkara-svarupam aham ity eva samanyena pramitam vibhu-pramitam.
the throne Vicaksana: reason, vicaksana kusala buddhir mahat-tattvam ity adi sabdabhidheya. asandi sabha-madhye vedih.
amitaujah: of unmeasured splendour, amitam aparimitam prana-sam- vadadau prasiddham ojo balamyasya so’yam amitaujah. amba: the mothers, jagad-jananyah srutayah.
4. tam pahcasatany apsarasam pratiyanti, satam phala-hastah , satam ahjana-hastah, satam malya-hastah, satam, vaso-hastah, satam curna-hastah; tam brahmalahkarenalamkurvanti , sa brah-
1 Dr. Belvalkar adopts the variant sallaja and renders it as the source of existence sat, mergence la and emergence ga.
malahkarenalankrto brahma-vidvdn brahmabhipraiti; sa agacchaty dram hradam, tarn manasatyeti, tarn itvd samprativido majjanti; sa agacchati muhurtan yestihan te’smad apadravanti, sa agacchati, vijaram nadlm tam manasaivatyeti , tat-sukrta-duskrte dhunute vd, tasya priya jhatayah sukrtam upayanty apriya duskrtam; tad yatha rathena dhavayan ratha-cakre paryavek- setaivam aho-rdtre paryaveksetaivam sukrta-duskrte sarvani ca dvandvdni, sa esa visukrto viduskrto brahma-vidvdn brahmaiva- bhipraiti.
4. Five hundred apsarasas (nymphs) go towards him, one hundred with fruits in their hands, one hundred with ointments in their hands, one hundred with garlands in their hands, one hundred with garments in their hands, one hundred with powdered perfumes in their hands. They adorn him with the adornment (worthy) of Brahma. He, having been adorned with the adornment of Brahma, goes into (advances towards) Brahma. He comes to the lake Ara and he crosses it with his mind. On coming to it those who know only the immediate present1 sink. He comes to the moments yestiha and they flee from him. He comes to the river Vijara (Ageless); this he crosses with his mind alone. There he shakes off his good deeds and his evil deeds. His dear relatives succeed to his good deeds and those not dear, to the evil deeds. Then just as one driving a chariot looks at the two wheels (without being touched by them), even so he will look at day and night, at good deeds and evil deeds and on all the pairs of opposites. Thus one, freed from good and freed from evil, the knower of Brahman, goes on to Brahman.
phala: fruits, another reading phana: ornaments, abharana. pairs of opposites: like light and darkness, heat and cold, pleasure and pain, chdydtapa-sUosna-sukha-duhkhadini. He transcends the limitations of the empirical world.
5. sa agacchatilyam vrksam, tam brahma-gandhahpravisati, sa agacchati salajyam samsthanam, tarn brahma-rasah pravisati , sa agacchaty aparajitam dyatanam, tam brahma-tejah pravisati, sa agacchati indra-prajd-pato dv dr a- go pan tdv asmad apadravatah, sa agacchati vibhu-pramitam, tam brahma-yasah pravisati,' sa agacchati vicaksandm dsandim brhad-rathantare sdmani piirvau padau, syaitanaudhase cdparau pddau, vairupa-vairaje anucye,
1 samvidah, pratividah , accordant and discordant thoughts. Dr. Belvalkar.
758 The Principal Upanisads I. 6.
iakvara-raivate tiraici, sa prajha prajhaya hi vipaiyati, sa agacchaty amitaujasam paryahkam, sa pranas tasya bhutan ca bhavisyac capurvaupadau, iris-cerd caparau, bhadrayajhdyajniye £ir$anye brhad-rathantare anucye, rcas ca samani ca pracinata- nani, yajumsi tirascinani somamsava upastaranam udgitho' paras ca yah srir upabarhanam, tasmin brahmaste, tam ittham-vit padenaivagra arohati, tam brahma prcchati ko’siti, tam prati- bruyat.
5. He comes to the tree Ilya and the fragrance of Brahma enters into him. He comes to the city Salajya; the flavour of Brahma enters into him. He comes to the abode Aparajita; the radiance of Brahma enters into him. He comes to the two door-keepers, Indra and Praja-pati and they run away from him. He comes to the hall Vibhu and the glory of Brahma enters into him. He comes to the throne of Vicaksana; the Saman verses, Brhad and Rathantara, are its two fore feet, the Syaita and the Naudhasa the two hind feet, the Vairupa and the Vairaja, the two lengthwise sides (pieces) the Sakvara and the Raivata are the two cross ones. It is wisdom for by wisdom one sees clearly. He comes to the couch Amitaujas. That is the breathing spirit, the past and the future are its two fore feet, prosperity and the earth are the two hind feet, the Bhadra and the Yajhayajmya the two head pieces, the Brhad and the Rathantara the two lengthwise pieces; the Rg verses and the Saman chants, the cords stretched lengthwise, the yajus formulas the cross ones; the moonbeams the cushion, the udgitha the coverlet, prosperity the pillow. On this (couch) Brahma sits. He who knows this ascends it just with one foot only. Brahma asks him, ‘Who are you?’ and he should answer:
sa: He, the devotee, upasakah.
the abode Aparajita: aparajita-namakam brahma-grham. they run away from him: prapta-brahma-gandha-rasa-tejasah brahmana iva dar sana-md.tr ena baddhahjalo parityaktasanau dvara-pradesdt sarabhasam jayajayeti-iabdam uccarayantau apadravatah apasaratah. the throne of Vicaksana: see Atharva Veda XV. 3. 3-9 for a description of Vratya’s seat and Aitareya Brahmana VIII. 12 for a description of Indra’s throne.
prosperity and the earth: ca ira: laksmih dharani ca.
bhutasya tvam atmasi, yas tvam asi so’ ham asmi, tam aha ko’ham asmtti, satyam iti, bruyat, kim tad yat satyam iti, yad anyad devebhyas ca pranebhyas ca tat sad , atha yad devas ca pranas ca tat tyam, tad etaya vacabhivyahriyate satyam iti, etavad idam sarvam idam sarvam asity evainam tad aha, tad etac chloke- nabhyuktam.
6. I am season, I am connected with the seasons. From space as the source I am produced as the seed for a wife, as the light of the year, as the self of every single being. You are the self of every single being. What you are that am I. He says to him, ‘Who am I?' He should say, ‘The Real.’ What is that called the Real? Whatever is different from the gods (sense organs) and the vital breaths that is sat, but the gods and the vital breaths are the tyam. Therefore this is expressed by the word satyam, all this, whatever there is. All this you are. Thus he speaks to him then. This is declared by a Rg verse.
yoni: source, upadana-karana.
bharyayai: for a wife; v. bhaya: produced from light. devebhyah: from the gods, indriyebhyah.
iti, tam aha kena me paumsyani namany dpnotiti, praneneti bruyat, kena napumsakaniti , manaseti, kena stri-namaniti , vaceti, kena gandhamti, praneneti, kena rupaniti, caksuseti, kena sabdan iti, srotreneti, kenannarasan iti, jihvayeti, kena karmaniti, hastabhyam iti, kena sukha-duhkhe iti, sarireneti, kenanandam ratim prajatim iti; upastheneti , kenetya iti, padabhyam iti kena dhiyo vijhatavyarh kdman iti, prajhayaiveti, bruyat, tam aha apo vai khalu me loko’yam te’sav iti, sa yd brahmano jitir yd vyastis tarhjitirhjayati, tam vyastim vyasnute, ya evam veda,ya evam veda.
7. The great seer consisting of the sacred word, whose belly is Yajus, whose head is the Saman, whose form is the Rg, the imperishable is to be known as Brahma. He says to him, ‘By what do you acquire my masculine names?’ He should answer, ‘by the vital breath.’ ‘By what, my neuter ones?’ ‘By mind.’ ‘By what, my feminine names?’ ‘By speech.’ 'By what, smells?’ ‘By the breath.’ ‘By what, forms?’ ‘By the eye.’ ‘By what, sounds?’ ‘By the ear.’ ‘By what, the flavours of food?' ‘By the tongue.’ ‘By what, actions?’ By the two hands.' ‘By what, pleasure and pain?’ ‘By the body.’ By what, joy, delight and procreation?’ ‘By the generative organ.’ ‘By what, movement?’
760 The Principal Upanisads I. 7.
‘By the two feet.’ ‘By what, thoughts, what is to be known, and desires?’ ‘By intelligenc’e,’ he should say. To him he says, ‘The waters, verily, are my world. It is (they are) yours.’ Whatever victory is Brahma's, whatever belongs to him, that victory he wins, that belonging he gets who knows this, yea who knows this.
itya: movements, gatih.
prajnaya: by intelligence, svayam-prakasenatma-bodhena.
In Brahma-loka, whatever belongs to the presiding deity Brahma belongs also to the aspirant who reaches it. yavat madiyam tavat tvadlyam.
Cp. with this account Satapatha Brahmana XI. VI. 1; Jaiminlya Upanisad Brahmana I, 17-18; 42-44; 49-50.
Kausitaki-Brahmana Upanisad
THE DOCTRINE OF PRANA (LIFE-BREATH) IDENTITY WITH BRAHMA
1. prano brahmeti ha smaha kausitakih: tasya ha va etasya pranasya brahmano mano dutam, caksur goptr, srotram sam- sravayitr, vak parivestri; sa yo ha va etasya pranasya brahmano mano dutam, veda dutavan bhavati, yas caksur goptr goptrman bhavati, yah srotram samsravayitr samsravayitr man bhavati, yo vacam parivestrim parivestriman bhavati, tasmai va etasmai pranaya brahmana etah sarva devata ayacamanaya balirn haranti, evarn haivasmai sarvani bhutany ayacamanayaiva balim haranti, ya evarn veda tasyopanisan na yaced iti, tad yatha gramam bhiksitva’labdhvopavisen naham ato dattam asniyam iti, ta evainam upamantrayante ye purastat pratyacaksiran, esa dharmo’yacato bhavati, annadas tv evainam upamantrayante, dadama ta iti.
1. The breathing (living) spirit is Brahma, thus, indeed, Kausitaki used to say. Of this same breathing spirit which is Brahma, the mind, verily, is the messenger; the eye the protector, the ear the announcer, speech the housekeeper. He who, verily, knows the mind as the messenger of this breathing spirit of Brahma becomes possessed of a messenger. He who knows the eye as the protector becomes possessed of a pro¬ tector. He who knows the ear as the announcer becomes possessed of an announcer, he who knows speech as the house¬ keeper becomes possessed of a housekeeper. To this same breathing spirit as Brahma, these divinities (mind, eye, ear, speech) bring offering though he does not beg for it; even so, to this same breathing spirit all beings bring offering even though he does not beg for it. For him who knows this, the doctrinal instruction is ‘Do not beg.’ As a man who has begged through a village and received nothing sits down saying, ‘I shall not eat anything given from here,’ and then those who formerly refused him invite him (to accept their offerings), which is the nature of him who does not beg. Charitable people, however, invite him and say, ‘let us give to you.’
In Chapter I the devotee, upasaka, approaches the couch Amitaujas which is prana, breath, spirit, life. The nature of prana as the source of everything, as Brahma is explained in this chapter. Brahma with which prana is identified is the creator, jagat-karanam.
762 The Principal Upanisads II. 3.
To the life principle as the divine all divinities bring tribute unasked.
Food is the aliment which nourishes body or mind.
2. prano brahmeti ha smaha paihgyas tasya va etasya pranasya brahmano vdk parastac caksur arundhate, caksuh parastac chrotram arundhate, srotram parastat rhana arundhate, manah parastat prana arundhate, tasmai va etasmai pranaya brahmana etah sarva devata ayacamanaya balim. haranti, evarh haivasmai sarvani bhutany ayacamanayaiva balim haranti ya evarh veda tasyopanisan na yaced iti, tad yatha gramarh bhiksitva labdhvo- pavisen naham ato dattam asniyam iti, ta evainam upaman- trayante ye purastat pratyacaksiran, esa dharmo’ yacato bhavati, annadas tv evainam upamantrayante, dadama ta iti.
2. The breathing spirit is Brahma, thus indeed Paingya used to say. Of this same breathing spirit as 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 breathing spirit is enclosed. To this same breathing spirit as Brahma, all these divinities bring offering though he does not beg for it ; even so to this same breathing spirit all beings bring offering even though he does not beg for it. For him who knows this, the doctrinal instruction is ‘Do not beg.’ As a man who has begged through a village and received nothing sits down saying, ‘I shall not eat anything given from here,' and then those who formerly refused him invite him (to accept their offerings), such is the nature of him who does not beg. Charitable people, however, invite him and say, ‘let us give to you.’
arundhate: is enclosed, surrounded, enveloped. V. arundhe, arudhyate samantat avrtya tisthati.
3. athata eka-dhanavarodhanam: yad eka-dhanam abhidyayat, paurnamasyam vamavasyayam va suddha-pakse va punye naksatra etesam ekasmin parvany agnim upasamadhaya parisamuhya pari- stirya paryuksya daksinam janvacya sruvendjyahutir juhoti: van nama devatavarodhani sa me’musmad idam avarundhyat tasyai svaha: prano nama devatavarodhani sa memusmad idam avaru- ndhyat tasyai svaha: caksur nama devatavarodhani sa me musmad idam avarundhyat tasyai svaha: srotram nama devatavarodhani sa me’ musmad idam avarundhyat tasyai svaha: mano nama deva- tavarodhani sa me musmad idam avarundhyat tasyai svaha: prajhd nama devatavarodhani sa me 'musmad idam avarundhyat tasyai svaha iti: atha dhuma-gandham prajighrdyajyalependhgany
anuvimrjya vacamyamo’bhipravrajyartham bruydd dutam va, prahinuyal labhate haiva.
3. Now next the attainment of the highest treasure. If a man covets the highest treasure, either on the night of a full moon or on the night of a new moon or on the bright half of the moon under an auspicious constellation, at one of these periods, having built up a fire, having swept the ground and having strewn the sacred grass, having sprinkled (water) around, having bent the right knee, with a spoon he offers oblations of melted butter. ‘The divinity named speech is the attainer. May it obtain this for me from him. Hail to it.’ ‘The divinity named breath is the attainer. May it attain this for me from him. Hail to it.’ ‘The divinity named eye is the attainer. May it attain this for me from him. Hail to it.’ ‘The divinity named ear is the attainer. May it attain this for me from him. Hail to it.’ ‘The divinity named mind is the attainer. May it attain this for me from him. Hail to it.’ ‘The divinity named wisdom is the attainer. May it attain this for me from him. Hail to it.’ Then having inhaled the smell of the smoke, having smeared his limbs with the ointment of melted butter, in silence he should go forth, declare his wish or send a messenger. He will, indeed, obtain his wish.
eka-dhana: highest treasure, single treasure, pranasya namadheyam, jagaty asminn eka eva dhana-riipa eka dhanah. paristirya: having strewn sacred grass, samantad darbhdn avakirya. sruvena: with a spoon; v. camasena va kamsena va: with a wooden bowl or with a metal cup.
4. athato daivah smaro yasya priyo bubhused yasyai va yesam vaitesam evaikasmin parvany etayaivavrtaita ajyahuttr juhoti, vacant te mayi juhomy asau svaha; pranam te mayi juhomy asau svaha; caksus te mayi juhomy asau svaha; srotram te mayi juhomy asau svaha; manas te mayi juhomy asau svaha; prajham te mayi juhomy asau svaha iti; atha dhuma-gandham prajighraydjyalepenangdny anuvimrjya vacamyamo’bhiprav- rajya samsparsam jigamised api vatad va tisthet sambhasamanah priyo haiva bhavati smaranti haivasya.
4. Now, next, the longing to be realised by the divine powers. If one desires to become dear to any man or woman or to any men or women, then at one of these same periods (of time mentioned before) he offers, in exactly the same manner, oblations of melted butter, saying, ‘your speech I sacrifice in me, hail to you.’ ‘Your breath I sacrifice in me, hail to you.’
764 The Principal Upani$ads
‘Your eye I sacrifice in me, hail to you.' ‘Your ear I sacrifice in me, hail to you.’ ‘Your mind I sacrifice in me, hail to you.’ ‘Your wisdom I sacrifice in me, hail to you.' Then having inhaled the smell of the smoke, haying smeared his limbs with the ointment of melted butter, in silence he should go forth, and seek to come to contact or stand speaking from windward (so that the wind may carry his words to the person). He becomes dear indeed and they think of him indeed.
smara: longing, abhilasah. ‘I am the fire in which the fuel of your dislike or indifference is burnt.’
5. athatah samyamanam pratardanam antaram agni-hotram ity acaksate, yavad vai puruso bhasate na tavat pranitum saknoti, pranam tada vaci juhoti, yavad vai purusah praniti na tavad bhasitum saknoti, vacam tada prane juhoti, ete anante amrte ahuti jagrac ca svapan ca santatam juhoti. atha yd anya ahutayo’ntavatyas tah karmamayyo hi bhavanti taddhasmaitat purve vidvamso’ gnihotram na juhavdhcakruh.
5. Now next self-restraint according to Pratardana or the inner fire sacrifice as they call it. As long, verily, as a man is speaking, so long he is not able to breathe. Then he is sacrificing breath in speech. As long, verily, as a person is breathing, so long he is not able to speak. Then he is sacrificing speech m breath. These two unending immortal oblations, one is offering continuously, whether waking or sleeping. 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 agni-hotra sacrifice.
antaram: inner because it is independent of outer aids' bahya-sadhana-nirapeksam.
6. uktham brahmeti ha smaha suska-bhrhgarah, tad rg ity upasita, sarvdni hasmai bhutani sraisthyayabhyarcyante, tad yajur ity upasita, sarvdni hasmai bhutani sraisthyaya yujyante, tat samety upasita, sarvdni hasmai bhutani sraisthyaya sanna- mante, tac chrir ity upasita, tad yasa ity upasita; tat teja ity upasita, tad yathaitac chrimattamam yasasvitamam tejasvitamam iti sastresu bhavati, evam haiva sa sarvesu bhutesu srimattamo
yasasvitamas tejasvitamo bhavati ya evarn veda, tad etad aistikarh karma-mayam dtmdnam adhvaryuh samskaroti, tasmin yajur- mayarn pravayati yajur-mayam rh-mayam hotd rn-maye sdma- mayam udgata, sa esa trayyai vidydydh atmaisa u evaitad indrasyatma bhavati, ya evarh veda.
6. The uklha (recitation) is Brahman, so Suska-bhrhgdra used to say, let him meditate on it as the Rg (hymn of praise) unto such a one, indeed, all beings offer praise for his greatness. Let him meditate on it as the Yajus (sacrificial formula), unto such a one indeed, all beings get united for his greatness. Let him meditate on it as the Sdman. Unto such a one indeed all beings bow down for his greatness. Let him meditate on it as beauty. Let him meditate on it as glory. Let him meditate on it as splendour. As this (the uktha) is the most beautiful, the most glorious, the most splendid among the invocations of praise, 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 works. In it he weaves what consists of the Yajus. In what consists of the Yajus, the hotr priest weaves what consists of the Rg. In what consists of the Rg the Udgatr priest weaves what consists of the Sdman. This is the self of all the threefold knowledge. And thus he who knows this becomes the self of Indra.
7. athdtah, sarva-jitah kausitakes triny updsanani bhavanti, sarva-jiddha sma kausitakir udyantam ddityam upatisthate yajhopavitam krtvodakam aniya trill prasicyodapdtrarh vargo’si papmanam me vriidhiti, etayaivavrtd madhye santam udvargo’si papmanam ma udvrhdhiti , etayaivdvrtastam yantam samvargo’ si papmanam me samvrhdhiti , tad y ad ahoratrabhyam papam akarot sam tad vrhkte, tatho evaivam vidvan etayaivavrtadityam upa¬ tisthate yad ahoratrabhyam pdpam karoti, sam tad vrhkte,
7. Now next are the three meditations of the all-conquering Kausltaki. The all-conquering Kausitaki, indeed, used 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; deliver me from my “sin.” ’ In the same manner he (used to worship the sun) when it was in
766 The Principal Upanisads
the middle of the sky saying, ‘you are the high deliverer, deliver me highly from sin.’ In the same manner he (used to worship the sun) when it was setting saying, ‘you are the full deliverer; deliver me fully from sin.’ Thus whatever sin he committed by day or by night that he removes fully. And likewise he who knows this worships the sun in the same manner and whatever sin one commits by day or by night, that he removes fully.
yajhopavltam: the sacred thread worn over the left shoulder, for performing sacrifices.
anlya: having fetched, v. dcamya: having sipped.
vargah: deliverer: sarvam idarh jagat atma-bodhena trnavad vrhkte
parityajati.
vrhdhi: deliver, varjaya, vinasayet.
8. atha masi masy amavasyayam vrttayam pascac candra- masam drsyamanam upatisthetaitayaivavrta harita-trne va pratyasyati, yan me susimam hrdayam divi candramasi sritam manye’ham mam tad vidvamsam maham putryam agham rudam iti, na hy asmdt piirvdh prajah praititi nu jata-putrasya- thajdta-putrasyapyayasva sametu te sam te payamsi sam u yantu vaja yam aditya amsumapyayayantiti, etas tisra rco japitva masmakam pranena prajaya pasubhir apyayayisthah yo’sman dvesti yam ca vayam dvismas tasya pranena prajaya pasubhir apyayaya sva aindrtm dvrtam dvarta adityasydvrtam anvavarta iti daksinam bahum anvavartate.
8. Then, month by month at the time of the new moon, when it comes around one should in the same manner worship the moon as it appears in the west or he throws two blades of green grass toward it saying, ‘That fair proportioned heart of mine which rests in the moon in the sky, I deem myself the knower thereof. May I not weep for evil concerning my children. Indeed his progeny do not die before him. Thus is it with one to whom a son is already born. Now in the case of one to whom no son is born as yet, ‘Increase. May vigour come to thee. May milk and food gather in thee, that ray which the Adityas gladden.’ Having (repeatedly) uttered these three Rg 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, his offspring, his cattle. Thereupon I turn myself with Indra’s turn, I turn myself along
with the turn of the sun.’ Thereupon he turns himself toward the right arm.
harita-trne va pratyasyati: he throws two blades of grass toward it ; v. harita-trndbhyam vak pratyasyati: with two blades of grass speech goes toward it.
The three Rg verses are Rg Veda I. 91. 16; IX. 31; 4; I. 91. 18, Atharva Veda VII. 81. 6.
There is throughout an allusion to an implied comparison between the husband as sun or fire and the wife as the moon.
aham somatmika stri agnyatmakah puman.
9. atha paurnamasyam purastac candramasam drsyamanam upatistheta etaya vavrtd, somo rajasi vicaksanah, panca-mukho' si praja-patir brahmanas ta ekarn mukham, tena mukhena rajho’tsi, tena mukhena mam annadam kuru, raja ta ekam mukham, tena mukhena visho’tsi, tena mukhena mam annadam kuru, syenas ta ekam mukham, tena mukhena paksino’tsi, tena mukhena mam annadam kuru agnista ekam mukham, tenemam lokamatsi, tena mukhena mam annadam kuru, tvayi pahcamam mukham, tena mukhena sarvani bhutany atsi, tena mukhena mam annadam kuru, mdsmdkam pranena prajaya pasubhir avaksestha, yo’sman dvesti yac ca vayam dvismas tasya pranena prajaya pasubhir avaksiyasveti, daivim avrtam avarta ddityasyavrtam anvavarta iti daksinam bahum anvavartate.
9. Then, on the night of the full moon one should in the same manner worship the moon as it appears in the east, ‘You are King Soma, the wise, the five-mouthed, the lord of creation. The Brahmanais 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 the 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. Do not waste away with our vital breath, with our offspring, with our cattle. He who hates us and him whom we hate, you waste away with his vital breath, his offspring, his cattle. Thus I turn myself with the turn of the gods. I turn myself along with the turn of the sun. After (these words) he turns himself toward the right arm.
768 The Principal Upanisads II. 11.
soma: moon : umaya visva-pr a krty a saha vartamanah priya-darsanah. vicaksanah: the wise, sarva-laukika-vaidika-karya-kusalah.
Here the reference is only to the three classes, the Brahmana, the Ksatriya and the common people.
10. atha samvesyan jdyayai hr day am abhimrset, yat te susime hrdaye sritam antah prajdpatau tenamrtatvasyesane ma tvam putryam agham niga iii, na hy asyah purvdh prajah praititi.
10. Now when about to lie down with his wife he should stroke her heart and say, O fair one who has attained immortal joy by that which is placed in your heart by Prajd-pati, may you never fall into sorrow about your children. Her children then do not die before her.
See Asvalayana Grhya Sutra I. 13. 7. susime: 0 fair one: sobhana-gatre.
11. atha prosy ay an putrasya murdhdnam abhijighret, ahgad ahgat sambhavasi hrdayad adhijayase, atma vai putra namasi sajiva saradahsatam asav iti namdsya dadhaty asma bhava, par asur bhava, hiranyam astrtam bhava, tejo vai putra namdsi sa jiva saradah satam asav iti ndmasyagrhnaty athainam parigrhnati, yena prajapatih prajah paryagrhnat tad aristyai tena tva parigrhnamy asaviti, athasya daksine karne japaty asmai prayandhi maghavan rjisin itindra sresthani dravinani dhehiti savye, ma chettha, ma vyathisthah, satam sarada ayuso jivasva, putra te namna murd¬ hdnam abhijighramiti, trirasya murdhdnam abhijighret gavam tva hihkdrendbhihihkaromiti trir asya murdhdnam abhihihkuryat.
11. Now, when one has been away, on returning back he should smell (kiss) his head, saying, ‘you are born from every limb of mine, you are born from the heart, you, my son, are my self indeed, may you live a hundred autumns (years).’ He gives him his name saying, ‘Be you a stone, be you an axe, be you everywhere desired gold, you, my son are light indeed, may you live a hundred autumns (years).’ He takes his name. Then he embraces him saying, ‘Even as Prajd-pati embraced his creatures for- their welfare so do I embrace you (pronouncing his name).’ Then he mutters in his right ear saying, ‘Confer on him, O Maghavan, O onrusher,’ and whispers in his left ear, ‘O Indra, bestow the most excellent possessions. Do not cut off (the line of our race). Be not afraid, live a hundred autumns of life. I smell (kiss) your head, O son, with your name.’ Thrice he should smell (kiss his head). ‘I make a lowing over you with
the lowing (sound) of cows.’ He should make a lowing over his head thrice.
See Asvalayana Grhya Sutra I. 15. 3. 9; Paraskara I. 16. 18; Khadira II. 3. 13; Gobhila II. 8. 21-22; Apastamba VI. 15. 12. abhijighret: smell; v. abhimrset: touch, karena samsprset. putra nama: v. putra mavitha. You have saved me, son : he putra tvam punnamno. niraydt ma mam avitha mama raksanarh krtavan. See Manu IX. 38.
asma bhava: be a stone, pdsano bhava. Be healthy and strong: rogair anupadrutah vajra-sara-sariro bhava.
hiranyam astrtam: everywhere desired gold, astrtam astrtam sarvatah
paristrtam kanakavat sarva-prajapriyo bhava.
tejas: light, samsara-vyksa-bijam.
confer on him: see R.V. III. 36. 10; II. 21. 6.
ma vyathisthah: be not afraid, sarirendriya-manobhir vyatham ma gah. See B.G. XI. 34.
12. athato daivah parimara, etad vai brahma dipyate yad agnir jvalati, aihaitan mriyate yan na jvalati, tasyadityam eva iejo gacchati vayum prana; etad vai brahma dipyate yad adityo drsyate ’thaitan mriyate yan na drsyate, tasya candramasam eva tejo gacchati vayum prana; etad vai brahma dipyate yac candrama drsyate’ thaitan mriyate yan na drsyate, tasya vidyutam eva tejo gacchati vayum prana; etad vai brahma dipyate yad vidyud vidyotate’ thaitan mriyate yan na vidyotate, tasya disa eva tejo gacchati vayum pranas ta va etdh sarva devata vayum eva pravisya vayau mrtva na mrcchante: tasmdd eva punar udirata ity adhidai- vatam; athadhyatmam.
12. Now next the dying around of the gods. This Brahman shines forth, indeed, when the fire burns; likewise this dies when it burns not. Its light goes to the sun alone and its vital breath to the wind; this Brahman shines forth, indeed, when the sun is seen; likewise this dies when (the sun) is not seen. Its light goes to the moon; its vital breath to the wind; this Brahman shines forth, indeed, when the moon is seen; likewise this dies when it is not seen ; its light goes to the lightning and its vital breath to the wind; this Brahman shines forth, indeed, when the lightning lightens; likewise this dies when it lightens not, its light goes to the regions of space and its vital breath to the wind. All these divinities, verily, having entered into wind, though they die in the wind do not perish (altogether). There-
77 o The Principal Upanisads II. 14.
from, indeed, they come forth again. This, with reference to the divinities: now with reference to the self.
Cp. Aitareya Brahmana VIII. 28.
13. etad vai brahma dipyate yad vaca vadati, athaitan mriyate yan na vadati, tasya caksur eva tejo gacchati pranam prana, etad vai brahma dipyate yac caksusa pasyati, athaitan mriyate yan na pasyati. tasya srotram eva tejo gacchati pranam prana, etad vai brahma dipyate yacchrotrena srnoti, athaitan mriyate yan na srnoti; tasya mana eva tejo gacchati pranam prana, etad vai brahma dipyate yan manasa dhyayati, athaitan mriyate yan na dhyayati; tasya pranam eva tejo gacchati pranam pranas ta va etah sarva devatah pranam eva pravisya prane mrtva na mrcchante, tasmad eva punar udirate, tad yadi ha va evarn vid- vamsam ubhau parvatav abhipravarteydtdm daksinas cottarai ca tustursamanau na hainam strnviyatdm atha ya enarn dvi§anti yan ca svayarn dvesti ta evainam parimriyante.
13. This Brahman shines forth, indeed, when one speaks with speech; likewise it dies when one speaks not, its light goes to the eye; its vital breath to the vital breath. This Brahman shines forth indeed when one sees with the eye; likewise this dies when one sees not ; its light goes to the ear, its vital breath to the vital breath. This Brahman shines forth, indeed, when one hears with the ear; likewise this dies when one hears not, its light goes to the mind, its vital breath to the vital breath. This Brahman shines forth, indeed, when one thinks with the mind; likewise this dies when one thinks not; its light goes to the vital breath, its vital breath to the vital breath. All these deities, verily, having entered into the vital breath, though they die in the vital breath, do not perish (altogether). There¬ from, indeed, they come forth again. So indeed on one who knows this, both the mountains, the southern and the northern, should roll themselves forth wishing to crush him, they would not crush him. But those who hate him and those whom he himself hates, these all die around him.
The Southern and the Northern mountains are the Vindhyas and the Himalayas respectively.
14. athato nihsreyasadanam, eta ha vai devata aham-sreyase vivadamana asmdc charirad uccakramuh tadd hapranat suskam darubhiitam sisye thainad vak pravivesa tad vaca vadac chisya eva, athainac caksuh pravivesa tad vaca vadac caksusa pasyac chisya eva, athainac chrotram pravivesa tad vaca vadac, caksusa
pasyac chrotrena srnvac chisya eva, athainan manah pravivesa tad vaca vadac caksusa pasyac chrotrena srnvan manasa dhyayac chisya eva, athainat pranah pravivesa tat tata eva samuttasthau ta va etah sarvd devatah prane nihsreyasam viditva pranam eva prajhatmanam abhisambhuya sahaiv aitaih sarvair asmac charirad uccakramuh te vayu-pravista akasatmanah svariyuh, tatho evaivam vidvdn prane nihsreyasam viditva pranam eva prajhatmanam abhisambhuya sahaiv aitaih sarvair asmac charirad utkramati, sa vayu-pravista akasatma svareti, sa tad gacchati yatraite devas tat prapya yad amrta devas tad amrto bhavati ya evarh vadam.
14. Now next the attainment of the highest excellence. All these divinities, verily, disputing among themselves in regard to self excellence went forth from this body. It (the body) lay, not breathing, withered, like a log 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 and seeing with the eye. Then the ear entered into it. It just lay, speaking with speech, seeing with the eye and hearing with the ear. Then the mind entered into it. It just lay, speaking with the speech, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear, thinking with the mind. Then the vital breath entered into it and then, indeed, it arose at once. All these divinities, verily, having recognised the superior excellence of the vital breath, having compre¬ hended the vital breath alone as the self of intelligence, went forth from this body, all these together. They, having entered into the air, having the nature of space went to the heavenly world. Likewise also, he who knows this, having recognised the superior excellence of the vital breath, having compre¬ hended the vital breath alone as the self of intelligence goes out of this body with all these. He, having entered into the air, having the nature of space, goes to the heavenly world. He goes to the place where these gods are. Having reached that, he who knows this becomes immortal as the gods are immortal.
See B.U. VI. 1. 1-14; C.U. V. 1.
nihsreyasam: highest excellence, sarvasmad utkarsa-rupo guno moksa-visesah.
aham-sreyase: in regard to self-excellence, in regard to one who was
the most important among them.
uccakramuh: went forth, utkramanam cakruh.
sisye: lay, sayanam kftavat.
tata eva: at once, prana-pravesad eva.
772 The Principal Upanisads II. 15.
15. athatah pita-putriyam sampradanam iti cacaksate, pita putram presyannahvaya.ti navais trnair agar am samstirya agnim upasamadhayodakumbham sapdtram upanidhayahatena vasasa sampracchannah pita seta etya putra uparistad abhinipadyata indriyair indriyani samsprsyapi vasma asinayabhimukhayaiva sampradadhyad, athdsmai samprayacchati vacam me tvayi dadhaniti pita, vacam te mayi dadha iti putrah, pranam me tvayi dadhaniti pita, pranam te mayi dadha iti putrah, caksur me tvayi dadhaniti pita, caksus te mayi dadha iti putrah, srotram me tvayi dadhaniti pita, srotram te mayi dadha iti putrah, anna-rasan me tvayi dadhaniti pita, anna-rasan te mayi dadha iti putrah, karmani me tvayi dadhaniti pita, karmani te mayi dadha iti putrah, sukha-duhkhe me tvayi dadhaniti pita, sukha-duhkhe te mayi dadha iti putrah, anandam ratim prajdtim me tvayi dadhaniti pita, anandam ratim prajdtim te mayi dadha iti putrah, ityam me tvayi dadhaniti pita, ityam te mayi dadha iti putrah, mano me tvayi dadhaniti pita, manas te mayi dadha iti putrah, prajndm me tvayi dadhaniti pita, prajham te mayi dadha iti putrah, yady u vd apdbhigadah sydt samasenaiva bruydt, pranan me tvayi dadhaniti pita, pranan te mayi dadha iti putrah, atha daksinavrd upaniskramati , tarn pitanumantrayate, yaso brahma- varcasam kirtis tv a jusatam iti, athetarah savyam amsam nvaveksate paninantardhaya vasanantena vd pracchadya, svargan lokan kaman apnuhiti, sa yady agadah sydt putras- yaisvarye pita vaset pari vd vrajet yady u vai preydt yadevainam samapayeyuh, yathd samd.payita.vyo bhavati, yatha samapayitavyo bhavati.
15. Now next the father and son ceremony or the trans¬ mission (of tradition) as they call it. The father, when about to depart, calls his son. Having strewn the house with new (fresh) grass, having built up the fire, having placed near it a vessel of water with a jug (full of rice), himself covered with a fresh garment the father remains lying. The son, having come, approaches him from above, touching his organs with his organs or the father may transmit the tradition to him while he sits before him. Then he delivers over to him (thus) : The father: ‘Let me place my speech in you.’ The son: ‘I take your speech in me.’ The father: ‘Let me place my vital breath in you.’ The son: ‘I take your vital breath in me.’ The father: ‘Let me place my eye in you.’ The son: ‘I take your eye in me.’ The father: ‘Let me place my ear in you,’ The son: ‘I take your ear in me.' The father: ‘Let me place my tastes of food in you.’
The son: ‘I take your tastes of food in me.’ The father: ‘Let me place my deeds in you.’ The son: ‘I take your deeds in me.’ The father: ‘Let me place my pleasure and pain in you.’ The son: ‘I take your pleasure and pain in me.’ The father: ‘Let me place my bliss, enjoyment and procreation in you.’ The son: ‘I take your bliss, enjoyment and procreation in me.’ The father: ‘Let me place my movement in you.’ The son: ‘I take your movement in me.’ The father: ‘Let me place my mind in you.’ The son: ‘I take your mind in me.’ The father: ‘Let me place my wisdom in you.’ The son: I take your wisdom in me.’ If, however, he should be unable to speak much, let the father say comprehensively, ‘I place my vital breaths in you,’ and the son, ‘I take your vital breaths in me.’ Then turning to the right he goes forth towards the east. The father calls out after him. ‘May fame, spiritual lustre and honour delight in you.’ Then the other looks over his left shoulder. Having hidden his face with his hand or having covered it with the hem of his garment, he says, ‘May you obtain heavenly worlds and all desires.’ If he (father) becomes well (recovers) he should dwell under the authority of his son or wander about (as an ascetic). If, however, he departs, let them furnish him (with obsequies) as he ought to be furnished, as he ought to be furnished.
a vessel of water: nirena purnam kalasam vnhi-purna-pdtra-sahitam.
covered with a fresh garment: navlnena vastrena samvrtah.
pita sete: father remains lying; v. svayam syetah ; himself in white,
svetah, sita-malyambara-dharah.
dadhani: dhdrayani.
After ‘deeds,’ in some versions we read, ‘ sarirarh me tvayi dadhaniti pita, sarirarh te mayi dadha Hi pntrah.’ The Father: ‘Let me place my body in you.’ The son, ‘I take your body in me.’ prajha: wisdom; another reading, ’dhiyo vijhatavyam kdman me tvayi. May I place my thoughts, my understanding and my desires in you, etc.
upabhigadah: unable to speak much, pratyckarh vaktum asamarthah. honour: some versions have also annadyam: food to eat.
The Principal Upanisads
i. pratardano ha vai daivodasih indrasya priyam dhamo- pajagama yuddhena ca paurusena ca, tam hendra uvaca, pratar- dana, vararh vrnisveti, sa hovaca pratardanah, tvarn eva me vrnisva yam tvam manusyaya hitatamam manyasa iti, tam hendra uvaca, na vai varo’ varasmai vrnite, tvam eva vrnisveti, avaro vai kila meti, hovaca pratardanah, atho khalv indr ah satyad eva neyaya satyam hindrah, tarn hendra uvaca, mam eva vijanihy etad evaham manusyaya hitatamam manye yan mam vijaniyan trisirsanam tvastram ahanam, arunmukhdn yatin s didvr kebhy ah prayaccham, bahvih sandha atikramya divi prahlddiyan atrnam aham antarikse pauloman, prthivyam kalakahjan, tasya me tatra na loma canamiyate; sa yo mam veda na ha vai tasya kena cana karmana loko miyate, na steyena, na bruna-hatyaya, na matr-vad- hena, na pitr-vadhena ndsya papain cakrso mukhan nilam, vetiti.
i. Pratardana, the son of Divodasa, verily, by means of fighting and effort, arrived at the beloved abode of Indra. To him then Indra said, ‘Pratardana, choose a boon.’ Then Pratardana said, Do you yourself choose that boon for me which you deem the most beneficial for mankind.’ Indra said to him: ‘A superior verily, chooses not for an inferior. Do you yourself choose.’ ‘No boon, verily, is that to me,' said Pratar¬ dana. Then, however, Indra did not swerve from the truth for Indra, verily, is truth. To him then Indra said, ‘Understand me only. That is what I deem most beneficial for mankind, namely that one should understand me. I slew the three¬ headed son of Tvastri. I delivered the arunmukhas, the ascetics, to the wolves. Transgressing many agreements, I killed the people of Prahlada in the sky, the Paulomas in the atmosphere, the Kalakanjas on earth. Of me, such as I was then, not a single hair was injured. So he who knows me thus, by no deed whatsoever of his is his world injured, not by stealing, not by killing an embryo, not by the killing of his mother, not by the killing of his father. If he wishes to commit a sin the dark colour does not depart from his face.
Indra, in this passage, speaks in the name of the Supreme Being.
Vamadeva does it according to the R.V. IV. 26. 1. The individual self is really one with the Universal Self though unenlightened people are not aware of this unity. Those who know and feel it sometimes speak in the name of the Universal Spirit. the son of Divoddsa: divodasasya kasl-rajasya putro daivodasih. ‘A superior chooses not for an inferior’ or ‘no one who chooses, chooses for another,’ na vai varah parasmai vrnite anyartham na vrnlte’nyo na prarthayate yata evam atah svdrtharh vararh tvam eva vrnisveti.
As he is bound by the vow of truth, Indra grants Pratardana his desire, satya-pasabhibaddhah.
For Indra’s exploits referred to here, see R.V. X. 8. 89; X. 99. 6; Satapatha Brahmana I. 2. 3. 2; XII. 7. 1. 1; Taittirlya Samhita 2. 5. 1. 1 ff. ; Aitareya Brahmana VII. 28. wolves: wild dogs, aranya-svabhyah. atrnam: killed, himsitavdn. mlyate: injured, himsyate.
nilam: dark colour; bloom: mukha-kanti-svarupam. He does not become pale.
When we attain supreme wisdom and are delivered from the delusion of egotism, our good and evil deeds do not touch us. We have died to the possibility of doing anything evil.
INDRA’S IDENTITY WITH LIFE AND IMMORTALITY
2. sa hovaca, prano’ smi , prajhatma tarn mam ayur amrtam ity upasva, ayuh pranah, prano va dyuh, yavadd hy asmin sarire prano vasati tavad ayuh, pranena hu evasmin loke’mrtatvam apnoti, prajhaya satyam samkalpam, sa yo mam ayur amrtam ity upaste sarvam ayur asmin loka ety apnoti amrtatvam aksitirh svarge loke; tadd haika ahur ekabhuyam vai prana gacchantiti , na hi kascana saknuyat sakrd vdca nama prajhdpayitum, caksusa rupam, srotrena sabdam, manasa dhyanam, ekabhuyam vai prana bhutvaikaikam etani sarvani prajhapayantiti, vdcam vadantim sarve prana anuvadanti, caksuh pasyat sarve prana anupasyanti , srotram srnvat sarve prana anusrnvanti, mano dhyayat sarve prana anudhyayanti, pranarn pranantam sarve prana anuprananti , evam li haitad iti hendra uvdcdsti tv eva pranandm nihsreyasam iti.
2. Indra then said: ‘I am the breathing spirit, meditate on me as the intelligent self, as life, as immortality. Life is breath and breath is life. For as long as breath remains in the body so long is there life. For indeed with the breathing spirit one obtains immortality in this world, by intelligence true con¬ ception. So he who meditates on me as life, as immortality he
77 6 The Principal Upanisads III. 3.
reaches his full (term of) life in this world and obtains immor¬ tality and indestructibility in the heavenly world. Now on this point some say the vital breaths, verily, go into a oneness, (otherwise) no one would be able, at once, to make known a name by speech, a form by the eye, a sound by the ear, a thought by the mind. The vital breaths, after having become one, make known all these one by one. While speech speaks, all the vital breaths speak after it. While the eye sees all, the vital breaths see after it. While the ear hears, all the vital breaths hear after it. When the breath breathes, all the vital breaths breathe after it. Thus is it indeed,’ said Indra. ‘There is, however (he continued), a superior excellence amongst the vital breaths.’
prajhatma: the intelligence self, buddhi-vrtti-pr atiphalita-pr ajha- naika-sva bhavah .
Indra is life or the source of life of all creatures, sarva-praninam jivana-kdranam .
3. jivati vag-apeto mukan hi pasydmah, jivati caksur-apeto * ndhan hi pasydmah, jivati srotrapeto badhiran hi pasydmah, jivati mano’peto bdlan hi pasydmah, jivati bahuchinno jivaty uru-chinna ity evam hi pasydmah iti,atha khalu prana evaprajhdt- medam sariram parigrhyotthapayati, tasmad etad evoktham updsiteti, saisa prane sarvaptir yo vai pranah sa prajha, yd va prajha sa pranah, tasyaisaiva dr?tir etad vijhanam, yatraitat purusah suptah svapnam na kahcana pasyaty athasmin prana evaikadha bhavati, tad enam vak sarvaih namabhih sahapyeti, caksuhsarvaihritpaihsahapyeti , srotram sarvaih sabdaih sahapyeti, manah sarvaih dhyanaih sahapyeti, sa yadd pratibudhyate yathag- ner jvalatahsarvadiso visphulihga vipratistherann evam evaitasmad atmanah prana yathayatanam vipratisthante pranebhyo devah. devebhyo lokdh, sa esa prana eva prajhatmedam sariram pari- grhyotthapayati, tasmad etad evoktham updsiteti, saisa prane sarvaptih, yo vai pranah sa prajha yd va prajha sa pranah, tasyaisaiva siddhir etad vijhanam, yatraitat purusa arto maris- yandbalyam etya sammoham eti, tarn ahur udakramit cittam, na srnoti, na pasyati, na vaca vadati, na dhyayati , athasmin prana evaikadha bhavati, tad enam vak sarvaih namabhih sahapyeti, caksuh sarvaih rupaih sahapyeti, srotram sarvaih iabdaih sahapyeti, manah sarvaih dhyanaih sahapyeti, sa yaddsmac charirdd utkramati sahaivaitaih sarvaih utkramati.
lives deprived of eye for we see the blind; one lives deprived of ear for we see the deaf; one lives deprived of mind for we see the childish; one lives deprived of arms; one lives deprived of legs for thus we see. But now it is the breathing spirit alone, the intelligence self that seizes hold of this body and makes it rise up. This, therefore, one should meditate on as the uktha, it is said. This is the all-obtaining in the breathing spirit. What is the breathing spirit, that is the intelligence-self. What is the intelligence-self, that is the breathing spirit. This is the view thereof, this is the understanding thereof. When a person is so asleep that he sees no dream whatever, he becomes one with that breathing spirit alone. Then speech together with all the names goes to him ; 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 av/akes, even as sparks proceed in all directions from a blazing fire, even so from this self the vital breaths proceed to their respective stations, from the vital powers the gods (the sense powers) and from the gods the worlds. This same breathing spirit, the intelligence self seizes hold of the body and makes it rise up. This, therefore, one should meditate on as the uktha, it is said. This is the all-obtaining in the breathing spirit. What is the breathing spirit, that is the intelligence self, what is the intelligence self, that is the breathing spirit. This is the proof thereof, this is the understanding. When a sick person about to die gets to such weakness as to fall into a stupor they say of him, his thought has departed, he does not hear, he does not see, he does not speak with speech, he does not think. He becomes one in that breathing spirit alone. Then speech together with all thoughts goes to it. And when he departs from this body, he departs together with all these.
‘What is the breathing spirit that is the intelligence self ; what is the intelligence self that is the breathing spirit.’ In some texts we find also, ‘for together they live in this body and together they go out of it.’ saha hy etav asmin sarlre vasatah sahotkramatah.
The intelligence self grasps the breath and erects the flesh. Cp. St. Thomas Aquinas: ‘The power of the soul which is in the semen through the spirit enclosed therein fashions the body.’ Summa Theo. III. 32. 1.
vipratisthante: proceed in different directions, vividham nirgacchanti. marisyan: about to die, maranam karisyan, asanna-marana iti. abalyam: weakness, abalasya durbalasya bhava abalyam, hasta-padady avasatvam.
udakramlt: has departed, utkramanam akarot.
The Principal Upanisads LIFE-BREATH THE ALL-OBTAINING
4. vag evdsmin sarvani namdny abhivisrjyante; vaca sarvani namany apnoti. prana evdsmin sarve gandha abhivisrjyante, pranena sarvan gandhan apnoti, caksur evdsmin sarvani riipdny abhivisrjyante, caksusa sarvani riipdny apnoti. srotram evdsmin sarve sabda abhivisrjyante, srotrena sarvan sabdan apnoti, mana evdsmin sarvani dhyanany abhivisrjyante, manasa sarvani dhyanany apnoti. saha hy etavasmin sarire vasatah sahot- kramatah, atha yathasyai prajhayai sarvani bhutany ekam bhavanti, tad vyakhydsyamah.
4. Speech gives up to him (who is absorbed in life-breath) all names; by speech he obtains all names. Breath gives up to him all odours; by breath he obtains all odours. The eye gives up to him all forms ; by the eye he obtains all forms. The ear gives up to him all sounds, by the ear he obtains all sounds. The mind gives up to him all thoughts ; by the mind he obtains all thoughts. Verily, these two together dwell in the body and together they depart. Now we will explain how all beings become one with this intelligence.
abhivisrjyante: v. abhivisrjate: gives up, sarvatah parityajati. prana: life; v. ghrana: nose.
After the account about mind there is the following passage in some texts: saisa prane sarvaptir yo vai pranah sa prajha yd va prajha sa pranah. This is the all-obtaining in the breathing spirit. And what is the breathing spirit, that is intelligence and what is intelligence, that is the breathing spirit.
The two, the vital and the intellectual, live together and depart together.
