MAITRAYANA-BRAHMAYA-UPANISHAD
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F1RST PRAPATHAKA.
1. The laying of the formerly described sacrificial fires is indeed the
sacrifice of Brahman. Therefore let the sacrificer, after he has laid those
fires, meditate on the Self. Thus only does the sacrificer become complete
and faultless.
But who is to be meditated on? He who is called Prana (breath). Of him there
is this story:
2. A King, named Brihadratha, having established his son in his sovereignty,
went into the forest, because he considered this body as transient, and had
obtained freedom from all desires. Having performed the highest penance, he
stands there, with uplifted arms, looking up to the sun. At the end of a
thousand (days), the Saint Sakayanya, who knew the Self, came near, burning
with splendour, like a fire without smoke. He said to the King: 'Rise, rise!
Choose a boon!' The King, bowing before him, said: 'O Saint, I know not the
Self, thou knowest the essence (of the Self). We have heard so. Teach it
us.'
3. Sakayanya replied: 'This was achieved of yore; but what thou askest is
difficult to obtain. O Aikshvaka, choose other pleasures.' The King,
touching the Saint's feet with his head, recited this Gatha: ‘O Saint, What
is the use of the enjoyment of pleasures in this offensive, pithless body -
a mere mass of bones, skin, sinews, marrow, flesh, seed, blood, mucus,
tears, phlegm, ordure, water, bile, and slime! What is the use of the
enjoyment of pleasures in this body, which is assailed by lust, hatred,
greed, delusion, fear, anguish, jealousy, separation from what is loved,
union with what is not loved, hunger, thirst, old age, death, illness,
grief, and other evils! And we see that all this is perishable, as these
flies, gnats, and other insects, as herbs and trees, growing and decaying.
And what of these?
4. There are other great ones, mighty wielders of bows, rulers of empires,
Sudyumna, Bhuridyumna, Indradyumna, Kuvalayasva, Yauvanasva, Vadhryasva,
Asvapati, Sasabindu, Hariskandra, Ambarisha, Nahusha, Ananata, Saryati,
Yayati, Anaranya, Ukshasena, &c., and kings such as Marutta, Bharata (Daushyanti),
and others, who before the eyes of their whole family surrendered the
greatest happiness, and passed on from this world to that. And what of
these? There are other great ones. We see the destruction of Gandharvas,
Asuras, Yakshas, Rakshasas, Bhutas, Ganas, Pisakas, snakes, and vampires.
And what of these? There is the drying up of other great oceans, the falling
of mountains, the moving of the pole-star, the cutting of the windropes
(that hold the stars), the submergence of the earth, and the departure of
the gods (suras) from their place. In such a world as this, what is the use
of the enjoyment of pleasures, if he who has fed on them is seen to return
(to this world) again and again! Deign therefore to take me out! In this
world I am like a frog in a dry well. O Saint, thou art my way, thou art my
way.'
SECOND
PRAPATHAKA.
1. Then the Saint Sakayanya, well pleased, said to the King: 'Great King
Brihadratha, thou banner of the race of Ikshvaku, quickly obtaining a
knowledge of Self, thou art happy, and art renowned by the name of Marut,
the wind'. This indeed is thy Self.'
'Which, O Saint,' said the King.
Then the Saint said to him:
2. 'He who, without stopping the out-breathing, proceeds upwards (from the
sthula to the sukshma sarira), and who, modified (by impressions), and yet
not modified, drives away the darkness (of error), he is the Self. Thus said
the Saint Maitri.' And Sakayanya said to the King Brihadratha: 'He who in
perfect rest, rising from this body (both from the sthula and stikshma), and
reaching the highest light', comes forth in his own form, he is the Self
(thus said Sakayanya); this is the immortal, the fearless, this is Brahman.'
3. 'Now then this is the science of Brahman, and the science of all
Upanishads, O King, which was told us by the Saint Maitri. I shall tell it
to thee : ‘We hear (in the sacred records) that there were once the
Valakhilyas, who had left off all evil, who were vigorous and passionless.
They said to the Pragapati Kratu: "O Saint, this body is without
intelligence, like a cart. To what supernatural being belongs this great
power by which such a body has been made intelligent? Or who is the driver?
What thou knowest, O Saint, tell us that." ' Pragapati answered and said:
4. 'He who in the Sruti is called "Standing above," like passionless
ascetics, amidst the objects of the world, he, indeed, the pure, clean,
undeveloped, tranquil, breathless, bodiless, endless, imperishable, firm,
everlasting, unborn, independent one, stands in his own greatness, and by
him has this body been made intelligent, and he is also the driver of it.'
They said: ‘O Saint, How has this been made intelligent by such a being as
this which has no desires, and how is he its driver?' He answered them and
said:
5. 'That Self which is very small, invisible, incomprehensible, called
Purusha, dwells of his own will here in part; just as a man who is fast
asleep awakes of his own will. And this part (of the Self) which is entirely
intelligent, reflected in man (as the sun in different vessels of water),
knowing the body (kshetragnta), attested by his conceiving, willing, and
believing4, is Pragapati (lord of creatures), called Visva. By him, the
intelligent, is this body made intelligent, and he is the driver thereof.'
They said to him: ‘O Saint, if this has been made intelligent by such a
being as this, which has no desires, and if he is the driver therjeof, how
was it?' He answered them and said:
6. 'In the beginning Pragapati (the lord of creatures) stood alone. He had
no happiness, when alone. Meditating on himself, he created many creatures.
He looked on them and saw they were, like a stone, without understanding,
and stancling like a lifeless post. He had no happiness. He thought, I shall
enter within, that they may awake. Making himself like air (vayu) he entered
within. Being one, he could not do it. Then dividing himself fivefold, he is
called Prana, Apana, Samana, Udana, Vyana. Now that air which rises tipwards,
is Prana. That which moves downwards, is Apana. That by which these two are
supposed to be held, is Vyana. That which carries the grosser material of
food to the Apana, and brings the subtler material to each limb, has the
name Samana. [After these (Prana, Apana, Samana) comes the work of the Vyana,
and between them (the Prana, Apana, and Samana on one side and the vyana on
the other) comes the rising of the Udana.] That which brings up or carries
down what has been drunk and eaten, is the Udana. Now the Upamsu-vessel (or
prana) depends on the Antaryama-vessel (apana) and the Antaryamavessel (apana)
on the Upamsu-vessel (prana), and between these two the self-resplendent
(Self) produced heat. This heat is the purusha (person), and this purusha is
Agni Vaisvanara. And thus it is said elsewhere: "Agni Vaisvanara is the fire
within man by which the food that is eaten is cooked, i.e. digested. Its
noise is that which one hears, if one covers one's cars. When a man is on
the point of departing this life, he does not hear that noise."
Now he, having divided himself fivefold, is hidden in a secret place (buddhi),
assuming the nature of mind, having the Pranas as his body, resplendent,
having true concepts, and free like ether. Feeling even thus that he has not
attained his object, he thinks from within the interior of the heart, "Let
me enjoy objects." Therefore, having first broken open these five apertures
(of the senses), he enjoys the objects by means of the five reins. This
means that these perceptive organs (ear, skin, eye, tongue, nose) are his
reins; the active organs (tongue (for speaking), hands, feet, anus,
generative organ) his horses; the body his chariot, the mind the charioteer,
the whip being the temperament. Driven by that whip, this body goes round
like the wheel driven by the potter. This body is made intelligent, and he
is the driver thereof. This is indeed the Self, who seeming to be filled
with desires, and seeming to be overcome by bright or dark fruits of action,
wanders about in every body (himself remaining free). Because he is not
manifest, because he is infinitely small, because he is invisible, because
he cannot be grasped, because he is attached to nothing, therefore he,
seeming to be changing, an agent in that which is not (prakriti), is in
reality not an agent and unchanging. He is pure, firm, stable, undefiled,
unmoved, free from desire, remaining a spectator, resting in himself Having
concealed himself in the cloak of the three qualities he appears as the
enjoyer of rita, as the enjoyer of rita (of his good works).'
THIRD
PRAPATHAKA.
