The Upanishads, Part I — SBE Vol. 1 (trans. F. Max Müller, 1879)

See also VI, 8,6. In later philosophical treatises the meaning of tegas is more carefully determined than in the Upanishads.

1 Really the Sat, in the form of fire. Fire is whatever burns, cooks, shines, and is red.

* By water is meant all that is fluid, and bright in colour.

* By anna, food, is here meant the earth, and all that is heavy, firm, dark in colour.

‘ Inthe Ait. Up. four are mentioned, andaga, here andaga, giruga (i.e. garfyuga), here givaga, svedaga, and udbhigga, svedaga, born from heat, being additional. Cf. Atharva-veda I, 12, 1.

5 The text has devat4, deity; here used in a very general sense.
The Sat, though it has produced fire, water, and earth, has not yet
obtained its wish of becoming many.

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Self (giva 4tm4)!, and let me then reveal (develop) names and forms.

3. ‘Then that Being having said, Let me make each of these three tripartite (so that fire, water, and earth should each have itself for its principal ingredient, besides an admixture of the other two) entered into those three beings (devata) with this living self only, and revealed names and forms.

4. ‘He made each of these tripartite; and how these three beings become each of them tripartite, that learn from me now, my friend!

Fourta Kuawpa. -

1. ‘The red colour of burning fire (agni) is the colour of fire, the white colour of fire is the colour of water, the black colour of fire the colour of earth. Thus vanishes what we call fire, as a mere variety, being a name, arising from speech. What is true (satya) are the three colours (or forms).

2. ‘The red colour of the sun (Aditya) is the colour of fire, the white of water, the black of earth. Thus vanishes what we call the sun, as a mere variety, being a name, arising from speech. What is true are the three colours.

3. ‘The red colour of the moon is the colour of fire, the white of water, the black of earth. Thus vanishes what we call the moon, as a mere variety, being a name, arising from speech. What is true are the three colours.

4. ‘The red colour of the lightning is the colour of fire, the white of water, the black of earth. Thus

' This living self is only a shadow, as it were, of the Highest Self; and as the sun, reflected in the water, does not suffer from the movement of the water, the real Self does not suffer pleasure or pain on earth, but the living self only.

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vanishes what we call the lightning, as a mere variety, being a name, arising from speech. What is true are the three colours.

5. ‘Great householders and great theologians of olden times who knew this, have declared the same, saying, “ No one can henceforth mention to us anything which we have not heard, perceived, or known}.” Out of these (three colours or forms) they knew all.

What is true are the three colours.

5. ‘Great householders and great theologians of olden times who knew this, have declared the same, saying, “ No one can henceforth mention to us anything which we have not heard, perceived, or known}.” Out of these (three colours or forms) they knew all.

6. ‘Whatever they thought looked red, they knew was the colour of fire. Whatever they thought looked white, they knew was the colour of water. Whatever they thought looked black, they knew was the colour of earth.

7. ‘Whatever they thought was altogether unknown, they knew was some combination of those three beings (devatd).

‘Now learn from me, my friend, how those three beings, when they reach man, become each of them tripartite.

FirtH Kuawpa.

1. ‘The earth (food) when eaten becomes threefold; its grossest portion becomes feces, its middle portion flesh, its subtilest portion mind.

2. ‘Water when drunk becomes threefold; its grossest portion becomes water, its middle portion blood, its subtilest portion breath.

3. ‘Fire (i.e. in oil, butter, &c.) when eaten becomes threefold; its grossest portion becomes bone, its middle portion marrow, its subtilest portion speech *.

1 This reminds one of the Aristotelian &4 yap ratra xal éx rovroy rddXa yrwpi{eras, GAN od Taira bid ray broKerpérov.

* Food, water, and fire are each to be taken as tripartite; hence animals which live on one of the three elements only, still share in some measure the qualities of the other elements also.

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4. ‘For truly, my child, mind comes of earth, breath of water, speech of fire.’

‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.

‘Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.

SixtH Kuanpa.

1. ‘ That which is the subtile portion of curds, when churned, rises upwards, and becomes butter.

2. ‘In the same manner, my child, the subtile portion of earth (food), when eaten, rises upwards, and becomes mind,

3. ‘That which is the subtile portion of water, when drunk, rises upwards, and becomes breath.

4. ‘That which is the subtile portion of fire, when consumed, rises upwards, and becomes speech.

5. ‘For mind, my child, comes of earth, breath of water, speech of fire.’

‘ Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.

‘Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.

SEVENTH KuHawpa.

1. ‘Man (purusha), my son, consists of sixteen parts. Abstain from food for fifteen days, but drink as much water as you like, for breath comes from water, and will not be cut off, if you drink water.’

2. Svetaketu abstained from food for fifteen days. Then he came to his father and said: ‘ What shall I say?’ The father said: ‘Repeat the Azé, Yagus, and Sd4man verses.’ He replied: ‘ They do not occur to me, Sir.’

3. The father said to him: ‘As of a great lighted fire one coal only of the size of a firefly may be left, which would not burn much more than this (i.e. very

[3] H

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The father said to him: ‘As of a great lighted fire one coal only of the size of a firefly may be left, which would not burn much more than this (i.e. very

[3] Hp. 98 little), thus, my dear son, one part only of the sixteen parts (of you) is left, and therefore with that one part me do not remember the Vedas. Go and eat! ‘Then wilt thou understand me.’ Then Sve- -taketu ate, and afterwards approached his father. “2 And whatever his father asked him, he knew it all evby heart. Then his father said to him:

. 5. ‘As of a great lighted fire one-coal of the size of a firefly, if left, may be made to blaze up again by putting grass upon it, and will thus burn more than this,

6. ‘Thus, my dear son, there was one part of the sixteen parts left to you, and that, lighted up with food, burnt up, and by it you remember now the Vedas.’ After that, he understood what his father meant when he said: ‘ Mind, my son, comes from food, breath from water, speech from fire. He understood what he said, yea, he understood it.

Eicutu Kuaypa.

1. Uddalaka Aruni said to his son Svetaketu:
‘Learn from me the true nature of sleep (svapna).
When a man sleeps here, then, my dear son, he
becomes united with the True?, he is gone to his

1 The repetition shows that the teaching of the Trivr:tkarana, the tripartite nature of things, is ended.

® The deep sushupta sleep is meant, in which personal consciousness is lost, and the self for a time absorbed in the Highest Self. Sleep is produced by fatigue. Speech, mind, and the senses rest, breath only remains awake, and the giva, the living soul, in order to recover from his fatigue, returns for a while to his true Self (Atma). The Sat must be taken as a substance, nay, as the highest substance or subject, the Brahman. The whole purpose of the Upanishad is obscured if we translate sat or satyam by truth, instead of the True, the true one, rd dvras dv.