5. vag evasya ekam ahgam udulham, tasyai nama parastat prativihita bhuta-matra, prana evasya ekam ahgam udulham, tasya gandhah, parastat prativihita bhuta-matra , caksur evasya ekam ahgam udulham, tasya rdpam parastat prativihita bhuta- matra, srotram evasya ekam ahgam udulham, tasya sabdah parastat prativihita bhuta-matra, jihvaivasy a ekam ahgam udulham tasya anna-rasah parastat prativihita bhuta-matra, hastav evasya ekam ahgam udulham, tayoh karma parastat prativihita bhuta- matra, sariram evasya ekam ahgam udulham, tasya sukha-duhkhe parastat prativihita bhuta-matra, upastha evasya ekam ahgam
udulham, tasyanando ratih prajdtih parastat prativihita bhuta- matra, padav evasya ekam angam udulham, tayor ityah parastat prativihita bhuta-matra, mana evasya ekam angam udulham, tasya dhih kamah parastat prativihita bhuta-matra.
5. Speech is one portion taken out of it. Name is its exter¬ nally correlated object element. Breath is one portion taken out of it. Order 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 are 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. Move¬ ments are their externally correlated object element. The mind is one portion taken out of it. Thoughts and desires are its externally correlated object element.
Speech, etc., are parts of intelligence, prajhaya vibhagam, with objects corresponding to them in the outside world. The objects are described as the external existential elements.
udulham: taken out, lifted up. Commentator reads adudham adii- duhat. milked.
6. prajhaya vacant samaruhya vaca sarvani namany apnoti prajhaya pranam samaruhya pranena sarvan gandhdn apnoti prajhaya caksuh samaruhya caksusa sarvani rupany apnoti, prajhaya srotram samaruhya srotrena sarvan sabdan apnoti, prajhaya jihvam samaruhya jihvaya sarvan anna-rasan apnoti, prajhaya hastau samaruhya hastabhydm sarvani karmany apnoti, prajhaya sanram samaruhya sar Irena sukha-duhkhe apnoti, prajhayopastham samdruhyopasthenanandam ratim prajatim apnoti, prajhaya padau samaruhya padabhyam sarva itya apnoti, prajhaya manah samaruhya manasa sarvani dhyanany apnoti.
780 The Principal Upanisads III. 7.
breath by intelligence, by breath one obtains all odours. Having obtained control of the eye by intelligence, by the eye one obtains all forms. Having obtained control of the ear by intelligence, by the ear one obtains all sounds. Having obtained control of the tongue by intelligence, by the tongue one obtains all tastes of food. Having obtained control of the hands by intelligence, by the hands are obtained all actions. Having obtained control of the body by intelligence, by the body one attains pleasure and pain. Having attained control over the generative organ by intelligence, by the generative organ one obtains bliss, delight and procreation. Having attained control of the two feet by intelligence, by the two feet one obtains all movements. Having obtained control of the mind by intelli¬ gence, by the mind one obtains all thoughts.
samaruhya: having attained control. Literally, having mounted on, samyak arohanam krtva.
7. na hi prajhapeta van nama kihcana prajhapayet, anyatra me mano’bhud ity aha naham etan nama prajhasisam iti, na hi prajhapetah prano gandham kahcana prajhapayet, anyatra me mano’bhud ity aha naham etam gandham prajhasisam iti, na hi prajhapetam caksurupam kihcana prajhapayet, anyatra me mano’bhud ity aha naham etad rupam prajhasisam iti, na hi prajhapetam srotram sabdam kahcana prajhapayet anyatra me mano’bhud.ity aha naham etam sabdam. prajhasisam iti; na hi prajhapeta jihvanna-rasam kahcana prajnapayet anyatra me mano’bhud ity aha naham etam anna-rasam prajhasisam iti, na hi prajhapetau hastau karma kihcana prajhapayetam anyatra me mano’bhud ity aha naham etat karma prajhasisam iti, na hi prajhapetam sariram sukham na duhkham kihcana prajhapayet anyatra me mano’bhud ity aha naham etat sukham na duhkham prajhasisam iti, na hi prajhapeta upastha anandam na ratim na prajatim, kahcana prajhapayet anyatra me mano’ bhud ity aha naham etam anandam, na ratim na prajatim prajhasisam iti, na hi prajhapetau padav ity am kahcana prajha- payetam anyatra me mano’bhud ity aha naham etam itydm prajhasisam iti na hi prajhapeta dhih kacana sidhyen na prajha- tavyam prajhayeta.
7. For verily, without intelligence, speech does not make known (to the self) any name whatsoever. ‘My mind was elsewhere,’ he says, ‘I did not cognise that name.’ For, verily, without intelligence breath does not make known any odour
Ill . 8. Kaupitaki-Brahmana Ufianisad 781
whatsoever. ‘My mind was elsewhere,’ he says. ‘I did not cognise that odour.’ For verily, without intelligence the eye does not make known any form whatsoever. ‘My mind was elsewhere,’ he says, ‘I did not cognise that form.’ For, verily, without intelligence the ear does not make known any sound whatsoever. ‘My mind was elsewhere,’ he says, ‘I did not cognise that sound.’ For verily, without intelligence the tongue does not make known any taste of food whatsoever. ‘My mind was elsewhere,’ he says, ‘I did not cognise that taste of food.’ For, verily, without intelligence, the two hands do not make known any action whatsoever. ‘Our mind was elsewhere,’ they say, ‘we did not cognise any act.’ For, verily, without intelligence, the body does not make known pleasure or pain whatsoever, ‘my mind was elsewhere,’ he says, 'I did not cognise that pleasure or pain.’ For, verily, without intelligence, the generative organ does not make known bliss, delight and procreation whatsoever. ‘My mind was elsewhere,’ he says, ‘I did not cognise bliss, delight or procreation.’ For, verily, without intelligence the two feet do not make known any movement whatsoever. 'Our mind was elsewhere,’ they say, ‘we did not cognise that movement.’ Without intelligence no thought whatsoever would be effective. Nothing that can be cognised would be cognised.
8. na vdcam vijijnasita vaktaram vidyat, na gandham vijij- hasita ghrataram vidyat, na rupam vijijnasita drastaram vidyat, na sabdam vijijnasita srotaram vidyat, nanna-rasarh vijijnasi- tannara-sasya vijndtdram vidyat, na karma vijijnasita kartbram vidyat, na sukha-duhkhe vijijnasita sukha-duhkhayor vijndtdram vidyat, nanandam na ratirh na prajatim vijijnasitdnandasya rateh prajater vijndtdram vidyat, netyam vijijndsitaitdrarh vidyat, na mano vijijnasita mantaram vidyat, tavd eta dasaiva bhuta-mbtra adhiprajham, dasa prajnb-matrb adhibhutam yadd hi bhuta-matra na syur na prajnb-mbtrah syur , yad va prajha-mdtrd na syur na bhuta-matrah syuh, na hy anyatarato ruparh kihcana sidhyen no etan ndna tad yatha rathasyaresu nemir arpito nabhdv ara arpita evam evaitd bhuta-matrah prajna-mdtrasv arpitdh, prajha-mdtrah prdne'rpitah, sa esa prana eva prajhdtmdinando’jaro’mrtah, na sadhund karmana bhuydn bhavati no evbsadhuna kaniyan, esa hy
782 The Principal Upanisads III. 8.
eva sadhu karma karayati lam yam ebhyo lokebhya unninisata esa u evasadhu karma karayati tarn yam adho ninisate, esa lokapala esa lokadhipatih, esa lokesah, sa ma atmeti vidyat, sa ma atmeti vidyat.
8. Speech is not what one should desire to understand, one should know the speaker. Odour is not what one should desire to understand, one should know him who smells (the odour). Form is not what one should desire to understand, one should know the seer (of form). Sound is not what one should desire to understand, one should know the hearer. Taste of food is not what one should desire to understand, one should know the discemer of the taste of food. The deed is not what one should desire to understand, one should know the doer. Pleasure and pain are not what one should desire to understand, one should know the discerner of pleasure and pain. Bliss, delight and procreation are not what one should desire to understand, one should know the discerner of bliss, delight and procreation. Movement is not what one should desire to understand, one should know the mover. Mind is not what one should desire to understand, one should know the minder (the thinker). These ten existential elements are with reference to intelligence. The ten intelligence elements are with reference to existence. For, truly, 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. For from either alone no form whatsoever would be possible. And this (the self of intelligence) is not many. For as in 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 ele¬ ments of intelligence and the elements of intelligence are fixed in the breathing spirit. This same breathing spirit is, truly, the intelligent self, bliss, ageless, immortal. He does not become great by good action nor small by evil action. This one, truly, indeed causes him whom he wishes to lead up from these worlds to perform good actions. This one, indeed, also causes him whom he wishes to lead downward, 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 my self, this one should know; he is my self, this one should know.
We should know the subject as also the object. Knowing and being are correlated. The correlativity of the subjective ( prajha - matra) and the objective ( bhuta-matra ) factors is recognised. Inter-
action between the two gives us the knowledge of the external world. Cp. Dlgha Nikaya: ‘There must be the organ of sense, the appropriate object and the sense cognition. In the coming together of the three in a single mental operation lies the possibility of sensation.' I, p. 42.
The true subject is the Universal Self. The activity of the indi¬ vidual self is derived from the Supreme. It is not independent of Isvara: jivasya kartrtvam parad eva bhavati, na tu tat Isvara-nira- peksam. S.B. II. 3. 41.
The Principal Upanisads
1. atha ha vai gargyo balakir anucanah samspasta asa, so’ vasad usinaresu savasan matsyesu kurupahcalesu kasividehesv iti, sa hdjatasatrum kdsyam abrajyovdca: brahma te bravaniti, tam hovaca ajatasatruh sahasram dadma iti, etasyam vaci janako janaka iti va u jana dhavantiti.
1. Now then, verily, there was Gargya Balaki, famous as learned in the scriptures, for it was said of him that he dwelt among the Usinaras, among the Matsyas, among the Kuru- pancalas, among the Kasividehas. He, having come to Ajata- satru of Kasi, said, Let me declare Brahman to you. To him Ajatasatru, then, said: ‘A thousand (cows) we give to you.’ At such a speech as this, verily, indeed, people would run about saying, Janaka, Janaka.
See B.U. II. 1.
The breathing spirit associated with prajna or intelligence was explained in the preceding chapter. Even this, it is now said, is not the highest self.
samspastah: famous, sarvatra prathita-kirtih. savasan matsyesu: v. satvanmatsyesu: among the satvatmatsyas. janaka: father, the name of the king of Mithila, who was famous for his knowledge of Brahman : brahma-vidyayah sopdyayah data vakta ca pitety evam . . . mithilesvaram eva gacchanti.
2. aditye brhac, candramasy annam, vidyuti satyam, stanay- itnau sabdo, vayav indro vaikuntha, dkase purnam, agnau visasahir iti, apsu teja ity adhidaivatam; athadhyatmam: adarse pratirupaschayayam dvitiyah, pratisrutkaydm asur iti sabde mrtyuh, svapne yamah, sarire prajdpatih, daksine aksini vacah, savyeksini satyasya.
2. In the sun the great, in the moon food, in lightning truth, in thunder sound, in wind Indra Vaikuntha, in space fullness, in fire the vanquisher, in water light, 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 Praja-pati, in the right eye speech, in the left eye truth.
This passage provides a kind of table of contents for the discussions
which follow.
3. sa hovaca balakih, ya evaisa aditye purusas tam evaham upasa iti, tam hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samvadayistha brhat-pdndura-vdsa atisthah sarvesam bhutanam murdheti va aham etam upasa iti, sa yo haitam evam upaste’ tisthah sarvesam bhutanam murdha bhavati.
3. Then Balaki said, ‘The person who is in the sun, on him indeed do I meditate.' To him, then Ajatasatru said, ‘Do not make me to converse on him. I meditate on him who is the great, clad in white raiment, the supreme, the head of all beings. He who meditates on him thus becomes indeed supreme, the head of all beings.’
4. sa hovaca balakih, ya evaisa candramasi .purusas tam evaham upasa iti, tam hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samva- dayisthd annasyatmeti va aham etam upasa iti. sa yo haitam evam upaste 'nnasyatma bhavati.
4. Then Balaki said: ‘The person who is in the moon, on him indeed do I meditate.’ To him, then, Ajatasatru said, ‘Do not make me to converse on him. I meditate on him as the self of food. He who meditates on him thus becomes, indeed, the self of food.’
Under whatever qualities we meditate on the Supreme we ourselves become possessed of those qualities.
5. sa hovaca balakih, ya evaisa vidyuti purusas tam evaham upasa iti, tam hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samvadayisthah satyasyatmeti va aham etam upasa iti, sa yo haitam evam upaste, satyasyatma bhavati.
5. Then Balaki said, ‘The person who is in the lightning on him, indeed, do I meditate.’ To him then Ajatasatru said, ‘Do not make me 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.’
The self of truth; v. tejasyatma: the self of light.
6. sa hovaca balakih, ya evaisa stanayitnau purusas tam evaham upasa iti, tam hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samva- dayisthah, sabdasyatmeti va aham etam upasa iti, sa yo haitam evam upaste sabdasyatma bhavati.
6. Then Balaki said, ‘The person who is in the thunder, on him, indeed, do I meditate.’ To him then Ajatasatru said, ‘Do
j86 The Principal Upani$ads IV. g.
not make me 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.’
7. sa hovaca balakih, ya evaisa vayau purusas tarn evaham upasa iti, tarn hovaca ajataiatruh, ma maitasmin samvadayisthah, indro vaikuntho’ parajita seneti va aharn etam upasa iti, sa yo haitam evarn upaste jisnur ha va aparajayisnur anyatastyajayi bhavati.
7. Then Balaki said, ‘The person who is in the air, on him, indeed, do I meditate.' To him then AjataSatru said, ‘Do not make me to converse on him. I meditate on him as Indra Vaikuntha, the unconquered army. He who meditates on him thus becomes indeed the triumphant, the unconquerable, a conqueror of others.’
jisnuh: triumphant, jayana-silah.
aparajayisnuh: unconquerable, parair jetum asakya-silah.
8. sa hovaca balakih, ya evaisa akase purusas tam evaham upasa iti, tam hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samvadayisthah, pUrnam apravrtti brahmeti va aham etam upasa iti sa yo haitam evam upaste puryate prajaya pasubhir yaiasa brahma-var- casena svargena lokena sarvam ayur eti.
8. Then Balaki said, ‘The person who is in space on him, indeed, do I meditate.’ To him then Ajatasatru said, ‘Do not make me to converse on him. I meditate on him as the full nonactive Brahman. He who meditates on him thus becomes filled with offspring, cattle, fame, the radiance of Brahma- knowledge and the heavenly world. He reaches the full term of life.’
a-pravrtti: nonactive, kriya-sunyam.
9. sa hovaca balakih, ya evaiso gnau purusas tam evaham upasa iti tam hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samvadayisthah, vi$asahir iti va aham etam upasa iti sa ho haitam evam upaste visasahir ha va anyesu bhavati.
9. Then Balaki said, ‘The person who is in fire on him, indeed, do I meditate.’ To him then Ajatasatru said, ‘Do not make me to converse on him. I meditate on him as the irre¬ sistible. He then who meditates on him thus, verily, becomes irresistible among others.'
visdsahih: irresistible, vividha-sahana-sllah or duhsahah.
10. sa hovaca balakih, ya evai$o’psu purusas tam evaham updsa iti, tarn hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samvada- yisthah, tejasa atmeti va aham etam updsa iti, sa yo haitam evam upaste tejasa atma bhavati, iti adhidaivatam , athadhyatmam.
10. Then Balaki said, ‘The person who is in water on him indeed do I meditate.’ To him then Ajatasatru said, ‘Do not make me to converse on him. I meditate on him as the self of light. He then who meditates on him thus verily becomes the self of light.’ Thus with reference to the divinities. Now with reference to the self.
the self of light: v. namnasya atma, the self of name, its source, karanam.
11. sa hovaca balakih, ya evaisa adarse purusas tam evaham updsa iti, tam hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samvada- yisthah, pratirupa iti va aham etam updsa iti, sa yo haitam evam upaste pratirupo haivasya prajayam ajayate napratirupah.
11. Then Balaki said, ‘The person who is in the mirror on him indeed do I meditate.’ To him then Ajatasatru said, ‘Do not make me 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.’
pratirilpah: likeness, sadrsah.
12. sa hovaca balakih, ya evaisa chayayam purusas tam evaham updsa iti, tam hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samva- dayisthah, dvitiyo' napaga iti va aham etam updsa iti. sa yo haitam evam upaste vindate dvitiyat, dvitiyavan hi bhavati.
12. Then Balaki said, ‘The person who is in the shadow on him indeed do I meditate.' To him then Ajatasatru said, ‘Do not make me to converse on him. I meditate on him as the in¬ separable second. He then who meditates on him thus obtains from his second and becomes possessed of his second.'
anapagah: inseparable, apagamana-sunyah. from his second: his wife.
possessed of his second: possessed of offspring, putra-pautrddibhir bhavati.
13. sa hovaca balakih, ya evaisa fratisrutkayam purusas tam evaham updsa iti, tam hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samvadayisthah, asur iti va aham etam updsa iti, sa yo haitam evam upaste na pur a kalat sammoham eti.
788 The Principal Upanisads
13. Then Balaki said, ‘The person who is in the echo on him indeed do I meditate.’ To him then Ajatasatru said, ‘Do not make me to converse on him. I meditate on him as life. He then who meditates on him thus, he does not pass into un¬ consciousness before his time.’
echo, v. chaya: shadow.
He does not pass into unconsciousness, does not die before his time : sammoham maranatn.
14. sa hovaca balakih, ya evaisa sabde purusas lam evaham upasa iti, tarn hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samvadayisthah mrtyur iti va aham etam upasa iti, sa yo haitam evam upaste na pura kalflt praititi.
14. Then Balaki said, ‘The person who is in sound on him indeed do I meditate.’ To him then Ajatasatru said, ‘Do not make me to converse on him. I meditate on him as death. He then who meditates on him thus, does not die before his time.’
15. sa hovaca balakih, ya evaitat purusah suptah svapnaya carati tarn evaham upasa iti, tarn hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samvadayisthah, yamo rajeti va aham etam upasa iti, sa yo haitam evam upaste sarvam hasma idam sraisthyaya yamyate.
15. Then Balaki said, ‘The person, who, while asleep, moves about in a dream on him indeed do I meditate.’ To him then Ajatasatru said, ‘Do not make me to converse on him. I meditate on him as King Yama. He then who meditates on him thus, all here is subdued for his excellence (welfare).’
sraisthyaya: for his excellence, adhikatvaya.
16. sa hovaca balakih, ya evaisa sarire purusas tarn evaham upasa iti, tarn hovaca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samvadayisthah , prajapatir iti va aham etam upasa iti, sa yo haitam evam upaste prajayate prajaya pasubhir yasasa brahma-varcasena svargena lokena sarvam ayur eti.
16. Then Balaki said, ‘The person who is in the body on him, indeed, do I meditate.’ To him then Ajatasatru said, ‘Do not make me to converse on him. I meditate on him as Prajd- pati (the lord of creation). He then who meditates on him thus, becomes increased with offspring, cattle, fame, the radiance of sanctity, the heavenly world, he reaches the full term of life ’
prajayate: becomes increased, vrddhir bhavati.
17. sa hovdca balakih, ya evaisa daksine ksini purusas tarn evaham upasa iti, tarn hovdca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin sarhvd- dayisthdh, vdca atmagner atma jyotisa atmeti vd aharn etam upasa iti, sa yo haitam evam upasta etesarh sarvesam atma bhavati.
17. Then Balaki said, ‘The person who is in the right eye on him, indeed, do I meditate/ To him then Ajatasatru said, ‘Do not make me 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.’
18. sa hovdca balakih, ya evaisa savye ksini purusas tam evaham upasa iti, tarn hovdca ajatasatruh, ma maitasmin samvadayisthah, satyasyatmd, vidyuta atma, tejasa atmeti vd aham etam upasa iti, sa yo haitam evam upasta etesarh sarvesam atma bhavati.
18. Then Balaki said, ‘The person who is in the left eye on him, indeed, do I meditate.’ To him then Ajatasatru said, ‘Do not make me to converse on him. I meditate on him as the self of truth, the self of lightning, the self of light. He then who meditates on him thus becomes the self of all these.
19. tata u ha balakis tusnim as a, tam hovdca ajatasatruh, etavann u balaka iti, etavad iti hovdca balakih, tam hovdca ajatasatruh, mrsa vai khalu ma sarhvadayistha brahma te bravdniti, yo vai balaka etesam purusanam katia, yasya vai tat karma, sa vai veditavya iti: tata u ha balakih samit panih prati- cakrama upayaniti, tarn hovdca ajatasatruh, pratiloma rupam eva tan manye yat ksatriyo brdhmanam upanayetaihi vyeva, tva jhapayisyamiti, tarn ha pandv abhipadya pravavraja tau ha suptam purusam ajagmatuh, tam hajatasatruh amantrayarh- cakre, brhat pandara-vdsah soma-raj ann iti, sa u ha sisya eva, tata u hainarh yastydviciksepa sa tata eva samuttasthau tam hovdca ajatasatruh, kvaisa etad bdldke puruso’ sayista, kvaitad abhut, kuta etad agdd Hi, tata u ha bdldkir va vijajhe, tam hovdca ajatasatruh, yatraisa etad bdldke puruso' sayista, yatraitad pabhut, yata etad agdd iti, hitd ndma purusasya nadyo hrdaydt uritatam abhipratanvanti, tad yathd sahasradha keso vipdtitas tavad anvyah pingalasyanimnd tisthanti, suklasya krsnasya pitasya lohitasya ca, tasu tada bhavati yada suptah svapnam na kahcana pasyati.
790 The Principal Upanisads
19. After this Balaki became silent. Then Ajatasatru said to him, ‘Thus far only (do you know), O Balaki?’ ‘Thus far only,’ replied Balaki. To him then Ajatasatru said, ‘In vain indeed did you make me to converse saying, “Let me declare Brahman to you,” He, verily, O Balaki, who is the maker of these persons (whom you have mentioned in succession), he of whom all this is the work, he alone is to be known.’ Thereupon Balaki, with fuel in his 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 Ksatriya should receive a Brahmana as a pupil. Come, I shall make you understand.’ Then taking him by the hand he went forth. The two then came upon a person asleep. Then Ajatasatru called him (saying), ‘You great one, clad in white raiment. King Soma.’ But he just lay silent. Thereupon 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, from where has he returned here?’ Thereupon (of this) Balaki did not know. To him, then, Ajatasatru said: Where, in this case, O Balaki, this person has lain, what has become of him here, from where has he returned here, as I asked, is the channels of a person called hita extending from heart to the surrounding body (pericardium). As minute as a hair divided a thousandfold, they consist of a thin essence (fluid) white, black, yellow and red. In these, one remains, while asleep he sees no dream whatsoever.
See B.U. II. 1. 16. tnrsa: in vain, vitatham.
veditavyah: is to be known, directly apprehended, saksatkaraniyah.
When the Brahmana became humbled in his pride, the king accepted him as his pupil, apagata-garvam brahmanam dinatamam avastham praptam.
sisye: lay silent, sayanam cakre; v. sisya: pupil. aviciksepa: pushed, a samantat taditavan.
20. athasmin prana evaikadha bhavati, tad enam vak sarvair namabhih sahapyeti, caksuh sarvaih rupaih sahapyeti, srotram sarvaih sabdaih sahapyeti, manah sarvair dhyanaih sahapyeti, sa yada pratibudhyate yathagner jvalatah sarva diso visphulihga vipratistherann evam evaitasmad atmanah prana yathayatanam
vipratisthante, pranebhyo deva devebhyo lokah, sa esa prana eva prajnatmedam sariram atmanam anup>ravista alomabhya anakhe- bhyah, tad yatha ksurah ksura dhane’vopahito visvambharo va visvambharakulaya evam evaisa prajhatmedarh sariram atmanam anupravista alomabhya anakhebhyah, tarn etam atmanam eta atmano’nvavasyante: yatha sresthinam svas tad yatha srestho svair bhuhkte yatha va svah sresthinam bhuhjanty evam evaisa prajhatmaitair atmabhir bhuhktam evam evaita atmana etam atmanam bhuhjanti sa yavaddha va indra etam atmanam na vijajhe, tavad enam asura abhibabhiivuh, sa yada vijajhe’tha hatvasuran vijitya, sarvesam ca devdnam, sarvesam ca bhutanam sraisthyam svarajyam, adhipatyam paryait tatho evaivam vidvan sarvan pdpmano’pahatya sarvesam, ca bhutanam, sraisthyam, svarajyam, adhipatyam par yeti ya evam, veda, ya evam, veda.
20. Then in this life-breath alone he becomes one. 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. And when he awakes, then, as from a blazing fire sparks proceed in all directions, even so from this self the vital breaths proceed to their respective stations; from vital breaths, the sense powers; from the sense powers the worlds. This very life-spirit, even the self of intelligence has entered this bodily self to the very hairs and nails. 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 up to the very hairs and nails. On that self these other selves depend as upon a chief his own (men). Just as a chief enjoys his own (men) or as his own (men) are of service to a chief, even so this sense of intelligence enjoys these (other) selves, even so the (other) selves are of service to that self (of intelligence). Verily, as long as Indra did not understand this self, so long did the demons overcome him. When he understood, then (the self) having struck down and overcome the demons, he attained pre-eminence among all gods and all beings, sovereignty and overlordship. So 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.
visvambharah: fire, agnih. bhuhkte: enjoys or feeds, annam atti.
abhibabhiivuh: overcame, humiliated, abhibhavam parabhavath cakruh.
The Maitri or Maitrayamya Upanisad, belongs to the Maitrayaniya sakha or branch of the Black Yajur Veda.1 Maitri is the principal teacher and Maitrayana is the name of the sakha to which the Upanisad belongs. It contains seven chapters of which the last two are comparatively modern. The whole Upanisad is later in date than the classical Upanisads which it quotes frequently.2 We have a reference to the trimurti conception Brahma, Visnu and £iva in IV. 5, which also indicates the late date of the Upanisad. The three forms are traced to the three gunas, rajas, sattva and tamas in V. 2. Suggestions of the illusory character of the world, momen¬ tariness of phenomena show the influence of Buddhist thought. Ramatlrtha’s commentary on the Upanisad is of much interest.
1 In some texts it is assigned to the Sama Veda.
2 From the grammatical peculiarities found in this Upanisad Max Muller ascribes the Upanisad ‘to an early rather than to a late period, possibly to an anti-Paninean period.’ Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XV (1900), p. 6.
Maitrl Upanisad
I. brahma-yajho va esa yat purvesam cayanam, tasmad yaja- manas citvaitan agnin atmanam abhidhyayet; sa purnah khalu va addhavikalah sampadyate yajhah, kah so’bhidhyeyo’ yam yah pranakhyah; tasyopakhydnam.
1. A sacrifice to Brahman, indeed, is the laying (of the sacrificial fires) of the ancients. Therefore let the sacrifices having laid these fires, meditate on the self. Thus, verily, does the sacrifice become complete and flawless. Who is he that is to be meditated upon? He who is called life. Of him there is this story.
piirvesdm: of the ancients or formerly described. The performance of the sacrifices described previously in the Maitrayana Brahmana is to lead up in the end to the knowledge of Brahman.
According to Ramatirtha,1 the purpose of the Upanisad is to show that ceremonial works insofar as they contribute to produce the knowledge of the Supreme Self are themselves indirect causes of the highest end of man: sarvesam karmanam paramatma-jhana- janmopakarakatvena parama-purusartha-hetutvam darsayitum srutih pravavfte.
khalu: verily, niscitam vai prasiddham.
2. brhadratho vai nama raja virajye putram nidhapayittvedam asasvatam manyamanah sariram vairagyam upeto’ranyam nirja- gama. sa tatra paramam tapa asthayadityam udiksamana urdhva- bahus tisthati; ante sahasrasya munir antikam ajagamagnir iva dhumakas tejasa nirdahann ivatmavid bhagavah sakayanyah, utthisthothistha vararn vrnisveti rajanam abravit, sa tasmai namaskrtvovaca, bhagavan, naham atmavit tvam tattvavit susrumo vayam, sa tvam no bruhiti; etad vrttam purastad duhsak- yam etat-prasnam aiksvakanyan kaman vrnisveti sakayanyah, sirasasya caranav abhimrsamano rajemam gatham jagada.
2. Verily, a king, Brhadratha by name, after having estab¬ lished his son in the kingdom, reflecting that this body is non-eternal, reaching the state of non-attachment (to the things of the world) went into the forest. There, performing extreme austerity, he stands, with uplifted arms, gazing at the sun. At the end of a thousand (days) there came into the
1 Unless otherwise stated, all references are from Ramatirtha.
796 The Principal Upanisads I. 4.
presence of the ascetic, like a fire without smoke, burning as it were with glow, the revered £akayanya, the knower of the sell He said unto the king: ‘Arise, arise, choose a boon.’ He did his obeisance and said, 'O Revered One, I know not the self. We have heard that you know its nature. So tell it unto us.' Jsakayanya replied, ‘Such things used to occur formerly. Very difficult (to answer) is this question. O Aiksvaka, choose other desires.’ The king, touching his (^akayanya’s) feet with his head recited this utterance,
sahasrasya: a thousand; at the end of a thousand years, sahasrasam- vatsarante. V. sahasrahasya, a thousand days. vairagya: non-attachment, raga-nivrtti.
tattvavit: atmatattvasya vetta: the knower of the nature of the self. dussakyam: dussakarh vakturh srotum ca durlabham etat. aiksvaka: iksvaku-kulodbhava.
3. bhagavann asthi-carma-snayu-majja-mamsa-sukra-sonita slesmd-sru-dusikd-vin-mutra-vata-pitta-kapha-samghate durgan- dhe nihsare smin sarire kirn kdmopabhogaih ? kama-krodha-lobha- moha - bhaya - visadersyestaviyoganista - samprayoga - ksut -pipdsa - jara mrtyu-roga-sokadyair abhihate asmin sarire kim kdmo¬ pabhogaih?
3. O Revered One, in this foul-smelling, unsubstantial body, a conglomerate of bone, skin, muscle, marrow, flesh, semen, blood, mucus, tears, rheum, faeces, urine, wind, bile and phlegm, what is the good of the enjoyment of desires? In this body which is afflicted with desire, anger, covetousness, delusion, fear, despondency, envy, separation from what is desired, union with the undesired, hunger, thirst, old age, death, disease, sorrow and the like, what is the good of the enjoyment of desires?
nihsare: unsubstantial, kadalistambhavan nihsare, antah-sara-varjite. kama: desire, desire for what one has not got, apraptabhilasah. moha: delusion, anarthe’rtha-buddhih.
Such descriptions of the human being occur in Buddhist literature and are intended to create disgust for the human existence.
Cp. Manu VI. 62.
‘On their separation from those whom they love and their union with those whom they hate; on their strength overpowered by old age and their bodies racked with disease.’
etair vd pare’nye mahd-dhanur-dhards cakra-vartinah kecit, sud- yumna-bhuridyumnendradyumna-kuvalaydsva-yauvanasva-vadhry asvasvapatih sasabindur hariscandro’mbansa-ndnaktu-saryati- yayatyanaranyoksasenddayah, atha marutta-bharata-prabhrtayo rdjdnah, niisato bandhu-vargasya mahatim sriyarh tyaktva smal lokdd amurii lokam praydtd iti, atha kirn etair vd pare’nye gand- harvasura -yaksa - rdksasa - bhuta -gana - pisacoraga - grahadindm nirodham pasyamah, atha kirn etair vd’nyandm sosanam maharna- vandrh sikharinam prapatanarh dhruvasya pracalanarh vrascanam vdtarajjundrh nimajjanam pithivyah sthdndd apasaranam sura- nam ity etad-vidho’ smin samsdre kirk kdmopabhogaih, yair evdsitasydsakrd ihavartanam drsyata ity uddhartiem arhasi, andhodapdnastho bheka ivdham asmin samsare bhagavan tvam no gatis tvam no gatih.
4. And we see that all this is perishing, as these gnats, mosquitoes and the like, the grass and the trees that grow and decay. But, indeed, what of these? There are others, superior, great warriors, some world-rulers, Sudyumna, Bhuri- dyumna, Indradyumna, Kuvalayasva, Yauvanasva, Vadhr- yasva, Asvapati, Sasabindu, Hariscandra, Ambarisa, Ananakta, Saryati, Yayati, Anaranya, Uksasena, and the rest; Kings, too, such as Marutta, Bharata and others, with their whole families looking on, they renounced great wealth and went forth from this world into that. But, indeed, what of these? There are others, superior. We see the destruction of Gandharvas (fairies), A suras (demons), Yaksas (sprites), Raksasas (ogres), Bhutas (ghosts), Ganas, Pisacas (goblins), snakes, vampires, and the like. But, indeed, what of these? Among other things, there is the drying up of great oceans, the falling away of mountain peaks, the deviation of the fixed pole-star, the cutting of the wind-ropes (that hold the stars in their places), the submergence of the earth, the departure of the gods from their station. In such a world as this, what is the good of enjoyment of desires? For he who has fed on them is seen to return (to this world) repeatedly. Be pleased, therefore, to deliver me. In this world (cycle of existence) I am like a frog in a waterless well. Revered Sir, you are our way (of deliverance), you are our way.
Everything in the world is transient. It rises and grows, decays and dies, udbhuta-pradhvamsinah. Cp. Henry Vaughan: ‘Suddenly do the high things of this world come to an end, and their delectable things pass away, for when they seem to be in their flower and full
798 The Principal Upanisads I. 4.
strength, they perish to astonishment. And sure the mine of the most goodly places seems to tell, that the dissolution of the whole is not far off.’ Mount of Olives (1652).
After Ambarlsa, name of Nahusa is given in some texts. Ananata is the name of a Rsi in R.V. IX. 3. nirodham: destruction; another reading, nirodhanam.
Maitri Upanisad
SAKAYANYA’S teaching concerning the
i. atha bhagavan sakayanyah suprito'bravid rajanam, maha¬ raja brhadratheksvaku-vamsa-dhvaja sighram atmajhah krta-krtyas tvam marunndmneti visruto’ siti , ayam vd va khalv atma te, yah katamo bhagava iti, tarn hovaceti.
1. Then, the revered Sakayanya, well pleased, said to the king: ‘Great King Brhadratha, banner of the race of Iksvaku, speedily will you who are renowned as Marut (the wind) attain your purpose and become a knower of the self. This, indeed, is thy self.’
‘Which, O Revered One,’ said the King.
Then he said to him.
dehendriya mano buddhi prananam madhye kim anyatamah kim va, tad vilaksane anya iti prasnarthah, tatra samghatavilaksana cvatmeti gurur uttar am pratijajhe.
The question is raised whether the self is different from the body, the senses, mind, understanding and life and the answer is given that the self is different from the composite of all these.
The teaching concerning the self continues till VI. 2b.
2. atha ya esa ucchvasavistambhanenordhvam utkranto vyaya- mano’vyayamanas tamah pranudaty esa atma, ity aha bhagavan maitrih, ity evam hy aha, atha ya esa samprasado’ smac charirat samutthaya param jyotir upasampadya svena rupenabhinis - padyata ity esa atmeti hovacaitad amrtam, abhayam, etad brahmeti.
2. Now he who, without stopping the respiration, goes upwards, moving about yet unmoving, dispels darkness, he is the self. Thus said the revered Maitri. For thus has it been said, ‘Now that serene one, who, rising up out of this body, reaches the highest light and appears with his own form, he is the self,’ said he, ‘that is the immortal, the fearless. That is Brahman.’
See C.U. VIII. 3. 4.
moving about, yet unmoving: while he experiences the changes of the mind caused by impressions, he is in reality unaffected by them all.
maitrir mitraya apatyam rsir maitrir maitreyah.
He is the proclaimer of this sakha, etat-sakha-pr avakta.
800 The Principal Upanisads II. 4.
sarirdt: from this body, both the gross ( sthula ) and the subtle ( suksma ).
samprasadah: samyak prasidaty atreti samprasadah susuptih tad- avasthah atmeha samprasdda ucyate. It is the self in deep sleep.
3. atha khalv iyam brahma-vidya sarvopanisad-vidya va rajann asmakam bhagavata maitrina khyata’ham te kathayisy dmiti , athapahata-papmanas tigma-tej'asa urdhva-retaso valikhilya iti sruyante, atha kratum prajapatim abruvan, bhagavan sakatam ivacetanam idarn sariram kasyaisa khalv idrso mahimd’tm- driya-bhutasya enaitad-vidham etac cetanavat pratisthapitam pracodayita va asya, yad bhagavan vetsi tad asmakam bruhlti, tan hovaceti.
3. Now, indeed, O King, this is the brahma knowledge, even the knowledge contained in all the Upanisads as declared to us by the revered Maitri. I will narrate it to you. Now we hear that Valikhilyas were free from evil, of resplendent glory and vigorous chastity. Now they said to Kratu Praja-pati, ‘O Revered One, this body is like a cart without intelligence. To what supersensuous being belongs such power by which such a sort of thing has been made intelligent, or in other words, who is its mover? What you know, O Revered One, tell us that.’ Then he said to them.
The conversation between Valikhilyas and Praja-pati continues till the end of IV. 6.
apahata-papmanah: free from evil. Those who freed themselves from evil by severe austerities, tapo-nirdhuta-kalmasah. tigma-tejasah: of resplendent glory or transcendent radiance, tivra- tejasah, atyurjita-prabhavah.
urdhva-retasah: of vigorous chastity, askhalita-brahmacarya jiten- driyah.
Cp. mano-vag-drsti-retah syad ayam atmaksarah parah, baddha-reta vimucyeta mukta-retas tu badhyate.
4. yo ha khalu vdvoparisthah sruyate gunesvivordhva-retasah sa va esa suddhah putah sunyah santo’ prano nirdtmananto’ ksayyah sthirah sasvato’jah svatantrah sve mahimni tisthaty ajenedam sariram cetanavat pratisthapitam pracodayita vaiso’py asyeti, te hocur, bhagavan, katham anenedrsendnisthenaitad-vidham idam cetanavat pratisthapitam pracodayita vaiso’sya katham iti, tan hovaca.
4. He, who is reputed as standing aloof amidst qualities, like those of vigorous chastity, he indeed, is pure, clean, void.
tranquil, breathless, mindless, endless, undecaying, steadfast, eternal, unborn, independent. He abides in his own greatness. By him this body is set up as possessing intelligence or in other words, this one, verily, is its driver. Then they said, ‘How, Revered sir, by this kind of desireless being is this sort of thing set up as possessing intelligence, or in other words, how is this one its mover?’ Then he said to them.
uparisthah: standing aloof, sarvasya prapahcasyopari nisprapahca svarupe’vasthitah.
urdhva-retasah: may be taken as vocative also. ‘He who, O men of vigorous chastity, is described in the Sruti as dwelling amidst worldly objects and yet placed above them all.’ This is more satisfactory. sunyah: void, nisprapahcah. santah: tranquil, nirvikarah kutasthah.
niratma: mindless, atmeti mana ucyate, mano-rahitah, samkalpddhy- avasayadi-dharma-rahitah.
Anubhuti-prakasa reads anisatma. (60).
‘He abides in his own greatness.’ See C.U. VII. 24. anisthena: free from any local habitation or attachment. v. anistena: istam, iccha, iccha, rahitah, desireless, or anisthena suksmatarena, smallest.
5. sa va esa suksmo’ grahyo’ drsyah purusa-samjho’buddhi- purvam ihaivavartate’ mseneti suptasyevabuddhi-purvam vibodhd evarn iti, atha yo ha khalu vavaitasyamso’ yam yas caitamatrah pratipurusah ksetrajhah samkalpddhyavasdydbhimdnalihgah, praja-patir visvakhyas cetanenedam sanram cetanavat pratistha- pitarn pracodayita vaiso’pyasyeti, te hocur bhagavan, yady anenedrsendnisthenaitad-vidham idam cetanavat pratisthdpitam pracodayita vaiso’sya katham iti: tan hovaceti.
5. Verily, that subtile, ungraspable, invisible one, called the person, dwells here (in the body) with a part (of himself), with previous awareness (volition) even as the man who is fast asleep awakes of his own awareness (volition). Now, assuredly that part of him, which is entirely intelligent in every person is the spirit (knower of the body) which has the marks of conception, determination and self-love, Praja-pati called Visva. By him as intelligence is his body set up as possessed of intelligence, or in other words this very one is its mover. Then they said, ‘Revered sir, if by this kind of desireless being this sort of thing is set up as possessed of intelligence, still, how is this one its mover?' Then he said to them.
buddhi-purvam is the reading adopted by Anubhutiprakasa 67, 68.
802 The Principal Upanisads II. 6.
A man if he likes can wake himself from sleep. Another reading is a-buddhi-purvam, without previous awareness or volition. ksetrajhah: knower of the body, ksetram sarirarii tad aharn asmiti janatiti ksetrajhah-
PROGRESSIVE DIFFERENTIATION OF PRAJA-PATI INTO DIFFERENT TYPES OF BEINGS
6. praja-patir va eko’ gre tisthat , sa naram ataikah, sotmanam abhidhyatva bahvih praja asrjata, ta aimevaprabuddha apranah sthanur iva tisthamana apasyat, sa naramata, so ’ manyataitasam pratibodhanayabhyantaram vivisami, sa vayur ivatmanam, krtva- bhyantaram pravisat. sa eko nasakat: sa pahcadhatmanam vibhajyocyate, yah prano’panah samana uddno vyana iti. athayam ya urdhvam utkramaty esa va va sa prano’tha yo'yam avah samkramaty esa va va so’pano’tha yena va eta anugrhita ity esa va va sa vyanotha yo’yam, sthavistho dhatur annasyapane prapayaty anistho vahge’hge samanayaty esa va va sa samana - samjha uttaram vyanasya rupam caitesam antara prasutir evodanasyatha yo’yam pitasitam udgirati nigiratiti vaisa va va sa udanah, athopamsur antaryamam abhibhavaty antaryama upam- suhcaitayor antara devausnyam prasuvat. yad ausnyam sa puruso’tha yah purusah so’gnir vaisvanarah. anyatrapy uktam, ayam agnir vaisvanaro yo’yam antah-puruse yenedam annam pacyate yad idam adyate, tasyaisa ghoso bhavati. yam etat karnav apidhaya srnoti sa yado utkramisyan bhavati nainarn ghosam srnoti, sa va esa pahcadhatmanam, vibhajya nihito guhayam, mano-mayah prana-sariro bha-rhpah satya-samkalpa akasatmeti. sa va eso’smad hrdantarad akrtartho manyatarthan asnaniti. atah khammani bhittvoditah pahcabhi rasmibhir visayan atti, iti buddhindriyani yanimany etdny asya rasmayah karmen- driyany asya hay a, rathah sanram, mano niyanta, prakrti- mayo’sya pratodo’nena khalviritah paribhramatidam sanram cakram iva mrtyavenedam sanram cetanavat pratisthapitam pracodayita vaiso Pyasyeti.
6. Verily, in the beginning Prajd-pati (the lord of creatures) stood alone. He had no happiness, being alone. Then, medi¬ tating on himself, he created numerous offspring. He saw them to be like a stone, without understanding, without life, standing like a post. He had no happiness. He then thought to himself, ‘Let me enter within in order to awaken (enlighten) them.' He made himself like wind and sought to enter into him. Being one, he could not do it. He divided himself fivefold and
is called prana, apana, samana, udana, vyana (five kinds of breath). That breath which rises upwards that, assuredly, is the prana (breath). Now that which moves downwards, that, assuredly, is the apana (breath). Now that, verily, by which these two are supported, that, assuredly, is the vyana (breath). Now that which carries unto the apana breath gross elements of food and distributes the subtle (elements) in each limb, that, assuredly, is called samana (breath). It is a higher form of the vyana (breath) and between them is the production of the udana (breath). That which brings up or carries down what has been drunk and eaten is the udana (breath). Now the uparhsu vessel is over against the antaryama vessel and the antaryama vessel is over against the uparhsu vessel and between these two the god generated heat. That heat is the person and the person is the universal fire. And thus it is said elsewhere, ‘This is the universal fire namely that which is here within a person by means of which the food that is eaten is cooked (digested). Its noise is that which one hears on covering the eyes thus. When a man is about to depart this life he does not hear this noise.’ He, verily, having divided himself fivefold is hidden in a secret place, he who consists of mind, whose bcdy is life, whose form is light, whose conception is truth, whose soul is space. Verily, not having attained his purpose, he thought to himself from within the heart here, ‘Let me enjoy objects.’ Thence having pierced these openings (the five apertures of the senses), he enjoys the objects by means of the five reins. These reins of his are the organs of perception. His horses are the organs of action. His chariot is the body. The charioteer is the mind. The whip is made of one’s character. By him thus driven, this body goes round and round like the wheel (driven) by the potter. So this body is set up as possessing intelligence or in other words, this very one is its mover.
ekah: with no one to help, asahayah. agre: before creation, car dear asysteh purvam. asmeva: pasanavad acetanah. aprabuddhah: buddhi-rahitah.
uparhsu and antaryama are the two ( grahas ) vessels for holding the soma juice. They are placed on either side of the stone used for crushing the soma plant. See Taittirlya Sarhhitd I. 4. 2. 3; VI. 4. 5. 6.
Thus it is said elsewhere: B.U. V. 9; C.U. III. 13. 8.
guhayam: in a secret place, guhati sarhvynoti jhandnandadyatisayam
iti guha buddhih. It conceals the excess of knowledge, joy, etc.
804 The Principal Upanisads II. 7.
bha-rupah: whose form is light, bha cit-prakaso rupam svarupam asyeti bha-rupah.
satya-samkalpah: whose conception is truth, satyah samkalpa avasyam- bhavinah purva-krta-jhana-karma-samskara-bhavitah samkalpa asyeti satya-samkalpah.
akasatma: whose soul is space, akasavad asahgo’grahya atma svarupam asyety akasatma.
cakram iva mrtyavenedam, v. cakram iva mrtpacenedam.
7. sa vd esa atmehosanti kavayah, sitasitaih karmaphalair anabhibhuta iva prati sariresu caraty avyaktatvat sauksmyad adrsyatvad agrahyatvan nirmamatvdc canavastho' sati kartakar- tairvavasthah, sa vd esa suddhah sthiro’ calas cdlepyo’vyagro nisprhah preksakavad avasthitah svasthas ca, rtabhug gunamayena patenatmanam antardhayavasthita ity avasthita iti.
7. Verily, this self, the seers declare, wanders here on earth in every body (from body to body) unaffected, as it seems, by the light or the dark fruits of action. On account of this unmanifestness, subtility, imperceptibility, ungraspability, freedom from self-sense, (the self) is unabiding and a doer only in seeming, truly is not a doer, he is abiding. Verily, he is pure, steadfast, unswerving, stainless, unagitated, free from desire, remains fixed like a spectator and abiding in his own self. As an enjoyer of righteous work he covers himself with a veil made of qualities, but he remains fixed, yea, he remains fixed.
kavayah: seers, medhavinah. anabhibhiitah: unaffected, asamsprstah.
He is a seer, a witness, not an object seen, avastha-traya-rahito’ vastha-saksitvat na hi drsyadharmo drastarl uparajyate. nisprhah: free from desire, paripurna-paramananda-rupatvat sprhanl- yabhavat.
preksaka: spectator, udaslna. The impartial looker-on of the drama of which all the world, ourselves included, is the stage.
The suggestion that the self assuming the form of an enjoyer wanders in the world of samsara is made here, evam-vidha evatma gunamayena patena trigundvidyamayendvaranenatmanam nitya-sud- dhatvddirupam antardhaya. karma-phala-bhokta samsarlva bhasamano vartate.
I. te hocuh, bhagavan, yady evam asy dtmano mahimanam sucayasity anyo va parah; ko’yam atmakhyo yo’yam sitasitaih karma-phalair abhibhuyamanah sad-asad-yonim apadyata ity avancyordhva va gatir dvandvair abhibhuyamanah paribhramati.
1. They (the Valikhilyas) said (to Praja-pati Kratu), ‘Revered One, if you thus indicate the greatness of this self then there is that other, different one also called self, who, affected by the bright or dark fruits of action, enters a good or an evil womb, so that his course is downward or upward and he wanders about, affected by the pairs (of opposites like pleasure and pain).
2. asti khalv anyo’ par 0 bhutdtmdkhyo yo’yam sitasitaih karma- phalair abhibhuyamanah sad-asad-yonim apadyata ity avah- cyordhva va gatir dvandvair abhibhuyamanah paribhramatity asyopavydkhyanam, pahca-tanmdtra bhuta-sabdenocyante , atha pahca-maha-bhutdni bhuta-sabdenocyante tha tesam yat samuda- yam, tat sariram ity uktam, athayo ha khalu va va sarira ity uktam sa bhutatmety uktam, athamrto sydtma bindur iva puskara iti. sa va eso’bhibhutah prakrtair gunair iti. atho’bhibhutatvat sammii- dhatvam prayatah, sammudhatvad atmastham prabhum bhaga vantam karayitararh napasyad gunaughair uhyamanah kalusx- krtas cdsthiras cahcalo lupyamanah sasprho vyagras cabhimani- tvam prayata iti, aham so mamedam iti, evam manyamano nibadhnaty atmanatmdnam jaleneva kha-carah. krtasydnu phalair abhibhuyamanah sad-asad-yonim apadyata ity avancyordhva va gatir dvandvair abhibhuyamanah paribhramati. katama esa iti tan hovaceti.