1. The Valakhilyas said to Pragapati Kratu: O Saint, if thou thus showest
the greatness of that Self, then who is that other different one, also
called Self, who really overcome by bright and dark fruits of action, enters
on a good or bad birth? Downward or upward is his course, and overcome by
the pairs (distinction between hot and cold, pleasure and pain, &c.) he
roams about.'
2. Pragapati Kratu replied: 'There is indeed that others different one,
called the elemental Self (Bhutatma), who, overcome by bright and dark
fruits of action, enters on a good or bad birth: downward or upward is his
course, and overcome by the pairs he roams about. And this is his
explanation: The five Tanmatras (sound, touch, form, taste, smell) are
called Bhuta; also the five Mahabhutas (gross elements) are called Bhuta.
Then the aggregate of all these is called sarira, body. And lastly he of
whom it was said that he dwelt in the body, he is called Bhutatma, the
elemental Self. Thus his immortal Self is like a drop of water on a lotus
leaf, and he himself is overcome by the qualities of nature. Then, because
he is thus overcome, he becomes bewildered, and because he is bewildered, he
saw not the creator, the holy Lord, abiding within himself. Carried along by
the waves of the qualities, darkened in his imaginations, unstable, fickle,
crippled, full of desires, vacillating, he enters into belief, believing "I
am he," "this is mine;" he binds his Self by his Self, as a bird with a net,
and overcome afterwards by the fruits of what he has done, he enters on a
good and bad birth; downward or upward is his course, and overcome by the
pairs he roams about.'
They asked: 'Which is it?' And he answered them:
3. 'This also has elsewhere been said: He who acts, is the elemental Self;
he who causes to act by means of the organs, is the inner man (antahpurusha).
Now as even a ball of iron, pervaded (overcome) by fire, and hammered by
smiths, becomes manifold (assumes different forms, such as crooked, round,
large, small), thus the elemental Self, pervaded (overcome) by the inner
man, and hammered by the qualities, becomes manifold. And the four tribes
(mammals, birds, &c.), the fourteen worlds (Bhur, &c.), with all the number
of beings, multiplied eighty-four times, all this appears as manifoldness.
And those multiplied things are impelled by man (purusha) as the wheel by
the potter. And as when the ball of iron is hammered, the fire is not
overcome, so the (inner) man is not overcome, but the elemental Self is
overcome, because it has united itself (with the elements).
4. And it has been said elsewhere: This body produced from marriage, and
endowed with growth in darkness, came forth by the urinary passage, was
built up with bones, bedaubed with flesh, thatched with skin, filled with
ordure, urine, bile, slime, marrow, fat, oil, and many impurities besides,
like a treasury full of treasures.
5. And it has been said elsewhere: Bewilderment, fear, grief, sleep, sloth,
carelessness, decay, sorrow, hunger, thirst, niggardliness, wrath,
infidelity, ignorance, envy, cruelty, folly, shamelessness, meanness, pride,
changeability, these are the results of the quality of darkness (tamah).
Inward thirst fondness, passion, covetousness, unkindness, love, hatred,
deceit, jealousy, vain restlessness, fickleness, unstableness, emulation,
greed, patronising of friends, family pride, aversion to disagreeable
objects, devotion to agreeable objects, whispering, prodigality, these are
the results of the quality of passion (ragas). By these he is filled, by
these he is overcome, and therefore this elemental Self assumes manifold
forms, yes, manifold forms.'
FOURTH
PRAPATHAKA.
1. The Valakhilyas, whose passions were subdued, approached him full of
amazement and said: ‘O Saint, we bow before thee; teach thou, for thou art
the way, and there is no other for us. What process is there for the
elemental Self, by which, after leaving this (identity with the elemental
body), he obtains union with the (true) Self?' PrRgapati Kratu said to them:
2. 'It has been said elsewhere: Like the waves in large rivers, that which
has been done before, cannot be turned back, and, like the tide of the sea,
the approach of death is hard to stem. Bound by the fetters of the fruits of
good and evil, like a cripple; without freedom, like a man in prison; beset
by many fears, like one standing before Yama (the judge of the dead);
intoxicated by the wine of illusion, like one intoxicated by wine; rushing
about, like one possessed by an evil spirit; bitten by the world, like one
bitten by a great serpent; darkened by passion, like the night; illusory,
like magic; false, like a dream; pithless, like the inside of the Kadali;
changing its dress in a moment, like an actor; fair in appearance, like a
painted wall, thus they call him; and therefore it is said: Sound, touch,
and other things are like nothings; if the elemental Self is attached to
them, it will not remember the Highest Place.
3. This is indeed the remedy for the elemental Self: Acquirement of the
knowledge of the Veda, performance of one's own duty, therefore conformity
on the part of each man to the order to which he happens to belong. This is
indeed the rule for one's own duty, other performances are like the mere
branches of a stem . Through it one obtains the Highest above, otherwise one
falls downward. Thus is one's own duty declared, which is to be found in the
Vedas. No one belongs truly to an order (asrama) who transgresses his own
law. And if people say, that a man does not belong to any of the orders, and
that he is an ascetic, this is wrong, though, on the other hand, no one who
is not an ascetic brings his sacrificial works to perfection or obtains
knowledge of the Highest Self. For thus it is said: By ascetic penance
goodness is obtained, from goodness understandino, is reached, from
understanding the Self is obtained, and he who has obtained that, does not
return.
4. "Brahman is," thus said one who knew the science of Brahman; and this
penance is the door to Brahman, thus said one who by penance had cast off
all sin. The syllable Om is the rnanifest greatness of Brahman, thus said
one who well grounded (in Brahman) always meditates on it. Therefore by
knowledge, by penance, and by meditation is Brahman gained. Thus one goes
beyond Brahman (Hiranyagarbha), and to a divinity higher than the gods; nay,
he who knows this, and worships Brahman by these three (by knowledge,
penance, and meditation), obtains bliss imperishable, infinite, and
unchangeable. Then freed from those things (the senses of the body, &c.) by
which he was filled and overcome, a mere charioteer, he obtains union with
the Self.'
5. The Valakhilyas said: ‘O Saint, thou art the teacher, thou art the
teacher. What thou hast said, has been properly laid up in our mind. Now
answer us a further question: Agni, Vayu, Aditya, Time (kala) which is
Breath (prana), Food (anna), Brahma, Rudra, Vishnu, thus do some meditate on
one, some on another. Say which of these is the best for us.' He said to
them:
6. 'These are but the chief manifestations of the highest, the immortal, the
incorporeal Brahman. He who is devoted to one, rejoices here in his world
(presence), thus he said. Brahman indeed is all this, and a man may meditate
on, worship, or discard also those which are its chief manifestations. With
these (deities) he proceeds to higher and higher worlds, and when all things
perish, he becomes one with the Purusha, yes, with the Purusha.'
FIFTH
PRAPATHAKA.
1. Next follows Kutsayana's hymn of praise: 'Thou art Brahma, and thou art
Vishnu, thou art Rudra, thou Pragapati, thou art Agni, Varuna, Vayu, thou
art Indra, thou the Moon. Thou art Anna (the food or the eater), thou art
Yama, thou art the Earth, th-ou art All, thou art the Imperishable. In thee
all things exist in many forms, whether for their natural or for their own
(higher) ends. Lord of the Universe, glory to thee! Thou art the Self of
All, thou art the maker of All, the enjoyer of All; thou art all life, and
the lord of all pleasure and joy. Glory to thee, the tranquil, the deeply
hidden, the incomprehensible, the immeasurable, without beginning and
without end.'
2. 'In the beginning darkness (tamas) alone was this. It was in the Highest,
and, moved by the Highest, it becomes uneven. Thus it becomes obscurity
(ragas). Then this obscurity, being moved, becomes uneven. Thus it becomes
goodness (sattva). Then this goodness, being moved, the essence flowed
forth. This is that part (or state of Self) which is entirely intelligent,
reflected in man (as the sun is in different vessels of water) knowing the
body (kshetragna), attested by his conceiving, willing, and believing, it is
Pragapati, called Visva. His manifestations have been declared before. Now
that part of him which belongs to darkness, that, O students, is he who is
called Rudra. That part of him which belongs to obscurity, that, O students,
is he who is called Brahma. That part of him which belongs to goodness,
that, O students, is he who is called Vishnu. He being one, becomes three,
becomes eight, becomes eleven, becomes twelve, becomes infinite. Because I
he thus came to be, be is the Being (neut.), he moves about, having entered
all beings, he has become the Lord of all beings. He is the Self within and
without, yes, within and without.'