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own (Self). Therefore they say, svapiti, he sleeps, because he is gone (apita) to his own (sva)}.

2. ‘As a bird when tied by a string flies first in every direction, and finding no rest anywhere, settles down at last on the very place where it is fastened, exactly in the same manner, my son, that mind (the giva, or living Self in the mind, see VI, 3, 2), after flying in every direction, and finding no rest anywhere, settles down on breath?; for indeed, my son, mind is fastened to breath.

3. ‘Learn from me, my son, what are hunger and thirst. When a man is thus said to be hungry, water is carrying away (digests) what has been eaten by him. Therefore as they speak of a cow-leader (go-naya), a horse-leader (asva-naya), a man-leader (purusha-ndya), so they call water (which digests food and causes hunger) food-leader (asanaya). Thus (by food digested &c.), my son, know this offshoot (the body) to be brought forth, for this (body) could not be without a root (cause),

Thus (by food digested &c.), my son, know this offshoot (the body) to be brought forth, for this (body) could not be without a root (cause),

4. ‘And where could its root be except in food (earth)?? And in the same manner, my son, as

1 This is one of the many recognised plays on words in the Upanishads and the Vedanta philosophy. Svapiti, he sleeps, stands for sva (his own), i.e. the self, and apita, gone to.

3 The commentator takes pr4za here in the sense of Sat, which it often has elsewhere. If so, this illustration would have the same object as the preceding one. If we took prava in the sense of breath, breath being the result of water, this paragraph might be taken to explain the resignation of the living Self to its bondage to breath, while on earth.

% That food is the root of the body is shown by the commentator in the following way: Food when softened by water and digested becomes a fluid, blood (sonita). From it comes flesh, from flesh fat, from fat bones, from bones marrow, from marrow seed. Food eaten by a woman becomes equally blood (lohita),

H 2

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food (earth) too is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. water. And as water too is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. fire. And as fire too is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. the True. Yes, all these creatures, my son, have their root in the True, they dwell in the True, they rest in the True.

5. ‘When a man is thus said to be thirsty, fire carries away what has been drunk by him. Therefore as they speak of a cow-leader (go-naya), of a horse-leader (asva-ndya), of a man-leader (purushanaya), so they call fire udany4, thirst, i.e. waterleader. Thus (by water digested &c.), my son, know this offshoot (the body) to be brought forth : this (body) could not be without a root (cause).

6. ‘And where could its root be except in water? As water is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. fire. As fire is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. the True. Yes, all these creatures, O son, have their root in the True, they dwell in the True, they rest in the True.

‘And how these three beings (devata4), fire, water, earth, O son, when they reach man, become each of them tripartite, has been said before (VI, 4, 7). When a man departs from hence, his speech! is merged

and from seed and blood combined the new body is produced.
We must always have before us the genealogical table :—
Sat, rd dy,

|
Tegas (fire)= Vas (speech).
Ap (water)=Praza (breath).

Anna (earth) = Manas (mind). 1 If a man dies, the first thing which his friends say is, He speaks no more. Then, he understands no more. Then, he moves no more. Then, he is cold.

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in his mind, his mind in his breath, his breath in heat (fire), heat in the Highest Being.

7. ‘Now that which is that subtile essence (the root of all), in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.’

‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.

7. ‘Now that which is that subtile essence (the root of all), in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.’

‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.

‘ Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.

Ninto Kuawopa.

1. ‘As the bees!, my son, make honey by collecting the juices of distant trees, and reduce the juice into one form,

2. ‘And as these juices have no discrimination, so that they might say, I am the juice of this tree.

or that, in the same manner, my son, all these creatures, when they have become merged in the True (either in deep sleep or in death), know not that they are merged in the True.

3. ‘Whatever these creatures are here, whether a lion, or a wolf, or a boar, or a worm, or a midge, or a gnat, or a musquito, that they become again and again.

4. ‘Now that which is that subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.’

‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.

‘Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.

1 At the beginning of each chapter the commentator supplies the question which the son is supposed to have asked his father. The first is: All creatures falling every day into deep sleep (sushupti) obtain thereby the Sat, the true being. How is it then that they do not know that they obtain the Sat every day?

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Trento Kuyawnpal,

1. ‘These rivers, my son, run, the eastern (like the Ganga) toward the east, the western (like the Sindhu) toward the west. They go from sea to sea (i.e. the clouds lift up the water from the sea to the sky, and send it back as rain to the sea). They become indeed sea. And as those rivers, when they are in the sea, do not know, I am this or that river,

2. ‘In the same manner, my son, all these creatures, when they have come back from the True, know not that they have come back from the True. Whatever these creatures are here, whether a lion, or a wolf, or a boar, or a worm, or a midge, or a gnat, or_a musquito, that they become again and again.

3. ‘That which is that subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.’

‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.

‘ Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.

ELEVENTH KHawpa 2,

1. ‘If some one were to strike at the root of this large tree here, it would bleed, but live. If he were to strike at its stem, it would bleed, but live. If he were to strike at its top, it would bleed, but live.

1 The next question which the son is supposed to have asked is: If a man who has slept in his own house, rises and goes to another village, he knows that he has come from his own house. Why then do people not know that they have come from the Sat?

1 The next question which the son is supposed to have asked is: If a man who has slept in his own house, rises and goes to another village, he knows that he has come from his own house. Why then do people not know that they have come from the Sat?

* The next question is: Waves, foam, and bubbles arise from the water, and when they merge again in the water, they are gone. How is it that living beings, when in sleep or death they are merged again in the Sat, are not destroyed?

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Pervaded by the living Self that tree stands firm, drinking in its nourishment and rejoicing ;

2. ‘ But if the life (the living Self) leaves one of its branches, that branch withers; if it leaves a second, that branch withers; if it leaves a third, that branch withers. If it leaves the whole tree, the whole tree withers’. In exactly the same manner, my son, know this.’ Thus he spoke:

3. ‘ This (body) indeed withers and dies when the living Self has left it; the living Self dies not.

‘That which is that subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, Svetaketu, art it.’

‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son,

‘ Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.

1 The commentator remarks that according to the Veda, trees are conscious, while Buddhists and followers of Kanada hold them to be unconscious. They live, because one sees how their sap runs and how it dries up, just as one sees the sap in a living body, which, as we saw, was produced by food and water. Therefore the simile holds good. The life, or, more correctly, the liver, the living Self, pervades the tree, as it pervades man, when it has entered the organism which produces breath, mind, and speech. If any accident happens to a branch, the living Self draws himself away from that branch, and then the branch withers. The sap which caused the living Self to remain, goes, and the living Self goes away with it. The same applies to the whole tree. The tree dies when the living Self leaves it, but the living Self does not die ; it only leaves an abode which it had before occupied. Some other illustrations, to show that the living Self remains, are added by the commentator: First, with regard to the living Self being the same when it awakes from deep sleep (sushupti), he remarks that we remember quite well that we have left something unfinished before we fell asleep. And then with regard to the living Self being the same when it awakes from death to a new life, he shows that creatures, as soon as they are born take: the breast, and exhibit terror, which can only be explained, as he supposes, by their possessing a recollection of a former state of existence.

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TweLFTH Kuawpal,

1. ‘Fetch me from thence a fruit of the Nyagrodha tree.’

‘Here is one, Sir,’

‘ Break it.’

‘It is broken, Sir.’

‘What do you see there ?’

‘These seeds, almost infinitesimal.’

‘Break one of them,’

‘It is broken, Sir.

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TweLFTH Kuawpal,

1. ‘Fetch me from thence a fruit of the Nyagrodha tree.’

‘Here is one, Sir,’

‘ Break it.’

‘It is broken, Sir.’

‘What do you see there ?’

‘These seeds, almost infinitesimal.’

‘Break one of them,’

‘It is broken, Sir.

‘What do you see there?’

‘Not anything, Sir.’

2. The father said: ‘ My son, that subtile essence which you do not perceive there, of that very essence this great Nyagrodha tree exists.

3. ‘ Believe it, my son. That which is the subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.’

‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.

‘Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.

THIRTEENTH KuHanpAa?.

1. ‘Place this salt in water, and then wait on me in the morning.’

The son did as he was commanded.

The father said to him: ‘Bring me the salt, which you placed in the water last night.’

1 The question which the son is supposed to have asked is: How can this universe which has the form and name of earth &c. be produced from the Sat which is subtile, and has neither form nor name?

* The question here is supposed to have been: If the Sat is the root of all that exists, why is it not perceived?

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The son having looked for it, found it not, for, of course, it was melted. ‘

2. The father said: ‘Taste it from the surface of the water. How is it?’

The son replied: ‘It is salt.’

‘Taste it from the middle. How is it ?’

The son replied: ‘It is salt.’

‘Taste it from the bottom. How is it?’

The son replied: ‘It is salt.’

The father said: ‘ Throw it away! and then wait on me.’

He did so; but salt exists for ever.

Then the father said: ‘ Here also, in this body, forsooth, you do not perceive the True (Sat), my son; but there indeed it is.

3. ‘That which is the subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.’

‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.

‘ Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.

FouRTEENTH KHawpa 2,

1. ‘As one might lead a person with his eyes covered away from the Gandharas’, and leave him

1 Read abhiprasya, which is evidently intended by the commentary: abhiprayasya parityagya. See B. R. Sanskrit Dictionary, s. v.

2 The question here asked is: The salt, though no longer perceptible by means of sight or touch, could be discovered by taste. Then how can the Sat be discovered, although it is imperceptible by all the senses?

5 The Gandharas, but rarely mentioned in the Rig-veda and the Ait. Braéhmaaa, have left their name in Kdv8apo: and Candahar. The fact of their name being evidently quite familiar to the author of the Upanishad might be used to prove either its antiquity or its Northern origin.

a”

'

“1 n en

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Braéhmaaa, have left their name in Kdv8apo: and Candahar.
The fact of their name being evidently quite familiar to the author
of the Upanishad might be used to prove either its antiquity or its
Northern origin.

a”

'

“1 n enp. 106 then in a place where there are no human beings ; and as that person would turn towards the east, or the north, or the west, and shout, “I have been brought here with my eyes covered, I have been left here with my eyes covered,”

2. ‘And as thereupon some one might loose his bandage and say to him, “Go in that direction, it is Gandhara, go in that direction;” and as thereupon, having been informed and being able to judge for himself, he would by asking his way from village to village arrive at last at Gandhara,—in exactly the same manner does a man, who meets with a teacher to inform him, obtain the true knowledge'. For him

* Tedious as the commentator is in general, he is sometimes almost eloquent in bringing out all that is implied or supposed to be implied in the sacred text. He explains the last simile as follows: A man was carried away by robbers from his own country. After his eyes had been covered, he was taken to a forest full of terrors and dangers arising from tigers, robbers, &c. Not knowing where he was, and suffering from hunger and thirst, he began to cry, wishing to be delivered from his bonds. Then a man took pity on him and removed his bonds, and when he had returned to his home, he was happy. Next follows the application. Our real home is the True (Sat), the Self of the world. The forest into which we are driven is the body, made of the three elements, fire, water, earth, consisting of blood, flesh, bones, &c., and liable to cold, heat, and many other evils. The bands with which our eyes are covered are our desires for many things, real or unreal, such as wife, children, cattle, &c., while the robbers by whom we are driven into the forest are our good and evil deeds. Then we cry and say: ‘I am the son of so and so, these are my relatives, I am happy, I am miserable, I am foolish, I am wise, I am just, I am born, I am dead, I am old, I am wretched, my son is dead, my fortune is gone, J am undone, how shall I live, where shall I go, who will save me?’ These and hundreds and thousands of other evils are the bands which blind us. Then, owing to some supererogatory good works we may have done, we suddenly meet a man who knows the Self of Brahman, whose own bonds have been broken, who takes pity on us and shows us the way to see the evil which attaches to allp. 107 there is only delay so long as he is not delivered (from the body); then he will be perfect !.

3. ‘That which is the subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.

‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.

‘Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.

3. ‘That which is the subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.

‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.

‘Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.