2. There is, indeed, another, different, called the elemental self, he who, affected by the bright or the dark fruits of action, enters a good or an evil womb so that his course is downward or upward and he wanders about affected by the pairs (of opposites). And this is its explanation. The five subtle elements are called by the name element. Likewise the five gross elements are called by the name element. Now the combination of these is called the body. Now he, indeed, who is said to be in the body is called the elemental self. Now its immortal self is like a drop of water on the lotus leaf. This (elemental self) verily, is affected by nature’s qualities. Now because of being affected, he gets to bewilderment (becomes confused) ; because of bewilderment
8o6
The Principal Upanisads III. 3
he sees not the blessed Lord who dwells in himself, the causer of action. Borne along and defiled by the stream of qualities, unstable, wavering, bewildered, full of desire, distracted, he gets to the state of self-love. Thinking, ‘I am he,’ ‘This is mine,’ he binds himself with his self like a bird in a snare. So being affected by the fruits of his action, he enters a good or an evil womb so that his course is downward or upward and he wanders about, affected by the pairs of opposites. Which one is this? Then he said to them.
sariram: body: prdnendriyantah karana-sahita-suksma-bhuta-samu- dayo lihga-sarlram; pahclkrta-pahca-maha-bhuta-samuddyah sthiilam sariram.
The gross body consists of the gross elements; the subtle body of life, senses, mind and the subtle-elements. apasyad: does not see. See B.G. VII. 13.
gunaughair uhyamana: this refers to the torrent of gunas by which one is swept along. Cp. Plato’s river of sensations, Timaeus 43B and Philo: ‘river of the objects of sense that swamps and drowns our souL under the flood of the passions until he crosses it.’ The self is overcome by the gunas and falls into an illusion in which it becomes weak, disordered, sensual and believes in its own separate existence, fettering itself by its own action like a bird in the net.
3. athanyatrapy uktam, yah karta so’yam vai bhutatma karanaih karayitantah-purusah. atha yathagninayaspindo vabhibhutah kartrbhir hanyamano nanatvam upaity evam va va khalv asau bhutatmantah-purusenabhibhuto gunair hanyamano nanatvam upaiti. catur-jalam catur-dasavidham catur-asitidha parinatam bhiita-ganam etad vai nanatvasya rupam. tani ha va etani gunani puruseneritani cakram iva mrtyaveneti. atha yathayaspinde hanyamane nagnir abhibhuyaty evam nabhi- bhuyaty asau puruso ’ bhibhuyaty ayam bhiitatmopasamslistatvad iti.
3. And thus it has been said elsewhere. Verily, he who is the doer is the elemental self : he who causes to act by means of the organs is the inner person. Now even as a ball of iron, overcome by fire and beaten by workmen takes many forms, the elemental self overcome by the inner person and beaten by the qualities takes many forms. The mode of that form has a fourfold covering, is fourteenfold, is transformed in eighty-four different ways, is a host of beings, is verily manifold. All these varieties, verily, are impelled by the person even as the wheel by the potter. Now, as when a ball of iron is being beaten, the fire is
not overcome, even so the person is not overcome. The elemental self is overcome because of its attachment (to qualities).
kartrbhih: workmen, smiths, lohakaradibhih.
catur-jalam: fourfold covering, the four sheaths, matter, life, con¬ sciousness and intelligence. Commentators mention the four forms of animal life.
fourteenfold: fourteen classes of beings. Reference is to Samkhya Kdrikd 53 or to the fourteen worlds, Vedanta-sara 129. eighty-four: This may have reference to an early speculation in natural history or may mean any number of forms.
4. athanyatrapy uktam, sariram idam maithundd evodbhutam, samvrddhvyupetam niraye’tha mutradvarena niskrdntam, asthibhis citam, mamsenamdiptam carmanavanaddham vin-mii- tra-pitta-kapha-majjd-medo-vasdbhir anyais cdmayair bahubhih paripurnam, kosa iva vasund.
4. And thus it has been said elsewhere. This body arises from sexual intercourse. It is endowed with growth in darkness. Then it comes forth through the urinary passage. It is built up with bones, smeared over with flesh, covered with skin, filled with faeces, urine, bile, phlegm, marrow, fat, grease and also with many diseases, like a treasure house full of wealth.
niraye: in darkness (of the womb), niraya tulye matur udare. In due time comes out of the urinary passage, mutra-dvarenayoni-randhrena. amayaih: v. malaih.
Wise people should not identify their true self with the body. niraya-rupe smin sarire vivekindbhimd.no na karya ity abhiprayah.
5. athanyatrapy uktam, sammoho bhayam, visado nidra, tandri, pramado jara, sokah, ksut, pipasa, kdrpanyam, krodho nastikyam, ajhanam, mdtsaryam, naiskarunyam, mudhatvam, nir- vridatvam, nirakrtitvam, uddhatatvam , asamatvam iti tamasdni, antastrsna sneho rago lobho hints a, ratir dvistir vyavrtatvam irsyd, kamam, asthiratvam, calatvam vyagratvam, jigisarthoparjanam mitranugrahanam parigrahavalambo nistesvindriyarthesu dvisti- ristesvabhisvahgah suktasvaro’ nnatamastv iti rajasany etaih paripurna etair abhibhutd ity ayam bhutatmd tasman ndna-riipdny apnotiti, apnotiti.
5. And then it has been said elsewhere: bewilderment, fear, depression, sleepiness, sloth, heedlessness, old age, grief, hunger, thirst (mental), weakness, anger, unorthodoxy, ignorance, jealousy, cruelty, stupidity, shamelessness, meanness, rashness, unequableness, these are the characteristics of the quality of
8o8
The Principal Upanisads III. 5
darkness. Inner thirst, affection, passion, covetousness, hurting others, lust, hatred, deceit, envy, insatiability, unsteadfastness, fickleness, distractedness, ambitiousness, acquisitiveness, patronage of friends, family pride, aversion to unpleasant objects and over-attachment to pleasant objects, sourness of utterance and gluttonousness, these are the characteristics of the quality of passion. By these he is filled, by these he is affected, therefore the elemental self attains manifold forms, yea, attains (manifold forms).
sammoha: bewilderment, viparyaya. tandn: sloth, alasyam.
karpanyam: weakness (mental), krpanatvam.
nastikyam: unorthodoxy: non-belief in the unseen world and
indifference to sacred scriptures, amusmike sreyasi niraye va nastlti
buddhir vedady-anadaras ca.
naiskarunyam: cruelty, naisthuryam.
nirdkrtitvam: v. mkrtatvam: sathatvam.
uddhatatvam: rashness, sdhasesu nihsahkatvam.
hirhsd: hurting others, para-plda.
dvistih: hatred, dvesah.
vyagratvam: distractedness, vyasanita.
The Upanisad is greatly influenced by Samkhya ideas.
Maitrl Upanisad
1. te ha khalu vavordhva-retaso’ tivismita abhisametyocuh, bhagavan, namaste stv anusadhi, tvam asmakam gatir anya na vidyata iti; asya ko vidhir bhutatmano yenedam hitvatmann eva sayujyam upaiti tan hovaceti.
1. They (the Valikhilyas), indeed, of vigorous chastity, exceedingly amazed, approached him and said, ‘Revered Sir, salutations to you, instruct us further. You are our way (of deliverance) and there is no other. What is the method (rule) by which this elemental self, after leaving this (elemental body) obtains union with the (true) self?’ Then he ( Praja-pati Kratu) said to them.
vismita: amazed that the true self, pure and undefiled, should appear to be impure and defiled: nitya-suddhas-cidatma! smatpratyayatma sann api paroksa iva suddho’py asuddha iva akriyo’pi sakriya iveti vismita eva s ant ah. hitva: leaving, vihaya.
atman: atmani, the self, cid-ananda-sat-smriipa eva purndtmani. sayujyam: union, sayug-bhavam.
2. athdnyatrapy uktam, mahanadisurmaya ivanivartakam asya yat jpurakrtam, samudraveleva durnivaryam asya mrtyor agamanam, sad-asad-phalamayaih pasaih pahgur iva baddham, bandhanasthasya ivdsvdtantryam, yam avisayasthasya iva bahu- bhayavastham, madironmatta iva moha-madironmattam , papmana grhita iva bhramyamanam, mahoraga-dasta iva visaya-dastam, mahandhakaram iva ragandham, indrajalam iva mayamayam, svapna iva mithya-darsanam, kadali-garbha ivasdram, nata iva ksana-vesam, citra-bhittir iva mithya-manoramam ity athoktam.
sabda-sparsadayo hy artha martye’ nartha ivasthitah yesam saktas tu bhutatma na smareta par am padam.
2. And this it has been said elsewhere. Like the waves in large rivers there is no turning back of that which has been done previously; like the tide of the ocean, the approach of one’s death is hard to keep back. Like a lame man, bound by the fetters made of the fruits of good and evil, like the con¬ dition of a man in prison, lacking independence, like the condition of one in the realm of death, beset by many fears, like one intoxicated with liquor, intoxicated with the liquor of
810 The Principal Upanisads IV. 3.
delusion, rushing about like one possessed by an evil spirit, like one bitten by a great serpent, bitten by the objects of sense, like gross darkness, the darkness of passion, like jugglery, consisting of illusion, like a dream, false appearances, like the inside of the banana tree, unsubstantial, like an actor changing dress every moment, like a painted scene, falsely delighting the mind and therefore it has been said, ‘Objects of sound, touch and the like are worthless objects for a man,' the elemental self, through attachment to them, does not remember the highest state.
papmana: by an evil spirit, papa-grahena. martye: man, a mortal, marana-dharmini bhutatmani.
3. ayam va va khalv asya pratividhir bhutatmano yad veda- vidyadhigamah svadharmasyanucaranam; svasramesv evanukra- manam, svadharmasya va etad vratam, stambasakhe vaparani; anenorddhvabhdg bhavaty anyathavah ity esa svadharmo bhihito yo vedesu na svadharmatikramendsrami bhavati, asramesv evana- vasthas tapasvi vetyucyata ityetad ayuktam, natapaskasyatma- jnane’ dhigamah karma-siddhir veti; evam hy aha:
tapasa prapyate sattvam, sattvat samprdpyate manah manasah prapyate hy atma, yam aptva na nivartata iti
3. This is, indeed, the antidote for the elemental self, acquirement of the knowledge of the Veda and the due per¬ formance of one’s own duty. Pursuit of the duties of the stage of life to which each one belongs, this is the rule for one’s own duty; others are like the branches of a stem. Through it one goes upwards, otherwise downwards. That is one’s regular duty which is set forth in the Vedas. Not by transgressing one’s regular duty does one belong to the stage of life. If one says that a man does not belong to any of the stages of life for he is (one) who practises austerity, it is not proper. (However) if one does not practise austerity there is no success in the knowledge of the self or in the perfection of works. For thus has it been said: By austerity goodness is obtained and from goodness understanding is reached and from the understanding is the self obtained and he who obtains the self does not return.
veda-vidyddhigamah: acquirement of the knowledge of the Veda. veda-dvara vidyaya atma-tattva-visayaya adhigamah samyak-praplth. stamba sakheva: branches of a stem: trnasalakeva, like a bunch of grass.
We belong to a particular stage of life or asrama by performing
the duties belonging to it and not by assuming its external marks : kevalam tat-tad-dsrama-lihga-dhdrana-mdtrad asramt na bhavati. sattvam: goodness, sattvd-guna-pradhdnarh cittam- manah: understanding, viveka-vijhanam.
atma: the self, purnam tattvam param brahma. We can say prasanna- cittasyeva moksah: Upanisad Brahmayogin.
When one attains self-knowledge, he is freed from samsara . . . prapya sdksatkrtya na nivartate punah samsara-mandale bhutatma- bhavdya navartate mucyata iti.
4. asti brahmeti brahma-vidya-vid abravid, brahma-dvaramidam ityevaitad aha,yas tapasapahata-papma , aam brahmano mahimety evaitad aha, yah suyukto’jasram cintayati, tasmad vidyaya tapasa cintaya copalabhyate brahma, sa brahmanah para eta bhavaty adhidaivatvam devebhyas ceti, aksayyam, aparimitam, anamayam, sukham asnute ya evarh vidvan anena trikena brahmo- paste, atha yaih paripiirnabhibhuto’yam rathitas ca tair vaiva muktas tv atmann eva sdyujyam upaiti.
4. ‘Brahman is,’ said one who knew the knowledge of Brahman. ‘This is the door to Brahman,’ said one who had freed himself from evil by (the practice of) austerity. ' Aum is the (manifest) greatness of Brahman,’ said one who, completely absorbed, always meditates (on it). Therefore, by knowledge, by austerity, by meditation is Brah?nan apprehended. He becomes one who goes beyond the Brahma (the lower, Hiranya-garbha ) and to the state of the supreme divinity above the gods. He obtains happiness, undecaying, unmeasured, free from sickness, he who knows this and worships Brahman with this triad (knowledge, austerity and meditation). Then freed from those things by which he was filled and affected, this rider of the chariot attains (complete) union with the self.
brahma-vidya: knowledge of Brahman which arises from logical investigation, pramana-yukti-janyam brahma-jhanam.
By austerity, knowledge and meditation, we obtain Brahman, prathamam tapas tato brahma-vidya sravanadi-laksana tatah prana- vaika-nisthateti kramena sadhana-trayavan brahmopalabhetety arthah. brahmanah: lower Brahma, aparasya hiranya-garbhakhyasya sabda brahmanah.
rathitah: the rider of the chariot, ratham prdpito rathitvam caprdpita iti yavat.
8l2
The Principal Upanisads
5. te hocur hhagavann abhivadyasity abhivadyasity , nihitam asmdbhir etad yathavad uktam manasity, athottaram prasnam anubruhiti , agnir vayur adityah kalo yah prdno’nnam brahma rudro visnur ity eke’nyam abhidhyayanty eke’nyam; sreyah katamo yah so’smakam bruhiti, tan hovaceti.
5. They said. ‘Revered One, you are the teacher, you are the teacher. What has been said has been duly fixed in mind by us. Now answer a further question. Fire, air, sun, time, whatever it is, breath, food, Brahma, Rudra, Visnu, some meditate upon one, some upon another. Tell us which one is the best for us.’ Then he said to them.
6. brahmano va vaita agryds tanavah parasyamrtasya sarirasya tasyaiva loke pratimodati ha yo yasyanusakta ityevam hy aha; brahma khalv idam va va sarvam. yd vasya agrya stanavas ta abhidhyayed arcayen nihnuyac ca, atas tdbhih sahairvopary upari lokesu carati, atha krtsna-ksaya ekatvam eti purusasya, purusasya.
6. These are but the chief forms of the Supreme, the immortal, the bodiless Brahman. To whichever one each man is devoted here, in his world he rejoices. For it has been said, ‘Verily, this whole world is Brahman.’ Verily, these, which are its chief forms one meditates upon, worships and discards. For with these one moves higher and higher in the worlds. And when all things perish (in universal dissolution), he attains unity of (with) the person, yea, of the person.
agryah: chief, sresthah.
tanavah: forms, murtayah. ‘Verily, this whole world is Brahman,’
c.u. iii. i4. 1.
krtsna-ksaye: when all things perish, krtsnasya sarva-devatatmanah satya-lokasthasya hiranya-garbhasya ksaye avasdne sampurna-brahma- riipah san purusasya purnasya parabrahmana ekatvam sayujyam eti gacchati, krama-muktim upaiti.
At the end of this world, at the time of universal dissolution, the lord of this world Hiranya-garbha lapses into the Absolute Brahman. Till then individualities are retained by the souls including the world-soul.
By the worship of these deities one rises to higher states of being. When these forms are resolved he attains to the unity of the Person. The different concepts of the Supreme are supports for contemplation.
Here apparently ends the conversation begun in II. 3. between
the Valikhilyas and Praja-pati as derived by tradition from Maitri and narrated by Sakayanya to King Brhadratha. Sakayanya’s teaching is said to be continued till VI. 29, though it evidently is a later addition as undoubtedly chapters VI and VII are, even according to the commentator.
814 The Principal Upanisads
i. atha yatheyam kautsyayam stutih.
tvam brahma tvah ca vai visnus tvarh rudras tvam prajapatih, tvam agnir varuno vayus tvam indras tvam nisakarah: tvam annas tvam yamas tvam prthivi tvam visvam tvam athacyutah,
svarthe svabhavike rthe ca bahudha samsthitis tvayi: visvesvara, namas tubhyam, visvatma visva-karma-krt visva-bhug visvamayus tvam visva-knda-rati-prabhuh: namah santatmane tubhyam, namo guhyatamaya ca, acintyayaprameyaya anadinidhanaya ca.
Thou art Brahma and verily thou art Visnu, thou art Rudra and thou Praja-pati ; thou art Agni, Varuna, Vayu, thou art Indra and thou art the moon. Thou art food, thou art Yama, thou art the earth, thou art all, thou art the Imperishable. All things exist in thee in many forms for their own or for their natural ends. Lord of the universe, salutations to thee, the self of all, the maker of all, the enjoyer of all, thou art all life and the lord of all pleasure and delight. Salutations to thee, the tranquil self, salutations to thee, the deeply hidden, the incomprehensible, the immeasurable and without beginning and without end.
svarthah: for their own ends : purusartho dharmadi-catustaya-rupah.
svabhavikah: for their natural ends, prakTtikah.
visvatma: because he is the material cause of the world, visvopada-
natvat.
the tranquil self: Cp. santa upaslta, santah sa premabhaktikah: Sridhara on Bhagavata. Brahmavaivarta Parana: dhyayante vaisnavah santah santam tam tat parayanam. Brahma Khanda XIX. 23. 2.
2. tamo va idam agra asid ekam, tat pare syat tat tat pare- neritam visamatvam prayati, etad-rupam vai rajas, tad rajah khalv iritam visamatvam prayati, etad vai sattvasya riipam, tat sattvam everitam rasah samprdsravat so’mso’yam yas cetamatrah prati- purusah ksetrajhah samkalpadhyavasayabhimana-lihgah p>raja- patir visveti, asya prag-ukta etas tanavah, atha yo ha khalu va vasya tamaso’mso’sau sa brahmacarino yo’yam rudro’tha yo ha khalu va vasya rajaso’mso’sau sa brahmacarino yo’yam brahmatha yo ha khalu va vasya sattviko’mso’sau sa brahma- carino yo’yam visnuh; sa va esa ekas tridha bhuto’ stadhaika-
dasadha dvadasadha’ parimitadha vodbhuta, udbhutatvad bhutam bhutesu carati pravistah, sa bhutdndm adkipatir babhuva ity asd atmantar-bahis cantar-bahis ca.
2. Verily, in the beginning this (world) was darkness alone. That was in the Highest. When impelled by the Highest it moves on to differentiation. That form, verily, is passion. That passion, when impelled, moves on to differentiation. That, verily, is the form of goodness. That goodness, when impelled, the essence flowed forth. That part is what the intelligence principle in every person is, the knower of the body, which has the marks of conception, determination and self-love, Praja-pati (the lord of creation) called Visva. His forms have been pre¬ viously mentioned. Now then, indeed the part of him which is characterised by darkness that, O students of sacred knowledge, is this Rudra. Now then, indeed, that part of him which is characterised by passion, that, 0 students of sacred knowledge, is this Brahma. Now then, indeed, that part of him which is characterised by goodness, that, O students of sacred know¬ ledge, is this Visnu. Verily, that one becomes threefold. He developed forth eightfold, elevenfold, twelvefold, in unlimited parts. Because he thus developed, he is a (created) being, he moves about, having entered all beings. He became the lord of (created) beings. That is the self within and without, yea, within and without.
The relation of the three forms (murti-traya) , to the Supreme is here indicated. The three Brahma, Visnu and Siva are not to be conceived as independent persons; they are the threefold mani¬ festations of the one Supreme.
rasah: essence, saras cid-ananda-prakasah. See T.U. II. 7. cetamatrah: intelligence-principle; which is entirely intelligent, ceta cetana saksi-caitanyarh taya miyate’ vabhasyata iti cetamatrah svapraka- sa-saksi-matrenanubhavya iti.
ksetrajna: knower of the body, ksetram sariram dharmadharma- bija-praroha-bhumitvat tad a-pada-tala-mastakam aham iti janatiti ksetrajho jiva iti.
visva: every one, i.e. every individual. He is not only the sum-total of all existences but is also the principle of the individual being. eightfold, etc. : The eight forms are the five vital airs, the sun, moon and stars or the last three and the five elements. The eleven are the eleven organs of sense and action and mind. If we make mind and understanding ( buddhi ), different, we get twelve. It becomes unlimited if we take the endless activities in the various individuals.
8i6
The Principal Upanisads
i. dvidhd va esa dtmdnam bibharty ayarh yah prdno yas cdsa adityo’tha dvau va eta asya panthdna antar bahis cahor dtrenaitau vyavartete, asau va adityo bahir dtmdntaratmd prdno’ to bahir atmakya gaty antar atmano’numiy ate gatir ity evam hy dhdtha yah kascidvidvan apahata-pdpma ksddhyakso vaddta-mands tan-nistha dvrtta-caksuh so aniardtmakyd gatya bahir dtmdno’ numiyate gatir ity evam ha aha, atha ya eso’ntaraditye hiranmayah puruso yah pasyatimam hiranyavasthdt sa eso’ntare hrt-puskara evds- rito’nnam atti.
1. He (the self) bears himself in two ways, as he who is breath and he who is the Sun. Therefore, two, verily, are these paths, inward and outward. They both turn back in a day and night. Yonder sun, verily, is the outer self; the inner self is breath. Hence the course of the inner self is measured (inferred from) by the course of the outer self. For thus has it been said, ‘Now, whoever is a knower, who has freed (himself) from evil, the overseer of the senses, pure-minded, firmly established in that, locking away (from outward objects) is even he (the self). Likewise, the course of the outer self is measured by the course of the inner self. For thus has it been said, ‘Now that golden person who is within the Sun, who looks on this earth from his golden place is even he who has entered into the lotus of the heart and eats food.’
The sixth and seventh chapters are treated as supplementary. The main purpose of the Upanisad is to affirm that there is one Supreme Self to be known and the various forms of Brahma, Visnu and Siva are only aspects or manifestations of that Supreme Self. In these chapters we find references to various modes of worship and means by which spiritual knowledge can be gained. See R.V. X. 90. 2.
aksadhyaksa: overseer of the senses and not subject to them. indriyadhyaksas tesu svatantro nendriya-paravasa iti. avadata-manah: pure-minded, nirmala-cittah.
2. atha ya eso’ntare hrt-puskara evasrito’nnam atti sa eso’gnir divi sritah saurah kdldkhyo’ drsyah sarvabhutany annam attiti, kah puskarah kim-mayo veli, idarn va va tat puskaram yo’yam akaso’ syemds catasro disas catasra upadiso dalasamstha asam,
arvag vicarata etau prandditya eta upasitom ity etad-aksarena vyahrtibhih savitryd ceti.
2. Now, he who has entered the lotus of the heart and eats food is the same as that lire of the Sun which enters the sky, called Time the Invisible, who eats all beings as his food. What is the lotus and of what is it made? That lotus, assuredly, is the same as space. The four quarters and the four intermediate quarters are its leaves. These two, breath and the Sun, move near each other. Let him reverence them with the syllable aum, with the mystic utterances ( bhuh , bhuvah, svah) and with the Savitri prayer.
saurah: of the sun, surya-tejo-rupah.
Akasa is described as the lotus flower whose petals are the four quarters and the four intermediate quarters or the cardinal points. Time who eats all beings as his food, praninam kalanat .kaldkhyah sarva-bhutani samharati. arvag: near, adiire sannihitau.
3. dve vava brahmano rape murtah cdmurtah ca; atha yan murtam tad asatyam, yad amurtam tat satyam tad brahma, taj jyotih, yaj jyotih sa dditya,h , sa va esa aum ity etad atmdbhavat, sa tredhatmanam vyakuruta, aum iti, tisro mdtra, etabhih sarvam idam otam protam caivasmiti, evam hy ahaitad va aditya aum ity evam dhyayata atmdnarh yuhjiteti.
3. There are, assuredly, two forms of Brahman, the formed and the formless. Now that which is formed is unreal; that which is the formless is the real; that is the Brahman, that is the light. That which is the light is the Sun. Verily, that came to have aum as its self. He divided himself threefold (for aum consists of three letters (a, u,jn). By means of these all this (world) is woven, warp and woof, across him. For thus has it been said, ‘One should meditate on the Sun as aum and get united to it.’
The formed is the effect and the formless is the cause. satyam: the real, paramartha-satyam, sarvddhisthdnam . matrah: parts, avayavah.
4. athanyatrapy uktam, atha khalu ya udgithah sa pranavo yah pranavah sa udgitha iti, asau va aditya udgitha esa pranava iti. evam hy ahodgitham pranavdkhyam pranetdram bha-rupam
8i8
The Principal Upanisads VI. 5.
vigata-nidram vijaram, vimrtyum, tri-padam, tryaksaram punah pahcadha jheyam nihitam guhaydm ity evahi hy ahorddhva-mulam tripad brahmaiakhd dkasa-vayv-agny-udaka-bhumyadayaeko’ svat- tha-ndmaitad brahmaitasyaitat tejo yad asd ddityah aum ity etad ak$arasya caitat, tasmad aum ity anenaitad upasltajasram ity eko’sya sambodhayitety evarh hy aha.
etad evdksaram punyam, etad evdksaram param etad evdksaram jhdtva yo yad icchati tasya tat.
4. And then it has been said elsewhere, ‘Now then the udgltha is the pranava and the pranava is the udgltha. And so verily the udgltha is the yonder Sun and he is pranava. For thus it is said, the udgltha called pranava, the leader (in the per¬ formance of sacrificial rites), whose form is radiance, sleepless, ageless, deathless, three-footed, three-lettered, also to be known as fivefold, hidden in the secret place (of the heart).' And it is also said, ‘The three-footed Brahman has its root above. Its branches are space, wind, fire, water, earth and the like. This Brahman has the name of the “lone fig tree” and of it that is the radiance which is called the Sun and the radiance too of the syllable aum. Therefore, one should continuously worship it with the syllable aum. For thus it is said, “This syllable, indeed, is holy, this syllable, indeed, is supreme. By knowing that syllable, indeed, whatever one desires (becomes) his".’
See C.U. 1. 5. r; R.V. X. 90. 3-4; Katha VI. 1; II. 16.
pranetaram: leader (of rites), prakarsena tat-tat-karmanam pravar-
tayitaram.
5. athanyatrdpy uktam, svanavaty esdsyah tanuh yd aum ity strl-pun-napumsaketi lihgavatl, esathdgnir vayur aditya iti bhds- vatl, esa atha brahma rudro visnur ity adhipativatl, esatha garhapatyo daksinagnir ahavanlyd iti mukhavatl, esatha rg yajus- sameti vijhanavatl, esa bhur bftuvah svar iti lokavatl, esatha bhutam bhavyam bhavisyad iti kdlavatl, esatha prano’gnih surya iti pratdpavatl, esa thdnnam apas candrama ity dpyayanavatl, esatha buddhir mano hamkdrd iti cetanavatl , esatha prdno’ pano vyana iti pranavatl, esety ata aum ity uktenaitah prastuta arcita arpita bhavantlti evarh hy dhaitad vai satyakdma parah caparah ca brahma yad aum ity etad aksaram iti.
5. And then it has been said elsewhere, ‘This aum is the sound form of this (the self). Feminine, masculine and neuter (this) is the sex form. Fire, wind and sun; this is his light form.
Brahma, Rudra and Visnu, this is his lordship form. The Garhapatya, the Daksinagni and the Ahavaniya sacrificial fires — this is his mouth-form. Rg, Yajus and Saman (Vedas) this is his knowledge-form. Earth, atmosphere and sky, this is his world-form. Past, present and future, this is his time-form. Breath, fire and Sun, this is his heat-form. Food, water and moon, this is his growth form. Understanding, mind and self¬ sense, this is his thought-form. The prana breath, the apana breath and the vydna breath, this is his breath form. Therefore, by the utterance of the syllable aum all these (forms) are praised, worshipped and ascribed. For thus it is said, ‘This syllable aum, verily, is the higher and the lower Brahman.’
svanavatl sound-form, sabdavati.
6. athavyahrtam va idam dsit, sa satyam prajapatis tapas taptva’ nuvyaharad bhur bhuvah svar iti; esaivasya prajapateh sthavistha tanur-ya lokavatiti, svar ity asyah siro nabhir bhuvo bhuh pada adityas caksuh, caksur-ayatta hi purusasya mahati matra, caksusa hy ay am matrds carati, satyam vai caksuh, aksiny avasthito hi purusah sarvarthesu carati, etasmad bhur bhuvah svar ity upasitanena hi prajapatir visvatma visva-caksur ivo- pasito bhavatiti, evam hy ahaisa vai prajapater visva-bhrt-tanur etasyam idam sarvam antarhitam, asmm ca sarvasminn esa antarhiteti, tasmad esopasita.
6. Now (in the beginning) this (world) was, verily, unuttered. When he, the Real, the lord of creation, performed austerity, he uttered (the words) bhuh, bhuvah, svah. This, indeed, is Praja-pati’s very gross form, this world-form. Its head is the sky, the navel is the atmosphere, the feet are the earth, the eye is the sun, for a person’s great material world depends on the eye, for with the eye he measures all things. V°rily, the eye is the real for stationed in the eye a person moves about among all objects. Therefore one should reverence bhuh, bhuvah, svah, for this Praja-pati, the self of all, the eye of all, becomes rever¬ enced, as it were. For thus has it been said, ‘Verily this is the all-supporting form of Praja-pati, for in it all this (world) is hidden, and it is hidden in this whole (world). Therefore, this is what one should reverence.’
unuttered: see T.U. I. 5; Pahcavimsa Brahmana XX. 14. 2. sthavistha: very gross, sthula-tama.
820 The Principal Upanisads VI. 7.
viha-bhrt: all-supporting, suryarupa praja-pater brahmano visvam bibhartiti viiva-bhrt.
WORSHIP OF THE SUN BY MEANS OF THE SA VITRl
7. tat savitur varenyam ity asau vd adityah savita sa vd evam pravaraniya atmakdmenety ahur brahmavadino’tha bhargo devasya dhimahiti, savita vai devas tato yo’sya bhargdkhyas tam cintaya- mity ahur brahma-vadino' tha dhiyo yo nah pracodayad iti, budd- hayovai dhiyastdyo’ smakam pracodayad ity ahur brahma-vadinah, atha bharga iti yo ha vd amusminn aditye nihitas tarako’ksini vaisa bhargakhyah, bhdbhir gatir asya hiti bhargah, bharjayatiti vaisa bharga iti rudro brahma-vadino’ tha, bha iti bhasayatiman lokan, ra iti rahjayatimani bhutani, ga iti gacchanty asminn agacchanty asmad imah prajds tasmad bha-ra-ga-tvad bhargah, sasvat suyamanat suryah savanat savita danat adityah pavanat pavano’ thapopyayanad ity evam hy aha, khalv atmano ’tma netamrtakhyas ceta manta gantotsrstanandayita karta vaktd rasayita ghrata drasta srota sprsati ca vibhur vigrahe sannivista ity evam hy aha, atha yatra dvaitibhutam vijhanam tatra hi srnoti pasyati jighrati rasayati caiva sparsayati sarvam atmd janiteti, yatradvaiiibhutam vijhanam karya-karana-karma-nir- muktam nirvacanam anaupamyam nirupakhyam him, tad avacyam.
7. That desirable (splendour) of Savitri, yonder Sun, verily, is Savitri. He, verily, is to be sought thus, by one desirous of self, so say the expounders of Brahma-knowledge. May we meditate on the splendour of the God. Savitri, verily, is God. Therefore I meditate as that which is called his splendour. So say the expounders of Brahma-knowledge. May he inspire (illuminate) our thoughts. Thoughts, verily, are meditations. May he inspire these for us, so say the expounders of Brahma- knowledge. Now splendour, verily, he who is hidden in yonder Sun is called splendour or he who is the pupil in the eye. He is so called because his course is with the rays of light or he is Rudra because he causes to dry up, so say the expounders of Brahma-knowledge. Now bha means that he illumines these worlds, ra means that he gladdens these beings, ga means that creatures here go into him and come out of him. Therefore, because of being bha, ra, ga, he is bharga. Surya is so named because of the continued squeezing out, Savitri is so named because of its bringing forth. Aditya is so named because of
taking up into itself. Pdvana is so named because of its puri¬ fying. Apas is so named because of its causing to grow. For thus has it been said, Assuredly the self of one’s self is called the leader, immortal, perceiver, thinker, the goer, the evacuator, the delighter, the doer, the speaker, the taster, the smeller, the seer and the hearer and he touches. He,, the all-pervader has entered the body. For thus has it been said, Now where knowledge is of a dual nature (implying a subject which knows and an object which is known), there, indeed, one hears, sees, smells, tastes and also touches, the self knows everything Where knowledge, being devoid of effort, cause or action, unspeakable, incomparable, indescribable, what is that? It is impossible to say.
pravaraniya: v. pracaraniya.
atma-kamah: desirous of self, atmaiva kamah yasya sah. brahma-vadinah: expounders of Brahma-knowledge, brahma- vadana-slla vedarthavidah.
bharjayati: causes to dry up. Rudra is the destroyer of the world, jagat samharati.
Creatures go into him and come out of him: They go into him in sound sleep and in intervals between successive creations and come out of him in waking and in creation.
For the distinction between dual and non-dual knowledge see B.U. II. 4. 14. The self is present in all knowledge but it is not itself an object of knowledge.
The gayatri prayer has come down from the period of the R.V. and expresses man’s aspiration to know more and more. Cp. Nicolas of Cusa: ‘To be able to know ever more and more without end, this is our likeness to the eternal wisdom. Man always desires to know better what he knows, and to love more what he loves; and the whole world is not sufficient for him, because it does not satisfy his craving for knowledge.’
8. esa hi khalv atmesdnah sambhur bhavo rudrah praja-patir visva-srk hiranya-garbhah satyam prdno hamsah sdsta visnurnara- yano’rkah savitd dhata vidhata samrad indra indur iti, ya esa tapaty agnir ivagnina pihitah sahasraksena hiranmayenandena, esa vd jijndsitavyo’ nvestavyah, sarva-bhutebhyo'bhayam datva- ranyam gatvdtha bahihkrtvendriydrthdn svdc charirdd upalabheta enam iti.
visvariipam harinam jatavedasam pardyanam jyotir ekam tapantam,
sahasra-rasmih satadha vartamanah prdnah prajdnam uday- aty esa suryah.
The Principal Upanisads VI. 9.
8. This self, verily, is the lord, the beneficent, the real, the terrible, the lord of creation, the creator of all, the golden germ, truth, life, spirit, the ordainer, the pervader, Narayana, the shining, vivifier, the upholder, the maker, sovereign, Indra, the moon. He it is who gives forth heat, concealed by the thousand-eyed golden egg as one fire by another. Him, verily, one should desire to know. He should be sought after. Having given fearlessness to all creatures, having gone to the forest, then having put aside objects of sense, let a man comprehend the self from out of his own body. He who has all forms, the golden one, who is all-knowing, the final goal, the only light, who gives heat, the thousand-rayed, abiding in a hundred places, the life of creatures, the yonder sun rises.
Ramatirtha makes out that the Supreme associated with the three gunas is described here : rudrantah tamah-pradhdna-mayo- padhikah, hamsanto rajah-pradhana-mayopadhikah sdsld visnur narayana iti iuddha-sattva-pradhana-mayopadhikah.
The one appears as threefold on account of the three functions. samhqra-srsti-sthiti.
pihitah: concealed, acchanno bhavati acchaditah. hiranmayena: golden, brilliant, tejomayena.
aranyam: forest, a solitary place which soothes the mind, vijanam desam manah-prasada-karam.
harinam: golden, also interpreted as the seizer of all : harati sarvesam praninam ayumsi bhauman va rasan iti harinah. jata-veda^ah: all-knowing, jatarn jatam vetti. See also VII. 7; Prasna I. 8.
9. tasmad va esa ubhayatmaivam-vid atmany evabhidhyayaty atmany eva yajatiti dhydnam prayogastham mano vidvadbhis- tutam, manah-putim ucchistopahatam ity anena tat pavayet, mantram pathati, ucchistocchistopahatam yac ca papena dattam mrta-sutakad va vasoh pavitram agnih savitus ca rasmayah punantv annam mama duskrtah ca yad anyat, adbhih purastad paridadhati, pranaya svdhapdnaya svaha vyanaya svaha samd- naya svahodanaya svaheti pahcabhir abhijuhoti, athavasistam yata-vag asnaty ato’dbhir bhuya evoparistat paridadhaty acanto bhutvatmejyanah prano'gnir visvo’siti ca dvabhydm atmanam abhidhyayet, prano’gnih paramatma vai pahca-vayuh samdsritah, sa pritah prinatu visvam visva-bhuk, visvo’si vaisvanaro’si visvam tvaya dharyate jayamanam, visan tu tvam ahutayas ca sarvah
prajas tatra yatra visvamrto’ siti , evarh na vidhina khalv anenat- tannatvam punar upaiti.
9. Therefore, verily, he who knows that this has both these (breath and the sun) as his self, meditates only on his self, sacrifices only to his self; such meditation, the mind absorbed in such practice, is praised by the wise. One should purify the impurity of his mind with the verse ‘What has been defiled by the leavings.’ He reads the verse. Leavings or what has been defiled by leavings and what has been given by a sinner or (what is rendered impure) by a still birth, may the purifying power of Vasu, Agni and of Savitri’s rays purify my food and any other that may b$ evil. First (before taking his food), he swathes (his breath) with water. Hail to the prana breath, hail to the apana breath, hail to the vyana breath, hail to the samana breath, hail to the udana breath. With these five invocations, he offers the oblation. Then he eats the remainder, with restrained voice (in silence). Then, afterwards he again swathes with water. So, having sipped (the water), having made the sacrifice to the self, he should meditate on the self with the two (formulas) ‘As breath and fire,’ ‘Thou art all.’ ‘As breath and fire, the highest self has entered in with the five airs. May he when pleased himself, please all, the enjoyer of all.’ Thou art all, thou art the Vaisvanara (fire). All that is born is supported by thee. Let all oblations enter into thee. There creatures live where thou, the all-immortal art. So he who eats according to this rule comes not again into the condition of food.
In this passage the taking of food is represented as a sacrifice offered by the self to the self : atma-yajha-rupam bhojanam.
The formal rinsing of the mouth at the beginning and the end of meals is described here. See C.U. V. 2. papena: by a sinner, papatmana, patitena. yata-vak: with restrained voice, mauni. visva-bhuk: the enjoyer of all, visvam bhunakti, palayati. visvamrtah: all-immortal, visvam amrtayasi jivayaslti visvamrtah. comes not again into the condition of food: He does not become food for others, he is not reborn.
10. athaparam veditavyam, uttaro vikaro’ syatma-yajnasya yathannam annadas ceti, asyopavyakhyanam, purusas ceta pradhanantahsthah, sa eva bhokta prakrtam annam bhuhkta iti,
824 The Principal Upani$ads
tasyayam bhutatma hy annam asya karta pradhanah, tasmat tri-gunam bhojyam bhokta puruso’ntahsthah, atra dr stark nama pratyayam, yasmat bija-sambhava hi pasavas tasmad bijam bhojyam anenaiva pradhanasya bhojyatvam vyakhyatam, tasmad, bhokta puruso bhojya prakrtis tatstho bhunkta iti, prakrtam annam triguna-bheda-parinamatvan mahadddyam visesantam lingam, anenaiva caturdasa-vidhasya margasya vyakhya krta bhavati, sukha-duhkha-moha-samjnam hy anna-bhktam idam jagat, na hi bijasya svad uparigraho' stiti yavann aprasutih, tasyapy evarh tisr$v avasthasv annatvam bhavati kaumaram yauvanam jara parinamatvat tad annatvam, evam pradhanasya vyaktatam gatasyopalabdhir bhavati, tatra buddhyadini svaduni bhavanty adhyavasaya-samkaipabhimana iti, athendriyarthan panca svaduni bhavanti, evam sarvanindriyakarmani prana-karmani, evam vyaktam annam avyaktam annam, asya nirguno bhokta, bhok- trtvac caitanyam prasiddham tasya, yathagnir vai devanam annadah somo’nnam agninaivannam ity evam-vit, soma-sam- jno' yambhutatma gni-samjno’ py avyakta-mukhaiti vacanatpuruso hy avyakta-mukhena tri-gunam bhunkta iti, yo haivam veda samnyasi yogi catmayaji ceti, atha yadvan na kascicchunyagare kaminyah pravistdh sprsatindriyarthan tadvad yo na sprsati pravi$tan samnyasi yogi catmayaji ceti.
10. Now, there is something else to be known. There is a further development of this self-sacrifice, namely, what concerns the food and the eater thereof. The further explanation of this (follows). The conscious person abides within nature. He is the enjoyer for he enjoys (feeds on) the food (supplied by) of nature. This elemental self, verily, is food for him, its maker is nature. Therefore, that which is to be enjoyed consists of the three qualities and the enjoyer is the person who stands within. Here the evidence is what is observed (by the senses). Since animals spring from seed and as seed is the food, by this is explained that nature is what is to be enjoyed. Therefore, the person is the enjoyer, nature is what is to be enjoyed. Abiding in it, he enjoys. All that begins with the intellect and ends with the elements, being a transformation of the distinction of nature with its three qualities is the sign (that there must be a self). And by this, the fourteenfold course is explained. This world is indeed the food, called pleasure, pain and delusion. There is no apprehension of the taste of the seed (cause) so long as there is no production (of effect). And in its three conditions also it has the character of food, as childhood,
youth and old age. There is in them the character of food, on account of transformation. Thus as nature moves to the state of becoming manifest, there arises the perception of it. For the tasting (of the effects of nature) arise intellect and the like, determination, conception and self-love. Then there are the five objects of sense, for the tasting of them. Thus arise all actions of organs and actions of senses. Thus the manifest is food and the unmanifest is food. The enjoyer of it is without qualities (but) from the fact of his being an enjoyer it is evident that he possesses consciousness. As fire, verily, is the eater of food among the gods and Soma is the food, so he who knows this eats food by fire. The elemental self is called Soma. He who has the unmanifest as his mouth is called Agni because of the sayipg, ‘The person truly with the unmanifest as his mouth enjoys the three qualities.’ He who knows this is a renouncer, a contemplator, a performer of the self-sacrifice. Even as there is no one to touch sensual women who have entered into an empty house, so he who does not touch objects of sense that enter into him is a renouncer, a contemplator, a performer of the self-sacrifice.
drstam: what is observed, darsanam pratyaksam. pratyayam: evidence, pramdnam.
lihgam: sign. Hume interprets it as the subtle body which includes from the intellect up to the separate elements. the fourteenfold course: The four forms of antah-karana, the five organs of sense-perception and the five organs of action. atma-yaji: the performer of the self-sacrifice : atma-samskdrartham yo yajate sa atma-yaji.
kaminyah: sensual women, kaminih kamaturah strih.
11. par am va etad atmano rupam yad annam, annamayo hy ayam prano’tha na yady asnaty amanta srota sprasta’ drasta’ vakta ghratarasayita bhavati, pranamscotsrj atiti , evath hy ahatha yadi khalv asnati prana-samrddho bhutva manta bhavati srota bhavati, sprasta bhavati, vakta bhavati, rasayita bhavati, ghrata bhavati, drasta bhavatiti, evam hy aha annad vai frajah pr a] ay ante yah kascit prthivi-srtah. ato’nnenaiva jivanti, athaitad api yanty ant at ah.
11. This, verily, is the highest form of self, namely, food, for trulythis life consists of food. If one does not eat, he becomes a non-thinker, a non-hearer, a non-toucher, a non-seer, a
The Principal Upanisads VI. 13.
non-speaker, a non-smeller, a non-taster, and he lets go his vital breaths. For thus it has been said, ‘If, indeed, one eats, he becomes full of life, he becomes a thinker, he becomes a hearer, he becomes a toucher, he becomes a speaker, he becomes a taster, he becomes a smeller, he becomes a seer.’ For thus has it been said: ‘From food, verily, are creatures, whatsoever dwell on earth, are produced; moreover, by food, verily, they live and again into it they finally pass.’
See C.U. VII. 9. 1; T.U. II. 2.
12. athanyatrapy uktam, sarvani ha va imam bhutany ahar ahah prapatanty annarn abhijighrksamanani , suryo rasmibhir adadaty annarn tenasau tapaty annenabhisiktah pacantime prana, agnir va annenoj jvalaty annakamenedam prakaipitam brahmana, ato’nnam atmety upasitetyevam hy aha. annad bhutani jayante, jatany annena vardhante. adyate’tti ca bhutani, tasmad annam tad ucyate.
12. And thus it has been said elsewhere: Verily all creatures here run about day after day, desiring to get food. The sun takes food to himself by his rays and thereby he gives forth heat. When supplied with food living beings here digest. Fire, verily, blazes up by food. This world was fashioned by Brahma with a desire for food. Therefore, let a man reverence food as the self. For thus has it been said: From food creatures are bom, by food they grow when bom, because it is eaten by and eats creatures, it is called food.
See T.U. II. 2; B.S. IV. 1. 4. 5. abhisiktah: supplied, samklinnah santarpitah.
13. athanyatrapy uktam: visva-bhrd vai namaisa tanur bhaga- vato visnor yad idam annam, prano va annasya raso manah pranasya vijhanam manasa, anandam vijhanasyeti , annavan, pranavan, manasvan, vijhanavan, anandavan ca bhavati yo haivarn veda, yavantiha vai bhutany annam adanti tavatsvan- tastho’nnam atti yo haivarn veda. annam eva vijarannam annam samvananam smrtam. annam pasunam prano’nnam jyestham, annam bhisak smrtam.
13. Now it has elsewhere been said: That bom of the blessed Visnu which is called the all-supporting, that, verily, is this food. Life, verily, is the essence of food, mind of life, under¬ standing of mind, (spiritual) bliss of understanding. He who
knows this becomes possessed of food, life, mind, understanding and bliss. Whatever creatures here (on earth) eat food, abiding in them does he, who knows this, eat food. Food, indeed, prevents decay, food is worshipful, it is said: Food is the life of animals, food is the eldest-born, food is the physician, it is said.
sariivananam: worshipful, sambhajaniyam. jyestham: prathamajam, eldest bom, first bom.
14. athdnyatrapy uktam: annam va asya sarvasya yonih, kdlas cannasya, suryo yonih kalasya, tasyaitad rdpam yan nimesadikalat sambhrtam dvadasatmakam vatsaram, etasyag- neyam ardham ardham varunam, maghadyam sravisthardham agneyam kramenotkramena sarpadyam sravisthardhantam saumyam, tatraikaikam atmano navamsakam sacarakavidham, sauksmyatvad etat pramanam anenaiva pramiyate hi kalah, na vina pramanena prameyasyopalabdhih, prameyo’pi pramanatam prthaktvad upaity atma-sambodhanartham ity evam hy aha. yavatyo vai kalasya kalas tavatisu caraty asau, yah kalam brahmety upasita kdlas tasyatiduram apasaratiti , evam hy aha: kalat sravanti bhutani, kalad vrddhim prayanti ca. kale castam niyacchanti kalo murtir amurtiman.
14. And thus it has been said elsewhere : Food, verily is the source of this whole (world),, and time of food, and the Sun is the source of time. The form of it (time) is the year, which is composed of moments (twinklings) and other measures of time, and which consists of twelve months. Of it one half (when the Sun moves northward, belongs to Agni, the (other) half (when the sun moves southward) belongs to Varuna. The course from the asterism Magha (the sickle) to half of £ravistha (the drum) belongs to Agni. In its northward course from Sarpa (the serpent) to half of Kravis tha belongs to the moon. Among these each month of the self (named as the year) includes nine quarters according to the corresponding course (of the Sun through the asterism). Because of its subtilty (imperceptibility of senses) this (course of the Sun) is the proof for only in this way is time proved (to exist). Without proof there is no appre¬ hension of the thing to be proved. However the thing to be proved may become proved from the fact of its containing parts and for the sake of making itself known. For this it has been
The Principal Upanisads VI. 15.
said, As many parts of time as there are, through this the yonder (sun) moves. He who worships time as Brahma from him time moves away very far. For this has it been said, ‘From time all beings flow, from time they advance to growth; in time they obtain rest (they disappear). Time is formed and formless too.’
Half the year is uttarayana, belongs to Agni, ausnya-pradhanatvat; and the other half daksinayana belongs to Varuna, jalafpradhanatvat. The two periods are predominantly warm and moist respectively. sarpam: the asterism of Ailesa, sacred to the serpents, sarpa-devatyam dslesd-naksa.tr am. subtilty: indriyagocaratvat.
sambodhanartham : for making itself known, samyag-bodhanartham avadharanariham .
15. dve vava brahmano rupe kalai cakalai catha yah prag adityat so’ kalo’ kalo’ tha ya adityad yah sa kalah, sakalah, sakalasya vd etad ruparn yat samvatsarah, samvatsarat khalv evemah prajah prajayante, sarhvatsareneha vai jata vivardhante, samvatsare pratyastam yanti, tasmat samvatsaro vai praja-patih kalo’nnam brahma-mdam atma cety evarn hy aha kalah pacati bhutani sarvany eva mahatmani, yasmin tu pacyate kalo yas tain veda sa vedavit.
15. There are, verily, two forms of Brahman, time and the timeless. That which is prior to the sun is the timeless, without parts. But that which begins with (has a beginning from) the Sun is time, which has parts. Verily, the form of that which has parts is the year. From the year, verily, are these creatures produced. By the year, verily, after having been produced they grow. In the year they disappear. Therefore, the year, verily, is Praja-pati, is time, is food, is the abode of Brahman, is the self. For thus has it been said: ‘Time cooks (ripens) all things, indeed, in the great self. He who knows in what time is cooked, he is the knower of the Veda.’