SIXTH PRAPATRAKA
1. He (the Self) bears the Self in two ways, as he who is Prana (breath),
and as he who is Aditya (the sun). Therefore there are two paths for him,
within and without, and they both turn back in a day and night. The Sun is
the outer Self, the inner Self is Breath. Hence the motion of the inner Self
is inferred from the motion of the outer Self . For thus it is said: 'He who
knows, and has thrown off all evil, the overseer of the senses, the
pure-minded, firmly grounded (in the Self) and looking away (from all
earthly objects), he is the same.' Likewise the motion of the outer Self is
inferred from the motion of the inner Self. For thus it is said: 'He who
within the sun is the golden person, who looks upon this earth from his
golden place, he is the same who, after entering the inner lotus of the
heart, devours food (perceives sensuous objects, &c.)'
2. And he who having entered the inner lotus of the heart, devours food, the
same, having gone to the sky as the fire of the sun, called Time, and being
invisible, devours all beings as his food.
What is that lotus and of what is it made? (the Valakhilyas ask.)
That lotus is the same as the ether; the four quarters, and the four
intermediate points are its leaves. These two, Breath and the Sun, move on
near to each other (in the heart and in the ether). Let him worship these
two, with the syllable Om, with the Vyahriti words (Bhuh, bhuvah, svar), and
with the Savitri hymn.
3. There are two forms of Brahman, the material (effect) and the immaterial
(cause). The material is false, the immaterial is true. That which is true
is Brahman, that which is Brahman is light, and that which is light is the
Sun. And this Sun became the Self of that Om. He divided himself threefold,
for Om consists of three letters, a+u+m. Through them all this is contained
in him as warp and woof. For thus it is said: 'Meditate on that Sun as Om,
join your Self (the breath) with the (Self of the) Sun.'
4. And thus it has been said elsewhere: The Udgitha (of the Sama-veda) is
the Pranava (of the Rig-veda), and the Pranava is the Udgitha, and thus the
Sun is Udgitha, and he is Pranava or Om. For thus it is said: 'The Udgitha,
called Pranava, the leader (in the performance of sacrifices), the bright,
the sleepless, free from old age and death, three-footed, consisting of
three letters (a+u+m), and likewise to be known as fivefold (five Pranas)
placed in the cave.' And it is also said: 'The three-footed Brahman has its
root upward, the branches are ether, wind, fire, water, earth, &c. This one
Asvattha by name, the world, is Brahman, and of it that is the light which
is called the Sun, and it is also the light of that syllable Om. Therefore
let him for ever worship that (breath and sun, as manifestations of Brahman)
with the syllable Om.' He alone enlightens us. For thus it is said: 'This
alone is the Pure syllable, this alone is the highest syllable; he who knows
that syllable only, whatever he desires, is his.'
5. And thus it has been said elsewhere: This Om is the sound-endowed body of
him (Pranadityatman). This is his gender-endowed body, viz. feminine,
masculine, neuter. This is his light-endowed body, viz. Agni, Vayu, Aditya.
This is his lord-endowed body, viz. Brahma, Rudra, Vishnu. This is his
mouth-endowed body, viz. Garhapatya, Dakshinagni, Ahavaniya. This is his
knowledge-endowed body, viz. Rik, Yagus, Saman. This is his world-endowed
body, viz. Bhuh, Bhuvah, Svar. This is his time-endowed body, viz. Past,
Present, Future. This is his heat-endowed body, viz. Breath, Fire, Sun. This
is his growth-endowed body, viz. Food, Water, Moon. This is his
thought-endowed body, viz. intellect, mind, personality. This is his
breath-endowed body, viz. Prana, Apana, Vyana. Therefore by the aforesaid
syllable Om are all these here enumerated bodies praised and identified
(with the Pranadityatman). For thus it is said: ‘O Satyakama, the syllable
Om is the high and the low Brahman.'
6. This (world) was unuttered. Then forsooth Pragapati, having brooded,
uttered it in the words Bhuh, Bhuvah, Svar. This is the grossest body of
that Pragapati, consisting of the three worlds. Of that body Svar is the
head, Bhuvah the navel, Bhuh the feet, the sun the eye. For in the eye is
fixed man's great measure, because with the eye he makes all measurements.
The eye is truth (satyam), for the person (purusha) dwelling in the eye
proceeds to all things (knows all objects with certainty). Therefore let a
man worship with the Vyahritis, Bhuh, Bhuvah, Svar, for thus Pragapati, the
Self of All, is worshipped as the (sun, the) Eye of All. For thus it is
said: 'This (the sun) is Pragapati's all-supporting body, for in it this all
is hid (by the light of the sun); and in this all it (the light) is hid.
Therefore this is worshipped.'
7. (The Savitri begins:) Tat Savitur varenyam, i.e. 'this of Savitri, to be
chosen.' Here the Aditya (sun) is Savitri, and the same is to be chosen by
the love(r) of Self, thus say the Brahma-teachers. (Then follows the next
foot in the Savitri): Bhargo devasya dhimahi, i.e. 'the splendour of the god
we meditate on.' Here the god is Savitri, and therefore he who is called his
splendour, him I meditate on, thus say the Brahma-teachers. (Then follows
the last foot): Dhiyo yo nah prakodayat, i.e. 'who should stir up our
thoughts.' Here the dhiyah are thoughts, and he should stir these up for us,
thus say the Brahrna-teachers. (He now explains the word bhargas). Now he
who is called bhargas is he who is placed in yonder Aditya (sun), or he who
is the pupil in the eye. And he is so called, because his going (gati) is by
rays (bhabhih); or becau-se he parches (bhargayati) and makes the world to
shrivel up. Rudra is called Bhargas, thus say the Brahma-teachers. Or bha
means that he lights up these worlds; ra, that he delights these beings, ga
that these creatures go to him and come from him; therefore being a
bha-ra-ga, he is called Bhargas. Surya (sun) is so called, because Soma is
continually squeezed out (su). Savitri (sun) is so called, because he brings
forth (su). Aditya (sun) is so called, because he takes up (ada, scil.
vapour, or the life of man). Pavana is so called, because he purifies (pu).
Apas, water, is so called, because it nourishes (pya). And it is said:
'Surely the Self (absorbed in Prana, breath), which is called Immorta1, is
the thinker, the perceiver, the goer, the evacuator, the delighter, the
doer, the speaker, the taster, the srneller, the seer, the hearer, and he
touches. He is Vibhu (the pervader), who has entered into the body.' And it
is said: 'When the knowledge is twofold (subjective and objective), then he
hears, sees, smells, tastes, and touches (something), for it is the Self
that knows everything.' But when the knowledge is not twofold (subjective
only), without effect, cause, and action, without a name, without a
comparison, without a predicate what is that? It cannot be told.
8. And the same Self is also called Isana (lord), Sambhu, Bhava, Rudra (tamasa);
Pragapati (lord of creatures), Visvasrig, (creator of all), Hiranyagarbha,
Satyam (truth), Prana (breath), Hamsa (ragasa); Sastri (ruler), Vishnu,
Narayana (sattvika); Arka, Savitri, Dhatri (supporter), Vidhatri (creator),
Samrag (king), Indra, Indu (moon). He is also he who warms, the Sun, hidden
by the thousand-eyed golden egg, as one fire by another. He is to be thought
after, he is to be sought after. Having said farewell to all living beings,
having gone to the forest, and having renounced all sensuous objects, let
man perceive the Self from his own body. '(See him) who assumes all forms,
the golden, who knows all things, who ascends highest, alone in his
splendour, and warms us; the thousand-rayed, who abides in a hundred places,
the spirit of all creatures, the Sun, rises.'