FIFTEENTH KHAwpA 3, 1. ‘If a man is ill, his relatives assemble round him and ask: “Dost thou know me? Dost thou know me?” Now as long as his speech is not that we love in this world. We then withdraw ourselves from all worldly pleasures. We learn that we are not mere creatures of the world, the son of so and so, &c., but that we are that which is the True (Sat). The bands of our ignorance and blindness are removed, and, like the man of Gandhfra, we arrive at our own home, the Self, or the True. Then we are happy and blessed.

1 The last words are really—‘ for him there is only delay so long as I shall not be delivered ; then I shall be perfect.’ This requires some explanation. First of all, the change from the third to the first person, is best explained by assuming that at the point where all individuality vanishes, the father, as teacher, identifies himself with the person of whom he is speaking.

The delay (the Aira or kshepa) of which he speaks is the time which passes between the attainment of true knowledge and death, or freedom from the effects of actions performed before the attainment of knowledge. The actions which led to our present embodiment must be altogether consumed, before the body can perish, and then only are we free. As to any actions performed after the attainment of knowledge, they do not count; otherwise there would be a new embodiment, and the attainment of even true knowledge would never lead to final deliverance.

3 The question supposed to be asked is: By what degrees a man, who has been properly instructed in the knowledge of Brahman, obtains the Sat, or returns to the True. To judge from the text both he who knows the True and he who does not, reach, when they die, the Sat, passing from speech to mind and breath and heat (fire). But whereas he who knows, remains in the Sat, they who do notp. 108 merged in his mind, his mind in breath, breath in heat (fire), heat in the Highest Being (devata), he knows them.

2. ‘But when his speech is merged in his mind,
his mind in breath, breath in heat (fire), heat in the
Highest Being, then he knows them not.

‘That which is the subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.’

‘Please, Sir, inform me still more,’ said the son.

‘ Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.

SIXTEENTH KHANDA}. 1. ‘My child, they bring a man hither whom they have taken by the hand, and they say: “ He has taken something, he has committed a theft.” (When

‘ Be it so, my child,’ the father replied.

SIXTEENTH KHANDA}. 1. ‘My child, they bring a man hither whom they have taken by the hand, and they say: “ He has taken something, he has committed a theft.” (When know, return again to a new form of existence. It is important to observe that the commentator denies that he who knows, passes at his death through the artery of the head to the sun, and then to the Sat. He holds that with him who knows there is no further cause for delay, and that as soon as he dies, he returns to the Sat.

1 The next question is: Why does he who knows, on obtaining the Sat, not return, while he who does not know, though obtaining the Sat in death, returns? An illustration is chosen which is intended to show how knowledge produces a material effect. The belief in the efficacy of ordeals must have existed at the time, and appealing to that belief, the teacher says that the man who knows himself guilty, is really burnt by the heated iron, while the man who knows himself innocent, is not. In the same manner the man who knows his Self to be the true Self, on approaching after death the true Self, is not repelled and sent back into a new existence, while he who does not know, is sent back into a new round of births and deaths. The man who tells a falsehood about himself, loses his true Self and is burnt; the man who has a false conception about his Self, loses likewise his true Self, and not knowing the true Self, even though approaching it in death, he has to suffer till he acquires some day the true knowledge.

~p. 109 he denies, they say), “ Heat the hatchet for him.” If he committed the theft, then he makes himself to be what he is not. Then the false-minded, having covered his true Self by a falsehood, grasps the heated hatchet—he is burnt, and he is killed.

2. ‘But if he did not commit the theft, then he makes himself to be what he is. Then the trueminded, having covered his true Self by truth, grasps the heated hatchet—he is not burnt, and he

_is delivered.

‘As that (truthful) man is not burnt, thus has all that exists its self in That. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it.’ He understood what he said, yea, he understood it.

SEVENTH PRAPA7AAKA.

First Kuawpa.

1. Narada approached Sanatkumdra and _ said, ‘Teach me, Sir!’ Sanatkuméra said to him: ‘Please to tell me what you know; afterward I shall tell you what is beyond.’

SEVENTH PRAPA7AAKA.

First Kuawpa.

1. Narada approached Sanatkumdra and _ said, ‘Teach me, Sir!’ Sanatkuméra said to him: ‘Please to tell me what you know; afterward I shall tell you what is beyond.’

2. Narada said: ‘I know the Azg-veda, Sir, the Yagur-veda, the SAma-veda, as the fourth the Atharvana, as the fifth the Itihdsa-purawa (the Bh4rata) ; the Veda of the Vedas (grammar); the Pitrya (the tules for the sacrifices for the ancestors); the RAsi (the science of numbers); the Daiva (the science of portents); the Nidhi (the science of time); the Vakovakya (logic); the Ekayana (ethics); the Devavidy4 (etymology) ; the Brahma-vidy4 (pronunciation, siksha, ceremonial, kalpa, prosody, #/andas); the Bhita-vidy4 (the science of demons); the Kshatra-

T10 KHANDOGYA-UPANISHAD.

vidya (the science of weapons) ; the Nakshatra-vidya (astronomy); the Sarpa and Devagana-vidya: (the science of serpents or poisons, and the sciences of the genii, such as the making of perfumes, dancing, singing, playing, and other fine arts)?. All this I know, Sir.

3. ‘But, Sir, with all this I know the Mantras only, the sacred books, I do not know the Self. I have heard from men like you, that he who knows the Self overcomes grief. I am in grief. Do, Sir, help me over this grief of mine.’

Sanatkuméra said to him: ‘Whatever you have read, is only a name.

4. ‘A name is the Azg-veda, Yagur-veda, Samaveda, and as the fourth the Atharvama, as the fifth the ItihAsa-puraza, the Veda of the Vedas, the Pitrya, the R4si, the Daiva, the Nidhi, the Vakovakya, the Ekayana, the Deva-vidya, the Brahmavidy4, the Bhdta-vidy4, the Kshatra-vidya, the Nakshatra-vidya, the Sarpa and Devagana-vidya. All these are a name only. Meditate on the name.

5. ‘He who meditates on the name as Brahman 2,

1 This passage, exhibiting the sacred literature as known at the time, should be compared with the Brzhadaranyaka, II, 4,10. The explanation of the old titles rests on the authority of Sankara, and he is not always consistent. See Colebrooke, Miscellaneous Essays, 1873, II, p. 10.