The Sun is the self of time as he is its ordainer, kala-nirvartakatvad adityah kalatmakah.
abode of Brahman: brahmano nldam dlambanam brahma-drsti-yogyam pratlkam.
pacati: cooks, jarayati.
pacyate: is cooked, is dissolved, liyate.
The temporal process and the Sun go together. What is prior to the Sun is non-temporal.
Time is exalted as the highest principle, as the source of all that is.
There is a distinction between time which has parts, which is later than the Sun and the stars and the non-time which is without parts and is earlier, between time which cooks or matures all beings and that in which time is cooked or matured.
16. vigrahavan esa kalah sindhurajah prajanam, esa tat- sthahsavitdkhyoyasmddevemecandra-rksa-grahasamvatsaradayah suyante, athaibhyah sarvam idam atra va yat kihcit subhasubham drsyanteha loke tad etebhyas, tasmad adityatma brahmatha kalasamjham adityam upasitadityo brahmetyeke’tha evarn hy aha. hota bhokta havir mantro yajho visnuh praja-patih, sarvah kascit prabhuh saksi yo’musmin bhati mandate.
16. This embodied (incarnate) time is the great ocean of creatures. In it abides he who is called Savitr (the Sun as begetter) from whom, indeed, are begotten the moon, stars, planets, the year and the rest. And from them comes this whole (world) here and whatever of good or evil is seen in this (world) comes from them. Therefore, Brahman is the self of the Sun. Therefore one should reverence the Sun under the name of time. Some say the Sun is Brahman and thus is it said: ‘The offerer (of the sacrifice), the enjoyer (of the sacrifice), the obla¬ tion, the hymn, the sacrifice, Visnu, Prajd-pati all this is the lord, the witness who shines in yonder orb.’
See C.U. III. 19. 1. vigrahavan: embodied, murtiman. ocean: samudravat dustarah.
17. brahma ha va idam agra asit, eko’nantah, prag ananto daksinato’ nantah , praticy ananta udicy ananta urdhvah cd’vah ca sarvato’ nantah; na hy asya pracyadi-disah kalpante’tha tirya- gvah cordhvam va, anuhya esa paramatma’parimito’jo’tarkyo’ cintya esa akasatma; evaisa krtsna-ksaya eko j agartiti , etasmad akasad esa khalv idam cetamatram bodhayati; anenaiva cedam dhyayate asmin ca pratyastam yati; asyaitad bhasvaram rupam yad amusminn dditye tapati, agnau cadhumake yaj jyotis citra- taram, udarastho’tha va yah pacaty annam; ity evam hy aha; yascaiso’gnau yas cayam hrdaye yas casav dditye sa esa ekd ity ekasya haikatvam eti ya evam veda.
17. Verily, in the beginning this world was Brahman, the infinite one, infinite in the east, infinite in the south, infinite in the west, infinite in the north and above and below, infinite in every direction. For him, indeed, east and the other directions exist not nor across, nor below, nor above. Incomprehensible
830 The Principal Upani$ads
is that Supreme Self, unlimited, unborn, not to be reasoned about, not to be thought of (unthinkable), he whose self is space. At the dissolution of all he alone remains awake. Thus from that space, he awakes this (world) which consists of thought only. By him alone is all this meditated on and in him it is dissolved. He is that luminous form which gives heat in the yonder sun, the wonderful light on the smokeless fire, as also the fire in the stomach which cooks (digests) food. For thus has it been said, He who is in the fire, and he who is here in the heart and he who is yonder in the sun — he is one. He who knows this goes to the oneness of the one.
na kalpante: exists not, na vastutah sanii.
anuhya: The self cannot be imagined because it is not determinate. Whatever is imagined is determined: yad vastuhyate tat parimitam. akasatman: whose self is space. See C.U. III. 14. 2; K.U. II. 14. citra-taram: wonderful, ati-vicitram.
18. tatha tat-prayoga-kalpah pranayamah pratyaharo dhyanam dharana tarkah samadhih sadahga ity ucyate yogah, anena yada pasyan pasyati rukma-varnam kartaram isam purusam brahma- yonim; tada vidvan punya-pape vihaya parevyaye sarvam ekika- roty; evarh hy aha:
yatha parvatam adiptam nasrayanti mrga-dvijdh, tadvad brahmavido dosa nasrayanti kadacana.
18. This is the rule for achieving this (oneness), control of the breath, withdrawal of the senses, meditation, concentration, contemplative inquiry and absorption, (this is) said to be the sixfold yoga. When, by this (yoga) he beholds the gold-coloured maker, the lord, the person, the Brahma source, then the sage, shaking off good and evil, makes everything into oneness in the supreme indestructible. For thus has it been said, ‘As beasts and birds do not resort to a burning mountain, so sins do not find shelter in those who know Brahman. ’
Yoga is the means by which we control the mind: citta-vasikaro upayah. See Yoga Sutra II. 29.
Withdrawal of the senses from their objects is pratyahara. indri- yanarh visayebhyah pratyaharanam pratinivartanam pratyaharah.
Contemplative inquiry or tarka is savikalpaka-samadhi. It may also mean an inquiry whether the mind has become transformed or not into the object of meditation or an investigation into the hin-
drances of concentration caused by the inferior powers acquired by meditation.
pasyati: beholds. By means of yoga we achieve direct perception of the Supreme, saksad anubhavati. See M.U. III. 1. 3.
19 athanyatrapy uktam : yada vai bahir vidvan mano niyam- yendriyarthan ca prano nivesayitvd nihsamkaipas tatas tisthet, apranad iha yasmat sambhutah prdnasamjhako jivas tasmat prano vai turyakhye dharayet pranam; ity evarii hy aha: acittam cittamadhyastham acintyam guhyarn uttamam tatra cittarh nidhayeta tac ca lihgam nirasrayam.
19. And thus it has been said elsewhere: ‘Verily, when a knower has restrained his mind from the external, when his breath has put to rest objects of sense, let him then remain void of conceptions. Since the living individual who is named the breathing spirit has arisen here from what is not the breath¬ ing spirit, therefore let the breathing spirit merge his breathing spirit in what is called the fourth (condition).’ For thus has it been said: ‘That which is non-thought, which stands in the midst of thought, the unthinkable, the hidden, the highest, let a man merge his thought there. Then will this living being be without support (attachment).’
apranat: from what is not the breathing spirit. Its source is the thinking self, pranadi-visesa-rahitac cidatmanah. turya: the fourth, the other three being waking, dream and sleep. See M.U. 7.
lihga: the subtle body. It will not appear in its separate individuality on account of the absence of any conscious object or the subtle body will become void of all objects.
20. athanyatrapy uktam; atah parasya dharana, talu-rasana- granipidanad vah-manah-prana-nirodhanad, brahma tarkena pasyati, yad atmana atmanam anor amyamsam dyotamanam manah-ksayat pasyati tad atmanatmanam drstva niratma bhavati, niratmakatvad asamkhyo’ yonis cintyo moksa-laksanam ity etat param rahasyam; ity evam hy aha:
cittasya hi prasadena hanti karma subhdsubham, prasannatmatmani sthitva sukham avyayam asnuta iti.
20. And thus it has been said elsewhere: ‘There is yet a higher concentration than this for him. By pressing the tip of the tongue down the palate, by restraining voice, mind and
832 The Principal Upanisads
breath, he sees Brahman through contemplative thought. When, by the suppression of the mind, he sees through self he sees the shining self, more subtle than the subtle, then having the self through the self he becomes selfless. Because of his being selfless he is to be thought of as immeasurable, without origin. This is the mark of liberation, the highest mystery.’ And thus has it been said, ‘For by the serenity of thought, one destroys deeds, good and evil, with the serene self abiding in the self he enjoys eternal happiness.’
The process described here is called lambika-yoga and the state produced by it is called unmanlbhava.
tarkena: through contemplative thought, dharananantara-bhavina niscita-riipena jnanena.
niratma: selfless, nirmanasko bhavati jivabhavan nivartate esavastha yogibhir unmanity ucyate.
21. athanyatrdpy • uktam: urdhvaga nadi susumndkhya prana - sancarint talvantarvicchinna, taya pranomkara-mano-yukta- yordhvam utkramet, talvadhyagrarh parivartya indriyany asam- yojya mahima mahimanam nirikseta, tato niratmakatvam eti, niratmakatvan na sukha-duhkha-bhag bhavati, kevalatvarh labhata ity evarh hy aha:
parah purvam pratisthapya nigrhitanilam tatah. tirtva param aparena pascad yuhjita murdhvani.
21. And thus it has been said elsewhere: ‘The channel called su$umna leading upward, serving as the passage for the breath, is divided within the palate. Through it, when it is joined by the breath, the syllable aum and by the mind, let him pro¬ ceed upwards. By causing the tip of the tongue to turn back on the palate, by binding together the senses, let greatness perceive greatness. Thence he goes to selflessness.’ On account of selflessness, he is not (ceases to be) an experiencer of pleasure and pain. He obtains aloneness. For thus has it been said: ‘Having first fixed the breath that has been restrained, having crossed the limit, let him join the limitless in (the crown of) the head.’
See C.U. VIII. 6.6; Katha VI. 16; T.U. 1-6; Prasna III. 7. (7). 6. Freed from limitations he becomes conscious of the unlimited perfection of Brahman.
22. athanyatrdpy uktam: dve va va brahmani abhidhyeye £abda£ casabdasca, atha sabdenaivasabdam aviskriyate, atha tatra aum iti sabdo’ nenordhvam utkranto’ sabde nidhanam eti, athahaisa gatir etad amrtam, etat sayujyatvam, nirvrtatvam tatha ceti; atha yathornanabhis tantunordhvam utkranto’ vakasam labha- tity evam va va khalv asav abhidhyata aum ity anenordhvam utkrantah svdtantryam labhate, anyatha pare sabdavddinah: sravandhgusthayogendntarhrdaydkasa-sabdam akarnayanti , sapta- vidheyam tasyopamd,yatha nadyah kihkinl kamsya-cakraka-bheka vihkrndhika vrstir, nivate vadatlti, tarn prthag laksanam atltya pare’ sabde’ vyakte brahmany astam gatah, tatra te’prthag-dhar- mino’ prthag-vivekya yatha samp anna madhutvam nanarasa ity evam hy aha:
dve brahmani veditavye, sabda-brahma parah ca yat,
sabda-brahmani nisnatah param brahmadhigacchati.
22. And thus it has been said elsewhere: ‘There are, verily, two Brahmans to be meditated upon, sound and non-sound. By sound alone is the non-sound revealed. Now here the sound is aum. Moving upward by it one comes to ascend in the non¬ sound. So (one says) this is the way, this is immortality, this is complete union and also tranquillity. And now as the spider moves upward by the thread, obtains free space, thus assuredly, indeed the meditator moving upward by the syllable aum obtains independence.’ Other expounders of the sound (as Brahman) think otherwise. By closing the ears with the thumbs they hear the sound of the space within the heart. There is the sevenfold comparison of it, like rivers, a bell, a brass vessel, a wheel, the croaking of frogs, rain, as when one speaks in a still place. Having passed beyond this variously characterised (sound), they disappear (become merged) in the supreme, the non-sound, the unmanifest Brahman. There they are unchar¬ acterised and indistinguishable like the various juices that have reached the condition of honey. For thus has it been said, ‘There are two Brahmans to be known, the sound Brahman and what is higher. Those who know the sound Brahman get to the higher Brahman.’
See M.B. XII. 8540, also Panini-dar&ana in Sarva-darsana-samgraha- nivftatvam: tranquillity, paramdnanddvirbhavah krta-krtyatvam. free space: nirahkusa-vihdrasthanam. kihkinl: bell, ghanta-ghosah.
834 The Principal Upanisads
kamsyam: a brass vessel, tat-patra-ghosah. the croaking of frogs, manduka-ravah. astam: disappearance, adarsanam.
For the comparison of juices and honey, see C.U. VI. 9. 1-2. The Absolute is not totally unconnected with God. Those who worship God get to the Absolute.
23. athanyatrapy uktam: yah sabdas tad aum ity etad aksaram, yad asyagram tac chantam, asabdam, abhayam, asokam, anandam, trptam, sthiram, acalam, amrtam, acyutam, dhruvam, visnu-sam- jhitam, sarvaparatvaya tad eta upasitety evam hy aha: yo’sau paraparo deva aumkaro nama namatah, nihsabdah sunya-bhiitas tu murdhni sthane tato’bhyaset.
23. And thus it has been said elsewhere: ‘What is (called) the sound is the syllable aum. That which is its end is tranquil, soundless, fearless, sorrowless, blissful, satisfied, steadfast, unmoving, immortal, unshaking, enduring, called Visnu ; for obtaining what is higher than everything (final release), let him reverence these two.’ For thus is it said, ‘He who is both higher and lower, that God known by the name of aum is soundless and void of being too. Therefore let one concentrate on (the crown) of the head.’
sunya-bhutah: void of being, nirakaratvat nirvisesah. Distinctions do not apply to it, but it is not, on that account, to be regarded as non-being.
24. athanyatrapy uktam: dhanuh sariram, aum ity etac charah, sikhasya manah, tamo-laksanam , bhitva tamo’tamavistam agacchati; athavistam bhitva latacakr am iva sphurantam aditya- varnam urjasvantam brahma tamasah par yam apasyad yad amusminn adityetha some' gnau vidyuti vibhati; atha khalv enarn drstva’ mrtatvam gacchatity evam hy aha.
dhyanam antah pare tattve laksyesu ca nidhiyate ato’ viiesa-vijhanam visesam upagacchati: manase ca viline tu yat sukham catma-saksikam tad brahma cdmrtam sukram sa gatir loka eva sah.
24. And thus it has been said elsewhere: ‘The body is the bow. The arrow is aum. The mind is its point, darkness is the mark. Having pierced through the darkness, one goes to what is not enveloped in darkness. Then having pierced through what is thus enveloped one sees Brahman who sparkles like a wheel of fire, of the colour of the sun, full of vigour, beyond darkness, that which shines in yonder sun, also in the moon.
in the fire, in the lightning. And having seen Him assuredly, one goes to immortality.’ For thus has it been said: ‘Meditation is directed to the highest being within and to the (outer) objects. Hence the unqualified understanding becomes qualified. But when the mind is dissolved and there is the bliss of which the witness is the self, that is Brahman, the immortal, the radiant, that is the way. That indeed is the (true) world.’
See B.G. XV. 12; M.U. II. 2. 3-4. sikha: point, agram, salya-sthaniyam. darkness, ignorance, mulajhanam.
atamavistam: what is not enveloped in darkness, atama-avistam.
tama-avesana-rahitam.
sukram: radiant, dlptimat jhana-svabhdvam.
25. athanyatrapy uktam: nidrevantarhitendriyah suddhita- maya dhiya svapna iva yah pasyatindriya-bile’ vivas ah prana- vakhyam pranetaram, bha-rupam, vigata-nidram, vijaram, vimr- tyum, visokam ca so’ pi pranavakhyah, praneta, bha-rupah, vigata nidrah, vijarah, vimrtyur visoko bhavati, ity evam hy aha: evam pranam athomkaram yasmat sarvam anekadha, yunakti yuhjate vdpi tasmad yoga iti smrtah: ekatvam prana-manasor indriyanam tathaiva ca sarva-bhava-parityago yoga ity abhidhiyate.
25. And thus it has been said elsewhere: ‘He who has his senses indrawn as in sleep, who has his thoughts perfectly pure as in dream, who, while in the cavern of the senses, is not under their control, perceives him who is called Pranava, the leader, of the form of light, the sleepless, free from old age, the death¬ less, the sorrowless, he himself becomes called Pranava and becomes a leader, of the form of light, sleepless, free from old age, deathless and sorrowless.’ And thus it is said: ‘Because in his manner he joins the breath, the syllable aum and all this world in its manifoldness or perhaps they are joined, therefore this (process of meditation) is called Yoga (joining). The oneness of the breath, the mind and likewise of the senses and the abandonment of all conditions of existence, this is designated as Yoga.'
nidreva: as if in sleep ; svapna iva: as if in dream.
indriya-bile: in the cavern of the senses, indriyanam nivasa-sthdne
dehe.
aviva§ah: not under control, sthula-dehabhimana-sunyah. suddhitamaya: perfectly pure, atisayena suddhimatya.
836 The Principal Upanisads
pranetaram: leader. VI. 4.
bha-rupam: of the form of light, jhana-prakasa-svarupam.
The first verse describes the goal of Yoga and the second the means to it.
26. athanyatrapy uktam: yatha vapsu carinah sakunikah sutra- yantrenoddhrtyodare’ gnau juhoty evarh va va khalv iman pranan aum ityanenoddhrtyandmaye’ gnau juhoti, atas taptorviva- so’tha yatha taptorvi sarpis trna-kdstha-samsparsenojjvalatity evarh va va khalv asav aprandkhyah prana-samsparsenojjvalati, atha yad ujjvalaty etad brahmano rup am caitad visnoh paramam padam, caitad rudrasya rudratvam, etat tad aparimitadha catmanam vibhajya purayatimdn lokan, ity evam hy aha:
vahnes ca yadvat khalu visphulihgah, suryan mayukhds ca tathaiva tasya
pranadayo vai punar eva tasmad, abhyuccar antiha yatha- kramena.
26. And thus it has been said elsewhere: ‘Verily even as the huntsman draws in the dwellers in the waters with his net and offers them (as a sacrifice) in the fire of his stomach, thus, assuredly does one draw in these breaths by means of the syllable aum and sacrifice them in the fire that is free from ill. Hence it is like a heated vessel. Now as ghee in a heated vessel lights up by contact with (lighted) grass or wood, thus assuredly does he who is called non-breath light up by contact with the breaths. Now that which lights up is a form of Brahman, and that is the highest place of Visnu and that is the Rudra nature of Rudra. That having divided itself in limitless ways fills these worlds.’ For thus has it been said, ‘And as indeed the sparks (issue) from the fire, as rays from the sun, so do the breaths and the rest come forth again and again into the world in proper order.'
See B.U. II. 1. 20.
dwellers in the waters: matsyadln.
anamaya: free from ill. See S.U. III. 10.
27. athanyatrapy uktam: brahmano va vaitad tejah parasyamr- tasyasarirasya yaccharirasyausnyam asyaitad ghrtarn, athavih san nabhasi nihitam vaitad ekagrenaivam antarhrdayakdsam vinudanti yat tasya jyotir iva sampadyatiti , atas tad bhavam, acirenaiti bhumav ayaspindam nihitam yatha cirenaiti bhumitvam , mrdvat samstham ayaspindam yathagnyayaskaradayo nabhi-
bhavanti pranasyati cittam tathasrayena sahaivam, ity evam hy aha:
hrdyakasamayam kosam anandam paramdlayam,
svam yogas ca tato’smakam tejas caivagni-suryayoh.
27. And thus it has been said elsewhere: Verily, this is the heart of Brahman, the supreme, the immortal, the bodiless, even the warmth of the body. For that (heat) this (body) is the ghee (melted butter). Although it is manifest, verily, it is hidden in the space of the heart. Then by intense concentration they disperse the space within the heart that the light, as it were of that (heat) appears. Then one passes speedily into the same condition (of light) even as a ball of iron that is hidden in the earth passes speedily into the condition of earthiness. As fire and brass smiths and the like do not trouble about the ball of iron that is in the condition of earth, so does thought disappear together with its support. And thus it is said, ‘The store house which consists of the space in the heart, the blissful, the supreme abode, is our self, our Yoga (goal) too and this the heat of fire and sun.’
for that this body is the ghee: the splendour of Brahman which is otherwise unmanifested is manifested, even as fire blazes up by contact with ghee.
avih: manifest, prakatam. See M.U. II. 2. 1. kosam: storehouse, bhandagaram.
The words asraya and dlaya are used in their technical meanings. When disembodied in the yogic process the hrd-akasa is the nirasraya-lihga consubstantial with citta, its own asraya. When this process culminates in the ananda state, it is the higher dlaya. Lamkavatara Sutra distinguishes two aspects of dlaya, the lower of which is vijhapti and the higher param alayavijhanam which is tathata.
28. athanyatrdpy uktam: bhutendriyarthan atikramya tatah pravrajyajyarh dhrti-dandarh dhanur grhitva nabhimanamayena caivesuna tarn brahma-dvara-param nihatyadyarh sammoha-mauli trsnersyakundali tandnrdghavetryabhimdnddhyaksah krodhajyam pralobha-dandam dhanur grhttvecchamayena caivesunemani khalu bhutani hanti; tarn hatvorhkdra-piavenantarhrdayakdsasya param tirtvavirbhute ntarakase sanakairavataivavatakrd dhatukamah samvisaty evam brahma-salarh viset, tatas caturjalam brahma- kosam pranudet, gurvagameneti: atah suddhah, putah, iunyah,
838 The Principal Upanisads VI. 29.
ianto’prano, niratma’ nanto’ ksayyah, sthirah, sasvato’jah, svatan- trah, sve mahimni tisthati, atah sve mahimni tisthamanam. drstva vrttacakram iva sahcara-cakram alokayati, ity evam hy aha. sadbhir masais tu yuktasya nityamuktasya dehinah, anantah paramo guhyah samyag yogah pravartate. rajastamobhyarh viddhasya susamiddhasya dehinah putra-dara-kutumbesu saktasya na kadacana.
28. And thus it has been said elsewhere: Having passed beyond the elements, the senses and the objects of sense and then having seized the bow, whose string is the life of a mendi¬ cant, and whose stick is steadfastness and having struck down, with the arrow which consists of freedom from self-conceit, the first guardian of the door to Brahma, (who has) bewilder¬ ment as his crown, greed and envy as his ear-rings, sloth, sleep and impurity as his staff, the cord of self-love, who seizes the bow whose string is anger, whose stick is lust, who slays beings here with the arrow that consists of desires; having slain him, having crossed over with the raft of the syllable aum to the other side of the space in the heart, in the inner space which gradually becomes manifest one should enter the hall of Brahma as a miner seeking minerals enters into the mine. Then let him disperse the fourfold sheath of Brahma by the teaching of his spiritual perceptor. Henceforth being pure, clean, void (of being), tranquil, breathless, selfless, endless, undecaying, steadfast, eternal, unborn, independent, he abides in his own greatness. Thereafter, having seen (the self) which abides in his own greatness, he looks down on the wheel of births and deaths as on a revolving wheel (of a chariot). For thus has it been said: ‘If a man practises yoga for six months and is constantly freed (from the world) then the infinite supreme, mysterious Yoga is accomplished. But if a man, though well-enlightened, is afflicted with passion and darkness, if he is attached to son, wife and family, for such a one, no, never at all.’
tandri: sloth, satkarmasv alasyam. ira: sleep, nidra. agham: impurity, papam.
dhatu-kamah: seeking minerals, suvarnadi-dhatiin antarbhumau nihitdn kamayamanah.
fourfold sheath, consisting of matter, life, mind and understanding. See T.U. II. 1-4.
putrah praja-pater iti. santosam dvandva-titiksam santatvam yogabhyasad avapnoti iti, etad guhyatamam naputraya nasisyaya nasantaya kirtayed iti, ananya-bhaktdya sarva-guna-sampannaya dadyat.
29. Having thus spoken (to Brhadratha) fsakayanya with his heart (fixed) on the inner self bowed before him and said, by this brahma knowledge, did the sons of Prajd-pati ascend the path of Brahman. By the practice of Yoga one gains con¬ tentment, endurance of the dualities (of pleasure and pain) and tranquillity. Let no one declare this most secret doctrine to any one who is not a son, who is not a pupil, who is not. of a tranquil (mind). To one who is devoted to none other (than his teacher) to one endowed with all qualities, one may give it.
The conversation begun at I. 2 and the course of instruction begun at II. 1 conclude here.
See B.U. VI. 3. 12; S.U. VI. 22.
The sons of Prajd-pati: The Valikhilyas who approached Praja-pati for this knowledge. See II. 3.
30. aum sucau dese sucih sattvasthah sad-adhiyanah sad-vadi sad-dhyayi sad-yaji syad iti;. atah sad brahmani satyabhilasini nirvrtto’ nyas tatphalacchinnapaso nirasah paresv atmavad vigatabhayo niskamo’ ksayyam aparimitam sukham akramya tisthati. paramam vai sevadher iva parasyoddharanam yat niskamatvam; sa hi sarva-kama-mayah puruso’ dhyavasaya-sarh- kaipabhimana-lihgo baddhah; atas tad-viparito muktah; atraika ahur gunah prakrti-bheda-vasad adhyavasayatma-bandham upaga- to’dhyavasayasya dosa-ksayadd hi moksah, manasa hy eva pasyati, manasa srnoti, kamah samkalpo vicikitsd sraddha sraddhd dhrtir adhrtir hrir dhir bhir ity etat sarvam mana eva, gunaughair uhyamanah kalusikrtas casthiras calo lupyamanah sasprho vyagras cabhimanitvam prayata iti, aham so mamedam ity evam manyamdno nibadhnaty atmanatmanam jaleneva khecarah; atah puruso’ dhyavasayasamkalpabhimana-lihgo baddhah, atas tad- viparito muktah, tasmat niradhyavasayo nihsamkalpo nirabhi- manas tisthet, etan moksa-laksanam, esatra brahma-padavi eso’tra dvaravivaro’nenasya tamasah pararn gamisyati ; atra hi sarve kamah samahita, ity atrodaharanti :
yada pahcavatisthante jhanani manasa saha,
buddhis ca na vicestate tarn ahuh paramam gatim etad uktvantarhrdayah sakayanyas tasmai namaskrtva yathavad upacari krta-krtyo marud uttar ay anam gato, na hy atrodvartmand
840 The Principal Upanisads VI. 30.
gatih, eso'tra brahma-pathah, sauram dvaram bhittvorddhvena vinirgata, ity atrodaharati :
ananta rasmayas tasya dipavad yah sthito hrdi sitasitah kadru-mlah kapila mrdu-lohitah. urdhvam ekah sthitas tesam yo bhitva surya-mandalam brahma-lokam atikramya tena yanti par am gatim. yad asyanyad rasmi-satam urdhvam eva vyavasthitam tena deva-nikaydnam sva-dhamani prapadyate. ye naikarupas cadhastad rasmayo’sya mrdu-prabhah iha harmopabhogaya taih samsarati so’vasah tasmat sarga-svargapavarga-hetur bhagavan asdv aditya iti.
30. Aum. One should be in a pure place, himself pure, abiding in goodness, studying the real, speaking of the real, meditating on the real, sacrificing to the real. Henceforth absorbed in the real Brahman is he who yearns for the real, becomes another. He has the reward of having his bonds (fetters) cut, becomes void of expectation, is freed from fear in regard to others as in regard to himself, void of desire, he remains, having attained imperishable and immeasurable happiness. Verily, freedom from desire is, as it were, the highest prize from the choicest treasure. For a person who is made up of all desires, who has the marks of determination, conception and self-love is bound. He who is the opposite of that is liberated. On this point, some (the Samkhyas) say, it is the quality which, through the force of the differentiation of nature, binds the self with deter¬ mination (and the like) and from the destruction of the fault of determination (and the like) liberation (results). It is with the mind, verily, that one sees. It is with the mind that one hears. Desire, conception, doubt, faith and lack of faith, stead¬ fastness and lack of steadfastness, shame, meditation, fear, all this is truly mind. Borne along and defiled by the stream of qualities, unsteady, fickle, bewildered) full of desire, distracted, one gets into the state of self-love. In thinking I am he, this is mine, he binds himself with himself as a bird in a snare. Hence a person who has the marks of determination, con¬ ception and self-love is bound. He who is the opposite of that is liberated- Therefore stand free from determination, free from conception, free from self-love. This is the mark of liberation. This is the path to Brahman in this world. This is the opening of the door here in this world. Through it one will go to the farther shore of darkness for therein are all desires contained
(fulfilled)-. On this point they quote, ‘When the five forms (of sense) of knowledge along with the mind stand still and the intellect stirs not, that, they say, is the highest state.’ Having spoken thus, £akayanya had his heart (fixed) on the inner self. Then Marut having bowed before him and properly honoured him, having obtained his end, departed by the northern course of the sun for there is no way thither by a side-path. This is the path to Brahma here in the world. Bursting open the door of the sun, he rose on high and departed. On this point they quote, ‘Endless are the rays of him, who, like a lamp, dwells in the heart, white and black, brown and blue, tawny and pale red. One of them leads upwards piercing the solar orb; by it, crossing the world of Brahma they go to the highest path. The other hundred rays lead upwards also and through them (the worshipper) reaches the abiding-places of the gods. But the rays of dim colour which manifestly lead downwards by them one wanders here helplessly for experiencing (the fruits of) his deeds. Therefore, the yonder blessed sun is the cause of creation, of heaven and of final emancipation.’
Katha VI. 10. 16; PraSna I. 10; C.U. VIII. 6. 1; B.U. I. 5. 3. calo: v. cahcalo.
sat: the real, sadakhyam brahma.
brahma-padam: path to Brahman, saksat-brahma-prapti-margah.
avatisthante: stand still, niscalani bhavanti.
marut: marud nama brhadrathah.
krta-kftyah: having attained his end, avaptakamah.
By the upward course we reach the highest state or the abodes of the gods: by the downward course we are reborn in the world of births and deaths.
THE SELF’S RELATION TO THE SENSES AND THE
31. kxm-dtmakani va etanxndriyani pracaranty udganta caite- sam iha, ko niyanta vety aha; pratyahdtmdtmakdnxtydtma hy esam udganta niyanta vdpsaraso bhanaviyas ca marxcayo nama, atha pahcabhih rasmibhir visayan atti, katama atmeti, yo ’yam suddhah putah sunyah santadi-laksanoktah svakair lingair upagrhyah, tasyaital lihgam alihgasyagner yad ausnyam avistah cdpam yah siva-tamo rasa ity eke; atha vak srotram caksur manah prana ity eke, atha buddhir dhrtih smrtih prajha tad ity eke, atha te etasyaivam yathaiveha bijasyahkuravatha dhumarcirvi§- phulihga ivagnes ceti, atrodaharanti:
842 The Principal Upanisads VI. 32.
vahnes ca yadvat khalu visphulihgah, suryan mayukhai ca tathaiva tasya.
pranadayo vai punar eva tasmad, abhyuccar antiha yathakra- mena.
31. (One asks): Of what nature, verily, are these senses that go forth (towards their objects) ? Who is the one that sends them out here and who restrains them? Another answers they are of the nature of self for the self is he who sends forth and restrains them. There are enticing objects of sense and there are what are called the luminous rays. Now the self feeds on objects by the five rays. Who is the self? He who has been defined as pure, clean, void, tranquil and of other marks. He is to be apprehended by his own marks. Some say that the mark of him who is without any mark is as heat and anything pervaded by it are to fire, or what the most agreeable taste is to water; others say that it is speech, hearing, sight, mind, breath; others say that it is understanding, steadfastness, memory, wisdom. Now, verily, these are the marks of him even as the sprouts here are the mark of a seed, as smoke, light and sparks are the marks of a fire. On this point they quote: As indeed the sparks from fire, and likewise as the rays from the sun, living creatures and the rest in proper order again and again proceed from him here on earth.
See II. 4; VI. 28; S.U. VI. 13; A.U. III. 2; B.U. IV. 4. 18; Kena 2. The sprout reminds us of the invisible seed, bhumyantargata- tayadrsyasya sad-bhava-jhapaka ahkura. Even so from the mani¬ festations- of self we infer the reality of self.
32. tasmad va etasmdd dtmani sarve pranah, sarve lokah, sarve vedah, sarve devah, sarvani ca bhutany uccaranti tasyopanisat satyasya satyam iti, atha yathardraidhagner abhyahitasya prthag- dhuma niscaranty evarh va etasya mahato bhutasya nihsvasitam etad yad rg-vedo yajur -vedah sama-vedo’ tharvangirasa itihasah, puranam, vidya, upanisadah, slokah, sutrany anuvydkhyanani vydkhyanany asyaivaitani visva bhutani.
32. From him, indeed, who is in the self come forth all living creatures, all worlds, all the vedas, all the gods and all beings. Its mystic meaning is that it is the truth of the truth. Know as from a fire laid with green (damp) wood, when kindled, clouds of smoke separately issue forth, so, verily, from this great being has been breathed forth that which is the Rg Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda (hymns of), the Atharvans
and the Angirasas, legendary stories, ancient lore, sciences, mystic doctrines, verses, aphorisms, explanations and com¬ mentaries. From it, indeed, all these beings (come forth).
See B.U. II. 1. 20; II. 4. 10.
upanisad: mystic doctrines, upanigamayitrtvat saksat rahasyarh nama. the truth of the truth: empirical existence is the truth; the underlying truth of it is the self.
33. pahcestako vd eso’gnih samvatsarah tasyema istaka yo vasanto grismo varsah saradd hemantah, sa sirah-paksasi-prstha- pucchavan, eso’gnih purusavidah seyam praja-pateh prathama citih, karair yajamanam antariksam utksiptva vayave prayacchat, prano vai vayuh, prano’ gnis, tasyema istaka yah prano vyano ’panah samana udanah, sa sirah-paksasi-prstha-pucchavan eso’gnih purusavidas tad idam antariksam prajapater dvitiya citih, karair yajamanam, divam utksiptvendraya prayacchat, asau vd aditya indrah, saiso’gnih, tasyema istaka yad rg-yajuh samatharvangirasa itihasah puranam sa sirah-paksasi-puccha- prsthavan eso’gnih purusavidah, saisa dyauh prajapates trtiya citih, karair yajamanasyatmavide’ vadanam karoti, yathatmavid utksipya brahmane prayacchat, tatranandi modi bhavati.
33. Verily, this ( garhapatya sacrificial) fire with its five bricks is the year. For that the bricks are these, spring, summer, the rainy season, autumn, winter. So it has a head, two wings, a back and a tail. In the case of one who knows the person, this earth is Praja-pati’s first sacrificial pile. With its hands it raises the sacrificer to the atmosphere and offers him to Vayu (the wind) . Wind, verily, is breath. Breath is the fire ( daksinagni ) . For that the bricks are these, the prana breath, the vyana breath, the apana breath, the samana breath and the udana breath. So it has a head, two wings, a back and a tail. In the case of one who knows the person, this atmosphere is Praja-pati’s second sacrificial pile. With its hands it raises the sacrificer up to the sky and offers him to Indra. Verily, Indra is yonder sun. He is this (third ahavaniya ) fire. For that the bricks are these, the Rg Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sdma Veda (the hymns of the), Atharvans and Angirasas, legendary stories, ancient lore; so it has a head, two wings, a back and a tail. In the case of one who knows the person, this sky is Praja-pati’s third sacrificial pile. With its hands it presents the sacrificer to the knower of the self. Then the knower of the self raises him up and offers him to Brahma. There he becomes blissful and joyful.
844 The Principal Upanisads VI. 34.
The three fires which are used in religious sacrifices are treated as three sacrificial piles erected by Prajd-pati the lord of creation on earth, the atmosphere and the sky. The year, the wind and the sun rule in these three regions. They raise the sacrificer to the next higher stage until, finally, he reaches Brahma.
34. prthivigdrhapatyo’ ntariksam daksinagnir dyaur dhavamyah , tata eva pavamana-pavakaSucaya aviskrtam etenasya yajham, yatah pavamdna-pdvaka-iuci-samghato hi jatharah, tasmad agnir ya$tavyah cetavyah stotavyo’bhidhyatavyah; yajamano havir grhitvd devatabhidhyanam icchati:
hiranya-varnah sakuno hrdyaditye pratisthitah
madgur hamsas tejo-vrsah so’sminn agnau yajamahe iti capi mantrdrtham vicinoti; tat savitur varenyam bhargo ’ syabhidhyey am yo buddhyantastho dhydyiha manah-santi-padam anusaraty atmany eva dhatte' treme sloka bhavanti:
yady evam brahmani syat tat ko na mucyeta bandhanat.
sukham bhavet,
na sakyate varnayitum gird tada, svayarn tad antahkar- anena grhyate.
ato’nagnihotryanagnicid ajhanabhidhyayinam brahmanah pada-
vyomanusmaranam viruddham, tasmad agnir yastavyah cetavyah stotavyo ’bhidhyatavyah.
34. The earth is the gdrhapatya fire, the atmosphere is the daksina fire and the sky the ahavamya fire. Hence they are (called) the pure, the purifying, the bright. By this the sacrifice is made manifest. Since the digestive fire is the combination of the pure, the purifying and the bright, therefore this fire should be worshipped with oblations, is to be built (with bricks), is to be praised, is to be meditated upon. The sacrificer, when he takes the oblation seeks (to perform) his meditation of the divinity thus: ‘The bird of golden hue abides in the heart and in the sun, a diver-bird, a swan, of surpassing radiance. Let us worship him in the fire.’ Having recited, one discerns the meaning of this verse, the adorable splendour of Savitri should be meditated upon by him, who, abiding in his understanding, meditates thereon. Here he reaches the place of tranquillity for the mind. He places it in the self, indeed; on this point there are these verses : Even as fire without fuel becomes extinct in its own place, even so thought, by the cessation of activity becomes extinct in its own source. Even in a mind which seeks the truth and has quieted down in its own place, there arise false ideas due to past acts when deluded by the objects of sense. One’s own thought, indeed, is samsara\ let a man cleanse it by effort. What a man thinks, that he becomes, this is the eternal mystery. For by the serenity of one’s thought, one destroys all actions, good or bad. Dwelling within the self, with a serene self, he enjoys imperishable happiness. If the thought of man is. so fixed on Brahman as it is on the things of this world, who will not then be free from bondage? The mind, it is said, is of two kinds, pure and impure, impure from contact with desire and pure when freed from desire. By freeing mind from sloth and distraction and making it motionless, he becomes delivered from his mind (reaches mindlessness), then that is the supreme state. So long should the mind be restrained in the heart till it reaches its end, that is knowledge, that is liberation. All else is but extensions of the knots that bind us to this life. The happiness of a mind whose stains are washed away by concentration and who has entered the self, it cannot be here described by words. It can be grasped by the inner organ (only). One cannot distinguish water in water, fire in fire or ether in ether, even so he whose mind has entered in, he is released completely. Mind, in truth, is the cause of
846 The Principal Upanisads VI. 35-
bondage and liberation for mankind; for bondage if it is bound to objects; freedom from objects, that is called liberation. Therefore, for those who do not perform the agnihotra sacrifice, who do not build up the fire, who are ignorant, who do not meditate, the remembering of the ethereal (heavenly) place of Brahman is obstructed. Therefore that fire should be worshipped with oblations, should be built (with bricks), is to be praised, is to be meditated upon.
pavamana-pdvaka-suci: These attributes are applied to the different fires: garhapatyah — pavamanah, daksinagnih-pavakah, ahavanlyah- sucir iti bhedah.
hiranya-varnah: of golden hue, hiranyavat prakasamanah.
dhatte: places, anusandhatte.
sva-yonau: in its own place, svadhisthdne.
kama-vivarjitam: free from desire. See Brahma-bindu U . V. 1.
lay a: sloth, sleepiness, layo nidra.
viksepah: distraction, bahir-visaya-smrtyadih.
amanibhdvam: mindlessness : atmano mana upadhi-pravesa-krta-visesa- parityagah amanibhavah.
Cp. Y oga-vasistha :
cittam karanam arthanarh tasmin sati jagat-trayam, tasmin kslne jagat ksinam tat cikitsyam prayatnatah.
‘Thought is the cause for all things. When it is active there are the three worlds; when it subsides the world subsides. Therefore the mind should be treated with diligence.’
Brahma-bindu U. 2, see also 3-5.
Astavakra Gita II says:
sarlram svarganarakau bandha-moksobhayam tatha kalpand-matram evaitat kirn me karyam cidatmanah.
’The body, heaven and hell and so both bondage and liberation are but mental. What then have I (who am) essentially intelligence to do with them?’
This passage equates asraya with sabda Brahman whose pravrtti or concomitant differentiation leads to the universe. Its purification or unification leads to asabda or utter voidness, sunyatva.
35. namo’gnaye prthivi ksite loka-smrte lokam asmai yajamdn- aya dhehi, namo vayave’ ntariksa-ksite loka-smrte lokam asmai yaja- manaya dhehi, nama adityaya divi-ksite loka-smrte lokam asmai yajamandya dhehi, namo brahmane sarva- ksite sarva-smrte sar- vam asmai yajamandya dhehi,
hiranmayena patrena satyasyapihitam mukham tat tvam pdsann apavrnu satya-dharmaya visnave yo’sa aditye purusah so’sa aham, esa ha vai satya-dharmo yad
adityasya adityatvam tac chuklam, purusam, alihgam, nabhaso’ ntargatasya tejaso’ miamd.tr am etad yad adityasya madhya ivety aksiny agnau caitad brahmaitad amrtam etad bhargah etat satya- dharmo nabhaso’ ntargatasya tejaso’ ms amatr am etad yad adityasya madhye amrtam yasya hi somah prana va apyayahkura etad brahmaitad amrtam etad bhargah etad satya-dharmo nabhaso’ ntar¬ gatasya tejaso’ msa-matr am, etad yad adityasya madhye yajur dipyaty aum a.po jyotxraso’ mrtam brahma bhur bhuvah svar aum. astapadam sucirh hamsarh tri-sutram anum avyayam dvi-dharmo’ ndham tejasendham sarvam pasyan paiyati nabhaso’ ntargatasya tejaso’ mia-matr am etad yad adityasya madhye uditva mayukhe bhavata etat savit satya-dharma etad yajur etat tapa etad agnir etad vayur etat prana etad dpa etac candrama etac chukram, etad amrtam, etad brahma-visayam, etad bhanur arnavas tasminn eva yajamanah saindhava iva vliyanta esa vai brahmaikatatra hi sarve kamah samahita ity atrodaharanti: amsu-dharaya ivdnuvateritah samsphuraty asav antargah suranam, yo haivamvit sa savit, sa dvaitavit, saikadham etah syat tad atmakas ca: ye vindava ivabhyuccaranty ajasram, vidyud iva- bhrarcisah parame vyoman, te’rciso vai yasasa asraya-vasaj jata- bhirupa iva krsna-vartmanah.
35. Adoration to Agni (Fire), who dwells in the earth, who remembers the world. Bestow the world on this worshipper. Adoration to Vayu (wind) who dwells in the atmosphere, who remembers the world. Bestow the world on this worshipper. Adoration to the Aditya (the sun), who dwells in heaven, who remembers the world. Bestow the world on this worshipper.1 Adoration to Brahma, who dwells in all, who remembers all. Bestow all on this worshipper. With a golden vessel is the face of the real covered. That do thou, O Pusan, uncover, that we may reach the Eternal real, the pervader.2 He who is the yonder person in the sun, I myself am he. Verily, that which is the sunhood of the sun is the eternal real. That is the bright, the personal, the sexless. Of the bright power that pervades the sky, it is only, a portion, which is, as it were, in the midst of the sun, the eye and in fire. That is Brahman, that is the immortal, that is splendour. Of the bright power that pervades the sky it is only a portion which is the nectar in the midst of the sun, of which the moon and the living creatures too are only offshoots. That is Brahman, that is immortal, that is
1 See Taittinya Samhita VII. 5. 24. 1.
1 lia 15, 16; B.U. V. 15. 1.
848 The Principal Upanisads VI. 36.
splendour, that is the eternal real. Of the bright power that pervades the sky it is only a portion which shines as the Yajur Veda in the midst of the Sun that is awn, water, light, essence, immortal, Brahman bhur, bhuvas, svar, aum. The eight-footed, the pure, the swan, three-stringed, minute, the “imperishable, blind to the two attributes (of good and evil), kindled in the light, he who sees him sees all. Of the bright power that pervades the sky it is only a portion, which, rising in the midst of the Sun becomes the two light rays. That is the knower, the eternal, real, that is the Yajus, that is heat, that is fire, that is wind, that is breath, that is water, that is the moon, that is the bright, that is the immortal, that is the place of Brahman. That is the ocean of light. In it, indeed, the wor¬ shippers become dissolved like (a lump of) salt.1 It is the one¬ ness with Brahman for in it are all desires contained.2 On this point they quote. Even as a lamp moved by a gentle breeze, he who dwells within the gods shines forth. He who knows this, is the knower, he knows the difference, having grasped the oneness, he becomes identified with it. They who rise forth perpetually like spray drops (from the sea) like lightnings from the light within the clouds in the highest sky, they, by virtue of their entrance into the light of glory appear like crests of flame in the track of fire.
Prthivi-ksite: who dwells in the earth, prthivi-loka-nivasaya. satya-dharmaya visnave: that we may reach the eternal real, the pervader ; satya-dharma-visnusvarupa-praptaya iti. alihgam: sexless, lihga-varjitam stri-pun-napumsakadi-bheda-rahitam. dvi-dharmo’ndham: blind to the two attributes (of good and evil) : dvdbhyam punya-papabhyam andham anavabhasamdnam punyapa- pa-rahitam.
brahma-visayam: the place of Brahman, brahma-prapti-dvaram. savit: the knower, vida jhanena saha vartata iti savit, vidvan.
36. dve va va khalv ete brahma- jyotiso rupake sdntam ekam samrddham caikam, atha yac chantam tasyadharam kham, atha yat samrddham idarn tasyannam, tasman mantrausadhajya- misa-puroddsa-sthdli-pdkadibhir yastavyam antarvedyam asny avasistair anna-pdnais easy am ahavantyam iti matva tejasah samrddhyai punya-loka-vijityarthayamrtatvaya cdtrodaharanti: agni-hotram juhuydtsvarga-kamo yama-rajyam agnistomenabhiya-
• B.U II. 4: 12
3 C.U. VIII. 1.5; Maitri VI. 30 and 38
yati soma-rajyam ukthena, surya-rajyam sodasina svdrajyam atiratrena prajapatyam asahasra-samvatsaranta-kratuneti:
vartyadhara-sneha-yogad yathd dipasya samsthitih, antaryandopayogad imau sthitav atmasuci tatha.
36. Verily, indeed, of the Brahma light there are these two forms, one, the tranquil and the other the abounding. Now of that which is tranquil, space is the support, of the other which is the abounding, food here is the support. Therefore one should offer sacrifice in the sacrificial altar with sacred hymns, herbs, ghee, flesh (sacrificial), cakes, boiled rice and the like, and also with food and drink cast into the mouth, knowing the mouth to be the ahavamya fire for the sake of abundance of vigour, for winning the world of sanctity and for immortality. On this point they quote : He who is desirous of heaven should offer the agnihotra sacrifice. One wins the kingdom of Yama by the agnistoma sacrifice, the kingdom of the moon by the uktha, the kingdom of the Sun by the sixteen-day sacrifice, the kingdom of independence by the atiratra sacrifice, the Kingdom of Praja-pati by the sacrifice which continues to the end of a thousand years. As the continued existence of a lamp is because of the union of wick, support and oil, so also the self and the bright (sun) continue to exist because of the union of the Inner One and the world egg.
The two selves are the witness and the experiencing self. The former is tranquil and the latter is full of activity.
tejasah: vigour, jhana-baladi-nimittam pragalbhyam.
svdrajyam: the kingdom of independence or the kingdom of Indra:
indradhisthito loka-visesah.
Even as the lamp burns so long as there is oil to be consumed so the light of Brahman remains divided as the individual soul and the Sun so long as the latent brightness of previous actions in the incorporated being and in the world are not exhausted. If the Sun is taken as the symbol of the cosmic process it means that the process will continue until all men are liberated.
37. tasmad aum ity anenaitad upasitaparimitam tejas, tat tredhabhihitam agnav aditye prane’ thaisa nady anna-bahum ity esagnau hutam ddityam gamayati, ato yo raso’sravat sa udgxtham varsati, teneme pranah, pranebhyah praja ity atrodaharanti: yadd havir agnau huyate tad ddityam gamayati, tat suryo rasmibhir varsati, tenannam bhavati, annddbhutandmntpattirityevamhydha:
agnau prastahutih samyag ddityam upatisthate, adityaj jayate vrstir vrster annam tatah prajah.
850 The Principal Upanisads VI. 38.
37. Therefore one should meditate with the syllable aum on that unlimited splendour. That has been manifested threefold, in the fire, in the sun, in the breath. Now this is the channel by which the abundance of food offered in this fire goes up to the sun. The sap which flows therefrom rains down like the udgitha chant. By this living creatures here exist. From living creatures come offspring. On this point they quote. The oblation which has been offered in the fire goes to the sun. The sun rains that down with his rays-. Thereby arises food. From food the production of beings. For thus has it been said, the offering properly cast in the fire goes toward the sun; from out of the sun comes rain; from the rain food; from food living beings.
nadi: channel, dvdra-rupa. See Manu III. 76.
38. agni-hotram juhvano lobha-jalam bhinatti, atah sammoham chitva na krodhan stunvanah kamam abhidhyayamanas tatas catur- jalam brahma-koiam bhindad, atahparam-akasamatrahisaurasau- myagneya-sattvikani mandalani bhittva tatahsuddhah sattvantaras- tham, acalam, amrtam, acyutam, dhruvam, visnu-samjhitam , sarvdparam dhama satyakdma-sarvajhatva-samyuktam, svatan- tram, caitanyam, sve mahimni tisthamanam pasyati atrodaharanti:
ravi-madhye sthitah somah soma-madhye hutasanah,
tejo-madhye sthitam sattvam sattva-madhye sthito’ cyutah. iarira-prddeiahgustha-mdtram anor apy anvyam dhydtvatahpara- matdm gacchati, atra hi sarve kamah samahita iti, atrodaharanti; ahgustha-prddeSa-sarira-matram pradipa-pratapavat dvis tridha hi, tad brahmabhistuyamanam maho devo bhuvanany avivesa. aum namo brahmane namah.