9. Therefore he who by knowing this has become the Self of both Breath and
Sun, meditates (while meditating on them) on his Self, sacrifices (while
sacrificing to them) to his Self-this meditation, the mind thus absorbed in
these acts, is praised by the wise. Then let him purify the contamination of
the mind by the verse Ukkhishtopahatam, &c.: 'Be it food left, or food
defiled by left food, be it food given by a sinner, food coming from a dead
person, or from one impure from childbirth, may the purifying power of Vasu,
may Agni, and the rays of Savitri, purify it, and all my sin.' First (before
eating) he surrounds (the offered food) with water (in rincing his mouth).
Then saying, Svaha to Prana, Svaha to Apana, Svaha to Vyana, Svaha to Samana,
Svaha to Udana, he offers (the food) with five invocations (in the fire of
the mouth). What is over, he eats in silence, and then he surrounds (the
food) once more afterwards with water (rincing the mouth after his meal).
Having washed let him, after sacrificing to himself, meditate on his Self
with these two verses, Prano 'gnik and Visvo 'si, viz. 'May the Highest Self
as breath, as fire (digestive heat), as consisting of the five vital airs,
having entered (the body), himself satisfied, satisfy all, he who protects
all.' 'Thou art Visva (all), thou art Vaisvanara (fire), all that is born is
upheld by thee; may all offerings enter into thee; creatures live where thou
grantest immortality to all.' He who eats according to this rule, does not
in turn become food for others.
10. There is something else to be known. There is a further modification of
this Self-sacrifice (the eating), namely, the food and the eater thereof.
This is the explanation. The thinking Purusha (person), when he abides
within the Pradhana (nature), is the feeder who feeds on the food supplied
by Prakriti (nature). The elemental Self is truly his food, his maker being
Pradhana (nature). Therefore what is composed of the three qualities (gunas)
is the food, but the person within is the feeder. And for this the evidence
is supplied by the senses. For animals spring from seed, and as the seed is
the food, therefore it is clear that what is food is Pradhana (the seed or
cause of everything). Therefore as has been said, the Purusha (person) is
the eater, Prakriti, the food; and abiding within it he feeds. All that
begins with the Mahat (power of intellect) and ends with the Viseshas
(elements), being developed from the distinction of nature with its three
qualities, is the sign (that there must be a Purusha, an intelligent
subject). And in this manner the way with its fourteen steps has been
explained. (This is comprehended in the following verse): 'This world is
indeed the food, called pleasure, pain, and error (the result of the three
qualities); there is no laying hold of the taste of the seed (cause), so
long as there is no development (in the shape of effect).' And in its three
stages also it has the character of food, as childhood, youth, and old age;
for, because these are developed, therefore there is in them the character
of food. And in the following manner does the perception of Pradhana
(nature) take place, after it has become manifest:-Intellect and the rest,
such as determination, conception, consciousness, are for the tasting (of
the effects of Pradhana). Then there are the five (perceptive organs)
intended for the (five) objects of senses, for to taste them. And thus are
all acts of the five active organs, and the acts of the five Pranas or vital
airs (for the tasting of their corresponding objects). Thus what is manifest
(of nature) is food, and what is not manifest is food. The enjoyer of it is
without qualities, but because he has the quality of being an enjoyer, it
follows that he possesses intelligence.
As Agni (fire) is the food-eater among the gods, and Soma the food, so he
who knows this eats food by Agni (is not defiled by food, as little as Agni,
the sacrificial fire). This elemental Self, called Soma (food), is also
called Agni, as having undeveloped nature for its mouth (as enjoying through
nature, and being independent of it), because it is said, 'The Purusha
(person) enjoys nature with its three qualities, by the mouth of undeveloped
nature.' He who knows this, is an ascetic, a yogin, he is a performer of the
Self-sacrifice (see before). And he who does not touch the objects of the
senses when they intrude on him, as no one would touch women intruding into
an empty house, he is an ascetic, a yogin, a performer of the
Self-sacrifice.
11. This is the highest form of Self, viz. food, for this Prana (this body)
subsists on food. If it eats not, it cannot perceive, hear, touch, see,
smell, taste, and it loses the vital airs. For thus it is said: 'If it eats,
then in full possession of the vital airs, it can perceive, hear, touch,
speak, taste, smell, see.' And thus it is said: 'From food are born all
creatures that live on earth; afterwards they live on food, and in the end
(when they die) they return to it.'
12. And thus it is said elsewhere: Surely all these creatures run about day
and night, wishing to catch food. The sun takes food with his rays, and by
it he shines. These vital airs digest, when sprinkled with food. Fire flares
up by food, and by Brahma (Pragapati), desirous of food, has all this been
made. Therefore let a man worship food as his Self. For thus it is said:
'From food creatures are born, by food they grow when born; because it is
eaten and because it eats creatures, therefore it is called food (annam).'
13. And thus it is said elsewhere: This food is the body of the blessed
Vishnu, called Visvabhrit (all-sustaining). Breath is the essence of food,
mind of breath, knowledge of mind, joy of knowledge. He who knows this is
possessed of food, breath, mind, knowledge, and joy. Whatever creatures here
on earth eat food, abiding in them he, who knows this, eats food. Food has
been called undecaying, food has been called worshipful; food is the breath
of animals, food is the oldest, food has been called the physician.
14. And thus it has been said elsewhere: Food is the cause of all this, time
of food, and the sun is the cause of time. The (visible) form of time is the
year, consisting of twelve months, made up of Nimeshas (twinklings) and
other measures. Of the year one half (when the sun moves northward) belongs
to Agni, the other to Varuna (when the sun moves southward). That which
belongs to Agni begins with the asterism of Magha and ends with half of the
asterism of Sravishtha, the sun stepping down northward. That which belongs
to Soma (instead of Varuna) begins with the asterism (of Aslesha), sacred to
the Serpents, and ends with half of the asterism of Sravishtha, the sun
stepping up southward. And then there (are the months) one by one, belonging
to the year, each consisting of nine-fourths of asterisms (two asterisms and
a quarter being the twelfth part of the passage of the sun through the
twenty-seven Nakshatras), each deter mined by the sun moving together with
the asterisms. Because time is imperceptible by sense, therefore this (the
progress of the stin, &c.) is its evidence, and by it alone is time proved
to exist. Without proof there is no apprehension of what is to be proved;
but even what is to be proved can become proof, for the sake of making
itself known, if the parts (the twinklings, &c.) can be distinguished from
the whole (time). For thus it is said:
'As many portions of time as there are, through them the sun proceeds: he
who worships time as Brahman, from him time moves away very far.' And thus
it is said: 'From time all beings flow, from time they grow; in time they
obtain rest; time is visible (sun) and invisible (moments).'
15 . There are two forms of Brahman, time and non-time. That which was
before the (existence of the) sun is non-time and has no parts. That which
had its beginning from the sun is time and has parts. Of that which has
parts, the year is the form, and from the year are born all creatures; when
produced by the year they grow, and go again to rest in the year. Therefore
the year is Pragapati, is time, is food, is the nest of Brahman, is Self.
Thus it is said: 'Time ripens and dissolves all beings in the great Self,
but he who knows into what time itself is dissolved, he is the knower of the
Veda.'
16. This manifest time is the great ocean of creatures. He who is called
Savitri (the sun, as begetter) dwells in it, from whence the moon, stars,
planets, the year, and the rest are begotten. From them again comes all
this, and thus, whatever of good or evil is seen in this world, comes from
them. Therefore Brahman is the Self of the sun, and a man should worship the
sun under the name of time. Some say the sun is Brahman, and thus it is
said: 'The sacrificer, the deity that enjoys the sacrifice, the oblation,
the hymn, the sacrifice, Vishnu, Pragapati, all this is the Lord, the
witness, that shines in yonder orb.'
17. In the beginning Brahman was all this. He was one, and infinite;
infinite in the East, infinite in the South, infinite in the West, infinite
in the North, above and below and everywhere infinite. East and the other
regions do not exist for him, nor across, nor below, nor above. The Highest
Self is not to be fixed, he is unlimited, unborn, not to be reasoned about,
not to be conceived. He is like the ether (everywhere), and at the
destruction of the universe, he alone is awake. Thus from that ether he
wakes all this world, which consists of thought only, and by him alone is
all this meditated on, and in him it is dissolved. His is that luminous form
which shines in the sun, and the manifold light in the smokeless fire, and
the heat which in the stomach digests the food. Thus it is said: 'He who is
in the fire, and he who is in the heart, and he who is in the sun, they are
one and the same.' He who knows this becomes one with the one.