2 Why a man who knows the Veda should not know the Self, while in other places it is said that the Veda teaches the Self, is well illustrated by the commentary. If a royal procession approaches, he says, then, though we do not see the king, because he is hidden by flags, parasols, &c., yet we say, there is the king. And if we ask who is the king, then again, though we cannot see him and point him out, we can say, at least, that he is different from all that is seen. The Self is hidden in the Veda as a king is hidden in a royal procession,

VII PRAPATHAKA, 2 KHANDA, 2. III

is, as it were, lord and master as far as the name reaches—he who meditates on the name as Brahman.’

‘ Sir, is there something better than a name?’

‘Yes, there is something better than a name.’

§ Sir, tell it me.’

Second KHAnpaA.

III

is, as it were, lord and master as far as the name reaches—he who meditates on the name as Brahman.’

‘ Sir, is there something better than a name?’

‘Yes, there is something better than a name.’

§ Sir, tell it me.’

Second KHAnpaA.

1. ‘Speech is better than a name. Speech makes us understand the Azg-veda, Yagur-veda, Sama-veda, and as the fourth the Atharvama, as the fifth the Itih4sa-purdza, the Veda of the Vedas, the Pitrya, the R4si, the Daiva, the Nidhi, the Vakovakya, the Ekayana, the Deva-vidya, the Brahma-vidy4, the Kshatra-vidy4, the Nakshatra-vidy4, the Sarpa and Devagana-vidy4; heaven, earth, air, ether, water, fire, gods, men, cattle, birds, herbs, trees, all beasts down to worms, midges, and ants; what is right and what is wrong; what is true and what is false; what is good and what is bad; what is pleasing and what is not pleasing. For 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 pleasant nor the unpleasant. Speech makes us understand all this. Meditate on speech.

2. ‘He who meditates on speech as Brahmaan, is, as it were, lord and master as far as speech reaches— he who meditates on speech as Brahman.’

‘ Sir, is there something better than speech ?’

‘Yes, there is something better than speech.’

‘Sir, tell it me.’

1 The commentator explains vyagiapayishyat by avigiidtam abhavishyat. Possibly hridayagiio stands for hridayagiiam.

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Tuirp KHanpa.

1. ‘Mind (manas) is better than speech. For as the closed fist holds two amalaka or two kola or two aksha fruits, thus does mind hold speech and name. For if a man is minded in his mind to read the sacred hymns, he reads them; if he is minded in his mind to perform any actions, he performs them ; if he is minded to wish for sons and cattle, he wishes for them; if he is minded to wish for this world and the other, he wishes for them. For mind is indeed the self}, mind is the world, mind is Brahman. Meditate on the mind.

2. ‘He who meditates on the mind as Brahman, is, as it were, lord and master as far as the mind reaches—he who meditates on the mind as Brahman.’

‘Sir, is there something better than mind ?’

‘Yes, there is something better than mind.’

‘Sir, tell it me.’

Fourtu Kuawopa.

1. ‘Will? (sankalpa) is better than mind. For when a man wills, then he thinks in his mind, then he sends forth speech, and he sends it forth in a name. In a name the sacred hymns are contained, in the sacred hymns all sacrifices.

2. ‘All these therefore (beginning with mind and

1 The commentator explains this by saying that, without the instrument of the mind, the Self cannot act or enjoy.

In a name the sacred hymns are contained, in the sacred hymns all sacrifices.

2. ‘All these therefore (beginning with mind and

1 The commentator explains this by saying that, without the instrument of the mind, the Self cannot act or enjoy.

* Sankalpa is elsewhere defined as a modification of manas. The commentator says that, like thinking, it is an activity of the inner organ. It is difficult to find any English term exactly corresponding to sankalpa. Rajendralal Mitra translates it by will, but it implies not only will, but at the same time conception, determination, and desire.

p. 113

ending in sacrifice) centre in will, consist of will, abide in will. Heaven and earth willed, air and ether willed, water and fire willed. Through the will of heaven and earth &c. rain wills; through the will of rain food wills; through the will of food the vital airs will; through the will of the vital airs the sacred hymns will; through the will of the sacred hymns the sacrifices will; through the will of the sacrifices the world (as their reward) wills; through the will of the world everything wills?. This is will. Meditate on will.

3. ‘He who meditates on will as Brahman, he, being himself safe, firm, and undistressed, obtains the safe, firm, and undistressed worlds which he has willed; he is, as it were, lord and master as far as will reaches—he who meditates on will as Brahman.’

‘Sir, is there something better than will?’

‘ Yes, there is something better than will.’

‘ Sir, tell it-me.’

Firtuy Kuawopa.

1. ‘Consideration (4itta)? is better than will. For when a man considers, then he wills, then he thinks in his mind, then he sends forth speech, and he

1 This paragraph is obscure. The text seems doubtful, for instance, in samak/patém, samakalpetém, and samakalpatém. Then the question is the exact meaning of samk/:ptyai, which must be taken as an instrumental case. What is intended is that, without rain, food is impossible &c. or inconceivable ; but the text says, ‘ By the will of rain food wills,’ &c. Will seems almost to be taken here in the sense in which modern philosophers use it, as a kind of creative will. By the will of rain food wills, would mean, that first rain wills and exists, and afterwards the vital airs will and exist, &c.

* Kitta, thought, implies here consideration and reflection.

[3] Ip. 114 sends it forth in a name. In a name the sacred hymns are contained, in the sacred hymns all sacrifices.

* Kitta, thought, implies here consideration and reflection.

[3] Ip. 114 sends it forth in a name. In a name the sacred hymns are contained, in the sacred hymns all sacrifices.

2. ‘All these (beginning with mind and ending in sacrifice) centre in consideration, consist of consideration, abide in consideration. Therefore if a man is inconsiderate, even if he possesses much learning, people say of him, he is nothing, whatever he may know; for, if he were learned, he would not be so inconsiderate. But if a man is considerate, even though he knows but little, to him indeed do people listen gladly. Consideration is the centre, consideration is the self, consideration is the support of all these. Meditate on consideration.

3. ‘He who meditates on consideration as Brahman, he, being himself safe, firm, and undistressed, obtains the safe, firm, and undistressed worlds which he has considered; he is, as it were, lord and master as far as consideration reaches—he who meditates on consideration as Brahman.’

‘Sir, is there something better than consideration ?’

‘Yes, there is something better than consideration.’

‘Sir, tell it me.’

S1xtH Kuawpa.

