1 This is not mentioned in the Brzhad-aramyaka.
304 KAUSHITAKI-UPANISHAD.
9. Balaki said: ‘The person that is in the fire, on him I meditate.’
Agatasatru said to him: ‘Do not challenge me
on this. I meditate on him as powerful. Whoso
meditates on him thus, becomes powerful among
others 1.’
10. Balaki said: ‘The person that is in the water, on him I meditate.’
Agatasatru said to him: ‘Do not challenge me on
this. I meditate on him as the self of the name.
Whoso meditates on him thus, becomes the self
of the name.’ So far with regard to deities (my-
thological); now with regard to the body (physio-
logical).
11. Balaki said: ‘The person that is in the mirror, on him I meditate.’
Agatasatru said to him: ‘Do not challenge me on
this. I meditate on him as the likeness. Whoso
meditates on him thus, to him a son is born in his
family who is his likeness, not one who is not his
likeness.’
12. Balaki said: ‘The person that is in the echo, on him I meditate.’
Agatasatru said to him: ‘Do not challenge me on
this. I meditate on him as the second, who never
goes away. Whoso meditates on him thus, he gets
a second from his second (his wife), he becomes
doubled ?.’
13. Balaki said: ‘The sound that follows a man, on that I meditate.’
Agatasatru said to him: ‘Do not challenge me on
* Instead of anyeshu, the second text, as printed by Professor
Cowell, has anv esha.
* This paragraph does not occur in the Bréhad-aranyaka.
Iv ADHYAYA, 18. 305
this. I meditate on him as life. Whoso meditates
on him thus, neither he himself nor his offspring
will faint before the time.’
14. Balaki said: ‘The person that is in the shadow, on him I meditate.’
Agatasatru said to him: ‘ Do not challenge me on
this. I meditate on him as death. Whoso medi-
tates on him thus, neither he himself nor his off-
spring will die before the time.’ |
15. Balaki said: ‘The person that is em- bodied, on him I meditate.’
Agatasatru said to him: ‘Do not ¢hallenge me
on this. I meditate on him as Lord of creatures.
Whoso meditates on him thus, is multiplied in off-
spring and cattle.’
16. Balaki said: ‘The Self which is conscious
(pragiia), and by whom he who sleeps here, walks
about in sleep, on him I meditate.
AgAtasatru said to him: ‘Do not challenge me on
this. I meditate on him as Yama the king. Whoso
meditates on him thus, everything is subdued for
his excellencies.’
17. Balaki said: ‘The person that is in the right eye, on him I meditate.’
Agatasatru said to him: ‘Do not challenge me on
this. I meditate on him as the self of the name, as
the self of fire, as the self of splendour. Whoso
meditates on him thus, he becomes the self of
these.’
18. Balaki said: ‘The person that is in the left eye, on him I meditate.
Agiatasatru said to him: ‘Do not challenge me
on this. I meditate on him as the self of the true,
as the self of lightning, as the self of light. Whoso
306 KAUSHITAKI-UPANISHAD.
meditates on him thus, he becomes the self of these.’
19. After this Bal4ki became silent. Agdatasatru
said to him: ‘Thus far only (do you know), O
Balaki?’ ‘Thus far only, replied Balaki.
Then Agatasatru said to him: ‘Vainly did you
challenge me, saying: “ Shall I tell you Brahman ?”
O Baéléki, he who is the maker of those persons
(whom you mentioned), he of whom all this is the
work, he alone is to be known.’
Thereupon Balaki came, carrying fuel in his hand,
saying: ‘May I come to you as a pupil?’ Agéata-
satru said to him: ‘I deem it improper that a
Kshatriya should initiate a Brahmavza. Come, I
shall make you know clearly.’ Then taking him by
the hand, he went forth. And the two together
came to a person who was asleep. And AgdAtasatru
called him, saying: ‘Thou great one, clad in white
raiment, Soma, King*'.’ But he remained lying.
Then he pushed him with a stick, and he rose at
once. Then said Agdatasatru to him: ‘ Balaki,
where did this person here sleep? Where was he ?
Whence came he thus back?’ Balaki did not
know.
20. And Agatasatru said to him: ‘Where this per-
son here slept, where he was, whence he thus came
back, is this: The arteries of the heart called Hita
extend from the heart of the person towards the
surrounding body. Small as a hair divided a thou-
sand times, they stand full of a thin fluid of various
colours, white, black, yellow, red. In these the
person. is when sleeping he sees no dream.
1 See § 3 init.
Iv Adhyaya, 20. 307
Then he becomes one with that prada alone.
Then speech goes to him with all names, the eye
with all forms, the ear with all sounds, the mind
with all thoughts. And when he awakes, then, as
from a burning fire, sparks proceed in all directions,
thus from that self the prazas (speech, &c.) proceed,
each towards its place, from the prazas the gods,
from the gods the worlds. And as a razor might
be fitted in a razor-case, or as fire in the fire-place
(the arazi on the altar), even thus this conscious
self enters the self of the body (considers the body
as himself) to the very hairs and nails. And the
other selfs (such as speech, &c.) follow that self, as
his people follow the master of the house. And
as the master feeds with his people, nay, as his
people feed on the master, thus does this conscious
self feed with the other selfs, as a master with his
people, and the other selfs follow him, as his people
follow the master. So long as Indra did not under-
stand that. self, the Asuras conquered him. When
he understood it, he conquered the Asuras and
obtained the pre-eminence among all gods, sove-
reignty, supremacy. And thus also he who knows
this obtains pre-eminence among all beings, sove-
reignty, supremacy,—yea, he who knows this.