18. This is the rule for achieving it (viz. concentration of the mind on the
object of meditation): restraint of the breath, restraint of the senses,
meditation, fixed attention, investigation, absorption, these are called the
sixfold Yoga. When beholding by this Yoga, he beholds the gold-coloured
maker, the lord, the person, Brahrnan, the cause, then the sage, leaving
behind good and evil, makes everything (breath, organs of sense, body, &c.)
to be one in the Highest Indestructible (in the pratyagatman or Brahman).
And thus it is said: 'As birds and deer do not approach a burning mountain,
so sins never approach those who know Brahman.'
19. And thus it is said elsewhere: When he who knows has, while he is still
Prana (breath), restrained his mind, and placed all objects of the senses
far away from himself, then let him remain without any conceptions. And
because the living person, called Prana (breath), has been produced here on
earth from that which is not Prana (the thinking Self), therefore let this
Prana merge the Pratia (himself) in what is called the fourth'. And thus it
is said: 'What is without thought, though placed in the centre of thought,
what cannot be thought, the hidden, the highest-let a man merge his thought
there: then will this living being (lifiga) be without attachment.'
20. And thus it has been said elsewhere: There is the superior fixed
attention (dharana) for him, viz. if he presses the tip of the tongue down
the palate and restrains voice, mind, and breath, he sees Brahman by
discrimination (tarka). And when, after the cessation of mind, he sees his
own Self, smaller than small, and shining, as the Highest Self, then having
seen his Self as the Self, he becomes Self-less, and because he is
Self-less, he is without limit, without cause, absorbed in thought. This is
the highest mystery, viz. final liberation. And thus it is said: 'Through
the serenity of the thought he kills all actions, good or bad; his Self
serene, abiding in the Self, obtains imperishable bliss.'
21. And thus it has been said elsewhere: The artery, called Sushumna, going
upwards (from the heart to the Brahmarandhra), serving as the passage of the
Prana, is divided within the palate. Through that artery, when it has been
joined by the breath (held in subjection), by the sacred syllable Om, and by
the mind (absorbed in the contemplation of Brahman), let him proceed
upwards, and after turning the tip of the tongue to the palate, without
using any of the organs of sense, let greatness perceive greatness. From
thence he goes to selflessness, and through selflessness he ceases to be an
enjoyer of pleasure and pain, he obtains aloneness (kevalatva, final
deliverance). And thus it is said: 'Having successively fixed the breath,
after it had been restrained, in the palate, thence having crossed the limit
(the life), let him join himself afterwards to the limitless (Brahman) in
the crown of the head.'
22. And thus it has been said elsewhere: Two Brahmans have to be meditated
on, the word and the non-word. By the word alone is the non-word revealed.
Now there is the word Om. Moving upward by it (where all words and all what
is meant by them ceases), he arrives at absorption in the non-word
(Brahman). This is the way, this is the immortal, this is union, and this is
bliss. And as the spider, moving upward by the thread, gains free space,
thus also he who meditates, moving upward by the syllable Orn, gains
independence. Other teachers of the word (as Brahman) think otherwise. They
listen to the sound of the ether within the heart while they stop the ears
with the thumbs. They compare it to seven noises, like rivers, like a bell,
like a brazen vessel, like the wheels of a carriage, like the croaking of
frogs, like rain, and as if a man speaks in a cavern. Having passed beyond
this variously apprehended sound, and having settled in the supreme,
soundless (non-word), unmanifested Brahman, they become undistinguished and
undistinguishable, as various flavours of the flowers are lost in the taste
of honey. And thus it is said: 'Two Brahmans are to be known, the
word-Brahman and the highest Brahman; he who is perfect in the word-Brahman
attains the highest Brahman.'
23. And thus it has been said elsewhere: The syllable Om is what is called
the word. And its end is the silent, the soundless, fearless, sorrowless,
joyful, satisfied, firm, unwavering, immortal, immovable, certain (Brahman),
called Vishnu. Let him worship these two, that he may obtain what is higher
than everything (final deliverance). For thus it is said: 'He who is the
high and the highest god, by name Om-kara, he is soundless and free from all
distinctions: therefore let a man dwell on him in the crown of his head.'
24. And thus it has been said elsewhere: The body is the bow, the syllable
Om is the arrow, its point is the mind. Having cut through the darkness,
which consists of ignorance, it approaches that which is not covered by
darkness. Then having cut through that which was covered (the personal
soul), he saw Brahman, flashing like a wheel on fire, bright like the sun,
vigorous, beyond all darkness, that which shines forth in yonder sun, in the
moon, in the fire, in the lightning. And having seen him, he obtains
immortality. And thus it has been said: 'Meditation is directed to the
highest Being (Brahman) within, and (before) to the objects (body, Om,
mind); thence the indistinct understanding becomes distinct. And when the
works of the mind are dissolved, then that bliss which requires no other
witness, that is Brahman (Atman), the immortal, the brilliant, that is the
way, that is the (true) world.'
25. And thus it has been said elsewhere: He who has his senses hidden as in
sleep, and who, while in the cavern of his senses (his body), but no longer
ruled by them, sees, as in a dream, with the purest intellect, Him who is
called Pranava (Om), the leader, the bright, the sleepless, free from old
age, from death, and sorrow, he is himself also called Pranava, and becomes
a leader, bright, sleepless, free from old age, from death, and sorrow. And
thus it is said: 'Because in this manner he joins the Prana (breath), the Om,
and this Universe in its-manifold forms, or because they join themselves (to
him), therefore this (process of meditation) is called Yoga (joining). The
oneness of breath, mind, and senses, and then the surrendering of all
conceptions, that is called Yoga.'
26. And thus it has also been said elsewhere: As a sportsman, after drawing
out the denizens of the waters with a net, offers them (as a sacrifice) in
the fire of his stomach, thus are these Pranas (vital airs), after they have
been drawn out with the syllable Om, offered in the faultless fire
(Brahman). Hence he is like a heated vessel (full of clarified butter); for
as the clarified butter in the heated vessel lights up, when touched with
grass and sticks, thus does this being which is called Not-breath (Atman)
light up, when touched by the Pranas (the vital airs). And that which flares
up, that is the manifest form of Brahman, that is the highest place of
Vishnu, that is the essence of Rudra. And this, dividing his Self in endless
ways, fills all these worlds. And thus it is said: 'As the sparks from the
fire, and as the rays from the sun, thus do his Pranas and the rest in
proper order again and again proceed from him here on earth.’
27. And thus it has also been said elsewhere: This is the heat of the
highest, the immortal, the incorporeal Brahman, viz. the warmth of the body.
And this body is the clarified butter (poured on it, by which the heat of
Brahman, otherwise invisible, is lighted up). Then, being manifest, it is
placed in the ether (of the heart). Then by concentration they thus remove
that ether which is within the heart, so that its light appears, as it were.
Therefore the worshipper becomes identified with that light without much
delay. As a ball of iron, if placed in the earth, becomes earth without much
delay, and as, when it has once become a clod of earth, fire and smiths have
nothing more to do with that ball of iron, thus does thought (without delay)
disappear, together with its support. And thus it is said: 'The shrine which
consists of the ether in the heart, the blissful, the highest retreat, that
is our own, that is our goal, and that is the heat and brightness of the
fire and the sun.'