1, ‘Reflection (dhyana)! is better than consideration. The earth reflects, as it were, and thus does the sky, the heaven, the water, the mountains, gods and men. Therefore those who among men obtain

* Reflection is concentration of all our thoughts on one object, ekagraté. And as a man who reflects and meditates on the highest objects acquires thereby repose, becomes firm and immovable, so the earth is supposed to be in repose and immovable, as it were, by reflection and meditation.

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greatness here on earth, seem to have obtained a part of the object of reflection (because they show a certain repose of manner). Thus while small and vulgar people are always quarrelling, abusive, and slandering, great men seem to have obtained a part of the reward of reflection. Meditate on reflection. 2. ‘He who meditates on reflection as Brahman, is lord and master, as it were, as far as reflection reaches—he who meditates on reflection as Brahman.’ ‘Sir, is there something better than reflection ?’ ‘Yes, there is something better than reflection.’ ‘Sir, tell it me.’

SEVENTH KHANDA.

2. ‘He who meditates on reflection as Brahman, is lord and master, as it were, as far as reflection reaches—he who meditates on reflection as Brahman.’ ‘Sir, is there something better than reflection ?’ ‘Yes, there is something better than reflection.’ ‘Sir, tell it me.’

SEVENTH KHANDA.

1. ‘ Understanding (vigfiana) is better than reflection. Through understanding we understand the ig-veda, the Yagur-veda, the Sdma-veda, and as the fourth the Atharvama, as the fifth the Itihdsapuraza!, the Veda of the Vedas, the Pitrya, the RAsi, the Daiva, the Nidhi, the VAkovdkya, the Ekayana, the Deva-vidyd, the Brahma-vidy4, the Bhita-vidy4, the Kshatra-vidya, the Nakshatra-vidy4, the Sarpa and Devagana-vidy4, heaven, earth, air, ether, water, fire, gods, men, cattle, birds, herbs, trees, all beasts down to worms, midges, and ants; what is right and what is wrong; what is true and what is false ; what is good and what is bad; what is pleasing and what is not pleasing; food and savour, this world and that, all this we understand through understanding. Meditate on understanding.

2. ‘He who meditates on understanding as Brahman, reaches the worlds where there is understanding

1 See before, p. rog.
I 2

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and knowledge'; he is, as it were, lord and master as far as understanding reaches—he who meditates on understanding as Brahman.’ ‘Sir,is there something better than understanding ?” ‘Yes, there is something better than understanding.’ ‘Sir, tell it me.’

EricutuH Kuanpa.

1. ‘Power (bala) is better than understanding. One powerful man shakes a hundred men of understanding. Ifa mari is powerful, he becomes a rising man. If he rises, he becomes a man who visits wise people. If he visits, he becomes a follower of wise people. If he follows them, he becomes a seeing, a hearing, a perceiving, a knowing, a doing, an understanding man. By power the earth stands firm, and the sky, and the heaven, and the mountains, gods and men, cattle, birds, herbs, trees, all beasts down to worms, midges, and ants; by power the world stands firm. Meditate on power.

2. ‘He who meditates on power as Brahman, is, as it were, lord and master as far as power reaches—he who meditates on power as Brahman.’

‘Sir, is there something better than power ?’

‘Yes, there is something better than power.’

‘Sir, tell it me.’

Nintu Kuawpa.

1. ‘Food (anna) is better than power. Therefore if a man abstain from food for ten days, though he live, he would be unable to see, hear, perceive, think, act, and understand. But when he obtains

1 The commentator takes vigf4na here as understanding of sacred books, gfifna as cleverness with regard to other subjects.

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food, he is able to see, hear, perceive, think, act, ’ and understand. Meditate on food.

2. ‘He who meditates on food as Brahman, obtains the worlds rich in food and drink; he is, as it were, lord and master as far as food reaches— he who meditates on food as Brahman.’

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food, he is able to see, hear, perceive, think, act, ’ and understand. Meditate on food.

2. ‘He who meditates on food as Brahman, obtains the worlds rich in food and drink; he is, as it were, lord and master as far as food reaches— he who meditates on food as Brahman.’

‘Sir, is there something better than food ?’

‘Yes, there is something better than food.’

‘Sir, tell it me.’

TentH KuHawpa.

1. ‘Water (ap) is better than food. Therefore if there is not sufficient rain, the vital spirits fail from fear that there will be less food. But if there is sufficient rain, the vital spirits rejoice, because there will be much food. This water, on assuming different forms, becomes this earth, this sky, this heaven, the mountains, gods and men, cattle, birds, herbs and trees, all beasts down to worms, midges, and ants. Water indeed assumes all these forms. Meditate on water.

2. ‘He who meditates on water as Brahman, obtains all wishes, he becomes satisfied; he is, as it were, lord and master as far as water reaches— he who meditates on water as Brahman.’

‘ Sir, is there something better than water ?’

‘Yes, there is something better than water.’

‘ Sir, tell it me.’

ELEVENTH KHanpaA.

1. ‘Fire (tegas) is better than water. For fire united with air, warms the ether. Then people say, It is hot, it burns, it will rain. Thus does fire, after showing this sign (itself) first, create water. Andp. 118 thus again thunderclaps come with lightnings, flashing upwards and across the sky. Then people say, There is lightning and thunder, it will rain. Then also does fire, after showing this sign first, create water. Meditate on fire.

2. ‘He who meditates on fire as Brahman, obtains, resplendent himself, resplendent worlds, full of light and free of darkness; he is, as it were, lord and master as far as fire reaches—he who meditates on fire as Brahman.’

‘Sir, is there something better than fire ?’

‘Yes, there is something better than fire.’

‘ Sir, tell it me.’

TweLrTtH KHawpa,

1. ‘Ether (or space) is better than fire. For in the ether exist both sun and moon, the lightning, stars, and fire (agni). Through the ether we call, through the ether we hear, through the ether we answer', In the ether or space we rejoice (when we are together), and rejoice not (when we are separated). In the ether everything is born, and towards the ether everything tends when it is born’. Meditate on ether.

2. ‘He who meditates on ether as Brahman, obtains the worlds of ether and of light, which are free from pressure and pain, wide and spacious®; he is, as it were, lord and master as far as ether reaches—he who meditates on ether as Brahman.’

‘Sir, is there something better than ether ?’

1 Cf. Kh. Up. IV, 5,1. * The seed grows upwards towards the ether; not downwards.

5 Cf. Kash. Up. II, rr.

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‘Yes, there is something better than ether.’
‘Sir, tell it me.’ .

THIRTEENTH KHAWDA.