? alee tl tr
“ Poet ‘ies
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ae
VAGASANEYI-SAMWHITA- UPANISHAD,
LSAVASYA or ISA-
Vagasaneyi-Samhita-
1. Att this, whatsoever moves on earth, is to
be hidden in the Lord (the Self). When thou hast
surrendered all this, then thou mayest enjoy. Do
not covet the wealth of any man!
2. Though a man may wish to live a hundred
years, performing works, it will be thus with him;
but not in any other way: work will thus not cling
to a man.
3. There are the worlds of the Asuras! covered
with blind darkness. Those who have destroyed
their self (who perform works, without having ar-
rived at a knowledge of the true Self), go after
death to those worlds.
4. That one (the Self), though never stirring, is
swifter than thought. The Devas (senses) never
reached it, it walked? before them. Though
standing still, it overtakes the others who are
running. Matarisvan (the wind, the moving spirit)
bestows powers ® on it.
, Asurya, Vag. Samhité; asirya, Upan. Asurya in the Upanishads in the sense of belonging to the Asuras, i.e. gods, is exceptional. I should prefer asfirya, sunless, as we find asfryé t4masi in the Rig-veda, V, 32, 6.
2 Pfrvam arsat, Vag. Samh.; pfirvam arshat, Upan. Mahidhara suggests also arsat as a contraction of a-risat, not perishing.
$ Apas is explained by karmAzi, acts, in which case it would be meant for 4pas, opus. But the Vag. Samhita accentuates apas, i.e.
312 VAGASANEYI-SAMHITA-UPANISHAD.
5. It stirs and it stirs not; it is far, and likewise
near! It is inside of all this, and it is outside of
all this.
6. And he who beholds all beings in the Self, and the Self in all beings, he never turns away from it *.
7. When to a man who understands, the Self has
become all things, what sorrow, what trouble can
there be to him who once beheld that unity ?
8. He® (the Self) encircled all, bright, incor-
poreal, scatheless, without muscles, pure, untouched
by evil; a seer, wise, omnipresent, self-existent, he
disposed all things rightly for eternal years.
g. All who worship what is not real knowledge
(good works), enter into blind darkness: those who
delight in real knowledge, enter, as it were, into
greater darkness.
10. One thing, they say, is obtained from real
knowledge; another, they say, from what is not
knowledge. Thus we have heard from the wise
who taught us this‘.
11. He who knows at the same time both know-
ledge and not-knowledge, overcomes death through
not-knowledge, and obtains immortality through
knowledge.
12. All who worship what is not the true cause,
aquas, and Anandagiri explains that water stands for acts, because most sacrificial acts are performed with water.
1 Tad v antike, Vag. Samh.; tadvad antike, Upan.
* Vikikitsati, Vag. Samh.; vigugupsate, Upan.
* Sankara takes the subject to be the Self, and explains the neuter adjectives as masculines. Mahidhara takes the subject to be the man who has acquired a knowledge of the Self, and who reaches the bright, incorporeal Brahman, &c. Mahfdhara, however, likewise allows the former explanation.
* Cf. Talavak. Up. I, 4; vidy4y4, avidyayah, Vag. Samh.; vidyay4, avidyaya, Upan. |
Vagasaneyi-Samhita-Upanishad. S13
enter into blind darkness: those who delight in the true cause, enter, as it were, into greater darkness.
13. One thing, they say, is obtained from (know-
ledge of) the cause; another, they say, from (know-
ledge of) what is not the cause. Thus we have
heard from the wise who taught us this.
14. He who knows at the same time both the
cause and the destruction (the perishable body),
overcomes death by destruction (the perishable
body), and obtains immortality through (knowledge
of) the true cause.
15. The door of the True is covered with a
golden disk?. Open that, O Pashan, that we may
see the nature of the True’.
16. O Pishan, only seer, Yama (judge), Sfrya
(sun), son of Pragdpati, spread thy rays and gather
them! The light which is thy fairest form, I see it.
I am what He is (viz. the person in the sun) *.
17. Breath‘ to air, and to the immortal! Then
this my body ends in ashes. Om! Mind, remem-
ber! Remember thy deeds! Mind, remember!
Remember thy deeds®!
18. Agni, lead us on to wealth (beatitude) by a good path, thou, O God, who knowest all things !
1 Mahfdhara on verse 17: ‘ The face of the true (purusha in the sun) is covered by a golden disk.’
2 Cf. Maitr. Up. VI, 35.
* Asau purusha/ should probably be omitted.
* These lines are supposed to be uttered by a man in the hour of death.
5 The Vagasaneyi-samhita reads: Om, krato smara, k/be smara, kritam smara. Uvafa holds that Agni, fire, who has been wor- shipped in youth and manhood, is here invoked in the form of mind, or that kratu is meant for sacrifice. ‘Agni, remember me ! Think of the world! Remember my deeds!’
314 VAGASANEYI-SAMHITA-UPANISHAD.
Keep far from us crooked evil, and we shall offer thee the fullest praise! (Rv. I, 189, 1.)
This Upanishad, though apparently simple and intelligible, is in reality one of the most difficult to understand properly. Coming at the end of the VAgasaneyi-samhité, in which the sacrifices and the hymns to be used by the officiating priests have been described, it begins by declaring that all has to be surrendered to the Lord. The name fs, lord, is peculiar, as having a far more personal colour- ing than Atman, Self, or Brahman, the usual names given by the Upanishads to what is the object of the highest knowledge.
Next follows a permission to continue the performance of sacri- fices, provided that all desires have been surrendered. And here occurs our first difficulty, which has perplexed ancient as well as modern commentators.