28. And thus it has been said elsewhere: After having left behind the body,
the organs of sense, and the objects of sense (as no longer belonging to
us), and having seized the bow whose stick is fortitude and whose string is
asceticism, having struck down also with the arrow, which consists in
freedom from egotism, the first guardian of the door of Brahman(for if man
looks at the world egotistically, then, taking the diadem of passion, the
earrings of greed and envy, and the staff of,sloth, sleep, and sin, and
having seized the bow whose string is anger, and whose stick is lust' he
destroys with the arrow which consists of wishes, all beings) - having
therefore killed that guardian, he crosses by means of the boat Om to the
other side of the ether within the heart, and when the ether becomes
revealed (as Brahman), he enters slowly, as a miner seeking minerals in a
mine, into the Hall of Brahman. After that let him, by means of the doctrine
of his teacher, break through the shrine of Brahman'which consists of the
four nets (of food, breath, mind, knowledge, till he reaches the last
shrine, that of blessedness and identity with Brahman). Thenceforth pure,
clean, undeveloped, tranquil, breathless, bodiless, endless, imperishable,
firm, everlasting, unborn and independent, he stands on his own greatness,
and having seen (the Self), standing in his own greatness, he looks on the
wheel of the world as one (who has alighted from a chariot) looks on its
revolving wheel. And thus it is said:
'If a man practises Yoga for six months and is thoroughly free (from the
outer world), then the perfect Yoga (union), which is endless, high, and
hidden, is accomplished. But if a man, though well enlightened (by
instruction), is still pierced by (the gunas of) passion and darkness, and
attached to his children, wife, and house, then perfect Yoga is never
accomplished.'
29. After he had thus spoken (to Brihadratha), Sakayanya, absorbed in
thought, bowed before him, and said: ‘O King, by means of this
Brahma-knowledge have the sons of Pragapati (the Valakhilyas) gone to the
road of Brahman. Through the practice of Yoga a man obtains contentment,
power to endure good and evil, and tranquillity. Let no man preach this most
secret doctrine to any one who is not his son or his pupil, and who is not
of a serene mind. To him alone who is devoted to his teacher only, and
endowed with all necessary qualities, may he communicate it.
30. Om! Having settled down in a pure place let him, being pure himself, and
firm in goodness, study the truth, speak the truth, think the truth, and
offer sacrifice to the truth. Henceforth he has become another; by obtaining
the reward of Brahman his fetters are cut asunder, he knows no hope, no fear
from others as little as from himself, he knows no desires; and having
attained imperishable, infinite happiness, he stands blessed in the true
Brahman, who longs for a true man. Freedom from desires is, as it were, the
highest prize to be taken from the best treasure (Brahman). For a man full
of all desires, being possessed of will, imagination, and belief, is a
slave; but he who is the opposite, is free. Here some say, it is the Guna (i.
e. the so-called Mahat, the principle of intellect which, according to the
Sankhyas, is the result of the Gunas or qualities), which, through the
differences of nature (acquired in the former states of existence), goes
into bondage to the will, and that deliverance takes place (for the Guna)
when the fault of the will has been removed. (But this is not our view),
because (call it guna, intellect, buddhi, manas, mind, ahankara, egotism, it
is not the mind that acts, but) he sees by the mind (as his instrument), he
hears by the mind; and all that we call desire, imagination, doubt, belief,
unbelief, certainty, uncertainty, shame, thought, fear, all that is but mind
(manas). Carried along by the waves of the qualities, darkened in his
imaginations, unstable, fickle, crippled, full of desires, vacillating, he
enters into belief, believing I am he, this is mine, and he binds his Self
by his Self, as a bird with a net. Therefore a man, being possessed of will,
imagination, and belief, is a slave, but he who is the opposite is free. For
this reason let a man stand free from will, imagination, and belief-this is
the sign of liberty, this is the path that leads to Brahman, this is the
opening of the door, and through it he will go to the other shore of
darkness. All desires are there fulfilled. And for this they quote a verse:
"When the five instruments of knowledge stand still together with the mind,
and when the intellect does not move, that is called the highest state."'
Having thus said, sakayanya became absorbed in thought. Then Marut (i. e.
the King Brihadratha), having bowed before him and duly worshipped him, went
full of contentment to the Northern Path, for there is no way thither by any
side-road. This is the path to Brahman. Having burst open the solar door, he
rose on high and went away. And here they quote: 'There are endless rays
(arteries) for the Self who, like a lamp, dwells in the heart: white and
black, brown and blue, tawny and reddish.
One of them (the Sushumna) leads upwards, piercing the solar orb: by it,
having stepped beyond the world of Brahman, they go to the highest path. The
other hundred rays rise upwards also, and on them the worshipper reaches the
mansions belonging to the different bodies of gods. But the manifest rays of
dim colour which lead downwards, by them a man travels on and on helplessly,
to enjoy the fruits of his actions here.' Therefore it is said that the holy
Aditya (sun) is the cause of new births (to those who do not worship him),
of heaven (to those who worship him as a god), of liberty (to those who
worship him as Brahman).
31. Some one asks: 'Of what nature are those organs of sense that go forth
(towards their objects)? Who sends them out here, or who holds them back?'
Another answers: 'Their nature is the Self; the Self sends them out, or
holds them back; also the Apsaras (enticing objects of sense), and the solar
rays (and other deities presiding over the senses).'
Now the Self devours the objects by the five rays (the organs of sense);
then who is the Self?
He who has been defined by the terms pure, clean, undeveloped, tranquil,
&c., who is to be apprehended independently by his own peculiar signs. That
sign of him who has no signs, is like what the pervading heat is of fire,
the purest taste of water; thus say some. It is speech, hearing, sight,
mind, breath; thus say others. It is intellect, retention, remembering,
knowledge; thus say others. Now all these are signs of the Self in the same
sense in which here on earth shoots are the signs of seed, or smoke, light,
and sparks of fire. And for this they quote: 'As the sparks from the fire,
and as the rays from the sun, thus do his Pranas and the rest in proper
order again and again proceed from him here on earth.'
32. From this very Self, abiding within his Self, come forth all Pranas
(speech, &c.), all worlds, all Vedas, all gods and all beings; its Upanishad
(revelation) is that it is 'the true of the true.' Now as from a fire of
greenwood,when kindled, clouds of smoke come forth by themselves (though
belonging to the fire), thus from that great Being has been breathed forth
all this which is the Rig-veda, the Yagur-veda, the Sama-veda, the
Atharvangirasas (Atharva-veda), the Itihasa (legendary stories), the Purana
(accounts of the creation, &c.), Vidya (ceremonial doctrines), the
Upanishads, the Slokas (verses interspersed in the Upanishads, &c.), the
Sutras (compendious statements), the Anuvyakhyanas (explanatory notes), the
Vyakhyanas (elucidations) - all these things are his.
33. This fire (the Garhapatya-fire) with five bricks is the year. And its
five bricks are spring, summer, rainy season, autumn, winter; and by them
the fire has a head, two sides, a centre, and a tail. This earth (the
Garhapatya-fire) here is the first sacrificial pile for Pragapati, who knows
the Purusha (the Virag). It presented the sacrificer to Vayu (the wind) by
lifting him with the hands to the sky. That Vayu is Prana (Hiranyagarbha).
Prana is Agni (the Dakshinagni-fire), and its bricks are the five vital
breaths, Prana, Vyana, Apana, Samana, Udana; and by them the fire has a
head, two sides, a centre, and a tail. This sky (the Dakshinagni-fire) here
is the second sacrificial pile for Pragapati, who knows the Purusha. It
presented the sacrificer to Indra, by lifting him with the hands to heaven.
That Indra is Aditya, the sun. That (Indra) is the Agni (the Ahavaniya-fire)
and its bricks are the Rik, the Yagush, the Saman, the Atharvangirasas, the
Itihasa, and the Purana; and by them the fire has a head, two sides, a tail,
and a centre. This heaven (Ahavaniya-fire) is the third sacrificial pile for
Pragapati, who knows the Purusha. With the hands it makes a present of the
sacrificer to the Knower of the Self (Pragapati); then the Knower of the
Self, lifting him up, presented him to Brahman. In him he becomes full of
happiness and joy.