Kh. Up. IV, 5,1. * The seed grows upwards towards the ether; not downwards.

5 Cf. Kash. Up. II, rr.

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‘Yes, there is something better than ether.’
‘Sir, tell it me.’ .

THIRTEENTH KHAWDA.

1. ‘Memory! (smara) is better than ether. Therefore where many are assembled together, if they have no memory, they would hear no one, they would not perceive, they would not understand. Through memory we know our sons, through memory our cattle. Meditate on memory.

2. ‘He who meditates on memory as Brahman, is, as it were, lord and master as far as memory reaches—he who ‘meditates on memory as Brahman.’ ’ ‘Sir, is there something better than memory ?’

‘Yes, there is something better than memory.’

‘Sir, tell it me.’

FourTEENTH KHawpaA.

1. ‘Hope (4s4) is better than memory. Fired by hope does memory read the sacred hymns, perform sacrifices, desire sons and cattle, desire this world and the other. Meditate on hope.

2. ‘He who meditates on hope as Brahman, all his desires are fulfilled by hope, his prayers are not in vain; he is, as it were, lord and master as far as hope reaches—he who meditates on hope as Brahman.’

‘Sir, is there something better than hope ?’

‘Yes, there is something better than hope.’

‘ Sir, tell it me.’

1 The apparent distance between ether and memory is bridged over by the commentator pointing out that without memory everything would be as if it were not, so far as we are concerned.

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FirTeentH Kuawpa.

1. ‘Spirit! (praza) is better than hope. As the spokes of a wheel hold to the nave*, so does all this (beginning with names and ending in hope) hold to spirit. That spirit moves by the spirit, it gives spirit to the spirit. Father means spirit, mother is spirit, brother is spirit, sister is spirit, tutor is spirit, Brahmaza is spirit.

2. ‘For if one says anything unbecoming to a father, mother, brother, sister, tutor or Brahmaza, then people say, Shame on thee! thou hast offended thy father, mother, brother, sister, tutor, or a Brahmaaza.

3. ‘But, if after the spirit has departed from them, one shoves them together with a poker, and burns them to pieces, no one would say, Thou offendest thy father, mother, brother, sister, tutor or a Brahmama.

4. ‘Spirit then is all this. He who sees this, perceives this, and understands this, becomes an ativadin®. If people say to such a man, Thou

1 Prana is used here in a technical sense. It does not mean simply breath, but the spirit, the conscious self (pragfiatman) which, as we saw, enters the body in order to reveal the whole variety of forms and names. It is in one sense the mukhya prAaa.

* The commentary carries the simile still further. The felloe, he says, holds to the spokes, the spokes to the nave. So do the bhfitam4tr4s hold to the pragfiamatras, and these to the praza.

It is in one sense the mukhya prAaa.

* The commentary carries the simile still further. The felloe, he says, holds to the spokes, the spokes to the nave. So do the bhfitam4tr4s hold to the pragfiamatras, and these to the praza.

5 One who declares something that goes beyond all the declarations made before, beginning with the declaration that names are Brahman, and ending with the declaration that hope is Brahman ;— one who knows that pr4za, spirit, the conscious self, is Brahman. This declaration represents the highest point reached by ordinary people, but Narada wishes to go beyond. In the Mundaka, III, 1, 4, an ativadin is contrasted with one who really knows the highest truth.

eep. 121 art an ativadin, he may say, I am an ativadin; he need not deny it.’

SIXTEENTH KuHawpa}.

1. ‘But in reality he is an ativadin who declares the Highest Being to be the True (Satya, ro évrus év).’

‘Sir, may I become an ativd4din by the True ?’

‘ But we must desire to know the True.’

‘Sir, I desire to know the True.’

SEVENTEENTH KHAwDA.

1. ‘When one understands the True, then one declares the True. One who does not understand it, does not declare the True*. Only he who understands it, declares the True. This understanding, however, we must desire to understand,’

‘Sir, I desire to understand it.’

EIGHTEENTH KHANDA.

1. ‘When one perceives, then one understands. One who does not perceive, does not understand. Only he who perceives, understands. This perception, however, we must desire to understand.’

‘Sir, I desire to understand it.’

1 As Narada asks no further, whether there is anything better, higher, truer than préza, he is supposed to be satisfied with his belief that préza is the Highest Being. Sanatkuméra, however, wishes to lead him on to a still higher view; hence the paragraphs which follow from 16 to 26.

* He would, for instance, call fire real, not knowing that fire is only a mixture of the three elements (cf. VI, 4), the rftpatraya, a mere variety (vikara), and name (naman).

p. 122

NINETEENTH KuHawpa.

1. ‘When one believes, then one perceives. One who does not believe, does not perceive. Only he who believes, perceives, This belief, however, we must desire to understand.’

‘Sir, I desire to understand it.’

TWENTIETH KHANDA.

1. ‘When one attends on a tutor (spiritual guide), then one believes. One who does not attend on a tutor, does not believe. Only he who attends, believes. This attention on a tutor, however, we must desire to understand.’

‘Sir, I desire to understand it.’

TweEntTy-FIrRST KHANDA.

1. ‘When one performs all sacred duties, then one attends really on a tutor. One who does not perform his duties, does not really attend on a tutor. Only he who performs his duties, attends on his tutor. This performance of duties, however, we must desire to understand.’

‘Sir, I desire to understand it.’

TWENTY-SECOND KHANDA.

One who does not perform his duties, does not really attend on a tutor. Only he who performs his duties, attends on his tutor. This performance of duties, however, we must desire to understand.’

‘Sir, I desire to understand it.’

TWENTY-SECOND KHANDA.

1. ‘When one obtains bliss (in oneself), then one performs duties. One who does not obtain bliss, does not perform duties. Only he who obtains bliss, performs duties. This bliss, however, we must desire to understand.’

‘Sir, I desire to understand it.’

1 The duties of a student, such as restraint of the senses, concentration of the mind, &c.

p. 123

TWENTY-THIRD KHANDA.

1. ‘The Infinite (bhiman)? is bliss. There is no bliss in anything finite. Infinity only is bliss. This Infinity, however, we must desire to understand.’

‘Sir, I desire to understand it.’

TWENTY-FOURTH KHANDA.

1. ‘Where one sees nothing else, hears nothing
else, understands nothing else, that is the Infinite.
Where one sees something else, hears something
else, understands something else, that is the finite.
The Infinite is immortal, the finite is mortal.’