38. He who performs the agnihotra sacrifice rends the net of selfish desire. Then having cut through bewilderment he does not approve of anger. Meditating on desire, he cuts through the fourfold sheath of Brahma. Thence he goes to the highest space. There having broken through the spheres of the sun, of the moon, of the fire and of the pure being, he, then, being purified himself, he sees the intelligence which abides in the pure • being, immovable, immortal, indestructible, enduring, bearing the name of Visnu, the ultimate abode, endowed with love of truth (or the desires) and omniscience, independent, which stands in its own greatness. On this point they quote: In the midst of the sun stands the moon, in the midst of the moon the fire, in the midst of fire stands pure being; in the midst of pure being stands the indestructible one : Having
meditated on him who is of the measure of a thumb within the span (of the heart) -in the body, who is smaller than the small, then one goes to the supreme condition. For in that all desires are contained. On this point they quote: Having the measure of a thumb within the span in the body like the flames of a light burning twofold or threefold, the Brahma who is praised, the great god, has entered (all) the worlds. Aum, adoration to Brahma, yea, adoration.
He who makes the fire sacrifice tears up the snare of greed, cuts down delusion and breaks with anger.
of the measure of a thumb within the span in the body: iarire prade- sa-matra-parimitam hr day am tatr angustha-matr am kamalam. pradipa-pratapavat: like the flame of a light, pradipa-sikhavat.
852 The Principal Upanisads
THE SELF AS THE WORLD-SUN AND ITS RAYS
1. agnir gayatram trivrd rathantaram vasantah prano nak- satrani vasavah purastad udyanti, tapanti, varsanti, stuvanti, punar visanti, antar vivareneksanti, acintyo’ murto gabhiro gup~ to’navadyo ghano gahano nirgunah suddho bhdsvaro gunabhug bhayo’ nirvrttir yogisvarah, sarvajho magho’ prameyo’ nadyantah, sriman, ajo, dhimdn anirdesyah, sarvasrk ,sarvasydtma,sarvabhuk, sarvasyeianah, sarvasy antar antar ah.
1. The Fire, the gayatn metre, the trivrt hymn, the rathantara chant, the spring season, the upward breath, the stars, the vasu gods (these), rise in the east, they warm, they rain, they praise, they enter again within and look out through an opening. He is unthinkable, formless, deep (unfathomable), hidden, blame¬ less, compact (solid), impenetrable, free from qualities, pure, brilliant, enjoying (the play of the three) qualities, fearful, unproduced, the master yogin , omniscient, mighty, immeasurable, without beginning or end, possessing all excellence, unborn, wise, indescribable, the creator of all, the self of all, the enjoyer of all, the lord of all, the inmost being of everything.
vasu gods: deva-gana-visesah. deep, unfathomable: duravagahah. compact: solid, abhedyah.
bhayah: fearful, because he is the all-devouring time, kalarupah. maghah: mighty or worshipful, maghavan indr ah piijyah.
2. indr as tristup pahcadaso brhad-gnsmo vyanah somo rudra daksinata udyanti, tapanti, varsanti, stuvanti, punar viianti, antar-vivarena iksanti: anadyanto’parimito’paricchinno’parapra- yojyah, sv atantro' lingo’ murto’ nantasaktir dhata bhaskarah.
2. Indra, the tristubh metre, the pancadasa hymn, the brhat chant, the summer season, the vyana breath, the moon, the Rudra gods rise in the south; they warm, they rain, they praise, they enter again within and look out through an opening. He is without beginning or end, unmeasured, unlimited, not to be moved by another, independent, without any marks (signs), formless, of endless power, the creator, the maker of light (the enlightener).
3. maruto jagati saptadaso vairupam, varsa apanah sukra adityah pascad udyanti, tapanti, varsanti, stuvanti, punar-visanti , antar vivareneksanti , tac chantam, asabdam, abhayam, asokam,
anandam, trptam, sthiram, acalam, amrtam, acyutam, dhruvam, visnu-samjhitam, sarvaparam dhama.
3. The Maruts, the jagati metre, the saptadasa hymn, the Vairupa chant, the rainy season, the apana breath, the planet Venus, the Aditya gods, these rise in the west. They warm, they rain, they praise, they enter again within and look out through an opening. That is tranquil, soundless, fearless, sorrowless, blissful, satisfied, steadfast, immovable, immortal, un¬ shaking, enduring, bearing the name of Visnu, the highest abode.
4. visve deva anustub ekavimso vairajah sarat samd.no varunah sadhya uttarata udyanti, tapanti, varsanti, stuvanti, punar visanti, antar vivareneksanti , antah-suddhah , putah, sunyah, ianto’ prano niratmanantah.
4. The Visve devas, the anustubh metre, the ekavimsa hymn, the Vairaja chant, the samana breath, Varuna, the sadhya gods, rise in the north. They warm, they rain, they praise, they enter again within, and look out through an opening. He is pure within, clean, void, tranquil, breathless, selfless, endless.
5. mitravarunau panktis trinava-trayastrimso sakvara-raivate hemanta-sisiraudano’ngirasas candrama urddhva udyanti, tapanti, varsanti, stuvanti, punar visanti antar vivareneksanti, prana- vakhyam pranetaram, bha-rupam, vigata-nidram, vijaram, vimr- tyum, visokam.
5. Mitra and Varuna, the pankti metre, the trinava and the trayastrimsa hymns, the Sakvara and Raivata chants, the winter and the dewy seasons, the udana breath, the Angirasas, the moon rise from above. They warm, they rain, they praise, they enter again within, and look out through an opening. Him who is called pranava, the impeller, whose form is light, sleepless, ageless, deathless, sorrowless.
6. sani-rdhu-keturaga-rakso-yaksa-nara-vihaga-sarabhebhada- yo’dhastad udyanti, tapanti, varsanti, stuvanti, punar visanti, antar vivareneksanti , yah prajho vidharanah sarvantaro’ ksarah, suddhah, putah, bhantah, ksantah, santah.
6. Saturn, Rahu (the dragon’s head), Ketu (the dragon’s tail), serpents, the Raksasas, Yaksas, men, birds, deer, elephants and the like rise from below. They warm, they rain, they praise, they enter again within and look out through an opening. He who is wise, the ordainer, within all, imperishable, pure, clean, shining, patient, tranquil.
vidharanah: the ordainer, vidharako varnasrama maryadayah.
The Principal Upani$ads
THE WORLD-SELF
7. e$a hi khalv dtmantarhrdaye’niyan iddho’gnir iva viivaru- po’syaivannam idam sarvam asminn ota imah prajah, e$a dtmdpahatapdpmd vijaro vimrtyur visoko’vicikitso’vipasah sat- ya-samkalpah, satya-kamah, esaparamesvarah, esa bhutadhipatih, esa bhuta-pdlah, e?a setuh, vidharanah, esa hi khalv atmesanah iambhur bhavo rudrahprajapatir visva-srkhiranya-garbhahsatyam prano hamsah iastacyuto visnur narayanah, yascaiso'gnau ya$ cay am hrdayev yascasav aditye sa esa ekah, tasmai te visva-rupdya satye nabhasi hitdya namah.
7. And he, verily, is the self within the heart, very subtile, kindled like fire, endowed with all forms. Of him all this is food. In him are woven creatures here. He is the self which is free from evil, ageless, deathless, sorrowless, free from uncertainty, free from fetters, whose conception is the real, whose desire is the real. He is the supreme lord, he is the ruler of beings, he is the protector of beings. He is the determining bridge. This self, verily, is the lord, the beneficent, the existent, the terrible, the lord of creation, creator of all, the golden germ, truth, life, spirit, the ruler, the unshaken, the pervader, Narayana. He who is in the fire, he who is here in the heart, he who is yonder in the sun, he is one. To thee who art this, endowed with all forms hidden in the real space, be adoration.
visva-rupah: endowed with all forms, sarva-rilpo vaiivanarah. otdh: woven, airitdh, paid iva tantujatam asritya sthitdh. See B.U. III. 6; III. 8.
setu: bridge. See B.U. IV. 4. 22; C.U. VIII. 4. 1. hitdya: hidden, nihitaya.
8. athedanim jhanopasarga rajan moha-jalasyaisa vai yonih, yad asvargyaih saha svargyasyai$a vatye purastad ukte’py adhah stambendslisyanti , atha ye canye ha nitya-pramudita nityapra- vasita, nitya-yacanaka nityam tiipopajivino’tha ye canye ha pura-yacaka ayajya-ydjakah 6udra-si$yah, sudras ca sastra-vid- vamso’tha ye canye ha cata-jata-nata-bhata-pravrajita-rahgdvatd- rino rajakarmani patitadayo’tha ye canye ha yaksa-raksasa-bhuta- gana-pisacoraga-grahadindm artham puraskrtya samayama ity evam bruvana, atha ye canye ha vrtha ka$dya-kundalinah kapalin- o’tha ye canye ha vrtha tarka-drstanta-kuhakendrajdlair vaidikesu paristhatum icchanti, taih saha na samvaset, prakasya-bhuta vai te taskara asvargya ity evam hy aha:
nairatmya-vada-kuhakair mithyd-dr$tanta-hetubhih, bhramyan loko na jandti veda-vidyantarantu yat.
8. Now then, the hindrances to knowledge, O King. This is indeed the source of the net of delusion, the association of one who is worthy of heaven with those who are not worthy of heaven, that is it. Though it is said that there is a grove before them, they cling to a low shrub. Now there are some who are always hilarious, always abroad, always begging, always making a living by handicraft. And others there are who are beggars in town, who perform sacrifices, for the unworthy, who are the disciples of Sudras and who, though Sudras, are learned in the scriptures. And others there are who are wicked, who wear their hair in a twisted knot, who are dancers, who are mer¬ cenaries, travelling mendicants, actors, those who have been degraded in the King’s service. And others there are who, for money, profess that they can allay (the evil influences) of Yaksas (sprites), Raksasas (ogres), ghosts, goblins, devils, ser¬ pents, imps and the like. And others there are who, under false pretexts, wear the red robe, earrings and skulls. And others there are who love to distract the believers in the Veda by the jugglery of false arguments, comparisons and paralogisms, with these one should not associate. These creatures, evidently, are thieves and unworthy of heaven. For thus has it been said: The world bewildered by doctrines that deny the self, by false comparisons and proofs does not discern the difference between wisdom and knowledge.
jhanopasargah: hindrances to knowledge ; jhdnotpatti-vighdtakd hetavah.
vftha: falsely, mithya.
veda-vidya: wisdom and knowledge, vedavidya : knowledge and ignorance.
The caste prejudice comes out here with reference to the Sudras.
9. brhaspatir vai sukro bhutvendrasyabhaydyasurebhyah ksaya- yemam avidyam asrjat, taya sivam asivam ity uddisanty asivam sivam iti, vedadi-sastra-himsaka-dharmabhidhyanam astv iti vadanti, ato nainam abhidhiyetany athaisa bandhyevaisa rati-matram phalam asya vrttacyutasyeva narambhaniyety evam hy aha:
duram ete viparlte visual, avidya yd ca vidyeti jhata vidyabhipsitam naciketasam manye, na tva kama bahavo lolupante
vidydm cavidyam ca yas tad vedobhayarh saha, avidyaya mrtyurii tirtva vidyaya amrtam asnute.
856 The Principal Upanisads VII. 10.
avidyayam antare vestyamanah, svayarn dhxrah panditam manyamanah,
dandramyamanah pariyanti mudha andhenaiva niyamana yathandhah.
9. Verily, Brhaspati (the teacher of the gods) became Sukra (the teacher of the demons) and for the security of Indra and for the destruction of the demons created this ignorance. By this (they) declare the inauspicious to be auspicious and the auspicious to be inauspicious. They say that there should be attention to the (new) law which is destructive of the (teaching of the) Vedas and the other scriptures. Therefore one should not attend to this teaching. It is false. It is like a barren woman. Mere pleasure is the fruit thereof as also of one who has fallen from the proper course. It should not be attempted. For thus has it been said: Widely opposed and divergent are these two, the one known as ignorance, and the other as knowledge. I (Yama) think that Naciketas is desirous of obtaining knowledge and many desires do not rend you. He who knows at the same time knowledge and ignorance together, having crossed death by means of ignorance he wins the immortal by knowledge. Those who are wrapped up in the midst of ignorance, fancying themselves alone wise and learned, they wander, hard smitten and deluded like blind men led by one who is himself blind.
Cp. C. U. VIII. 7.
sivam: auspicious, sukhakaram.
asivam : inauspicious, aka.lyd.nam, duhkham.
uddisanti: declare, kat hay anti.
rati-matram: mere pleasure, of a passing nature, tatkalikam phalam asya na bhavi-subha-phalam asti.
knowledge and ignorance: See Katha II. 4; Isa 11; Katha II. 5; M.U. 1. 2. 8.
having crossed death by ignorance: karmanisthaya mrtyurn vidyot- patti-pratibandhakam pdparn tirtvatikramya vidyaya aupanisadaya 'mrtatvam moksam asnute prapnoti.
vestyamanah: wrapped up, putra-pasu-dhana-ksetradi-trsna-pasa- sataih samvestyamanah.
dandramyamanah: hard smitten, kutilam anekarupam gatirn gac- chantah jara-marana-rogadi-duhkha-satair upadruyamanah iti va. pariyanti: wander, samsara-mandale paribhramanti.
10. devasura ha vaiya atma-kama brahmano’ ntikam prayatah, tasmai namaskrtvocuh, bhagavan, vayarn atma-kamah sa tvam no
bruhiti, atas ciram dhyatva manyatanyatatmano vai te’sura, ato’nyatamam etesam uktam, tad ime mudha upajivanty abhis- vahginas tarydbhighatino’ nrtabhisamsinah satyam ivanrtam pas- yantindrajalavad ity, ato yad vedesv abhihitam tat satyam yad vedesuktamtad vidvamsa upajlvanti ,tasmad brahmano navaidikam adhlyxtayam arthah syad iti.
10. Verily, the gods and the demons, being desirous of (knowing) the self went into the presence of Brahma. Having bowed before him they said, Revered Sir, we are desirous of (knowing) the self, so do you tell us. Then, after having reflected a long while, he thought in himself. Verily, these demons are desirous of a self different (from the true one). Therefore, a very different doctrine was told to them. On that these deluded (demons) here live their life, with intense attachment, destroying the means of salvation and praising what is false. They see the false, as if it were true, as in jugglery. Therefore what is set forth in the Vedas, that is the truth. On what is said in the Vedas, on that wise men live their life. Therefore a Brahmana should not study what is not of the Veda. This should be the purpose.
See C.U. VIII. 8.
anyatatmanah: v. ayatatmanah, not self-subdued.
with intense attachment: atyasaktah tat-parah. They live according to
another idea of the self than the reality, deluded, attached, expressing
a falsehood; as if by an enchantment they see the false as the true.
tank: the means, the raft by which to cross the ocean of samsara.
tiryate anayeti tarih samsdra-sagaratikramana-sddhanam atma-tatt-
va-jhdnam.
11. etad va va tat svarupam nabhasah khe’ntarbhutasya yat par am tejas tat tredhabhihitam agna aditye prana etad va va tat svarupam nabhasah khe’ntarbhutasya yad aum ity, etad aksaram anenaiva tad udbudhnyati, udayati, ucchvasati, ajasram brahmadhi- yalambarh vatraivaitat samir aneprakasa-pr aksepakausny a-sthdni- yam etad dhumasyeva samuane nabhasi prasakhayaivotkramya skandhatskandham anusaraty apsu praksepako lavanasyeva ghrtasya causnyam ivabhidhyatur vistrtir ivaitad ityatrodaha- ranti: atha kasmad ucyate vaidyuto yasmad uccaritamatra eva sarvarn sariram vidyotayati, tasmad aum ityanenaitad upasi- taparimitam tejah
858 The Principal Upanisads
dviranuh kantha-dese
jihvagra-deie tryanukam ca viddhi vinirgatam matrkam evam ahuh.
bhavo mahatmana iti.
11. Verily, the nature of the ether within the space (of the heart) is the same as the supreme bright power. This is mani¬ fested in a threefold way, in fire, in the sun and in the breath of life. Verily, the nature of the ether within the space (of the heart) is the same as the syllable aum. With this syllable, indeed, that (light) rises up (from the depths) goes upwards and breathes forth. Verily, it becomes for ever, the support of the meditation on Brahma. In the breathing, that (bright power) has its place in the heart that casts forth light. In the breathing that is like the action of smoke; for when there is breathing the smoke rises to the sky in one column and follows afterwards one branch after another. That is like throwing salt into water, like heat in melted butter, like the range (of the thought) of a meditator. On this point they quote, now, why is it said to be lightning ? Because in the very moment of going forth it lights up the whole body. Therefore one should meditate with the syllable aum that boundless light. The person who is in the eye, who abides in the right eye, he is Indra and his wife abides in the left eye. The union of these two (takes place) within the hollow of the heart and the lump of blood which is there is indeed the life-vigour of these two. There is a channel extending from the heart up to the eye and fairly fixed there. That is the channel which serves both of them, by being divided
in two though but one. The mind stirs up the fire of the body; that stirs the wind. The wind, then moving through the chest produces the low sound. As brought forth in the heart, by contact with the fire of friction it is smaller than the smallest, it becomes double (the minimum size) in the throat, know that it is treble on the tip of the tongue and when it comes forth they call it the alphabet. The seer does not see death, nor sickness, nor any sorrow. The seer sees the all and becomes all everywhere. He who sees with the eye, who moves in dreams, who is sound asleep and he who is beyond the sound sleeper, these are a person’s four distinct conditions. Of these the fourth is greater than the rest. Brahman with one quarter moves in the three and with three-quarters in the last. For the sake of experiencing the true and the false the great self has a dual nature, yea, the great self has a dual nature.
See B.U. IV. 2. 3; C.U. VII. 26. 2. ajasram: for ever, nair antary ena.
Veda is said to be the expression of the mind of Isvara. isvara- cid-vistd.ro vedah. susau: hollow, chidre.
For the four conditions of the self, see Ma.U.
-
sub Ala u pan is ad
This Upanisad belongs to the Sukla Yajur Veda and is in the form of a dialogue between the sage Subala and Brahma, the creator God. It discusses the nature of the universe and the character of the Absolute.
Subala Upanisad
1. tad ahuh, kirn tad asit, tasmai sa hovaca, na san ndsan na sad asad iti, tasmat tamah samjayate, tamaso bhutadih, bhutadeh akaiam, akaiad vayuh, vayor agnih, agner apah, adbhyah prthivi; tad andam samabhavat; tat samvatsara-matram usitva dvidhakarot, adhastad bhumim, uparistad akasam, madhye puruso divyah, sahasra-strsa purusah, sahasraksah, sahasra-pat, sahasra-bahur iti. so’gre bhutanam mrtyum asrjat, tryaksaram, trisiraskam, tripadam khandaparasum, tasya brahmabhidheti , sa brahmanam eva vivesa, sa manasan sapta-putran asrjat, te ha virajah satya manasdn asrjan, te ha praja-patayo brahmano' sya mukham asid, bdhu rajanyah krtah, uru tad asya yad vaisyah, padbhyam sudro ajayata.
candramd manaso jatas caksoh suryo ajayata, srotrad vayus ca pranas ca, hr day at sarvam idam jay ate.
1. (He) discoursed on that: What was there then? To him (Subala) he (Brahma) said: It was not existent, not non¬ existent, neither existent and non-existent. From that emerged darkness, from darkness the subtle elements, from the subtle elements ether, from ether air, from air fire, from fire water, from water earth; then there came into being the egg; that (egg) after incubation for a year split in two, the lower one being the earth and the upper one being the sky; in the middle (between the two parts) there came into being the divine person, the person with a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet and a thousand arms. This (person) created death the foremost of all beings, the three-eyed, three-headed and three¬ footed Khandaparasu. Of him Brahma became afraid. He got hold of Brahma alone. He (Brahma) created seven sons out of his mind. These (seven) created in their turn, out of their minds, seven sons filled with truth. These are, verily, the Praja-patis. Out of his (the divine person’s) mouth came forth the Brah- manas, out of his arms were made the Rajanyas (the Ksatriyas), out of his (two) thighs the Vaisyas were produced and from his feet came forth the £udras.
From his mind came the moon, and from his eyes came the sun and from his ear came forth air and the vital principle. From his heart sprang forth all this.
In the beginning was the formless state which cannot be described
864 The Principal Upanisads II. 1.
as either existent or non-existent or as both. Cp. R.V. Nasadiya Sukta X. 129.
The first existent was darkness, the principle of objectivity, the void which has to be illumined.
The egg is the world-form and the person is the world-spirit. Earth and heaven are generally represented as the two forces whose interaction produces the manifold universe.
Subjection to death, the principle of unceasing change is the characteristic of the cosmic process.
1. apanan nisada-yaksa-raksasa-gandharvas casthibhyah par- vata lomabhya osadhi-vanaspatayo lalatat krodhajo rudro jayate, tasyaitasya mahato bhutasya nihsvasitam evaitad yad rgvedo yajurvedah samavedo’tharvavedah siksa kalpo vyakaranam, niruktam chando jyotisam ayanaht nyayo mimamsa dharma- sastrani vydkhyanany upavyakhydnani ca sarvani ca bhutani hiranya-jyotir yasminn ay am atmadhiksiyanti bhuvanani visva. atmanam dvidhakarot, ardhena stri ardhena purusah, devo bhutva devan asrjat, rsir bhutva rsin yaksa-raksasa-gandharvan gramany aranyarhs ca pasun asrjat, itara gaur itaro nadvan itaro vadave taro’sva itara gardabhttaro gardabha itara visvambharitaro vis- vambharah. so’nte vaisvanaro bhutva samdagdhva sarvani bhutani prthivy apsu praliyata apas tejasi pr ally ante, tejo vayau viliyate, vayur akase vilxyata akasam indriyesv indriyani tanmatresu tanmatrani bhutadau viliyante, bhutadir mahati viliyate, mahan avyakte viliyate, avyaktam aksare viliyate, aksararh tamasi viliyate, tamah pare deva ekibhavati parastan na san, nasan, nasadasad ity etan nirvananusasanam iti vedanusasanam iti vedanusasanam.
1. From the apana of the Person (sprang forth) the Nisadas (forest tribes) as also the Yaksas, the Raksasas and the Gand- harvas; from the bones the mountains; from the hairs herbs and trees of the forest, from the forehead Rudra, the embodi¬ ment of anger. Of this great person’s outbreathing are the Rg Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda, the Atharva Veda, Siksa (pronunciation), Kalpa Sutras, grammar, lexicography, prosody, the science of the movements of the heavenly bodies, the Nyaya logic, investigation of the rules of conduct and nature of reality, the codes of conduct, commentaries and sub-commentaries and all other things relating to all beings.
That light of gold (the world-spirit) in whom are reflected the self and all the worlds, (he) split his own form into two, half female and half male. Becoming a celestial he created the celestials, becoming a seer he created seers and similarly the Yaksas, the Raksasas, the Gandharvas, village folk, and forest dwellers and animals he created, the one a cow, the other a bull, the one a mare, the other a stallion, the one a she-ass, the other a he-ass, the one the earth goddess, the other the lord of the world (Visnu). At the end he, (the same world spirit) becoming Vaisvanara, completely burns all existing things (dissolves the world), earth dissolves in water, water I dissolves in fire, fire dissolves in air, air dissolves in ether, ether in the senses, the senses in the subtle elements, the subtle elements dissolve in their subtile sources, the subtile sources dissolve in the principle of mahat, the principle of mahdt dissolves in the principle of the Unmanifested and the principle of the Unmanifested dissolves in the Imperishable. The Imperishable dissolves in the darkness. The darkness becomes one with the transcendent [Brahman) . Beyond the transcendent there is no (other) existence nor non-existence nor both existence and non-existence. This is the doctrine relating to liberation. This is the doctrine of the Veda; this is the doctrine of the Veda.
from the hairs, herbs and trees of the forest: see B.U. I. 1. 1. the one a cow and the other a bull: see B.U. I. 4. 4. mimamsa: investigation; it is taken as referring to both Purva and Uttar a Mimamsas, the first relates to the nature of duty, dharma, and the second to the nature of Brahman. The order of dissolution is the reverse of the order of evolution and the account is based on the Samkhya theory.
Ill
1. asad vaidamagra asit. ajatam,abhutam,apratisthitam,asabdam, asfarsam, arupam, arasam, agandham, avyayam, amahantam, abrhantam, ajam, atmanarh matva dhiro na socati. apranam, amukham, asrotram, avag, amano’tejaskam, acaksuskam, anama- gotram, asiraskam, apani-padam, asnigdham, alohitam, apra- meyam, ahrasvam, adirgham, asthulam, ananv analpam, aparam, anirdesyam, anapavrtam, apratarkyam, aprakasyam, asamvrtam, anantaram, abahyam, na tad asnati kin cana, na tad asnati kas canaitad vai satyena danena tapasanasakena brahmacaryena
866 The Principal Upanisads IV. i.
nirvedanenanaiakena sadahgenaiva sadhayet, etat trayam vikseta damam danam dayam iti, na tasya prana utkramanty atraiva samav ally ante, brahmaiva san brahmapyeti ya evarh veda.
i. In the beginning this was non-existent. He who knows (the Brahman) as unborn, uncaused, unestablished (in any¬ thing else), devoid of sound, devoid of touch, devoid of form, devoid of taste, devoid of smell, imperishable, not dense, not prodigious, originless, as one’s own self (he), sorrows not. That which is lifeless, mouthless, earless, speechless, mindless, splen¬ dourless, devoid of name and clan, headless, devoid of hands and feet, devoid of attachment, devoid of glowing redness (like fire), immeasurable, not short, not long, not gross, not minute (like a speck), not small, not great, not definable, not obscure, not demonstrable, not manifest, not shrouded, without an interior, without an exterior. It does not feed on anything, nor does anything feed on it. One should attain this ( Brahman ) by recourse to the six means of truthfulness, charity, austerity, fasting, chastity (of mind and body) and complete indifference to worldly objects (renunciation of all objects which do not help the attainment of the knowledge of the self). One should also attend to the following three, self-control, charity and compassion. The pranas (vital airs) of this (knower of Brahman) do not go out ; even where he is they get merged. He who knows thus, becoming Brahman remains as Brahman alone.
See B.U. III. 8. 8.
Brahman is described in negative terms and the means for its attainment are mentioned. While this is the ultimate reality, the world can be accounted for by the concepts of the Supreme Person and the world-spirit.
I. hrdayasya madhye lohitam mamsapindam, yasmims tad daharam jbundarikam kumudam ivanekadha vikasitam, hrdayasya dasa chidrani bhavanti; yesu pranah pratisthitah , sa yada pranena saha samyujyate tada pasyanti nadyo nagarani bahiini vividhani ca, yada vyanena saha samyujyate tada pasyati devams ca rsims ca, yada apanena 'saha samyujyate tada pasyati yaksa-raksasa- gandharvan, yada udanena saha samyujyate tada pasyati deva-lo- kan devan skandam jayantam ceti, yada samanena saha sam~
yujyate tada pasyati deva-lokan dhanani ca, yada vairambhyena saha samyujyate tada pasyati drstam ca srutam ca hhuklahi cabhuktam ca sac casac ca sarvam pasyati. athema dasa dasa nadyo bhavanti. tasam ekaikasya dvasaptatir dvasaptatih sakha nadi sahasrani bhavanti. yasminn ayarn atma svapiti sabdanam ca karoti. atha yad dvitiye samkose svapiti tademam ca lokam par am ca lokam pasyati, sarvan iabdan vijanati, sa samprasada ity acaksate, pranah sariram pariraksati , haritasya nilasya pxtasya lohitasya svetasya nadyo rudhirasya purna athatraitad daharam pundankam kumudam ivanekadha vikasitam. yatha kesah sahas- radha bhinnas tatha hita-nama nadyo bhavanti. hrdy akase pare koie divyo’yam atma svapiti. yatra supto na kam cana kamam kamayate, na kam cana svapnam pasyati, na tatra deva na deva-loka yajha nayajha va, na mata na pita na bandhur na bandhavo na steno na brahmaha tejaskayam amrtam salila evedam salilam vanam bhuyas tenaiva margena jagraya dhavati samrad iti hovaca.
1. In the centre of the heart is a lump of flesh of red colour. In it the dahara of the white lotus blooms with its petals spread in different directions like the red lotus. There are ten hollows in the heart. In them are established the (chief) vital airs. When the individual soul is yoked with the prana breath, then he sees rivers and cities, many and varied. When yoked with the vyana breath, then he sees gods and seers. When yoked with the apana breath then he sees the Yaksas, the Raksasas and the Gandharvas. When yoked with the udana breath, then he sees the heavenly world and the gods, Skanda, Jayanta and others. When yoked with the samdna breath, then he sees the heavenly world and wealth (of all kinds). When yoked with the vairambha, then he sees what he has (formerly) seen, what he has (formerly) heard, what he has (formerly) enjoyed or not enjoyed, whatever is existent or non-existent. In fact he sees all (in the waking state). (In the subtle sheath) these branch into ten branches of ten each. Out of each of these branch out seventy-two thousands of nadis. In these (ramifications) the soul experiences the state of dream and causes sounds to be apprehended. Then in the subtle second sheath the soul experiences dreams, sees this world and the other world and knows all sounds. (The soul) declares it to be the state of serene perception. (In this state) the vital air protects the (gross) body. The branched nadis are filled with fluids of greenish yellow, blue, yellow and white colours. Then in that in which the
868 The Principal Upanisads V. I.
dahara is enclosed in the white lotus-like sheath which has bloomed like the red lotus, with its petals spread in different directions, are manifest nadis called the Rita, of the size of a thousandth section of the hair. In the ether of the heart situated in the interior of the sheath, the divine soul attains the state of sleep. When in the state of sleep , (the soul) does not desire any desires, does not see any dreams. In it there are no gods or worlds of gods, no sacrifices or absence of sacrifices, neither mother nor father, nor kinsmen nor relations, neither a thief nor a killer of a Brahmana. His form is one of radiance, of immortality. He is only water and remains submerged. Then by resorting to the same course he leaps into the waking state. He rules on all sides, said (Brahma to the sage Subala).
dahara: see C.U. VIII. I. I. pundarlka: white lotus. kumuda: red lotus.
pari-raksati: protects. Life is devoted to its functions and keeps guard over the body.
We have here a repetition of the description of hita which extends from the heart of the person towards the surrounding body. Small as a hair divided a thousand times, these arteries are full of a thin fluid of various colours, white, black, yellow, red. In these the person dwells. When sleeping he sees no dreams. He becomes then one with the life principle alone.
When we wake up from the state of sleep we get back to the experience of dreams in the dream state and experiences of the world in the waking state. See Ma. U.
THE INDIVIDUAL SELF’S FUNCTIONS AND THE SUPREME SPIRIT
i. sthanani sthanibhyo yacchati. nadi tesam nihandhanam, caksur adhyatmam, drastavyam adhihhutam, adityas tatradhi- daivatam, nadi tesam nihandhanam , yas caksusi yo drastavye ya aditye yo nadyam yah prane yo vijhane ya anande yo hrdy akase ya etasmin sarvasminn antare samcarati so' yam atma, tarn atmanam upasitajaram, amrtam, abhayam, asokam, anantam.
i. (The supreme self) bestows on the different local func¬ tionaries their (respective) spheres of action. The nadis are the links establishing connection with them (the different organs). The eye is the sphere of the self ; what is seen is the sphere of the objective; the sun is the divine principle (exercising its
influence in aid of the self). The connecting link (between the self and the organ of the eye) is the (concerned) nadl. He who moves in the eye, in what is seen, in the sun, in the nadl, in the life principle, in the (resultant) knowledge, in the bliss (derived from such knowledge), in the ether of the heart, in the interior of all these is this self. One should meditate on this self which is devoid of old age, which is free from death, which is fearless, sorrowless, endless.
2. srotram adhyatmam, srotavyam adhibhutam, disas tatrad- hidaivatam, nadl tesam nibandhanam, yah srotre yah srotavye yo diksu yo nadyam yah prane yo vijhane ya anande yo hrdy akase ya etasmin sarvasminn antare samcarati so'yam atma, tarn atmanam updsltajaram, amrtam, abhayam, asokam, anantam.
2. The ear is the sphere of the self, what is heard is the sphere of the objective; the (guardians of the) quarters are the divine principles. The connecting link is the nadl. He who moves in the ear, in what is heard, in the quarters, in the nadls, in the life-principle, in the knowledge, in the bliss, in the ether of the heart, in the interior of all those is this self. One should meditate on this self which is devoid of old age, which is free from death, which is fearless, sorrowless, endless.
3. nasddhyatmam, ghratavyam adhibhutam, prthivl tatra- dhidaivatam, nadl tesam nibandhanam, yo nasayam yo ghratavye yah prthivyam yo nadyam yah prane yo vijhane yo anande yo hrdy akase ya etasmin sarvasminn antare samcarati so’yam atma, tarn atmanam updsltajaram, amrtam, abhayam, asokam, anantam.
3. The nose is the sphere of the self: what is smelt is the sphere of the objective. Earth is the divine principle. The connecting link is the nadl. He who moves in the nose, in what is smelt, in earth, in the nadl, in the life-principle; in the knowledge, in the bliss, in the ether of the heart, in the interior of all these, in this self. One should meditate on this self which is devoid of old age, which is free from death, which is fearless, sorrowless, endless.
4. jihv adhyatmam, rasayitavyam adhibhutam, varunas tatra- dhidaivatam, nadl tesam nibandhanam, yo jihvayam, yo rasa- yitavye, yo varune, yo nadyam, yah prane yo vijhane ya anande yo hrdy akase ya etasmin sarvasminn antare samcarati so’yam atma, tarn atmanam updsltajaram, amrtam, abhayam, asokam, anantam.
870 The Principal Upanisads V. 7.
4. The tongue is the sphere of the self, what is tasted is the sphere of the objective. Varuna is the divine principle. The connecting link is the nadi. He who moves in the tongue, in what is tasted, in Varuna, in the nadi, in the life-principle, in the knowledge, in the bliss, in the ether of the heart, in the interior of all these is this self. One should meditate on this self which is devoid of old age, which is free from death, which is fearless, sorrowless, endless.
5. tvag adhyatmam, sparsayitavyam adhibhutam, vayus tatra- dhidaivatam, nadi tesam nibandhanam, yas tvaci, yah spariayi- tavye, yo vayau, yo nadyam, yah prane yo vijhane, ya anande, yo hrdy akase ya etasmin sarvasminn antare samcarati, so’ yam atma, tam atmanam upasitajaram, amrtam, abhayam, asokam, anantam.
5. The skin is the sphere of the self; what is touched is the sphere of the objective. Air is the divine principle. The con¬ necting link is the nadi. He who moves in the skin, in what is touched, in the air, in the nadi, in the life-principle, in the knowledge, in the bliss, in the ether of the heart, in the interior of all these is this self. One should meditate on this self which is devoid of old age, which is free from death, which is fearless, sorrowless, endless.
6. mano' dhyatmam, mantavyam adhibhutam, candras tatra- dhidaivatam, nadi tesam nibandhanam, yo manasi, yo mantavye, yas candre, yo nadyam, yah prane, yo vijhane, ya anande, yo hrdy akase ya etasmin sarvasminn antare samcarati so’ yam atma, tam atmanam upasitajaram, amrtam, abhayam, asokam, anantam.
6. The mind is the sphere of the self, what is minded is the sphere of the objective. The moon is the divine principle. The connecting link is the nadi. He who moves in the mind, in what is minded, in the moon, in the nadi, in the life-principle, in the knowledge, in the bliss, in the ether of the heart, in the interior of all these is this self. One should meditate on this self which is devoid of old age, which is free from death, which is fearless, sorrowless, endless.
7. buddhir adhyatmam, boddhavyam adhibhutam, brahma tatradhidaivatam, nadi tesam nibandhanam, yo buddhau, yo boddhavye, yo brahmani, yo nadyam, yah prane, yo vijhane, ya anande, yo hrdy akase ya etasmin sarvasminn antare samcarati so’yam atma, tam atmanam upasitajaram, amrtam, abhayam, aiokam, anantam.
7. Understanding is the sphere of the self, what is understood is the sphere of the objective. Brahma is the divine principle. The connecting link is the nadl. He who moves in the under¬ standing, in what is understood, in Brahma, in the nadl, in the life-principle, in the knowledge, in the bliss, in the ether of the heart, in the interior of all these is this self. One should meditate on this self, which is devoid of old age, which is free from death, which is fearless, sorrowless, endless.
8. ahamkdro’ dhyatmam, aharhkartavyam adhibhutam, rudras tatradhidaivatam, nadl tesam nibandhanam, yo’hamkare, yo ’hamkartavye, yo rudre, yo nadyam, yah prane, yo vijhane, ya anande, yo hrdy akase, ya etasmin sarvasminn antare samcarati so’yam atma, tam atmanam upasltajaram, amrtam, abhayam aiokam, anantam.
8. The self-sense is the sphere of the self. The contents of self-sense are the sphere of the objective. Rudra is the divine principle. The connecting link is the nadl. He who moves in the self-sense and in the contents of self-sense, in Rudra, in the nadl, in the life-principle, in the knowledge, in the bliss, in the ether of the heart, in the interior of all these is this self. One should meditate on this self which is devoid of old age, which is free from death, which is fearless, sorrowless, endless.
9. cittam adhyatmam, cetayitavyam adhibhutam, ksetrajhas tatradhidaivatam, nadl tesam nibandhanam, yai citte, yas ceta- yitavye, yah ksetrajhe, yo nadyam, yah prane, yo vijhane, ya anande, yo hrdy akase, ya etasmin sarvasminn antare samcarati so’yam atma, tam atmanam upasltajaram, amrtam, abhayam, asokam, anantam.
9. The thinking mind is the sphere of the self; what is thought is the sphere of the objective. Ksetrajna (the knower of the field) is the divine principle. The connecting link is the nadl. He who moves in the thinking mind, in what is thought, in the Ksetrajna, in the nadl, in the life-principle, in the knowledge, in the bliss, in the ether of the heart, in the interior of all these is this self. One should meditate on this self which is devoid of old age, which is free from death, which is fearless, sorrowless, endless.
10. vag adhyatmam, vaktavyam adhibhutam, vahnih tatradhidai- vatam, nadl tesam nibandhanam, yo vaci, yo vaktavye, yo agnau, yo nadyam, yah prane yo vijhane, ya anande, yo hrdy akase ya
872 The Principal Upanisads V. 13.
etasmin sarvasminn antare samcarati so’ yam atma, tarn atmanam upasitajaram, amrtam, abhayam, asokam, anantam.
10. Voice is the sphere of the self. What is spoken is the sphere of the objective. Fire is the divine principle. The con¬ necting link is the nadi. He who moves in the voice, in what is spoken, in fire, in the nadi, in the life principle, in the know¬ ledge, in the bliss, in the ether of the heart, in the interior of all these is this self. One should meditate on this self which is devoid of old age, which is free from death, which is fearless, sorrowless, endless.
11. hastav adhyatmam, adatavyam adhibhutam, indras tatra- dhidaivatam, nadi tesam nibandhanam, yo haste, ya ddatavye, ya indre, yo nadyam, yah prane, yo vijhane, ya anande, yo hrdy akase, ya etasmin sarvasminn antare samcarati, so’yam atma, tarn atmanam upasitajaram, amrtam, abhayam, asokam, anantam.
11. The hands are the sphere of the self, what is handled is the sphere of the objective. Indra is the divine principle. The connecting link is the nadi. He who moves in the hands, in what is handled, in Indra, in the nadi, in the life-principle, in the knowledge, in the bliss, in the ether of the heart, in the interior of all these is this self. One should meditate on this self which is devoid of old age, which is free from death, which is fearless, sorrowless, endless.
12. padav adhyatmam, gantavyam adhibhutam, visnus tatra- dhidaivatam, nadi tesam nibandhanam, yah pade,yo gantavye, yo visnau, yo nadyam, yah prane, yo vijhane, yaanande,yo hrdy akase ya etasmin sarvasminn antare samcarati, so’yam atma, tarn atmanam upasitajaram, amrtam, abhayam, asokam, anantam.
12. The feet are the sphere of the self. What is traversed by feet is the sphere of the objective. Visnu is the divine principle. The connecting link is the nadi. He who moves on the feet, in what is traversed, in Visnu, in the nadi, in the life- principle, in the knowledge, in the bliss, in the ether of the heart, in the interior of all these is this self. One should meditate on this self which is devoid of old age which is free from death, which is fearless, sorrowless, endless.
13. pdyur adhyatmam, visarjayitavyam adhibhutam, mrtyus tatradhidaivatam, nadi tesam, nibandhanam, yah payau, yo visarjiyitavye, yo mrtyau, yo nadyam, yah prane, yo vijhane, ya anande, yo hrdy akase y a etasmin sarvasminn antare samcarati,
so yam atma, tarn atmanam upasitajaram, amrtam, abhayam, asokam, anantam.
13. The excretory organ is the sphere of the self. What is excreted is the sphere of the objective. Death is the divine principle. The connecting link is the nadi. He who moves in the excretory organ, in what is excreted, in Death, in the nadi, in the life-principle, in the knowledge, in the bliss, in the ether of the heart, in the interior of all these is this self. One should meditate on this self which is devoid of old age, which is free from death, which is fearless, sorrowless, endless.
14. upastho’ dhyatmam, anandayitavyam adhibhutam, praja- patis tatradhidaiuatam, nadl tesath nibandhanam, ya upasthe, ya anandayitavye, yah praja-patau, yo nadyam, yah prane, yo vijhane, ya anande, yo hrdy akase, ya etasmin sarvasminn antare samcarati, so yam atma, tarn atmanam upasitajaram, amrtam, abhayam, asokam, anantam.
14. The generative organ is the sphere of the self. What is enjoyed (as sexual satisfaction) is the sphere of the objective. Praja-pati is the divine principle. The connecting link is the nadi. He who moves in the generative organ, in what is enjoyed, in Praja-pati, in the nadi, in the life-principle, in the knowledge, in the bliss, in the ether of the heart, in the interior of all these is this self. One should meditate on this self which is devoid of old age, which is free from death, which is fearless, sorrowless, endless.
15. esa sarvajha, esa sarvesvara, esa sarvadhipatih, eso ’ntaryami, esa yonih sarvasya sarva-saukhyair upasyamano na ca sarva-saukhyany upasyati, veda-sastrair upasyamano na ca veda-sastrany upasyati, yasyannam idam sarve na ca yo’nnam bhavati, atah param sarva-nayanah prasastanna-mayo bhutatma, prana-may a indriyatma, mano-mayah samkalpatma, vijhana- mayah kalatma, ananda-mayo layatmaikatvam nasti dvaitam kuto martyam nasty amrtam kuto nantah prajho na bahih prajho nobhayatah prajho na prajhana-ghano na prajho naprajho’pi no viditam vedyam nastity etan nirvananusasanam iti, vedanusasanam iti, vedanusasanam.
15. This (self) is all-knowing. This is the lord of all. This is the ruler of all. This is the indwelling spirit. This is the source of all. This, that is resorted to by all forms of happiness, does not stand in need of happiness of any kind. This, that is adored by all the Vedic texts and scriptures does not stand in need
874 The Principal Upanisads
of Vedic texts and scriptures. Whose food is all this but who (himself) does not become the food of any. For that very reason (it is) the most excellent, the supreme director of all. Consisting of food (it is) the self of (all) gross objects; consisting of life (it is) the self of (all) sense organs; consisting of mind (it is) the self of (all) mental determination; consisting of intelligence (it is) the self of time; consisting of bliss, (it is) the self of dis¬ solution. When there is not oneness whence (can arise) duality? When there is not mortality, whence (can arise) immortality? (It is) not (endowed) with internal knowledge : nor with external knowledge; nor with both these kinds of knowledge, not a mass of knowledge, not knowledge, nor not-knowledge, not (pre¬ viously) known nor capable of being known. This is the doctrine relating to liberation. This is the doctrine of the Veda. This is the doctrine of the Veda.
See Ma. U. 7.
kdlatma: the self of time. The witness self facing kala or the principle of temporal happenings. The highest cannot be spoken of as non¬ dual or dual, mortal or immortal.
NARAYANA, the basis and support of the
1. naiveha kirn canagra asid amulam, anadharam, imah prajah. prajayante, divyo deva eko narayanas caksus ca drastavyam ca, narayanah srotram ca srotavyam ca, narayano ghranam ca ghratavyam ca, narayano jihva ca rasayitavyarh ca, nara- yanas tvak ca sparsayitavyam ca, narayano manas ca mantavyam ca, narayano buddhis ca boddhavyam ca, narayano ’hamkaras ca ahamkartavyam ca, narayanas cittarh ca cetayitavyam ca, narayano vak ca vaktavyam ca, narayano hastau cadatavyam ca, narayanah padau ca gantavyam ca, narayanah payus ca visar- jayitavyam ca, narayana upasthas canandayitavyam ca, nara- yano dhata, vidhata, karta, vikarta, divyo deva eko narayana dditya, rudra, maruto vasavo’ svinav rco yajumsi samani, mantro’gnir ajyahutir narayana udbhavah, sambhavo divyo deva eko narayano mata, pita, bhrata, nivasah, saranam, suhrd, gatir narayano virdja sudarsana jita saumyamogha kumardmrta satya madhyama naslra sisurasura surya bhasvati vijheyani nadi-namani divyani garjati, gayati, vati, varsati, varuno’ryama
candramah kola kalir dhata brahma praja-patir maghavd divasas cardha-divasas ca kalah kaipas cordhvam ca disas ca sarvam narayanah
purusa evedam sarvam yad bhutam yac ca bhavyam utamrtatvasy esano yad annenatirohati tad visnoh paramam padarh sada pasyanti surayah diviva caksur atatam
tad vipraso vipanyavo jagrvdmsah samindhate visnor yat paramam padam
tad etan nirvananusasanam iti, vedanusasanam iti, vedanusa- sanam.
1. Whatever (we see in this world) did not, verily, exist at the beginning (of creation). So all these creatures became root¬ less, supportless, The one divine Narayana alone (is the mainstay of all creation), the eye and what is seen. The ear and what is heard are Narayana, the nose and what is smelt are Narayana, the tongue and what is tasted are Narayana. The skin and what is touched are Narayana. The mind and what is minded are Narayana. The understanding and what is understood are Narayana. The self-sense and its contents are Narayana. The thinking mind and what is thought are Narayana. The voice and what is spoken are Narayana. The two hands and what is handled are Narayana. The two feet and what is traversed are Narayana. The excretory organ and what is excreted are Narayana. The generative organ and what is enjoyed (as sexual satisfaction) are Narayana. The sustainer, ordainer, the doer, the non-doer, the celestial radiance are the one Narayana. The Adityas, the Rudras, the Maruts, the Asvins, the Rk, the Yajur, the Sama Vedas, the hymns (employed in sacrifices), the sacrificial fires, the offerings and the acts of offering, what arises (out of the sacrificial rites) are the celestial radiance, the one Narayana. Mother, father, brother, abode, shelter, friend and the path (leading to life eternal) are Narayana, the Viraja, the Sudarsana, the Jita, the Saumya, the Amogha, the Amrta, the Satya, the Madhyama, the Nasira, the Sisura, the Asura, the Surya, the Bhasvatl are to be known as the names of the divine channels. (The self that has to course through the channels) roars (like thunder), sings (like a faery spirit), blows (like wind), rains. He is Varuna, the Aryaman, the moon, (he is the) divisions of time, the devourer of time, the creator, Praja-pati, Indra, the days and the half days, the divisions of time, aeons and great aeons. He is up and in all
876 The Principal Upanisads
the directions. All this is Narayana. All this, what has been and what is yet to be is only the person and symbol of immortality which continues (as Soma) by food (which contains life-sus¬ taining Soma). Sages see constantly that most exalted state of Visnu as the eye sees the sky. These learned (knowers of Brahman ), with their passions cast away, with their inner senses alert, declare clearly (to ignorant people) that most exalted state of Visnu. This is the doctrine leading to liberation. This is the doctrine of the Veda. This is the doctrine of the Veda.
sages see constantly: see Muktika U. I. 83.
1. antah sarire nihito guhayam aja eko nityo yasya prthivi sariram yah prthivim antare sarhcaran yam prthivi na veda; yasyapah sariram yo’po’ntare sarhcaran yam apo na viduh; yasya tejah sariram yas tejo’ntare sarhcaran yam tejo na veda; yasya vayuh sariram yo vayum antare sarhcaran yam vayur na veda; yasyakasah sariram ya akasam antare sarhcaran yam akaso na veda; yasya manah sariram yo mano’ntare sarhcaran yam mano na veda; yasya buddhih sariram yo buddhim antare sarhcaran yam buddhir na veda; yasyaharhkarah sariram yo’harh- karam antare sarhcaran yam aharhkaro na veda; yasya cittarh sariram yas cittam antare sarhcaran yam cittarh na veda; yasya- vyaktarh sariram yo’vyaktam antare sarhcaran yam avyaktam na veda; yasyaksararh sariram yo’ksaram antare sarhcaran yam aksararh na veda; yasya mrtyuh sariram yo mrtyum antare sarhcaran yam mrtyur na veda; sa eva sarva-bhutd.ntardtmd.paha- tapdpma divyo deva eko narayanah. etarh vidyam apantarata- maya dadav apantaratamo brahmane dadau, brahma ghorah- girase dadau, ghorahgira raikvaya dadau, raikvo ramaya dadau, ramah sarvebhyo bhutebhyo dadav ity evarh nirvananusasanam iti, vedanusasanam iti, vedanusasanam.