34. The earth is the Garhapatya-fire, the sky the Dakshina-fire, the heaven
the Ahavaniya-fire; and therefore they are also the Pavamana (pure), the
Pavaka (purifying), and the Suki (bright). By this (by the three deities,
Pavamana, Pavaka, and Suki) the sacrifice (of the three fires, the
Garhapatya, Dakshina, and Ahavaniya) is manifested. And because the
digestive fire also is a compound of the Pavamana, Pavaka, and Suki,
therefore that fire is to receive oblations, is to be laid with bricks, is
to be praised, and to be meditated on. The sacrificer, when he has seized
the oblation, wishes to perform his meditation of the deity: 'The gold-coloured
bird abides in the heart, and in the sun-a diver bird, a swan, strong in
splendour; him we worship in the fire.' Having recited the verse, he
discovers its meaning, viz. the adorable splendour of Savitri (sun) is to be
meditated on by him who, abiding within his mind, meditates thereon. Here he
attains the place of rest for the mind, he holds it within his own Self. On
this there are the following verses:
(a) As a fire without fuel becomes quiet in its place, thus
do the thoughts, when all activity ceases, become quiet in their place.
(b) Even in a mind which loves the truth and has gone to
rest in itself there arise, when it is deluded by the objects of sense,
wrongs resulting from former acts.
(c) For thoughts alone cause the round of births; let a man
strive to purify his thoughts. What a man thinks, that he is: this is the
old secret.
(d) By the serenity of his thoughts a man blots out all
actions, whether good or bad. Dwelling within his Self with serene thoughts,
he obtains imperishable happiness.
(e) If the thoughts of a man were so fixed on Brahman as
they are on the things of this world, who would not then be freed from
bondage?
(f) The mind, it is said, is of two kinds, pure or impure;
impure from the contact with lust, pure when free from lust.
(g) When a man, having freed his mind from sloth,
distraction, and vacillation, becomes as it were delivered from his mind,
that is the highest point.
(h) The mind must be restrained in the heart till it comes
to an end;-that is knowledge, that is liberty: all the rest are extensions
of the ties (which bind us to this life).
(i) That happiness which belongs to a mind which by deep
meditation has been washed clean from all impurity and has entered within
the Self, cannot be described here by words; it can be felt by the inward
power only.
(k) Water in water, fire in fire, ether in ether, no one can
distinguish them; likewise a man whose mind has entered (till it cannot be
distinguished from the Self), attains liberty.
(l) Mind alone is the cause of bondage and liberty for men;
if attached to the world, it becomes bound; if free from the world, that is
liberty.
Therefore those who do not offer the Agnihotra (as described above), who do
not lay the fires (with the bricks, as described above), who are ignorant
(of the mind being the cause of the round of births), who do not meditate
(on the Self in the solar orb) are debarred from remembering the ethereal
place of Brahman. Therefore that fire is to receive oblations, is to be laid
with bricks, is to be praised, to be meditated on.
35. Adoration to Agni, the dweller on earth, who remembers his world. Grant
that world to this thy worshipper!
Adoration to Vayu, the dweller in the sky, who remembers his world. Grant
that world to this thy worshipper!
Adoration to Aditya, the dweller in heaven, who remembers his world. Grant
that world to this thy worshipper!
Adoration to Brahman, who dwells everywhere, who remembers all. Grant all to
this thy worshipper!
The mouth of the true (Brahman) is covered with a golden lid; open that, O
Pushan (sun), that we may go to the true one, who pervades all (Vishnu). He
who is the person in the sun, I am he. And what is meant by the true one is
the essence of the sun, that which is bright, personal, sexless; a portion
(only) of the light which pervades the ether; which is, as it were, in the
midst of the sun, and in the eye, and in the fire. That is Brahman, that is
immortal, that is splendour. That is the true one, a portion (only) of the
light which pervades the ether, which is in the midst of the sun, the
immortal, of which Soma (the moon) and the vital breaths also are offshoots:
that is Brahman, that is immortal, that is splendour. That is the true one,
a portion (only) of the light which pervades the ether, which in the midst
of the sun shines as Yagus, viz. as Om, as water, light, essence, immortal,
Brahman, Bhuh, Bhuvah, Svar, Om.
'The eight-footed, the bright, the swan, bound with three threads, the
infinitely small, the imperishable, blind for good and evil, kindled with
light-he who sees him, sees everything.' A portion (only) of the light
which pervades the ether, are the two rays rising in the midst of the sun.
That is the knower (the Sun), the true one. That is the Yagus, that is the
heat, that is Agni (fire), that is Vayu (wind), that is breath, that is
water, that is the moon, that is bright, that is immortal, that is the place
of Brahman, that is the ocean of light. In that ocean the sacrificers are
dissolved like salt, and that is oneness with Brahman, for all desires are
there fulfilled. And here they quote: 'Like a lamp, moved by a gentle wind,
he who dwells within the gods shines forth. He who knows this, he is the
knower, he knows the difference (between the high and the highest Brahman);
having obtained unity, he becomes identified with it. They who rise up in
endless number, like spray drops (from the sea), like lightnings from the
light within the clouds in the highest heaven, they, when they have entered
into the light of glory (Brahman), appear like so many flame-crests in the
track of fire.'
36. There are two manifestations of the Brahma-light: one is tranquil, the
other lively. Of that which is tranquil, the ether is the support; of that
which is lively, food. Therefore (to the former) sacrifice must be offered
on the house-altar with hymns, herbs, ghee, meat, cakes, sthalipaka, and
other things; to the latter, with meat and drinks (belonging to the great
sacrifices) thrown into the mouth, for the mouth is the Ahavaniya-fire; and
this is done to increase our bodily vigour, to gain the world of purity, and
for the sake of immortality. And here they quote: 'Let him who longs for
heaven, offer an Agnihotra. By an Agnishtoma he wins the kingdom of Yama; by
Uktha, the kingdom of Soma; by a Shodasin-sacrifice, the kingdom of Surya;
by an Atiratra-sacrifice, the kingdom of Indra; by the sacrifices beginning
with the twelve-night sacrifice and ending with the thousand years'
sacrifice, the world of Pragapati. As a lamp burns so long as the vessel
that holds the wick is filled with oil, these two, the Self and the bright
Sun, remain so long as the egg (of the world) and he who dwells within it
hold together.'
37. Therefore let a man perform all these ceremonies with the syllable Om
(at the beginning). Its splendour is endless, and it is declared to be
threefold, in the fire (of the altar), in the sun (the deity), in the breath
(the sacrificer). Now this is the channel to increase the food, which makes
what is offered in the fire ascend to the sun. The sap which flows from
thence, rains down as with the sound of a hymn. By it there are vital
breaths, from them there is offspring. And here they quote: 'The offering
which is offered in the fire, goes to the sun; the sun rains it down by his
rays; thus food comes, and from food the birth of living beings.' And thus
he said: 'The oblation which is properly thrown on the fire, goes toward
the sun; from the sun comes rain, from rain food, from food living beings.'
38. He who offers the Agnihotra breaks through the net of desire. Then,
cutting through bewilderment, never approving of anger, meditating on one
desire (that of liberty), he breaks through the shrine of Brahman with its
four nets, and proceeds thence to the ether. For having there broken through
the (four) spheres of the Sun, the Moon, the Fire, and Goodness, he then,
being purified himself, beholds dwelling in goodness, immovable, immortal,
indestructible, firm, bearing the name of Vishnu, the highest abode, endowed
with love of truth and omniscience, the self-dependent Intelligence
(Brahman), standing in its own greatness. And here they quote: 'In the
midst of the sun stands the moon, in the midst of the moon the fire, in the
midst of fire goodness, in the midst of goodness the Eternal.' Having
meditated on him who has the breadth of a thumb within the span (of the
heart) in the body, who is smaller than small, he obtains the nature of the
Highest; there all desires are fulfilled. And on this they quote: 'Having
the breadth of a thumb within the span (of the heart) in the body, like the
flame of a lamp, burning twofold or threefold, that glorified Brahman, the
great God, has entered into all the worlds. Om! Adoration to Brahman!
Adoration!'
SEVENTH PRAPATHAKA.