‘Sir, in what does the Infinite rest ?’

‘In its own greatness—or not even in greatness?.’

2. ‘In the world they call cows and _ horses, elephants and gold, slaves, wives, fields and houses greatness. I do not mean this,’ thus he spoke; ‘for in that case one being (the possessor) rests in something else, (but the Infinite cannot rest in something different from itself.)

TWENTY-FIFTH KHANDA.

1. ‘The Infinite indeed is below, above, behind,
before, right and left—it is indeed all this.
‘Now follows the explanation of the Infinite as

1 Bhfiman is sometimes translated by grandeur, the superlative, the akme. It is the highest point that can be reached, the infinite and the true.

* This phrase reminds one of the last verse in the No sad 4sid hymn, where, likewise, the expression of the highest certainty is followed by a misgiving that after all it may be otherwise. The commentator takes yadi va in the sense of, If you ask in the highest sense, then I say no; for the Infinite cannot rest in anything, not even in greatness.

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the I: I am below, I am above, I am behind, before, right and left—I am all this.

2. ‘Next follows the explanation of the Infinite as the Self: Self is below, above, behind, before, right and left—Self is all this.

‘He who sees, perceives, and understands this,
loves the Self, delights in the Self, revels in the
Self, rejoices in the Self—he becomes a Svardg,
(an autocrat or self-ruler); he is lord and master
in all the worlds.

‘But those who think differently from this, live in perishable worlds, and have other beings for their rulers.

TWENTy-SIXTH KHANDA.

‘But those who think differently from this, live in perishable worlds, and have other beings for their rulers.

TWENTy-SIXTH KHANDA.

1. ‘To him who sees, perceives, and understands this', the spirit (praza) springs from the Self, hope springs from the Self, memory springs from the Self; so do ether, fire, water, appearance and disappearance ?, food, power, understanding, reflection, consideration, will, mind, speech, names, sacred hymns, and sacrifices—aye, all this springs from the Self.

2. ‘There is this verse, ‘“ He who: sees this, does not see death, nor illness, nor pain; he who sees this, sees everything, and obtains everything everywhere.

‘« He is one (before creation), he becomes three

1 Before the acquirement of true knowledge, all that has been mentioned before, spirit, hope, memory, &c., on to names, was supposed to spring from the Sat, as something different from oneself.. Now he is to know that the Sat is the Self.

* In the preceding paragraphs appearance and disappearance (birth and death) are not mentioned. This shows how easy it was in these treatises either to omit or to add anything that seemed important.

were, oe

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(fire, water, earth), he becomes five, he becomes seven, he becomes nine; then again he is called the eleventh, and hundred and ten and one thousand and twenty ?.”

‘When the intellectual aliment has been purified, the whole nature becomes purified. When the whole nature has been purified, the memory becomes firm. And when the memory (of the Highest Self) remains firm, then all the ties (which bind us to a belief in anything but the Self) are loosened.

‘The venerable Sanatkum4ra showed to Narada, after his faults had been rubbed out, the other side of darkness. They call Sanatkumara Skanda, yea, Skanda they call him,’

EIGHTH PRAPA7AHAKA.

First Kuanpa?,

1. HariZ, Om. There is this city of Brahman (the body), and in it the palace, the small lotus (of

1 This too is meant as a verse. The commentary says that the various numbers are intended to show the endless variety of form on the Self after creation. Cf. Mait. Up. V, 2.

* The eighth Prap4shaka seems to form a kind of appendix to the Upanishad. The highest point that can be reached by speculation had been reached in the seventh Prap&shaka, the identity of our self and of everything else with the Highest Self. This speculative effort, however, is too much for ordinary people. They cannot conceive the Sat or Brahman as out of space and time, as free from all qualities, and in order to help them, they are taught to adore the Brahman, as it appears in space and time, an object endowed with certain qualities, living in nature and in the human heart. The Highest Brahman, besides which there is nothing, and which can neither be reached as an object, nor be considered asp. 126 the heart), and in it that small ether. Now what exists within that small ether, that is to be sought for, that is to be understood.

The Highest Brahman, besides which there is nothing, and which can neither be reached as an object, nor be considered asp. 126 the heart), and in it that small ether. Now what exists within that small ether, that is to be sought for, that is to be understood.

• 2. And if they should say to him: ‘Now with regard to that city of Brahman, and the palace in it,
• i. e. the small lotus of the heart, and the small ether within the heart, what is there within it that deserves to be sought for, or that is to be understood ?’

3. Then he should say: ‘As large as this ether (all space) is, so large is that ether within the heart. Both heaven and earth are contained within it, both fire and air, both sun and moon, both lightning and stars; and whatever there is of him (the Self) here in the world, and whatever is not (i. e. whatever has been or will be), all that is contained within it},’

4. And if they should say to him: ‘If everything that exists is contained in that city of Brahman, all beings and all desires (whatever can be imagined or desired), then what is left of it, when old age reaches it and scatters it, or when it falls to pieces ?’

5. Then he should say: ‘ By the old age of the body, that (the ether, or Brahman within it) does not age; by the death of the body, that (the ether, or Brahman within it) is not killed. That (the Brahan effect, seems to ordinary minds like a thing which is not. Therefore while the true philosopher, after acquiring the knowledge of the Highest Sat, becomes identified with it suddenly, like lightning, the ordinary mortal must reach it by slow degrees, and as a preparation for that higher knowledge which is to follow, the eighth Prap4éhaka, particularly the first portion of it, has been added to the teaching contained in the earlier books.

1 The ether in the heart is really a name of Brahman. He is there, and therefore all that comes of him when he assumes bodily shapes, both what is and what is not, i.e. what is no longer or not yet; for the absolute nothing is not intended here.

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man) is the true Brahma-city (not the body’). In it all desires are contained. It is the Self, free from sin, free from old age, from death and grief, from hunger and thirst, which desires nothing but what it ought to desire, and imagines nothing but what it ought to imagine. Now as here on earth people follow as they are commanded, and depend on the object which they are attached to, be it a country or a piece of land,

6. ‘And as here on earth, whatever has been acquired by exertion, perishes, so perishes whatever is acquired for the next world by sacrifices and other good actions performed on earth. Those who depart from hence without having discovered the Self and those true desires, for them there is no freedom in all the worlds. But those who depart from hence, after having discovered the Self and those true desires *, for them there is freedom in all the worlds,