1. There abides for ever the one unborn in the secret place within the body. The earth is his body; he moves through the earth but the earth knows him not. The waters are his body; he moves through the waters but the waters know him not. Light is his body, he moves through the light but the light knows him not. Air is his body, he moves through the air but the air knows him not. Ether is his body, he moves through
the ether but the ether knows him not. Mind is his body, he moves through the mind but the mind knows him not. Under¬ standing is his body, he moves through the understanding but understanding knows him not. Self-sense is his body, he moves through the self-sense but the self-sense knows him not. Thinking mind is his body, he moves through the thinking mind but the thinking mind knows him not. The Unmanifest is his body, he moves through the Unmanifest but the Unmani¬ fest knows him not. The Imperishable is his body, he moves through the Imperishable but the Imperishable knows him not. Death is his body, he moves through death but death knows him not. He alone is the indwelling spirit of all beings, free from all evil, the one divine, radiant Narayana. This vidya (wisdom) was imparted to Apantaratamas. Apantaratamas imparted it to Brahma. Brahma imparted it to Ghora Angiras Ghora Angiras imparted it to Raikva. Raikva imparted it to Rama and Rama imparted it to all beings. This is the doctrine leading to liberation. This is the doctrine of the Veda. This is the doctrine of the Veda.
See B.U. III. 7. 3.
1. antah sanre nihito guhayam suddhah so’ yam atma sarvasya medo-mamsa-kledavaklrne sariramadhye’tyantop abate citra-bhitti- pratlkase gandharva-nagaropame kadalt-garbhavan nihsare jala- budbudavac cancale nihsrtam atmanam, acintyarupam, divyam, devam, asahgam, suddham, tejaskayam, arupam, sarvesvaram, acintyam, asariram, hihitarii guhayam, amrtam, vibhrajamanam, anandam, tarn pasyanti vidvamsas tena laye na pasyanti.
1. This self abiding within the secret place in the body of all beings is pure. Though intimately connected with the interior of the body, which is full of stinking fluid oozing out of the fat and the flesh, resembling (for its durability) the wall painted in a picture (for its invulnerability) the city of the Gandharvas (a castle in the air), as substanceless as the pith of a plantain tree, as fickle as a bubble of water, the self is pure. The learned perceive the self, of inconceivable form, radiant, divine, non-attached, pure, with a body of radiance, formless, lord of all, inconceivable, incorporeal, abiding in
878 The Principal Upanisads IX. 1.
the secret place, immortal, shining (of the form of) bliss. When it subsides they do not perceive.
The similes used here indicate the fragility of the human body. The inner self remains unaffected by the changes of the body.
I. atha hainam raikvah papraccha, bhagavan, kasmin same ’stark gacchantiti. tasmai sa hovaca, caksur evapyeti yac caksur evastam etidrastavyam evapyeti yo drastavyam evastam eti, adityam evapyeti ya adityam evastam eti, virajam evapyeti, yo virajam evastam eti, pranam evapyeti yah pranam evastam eti, vijnanam evapyeti yo vijnanam evastam eti, anandam evapyeti ya anandam evastam eti, tunyam evapyeti yas tunyam evastam eti, tad amrtam, dbhayam, asokam, ananta-nirbij am evapyetiti hovaca.
1. Then Raikva asked thus: Venerable Sir, in what do all things reach their extinction? To him he replied: He (the self) who absorbs the eye alone, in his own self does the eye reach its extinction (or disappearance). He who absorbs (forms) that are seen, in his own self do the (forms) that are seen reach extinction. He who absorbs the sun, in his own self does the sun reach extinction. He who absorbs the Viraja, in him does Viraja reach extinction. He who absorbs life, in him does life reach extinction. He who absorbs knowledge, in him does knowledge reach extinction. He who absorbs bliss, in him does bliss reach extinction. He who absorbs the turlya, in him does tuny a reach extinction. (The individual self) merges in the immortal, fearless, sorrowless, endless, seedless Brahman. This he said.
absorbs: responds to.
aditya: the sun. Different deities exercise beneficent influence over different organs.
seedless: the individual self has the basis or seed of individuality while the supreme Brahman has not this seed.
vijnana: knowledge. It is repeated because the knowledge of tastes is different from the knowledge of smells and so on.
2. irotram evapyeti yah irotram evastam eti, srotavyam evapyeti yah srotavyam evastam eti, diiam evapyeti yo disam evastam eti, sudarsanam evapyeti yah sudarsanam evastam eti, apanam evapyeti yo'panam evastam eti, vijnanam evapyeti yo vijnanam evastam eti,
tad amrtam, abhayam, aiokam, ananta-nirbijam evapyetiti hovaca.
2. He who absorbs the ear, in him does the ear reach extinc¬ tion. He who absorbs (sounds) that are heard, in him do (the sounds) that are heard reach extinction. He who absorbs the directions, in him do the directions reach extinction. He who absorbs the Sudariana, in him does the Sudariana reach ex¬ tinction. He who absorbs the downward breath, in him does the downward breath reach extinction. He who absorbs know¬ ledge, in him does knowledge reach extinction. (The individual self) merges in the immortal, fearless, sorrowless, endless, seedless Brahman. Thus he said.
3. nasam evapyeti yo nasam evastam eti, ghratavyam evapyeti yo ghratavyam evastam eti, prthivim evapyeti yah prthivim evastam eti , jitam evapyeti yo jitam evastam eti, vyanam evapyeti yo vyanam evastam eti, vijhanam evapyeti yo vijhanam evastam eti, tad amrtam, abhayam, asokam, ananta-nirbijam evapyeti hovaca.
3. He who absorbs the nose, in him does the nose reach extinction. He who absorbs (the smells) that are experienced by the nose, in him do the smells reach extinction. He who absorbs the earth, in him does the earth reach extinction. He who absorbs the jita nadi in him does the jitd reach extinction. He who absorbs the vyana breath, in him does the vyana breath reach extinction. He who absorbs knowledge, in him does knowledge reach extinction. (The individual self) merges in the immortal, fearless, sorrowless, endless, seedless Brahman. Thus he said.
4. jihvam evapyeti yo jihvam evastam eti, rasayitavyam evap- yeti yo rasayitavyam evastam eti, varunam evapyeti yo varunam evastam eti, saumyam evapyeti yah saumyam evastam eti, udanam evapyeti ya udanam evastam eti, vijhanam evapyeti yo vijhanam evastam eti, tad amrtam, abhayam, aiokam, ananta-nirbijam evapyeti hovaca.
4. He who absorbs the tongue, in him does the tongue reach extinction. He who absorbs the tastes, in him do the tastes reach extinction. He who absorbs Varuna, in him does Varuna reach extinction. He who absorbs the Saumya {nadi), in him does the Saumya reach extinction. He who absorbs the udana (breath), in him does the udana (breath) reach extinction. He who absorbs knowledge, in him does knowledge reach
880 The Principal Upanisads IX. 7.
extinction. (The individual self) merges in the immortal, sorrowless, endless, seedless Brahman. Thus he said.
Varuna is the lord of the waters.
5. tvacam evapyeti yas tvacam evastam eti, sparsayitavyam evapyeti yah sparsayitavyam evastam eti, vayum evapyeti yo vayum evastam eti, mogham evapyeti yo mogham evastam eti, samanam evapyeti yah samanam evastam eti, vijnanam evapyeti yo vijnanam evastam eti, tad amrtam, abhayam, asokam, anan- ta-nirbijam evapyeti hovaca.
5. He who absorbs the skin, in him does the skin reach extinction. He who absorbs the touch, in him does the touch reach extinction. He who absorbs air, in him does air reach extinction. He who absorbs the mogha ( nadi ), in him does mogha reach extinction. He who absorbs the samana breath, in him does the samana breath reach extinction. He who absorbs knowledge, in him does knowledge reach extinction. (The individual self) merges in the immortal, sorrowless, endless, seedless Brahman. Thus he said.
6. vacam evapyeti yo vacam evastam eti, vaktavyam evapyeti yo vaktavyam evastam eti, agnim evapyeti yo’gnim evastam eti, kumaram evapyeti yah kumaram evastam eti, vairambham evap- yeti yo vairambham evastam eti, vijnanam evapyeti yo vijnanam evastam eti, tad amrtam, abhayam, asokam, ananta-nirbijam evapyetiti hovaca.
6. He who absorbs the vocal organ, in him does the vocal organ reach extinction. He who absorbs spoken expressions, in him do the spoken expressions reach extinction. He who absorbs fire, in him does the fire reach extinction. He who absorbs the kumara {nadi), in him does the kumara reach extinction. He who absorbs the V air ambha (vital air), in him does V airambha reach extinction. He who absorbs knowledge, in him does that knowledge reach extinction. (The individual self) merges in the immortal, sorrowless, endless, seedless Brahman, ■ Thus he said.
7. hastam evapyeti yo hastam evastam eti, adatavyam evapyeti ya adatavyam evastam eti, indram evapyeti ya indram evastam eti, amrtam evapyeti yo amrtam evastam eti, mukhyam evapyeti yo mukhyam evastam eti, vijnanam evapyeti yo vijnanam evastam eti, tad amrtam, abhayam, asokam, ananta-nirbijam evapyetiti hovaca.
7. He who absorbs the two hands, in him do the two hands reach extinction. He who absorbs what is handled, in him does what is handled reach extinction. He who absorbs Indra, in him does Indra reach extinction. He who absorbs the amrta {nadi), in him does the amrta { nadi ) reach extinction. He who absorbs the mukhya (mukhya prana, chief vital air), in him does the mukhya reach extinction. He who absorbs the knowledge, in him does the knowledge reach extinction. (The individual self) merges in the immortal, sorrowless, endless, seedless Brahman. Thus he said.
8. padam evapyeti yah padam evastam eti, gantavyam evapyeti yo gantavyam evastam eti, visnum evapyeti yo visnum evastam eti, satyam evapyeti yah satyam evastam eti, antaryamam evapyeti yo’ntaryamam evastam eti, vijhanam evapyeti yo vijhanam evastam eti, tad amrtam, abhayam, asokam, ananta-nirbijam evapyetiti, hovaca.
8. He who absorbs the (two feet), in him do the feet reach extinction. He who absorbs what is traversed, in him does what is traversed reach extinction. He who absorbs Visnu, in him does Visnu reach extinction. He who absorbs the satya {nadi), in him does satya reach extinction. He who absorbs the antaryamam, in him does the antaryamam reach extinction. He who absorbs the knowledge, in him does knowledge reach extinction. (The individual self) merges in the immortal, fearless, sorrowless, endless, seedless Brahman. Thus he said.
9. payum evapyeti yah payum evastam eti, visarjayitavyam evapyeti yo visarjayitavyam evastam eti, mrtyum evapyeti yo mrtyum evastam eti, madhyamam evapyeti yo madhyamam evastam eti, prabhahjanam evapyeti yah prabhahjanam evastam eti, vijhanam evapyeti yo vijhanam evastam eti, tad amrtam, abhayam, asokam, ananta-nirbijam evapyetiti hovaca.
9. He who absorbs the excretory organ, in him does the excretory organ reach extinction. He who absorbs what is excreted, in him does what is excreted reach extinction. He who absorbs death, in him does death reach its extinction. He who absorbs the madhyama {nadi), in him does the madhyama reach its extinction. He who absorbs the prabhahjana, in him does the prabhahjana reach its extinction. He who absorbs the knowledge, in him does the knowledge reach its extinction. (The individual self) merges in the immortal, fearless, sorrowless, endless, seedless Brahman. Thus he said.
882 The Principal Upanisads IX. 12.
io. upastham evapyeti ya upastham evastam eti, anandayita- vyam evapyeti ya anandayitavyam evastam, eti, prajapatim evapyeti yah prajapatim evastam eti, nasiram evapyeti yo nasiram evastam eti ,kumaram evapyeti yah kumaram evastam eti, vijhanam evapyeti yo vijhanam evastam eti, tad amrtam, abhayam, asokam, ananta-nirbijam evapyeti hovaca.
10. He who absorbs the generating organ, in him does the generating organ reach extinction. He who absorbs the (sexual) delight, in him does the delight reach extinction. He who absorbs Praja-pati, in him does Praja-pati reach extinction. He who absorbs the nasira {nadi), in him does the nasira reach extinction. He who absorbs kumara, in him does kumara reach extinction. He who absorbs the knowledge, in him does the knowledge reach extinction. (The individual self) merges in the immortal, fearless, sorrowless, endless, seedless Brahman. Thus he said.
11. mana evapyeti yo mana evastam eti, mantavyam evapyeti yo mantavyam evastam eti. candram evapyeti yas candram evastam eti, si sum evapyeti yah sisum evastam eti, syenam evapyeti yah syenam evastam eti, vijhanam evapyeti yo vijhanam evastam eti, tad amrtam, abhayam, asokam, ananta-nirbijam evapyetiti hovaca.
11. He who absorbs the mind, in him does the mind reach extinction. He who absorbs what is minded, in him does what is minded reach extinction. He who absorbs the moon, in him does the moon reach extinction. He who absorbs the sisura {nadi), in him does the sisura reach extinction. He who absorbs the syena {nadi), in him does the syena reach extinction. He who absorbs the knowledge, in him does the knowledge reach extinction. (The individual self) merges in the immortal, fearless, sorrowless, endless, seedless Brahman. Thus he said.
12. buddhim evapyeti yo buddhim evastam eti, boddhavyam evapyeti yo boddhavyam evastam eti, brahmanam evapyeti yo brahmanam evastam eti, suryam evapyeti yah suryam evastam eti, krsnam evapyeti yah krsnam evastam eti, vijhanam evapyeti yo vijhanam evastam eti tad amrtam, abhayam, asokam, anan¬ ta-nirbijam evapyetiti hovaca.
12 . He who absorbs understanding, in him does understanding reach extinction. He who absorbs what is understood, in him does what is understood reach extinction. He who absorbs Brahma (the creator), in him does Brahma reach extinction.
He who absorbs the surya (nadi), in him does the surya reach its extinction. He who absorbs krsna, in him does krsna reach its extinction. He who absorbs the knowledge, in him does the knowledge reach extinction. (The individual self) merges in the immortal, fearless, sorrowless, endless, seedless Brahman. Thus he said.
13. aham-karam evapyeti yo’ham-kar am evastam eti ,aham-karta- vyam evapyeti yo’harh-kartavyam evastam eti , rudram evapyeti yo rudram evastam eti, asuram evapyeti yo’ sur dm evastam eti, svetam evapyeti yah svetam evastam eti, vijhanam evapyeti yo vijhanam evastam eti, tad amrtam, abhayam, asokam, ananta-nirbijam evapyetiti hovaca.
13. He who absorbs the self-sense, in him does the self-sense reach extinction. He who absorbs the contents of self-sense, in him do the contents of self-sense reach extinction. He who absorbs Rudra, in him does Rudra reach extinction. He who absorbs the asura [nadi), in him does the asura reach extinction. He who absorbs the sveta (vital air), in him does the iveta reach extinction. He who absorbs the knowledge, in him does the knowledge reach extinction. (The individual self) merges in the immortal, fearless, sorrowless, endless, seedless Brahman, Thus he said.
14- cittam evapyeti yas cittam evastam eti, cetayitavyam evapyeti yas cetayitavyam evastam eti, ksetrajham evapyeti yah ksetrajham evastam eti, bhasvatim evapyeti yo bhasvatim evastam eti, nagam evapyeti yo nagam evastam eti, vijhanam evapyeti yo vijhanam evastam eti, anandam evapyeti ya anandam evastam eti, turiyam evapyeti yas turiyam evastam eti, tad amrtam, abhayam, asokam, anantam, nirbijam evapyeti, tad amrtam, abhayam asokam, ananta-nirbijam evapyetiti hovaca.
14. He who absorbs the thinking mind, in him does the thinking mind reach extinction. He who absorbs the thoughts, in him do the thoughts reach extinction. He who absorbs the ksetrajha (the knower of the field), in him does the ksetrajha reach extinction. He who absorbs the bhasvati (nadi), in him does the bhasvati reach extinction. He who absorbs the Naga (vital air), in him does the Naga reach extinction. He who absorbs the knowledge, in him does the knowledge reach extinction. He who absorbs bliss, in him does bliss reach extinction. He who absorbs the turiya, in him does the turiya reach extinction. He who absorbs that immortal, fearless,
884 The Principal Upanisads IX. 15.
sorrowless, endless, seedless Brahman, in him does the immortal, fearless, sorrowless, endless, seedless Brahman reach extinction. Thus he said.
15. ya evam nirbijam veda nirbija eva sa bhavati, na jayate, na mriyate, na muhyate, na bhidyate, na dahyate, na chidyate, na kampate, na kupyate, sarva-dahano’ yam atmety acaksate naivam atma pravacana-satenapi laksyate, na bahu-srutena, na buddhi-jhanasritena, na medhaya, na vedair na tapobhir ugrair na samkhyair na yogair nasramair nanyair atmanam upala- bhante, pravacanena prasamsaya vyutthanena tarn etam brahmana susruvdmso’ nucana upalabhanle santo danta uparatas titiksuh samahito bhutvatmany evatmanam pasyati sarvasyatma bhavati ya evam veda.
15. He who knows this as seedless, he verily becomes seed¬ less. He is not born (again). He does not die. He is not bewil¬ dered. He is not broken. He is not burnt. He is not cut asunder. He does not tremble. He is not angry. (Knowers of Brahman) declare him to be the all-consuming self. The self is not attain¬ able even by a hundred expositions (of the Vedas), not by the study of countless scriptures, not through the means of intel¬ lectual knowledge, not through brain power, not through the (study of the) Vedas, not through severe austerities, not through the Samkhya (knowledge), not through Yoga (dis¬ cipline), nor through the (observance of the four) stages of life nor through any other means do people attain the self. Only through a rigorous study and through discipline and devoted service to the knowers of Brahman, do they attain (the self). Having become tranquil, self-controlled, withdrawn from the world and indifferent to it and forbearing, he sees the Self in the self. He becomes the Self of all, he who knows this.
He becomes the Universal Self. What he does is expressive, not of his individual but of the Universal Self.
‘I do nothing of myself,' said Jesus. Boehme says, ‘Thou shalt do nothing but forsake thy own will, viz. that which thou callest “I” or thyself by which means all thy evil properties will grow weak, faint and ready to die; and then thou wilt sink down again into that one thing, from which thou art originally sprung.’ Signatura Rerum.
1. atha hainam raikvah papraccha, bhagavan, kasmin sarve sampratisthita bhavantiti , rasatala-lokesv iti hovaca, kasmin rasdtala-loka otas ca protas ceti; bhur-lokesv iti hovaca. kasmin bhur-loka otas ca protas ceti; bhuvar-lokesv iti hovaca. kasmin bhuvar-loka otas ca protas ceti; suvar-lokesv iti hovaca. kasmin suvar-loka otas ca protas ceti; mahar lokesv iti hovaca. kasmin mahar -loka otas ca protas ceti; jano-lokesv iti hovaca. kasmin jano-loka otas ca protas ceti; tapo-lokesv iti hovaca. kasmims tapo-loka otas ca protas ceti; satya-lokesv iti hovaca. kasmin satya-loka otas ca protas ceti; prajapati-lokesv iti hovaca. kasmin praja-pati-loka otas ca protas ceti; brahma-lokesv iti hovaca. kasmin brahma-loka otas ca protas ceti; sarva-loka atmani brahmani manaya ivautas ca protas ceti: sa hovacaivam etan lokan atmani pratisthitan veda, atmaiva sa bhavati iti, etan nirvananusasanam iti vedanusasanam iti vedanusasanam.
1. Then Raikva asked, ‘Venerable Sir, in what are all (these worlds) become firmly established?’ In the rasatala worlds, said he. In what are the rasatala worlds (established) as warp and woof? In the terrestrial ( bhur ) world, said he. In what are the terrestrial worlds (established) as warp and woof? In the worlds of atmosphere ( bhuvar ), said he. In what are the worlds of atmosphere (established) as warp and woof? In the heavenly ( suvar ) worlds, said he. In what are the heavenly worlds (established) as warp and woof? In the mahar worlds, said he. In what are the mahar worlds (estab¬ lished) as warp and woof? In th e j anas worlds, said he. In what are the janas worlds (established) as warp and woof? In the tapas worlds, said he. In what are the tapas worlds (established) as warp and woof? In the satya worlds, said he. In what are the satya worlds (established) as warp and woof? In the Praja-pati worlds, said he. In what are the Praja-pati worlds (established) as warp and woof? In the Brahma worlds, said he. In what are the Brahma worlds (established) as warp and woof? All the worlds, like so many beads are established in the self, in Brahman as warp and woof, thus said he. He who knows thus that these worlds are established in the self, he becomes the self alone. This is the doctrine leading to libera¬ tion. This is the doctrine of the Veda. This is the doctrine of the Veda.
The Principal Upani$ads
like so many beads: see B.G. VII. 7. evam sarvdni bhutani manih sutram ivatmani: even as the beads are strung into a thread are all objects strung in the self: Dhyana-bindu U. 6.
1. atha hainam raikvah papraccha, bhagavan, yo’yam vijhd- na-ghana utkraman sa kena katarad va va sthanam utsrjydpak- ramatiti; tasmai sa hovaca, hrdayasya madhye lohitam marh- sa-pindam yasmims tad daharam pundankam kumudam ivane- kadha vikasitam; tasya madhye samudrah, samudrasya madhye koiah, tasmin nadyas catasro bhavanti, ramaramecchapunar- bhaveti. tatra rama punyena puny am lokarn nayati; aramd papena pdpam, icchaya yat smarati tad abhisampadyate, apunarbhavaya koiam bhinatti, koiam bhitva itrsakapdlam bhinatti, sirsakapalam bhitva prthivim bhinatti. prthivim bhitvapo bhinatti. apo bhitva tejo bhinatti. tejo bhitva vayum bhinatti. vayum bhitvakasam bhinatti, akasam bhitva mano bhinatti. mano bhitva bhutadim bhinatti, bhutadim bhitva mahantam bhinatti, mahantam bhit- vavyaktam bhinatti, avyaktam bhitvak$aram bhinatti. ak?aram bhitva mrtyum bhinatti. mrtyur vai pare deva eki-bhavatlti , parastan na sah nasan sad asad ity etan nirvananusasanam iti vedanuiasanam iti vedanusasanam.
1. Then Raikva asked thus: Venerable Sir, How and by what means does this self which is a mass of intelligence after leaving its seat and moving upwards have its exit? To him he replied. In the centre of the heart is a red mass of flesh. In it is the white lotus called the dahara which has bloomed like a red lotus with its petals spread in different directions. In the middle of it is an ocean. In the middle of the ocean is a sheath. In it are four nadis called Rama, Arama, Iccha and Apunarbhava. Of these, Rama leads (the practitioner of righteousness) through righteousness to the world of right¬ eousness. Arama leads (the practitioner of unrighteousness) through unrighteousness to the world of the unrighteous. Through Iccha one attains whatever object of desire one recalls. Through Apunarbhava one breaks through the sheath. Having broken through the sheath one breaks through the shell of the crest (skull). Having broken through the skull, he breaks through the earth element. Having broken through the earth
element he breaks through water. Having broken through water, he breaks through light. Having broken through light, he breaks through air. Having broken through air, he breaks through ether. Having broken through ether, he breaks through mind. Having broken through mind, he breaks through the subtle elements. Having broken through the subtle elements, he breaks through the mahat tattva. Having broken through the mahat tattva he breaks through the Unmanifested. Having broken through the Unmanifested, he breaks through the Imperishable. Having broken through the Imperishable, he breaks through Death. Then Death becomes one with the Supreme. In the Supreme there is neither existence nor non¬ existence nor existence and non-existence. This is the doctrine leading to liberation. This is the doctrine of the Veda. This is the doctrine of the Veda.
apunarbhava: non-rebirth.
mahat: the great, the first product of prakrti, the principle of buddhi or intelligence in the individual. For the Sdmkhya doctrine of evolution which is adopted here see I.P. Vol. II, pp. 266-277. mrtyu: death. The principle of all-devouring time is not different from the Eternal Supreme.
1. narayanad va aftnam dgatam,pakvam brahmalokemaha-sam- vartake, punah pakvam aditye, punah pakvam kratryadi, punah pakvam jalakilaklinnam paryusitam, piitam annam ayacitam asamklptam asniyan, na kam cana yaceta.
1. From Narayana came into being food (in a raw state). In the M aha-samvartaka (the great dissolution) in the world of Brahma it becomes ripe (cooked). It is again cooked in the world of the sun. It is again cooked in the sacrifices. Food with water oozing out of it or rendered stale (should not be eaten). Food which is clean (devoid of the defects mentioned) which is not acquired by begging or not got according to a previously arranged plan should one eat. He should not beg for food of any one whatsoever.
Purity of food makes for purity of disposition.
888 The Principal Upanisads XIII. i.
THE CHILD-LIKE INNOCENCE OF THE SAGE
i. balyena tisthaset, bala-svabhavo asahgo niravadyo maunena pandityena niravadhikaratayopalabhyeta, kaivalyam uktam niga- manam praja-patir uvaca; mahat-padam jhatva vrksamule vaseta, kucelo’ sahaya ekaki samddhistha dtmct-kama apta-kamo nis-kamo jirna-kamo hastini sirhhe darhse masake nakule sarparaksasa- gandharve mrtyo rupani viditva na bibheti kutas caneti vrksam iva tisthaset, chidyamano’ pi, na kupyeta, na kampetotpalam iva tisthaset, chidyamano’ pi na kupyeta, na kampeta, akasam iva tisthaset, chidyamano’ pi na kupyeta na kampeta, satyena tisthaset satyo’yam atma, sarvesam eva gandhanam prthivi hrdayam, sarvesam eva rasanam apo hrdayam, sarvesam eva rupanam tejo hrdayam, sarvesam eva sparsanam vayur hrdayam; sarvesam eva sabdanam akasam hrdayam, sarvesam eva gatinam avyaktam hrdayam, sarvesam eva sattvanam mrtyur hrdayam, mrtyur vai pare deva eki-bhavatiti , parastan na san nasan na sad asad ity etan nirvananusasanam iti vedanusasanam iti vedanusasanam.
13. One should cultivate the characteristics of a child. The characteristics of a child are non-attachment and innocence (freedom from notions of right and wrong) . By abstinence from speech, by learning, by non-observance of conventions relating to the classes and stages of life one acquires the state of alone- ness proclaimed by the Vedas. Praja-pati said thus: After knowing the highest state (the sage) should reside at the foot of a tree. With a rag as his loin cloth, with no one to help him, all alone, remaining in concentration, with his desire for the self, with all desires fulfilled, with no desires, with desires con¬ sumed, recognising in the elephant, in the lion, in the tiger, in the mosquito, in the mungoose, in the snake, the demon and the faery spirit so many forms of death, he is not afraid of them on any account. He should be (unmoved) like a tree. Even if cut asunder, he should not get angry, he should not quake. He should be like a rock and even if cut asunder should not get angry, should not quake. He should be like the sky and should not get angry, should not quake. He should stand by the truth, for verily, this truth is the self. Of all smells, earth is the heart, of all tastes water is the heart; of all forms light is the heart; of all touches, air is the heart. Of all sounds ether is the heart; of all states of being the unmanifested is the heart; of all beings, death is the heart. Death, verily, becomes
one with the Radiant Supreme. In the Supreme there is neither existence nor non-existence nor existence and non-existence. This is the doctrine leading to liberation. This is the doctrine of the Veda. This is the doctrine of the Veda.
See B.U. III. 5. 1.
Superiority to emotions and indifference to worldly objects and desires are stressed.
1. prthivi vannam apo annada, dpovannam jyotir annadam, jyotir vannam, vayur annado vayur vannam akaso’nnada, akaso vannam indr iy any anndddnindriyani vannam manonnadam, mano vannam buddhir annada, buddhir vannam avyaktam anna- dam, avyaktam vannam aksaram annadam, aksaram vannam mrtyur annado mrtyur vai pare deva eki-bhavatiti parastan na san nasan na sad asad ity etan nirvananusasanam iti veddnusa- sanam iti vedanusasanam.
1. 'Earth is the food, (in relation to it) water is the eater of the food. Water is the food, (in relation to it) light is the eater of the food. Light is the food, (in relation to it) air is the eater of the food. Air is the food, (in relation to it) ether is the eater of the food. Ether is the food, (in relation to it) the organs of perception and of action are the eater of the food, the organs of perception and of action are the food, in relation to them, mind is the eater of the food. Mind is the food, (in relation to it). Understanding is the eater of the food. Understanding is the food, (in relation to it) the Unmanifested is the eater of the food, the Unmanifested is the food, (in relation to it) the Imperishable is the eater of the food. The Imperishable is the food, (in relation to it) Death is the eater of the food. Verily, Death becomes one with the Radiant Supreme. In the Supreme, there is neither existence nor non-existence, nor existence and non-existence. This is the doctrine leading to liberation. This is the doctrine of the Veda. This is the doctrine of the Veda.
annada: the eater of the food, the cause in which it is dissolved in involution.
Only the Transcendent Self remains when all things are negated. The very principle of negation, death is absorbed in the Supreme.
890 The Principal Upanisads XV. 1.
1. atha hainam raikvah papraccha, bhagavan, yo’yam vij- hana-ghana utkramam sa kena katarad va va sthanam dahatlti. tasmai sa hovaca, yo’yam vijhana-ghana utkraman pranam dahati; apanam, vyanam, udanam, samanam,. vairambham, mukhyam, antaryamam, prabhahjanam, kumaram, syenam, svetam, krsnam, nagam dahati; prthivy-dpas-tejo-vdyv-akasdm dahati; jagaritam, svapnam, susuptam, turlyam ca mahatam ca lokam param ca lokam, dahati; lokdlokam dahati; dharmadharmam dahati; abhds- karam, amaryadam, niralokam, atah param dahati; mahantam dahati; avyaktam dahati; aksaram dahati; mrtyum dahati; mrtyur vai pare deve eki-bhavatiti parastan na san nasan na sad asad ity etan nirvananuiasanam , iti vedanusasanam iti vedanusasanam.
1. Then (the sage) Raikva asked: Venerable Sir, how and by what means does this (self) which is a mass of intelligence, after moving upwards (from this seat) bum away its seat? To him he replied thus: This self, after moving upwards, burns the prana, the apana, the vydna, the udana, the samana, the vairambha, the mukhya, the antaryama, the prabhahjana, the kumara, the syena, the sveta, the krsna and the naga (vital airs). It burns (the elements) earth, water, fire, air and ether. It burns the waking, dreaming and sleeping states as also the Turly a, this mighty world and the other world. It burns the visible and the invisible worlds. It bums virtuous and vicious conduct. Thereafter it burns the world, devoid of lustre, devoid of limit, devoid of appearance. It bums the mahat tattva : it burns the Unmanifested. It burns the Imperish¬ able. It bums Death. Death becomes one with the radiant Supreme. In the Supreme there is neither existence nor non¬ existence nor existence and non-existence. This is the doctrine leading to liberation. This is the doctrine of the Veda. This is the doctrine of the Veda.
vijhana: intelligence, a form of knowledge superior to the action of the mind. In T.U. II and III; K.U. III. 9; it is identified with buddhi and is ranked above mind. It is assumed that the moral qualities and power of remembrance .of the self accompany the soul in the journey after death.
Subala Upani$ad XVI
1. saubalabxja brahmopanisan naprasantaya ddtavya na- putraya nasisyaya nasamvatsararatrositaya naparijnatakulati- laya datavya naiva ca pravaktavya.
yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau, tasyaite kathita hy arthah prakaiante mahatmanah ity etan nirvananusasanam iti vedanusasanam iti vedanuia- sanam.
1. This secret doctrine of the seedless Brahman owing its origin to Subala should not be imparted to anyone who has not attained composure of spirit, not to one who has no sons, not to one who has no disciples, nor to one who has not taken residence for one year at nights, nor to one whose family and character are not known. This should not be imparted nor even mentioned to any such person. The subject-matter of this shines to advantage if imparted to the high-souled one whose devotion to the Supreme Being is profound and whose devotion to the teacher is as (profound as it is) to the Supreme. This is the doctrine leading to liberation. This is the doctrine of the Veda. This is the doctrine of the Veda.
The Jabala Upanisad belongs to the Atharva Veda and discusses a few important questions regarding renunciation.
1. brhaspatir uvaca yajnavalkyam yad anu kuruk$etram devanam, deva-yajanam, sarvesam, bhutanam, brahma-sadanam. avimuktam vai kuruksetram devanam deva-yajanam, sarvesam bhutanam, brahma-sadanam. tasmad yatra kvacana gacchati tad eva many eta tad avimuktam eva, idarn vai kuruksetram devanam, deva-yajanam, sarvesam bhutanam, brahma-sadanam. atra hijantoh pranesutkramamanesu rudrah tarakam brahma vyacaste, yenasav amrti bhutva\ moksi bhavati, tasmad avimuktam eva ni$eveta avimuktam na vimuhced evam evaitad yajhavalkya.
1. Brhaspati said to Yajhavalkya, Kuruksetra is for the gods, the resort of the gods and for all creatures it is the abode of Brahma. Avimukta 1 is the kuruksetra which is for the gods the resort of the gods and for all creatures the abode of Brahma. Therefore, wherever one may go, one should think of it as such. It is only avimukta. It is kuruksetra which is for the gods, the resort of the gods, and for all creatures the abode of Brahma. There when the lives of living creatures go upwards, Rudra teaches the tar aka mantra. By it they become immortal and are liberated. Therefore meditate on avimukta. Do not give up avimukta, Yajnavalkya.
2. atha hainam atrih papraccha yajnavalkyam, ya e?o'nanto’ vyakta atma tarn katham aharn vijaniyam iti. sa hovaca yajna- valkyah so’vimukta upasyo ya eso’nanto’ vyakta atma so’vimukte pratisthita iti. so’vimuktah kasmin pratisthita iti. varanayam nasyam ca madhye pratisthita iti. ka vai varana ka ca naiiti, sarvdn indriya-krtan dosan varayattti tena varana bhavatiti, sarvan indriya-krtan papanndiayatiti tena nasi bhavatiti. katamam casya sthanam bhavatiti bhruvor ghrdnasya ca yah sandhih sa esa dyaur lokasya parasya ca sandhir bhavatiti, etad vai sandhim sandhyam brahma-vida upasata iti, so’vimukta upasya iti, so’vimuktam jhanam acasteyo vai tad evam vedeti.
2. Thereafter Atri inquired of Yajnavalkya, ‘How can I know that self which is infinite and unmanifested?’ Yajnavalkya said (in reply), meditate on avimukta (for) the self which is infinite and unmanifested is established in avimukta. (Atri then inquired) In what is avimukta established? (Yajnavalkya answered) It is established in the middle of Varana and Nasi. (Atri inquired) What is Varana and what is NasV. (Yajhavalkya answered) As it overcomes all the faults done by the sense organs it is called Varana ; as it destroys all the evils done by
1 avimuktam sopadhikam.
8g6 The Principal Upanisads 4.
the sense organs it is called Nasi. (Atri asked) What is their abode? (Yajnavalkya answered) It is the meeting-place of the eyebrows and the nose. It is the meeting-place of the world of gods and (the world) beyond. The same meeting-place, the knowers of Brahman worship as sandhya. So avimukta is to be meditated on. He who knows it gains the knowledge which makes for liberation.
3. atha hainam brahmacarina ucuh, kirn japyenamrtatvam bruhiti, sa hovaca yajhavalkyah, satarudriyenety etany eva ha va amrtasya namani , etair ha va amrto bhavatiti, evam evaitad yajhavalkyah.
3. Once students of sacred knowledge asked (Yajnavalkya): Can we gain life eternal by the repetition of formulas ( mantras ) ? Yajnavalkya said (in reply) By (meditation on) satarudriya which are the names of eternal life, one becomes immortal.
4. atha hainam janako vaideho yajhavalkyam upasametyo- vaca, bhagavan, samnyasam ( anu ) bruhiti. sa hovaca yajnaval- kyah; brahmacaryam parisamapya grhi bhavet, grhi bhutva vani bhavet, vani bhutva pravrajet, yadi vetaratha brahmacaryad eva pravrajet, grhad va vanad va. atha punar avrati va vrati va snatako va asnatako votsannagniko va yad ahar eva virajet tad ahar eva pravrajet, taddhaike prajapatyam evestim kurvanti, tad u tatha na kuryad agneyim eva kuryat. agnir ha vai pranah pranam eva tatha karoti. traidhataviyam eva kuryat, etayaiva trayo dhatavo yad uta sattvam rajas tama iti. ayarh te yonir rtvijo yato jatah pranad arocathah, tarn pranam janan agna drohathd.no vardhaya rayim, ity anena mantrenagnim ajighret, esa ha va agner yonir yah pranah pranam, gaccha svahety evam evaitad aha. gramdd agnim dhrtya purvavad agnim aghrapayet. yad agnim, na vindet apsu juhuyat, dpo vai sarva devatah sarva- bhyo devatabhyo juhomi svaheti, juhvoddhrtya prasniyat sajyarh havir anamayam moksamantrah trayyaivam vadet, etad brahma, etad upasitavyam, evam evaitad bhagavann iti vai yajhavalkyah.
4. Once Janaka (King) of Videha approached Yajnavalkya and said, 'Venerable Sir, teach me about renunciation.' Yajnavalka said: After completing the life of a student, let one become a householder; after completing the life of a house¬ holder let one become a forest dweller; after completing the life of a forest dweller, let one renounce, otherwise (if a suitable occasion arises) let one renounce even from the state of a student or from the state of a householder or from that of a
forest dweller. Whether one has not completed the injunctions or completed the injunctions, whether he is a student or not, even if he has not completed the sacrificial rites, on whatever day he has the spirit of renunciation, that very day let him renounce (and become a recluse). Some, indeed, perform the prajapatya sacrifice. One need not do this but should only perform the fire sacrifice. Fire is life and one performs the life sacrifice thus: (He makes the fire take the form of life, or merge into its original source, life). Then he should also perform the traidhataviya sacrifice. The three elements represent the three qualities sattva, rajas and tamas (which are to be burnt). He should inhale the fire (smoke) by uttering the following mantra (verse), ‘0 Fire, this life who is the source of your birth and from whom, having sprung forth you shone. Knowing this you climb up to life and then make my wealth (spiritual wealth) increase.’ He who is life is the source (material cause) of fire. 0 Fire, you assume the form of life, your source. (As for one who has not performed the fire sacrifice : having taken the fire from the village (i.e. any house in the village), he should inhale the fire as mentioned before. If he is not able to get the fire, he should perform the sacrifice in the water. For water represents all the gods. So uttering this mantra: ‘I offer unto all the gods,’ he should perform the sacrifice, he should take the sacrificial remnant with ghee, which cures all diseases. He should utter the pranava (which leads to release), which represents (the substance of) the three Vedas). This is Brahman. It should be meditated upon. ‘Even so is it, Revered Yajna- valkya,’ said Janaka.
avratln: one who has not performed the prescribed rites even as vratin is one who has performed the rites.
snataka: one who has completed the ceremonies relating to Vedic studies even as asnataka is one who has not completed the ceremonies. that very day he may renounce: Maha-nirvana T antra says: One should not enter the stage of a recluse giving up an old father and mother or a devoted wife or an infant son.
mataram pitaram vrddham bharyam caiva pativratam sisurhs ca tanayam hitva ndvadhutasramam vrajet. VII. 7.
He who becomes a monk, giving up father, mother, child, wife, kinsmen and relatives becomes a great sinner.
matfn pitrn sisun daran svajanan bandhavan apt yah pravrajeta hitvaitan sa mahapdtaki bhavet. VIII. 18.
Cp. also:
5-
898 The Principal Upanisads
adhitya vidhivad vedan put rams cotpadya dharmatah istva ca saktito yajhair mano mokse nivesayet.
‘Having studied the Vedas according to rule, having produced sons, in conformity with dharma, having performed sacrifices to the best of one’s ability, let one set one’s mind on release.’ anadhltya dvijo vedan, anutpadya tathatmajan, anistva caiva yajhais'ca moksam icchan vrajaty adhah.
‘Any twice-born individual who desires release without having studied the Vedas, without having produced sons and without having offered sacrifices, goes down below.’
These verses are quoted in Vacaspati’s Bhamati, I. 1. 1.
prana: life. Here it is not individual breath. It is the sutratman, the soul or the material cause of the world.
tridhataviya: in this sacrifice three sacrificial cakes purodaia, are used, representing the three gunas.
5. atha hainam atrih papraccha yajhavalkyam prcchami tv a yajnavalkya ayajhopaviti katham brahmana ill, sa hovdca yajhavalkyah, idam evasya tad yajhopavitam ya atmapah prasyacamyayam vidhih parivrdjakanam, viradhvane vd analake vd apam praveie vd agni praveie vd maha-prasthane vd, atha parivrad vivarnavasa mundo’parigrahah iucir adrohi bhaiksano brahma-bhuyaya bhavatiti, yady aturah syan manasd vaca sam- nyaset, esa pantha brahmana hanuvittas stenaiti sarhnyasi brahmavid ity evam evaisa bhagavan yajhavalkyah,
5. Then Atri enquired of Yajnavalkya. On being asked how one who does not wear the sacred thread can be (treated as) a Brahmana, Yajnavalkya answered, this alone is the sacred thread of him that purifies himself by the offering and sipping water. This is the procedure for becoming a recluse. (For one who is weary of the world but not yet fit to become a recluse the following are prescribed), he may choose a hero’s death (by following the path of the warrior in the battlefield), he may fast unto death, throw himself into water or enter fire (bum himself to death) or perform the last journey (walk on unto death). Then the wandering ascetic who (puts on) orange robes, who is shaven, who has non-possession, purity, non¬ enmity, lives on alms, obtains the state of Brahman. If he is diseased he can renounce by mind and speech. This is not to be done by one who is healthy. Such a renouncer becomes the knower of Brahman, so said the venerable Yajnavalkya.
upavita: the sacred thread is a cotton thread of three strands running from the left shoulder across the body to the right hip.
Jabala Upanisad 899
It is first placed on the youth by the teacher at the ceremony of initiation. It is the outward and visible symbol of the sutratman, the thread-spirit on which all the individual existences are strung like beads and by which all are inseparably linked to their source.
Among the ancient Iranians as among the Parsees to this day, at the age of 15, a boy or a girl is admitted to the community of the Zoroastrians by being girt with the sacred thread.
aturah: diseased. When one is about to die he may renounce by mind or speech. It is unnecessary to go through the ceremonies.
This passage seems to justify suicide, in certain conditions.
6. tatra parama-hamsa nama samvartakaruni svetaketu durvasa rbhu nidagha jada-bharata dattatreya raivataka prabhrtayah, avyaktalihgdh avyaktacarah anunmatta unmattavad acarantas tridandam kamandalum sikyam pdtram jalapavitram sikharh ydjhopavitam ca ity etat sarvam bhusvahety apsu parityajy dtmdnam anvicchet. yatha jatarupadharo nirgraniho nisparigrahas tat-tad-brahma-mdrge samyak sampannah suddha-mdnasahprdna- samdhdranartham yathokta-kale vimukto bhaiksam acaran udara- patrena labhalabhayoh samo bhutva sunydgdra-devagrha trna- kuta-valmika-vrksamula-kuldlasdldgnihotra-grha - nadipulina -girt kuhara-kandara-kotara-nirjhara-sthandile$u tesv aniketa vasya- prayatno nirmamah sukladhydnapardyano’dhydtma-nistho’subha- karma-nirmulanaparah samnyasena deha-tyagam karoti, sapara- ma-hamso-nama parama-hamso nameti.
6. Sarhvartaka, Aruni, Svetaketu, Durvasa, Rbhu, Nidagha, Jada-bharata, Dattatreya, Raivataka and others are para- mahamsas. They are of unmanifested natures, of unmanifested ways of life, seen (to others) to behave like mad men though they are in no way mad. They renounce tridanda, kamandalu, tuft of hair and sacred thread and all that in water with the words bhu svdha and seek to know the Self. Assuming the form they had at birth, without any bonds, without any possessions, they must tread well the path of Brahman. With a clean mind (or a pure heart), for the sake of maintaining life, they must fill at fixed times the vessel of their stomach with the alms obtained, treating gain and loss as equal. They must live in places like a deserted house or a temple or a shrub or an anthill, the root of a tree, a potter’s house, fireplace, a sandbank in a river, hill, cave, hollow of a tree, stream in a deserted place. Without effort, without self-sense, intent on meditation established in the higher self, keen on removing the (effects of) evil deeds,
900 The Principal Upanisads
they give up their bodies by the method of renunciation. Such is a parama-hamsa. Such is a parama-hamsa.
tri-danda: monks carry three staves tied together. It is the sign of triple control of thoughts, words and deeds. kamandalu: a water-jar used by ascetics.
The knower of dharma who wears no signs should practise its principles. M.B. XIV. 46. 51.
Vasistha Smyti says: ‘His signs are not manifest nor his behaviour,' tasmad alihgo dharmajno’ vyaktalingo’ vyaktacdra iti.
This Upanisad belongs to the Sukla Yajur Veda and is in the form of a dialogue between Yajnavalkya and his pupil Paiiigala. Some of the important questions such as meditation on the Supreme, the nature of release, are discussed in it.
1. atha ha paihgalo yajhavalkyam upasametya dvadasavarsa- iusrusdpurvakam paramarahasyam kaivalyam anubriihiti pap- raccha.
1. Then Paingala approaching Yajnavalkya, after duly serving him for twelve years, asked, ‘Do tell us about the great secret of aloneness.’
then: after the required ethical preparation. paingala: the son of Pihgala.
2. sa hovaca yajhavalkyah: sad eva saumyedam agra asit. tan nitya-muktam, avikriyam, satyajhananandam, paripurnam, sana- tanam, ekam evadvitiyam brahma.
2. Yajnavalkya replied to him: ‘At the beginning, all this, my dear, was being alone. That is Brahman, the ever free, indeterminate, of the nature of truth, knowledge and bliss, ever full, ancient (or eternal) one without a second.
sad: being, with the names and forms unmanifest.
3. tasmin maru-suktika-sthanu-sphatikadau jala-raupya-puru- sa-rekhadival lohita-sukla-krsna-guna-mayi guna-samyanirvacya mulaprakrtir asit, tat pratibimbitam yat tat saksi-caitanyam asit.
3. Even as in the mirage, the pearl-oyster, a log of wood, a piece of crystal and the like there is (respectively) the mani¬ festation of water, silver, the figure of a human being, streaks of light and the like, in that (pure being) is the root-principle of all objectivity, possessed of the qualities of red, white and black, with the qualities in equipoise and incapable of being adequately expressed. When this is reflected in Brahman, it becomes the witness self.
The Pure Brahman becomes the witnessing consciousness, the eternal subject faced by the principle of all objectivity. The Pure Spirit develops into the subject-object relationship.
The similes employed suggest the apparent character of the reflection. The point stressed is that this development does not
904 The Principal Upanisads I. 5.
affect the character of Brahman. The development is based on Brahman but does not injure his integrity.
mula-prakrti: the root principle of matter. It cannot of its own develop. Matter by itself cannot give rise to life, mind, etc. So the principle of caitanya or consciousness is posited. Owing to the influence of caitanya the root principle evolves into detailed forms.
4. sa punar vikrtim prapya sattvo-driktdvyaktdkhyavarana- saktir asit, tat pratibimbitam yat tad isvara-caitanyam asit. sa svadhinamayah sarvajhah srsti-sthiti-layanam adikarta jagad- ahkura-rupo bhavati. svasmin vilinam sakalarh jagad avir- bhdvayati, prdni-karma-vasad esa pato yadvat prasaritah, prani- karma-ksayat punas tirobhdvayati. tasminn evdkhilam visvam samkocita-patavad vartate.
4. When that (; mula-prakrti ) undergoes change, due to the preponderance of the sattva (quality) it becomes known as the unmanifested and has the power of veiling (the nature of Brahman). What is reflected in it becomes the Isvara con¬ sciousness. That (principle of Isvara) has maya under his control, he is all-knowing, the first cause of creation, sustenance and dissolution of the world, he takes the form of the sprout of the world (the seed from which the world grows). That causes the entire world resting in it to become manifest. On account of the previous deeds of the souls this unfurls like a piece of cloth; with the destruction of the deeds of the souls, this again causes the world to disappear. In that alone remains the entire universe like a rolled up piece of cloth.
HIRANY A-GARBHA
5. isadhisthitavarana-saktito rajo-drikta-mahad-dkhya. vikse- pa-saktir asit. tat pratibimbitam yat tad hiranya-garbha-caitanyam asit, sa mahattattvdbhimani spastaspasta-vapur bhavati.
5. From the power of veiling dwelling in Isvara there comes into being the power of projection, known as the mahat due to the preponderance of rajas. What is reflected in it becomes the Hiranya-garbha consciousness. That (consciousness) con¬ ceiving the mahat tattva as its own has its form manifested both distinctly and indistinctly.