1. Agni, the Gayatra (metre), the Trivrit (hymn), the Rathantara (song), the
spring, the upward breath (prana), the Nakshatras, the Vasus (deities)-these
rise in the East; they warm, they rain, they praise (the sun), they enter
again into him (the sun), they look out from him (the sun). He (the sun) is
inconceivable, without form, deep, covered, blameless, solid, unfathomable,
without qualities, pure, brilliant, enjoying the play of the three
qualities, awful, not caused, a master-magician, the omniscient, the mighty,
immeasurable, without beginning or end, blissful, unborn, wise,
indescribable, the creator of all things, the self of all things, the
enjoyer of all things, the ruler of all things, the centre of the centre of
all things.
2. Indra, the Trishtubh (metre), the Pankadasa (hymn), the Brihat (song),
the summer, the through-going breath (Vyana), Soma, the Rudras - these rise
in the South; they warm, they rain, they praise, they enter again into him,
they look out from him. He (the sun) is without end or beginning,
unmeasured, unlimited, not to be moved by another, self-dependent, without
sign, without form, of endless power, the creator, the maker of light.
3. The Maruts, the Gagati (metre), the Saptadasa (hymn), the Vairupa (song),
the rainy season, the downward breath (apana), Sukra, the Adityas - these
rise in the West; they warm, they rain, they praise, they enter again into
him, they look out from him. That is the tranquil, the soundless, fearless,
sorrowless, joyful, satisfied, firm, immovable, immortal, eternal, true, the
highest abode, bearing the name of Vishnu.
4. The Visve Devas, the Anushtubh (metre), the Ekavimsa (hymn), the Vairaga
(song), the autumn, the equal breath (samana), Varuna, the Sadhyas - these
rise in the North; they warm, they rain, they praise, they enter again into
him, they look out from him. He is pure within, purifying, undeveloped,
tranquil, breathless, selfless, endless.
5. Mitra-Varunau, the Pankti (metre), the Trinavatrayastrimsa (hymns), the
Sakvara-raivata (songs), the snowy and dewy seasons, the out-going breath (udana),
the Angiras, the Moon - these rise above; they warm, they rain, they praise,
they enter again into him, they look out from him-who is called Pranava (Om),
the leader, consisting of light, without sleep, old age, death, and sorrow.
6. Sani (Saturn), Rahu and Ketu (the ascending and descending nodes), the
serpents, Rakshas, Yakshas, men, birds, sarabhas, elephants, &c.-these rise
below; they warm, they rain, they praise, they enter again into him, they
look out from him - he who is wise, who keeps things in their right place,
the centre of all, the imperishable, the pure, the purifier, the bright, the
patient, the tranquil.
7. And he is indeed the Self, smaller (than small) within the heart, kindled
like fire, endowed with all forms. Of him is all this food, within him all
creatures are woven. That Self is free from sin, free from old age, from
death and grief, from hunger and thirst, imagining nothing but what it ought
to imagine, and desiring nothing but what it ought to desire. He is the
highest lord, he is the supreme master of all beings, the guardian of all
beings, a boundary keeping all things apart in their right places. He the
Self, the lord, is indeed Sambhu, Bhava, Rudra, Pragapati, the creator of
all, Hiranyagarbha, the true, breath, the swan, the ruler, the eternal,
Vishnu, Narayana. And he who abides in the fire, and he who abides in the
heart, and he who abides in the sun, they are one and the same. To thee who
art this, endowed with all forms, settled in the true ether, be adoration!
8. Now follow the impediments in the way of knowledge, O King! This is
indeed the origin of the net of bewilderment, that one who is worthy of
heaven lives with those who are not worthy of heaven. That is it. Though
they have been told that there is a grove before them, they cling to a small
shrub. And others also who are always merry, always abroad, always begging,
always making a living by handiwork; and others who are begging in towns,
performing sacrifices for those who are not allowed to offer sacrifices, who
make themselves the pupils of Sudras, and Sudras who know the sacred books;
and others who are malignant, who use bad language, dancers, prize-fighters,
travelling mendicants, actors, those who have been degraded in the king's
service; and others who for money pretend that they can lay (the evil
influences) of Yakshas, Rakshasas, ghosts, goblins, devils, serpents, imps,
&c.; and others who falsely wear red dresses, earrings, and skulls; and
others who wish to entice by the jugglery of false arguments, mere
comparisons and paralogisms, the believers in the Veda - with all these he
should not live together. They are clearly thieves, and unworthy of heaven.
And thus it is said: 'The world unsettled by the paralogisms of the denial
of Self, by false comparisons and arguments, does not know what is the
difference between Veda and philosophy.'
9. Brihaspati, having become Sukra, brought forth that false knowledge for
the safety of Indra and for the destruction of the Asuras. By it they show
that good is evil, and that evil is good. They say that we ought to ponder
on the (new) law, which upsets the Veda and the other sacred books.
Therefore let no one ponder on that false knowledge: it is wrong, it is, as
it were, barren. Its reward lasts only as long as the pleasure lasts, as
with one who has fallen from his caste.
Let that false science not be attempted, for thus it is said:
(a) Widely opposed and divergent are these two, the one
known as false knowledge, the other as knowledge. I (Yama) believe Nakiketas
to be possessed by a desire of knowledge; even many pleasures do not move
thee.
(b) He who knows at the same time both the imperfect
(sacrifice, &c.) and the perfect knowledge (of the Self), he crosses death
by means of the imperfect, and obtains immortality by means of the
perfect knowledge.
(c) Those who are wrapped up in the midst of imperfect
knowledge, fancying themselves alone wise and learned, they wander about
floundering and deceived, like the blind led by the blind.
10. The gods and the demons, wishing to know the Self, went into the
presence of Brahman (their father, Pragapati). Having bowed before him, they
said: ‘O blessed one, we wish to know the Self, do thou tell us.' Then,
after having pondered a long while, he thought, these demons are not yet
self-subdued; therefore a very different Self was told to them (from what
was told to the gods). On that Self these deluded demons take their stand,
clinging to it, destroying the true means of salvation (the Veda), preaching
untruth. What is untrue they see as true, as in jugglery. Therefore, what is
taught in the Vedas, that is true. What is said in the Vedas, on that the
wise keep their stand. Therefore let a Brahman not read what is not of the
Veda, or this will be the result.
11. This is indeed the nature of it (the Veda), the supreme light of the
ether which is within the heart. This is taught as threefold, in the fire,
in the sun, in the breath. This is indeed the nature of it, the syllable Om,
of the ether which is within the heart. By it (by the Om) that (light)
starts, rises, breathes forth, becomes for ever the means of the worship and
knowledge of Brahman. That (light, in the shape of Om), when there is
breathing, takes the place of the internal heat, free from all brightness.
This is like the action of smoke; for when there is a breath of air, the
smoke, first rising to the sky in one column, follows afterwards every
bough, envelopes it and takes its shape. It is like throwing salt (into
water), like heating ghee. The Veda comes and goes like the dissolving view
of a master-magician. And here they quote:
'Why then is it called "like lightning?" Because as soon as it comes forth
(as Om) it lights up the whole body. Therefore let a man worship that
boundless light by the syllable Om.'
(a) The man in the eye who abides in the right eye, he is
Indra, and his wife abides in the left eye.
(b) The union of these two takes place in the cavity within
the heart, and the ball of blood which is there, that is indeed the vigour
and life of these two.
(c) There is a channel going from the heart so far, and
fixed in that eye; that is the artery for both of them, being one, divided
into two.
(d) The mind excites the fire of the body, that fire stirs
the breath, and the breath, moving in the chest, produces the low sound.
(e) Brought forth by the touch of the fire, as with a
churning-stick, it is at first a minim, from the minim it becomes in the
throat a double minim; on the tip of the tongue know that it is a treble
minim, and, when uttered, they call it the alphabet (Greek, stoixeia).
(f) He who sees this, does not see death, nor disease, nor
misery, for seeing he sees all (objectively, not as affecting him
subjectively); he becomes all everywhere (he becomes Brahman).
(g) There is the person in the eye, there is he who walks as
in sleep, he who is sound asleep, and he who is above the sleeper: these are
the four conditions (of the Self), and the fourth is greater than all.
(h) Brahman with one foot moves in the three, and Brahman
with three feet is in the last. It is that both the true (in the fourth
condition) and the untrue (in the three conditions) may have their desert,
that the Great Self (seems to) become two, yes, that he (seems to) become
two.
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