Paihgala Uftanisad VIRAT
6. hiranya-garbhadhislhita-viksepa-saktitas tamo-driktdhamkd- rabhidha sthula-saktir asit, tat-pratibimbitam yat tad viral caitan- yam asit. sa tad-abhimani spasta-vapuh sarva-sthula-palako visnuh pradhana-puruso bhavati. tasmad atmana akasah sarnbhu- tah, akasad vayuh, vayor agnih, agner apah, adbhyah prthivi, tani panca-tanmatrani trigunani bhavanti.
6. From the power of projection dwelling in Hiranya-garbha there comes into being the power of making gross bodies, known as the self-sense. What is reflected in it becomes the Virat consciousness. That (Virat consciousness), conceiving the self-sense as its own, with its form manifested distinctly becomes the chief person Visnu, the sustainer of all gross creation. From that (Virat) self ether originates; from ether air, from air fire, from fire water, from water earth; these five subtile elements become the three qualities ( sattva , rajas and tamas).
See T.U. II. 1. 3.
In these passages the nature of the Supreme Reality is mentioned. Brahman which transcends the distinction of subject and object. Others are conceived on the subject-object pattern. Witness self has confronting it mula-prakrti , Isvara, avyakta; Hiranya-garbha, mahat; Virat, ahamkara. All these are necessary for one another. Witness Self and Isvara are sometimes combined. See Ma. U.
7. srastu-kamo jagad-yonis tamo-gunam adhisthaya suksma- tanmatrani bhutani sthulikartum so’kamayata. srsteh parimitani bhutdny ekam ekarh dvidha vidhaya punas caturdha krtva svasvetaradvitiyamsaih pahcadha samyojya pahcikrta-bhutair ananta-koti - brahmandani - tat-tad - andocita - catur-dasa-bhuvanani tat-tad-bhuvanocita-golaka-sthula-sarirany asrjat.
7. He (the creator of the world) desirous of creating, embracing the quality of tamas (inertia) desired to change the subtile elements into gross ones. Dividing each of the elements measured at the time of creation into two and again sub¬ dividing each (first equal part) into four equal parts each and mixing each of the four subdivided equal parts with each of the four (second) equal parts of the other four elements and thus forming five heaps (of five sorts each) ; out of the elements thus quintuplicated he created many crores of brahmandas
906 The Principal Upani$ads
(macrocosms), fourteen worlds appropriate to each (of these macrocosms) and globular gross bodies appropriate to each (of these worlds).
The process of quintuplication, pahclkarana, is mentioned here.
8. sa pahca-bhutanam rajomsam caturdha krtva bhaga-trayat pahca-vrttyatmakam pranam asrjat. sa tesarn turya-bhagena karmendriyany asrjat.
8. Dividing the mobile property of the five elements with four parts, he created out of the three parts thereof, the principle of life with its fivefold functions. Out of the fourth part he created the organs of action.
As inertia is the character of tamas, mobility is the character of rajas.
9. sa te?am sattvamiam caturdha krtva bhaga-traya-samastitah pahca-kriya-vrttyatmakam antah-karanam asrjat. sa te?arh sattva- tunya-bhagena jhdnendriyany asrjat.
9. Dividing the rhythmic property (of the five elements) into four parts, out of the totality of the three parts thereof he created the inner sense with its fivefold functions. Out of the fourth part of the rhythmic property he created the organs of perception. .
10. sattv a- s amanita indriyapalakan asrjat. tani sr?fany ande pracik$ipat. tad-ajhaya sama?tyandam vyapya tany ati$than. tad ajhayahamkara-samanvito virad sthulany arak$at. hiranya- garbhas tad-ajhaya suk$many apalayat.
10. Out of the totality of the rhythm he created the organs of the sense organs. He then cast them into the macrocosm. Under his orders they stood pervading the entire macrocosm. Under his orders the Virat possessed of self-sense protected the gross elements. Under his orders Hiranya-garbha ruled over the subtile elements.
11. andasthani tani tena vina spanditum ce$titum va na iekuh. tani cetanikartum so'kamayata, brahmanda brahmaran- dhrani samasta-vya$ti-mastakan vidarya tad evanupraviiat. tada jadany api tani cetanavat svakarmani cakrire.
11. They (the gross and the subtile elements and the products of the macrocosm) were not capable of moving or functioning without him. He desired to make them all conscious, (sentient). Piercing through the macrocosm and the caverns of the cranium
I 12 Paingala Upanisad 907
of the individual souls, situated in their crests, he entered them all. Then they, though nonconscious by nature, were engaged in their respective functions, as if they were endowed with consciousness.
12. sarvajneso maya-leia-samanvito vyasti-deham pravisya lay a mohito jxvatvam agamat. ianra-traya-tadatmyat kartrtva-bhoktr- tvatam agamat; jagrat-svapna-susupti-murcha-marana-dharma- yukto ghati-yantravad udvigno jato mrta iva kuldla-cakra-nyayena paribhramatiti.
12. The Omniscient lord possessed of a particle of maya, on entering the several bodies and getting deluded by it attained the state of the individual soul. By identification with the three bodies (gross, subtle and causal) he attained the state of the doer and the enjoyer, ever performing the functions of waking, dreaming, sleeping, fainting and dying, he twirls round and round, like a potter’s wheel, as if dead though alive, in keeping with the adage relating to the potter’s wheel.
maya-leia: particle of maya. Cp. Bhagavata: holding on his own person maya as a garland of flowers :
svamayam vanamdldkhydm ndna-guna-maytm dadhat.
The potter’s wheel seems to be still while whirling aud whirling while still. Subjection to the world is only seeming, due to false identification of the spirit with the body and its adjuncts. This is Advaita Vedanta.
qo8
The Principal Upanisads CHAPTER II
i. atha paihgalo ydjhavalkyam uvaca, sarvalokanam srsti-slhi- ty-anta-krd vibhur isah katham jivatvam agamad iti.
i. Then Paingala asked Yajnavalkya thus: ‘How does the Lord, the all-pervading, the cause of the creation, maintenance and dissolution of all the worlds, attain the state of the indi¬ vidual soul?’
2. sa hovaca yajhavalkyah, sthula-suksma-kdrana-dehodbhava- purvakam jivesvara-svarupam vivicya kathayamiti savadhanen- aikagrataya sruyatam. isah paricikrta-mahd-bhuta-lesdn adaya vyasti-samastydtmaka-sthula-sanrdni yathakramam akarot. kapd- lacarmdntrdsthi-mdmsa-nakhdni prthivy-amsah, rakta-mutra-ldla- svedadikam ab-amsah, ksut-trsnosna-moha-maidhunddya agny- amsdh,pracdranottdrana-svdsddikd vayv-amsah, kama-krodhadayo vyomamsah etat samghdtam , karmani sahcitam, tvagadi-yuktam, balyady avasthabhimanaspadam, bahu-dosasrayam, sthula-sariram bhavati.
2. Yajnavalkya replied to him thus: I shall relate the character of the individual soul and the Divine in distinction from each other preceded by an account of the origin of the gross, subtle and causal bodies. Let it be listened to by you with attention and one-pointed mind. The Lord, after getting together the minute parts of the quintuplicated great elements, created in order, gross bodies in their individual and collective aspects. The skull, the skin, the intestines, the bones, the flesh and the nails are parts (of the character) of the earth. Blood, urine, saliva, sweat and the like are of the character of water. Hunger, thirst, (bodily) heat, swooning, sex impulse and the like are of the character of fire. Movement, lifting, breathing and the like are of the character of air. Lust, anger and the like are of the character of ether. The combination of these becomes the gross body, organised by (under the influence of) previous karma, provided with the skin and the like, affording the basis for the notion that the stages of infancy and the like belong to it and forming the haunt of various ailments.
dosa: evil. Evils of the gross body are ailments.
Paihgala Upanisad THE SUBTLE BODY
3. athapahdkrta-maha-bhuta-rajo’msa- bhaga-traya- samastitah pranam asrjat; prandpana-vydnodana-samanah pranavrttayah. naga- kurma- krkara- devadatta- dhanamjaya-upapranah, hrdasa- na-nabhi-kantha-sarvangani sthanani; akasadi-rajo-guna-turiyU- bhagena karmendriyam asrjat; vak-pani-pada-payupasthas tad vrttayah; vacanddana-gamana-visarganandas tad-visayah.
3. Then out of the three parts (of four) of the great elements in their mobile character and nonquintuplicated state he created the life principle. Prana, apana, vyana, udana and samana are the (varied) functions of the life principle. The minor functions of these are Naga, Kurma, Krkara, Devadatta and Dhanarhjaya. The heart, the anus, the navel, the throat and all the limbs form the seats (of the vital airs). Out of the (remaining) fourth part of the ether and other elements in their mobile character he created the organs of action. Its variants are the vocal organ, the hands, the feet, the excretory and the generative organs. Their functions are articulate expression, grasping, movement, excretion and (sex) enjoyment.
4. evam bhuta-sattvdmsa-bhdga-traya-samastito’ntah-karanam asrjat; antah-karana-mano-buddhi-cittahamkards tad-vrttayah; samkalpa-niscaya-smarandbhimdnanusamdhands tad-visayah; gala-vadana-ndbhi-hrdaya-bhru-madhyam sthanam; bhuta-sattva- turiya-bhagenajhanendriy am asrjat ;srotr a-ivak-caksur-jihva-ghr a- nas tad-vrttayah; sabda-sparsa-rupa-rasa-gandhds tad-visayah; dig-vatarka-praceto’ svi-vahnindropendra-mrtyukdh; candro-vis- nus-caturvaktrah sambhus ca karanadhipah.
4. In the same manner out of the totality of the three parts of the great elements in their rhythmic character, he created the inner sense. Its various forms (or modifications) are the inner sense, the mind, understanding, thought and self-sense. Determination, conviction, memory, love and dedication are its functions. The throat, the face, the navel, the heart and the middle of the eyebrows are the seats. Out of the fourth part of the great elements in their rhythmical character, he created the organs of perception. Its varied forms are the ears, the skin, the eyes, the tongue and the nose. (Perceptions of) sound, touch, shape, taste, smell are its functions. Direction, Air, the Sun. Varuna, the Asvins, Fire, Indra, Upendra, Death, the Moon, Visnu, the fourfaced Brahma and Siva are the deities presiding over the inner senses.
The Principal Upani§ads II. 7.
5. athannamaya pr ana-may a-mano-maya-vi jhana-mayananda- mayah pahcakosah, annarasenaiva bhutvdnnarasenabhivrddhim prapyanna-rasa-maya-prthivyam yad vilxyate so’ nna-maya-kosah; tad eva sthula-sarxram. karmendriyaih saha pranadi-pahcakam pr ana-may a-kosah; jhanendriyaih saha mano mano-may a-kosah; jhanendriyaih saha buddhir vijhana-may a-kosah, etat kosa-trayam lihga-sarxram; svarupa-jhanam ananda-maya-kosas tat karana- sarxram.
5. Then the five sheaths made of food, vital air, mind, understanding and bliss. What is brought into being only by the essence of food, what grows only by the essence of food, that which finds rest in earth full of the essence of food, that is the sheath made of food. That alone is the gross body. The five vital airs, along with the organ of action constitute the sheath made of the vital principle. Mind along with the organs of perception is the sheath made of mind. The understanding along with the organs of perception is the sheath made of intelligence. These three sheaths (of life, mind and intelligence) form the subtle body. The knowledge of one's own form is of the sheath made of bliss. That is also the causal body.
See T.U. II and III.
6. athajhanendriya-pancakam, karmendriya-pahcakam,prana- di-pancakam, viyadadi-pahcakam, antah-karana-catustayam kama-karma-tamamsy astapuram.
6. Then the five organs of perception, the five organs of action, the five vital airs, breath and others, the five elements, ether and others, desire, action and darkness (ignorance), they constitute astapura (the totality of the subtle body).
7. xsajhaya virajo vyastideham pravisya buddhim adhisthaya visvatvam agamat. vijhdnatma cidabhaso visvo vyavahariko jagrat sthula-dehabhimani karmabhur iti ca visvasya nama bhavati. xsajhaya sutratma vyasti-suksma-sarxram pravisya mana adhisthaya taijasatvam agamat. taijasah pratibhasikah svap- nakaipita iti taijasasya nama bhavati. xsajhaya mayopadhir avyakta-samanvito vyasti-karana-sarxram pravisya prajhatvam agamat. prajho’vacchinnah paramarthikah susupty abhimanxti prajhasya nama bhavati. avyakta-lesajhanacchadita paramar- thika-jxvasya tattvamasyadi vakyani brahmanaikatam jaguh neta- rayor vyavaharika-pratibhasikayoh, antah-karana-pratibimbita
caitanyam yat tad evdvasthd.tr ay abhag bhavati. sa jagrat-svapna- susupty-avasthah prapya ghati-yantravad udvigno jdto mrta iva sthito bhavati. atha jagrat-svapna-susupti-murchd-maranavasthah pahca bhavanti.
7. By the command of the Supreme Lord, after entering each individual gross body and abiding in the intellect, he (' Viradatman ) attained the Visva state. The intellectual self reflecting consciousness is the Visva that has pragmatic relations with and conceives of the waking state and the gross body as its own. The field of action is the name of the Visva state. At the command of the Supreme Lord, the subtle self, after entering each individual subtle body and abiding in the mind attained the Taijasa state. The Taijasa state is what manifests itself in the world of appearances. The product of dreams is the name of the Taijasa state. By the command of the Supreme Lord, the self conditioned by maya and along with the (principle of) unmanifested, after entering each separate body attained the Prajha state. The Prajha state is non-differentiated from and (in quest of) the highest truth. That which conceives of the sleeping state as its own is the name of the Prajha state. The Vedic texts ‘That thou art’ and the like sing about the identity with the Supreme of the individual soul that is (in quest of) the highest end and shrouded by ignorance and traces of the (principle of) unmanifested, which is unrelated to the empirical and the apparent worlds. It is only the consciousness reflected in the inner sense that is capable of attaining the three states (of waking, dream and sleep). After attaining these states of waking, dream and sleep, becoming distracted like a potter’s wheel, he becomes, though alive, dead as it were. Then there are the states of waking, dreaming, sleeping, fainting and dying, five in number.
This passage assumes the Advaita Vedanta view of the three grades of reality, pdramarthika, vyavaharika and pratibhasika, metaphysical or ultimate, empirical and illusory respectively.
8. tat-tad-devatagrahanvitaih srotradi-jhanendriyaih sabda- dy-artha-visaya-grahana-jhanam jagrad avastha bhavati. tatra bhru-madhyarh gato jiva a-pada-mastakam vydpya krsi-sravanddy akhila-kriya-karta bhavati. tat-tad-phalabhuk ca bhavati. lokdn- taragatah karmarjita-phalam sa eva bhuhkte. sa sarvabhaumavad
912 The Principal Upanisads II. 9.
vyavahdracchranta antar-bhavanam pravestum margarn asritya tisthati. karanoparame jagrat-samskarottha-prabodhavad grahya- grahaka-rdpa-sphuranam svapnavastha bhavati; tatra visva eva jagrad vyavahara-lopdn nadi-madhyam carams taijasatvam avapya vasana-rupakam jagad-vaicitryam svabhasa bhasayan yathepsitam svayam bhuhkte.
8. The state of waking consists in the knowledge acquired through the perception of sound and other objects by means of the organs of perception like the ear and others accompanied by the blessings of the respective deities (presiding over the different forms of perception). Therein the individual soul who has established himself in the middle of the eyebrows, after pervading (the entire body) from head to foot, becomes the doer of all actions like husbandry, study of the sacred books. He becomes the enjoyer of their respective fruits. On reaching another world he alone enjoys the fruit. He then stands like an emperor overcome with fatigue, on account of his activities having taken the path leading to the entry into (another) body. When the sense organ has come to rest (ceased to function) the knowledge of the percepts and perceptions arising out of impressions (left by) of the waking state is the dream state. Therein, owing to the cessation of active functioning such as we have in the waking state, Visva alone, after attaining the Taijasa state, moves through the middle of the nadis, mani¬ festing through his own power the variety of the world in the form of impressions, and himself enjoys as he desires.
9. cittaikakarana susupty-avastha bhavati. bhrama-visranta- sakunih paksau samhrtya mdabhimukham yatha gacchati, tatha jivo’ pi jagrat-svapna-prapahcevyavahrtya sranto jhanam pravisya svanandam bhuhkte.
9. The sleeping state is that in which only thought (functions) . Even as a bird tired of flying about turns towards its nest, restraining its wings, even so the individual soul tired of functioning in the worlds of waking and dream, entering on the state of ignorance, enjoys his own bliss.
He retires from his outward and inward activities and enters into his own nature. The principle of ignorance, of objectivity is present in the state of sleep though it is not manifest.
10. As if struck unawares by a hammer or a club, mani¬ festing itself as tremor due to fright or loss of consciousness, caused by the fusing together of the several organs of percep¬ tion is the state of fainting which resembles the state of a dead man.
11. jagrat-svapna-susupti-murchavasthandm any a brahmad- istamba-paryantam sarva-jiva-bhaya-prada sthula-dehavisarjani maranavastha bhavati. karmendriyani jhanendriyani tat-tad-vis- aydn pranan sambtya kdma-karmanvitd avidya-bhutavestito jivo dehantaram prapya lokantaram gacchati. prak karma-phala- pakenavartantara-kitavad visrdntim naiva gacchati. satkarma- paripdkato bahunam janmanam ante nrnam mokseccha jay ate.
11. What is different from the waking, dreaming, sleeping and fainting states, what instils fear into (the hearts of) all living creatures from Brahma (the creator) to a tuft of grass, what causes the giving up of the gross body, that is the state of dying. After drawing together the organs of action and the organs of perception, their respective functions and the vital airs, the soul attended with desire and conduct (in the form of impressions left by conduct) and wrapped up in elements of ignorance goes to another world after attaining another body. Through the ripening of the fruits of his past actions he does not attain any rest, like a worm caught within a whirlpool. The desire for liberation arises in human beings at the end of many births through the ripening of their past virtuous conduct.
See B.G. VII. 19.
12. tada sad-gurum dsritya cira-kdla-sevaya bandham moksarn kascit prayati. avicarakrto bandho vicaran mokso bhavati; tasmat sada vicarayet. adhyaropdpavadatah svarupam niscayikartum sakyate. tasmat sada vicar ay ej jagaj-jiva-paramdtmano jiva-bhuva- jagad-bhava-badhe pratyag abhinnam brahmaivavasisyata iti.
12. Then, after resorting to a good teacher and serving him for a long time he questions him as to the nature of bondage and release. Bondage produced by the lack of investigation
914 The Principal Upani$ads
becomes release by (proper) investigation. Therefore one should always inquire. It is possible to determine the nature of the self through the way of super-imposition (of qualities that do not belong to it) and denial. Therefore one should always inquire into the nature of the world, the individual and the supreme self. With the denial of the (ultimate) reality of the soul and the world, the innermost self non-differentiated from Brahman alone remains.
The way of superposition and denial is developed by £ in his Introduction to S.B.
1 . atha hainampaihgalahpapracchayajhavalkyam, maha-vakya- vivaranam anubruhiti.
2. sa hovaca yajhavalkyas tat tvam asi, tvam tad asi, tvam brahmdspadam brahmasmlty anusandhanam kuryat; tatra parok- sya-6abalahsarvajhatvddi-lak§anomdyopddhihsac-cid-ananda-lak- sano jagad-yonis tad-pada-vacyo bhavati; sa evantah-karana- sambhinnabodho’ smat pratyayavalambanas tvam-pada-vacyo bhavati, parajivopadhimayavidye vihaya tat-tvam-pada-laksyam pratyagabhinnam brahma; tattvamasxty aham brahmdsmiti vak- yartha-vicarah sravanam bhavati; ekantena sravanarthanusand- hanam mananam bhavati; sravana-manana-nirvicikitse’rthe vastuny ekatanavattaya cetah sthapanam nididhyasanam bhavati; dhyatrdhyane vihaya nivatasthita dipavad dhyeyaikagocaram cittam samadhir bhavati; tadanim atma-gocaravrttayah samutthita ajhata bhavanti; tah smaranad anumiyante; ihanadisamsare samcitah karma-kotayo’ nenaiva vilayam yanti; tato’bhyasapdtavdt sahasraiah sada amrtadhara varsati; tato yoga-vittamah samadhim dharma-megham prahuh; vdsana-jale nihsesam amuna pravildpite karma-samcaye punya-pape samulonmulite prak paroksam api kara-talamalakavad vakyam apratibaddhaparoksa-saksat-karam prasuyate; tada jivan-mukto bhavati.
2. Yajnavalkya replied to him: One should engage in medi¬ tation of the kind ‘That thou art,’ ‘Thou art the seat of Brahman.’ ‘I am Brahman.’ Therein the imperceptible per¬ sonal Lord with the qualities of omniscience and others, endowed with the power of maya, of the character of being, consciousness and bliss, the source of the world is (what is connoted by) the word ‘that’ (of the text). That alone, being influenced by the inner sense, supported by the conception of self (I-conception) is (what is connoted by) the word ‘thou’ (of the text). Giving up the power of maya and ignorance which envelop (the two), the supreme and the individual soul, what is meant by the terms ‘that’ and ‘thou’ becomes Brahman which is non- distinct from the self. The investigation into the import of the texts ‘That thou art,’ I am Brahman is hearing. Exclusive attention to the meaning of what is heard is reflection. The
916 The Principal Upanisads III. 3.
fixing of thought with one-pointed attention solely on the object attained through hearing and reflection is meditation. The thought absorbed only in the object meditated upon, giving up the distinction of the meditator and the act of meditation resembling a lamp in a windless spot attains the highest enlightenment. In that state, when the functionings directed towards the cognition of the self are roused (the intuitions of the self), are not cognised but only inferred from memory. Through this the numberless previous karmas accumulated during this beginningless cycle of births and deaths attain their dissolution. Thence, through the power of practice, a stream of nectar showers always from a thousand directions. Therefore the adepts in yoga call this highest enlightenment ‘the cloud of virtue.’ When the nets of dispositions (good and bad) are dissolved without any residue, when the accumulated deeds, virtuous and vicious, are completely destroyed, to the very roots, the past and the future alike, owing to the removal of ail im¬ pediments bring about the direct and immediate perception (of Brahman) as of the amalaka fruit, on the palm of the hand. Then (the knower of Brahman) becomes one liberated while in life.
Sabalah: mixed. The Absolute is viewed as the personal lord with maya or the power of manifestation. Though sac-cid-ananda, he is the source of the world, jagad-yoni.
sravana: the four stages of hearing, reflection, meditation and direct intuition, atma-darsana, here called samddhi are explained. The truths of thte sacred texts are endorsed by personal effort and experience. See Introduction XIX. a lamp in a windless spot: see B.G. VI. 19.
inferred from memory: when the intuition is no more felt, when it lapses from consciousness, we have only a memory of it. dharma-megha: the cloud of virtue. The realised soul is virtuous by nature.
3. xsah pahci-krta-bhutandm apahci-karanam kartum so'kama- yata; brahmanda tadgata-lokan karya-rupams ca karanatvam prapayitva, tatah, suksmahgam karmendriyani pranams ca jhdnendriyanya.ntah-karana-catustayamcaikikrtya,sarvdnibhauti- kani karane bhuta-pahcake samyojya bhiimim jale, jalam vahnau, vahnim vayau, vayum akase, cakdsam ahamkare, cahamkaram mahati, mahad avyakte, avyaktam puruse kramena viliyate ; virdddhiranyagarbhesvara upadhi-vilayat param-atmani liyante; paha-krta-maha-bhuta-sambhava-karma-samcita-sthiila-dehah kar- maksayat sat-karma-paripdkato’ pahci-kar anam prapya suksmen-
aikibhutva karana-rupatvam asadya tat-karanam kutasthe pratyag- atmani villyate; visva-taijasa-prajhah svasvopadhi-layat pratyag- atmani liyante; andam jhanagnina dagdham karanaih saha param-atmani linam bhavati; tato brahmanah samahito bhutva tat-tvam-padaikyam eva sadd kuryat; tato meghdpdyai’msumdn ivatmavirbhavati; , dhyatva madhyastham dtmdnam kalasantara-di- pavad; angustha-matram dtmdnam adhuma-jyoti-rupakam.
3. Isvara developed the desire to disquintuplicate the quin- tuplicated elements. After causing the macrocosms, the worlds comprised in them and other effects to recede into their (ante¬ cedent) causal form, after making into one the subtle body, the organs of actions, the life principles, the organs of per¬ ception and ' the fourfold inner sense, and after merging all elements in the fivefold causal elements, he causes earth to dissolve in water, water in fire, fire in air, air in ether, ether in the self-sense, the self-sense in the great, the great in the unmanifested and the unmanifested in the self in due order. The Virat, the Hiranya-garbha and the Supreme Lord, owing to the dissolutions of their respective adjuncts, lapse into the Supreme Self. The gross body composed of the quintuplicated great elements, organised through the accumulated (past) karma, owing to the destruction of karma and the ripening of the fruits of good karma, becoming one with the subtle body, attaining the form of the causal body, causes the causal body to merge in the unchanging inner self. The three states of Visva, Taijasa, Prajha, on account of the dissolution of their adjuncts merge in the inner self. The microcosm being burnt (and purified) by the fire of knowledge becomes merged along with its causes in the Supreme Self. Therefore let the Brahmana, after becoming possessed of self-control engage in meditation incessantly on the identity of That and Thou. Thereafter, even as the sun shines with all his splendour on the dissipation of the clouds, the self manifests himself. After meditating on the self seated in the middle (of the heart) like a lamp placed inside a vessel, of the size of a thumb and of the form of smokeless flame (the self manifests himself).
The order of involution is the reverse of the order of evolution. The subordination of the world, world-soul and the Supreme Lord to the Ultimate Reality is suggested here. The logical priority of Brahman to these three is to be understood.
918 The Principal Upani$ads
4. One should meditate on the unchanging, imperishable that is inside, manifesting (the diverse functions). The sage who is continuously engaged in meditation till he goes to sleep or is overtaken by death.
5. jxvanmuktas sa vijheyah sa dhanyah krta-krtyavan jxvanmuktapadam tyaktva svadehe kalasatkrte visatya deha-muktatvam pavano' spandatam iva.
body). He is blessed and is of fulfilled duties. After giving up
the state of being liberated while alive, when the time arrives
for his quitting the body, he enters on the state of disembodied
liberation even as the air attains the state of non-movement.
*
agandhavac ca yat.
anddy anantam, mahatah param, dhruvam, tad eva iisyaty amalam, niramayam.
6. (He attains the state) that is devoid of sound, devoid of touch, devoid of forms, devoid of wasting, likewise devoid of taste, that is eternal, and devoid of smell, having neither beginning nor end, that transcends the Great, constant, that alone remains, which is flawless and free from ailing.
It is the supreme state which is negatively described ; it is oneness with the transcendent Brahman.
1. atha hainam paingalah papraccha yajhavalkyam, jhaninah kith karma kd ca sthitir iti. sa hovaca yajhavalkyah; amanitvadi sampanno mumuk$ur eka-vimiati-kulam tarayati; brahma-vin- matrena kulam ekottara-iatam tarayati:
atmanam rathinarh viddhi iariram ratham eva ca buddhith tu sarathirh viddhi manah pragraham eva ca.
1. Then the sage Paingala asked Yajnavalkya: What is the (nature of) action of a knower? What is his condition? Yajnavalkya replied unto him: The seeker after liberation endowed with humility and other good qualities carries (safely) across (the ocean of worldly existence) twenty-one generations of his class. The moment he becomes a knower of Brahman he carries across one hundred and one generations of his class. Know the self as the lord of the chariot and the body as verily, the chariot. Know the intellect as the charioteer and the mind as, verily, the reins.
See Ka{ha I. in. 2 if.
2. The senses, they say, are the horses and the objects (of the senses) the paths (they range over). The hearts of the knowers (of Brahman) are so many air chariots.
3. (The self) associated with the body, the senses and the mind, the great sages declare, is the enjoyer. Therefore, Narayana is actually established (as the self) in the hearts (of all beings) . The seeker after God, after becoming one with God,- becomes the self of all beings.
4. As long as his previously commenced karma remains unspent, he functions (very much) like the snake with the slough on. He who has attained liberation, though possessed of the body, wanders about homeless like the moon (on the sky).
His body does not fall off until the karmas which have started waking out reach their culmination.
920 The Principal Upanisads
5. txrthe svapaca-grhe va tanum vihaya yati kaivalyam pranan avakxrya yati kaivalyam tarn pascad dig-balim kuryad athava khananam caret, purhsah pravrajanam proktam netaraya kadacana.
5. Casting off his body either in a place of pilgrimage or in the house of an eater of dog’s flesh (the knower) attains alone- ness. After scattering the vital airs he attains aloneness. After (the knower has run the appointed course of life and dies) his body should be cast away as an offering to the cardinal points ; or else it may be buried. Only in the case of a male who is eligible for the order of monkhood is (burial) prescribed, never for others.
dig-bali: food for appeasing the hunger of birds and the like.
6. No pollution (is to be observed by blood relations), no rituals connected with the funeral fire, no oblations (in the form of balls of cooked rice) nor offerings of water nor rituals on new moon and other days should be adopted for the (departed) mendicant who has become Brahman.
7. Even as there is no cooking of food that has already been cooked, there is no cremation of the body (of a knower) which has already been burnt (in the fire of austerity). For one whose body has already been consumed by the fire of knowledge, there is no need for the performance of sraddha ceremonies or any other obsequies.
8. So long as there is the limitation (leading to differentiation between the teacher and the pupil) so long the pupil should serve the teacher. He should behave with the teacher’s wife and his sons as he would with the teacher (himself).
9. suddha-manasah suddha-cid-rupah sahisnuh so’ham asmi sahisnuh, so hamasmiti prapte jnanena vijnane jheye param-dt- mani hrdi samsthite dehe labdha-santi-padam gate tada pra- bha-mano-buddhi-sunyam bhavati; amrtena trpta.sya payasa kim prayojanam; evam svatmanam jnatva vedaih prayojanam kim
bhavati; jnananirta-trpta-yogino na kirn cit kartavyam asti, tad asti cen na,satattva-vid bhavati. durastho’ pi na durasthah pindavarjitah pindavastho’ pi pratyagatma sarvavyapi bhavati, hr day am nir- malarh krtva cintayitvapy anamayam aharn eva sarvam iti pasyet pararh sukham.
9. With a purified mind, with a purified consciousness, full of forbearance, and in the attitude 'I am he’ full of forbearance, and when he gains the attitude ‘I am he,’ when the supreme self, the basis of all knowledge gets firmly fixed in the heart, when the body attains the state of quiescence then does the mind scin¬ tillating with the intellect become void of its functionings. What is the use of milk to one satiated with nectar? Even so what is the use of the study of the Vedas for one who has perceived the Self? For the Yogin who is satisfied with the nectar of knowledge (of Brahman) there is nothing whatsoever that has yet to be achieved. If there is anything (still to be achieved), he is not a knower of the truth. Remaining aloof, yet not aloof, remaining in the body, yet not of the body, the innermost self, becomes the all-pervading (Brahman). After purifying the heart, thinking of Brahman the perfect (free from ailment), the Yogin should perceive that he is the all, the transcendent, the blissful.
10. As water poured into water, milk poured into milk, ghee into ghee becomes one without differentiation, even so the individual soul and the Supreme Self (become one).
The state of liberation is here suggested to be oneness with the Absolute Self.
11. dehe jhanena dipite buddhir akhandakara-rupd yada bhavati, tada vidvan brahma-jhanagina sarva-bandham nirdahet, tatah pavitram paramesvarakhyam, advaita-riipam, vimalam- barabham yathodake toyam anupravistam tathatma-rupo niru - padhi-samsthitah.
11. When the body is lit (with the flame of) knowledge, when the understanding becomes indivisible in form, then the knower should burn all the bonds with the fire of the knowledge of Brahman. Then he who has attained the form of the self, firmly established in the state without limitations should enter on the state hallowed, that is known as the supreme lord, that is of
922 The Principal Upanisads IV. 17.
non-dual form, that resembles ether devoid of impurities, like water that has flown into water.
The state of liberation is described not as that of a fish in water but as that of a dewdrop in the sea. Complete identity is maintained.
12. akaiavat suksmaiarira atma na driyate vayuvad antaratmd sa bahyam abhyantara niscalatma jhanolkaya paiyati cantaratma.
12. The self that has a subtle body like the ether, that self immanent in all beings is not seen like the air. (That) self is motionless both outside and inside. The self immanent in all beings perceives with the torch of knowledge.
13. Wheresoever the knower may die, whatever may be the manner of death, at that very place he becomes merged (in Brahman ) even as the all-pervading ether.
14. The knower who knows the self to be indissoluble, like the ether of the pot, reaches independence with the range of his knowledge (spreading) on all sides.
As the ether in the pot gets dissolved in the all-pervading ether when the limitations are broken, even so the liberated individual is lost in the universal self.
15. A man may perform penance standing on one leg for a thousand years (yet his austerities) do not deserve a sixteenth part of the merit of concentrated meditation.
The verse brings out the superiority of dhyana-yoga to tapas.
16. One desires to know all about what constitutes know¬ ledge and what has to be known, but even if he should live for a thousand years he does not get to the end of the (study of the) scriptures.
17. What is to be known is the subtle imperishable existence while one’s life is unsteady. (Therefore) giving up the network of scriptures (which are many and endless), let the truth be meditated on.
18. (It is only) so long as the seeker does not attain know¬ ledge of the real that endless ceremonies, observances of purity, prayers, likewise performance of sacrifices, visits to places of pilgrimage (are prescribed by the scriptures).
All these are not ends in themselves. They are means to the realisation of the eternal.
19. For the great souled, the surest way to liberation is the conviction that I am Brahman. The two terms, what leads to bondage and what leads to liberation, are the sense of mineness and the absence of the sense of mineness.
Selfishness or looking upon the body and the world as one’s own, as means to one’s enjoyment causes bondage. The realisation that the body and the world are external to the true self and the con¬ sequent universality of spirit lead to liberation.
20. With the sense of mineness the soul is bound; with the absence of the sense of mineness it is liberated. When the mind rises to the state of illumination, the sense of duality is never attained.
21. When the seeker attains the state of illumination then he (attains) the highest state. Wheresoever his mind goes there is the highest state.
22. There is the transcendent Brahman well established everywhere. However much one tormented by hunger strikes with his fisticuffs the ether round him or chews (any amount of) chaff (his hunger is not appeased).
924 The Principal Upanisads IV. 24.
23. naham brahmeti janati tasya muktir na jayate. ya etad upanisadam nityarn adhite so’gni-puto bhavati, sa vayu-puto bhavati, sa dditya-piito bhavati, sa brahma-puto bhavati, sa vis- nu-pato bhavati, sa rudra-puto bhavati, sa sarvesu tirthesu snato bhavati, sa sarvesu vedesv adhito bhavati, sa sarva-veda-vrata-car- yasu carito bhavati, tenetihasa-purananam rudranam iata-sahasrani japtani phalani bhavanti, pranavanam ayutam japtam bhavati, dasa-purvan dasottaranpunati , sa pahkti-pavano bhavati, sa mahan bhavati, brahmahatyd-surapana-svarnasteya-gurutalpagamana-tat samyogipatakebhyah puto bhavati.
tad visnoh paramam padam sada pasyanti surayah
diviva caksur atatam.
23. For him who does not know ‘I am Brahman,’ liberation does not arise. He who studies this Upanisad every day becomes hallowed as by fire; he becomes hallowed by air; he becomes hallowed by the sun; he becomes hallowed by Brahma; he becomes hallowed by Visnu; he becomes hallowed by Rudra. He attains the merit of bathing in all the sacred waters. He becomes accomplished in the study of all the Vedas. He becomes disciplined in the performance of all the vows prescribed in the Vedas. By him are attained the fruits resulting from a hundred thousand recitals of the Itihasas, the Puranas and the Rudras. By him has been repeated the syllable pranava ( aum ) myriads of times. He sanctifies ten previous and ten future generations. He sanctifies the rows of people with whom he dines. He becomes a great-souled one. He becomes freed from the sins of killing a Brahmana, drinking liquor, stealing gold, sharing the bed with the teacher’s wife and associating with those who have committed these sins.
That is the highest state of Visnu (the all-pervader) which the sages see constantly as the eye spreads towards the heaven.
24. These knowers of Brahman, with their passions cast away, their inner senses alert, expound clearly that highest state of Visnu. This is the truth, (this is) the Upanisad.
The Upanisad belongs to the Atharva Veda and is called Kaivalya Upanisad as its study and practice lead to the state of Kaivalya or aloneness.
adhihi bhagavan brahma-vidyam varistham sada sadbhih sevyamdnam nigudham.
yayacirat sarva-papam vyapohya paratparam purusam upaiti vidvan.
1. Then Asvalayana approached the Venerable Lord Brahma and said: Teach (me), Venerable Sir, the knowledge of Brahman, supreme, sought constantly by the wise, hidden, that by which the knower is soon freed from impurities and attains the person greater than the great.
atha: then, after having prepared himself for the acquisition of
wisdom.
yaya: yatha, as.
avehi,
na karmana na prajaya dhanena tyagenaike amrtatvam anasuh.
2. Brahma the grandsire said to him (Asvalayana) : Seek to know ( Brahman ) by faith, devotion, meditation and con¬ centration. Not by work, not by offspring, or wealth; only by renunciation does one reach life eternal.
dha-sattvah.
te brahma-lokesu parantakale pardmrtah parimucyanti sarve.
4. The ascetics who have ascertained well the meaning of the Vedanta knowledge, who have purified their natures through the path of renunciation, they (dwelling) in the worlds of Brahma, at the end of time, being one with the immortal, are all liberated.
See M.U. III. 2. 6.
928 The Principal Upani$ads
antyasramasthah sakalendriyani nirudhya bhaktya svagu- rum pranamya,
5. In a solitary place, seating oneself in an easy posture, with a pure heart, with the head, neck and body straight, in the last order of life, controlling all the senses, bowing with devotion to the teacher.
in the last order of life: atyasramasthah is another reading, ‘having passed beyond all orders of life.'
visadam visokam
acintyam, avyaktam, ananta-riipam, sivam, prasantam, amrtam, brahma-yonim.
6. Meditating on the lotus of the heart, devoid of passion and pure, in the centre of which is the pure, the sorrowless, the inconceivable, the unmanifest, of infinite form, the blissful, the tranquil, the immortal, the source of Brahma.
Brahma is the creator, the world-spirit. viraja: devoid of passion or the quality of rajas.
pam adbhutam
umasahayam paramesvaram prabhum trilocanam nila- kantham prasantam
dhyatva munir gacchati bhuta-yonim samasta-s aksirh tama- sah parastat.
7. Him who is without beginning, middle or end, who is one, all-pervading, who is wisdom and bliss, who is formless, wonderful, who has Uma as his companion, the highest lord, the ruler, who is the three-eyed, who has a dark throat, who is tranquil; by meditating on him the sage reaches the source of beings, the witness of all, who is beyond (all) darkness.
who has a dark throat. Siva is said to have taken the poison which came to the top when the ocean was churned, and kept it in his throat.
8 sa brahma sa sivah sendrah so’ksarah paramah svarat, sa eva visnuh sq pranah sa kalo’gnih sa candramah.
8. He is Brahma (the creator); he is Siva (the judge), he is Indra, he is the imperishable, supreme, the lord of himself. He is Visnu (the preserver), he is life, he is time, he is fire, he is the moon.
9. He is all, what has been and what shall be. He is eternal.* By knowing him one conquers death. There is no other way to liberation.
not by any other cause: there is no other way to liberation.
11. Making one’s body the lower firestick and the syllable aum the upper firestick, by the effort of kindling (the flame of) knowledge, the knower burns the bond (of ignorance).
SeeS.U. I. 14.
pasam: bond of ajhana. V. papam. He burns away the evil or the impurity.
12. sa eva maya-parimohitatma sariram asthaya karoti sarvam. stry-anna-panadi vicitra-bhogais sa eva jdgrat paritrptim eti.
12. The same self veiled by maya attains a body and performs all work. In the waking state he attains satisfaction by the varied enjoyments of women, food and drink.
visva-loke
susupti-kale sakale villne tamo’bhibhutas sukha-rupam eti.
13. In the state of dream the self experiences happiness or sorrow in the worlds created by his own maya. In the state of dreamless sleep in which all things disappear, overcome by darkness, he experiences happiness.
See Ma. U.
visva-loke: v. jiva-loke.
prabuddhah.
pura-traye kridati yas ca jivas tatas tu jatam sakalam vicitram.
adharam anandam akhanda-bodham yasmin layam yat pura-trayam ca.
930 The Principal Upanisads 20.
14. Again, he (the individual jiva) on account of his con¬ nection with the deeds of his past life wakes up and sleeps. He revels in the three states of consciousness (waking, dream and dreamless sleep) and from him all this varied world is born. In hint who is the support, who is the bliss, who is indi¬ visible wisdom are merged the three states of consciousness.
The three bodies are the gross, the subtle and the causal ones.
15. From him are born life, mind and all the senses; sky, air, light, water and earth which is the support of all existence.
16. He is the supreme Brahman, the self of all, the chief foundation of this world, subtler than the subtle, eternal. That thou art; Thou art That.
17. The world which shines in the states of waking, dream and dreamless sleep, knowing that it is Brahman who I am, one is freed from all fetters.
Cp. ay am atma brahma.
18. In the three states of consciousness whatever appears as the object of enjoyment, or the enjoyer or the enjoyment, I am different from them, the witness (thereof), pure conscious¬ ness, the eternal Siva.
See T.U. III.
vicitram.
puratanoham,puruso'ham,isohiran-mayo'ham,siva-rupam
asmi.
20. I am subtler than the subtle, greater than the great. I am this manifold universe. I am the ancient, the person. I am the lord of golden hue. I am Siva.
akarnah,
aham vijanami vivikta-rupo na casti vetta, mama cit saddham.
21. I am without hands and feet, of inconceivable powers. I see without eyes. I hear without ears. I know (all). I am of one form. None knows me. I am always pure consciousness.
caham:
na punyapape mama nasti nasah, na janma dehendriya-
buddhir asti,
22. I am the One to be known through the many Vedas. I am the maker of the Vedanta and the knower of the Vedas. Merit or demerit I have none (do not affect me). There is no destruction for me, no birth or body, senses or intellect.
cambaram ca,
evam viditva paramatma-rupam guhasayam niskalam advitxyam
samasta-saksim , sad-asad-vihinam prayati suddham para- mdtma-riipam.
23. I have not earth, water, fire, air, ether. Knowing the nature of the Supreme Self, dwelling in the cave of the heart, stainless without a second; the witness of all, free from (the duality of) existent and non-existent, he obtains the pure nature of the Supreme Self.
24. yah satarudriyam adhite’ sogni-puto bhavati, sa vayu-puto bhavati, sa dtma-puto bhavati, sa surapanat puto bhavati, sa brahma-hatyayah puto bhavati, sa suvarna-steyat puto bhavati, sa krtyakrtyat puto bhavati, tasmad avimuktam asrito bhavati, atyasrami sarvada sakrd vd japet.
24. Whoever reads satarudriya (this Upanisad connected with it) becomes pure as fire, he becomes pure as air, he becomes purified from (the fault of) stealing gold; he becomes purified from (the fault of) drinking liquor, he becomes purified from (the fault of) murdering a Brahmana, he becomes purified from (the faults of) commission and omission. Therefore one should
932 The Principal U pani$ads 25.
strive to become freed (from these faults). He who has freed himself from the different orders of life should meditate (on this upanisad) constantly or occasionally.
tasmad evarn vidittvainam kaivalyam padam asnute kaivalyam padam asnute.
25. He obtains this wisdom which destroys the ocean of births and deaths. By knowing this he obtains the state of kaivalya, he obtains the state of kaivalya.
Anyone who by faith, devotion and meditation realises the Self and becomes one with the Supreme Brahman is released from the wheel of time and change, from sorrow, birth and death.
The Upanisad belongs to the Sama Veda and describes the true character of a Brahmana and incidentally offers comments on the nature of the Supreme Reality. The Upanisad is valuable in that it undermines caste distinctions based on birth.
4-
i. vajrasucim pravaksyami jnanam ajhana-bhedanam dusanam jndna-hindndm bhusanam jhana-caksusam.
1. I shall describe the Vajrasuci doctrine which blasts ignorance, condemns those who are devoid of the knowledge (of Brahman) and exalts those endowed with the eye of knowledge.
jnanam: doctrine. V. ‘sastra’: scripture.
2. brahmana-ksatriya-vaisya-sudra iti catvaro varnah; tesam varnanam brahmana eva pradhana iti veda-vacandnuriipam smrtibhir apy uktam. tatra codyam asti. ko va brahmano nama? kim jivah? kirn dehah? kirn jatih? kim jnanam? kim karma? kirn dhdrmika iti.
2. The Brahmana the Ksatriya, the Vaisya and the ^udra are the four classes (castes). That the Brahmana is the chief among these classes is in accord with the Vedic texts and is affirmed by the Smrtis. In this connection there is a point worthy of investigation. Who is, verily, the Brahmana? Is he the individual soul? Is he the body? Is he the class based on birth? Is he the knowledge? Is he the deeds (previous, present or prospective) ? Is he the performer of the rites ?
3. tatra prathamo jivo brahmana iti cet tan na, atitdnaga- tdneka-dehandmjwasyaikarupatvat. ekasydpi karma-vasad aneka- deha-sambhavat sarva-sarirdnam jivasyaikariipatvdc ca, tasman na jivo brahmana iti.
3. Of these, if the first (position) that the Jiva or the individual soul is Brahmana (is to be assumed), it is not so; for the individual’s form is one and the same in the large number of previous and prospective bodies. Even though the jiva (the individual soul) is one, there is scope for (the assumption of) many bodies due to the stress of (past) karma, and in all these bodies the form of the jiva is one and the same. Therefore the jiva is not the Brahmana.
4. tarki deho brahmana iti cet tan na. acandaladi paryantanam manusyandm pahca-bhautikatvenadehasyaikarupatvdt;jara-mara- na-dharmadharmadi-samyadarsanat, brdhmanas sveta-varnah, ksatriyo rakta-varnah, vaisyah pita-varnah, sudrah krsna-varna iti niyamabhavat. pitradi-dahane putrddindm brahma-hatyadi-dosa- sambhavdc ca, tasman na deho brahmana iti.
936 The Principal Upanisads 7.
not so, because of the oneness of the nature of the body which is composed of the five elements, in all classes of human beings down to the candalas (outcastes), etc.; on account of the per¬ ception of the common features' of old age and death, virtue and vice, on account of the absence of any regularity (in the complexion of the four classes) that the Brahmana is of the white complexion, that the Ksatriya is of the red complexion, that the Vai£ya is of the tawny complexion, that the £udra is of the dark complexion and because of the liability of the sons and others (kinsmen) to becoming tainted with the murder of a Brahmana and other (sins) on cremating the bodies of their fathers and other kinsmen. Therefore the body is not the Brahmana.
5. tarhi jatir brahmana iti cet tan na; tatra j atyantaraj antusv aneka-j ati-sambhava maharsayo bahavas santi, rsyasrhgo mrgyah, kausikah kusat, jambuko jambukat, vdlmTko valmikat, vydsah kaivarta-kanyayam, sasaprsthat gautamah, vasistha urvasyam, agastyah kalase jata iti srutatvat, etesam jatya vinapy agre jhana-pratipadita rsayo bahavas santi; tasman na jatir brahmana iti.
5. Then (if it is said) that birth (makes) the Brahmana, it is not so, for there are many species among creatures, other than human, many sages are of diverse origin. We hear from the sacred books that Rsyasriiga was born of a deer, Kausika of Kusa grass, Jambuka from a jackal, Valmlki from an ant-hill, Vyasa from a fisher girl, Gautama from the back of a hare, Vasistha from GrvasI (the celestial nymph), Agastya from an earthen jar. Among these, despite their birth, there are many sages, who have taken the highest rank, having given proof of their wisdom. Therefore birth does not (make) a Brahmana.
6. tarhi jhanam brahmana iti cet tan na; ksatriyadayohi paramarthadarsano’bhijha bahavas santi, tasman na jhanam brahmana iti.
6. Then (if it is said) that knowledge (makes a) Brahmana, it is not so because among Ksatriyas and others there are many who have seen the Highest Reality and attained wisdom. There¬ fore knowledge does not (make) a Brahmana.
preritah santo janah kriydh kurvantiti. tasman na karma brahmana iti.
7. Then (if it is said) that work (makes a) Brahmana, it is not so, for we see that the work commenced in the present embodiment or accumulated during the previous or to com¬ mence on a future embodiment is common to all living creatures and that good men perform works impelled by their past karma. Therefore work does not (make) a Brahmana.
iti.
8. Then (if it is said) that the performer of religious duties is a Brahmana, it is not so; for there have been many Ksatriyas and others who have given away gold. Therefore the performer of religious rites is not the Brahmana.
Giving away gold is an act of religious duty.
9. tarhi ko vd brdhmano ndma? yah kascid dtmdnam, advitiyam, jati-guna-kriyd-hinam, sadurmi-sadbhavetyddi-sarva-dosa-rahitam, satya-jhanananddnanta-svarupam, svayam, nirvikalpam, asesa- kalpddhdram, asesa-bhutantaryamitvena vartamanam, antar-ba- hisc-akasavad anusyutam, akhandananda-svabhavam , aprameyam, anubhavaikavedyam, aparoksatayabhasamanam, karatalamala- kavat saksat aparoksikrtya krtarthataya kama-ragadi-dosa-rahitah samadi-guna sampanno bhava-matsarya-trsnasd-mohadi-rahitah dambhahamkdrddibhir asamsprstaceta vartate, evam ukta-laksano yah sa eva brahmana iti sruti-smrti-purdnetihdsdndm abhiprdyah; anyathabrahmanatva-siddhir nasty eva. sac-cid-dnandamdtmdnam, advitiyam, brahma bhdvayet, dtmanam, advitiyam, brahma bhavayed ity upanisad.
9. Then, who, verily is the Brahmana? He who, after directly perceiving, like the amalaka fruit in the palm of one’s hand, the Self, without a second, devoid of distinctions of birth, attribute and action, devoid of all faults such as the six infirmities, and the six states, of the form of truth, wisdom, bliss and eternity, that is by itself, devoid of determinations, the basis of endless determinations, who functions as the indwelling spirit of all beings, who pervades the interior and the exterior of all like ether, of the nature of bliss, indivisible, immeasurable, realisable only through one’s experience and who manifests himself directly (as one’s self), and through the fulfilment of his nature, becomes rid of the faults of desire,
938 The Principal Upanisads 9.
attachment, etc., and endowed with qualities of tranquillity, etc., rid of the states of being, spite, greed, expectation, bewil¬ derment, etc., with his mind unaffected by ostentation, self¬ sense and the like, he lives. He alone who is possessed of these qualities is the Brahmana. This is the view of the Vedic texts and tradition, ancient lore and history. The accomplishment of the state of the Brahmana is otherwise impossible. Meditate on Brahman, the Self who is being, consciousness and bliss, without a second; meditate on Brahman, the Self who is being, consciousness and bliss without a second. This is the Upanisad.
six infirmities: old age, death, sorrow, delusion, hunger and thirst. six states: birth, being, growth, change, waning and perishing.
Many texts declare that the determining factor of caste is char¬ acter and conduct and not birth.
synu yaksa kularh tata na svadhyayo na ca srutam karanam va dvijatve ca vrttam eva - na samsayah.
Listen about caste, Yaksa dear, not study, not learning is the cause of rebomness. Conduct is the basis, there is no doubt about it. M.B. Aranya-parva 312. 106.
satyam, danam, ksama, silam anfsamsyam tapo ghrna dr sy ante yatra nagendra sa brahmana iti smrtih.
O King of serpents, he in whom are manifest truthfulness, charity, forbearance, good conduct, non-injury, austerity and compassion is a Brahmana according to the sacred tradition.
yatraital laksyate sarpa vrttam sa brahmanas smrtah, yatraitan na bhavet sarvarh tarn sudram iti nir diset.
O serpent he in whom this conduct is manifest is a Brahmana, he in whom this is absent treat all such as Sudra. M.B. Aranya-parva 180. 20, 27. The gods consider him a Brahmana (a knower of Brahman who has no desires, who undertakes no work, who does not salute or praise anybody, whose work has been exhausted but who himself is unchanged.
nirasisam anarambham nirnamaskar am astutim akslnarh kslnakarmanam tarn deva brahmanam viduh.
See Dhammapada, Chapter XXVI.
Sanatsujata defines a Brahmana as one who is devoted to truth: sa eva satyannapaiti sa jheyo brahmanas tvaya.
It is valuable to recall the teaching of this Upanisad which repudiates the system that consecrates inequalities and hardens contingent differences into inviolable divisions.
Appendix A
By Rabindranath Tagore to The Philosophy of the Upanisads
Not being a scholar or a student of philosophy, I do not feel justified in writing a critical appreciation of a book dealing with the philosophy of the Upanisads. What I venture to do is to express my satisfaction at the fact that my friend, Professor Radhakrishnan, has undertaken to explain the spirit of the Upanisads to English readers.
It is not enough that one should know the meaning of the words and the grammar of the Sanskrit texts in order to realize the deeper significance of the utterances that have come to us across centuries of vast changes, both of the inner as well as the external conditions of life. Once the language in which these were written was living, and therefore the words con¬ tained in them had their full context in the life of the people of that period, who spoke them. Divested of that vital atmo¬ sphere, a large part of the language of these great texts offers to us merely its philological structure and not life’s subtle gesture which can express through suggestion all that is ineffable.
Suggestion can neither have fixed rules of grammar nor the rigid definition of the lexicon so easily available to the scholar. Suggestion has its unanalysable code which finds its depth of explanation in the living hearts of the people who use it. Code words philologically treated appear childish, and one must know that all those experiences which are not realized through the path of reason, but immediately through an inner vision, must use some kind of code word for their expression. All poetry is full of such words, and therefore poems of one language can never be properly translated into other languages, nay, not even re-spoken in the same language.
For an illustration let me refer to that stanza of Keats’ ‘Ode to a Nightingale,’ which ends with the following lines: —
The same that oft-times hath Charmed magic casements, opening on the foam Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.
All these words have their synonyms in our Bengali lan¬ guage. But if through their help I try to understand these
940 The Principal Upanisads
lines or express the idea contained in them, the result would be contemptible. Should I suffer from a sense of race superiority in our own people, and have a low opinion of English literature, I could do nothing better to support my case than literally to translate or to paraphrase in our own tongue all the best poems written in English.
Unfortunately, the Upanisads have met with such treatment in some parts of the West, and the result is typified disastrously in a book like Gough’s Philosophy of the Upanisads. My experience of philosophical writings being extremely meagre, I may be wrong when I say that this is the only philosophical discussion about the Upanisads in English, but, at any rate, the lack of sympathy and respect displayed in it for some of the most sacred words that have ever issued from the human mind, is amazing.
Though many of the symbolical expressions used in the Upanisads can hardly be understood to-day, or are sure to be wrongly interpreted, yet the messages contained in these, like some eternal source of light, still illumine and vitalize the religious mind of India. They are not associated with any particular religion, but they have the breadth of a universal soil that can supply with living sap all religions which have any spiritual ideal hidden at their core, or apparent in their fruit and foliage. Religions, which have their different standpoints, each claim them for their own support.
This has been possible because the Upanisads are based not upon theological reasoning, but on experience of spiritual life. And life is not dogmatic; in it opposing forces are reconciled — ideas of non-dualism and dualism, the infinite and the finite, do not exclude each other. Moreover the Upanisads do not represent the spiritual experience of any one great individual, but of a great age of enlightenment which has a complex and collective manifestation, like that of the starry world. Different creeds may find their sustenance from them, but can never set sectarian boundaries round them ; generations of men in our country, no mere students of philosophy, but seekers of life’s fulfilment, may make living use of the texts, but can never exhaust them of their freshness of meaning.
For such men the Upanisad-ideas are not wholly abstract, like those belonging to the region of pure logic. They are concrete, like all truths realized through life. The idea of Brahma when judged from the view-point of intellect is an
Appendix A 941
abstraction, but it is concretely real for those who have the direct vision to see it. Therefore the consciousness of the reality of Brahma has boldly been described to be as real as the consciousness of an amlaka fruit held in one’s palm. And the Upanisad says: —
yato vaco nivartante aprapya manasa saha dnandam brahmano vidvan na bibheti kadacana.
From Him come back baffled both words and mind. But he who realizes the joy of Brahma is free from fear.
Cannot the same thing be said about light itself to men who may by some mischance live all through their life in an under¬ ground world cut off from the sun’s rays? They must know that words can never describe to them what light is, and mind, through its reasoning faculty, can never even understand how one must have a direct vision to realize it intimately and be glad and free from fear.
We often hear the complaint that the Brahma of the Upanisads is described to us mostly as a bundle of negations. Are we not driven to take the same course ourselves when a blind man asks for a description of light? Have we not to say in such a case that light has neither sound, nor taste, nor form, nor weight, nor resistance, nor can it be known through any process of analysis? Of course it can be seen; but what is the use of saying this to one who has no eyes? He may take that statement on trust without understanding in the least what it means, or may altogether disbelieve it, even suspecting in us some abnormality.
Does the truth of the fact that a blind man has missed the perfect development of what should be normal about his eyesight depend for its proof upon the fact that a larger number of men are not blind? The very first creature which suddenly groped into the possession of its eyesight had the right to assert that light was a reality. In the human world there may be very few who have their spiritual eyes open, but, in spite of the numerical preponderance of those who cannot see, their want of vision must not be cited as an evidence of the negation of light.
In the Upanisads we find the note of certainty about the spiritual meaning of existence. In the very paradoxical nature of the assertion that we can never know Brahma, but can realize Him, there lies the strength of conviction that comes
942 The Principal Upanisads
from personal experience. They aver that through our joy we know the reality that is infinite, for the test by which reality is apprehended is joy. Therefore in the Upanisads satyarn and anandam are one. Does not this idea harmonize with our everyday experience ?
The self of mine that limits my truth within myself confines me to a narrow idea of my own personality. When through some great experience I transcend this boundary I find joy. The negative fact of the vanishing of the fences of self has nothing in itself that is delightful. But my joy proves that the disappearance of self brings me into touch with a great positive truth whose nature is infinitude. My love makes me understand that I gain a great truth when I realize myself in others, and therefore I am glad. This has been thus expressed in the Isopanisad: —
yas tu sarvani bh-utani atmany evanupasyati sarvabhutesu catmanam tato na vijugupsate.
He who sees all creatures in himself, and himself in all creatures, no longer remains concealed.
His Truth is revealed in him when it comprehends Truth in others. And we know that in such a case we are ready for the utmost self-sacrifice through abundance of love.
It has been said by some that the element of personality has altogether been ignored in the Brahma of the Upanisads, and thus our own personality, according to them, finds no response in the Infinite Truth. But then, what is the meaning of the exclamation: ‘Veduhametam purusam mahantam.’ I have known him who is the Supreme Person. Did not the sage who pronounced it at the same time proclaim that we are all amrtasya putrah, the sons of the Immortal?
Elsewhere it has been declared: tarn vedyam purusam veda yatha ma vo mrtyuh parivyathah. Know him, the Person who only is to be known, so that death may not grieve thee. The meaning is obvious. We are afraid of death, because we are afraid of the absolute cessation of our personality. Therefore, if we realize the Person as the ultimate reality which we know in everything that we know, we find our own personality in the bosom of the eternal.
There are numerous verses in the Upanisads which speak of immortality. I quote one of these : —
Appendix A
esa devo visvakarma mahatma sada jananam hfdaye sannivisfah hyda manisa manasabhiklpto ya etad vidur amrtas te bhavanti.
This is the God who is the world-worker , the supreme soul, who always dwells in the heart of all men, those who know him through their mind, and the heart that is full of the certainty of knowledge, become immortal.
To realize with the heart and mind the divine being who dwells within us is to be assured of everlasting life. It is mahatma, the great reality of the inner being, which is visva- karma, the world-worker, whose manifestation is in the outer work occupying all time and space.
Our own personality also consists of an inner truth which expresses itself in outer movements. When we realize, not merely through our intellect, but through our heart strong with the strength of its wisdom, that Mahatma, the Infinite Person, dwells in the Person which is in me, we cross over the region of death. Death only concerns our limited self; when the Person in us is realized in the Supreme Person, then the limits of our self lose for us their finality.
The question necessarily arises, what is the significance of this self of ours ? Is it nothing but an absolute bondage for us ?
If in our language the sentences were merely for expressing grammatical rules, then the using of such a language would be a slavery to fruitless pedantry. But, because language has for its ultimate object the expression of ideas, our mind gains its freedom through it, and the bondage of grammar itself is a help towards this freedom.
If this world were ruled only by some law of forces, then it would certainly have hurt our mind at every step and there would be nothing that could give us joy for its own sake. But the Upanisad says that from anandam, from an inner spirit of Bliss, have come out all things, and by it they are main¬ tained. Therefore, in spite of contradictions, we have our joy in life, we have experiences that carry their final value for us.
It has been said that the Infinite Reality finds its revelation in ananda-rupam amrtam, in the deathless form of joy. The supreme end of our personality also is to express itself in its creations. But works done through the compulsion of necessity, or some passion that blinds us and drags us on with its impetus.
944 77ze Principal Upanisads
are fetters for our soul; they do not express the wealth of the infinite in us, but merely our want or our weakness.
Our soul has its anandam, its consciousness of the infinite, which is blissful. This seeks its expression in limits which, when they assume the harmony of forms and the balance of move¬ ments, constantly indicate the limitless. Such expression is freedom, freedom from the barrier of obscurity. Such a medium of limits we have in our self which is our medium of expression. It is for us to develop this into dnanda-rupam amrtam, an embodiment of deathless joy, and only then the infinite in us can no longer remain obscured.
This self of ours can also be moulded to give expression to the personality of a business man, or a fighting man, or a working man, but in these it does not reveal our supreme reality, and therefore we remain shut up in a prison of our own construction. Self finds its dnanda-rupam, which is its freedom in revelation, when it reveals a truth that transcends self, like a lamp revealing light which goes far beyond its material limits, proclaiming its kinship with the sun. When our self is illuminated with the light of love, then the negative aspect of its separateness with others loses its finality, and then our relationship with others is no longer that of competition and conflict, but of sympathy and co-operation.
I feel strongly that this, for us, is the teaching of the Upanisads, and that this teaching is very much needed in the present age for those who boast of the freedom enjoyed by their nations, using that freedom for building up a dark world of spiritual blindness, where the passions of greed and hatred are allowed to roam unchecked, having for their allies deceitful diplomacy and a widespread propaganda of falsehood, where the soul remains caged and the self battens upon the decaying flesh of its victims.
Appendix B
AN INTRODUCTION By Edmond Holmes to The Philosophy of the Upanisads
Professor Radhakrishnan’s work on Indian Philosophy , the first volume of which has recently appeared, meets a want which has long been felt. The Western mind finds a difficulty in placing itself at what I may call the dominant standpoint of Indian thought, a difficulty which is the outcome of cen¬ turies of divergent tradition, and which therefore opposes a formidable obstacle to whatever attempt may be made by Western scholarship and criticism to interpret the speculative philosophy of India. If we of the West are to enter with some measure of sympathy and understanding into the ideas which dominate, and have long dominated, the Indian mind, India herself must expound them to us. Our interpreter must be an Indian critic who combines the acuteness and originality of the thinker with the learning and caution of the scholar, and who has also made such a study of Western thought and Western letters as will enable him to meet his readers on common ground. If, in addition to these qualifications, he can speak to us in a Western language, he will be the ideal exponent of that mysterious philosophy which is known to most of us more by hearsay than by actual acquaintance, and which, so far as we have any knowledge of it, alternately fascinates and repels us.
All these requirements are answered by Professor Radha- krishnan. A clear and deep thinker, an acute critic and an erudite scholar, he is admirably qualified for the task which he has set himself of expounding to a 'lay' audience the main movements of Indian thought. His knowledge of Western thought and letters makes it easy for him to get into touch with a Western audience; and for the latter purpose he has the further qualification, which he shares with other cultured Hindus, of being a master of the English language and an accomplished writer of English prose.
But the first volume of Indian Philosophy contains over 700 closely printed pages, and costs a guinea; and it is not every one, even of those who are interested in Indian thought,
946 The Principal Upanisads
who can afford to devote so much time to serious study, while the price, though relatively most reasonable, is beyond the means of many readers. That being so, it is good to know that Professor Radhakrishnan and his publisher have decided to bring out the section on The Philosophy of the Upanisads as a separate volume and at a modest price.
For what is quintessential in Indian philosophy is its spiritual idealism; and the quintessence of its spiritual idealism is in the Upanisads. The thinkers of India in all ages have turned to the Upanisads as to the fountain-head of India’s speculative thought. ‘They are the foundations,’ says Professor Radha¬ krishnan, ‘on which most of the later philosophies and religions of India rest. . . . Later systems of philosophy display an almost pathetic anxiety to accommodate their doctrines to the views of the Upanisads, even if they cannot father them all on them. Every revival of idealism in India has traced its ancestry to the teaching of the Upanisads.’ ‘There is no important form of Hindu thought,’ says an English exponent of Indian philosophy, ‘heterodox Buddhism included, which is not rooted in the Upanisads.’1 It is to the Upanisads, then, that the Western student must turn for illumination, who wishes to form a true idea of the general trend of Indian thought, but has neither time nor inclination to make a close study of its various systems. And if he is to find the clue to the teaching of the Upanisads he cannot do better than study it under the guidance of Professor Radhakrishnan.
It is true that treatises on that philosophy have been written by Western scholars. But the Western mind, as has been already suggested, is as a rule debarred by the prejudices in which it has been cradled from entering with sympathetic insight into ideas which belong to another world and another age. Not only does it tend to survey those ideas, and the problems in which they centre, from standpoints which are distinctively Western, but it sometimes goes so far as to assume that the Western is the only standpoint which is compatible with mental sanity. Can we wonder, then, that when it criticizes the speculative thought of Ancient India, its adverse judgment is apt to resolve itself into fundamental misunderstanding, and even its sympathy is sometimes misplaced?
In Gough’s Philosophy of the Upanisads we have a con¬ temptuously hostile criticism of the ideas which dominate 1 Bloomfield: The Religion of the Veda.
Appendix B 947
that philosophy, based on obstinate misunderstanding of the Indian point of view — misunderstanding so complete that our author makes nonsense of what he criticizes before he has begun to study it. In Deussen’s work on the same subject — a work of close thought and profound learning which deservedly commands respect — we have a singular combination of enthu¬ siastic appreciation with complete misunderstanding on at least one vital point. Speaking of the central conception of the Upanisads, that of the ideal identity of God and the soul, Gough says, ‘this empty intellectual conception, void of spirituality, is the highest form that the Indian mind is capable of.’ Comment on this jugement saugrenu is needless. Speaking of the same conception, Deussen says, ‘it will be found to possess a significance reaching far beyond the Upanisads, their time and country; nay, we claim for it an inestimable value for the whole race of mankind . . . one thing we may assert with confidence — whatever new and unwonted paths the philosophy of the future may strike out, this principle will remain permanently unshaken, and from it no deviation can take place.’ This is high praise. But when our author goes on to argue that the universe is pure illusion, and claims that this is the fundamental view of the Upanisads, he shows, as Pro¬ fessor Radhakrishnan has fully demonstrated, that he has not grasped the true inwardness of the conception which he honours so highly.
With these examples of the aberration of Western criticism before us, we shall perhaps think it desirable to turn for instruction and guidance to the exposition of the Upanisads which Professor Radhakrishnan, an Indian thinker, scholar and critic, has given us. If we do so, we shall not be dis¬ appointed. As the inheritor of a great philosophical tradition, into which he was born rather than indoctrinated, Professor Radhakrishnan has an advantage over the Western student of Indian philosophy, which no weight of learning and no degree of metaphysical acumen can counterbalance, and of which he has made full use. His study of the Upanisads — if a Western reader may presume to say so — is worthy of its theme.
The Upanisads are the highest and purest expression of the speculative thought of India. They embody the meditations on great matters of a succession of seers who lived between 1000 and 300 B.c. In them, says Professor J. S. Mackenzie, ‘we have the earliest attempt at a constructive theory of the
948 The Principal Upanisads
cosmos, and certainly one of the most interesting and remarkable.’
What do the Upanisads teach us? Its authors did not all think alike; but, taking their meditations as a whole, we may say that they are dominated by one paramount conception, that of the ideal oneness of the soul of man with the soul of the universe. The Sanskrit word for the soul of man is Atman, for the soul of the universe Brahman. ‘God’s dwelling place,’ says Professor Radhakrishnan in his exposition of the philo¬ sophy of the Upanisads, ‘is the heart of man. The inner immortal self and the great cosmic power are one and the same. Brahman is the Atman, and the Atman is the Brahman. The one supreme power through which all things have been brought into being is one with the inmost self in each man’s heart.’ What is real in each of us is his self or soul. What is real in the universe is its self or soul, in virtue of which its All is One, and the name for which in our language is God. And the indi¬ vidual soul is one, potentially and ideally, with the divine or universal soul. In the words of one of the Upanisads: ‘He who is the Brahman in man and who is that in the sun, these are one.’
The significance of this conception is more than meta¬ physical. There is a practical side to it which its exponents are apt to ignore. The unity of the all-pervading life, in and through its own essential spirituality — the unity of the trinity of God and Nature and Man — is, from man’s point of view, an ideal to be realized rather than an accomplished fact. If this is so, if oneness with the real, the universal, the divine self, is the ideal end of man’s being, it stands to reason that self-realization, the finding of the real self, is the highest task which man can set himself. In the Upanisads themselves the ethical implications of their central conception were not fully worked out. To do so, to elaborate the general ideal of self- realization into a comprehensive scheme of life, was the work of the great teacher whom we call Buddha.
This statement may seem to savour of paradox. In the West the idea is still prevalent that Buddha broke away completely from the spiritual idealism of the Upanisads, that he denied God, denied the soul, and held out to his followers the prospect of annihilation as the final reward of a righteous life. This singular misconception, which is not entirely confined to the West, is due to Buddha’s agnostic silence having been mis¬ taken for comprehensive denial. It is time that this mistake
Appendix B 949
was corrected. It is only by affiliating the ethics of Buddhism to the metaphysics of the Upanisads that we can pass behind the silence of Buddha and get into touch with the philosophical ideas which ruled his mind, ideas which were not the less real or effective because he deliberately held them in reserve. This has long been my own conviction; and now I am confirmed in it by finding that it is shared by Professor Radhakrishnan, who sets forth the relation of Buddhism to the philosophy of the Upanisads in the following words: ‘The only metaphysics that can justify Buddha’s ethical discipline is the metaphysics underlying the Upanisads. . . . Buddhism helped to democratize the philosophy of the Upanisads, which was till then confined to a select few. The process demanded that the deep philo¬ sophical truths which cannot be made clear to the masses of men should for practical purposes be ignored. It was Buddha's mission to accept the idealism of the Upanisads at its best and make it available for the daily needs of mankind. Historical Buddhism means the spread of the Upanisad doctrines among the people. It thus helped to create a heritage which is living to the present day.’
Given that oneness with his own real self, which is also the soul of Nature and the spirit of God, union with the ultimate is the ideal end of man’s being; the question arises: How is that end to be achieved? In India, the land of psychological experiments, many ways to it were tried and are still being tried. There was the way of jnana, or intense mental concentration. There was the way of bhakti, or passionate love and devotion. There was the way of Yoga, or severe and systematic self-discipline. These ways and the like of these might be available for exceptionally gifted persons. They were not available, as Buddha saw clearly, for the rank and file of mankind. It was for the rank and file of mankind, it was for the plain average man, that Buddha devised his scheme of conduct. He saw that in one’s everyday life, among one’s fellow men, there were ample opportunities for the higher desires to assert themselves as higher, and for the lower desires to be placed under due control. There were ample opportunities, in other words, for the path of self-mastery and self-transcendence, the path of emancipation from the false self and of affirmation of the true self, to be followed from day to day, from year to year, and even — for Buddha, like the seers of the Upanisads, took the reality of re-birth for granted — from life to life. He who walked in that path had set his face
950 The Principal Upanisads
towards the goal of his own perfection, and, in doing so, had, unknown to himself, accepted the philosophy of the Upanisads as the ruling principle of his life.
If this interpretation of the life-work of Buddha is correct, if it was his mission to make the dominant idea of the Upanisads available for the daily needs of ordinary men, it is impossible to assign limits to the influence which that philosophy has had and is capable of having in human affairs in general and in the moral life of man in particular. The metaphysics of the Upanisads, when translated into the ethics of self- realization, provided and still provides for a spiritual need which has been felt in divers ages and which was never more urgent than it is to-day. For it is to-day, when supernatural religion is losing its hold on us, that the secret desire of the heart for the support and guidance which the religion of nature can alone afford, is making itself felt as it has never been felt before. And if the religion of nature is permanently to satisfy our deeper needs, it must take the form of devotion to the natural end of man’s being, the end which the seers of the Upanisads discerned and set before us, the end of oneness with that divine or universal self which is at once the soul of all things and the true being of each individual man. In other words, it is as the gospel of spiritual evolution that the religion of nature must make its appeal to our semi-pagan world. It was the gospel of spiritual evolution which Buddha, true to the spirit of the Upanisads, preached 2,500 years ago,1 and it is for a re-presentation of the same gospel, in the spirit of the same philosophy, that the world is waiting now.
1 It was the gospel of spiritual evolution which Christ preached in a later age, to a different audience and through the medium of other forms of thought. Such at least is my earnest conviction. Of the two pivotal sayings, ‘I and my Father are one,’ and ‘Be ye perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect,’ the former falls into line with the spiritual idealism of the Upanisads, the latter into line with the ethical idealism of Buddha. The notation, as might be expected, is different : but the idea and the ideal are the same.
Biblio
95i
English Translations
E. Roer: Nine Upanisads. 1853.
F. Max Muller: The Upanisads. Sacred Books of the East. Vol. I.
1879; Vol. II. 1884.
G. R. S. Mead and J. C. Chattopadhyaya : The Upanisads. 2 Vols.
S. Sitarama Sastri and Ganganatha Jha: The Upanisads. 5 Vols. 1898-1901.
Sitanath Tattvabhusan: The Upanisads. 2 Vols. 1900, 1904.
S. C. Vasu: Isa, Kenp, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka and Mandukya Upanisads. 1909. '
R. E. Hume: The Thirteen Principal Upanisads. 1931.
Swami Prabhavananda and Frederick Manchester: The Upanisads. 1947.
Swami Nikhilananda: The Upanisads. 1951.
English Translations of Single Upanisads E. Roer: Byhad-aranyaka Upanisad. 1856.
S. C. Vasu: Bfhad-aranyaka Upanisad, with the Commentary of Sri
Samkaracarya. 1913-1916.
Swami Madhavananda: Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad with Sarhkara’s Commentary. 1934.
Rajendralal Mitra: Chandogya Upanisad.
S. C. Vasu: Chandogya Upanisad with Commentary of Sri Madhva- carya. 1917.
H. M. Bhadkamkar: Aitareya Upanisad. 1899.
S. C. Vidyarnava and Mohan Lai Sandal: Aitareya Upanisad. 1925. A. Mahadeva Sastri : Taittiriya Upanisad with the Commentaries of Samkaracarya, Suresvaracarya and Sayana.
S. C. Vidyarnava and Mohan Lai Sandal: Taittiriya Upanisad, text and translation with notes and commentaries. 1925.
S. C. Vasu and A. C. Thirlwall: Kena Upanisad, with the Sanskrit text, anvaya, vrtti, word-meaning, translation, notes and index. 1902.
M. Hiriyanna: Kena Upanisad with the Commentary of Samkara- carya. 1912.
W. D. Whitney: Katha Upanisad, with the Sanskrit text, anvaya, vrtti, word-meaning, translation, notes and index, 1890.
S. C. Vasu: Katha Upanisad. 1905.
R. L. Pelly: Katha Upanisad. Introduction, text, translation and notes. 1924.
Rawson: Katha Upanisad. 1934.
Krishna Prem: Katha Upanisad.1
1 No date is mentioned in the book.
952 The Principal Upanisads
Sir William Jones: Isa Upanisad. 1799.
S. C. Vasu and A. C. Thirlwall: Isa Upanisad. 1902.
M. N. Dvivedi: Mdndiikya Upanisad. 1894.
Swami Nikhilananda: Mdndiikya Upanisad.
Siddhesvar Varma: The Svetasvatara Upanisad. 1916.
E. B. Cowell: Kausitaki Upanisad. 1861.
S. C. Vidyarnava and Mohan Lai Sandal: The Kausitaki Upanisad, with notes and commentary. 1925.
E. B. Cowell: The Maitri or Maitrayaniya Upanisad, with the commentary of Ramatlrtha, edited with an English translation. 1870.
Expository and Critical Works
A. E. Gough: The Philosophy of the Upanisads and Ancient Indian
Metaphysics. 1882.
Paul Deussen: The Philosophy of the Upanisads. E.T. 1906.
S. C. Vidyarnava: Studies in the first Six Upanisads. 1919.
R. Gordon Milburn: The Religious Mysticism of the Upanisads. 1919.
B. M. Barua: A History of Pre-Buddhistic Indian Philosophy. 1921.
S. N. Dasgupta: History of Indian Philosophy . Vol. I. 1922.
A. B. Keith: The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and the Upanisads. 2 Vols. 1925.
R. D. Ranade: A Constructive Survey of Upanisadic Philosophy.
S. K. Belvalkar and R. D. Ranade: History of Indian Philosophy.
Vol. II. The Creative Period: Brahmana and Upanisadic Philosophy and post Upanisadic Thought, 1927.
Abailard, Peter 590 Abhava 448
Abhidharma-Kosa, see Vasubandhu Abhinavagupta 113 «
Aeschylus’s Agamemnon 553 Aganna Sutta 686 Ahura Mazda 32 n, 33, 60 n Aitareya Aranyaka 47 n, 91 n, 125 n, 270, 298, 418, 458, 513, 555, 568 Aitareya Brahmana 47 n, 304, 395, 418, 561, 615, 758, 770, 775 Alayavijnana 492, 837 Alcibiades 178 Alexander 464
Alexandrian Christian Mystics 17 n A1 Ghazzali 103 n, 562 Ali 687
Amara-Koia 30 n, 67 n, 176, 218 Amos 1 12 n
An Advanced History of India by R. C. Majumdar, H. C. Ray Chauduri and K. Datta 144 n Ananda 271-2 Ananda-laharl 734 Anandagiri passim Anaxagoras 452 Anaximander 33 n, 38 n Anaximenes 404
Annambhatta’s Tarakasamgraha 448 Annapurna Upanisad 73 n Anselm, St. 53 n Antony, St. 585 Anubhuti-prakasa 801 Apastamba 769, his Yajna-pari- bhasa 30 n
Appaya Dlksita's Yoga Darpana 137 n Aquinas, St. Thomas 65 n, 103 n, 107 n, 144 n, 245, 777 Aristotle 23 n, 35 n, 59, 121, 293, 328, 464, 533, 547, 557, 652, 671 Ariyaparyesana Sutta 563 Aruneya Upanisad 47 n Aryadeva's Citta-visuddhi-prakarana 129 n
Almarathya 286, 440 Astavakra Gita 702, 846 Asvaldyana Grhya Sutra 329, 330, 615, 768, 769 Athenagoras 23 «
Atma-bodha 79 n Audulomi 124 n, 286 Augustine, St. 121 n, 558, 575 n, 591, 699; his Confessions 55 n, 557
Aurobindo, Sri 21 n Avesta 3 1 Avidya 88-90
Badarayana 71, 125, 126 Badari 125, 440 Bailey Shackleton, D. R. 194 Baladeva 27 Bardosa 144 n
Baron von Hugel’s The Mystical Element of Religion 749 Barth, Karl, his The Knowledge of God and the Service of God 65 n Barua, B. M., his Ceylon Lectures 575 *
Basilides 65 n
Bede, The Venerable, his Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation 81 n Belvalkar, Dr. S. K., his Four Un¬ published Upanisadic Texts and the Paryahka Vidya 751, 753, 755 n, 756 n, 757 n Benedict, St. 680
Bernard, St. 85 n, 102 n, 263, 41 1, 646, 749
Bhagavad-gltd, 9, 70, 397, 485, 493, 528, 560, 572, 576, 593, 610, 615,
806, 835, 886, 914, 916 Bhagavata 24 n, 51 n, 108 n, 113 n, 136 n, 137 n, 140 n, 141 n, 280, 718, 907
Bhagavata religion 625 Bhakti-martanda 141 n Bhartrprapanca 25 Bhaskara 27
Bhaskara Laugaksi, his Artha-sam- graha 50 n
Bhattacarya Siddhesvar 10 Bhavabhuti 549 Birth Control 324 Blake 60 n ; his Auguries of Inno¬ cence 612
Bloomfield, his Religion of the Veda 17 n, 29 n, 946 Bodhisattva 274 Boehme 36 n, 128 n, 645, 884 Boethius* 94; his Consolations of Philosophy 113 n
Bonaventura, St. 620; his Itinerary of the Mind 620
The Principal Upanisads
Brahma-bindu Upanisad 718, 846 Brahmacarya 1 10, 498 Brahma Pur ana 36 n, 109 n, 710 Brahmanda Parana 36 n Brahma-randhra 76, 190 Brahma Sutra 25, 67, 71, 86, 125, 141 w, 286-7, 440, 547. 732 Brahma-vaivarta Parana 89 w, 468 w, 814
Brhad-devata 30 Brhat-samhita 622 Browne, Professor E. G., his A Year Amongst the Persians 32 n Buddha 38 n, 58, 67 n, 109, 120 n, 194, 271-2, 274, 528, 539, 557, 563, 578, 585, 604, 605, 609, 614, 679, 685, 719, 948-50 Buddha-carita 712, 713 Buddhism 17, 67, 92, 116 n, 119 m, 168, 218, 247, 279, 492, 606, 613, 623, 645, 678, 793, 796, 949 Bunyan 135 w; his Holy War 636 Burkitt, Professor 71 n Butler, Dom Cuthbert, his Western Mysticism 303, 558, 563, 575 n; his Benedictine Monachism 644
Cambridge Ancient History 38 n, 71 n Cambridge Review 132 n Cassian 608, 654 Caste 935-8
Catherine, St., of Genoa 76 n Chakravarti, N. P., his ed. otL’Udana 608
Chandogya Brahmana 335 Charpentier 599
Chatterji, Professor Suniti Kumar 1°. 353
Chattopadhyaya 21 n Chaucer 136 n
Cheng, F. T., his China Moulded by Confucius 109 w
Christianity 19 n, 33 n, 60 n, 697 Chuang Tzu 68 n, 130 n Church Family Newspaper 120 n Cicero 40 n
Cloud of Unknowing, The 591 Colebrooke 2 1 Coleridge 530 Colossians 697 Confucius 109 n, 136 n Cook, A. B., his Zeus 37 n, 60 n Coomaraswamy, Ananda 608, 617 Coomaraswamy, Dona Luisa 623 Corinthians I 62 n, 568 Cornford, Professor F. M. 37 n; his Plato's Theory of Knowledge 155
Cowell 21 n
Creation 35-9, 63, 163, 541 ff, 651-2 Crump, C. G., his Legacy of the Middle Ages 1 71-7 Culika Upanisad 123 n
Dante 72 Dara Shikoh 21 Darsanopanisad 150 n Dasa-kumara-carila 271 Demeter 276 Descartes 63 1
Deussen, Paul 18, 21 n, 84, 221, 599, 645, 947; his The Philosophy of the Upanisads 625 Deuteronomy 166 Devi Bhagavata 50 n, 83 n, in n, 136 n, 658, 734 Devi Saptasati 589 Devi Upanisad 83 n Dhamma-pada 9, 25 n, 645, 719, 938 Dhyana-bindu Upanisad 7, 18, 886 Dlgha Nikaya 204, 473, 783 Diogenes 404
Dionysius, the Areopagite 586 Dream 456, 500, 505-6, 632, 638, 660-2, 696, 699, 702, 835, 911-13 Duperron, Anquetil 21 Durga Saptasati 590 Dvivedi 21 n
Eckhart 17 n, 64 n, 65 n, 70 n, 71 n, 76 n, 84 n, 96 n, 107 n, 120 n, 124 n, 144 n, 497, 562, 573, 583, 591, 610, 638, 668, 691
Edgerton, Professor Franklin 46 n Encyclopaedia of Religions and Ethics 585
Epimenides 549
Epistle to the Hebrews 646
Erigena Scotus 69 n, 194
Euripides, his Melanippe 38 n, 1 14 n
Eustochius 304
Exodus 54 n, in n
Falk, Dr. Maryla, her Nama-Rupa and Dharma-Rupa 62 n Fourth Gospel, The 194, 704 Francis, St. 106 n, 222
Galatians 120 n Gandhi, M. K. 139 n, 568 Garbha Upanisad 712 Garuda Purana 676-7 Gaudapada 82 n, 693, 698; his
Karika on M a. U . 80, 82 n, 86 n,
88 n, 122 n, 697, 699, 701-4; on Sdmkhya Karika 713
General Index
Gayatri 299-302, 387-8 Genesis 35 n
Giles, H. A., his Chuang Tzu, Mystic, Moralist and Social Reformer 69 n Gobhila Grhya Sutra 330, 769 Gopalayatindra 599, 603 Gough 22; his Philosophy of the Upanisads 940, 946, 947 Gregory of Nyasa 69 n Gregory, St., his Morals on Job 570 Guthrie, W. K. C., his The Greeks and their Gods 276, 293, 404
Hallaj 562 Hammond 533 Harijan 568 Harivamsa 468
Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 623
Hebrews 62 n, 720 n Hegel 491, 700 Henotheism 33
Heraclitus 77 n, in n, 303, 608 Hildegrand, St. 722 Hillebrandt 600 Hiriyanna, Professor M. 21 « History of the Early Kings of Persia 464
Hitopadesa 628
Hobhouse, Stephen, his Selected Mystical Writings of William Law 36 n
Holmes, Edmond 10, 945-50 Homer 276; his Iliad 35 n Hooker 194 Horace 567 Hosea 112 n
Hume, R. E., 21 n, 612, 825 Huxley, Aldous, his Perennial Philo¬ sophy 76 n
Imitation of Christ 486 Incarnation 40 n Indian Antiquary 25 n, 600 Indian Interpreter 19 n Indo-Iranians 31 n, 43 Inge, Dr. W. R. 120 n Isaiah no, 302 Itivuttaka 607
Jaimini 126, 440
Jaiminlya Upanisad Brahmana 47 n 49 w, 59 n, 328, 459, 760 Jainism 79, 678 James, St. 569
James, William, his Principles of Psychology 533
Jaspers, Karl 22 Jataka 623
Jayatlrtha’s Nyaya-sudhd 64 Jesus Christ 58, 106 n, 131 n, 222, 274, 578, 605, 628, 884, 950 Jews 60 n
J ha Ganganatha 2, 12 Jivanmukti 12 1-2, 915-16 Job 244
John 120 n, 127 n, 128 n, 225, 227 274, 328, 466, 470, 562, 623, 641 John, St., of the Cross 106 n, 303;
his Ascent of Carmel 273, 586 Johnston, E. H., his Some Samkhya and Yoga Conceptions of the $vetasvatara TJpanisad 712 Jones, Sir William 28 Julian, Lady 84 n
Kabir 118 n, 129 n Kalidasa 549; his Raghuvamsa 127 n; his Sakuntala 267, 270-1, 375; Kumarasambhava 271; Meg- hadiita 312 Kalpataru 140 n Karma 113- 14 Kasakritsna 287 Katha Samhita 46 n Kausltaki Brahmana 49 n Keats 939
Keith, A. B., his The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and the Upanisads 20 n, 21 n, 77 n Khadira Grhya Sutra 769 Kierkegaard 222 Kings I 583
Kosas 541-7, 551, 553 ff. 9™ Krama-mukti 122 Krishnadeva Raya 144 n Kundalini 76
Kuranarayana 302, 575, 576
Lalita-vistara 528
Lambika-yoga 832
Lahkavatara S-utra 123 n, 721, 837
Lao Tsu 222, 549, 701-2
Law, William 36 n, 76 n, 99 n
Little, A. G., his Franciscan Papers:
Lists and Documents 222 Logos 61-2, 194, 247, 704 Louis of Blois 585 Luther 43 n
Mackenzie, Professor J. S. 947 Macnicol, Nicol, his Hindu Scriptures 29 n
Madhusudana’s Prasthana-bheda 751
The Principal Upanisads
Madhva 21 n, 26, 52, 93, 229, 242, 302, 358, 363, 387, 467, 553, 603, 61 1, 622, 632, 642, 673 Madhyamaka Vrtti 123 n Madhyamika 67 n Mahabharata 94 n, 118 n, 275, 341, 381, 464, 537, 593, 634, 690, 709, 712, 713, 833, 900, 938 Mahanarayana U. 618, 731 Mahdnirvana Tantra 141 n, 897 Mahay ana Sutralamkara 123 n Majjhima Nikaya 120 n, 121 n, 328,
Mallinatha 271
Mandala-Brahmana Upanisad 721-2 Manu 171, 180, 272, 330, 399, 493, 769, 796, 890 Marcel, Gabriel 178 Mark, The Gospel according to 128 n Mdrkandeya Parana 589 Matrceta’s $atapahcasatka 194, 198, 291
Matthew, The Gospel according to 567, 609, 628 Maximus of Tyre 40 n Maya 78-90
McKenzie, John, his Two Religions 114 n
Mead 21 n Mencius iiim Milarepa 86 n Milburn, R. Gordon 19 n Milindapahha 555 Mirror of Simple Soules, The 120 n 552
Mithraism 33 n Muhammad 38 n, 722 Muktika Upanisad 21 n, 24 n, 124 n, 134 M, 693 M, 876
Muller, Max 21 n, 37 n, 44 n, 612, 793 ; his Six Systems of Indian Philosophy 28 m; his Ancient His¬ tory of Sanskrit Literature 28 n
Narada Bhakti Sutra 140 Narayana 738 N arayana-dipikd 726, 730 Narayaniya 375 Nasadiya Sukta 487, 864 Neo-Platonics 17 n, 66 n, 630 New Indian Antiquary 608, 638 New Testament 569 Nicholas of Cusa 69 n, 586, 821 Nicholson 217, 668 Nididhyasana 135 Nietzsche, his Thus Spake Zara- thustra iiim
Nilakantha 713 Nimbarka 27, 622, 635 Niralambopanisad 5 1 n Norris 142 n
Nrsimha-purva-tapanlya Upanisad 693
Old Testament 641 Oldenberg 27 n Orpheus 20 m, 37 m, 38 m, 399 Otto, Rudolf, his Mysticism: East and West 96 m, 107 m, 124 m, 573, 583, 591, 681
Palgrave’s Golden Treasury 567 Pahcadasi, see Vidyaranya Pancavimsa Brahmana 328 Pancikarana 906 Pandava Gita 144 n Panini 833 Para-psychology 218 Paraskara Grhya Sutra 329, 330, 769
Para-tantra 485 Patanjala Yoga 645 Patafijali 357 Patanjali’s Mahabhasya 529 Paul, St. 114 m, 142 n, 144 m, 222, 596, 620 Pelagius 619 Perry, W. J. 35 n Peter II him, 562 Philo 62, 207, 244, 328, 698, 704, 806 Plato 49, 59, 62, 68 m, 631, 641, 700, 806; his Timaeus 19 m, 40 n, 94; Gorgias 34 m; Sophist 155; Sym¬ posium 164; Republic 194, 623; Laws 227, 272; Phaedrus 608,
623; Phaedo 623, 631; Apology 671
Plotinus 65 m, 66 n, 67, 194, 304, 331, 585, 644, 699, 710; his Enneads 68 m, 77 m, 81 m, 96 m, 119 m, 123 M, 701-5
Plutarch 40 n, 178, 276, 464 Pluto 51 1 Porphyry 331 Prajhaparamita 247 Pratltya-Samutpada 485 Procreation ceremonies 321-31 Psalms 303, 567, 696 Pseudo-Dionysius 68 m, 194, 585,
617, 626 Pur ana 381 Purusa Sukta 632 Purva Mlmamsa 865
General Index
Rabia 138 n
Radhakrishnan 939, 945-50; his
Eastern Religions and Western Thought 17 n ; An Idealist View of Life 1 31 n; Indian Philosophy 887
Ragozin, his Vedic India 28 n Ramanuja passim Ramatlrtha 793 ff Ranade’s A Constructive Survey of Upanishadic Philosophy 533 Rangaramanuja passim Ratana Suita 557 Rawson, Dr. 596, 617 Rebirth 1 15-17, 215-19, 268-75, 309, 426-34, 499-501, 638, 689-90,
Religio Medici 62 n
Renan, Ernest 106 w
Revelation 553, 634, 641
Richard of St. Victor 128 n, 263,
Roer 21 it Rolland, Romain 9 Romans 65 n, 114 n Rosetti, Christina 668 Roy, Ram Mohan 21 n Rumi, Jalal-uddin 53 n, 57 n, 1 10 n, 217, 274, 328, 459, 623, 667-8 Ruysbroeck, John, his Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage 263, 531-2
Sabda-kalpa-druma 468 fsaiva-siddhanta 714 £akti 6, 2 1 fsarhkara passim
Isamkarananda 136 n, 547, 569, 570, 571- 597. 7°7 », 726, 728-30, 738, 742, 744, 748, 75b 754, 755 Samkhya 93, 452, 515, 627, 663, 667, 707, 710, 734, 808, 840, 865 Samkhya- Rank a 712, 807 Samkhya Sutra 712 Samkhyayana Aranyaka 48 n Samyutta Nikaya 272, 607, 608 Sanatsujatiya 71 1 Sankhayana Grhya Sutra 329, 330 Sarvadarsanasamgraha 833 Sastri Mahadeva 21 k Sastri Sitaram 21 n Satapatha Brahmana 47 n, 53 n, 77, 112 «, 11 5 w, 117 n, 119 n, 120 n, 147, 149, 159, 185, 206, 207, 243, 294, 3io, 333, 418, 432, 434, 630, 637, 675, 719, 760, 775 Satasslokl 225 Sat-karma-dlpika 99 n
Scandinavian Mythology 641 Scholasticism 72 Schopenhauer 17 «
Senart, M. 450 Siddhanta-kaumudi 570 Siddhanta-lesa-samgraha 70 n Sikes, G., his Peter Abailard 590 Silesius, Angelus 84 n Simplicius 414
Singer, Charles, his Studies in the History and Method of Science 722 Singh, Guru Govind 139 « Siva-dharmottara 140 n, 716, 717 Siva-gita 118 n Siva-mahimna Stotra 715 Sivasvarodaya 672 Sleep 456, 495, 496, 507-8, 660-2, 696, 699, 700, 702-835, 911-13 Smith, John 99 n Socrates 10, 58, 671 Solomon 583, 619, 714 Sophocles 276 Sphota 674 Spinoza 491 6rldhara 814 Srinivasa 622 Stoics 76
Sufism 1 7, 38 n, 263, 562 Surhsumara jataka 242 Suresvaracarya 542-3, 563; his N aiskarmyasiddhi 12 1 n Suso 722
Sutta Nipata 44 n, 121 n
Tagore, Rabindranath 10, 119 n,
939-944
Taittiriya Aranyaka 634, 691, 726, 730, 733
Taittiriya Brahmana 120 n, 274, 279, 304, 310, 593, 601, 605, 630 Taittiriya Samhitd 46 n, 303, 615, 637, 7J9, 726, 775, 803, 847 n Tandy a Brahmana 46 n Tao Te Ching 63 n, 68 n, 582, 66 7 Tapas 35, 109, 81 1 Tattvabhusan Sitanath 21 »
T attva-samasa 712, 713 Tauler 17 n
Taylor, H. O., his Mediaeval Mind 620
Thales 35 n, 293 Theresa, St. 636, 722 Thessalonians I 720 Traherne 126 k Trimurti 814 ff Tripura-Rahasya 687 Trismegistus Hermes 67 n
The Principal Upani$ads
Udana 679, 685 Udgltha 337 ft Udyotakara 288 Ullathorne, Bishop 628 Underhill, Evelyn, her Mysticism 552 Unmanibhava 832, 923 Upanisad Brahmayogin 81 1 Upasana 137-8, 822 Urban, W. M., his The Intelligible World 541 Uttara Gita 134, 196 Uttara Mlmamsa 865
Vacaspati, Misra, his Bhamati 606, 898; on Samkhya Karika 713 VaiSesika 453
Vajasaneyi Samhitd 637, 719, 724, 726, 73i
Vajracchedika Sutra 585 V akya-padlya 104 n, 674 Valentinus 71 n Vatnana Parana 368 Varsaganya-pahca-parva-vidya 713 Vasistha 107 n, 133 n, 530, 676 Vasistha Dharma Sastra 104 n Vasistha Smrti 900 Vasu, S. C. 21 ti
Vasubandhu’s A bhidharma-Kosa 716 Vaughan, Henry 797-9 Vedanta Desika 142 w, 304, 571, 574. 576
V edantasara 24 n, 807 Vidyaranya 36 n, 618, 703; his
PaUca-dasi 75 n, 448, 449, 546; his Sarvopanisad-arthanubhuli-pra- kasa 2 1
Vijnana-bhiksu 728, 730, 731-2, 740, 742, 744
Vijftanavada 524 Vinaya 539 Virgil 144 n
ViSesavaSyaka Bhasya 25 n Visnu-dharma 713 Visnu-Dharmoltara 36 n, 13 n, 144 n Visnu Purana 164 Visnu-smrti 116 n Visnu-tattva-nirnaya 27 n Vivarana-prameya-samgraha 197 Viveka-cudamani 101 n, 122 n, 129 Vyasa’s Yoga Bhasya 130 « Vyasarya 185
Waley, Arthur, his Way and Its Power 68 n, 582; Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China 69 n Wali 263
Westcott, B. F., his The Gospel according to St. John 62 n Whitehead, A. N. 63; his Science and the Modern World 18 Whitman, Walt 5 Winternitz, his A History of Indian Literature 17 n, 28 n, 29 n Wordsworth 126 n Wotton 567
Yahweh 112 «
Yaska 22, 30, 50 n Yeats, W. B. 18 n Yoga passim
Yoga Sutra 357, 502, 710, 712, 713, 830
Yoga-vasistha 846
Zoroaster 32, 60 «
Zoroastrian Religion 641, 899
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